ISSIS and Mr. Obama

Mr. Obama and ISSIS:  I am appalled by the response of our President to the Belgium terror attacks.  He continues to believe these attacks pose no significant threat to the U.S.  What can he be thinking?  We resect tiny cancers and ISSIS is certainly a cancer.  I want to ask him what kind of event will it take for him to call a spade a spade?  What is your response when someone declares war on you?  It is only a matter of time before we have another 9/11.  Think of all our huge athletic events where thousands are gathered.  Recently I saw a picture of the beautiful lobby of Grand Central Station in New York and thought that would be a wonderful target for a Jihadist.  We have no idea of what Mr. Obama has been doing that we know nothing about, but I am getting more and more concerned about his ultimate purposes.  I think we will find many disturbing things when he leaves office.  Basically I am not reassured by anything he says

Donald Trump

DONALD TRUMP

Most of us are having a hard time thinking about Mr. Trump.  I thought I would jot down some of my present day thoughts about him. 

My first real look at Mr. Trump was a film presented at the Palm Springs, CA film festival in January 2014.  The film documented his luxury home and golf course development on the Northeast shore of rural Scotland.  He had obtained permission to build this resort from the British Parliament, but the film did not go into the details of how he obtained this permission.  As I recall there was mention that the development would result in more jobs for the Scottish citizens.  Knowing Mr. Trump we can assume there was money involved at some point in the approval process.

The most revealing part of the movie was his attitude toward the long time, relatively poor, residents of this sparsely settled part of Scotland facing the North Sea.  These Scots had virtually no influence with the government and when they started to complain Mr. Trump was caught on film saying their objections were meaningless because they had no power to halt the development.  These were little people with no power and therefore no need for him to consider their complaint.  The vision I took away from this film was that of a brutal Capitalist with his boot on the neck of a defenseless person.  In other words, “a loser.”

It appears to me Mr. Trump is interested only in having the power to do all that he wishes.  We all admire strength and power appropriately managed, but Mr. Trump’s desire for power and adulation is pathological.  He is a vindictive person.  He hates to lose.  We all see through that.  When he lost Iowa, his first words spoken were that Mr. Cruz had “stolen” the election.  My reaction was “sour grapes” and losing is not his fault, but someone else.

His success in the polls has come from his motto “I am going to make America Great Again.”  As if America is not already great or that America is going in the wrong direction.  He has appealed primarily to the young and the relatively poor in our society, assuring them he will lead away from the approaching abyss.

Mr. Trump’s message and approach reminds me of the way Adoph Hitler gained control of destitute Germany following WW I.  He was going to make Germany great again, primarily by appealing to German youth and the jobless.  This comparison may sound a little far fetched, and perhaps it is, but not by much.  He admires Putin and the Chinese for the way in which they crushed those trying to make a more just society.  This is not the American way.

I am also reminded of the Joe McCarthy hearings of the early 50’s.  He destroyed thousands of careers by accusing people of being communists.  Again, it was power gone amuck.

I am hoping sensible Americans will sit back and take a good look at this man and his desire for personal power is not in keeping with an American president endeavoring to lead our country and the world in a difficult time.