Post

Bickering about Trump--or Serious Questions? (Tor Guimaraes, USA, 12/12/21 3:55 am)

John Eipper commented on my last post: "I never meant to demean anyone, but yes, [WAIS has] been bickering a lot about Trump, more or less continuously for five years."

Intention has nothing to do with it. It is all about how it makes other people feel. I try hard not to "argue about petty and trivial matters," which is the first meaning for bickering. I try to make sure that the issues I spend time on are important, that I should learn about them, and take a position justifiable by facts and logical thinking. Trump and supporters, and their attempt to destroy democracy and usurp power, is a critical issue today for all patriots. We must discuss and work on it before is too late. It is an extremely serious matter.

Similarly, John thinks that regarding "the events of January 6th, it is understandable that everyone seeks to focus the blame elsewhere. Call it textbook CYA. But isn't it understandable that military commanders would initially hesitate to send in the National Guard? Might they have sincerely believed that the civilian police could handle the riot?"

Really? They were asked for support and stalled for whatever reason. The result: America was betrayed and raped symbolically (the Constitution was torn, laws were broken), the Capitol was desecrated, people died, over one hundred officers were hurt, and there is considerable evidence of conspiracy at the highest levels. These generals are either corrupt or incompetent and derelict of duty. Captains lose their ships for much less, and these officers should be punished.

Now let's do some more "bickering." The virus does not lie or get beguiled by human BS. COVID infections data shows that it is predominantly spreading among those who voted for Donald Trump, who has had his own marvelous prescriptions against the virus and got the right-wing propaganda machine to downplay the risks and abhors scientifically prescribed behavior like vaccination and wearing masks. Is that understandable also?

As reported, "A new study by NPR confirms that "Counties that went heavily for Donald Trump have seen much lower vaccination rates and much higher death rates from COVID." However, this isn't the first time that the pandemic has been observed stalking Trump's disciples. As far back as July there were reports of this grisly statistic that pointed to the reality that we are in the midst of a "Pandemic of Fox News."

Last, I am getting increasingly disappointed that the otherwise vociferous Trump supporters seem incapable of answering a few simple important questions.  Let me reiterate them.

First, have you ever done a serious cost-benefit analysis of the four years Trump was president? Did the tariffs on Chinese imports work out to America's benefit? Was ignoring Covid-19 a good idea? Were Trump's policies useful in the Middle East? Did he bring Iran to its knees as he thought? Was America any better after his four-year term as president?

Second, what would be Trump's agenda in a second term? What would he do when a new deadly pandemic shows up? When the White Supremacists want put all non-whites and Jews in concentration camps? When the Christian Fundamentalists want to create Armageddon by supporting further Israeli brutality against Palestinians? When Chinese/Russian military capability matches ours? When the dollar is no longer the primary reserve currency? And, most importantly, when the percentage of Americans in poverty and without health care and retirement, goes to over fifty percent?

JE comments:  Jeepers, am I being accused of defending Trump?  Anything can happen in WAISworld. Concentration camps under a theoretical second Trump term are a bit over the top, but I would welcome a defense of Trump's policies in his first term--on tariffs, Covid, and society in general.  I've gone on record that Trump had one admirable achievement:  he didn't start any new wars.

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