Arthur E. Sowers is a resident of Harbeson.
Donald Trump has boasted, one way or the other and at various times, that he has accomplished more in less time than almost anyone else. An internet search was all it took to find and reference such quotes. Let’s compare Trump’s boasts with reality. An April 21 poll on Trump is titled “Fewer approve of Trump’s handling of the economy.” I quote this sentence from early in the article: “Thirty percent approve of his handling of the economy, down from 38% in March.” That is eight percentage points in a month. Then, Trump promised us a “golden age.” But what we got were golden prices at the gas pumps. And those prices went up an average of another 25 cents in the last couple weeks. I think Trump’s accomplishments are more like the “accomplishments” of tornadoes or hurricanes. There were more bad outcomes than good outcomes.
It seems like Trump did less homework on real issues but spent more time on his careless hobby of dabbling with artificial fantasy images, where his face is shown pasted on bodies of cartoon hero images. This just shows that he wants to steal the fame of other images for himself. It is a kind of piracy. A while back, he thus artificially promoted himself to “pope” and, more recently, hijacked the imagery of Jesus by showing himself as a “hands-on Jesus” healer. Then, after public disapproval, he did a “dog-ate-my-homework weasel-out” by saying, “Oh, I meant it to show myself as a doctor.” No, Donald, I and millions of other people saw the image correctly, as you intended. You are not an ordinary doctor if your spoof shows yourself dressed in a spiritualistic robe with a red sash around your neck, as well as both of your hands, one on the forehead of a sick person, with glowing and healing beams of light omnipotently coming out of your palms. I even saw the Iranian “counterspoof” artificial intelligence video, where they had their own better version of the real Jesus coming down from heaven to sock the “Trump fake Jesus” in the jaw for trying to impersonate Jesus. The Iranian video spoof is on YouTube.
The best nonhumorous response to the Trump-with-hand-healing-powers image is in this recent pushback article on the secular website, wired.com: “Staunch Trump Supporters Are Now Asking if He’s the Antichrist.” Searching the internet for more on this led me to this very serious article on a serious Christian website, The Lamp: “Is Donald Trump Antichrist?” The article explained Trump’s bad and blasphemous thinking for presenting images of himself as a “Jesus” figure and as the pope many months earlier. Based on that article, I think Trump is going to lose more supporters.
While the WIRED article and The Lamp article I cited above are focused on whether Trump is the Antichrist, the following article talks about Trump’s serious flaws but not at all about whether he is the Antichrist. The article title is “Megyn Kelly’s Latest Trump Rant Exposes A Glaring Problem We Can’t Ignore.” This is a remarkable article, complete with quotes from several people and links to sources. Here is one quote: “Kelly ... then acknowledged that there are aspects about Trump’s ‘personality which are obviously not good and that we’ve mostly chosen to overlook. ... You know, he’s not a moral man. He’s obviously not the greatest husband in the world. He’s extremely petty and thin-skinned,’ she said. ‘But there’s still, in my view, a lot to like about Trump,’ she later added. ‘It’s just some of those darker demons are much more in the front view right now because he’s like a cornered animal.’” If you asked me, I would say Kelly was both correct and transparent.
Trump behaves like he can imitate, pirate, insult, harass, sue or do anything he wants with anyone or their image, including make tacky fake videos against Barack Obama. But, to Trump, it is not OK if a comedian — like Jimmy Kimmel and other media figures and correspondents — makes a joke that Trump does not like. Trump will demand that you be fired or be prosecuted. Or he will get some ultrarich guy to buy out the company that employs you to get you fired. And, as I write this, Trump’s Federal Communications Commission (now Trump’s broadcast gestapo) is setting up an early review of the ABC/Disney license because a comedian insulted the Trumps. Here is just one article on the details: “FCC Readying Early Review of Disney Broadcast Licenses Amid Kimmel Kerfuffle.” This is all quite contrary to our democracy, with constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech rights for everybody and an oath to office the president takes to uphold the Constitution.
On Trump’s Iran war, this March 30 internet article itemized all his “sparks, smoke and noise” on the war: “12 times Trump signaled the Iran war was about to end.” The article documented everything, carried quotes and had links to sources. The article counted the times Trump used the word “war” but then said, at the same time, that it wasn’t a war. Well, that is being inconsistent. The article also said 50,000 of our troops were still over there, one way or another, waiting for whatever is next. From the many recent news items that I have read, the reality is that the war will not end soon. And the Strait of Hormuz will be closed indefinitely. This short but expert article from the specialist OilPrice.com website tells the broader story in detail: “The Strait of Hormuz May Reopen, But the System Has Already Broken.” Trump’s brain seems to be incapable of “processing” events in reality into any kind of significant understanding about what he is doing.
The reorganization of our originally independent Department of Justice into Trump’s personal gestapo for retribution and opposition cleansing is another abomination and abuse of power. The latest news I saw came to me in this surprising internet article on the Techdirt website: “DOJ Decides It’s Going To Try To Prosecute The Southern Poverty Law Center Out Of Existence.” I quote from that article these sentences:
“Since his return to office, multiple prosecutions targeting the president’s critics and political opponents have been mounted. To date, not a single one has succeeded. (And more than a few have been stalled completely by Trump’s refusal to engage in the legally required appointment process.) Now, it’s going after the Southern Poverty Law Center, claiming (incredibly) that paying informants to infiltrate hate groups is exactly the same thing as funding hate groups.”
But what could happen next? Trump could write an executive order that identifies a new kind of “criminal” that needs a new kind of “justice system” and naming himself as judge, jury and executioner. Maybe Trump would call such a criminal a political terrorist or an “enemy within.” Trump could apply it to any person who does not help carry out his “royal agenda.” Trump’s idea of proper justice would thus allow him to deny your rights to a trial by jury and other rights in our present judicial system. So, Trump could develop an expedited “kangaroo court,” which just needs a rubber-stamp process. And, since he brought back the death penalty, he could have his enemies just shot (see the article “Trump's executive order resumes executions, after Biden dialed them back”). But, this article, on thehill.com, shows that opposition to Trump, even from congressional Republicans, is growing: “5 ways Republicans are breaking with Trump.”
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
