E.W. Ellis is a resident of Smyrna.
What a weak and fragile ego Donald Trump must have to feel threatened or overshadowed by having the flag flown at half-staff, as the nation mourns the passing of President Jimmy Carter. His little minion, Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., had to make certain that the flag over the capital was at full-staff for his lord and master Mr. Trump’s inauguration. How sad is that? Donald Trump will never be equal to any of his predecessors because they were men of honor and integrity, who believed in the country they led and the Constitution of the United States, unlike Mr. Trump. Donald has a lot to learn about respect and so do his minions.
We have become a country of oligarchs. Welcome to the new Russia/America. When the rich/wealthy have a great deal of political influence over the government, like ours, than we are an oligarchy. How can Elon Musk, a civilian billionaire, have so much say about how our government should be managed? Oh, yeah, he bought the office of the U.S. presidency, along with so many of the Republican politicians. So, this is what the next four years are going to look like. Elon Musk is a foreigner/immigrant who became a U.S. citizen. He can never be president, so he does the next best thing. He buys his way into the White House. This man has no idea what democracy is. He grew in apartheid. He has no idea what makes Americans tick because he is not one of us. His only interest in this country is money. He does not care about anything else, just like Trump. Elon Musk is heading up the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk has billions of dollars in government contracts, so is this like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse? What better way of protecting your own interests and keeping the competition at bay? With the creation of this new department comes the hiring of employees, though DOGE is separate from the government. So, who has oversight? Oh, that’s right: It reports directly to Mr. Trump, since it is not an official government agency.
One more thing: Trump named three actors as his ambassadors to Hollywood (Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson and Jon Voight). Why? Are we about to see another McCarthy/Tinsel Town era, but instead of looking for communists, he’s looking for the pro-Democrats? Or will Trump use Hollywood for his propaganda machine? Perhaps both? There is a saying that goes something like this: He who does not know history is doomed to repeat it. I wonder if Mr. Trump is a history buff. I kind of doubt it.
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