Hallway to Nowhere

Tag: Trump

  • Trump: Not My Voice!

    I’m only writing this because I feel obligated to address it, a metaphorical gun to my head, since I’ve been blogging about Republicans. Sigh. Trump’s Big Speech. The utter hubris was what really got to me. He comes off like a gimcrack Mussolini, with his finger-pointing and gesturing. He-and he alone-can fix what is broken with the American government. I won’t even begin to list the outright lies, obfuscations, and cherry-picked facts in his recitation; other sources have done that and are readily available. But that he, who has always had this attitude of “I’m better, I’m smarter, I’m richer, I’m SUPERIOR,” should DARE to say that HE is the voice of those suffering injustice is simply intolerable. Donald Trump is only speaking for those who feel themselves disenfranchised because it suits his purposes-for the moment. When that moment has passed, when they are no longer needed, I suspect they will be thrown to wolves. When in his past as a businessman has he ever shown this compassion and concern for the unemployed? Ask him where HE has HIS products made! (The answer will be China. It’s cheaper.) In his campaign, he has stayed in Trump facilities (thereby benefiting himself), sold Trump merchandise (thereby benefiting himself), and generally branded his name on everything possible. Forgive me if I now think his rebirth as the Voice of America is just another ploy. As far as I can tell, Trump is the same lying manipulative narcissistic sociopath he’s always been.

    I am looking forward to the DNC. I’m REALLY tired of blogging doom and gloom about Republicans. The Donald is responsible, btw, for a  monthly contribution to both the Hillary For President campaign AND the DSCC from me. Just my way of putting my money where my mouth is.

  • RNC: “LOCK HER UP!” : A WITCH HUNT

    Upon perusing my posts, I feel like I should perhaps change the name of this blog to something more appropriate. RepublicanWatch? I’ll report on something else soon. It’s just that they make themselves, well, such tempting fare. The RNC, for instance. So many possible topics, I wasn’t sure which one I would choose. Malania’s plagiarised speech? The defunct NeverTrump movement? The cringe-worthy “minority you can trust ” remark by the (laughably non-representative) Asian-Americans For Trump? I decided to address the tone of the convention. While conventions past have been raucous and  involved namecalling by nominees, this particular one has taken on overtures that once again evoke more ominous images, say from a KKK rally, a witch burning, or a Hitler rally. There have been remarks made by speakers that were overtly racist, stating that the white race had contributed more than any other to civilization (something I’m certain that everyone not Caucasian is DELIGHTED to know, as well as, oh, China and India)and anti-transgender , calling them “absurd” ( something I’m sure that Caitlyn Jenner, who reported how difficult it was to come out as Republican, was overjoyed to hear). But most disturbing was the vitriol directed towards Hillary Clinton. This included a linkage of Clinton with Lucifer and a mock trial of Clinton. Rather than focusing upon the Republican nominee-Trump, the RNC seemed to feel that it could unite itself by bashing Clinton. The slogan became not “Make America Great Again” but “Lock Her Up.” The party that fractured over Trump attempted to put a bandage of “we might not like him but we surely hate HER” over its divide. Whether or not that will be enough remains to be seen. But it was enough to get those listening good and riled and to inspire the already-crazed to even loonier tunes. (Example-Frank Gaffney, a right-wing broadcaster, was so convinced by Christie’s mock trial of Clinton that he declared on his show that the only out for her was by a preemptive pardon by President Obama. Remember, now: CLINTON HAS NOT EVEN BEEN CHARGED WITH ANY CRIMES.)

    Though I would like to be aghast at such behavior, I cannot be. Witch hunts have a long history in this country. I saw Klan marches as child in my home state. I’ve seen films of Adolf Hitler as he roused crowds with his words. This raising of a new demagogue-Trump- on his path with racist, homophobic, and hateful words is sinking to only too human depths. I hope that we prove ourselves better than these people have acted.

  • The Wall

    I read that Kansas Secretary of State and prominent anti-immigration activist Kris Kobach has successfully lobbied for language supporting Trump’s absurd Wall into the Republican platform.  “The border wall must cover the entirety of the southern border and must be sufficient to stop both vehicular and pedestrian traffic.”  Exactly how this wall is to be paid for was not addressed, though Trump has said that he will force Mexico to do so, both by threatening to seize money that people here send back to relatives in Mexico and by some unspecified more ominous means. Despite Dan Stein’s statement that Trump’s Wall is a “surrogate” for other border control measures, Trump himself has never disavowed that he intends building a physical wall, though  engineers, economists, and others have repeatedly said that it is impractical, ineffective, and costly. But reason has never stood in way of Trump’s fevered plans.

