In an earlier and apparently unrelated release, it has also been reported that some time back, when interviewing FBI professional Andrew McCabe to be Acting FBI Director, the president asked McCabe whom he had voted for in 2016. McCabe's very correct answer was that, according to his obligations to remain politically neutral in his job, he had not voted in the presidential contest.
Come to think of it, has anyone else noticed the growing resemblance of Trump to 1930-40's Italian dictator Benito Mussolini? Trump's about got that jaw-thrust, chin-tilt scowl down perfect.
Take note in this photo from LGBTQNation:
2. After having campaigned against, among others, the "global elites" who epitomize the attendees of the annual Davos World Economic Forum, President Trump decided this year not only to attend that gathering but to address the group as well. Another step in his attempt to mintain a nationalist-populist image with his voting base, while governing from the stance of a capitalist, tax-cutting elitist.
The speech was what the New York Times called "mixed facts, falsehoods, and claims that could use context.
He informed the assembled leaders of commerce, government, culture and journalism that "America is open for business again" under his leadership -- and of course he bragged about what he has already achieved (some quite easily debunked as either his having no control over or else, as in job growth, part of a pattern and at a rate that was well under way during the last year of the Obama presidency.
One of the notable aspects of the Trump speech was the booes and hisses that came from some of the audience when he began talking about "fake news" and criticizing the media. These were not protesters but rather regular members of the invited crowd.
He did make one statement that seemed agreeable, although I question how well he himself has lived up to it: "We support free trade, but it must be fair and it must be reciprocal." In his view, this does not include room for requiring that trading partners must meet minimum environmental and work-conditions standards.
3. The dramatic sentencing hearing has been completed for former USA Olympics sports doctor Larry Nassar, who was also a sports doctor at Michigan State University. More than 150 girls and women gymnasts accused him of having abused them sexually, and most of them spoke in court aboutr their experience. The sentence from this trial, added to prior sentences of other trials keeps Nassar in jail now for well over 100 years.
There are other severe consequences. The entire board of USA Gymnastics, which oversees the US Olympic gymnastics program, was forced to resign if they had not already voluntarily left the board. The president and athletic director at Michigan State resigned. Congress and the U.S. Department of Education are opening investigations into sex abuse in sports.
4. Trump is on his way home from Davos, Switzerland; and the next thing on his agenda apparently, is surprising everyone with his own immigration plan -- after saying he wanted Congress to come up with something they could agree on, and then after seeming not to understand the policy issues enough to even discuss a plan.
So I think we can assume that this is the work of senior adviser Stephen Miller, a hard-liner on immigration. As I currently understand it, here are the elements that will be in Trump's plan:
a. A path to citizenship for over 1 million 'dreamers' who were brought here as children by their parents; this would include the 800,000 DACA recipients.
b. $25 billion to build the Wall and increase border security
c. Elimination of the diversity lottery immigration program.
d. Shifting, generally, to a merit-based immigration system, where immigration status is selectively awarded to those with education or technical skills that are needed in our country. In other words, it shifts immigration from a "their needs" (humanitarian) basis to an "our needs" (America first) basis. Some countries have this kind of system. But, given our history of welcoming "the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to be free," it turns the Emma Lazarus poem affixed to the Statue of Liberty on its head. It also alters one of the basic values of America.
5. The GOP has been trotting out first one faux scandal after the other, hoping to find one that would tarnish the FBI, distract from the Mueller investigation, and put the spotlight on Hillary Clinton, Robert Mueller, the Obama administration . . . almost anything would do.
The problem is that nothing does stick. The latest, loudly touted by Rep. David Nunes and other conservative Republicans in Congress, is the so-called texts between two FBI members who said unkind things about Donald Trump back during and immediately after the election. The latest one mentioned a "secret society," which has now mushroomed into a conspiracy theory fever-dream of ridiculousness.
Relax, folks. It now seems that the original reference in that email exchange between two FBI intimates in a private exchange was a joke. It was the day after Trump was elected, and they were just venting their dismay and frustration. One mentioned something like -- we'll just have to join the Secret Society -- or something like that. It was a JOKE, folks. Please come down from the ledge.
Ralph
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