    Here’s a little something to help you contemplate Trump’s Republican  ‘Murica:

     

  • Trump’s Message: Being a Bigot is Acceptable

    Like many other Jews and others, I was disgusted by Trump’s blatantly anti-Semitic tweet directed somewhat mystifyingly at Clinton. But Trump’s attitude afterwards about the resulting furor that the tweet caused is even more disturbing. He has staunchly DEFENDED the offensive tweet, despite the damning knowledge coming to light that the imagery was lifted from a racist source. Rather than acknowledging that this was playing to the old canard about Jews and money, Trump continued to insist it was a sheriff’s badge and would not back down. Racists and anti-Semites, including David Duke of the KKK, praised the tweet and then embellished it. Still Trump saw no evil. Despite his oft-repeated statement that he will be the best friend that Israel ever had, it is clear that Jews are included along with Muslims in his hit list. So his message to Americans is this: it is okay to be a bigot, as long as you’re discriminating against a Muslim, Jew, or Mexican. Fuck anyone who’s not white and Christian.

    Addendum: I had a friend tell me that she hates for people to look at Trump and think he is the poster boy for Christianity. Here was my reply:

    While Trump might not be the poster boy for Christians, there is no denying that he favors Christianity. His campaign has established an Evangelical Advisory Board, which includes right-wing figures ranging from Michele Bachman to Focus On The Family’s James Dobson. He has not made any such committee for other religious groups, including Jews and the much maligned Muslims. He claims to be A Christian and assiduously courts the conservative Evangelicals, even to the point of being “born-again”. So, while I don’t want to tar all Christians with the same brush, (I know some fine people who are Christian), Trump is doing his utmost to tell people who AREN’T Christian (and white) that they are not welcome or wanted and that this is acceptable behavior. It would be nice to hear Christians pointing out that this is not Christian behavior! Some have and do. But a sizeable minority seem to agree that racism is justified, when directed at suitable others, i.e. heathens, be they Jews, Muslims, atheists, or other non-believers. (Or even the wrong color Christians or Christians from the wrong country.)

  • Trump’s Message: Being a Bigot is Acceptable

    Like many other Jews and others, I was disgusted by Trump’s blatantly anti-Semitic tweet directed somewhat mystifyingly at Clinton. But Trump’s attitude afterwards about the resulting furor that the tweet caused is even more disturbing. He has staunchly DEFENDED the offensive tweet, despite the damning knowledge coming to light that the imagery was lifted from a racist source. Rather than acknowledging that this was playing to the old canard about Jews and money, Trump continued to insist it was a sheriff’s badge and would not back down. Racists and anti-Semites, including David Duke of the KKK, praised the tweet and then embellished it. Still Trump saw no evil. Despite his oft-repeated statement that he will be the best friend that Israel ever had, it is clear that Jews are included along with Muslims in his hit list. So his message to Americans is this: it is okay to be a bigot, as long as you’re discriminating against a Muslim, Jew, or Mexican. Fuck anyone who’s not white and Christian.

    Addendum: I had a friend tell me that she hates for people to look at Trump and think he is the poster boy for Christianity. Here was my reply:

    While Trump might not be the poster boy for Christians, there is no denying that he favors Christianity. His campaign has established an Evangelical Advisory Board, which includes right-wing figures ranging from Michele Bachman to Focus On The Family’s James Dobson. He has not made any such committee for other religious groups, including Jews and the much maligned Muslims. He claims to be A Christian and assiduously courts the conservative Evangelicals, even to the point of being “born-again”. So, while I don’t want to tar all Christians with the same brush, (I know some fine people who are Christian), Trump is doing his utmost to tell people who AREN’T Christian (and white) that they are not welcome or wanted and that this is acceptable behavior. It would be nice to hear Christians pointing out that this is not Christian behavior! Some have and do. But a sizeable minority seem to agree that racism is justified, when directed at suitable others, i.e. heathens, be they Jews, Muslims, atheists, or other non-believers. (Or even the wrong color Christians or Christians from the wrong country.)