NONE DARE CALL IT TREASON
When I began college in 1964 a new, recently published anti-Communism
tome was being highly touted by the John Birch Society, a national
anti-Communist organization mostly popular on college campuses across
the country. The Birchers, as they were called, were convinced that the
domino effect was real and that without U.S. intervention Southeast Asia
would fall, followed by the rest of Asia; nations falling like
dominoes.
The title of the book, written by John A. Stormer, was taken from a
couplet by Sir John Harrington 1561 - 1612: “Treason doth never prosper,
what’s the reason? For if it prosper, none dare call it treason.” I do
not believe there is a more accurate statement of Donald Trump’s
rationale for his traitorous actions than Harrington’s couplet.
It is patently obvious by now that Donald Trump, President of these
United States, is a willing rather than a coerced participant with
Vladimir Putin in the attempted destruction of our nation: the
relegating of the United States to a position of puppet to the Russian
Federation. First, consider that at the press conference of July 16,
2018, following the so-called summit meeting between Putin and Trump,
when asked point blank about whether the Russian interference with the
2016 election was discussed, as Trump was deflecting, Putin’s body
language including the smirk and subsequent chuckle spoke much more
eloquently than did Trump’s answer. It was obvious that Putin was
projecting the willingness of Trump to go along with everything that
Putin was and is planning.
Why am I convinced that Trump is a willing partner of Vladimir Putin’s
plan to create a single, Russian, super power with enough strength to
dominate the rest of the nations of the world? Consider the fact that
both Putin and Trump have denied from the very beginning of this fiasco
ever having had any personal knowledge or contact with one another until
Trump’s election to the highest office in the land. And then, consider
that Trump’s first known business contact with the then Soviet Union was
in1987 when he began discussions with Soviet businessmen and government
officials about developing a deal with the Russians to construct a
Trump Tower in Moscow. The meetings to discuss these plans were arranged
by Soviet Ambassador Yuri Dubinin. Dubinin arranged for an all expenses
paid trip to Leningrad and Moscow for Trump to meet with Soviet
officials, and oligarchs. Although it was Gorbachev who was the Soviet
leader at the time, Putin as a high ranking official in the Soviet
intelligence apparatus would certainly have been aware of, and most
likely very interested in said meetings.
It was shortly after this first incursion into the world of Soviet
business and politics (really one in the same) that Trump first made
known his interest in the U.S. Presidency. He traveled to New Hampshire
at the invitation of Mike Dunbar, a Republican operative. While in New
Hampshire Trump purchased full page ads in the New York Times, The
Washington Post and the Boston Globe, at a cost of nearly one hundred
thousand dollars. These ads decried America’s foreign policy and
criticized the policy of “…paying to defend countries that can afford to
defend themselves:” a theme he has continued during his Presidency
(most recently at the NATO meetings preceding his ‘Summit’ with Putin).
Interesting that this position began after his first meetings with
Soviet officials, facilitated by a high ranking Soviet Ambassador. This
then began Trump’s serious involvement with the Soviet Union and then
the Russian Federation.
Between 1987 and 1999 two things stand out about “businessman” Donald
Trump; his financial dealings began to fall on hard times: four
bankruptcies between 1990 and 1992, and posted losses of nearly $650
million for Trump casinos. How does anyone lose money owning a casino?
This period also began his increased interest in doing business with
Russia. Then too, it was also during this period that Trump began his
serious investigations into a Presidential run. An interesting sidelight
to all of this is that in 2000 Michael Caputo, who ran Trump’s 2016 New
York primary campaign, began work as an image consultant for Vladimir
Putin.
Trump’s interest in and dealings with Russia continued throughout the new Millennium with licensing, real estate, gambling deals and of course the Miss Universe Pageant. And, as his dealings with Moscow increased so did his desire to make a Presidential run. In this he gradually assembled aides whom he had known and been involved with for decades, including Roger Stone and Paul Manafort; both of whom had had significant business dealings with Russia going back to the Soviet era.
Trump’s interest in and dealings with Russia continued throughout the new Millennium with licensing, real estate, gambling deals and of course the Miss Universe Pageant. And, as his dealings with Moscow increased so did his desire to make a Presidential run. In this he gradually assembled aides whom he had known and been involved with for decades, including Roger Stone and Paul Manafort; both of whom had had significant business dealings with Russia going back to the Soviet era.
By 2013 Trump was openly critical of President Obama, and very openly
praiseworthy of Russia’s Vladimir Putin. In November of 2013 following a
supposedly aborted meeting with Putin (we don’t know for sure whether
or not the meeting took place) Trump said of Putin in an interview, “I
do have a relationship, and I can tell you that he’s very interested in
what we’re doing here today. He’s probably very interested in what you
and I are saying today and I’m sure he’s going to be seeing it in some
form. But I do have a relationship with him and I think it’s very
interesting to see what’s happened. I mean, look, he’s done a very
brilliant job in terms of what he represents and who he’s representing.
If you look at what he’s done with Syria, if you look at so many of the
different things, he has really eaten our president’s lunch, let’s not
kid ourselves.”
As the 2016 Presidential campaign moved into full swing Trump, who had
always prior to this talked seemingly very openly about his Russian
relationships, began to become very cagey; covert one might say. And
this leads us up to his election to President and his embracing of
Russia and Vladimir Putin: Trump’s new, old best friend. Everything
Donald J. Trump has done since being elected President seems to benefit
Russia and himself, in one way or another, from his failing to implement
Congressionally approved sanctions for Russia’s interference in the
elections to this latest meeting with Putin wherein he has apparently in
secret committed U.S. troops to Russia for the Syrian conflict.
Additionally he has carried water for Putin in his war with NATO, a burr
under Putin’s skin. We are now very aware that Trump is on Putin’s side
in everything on the Dictator’s agenda. The only question left to
answer is whether blackmail controls Trump, or he is a willing agent of
the Russian Federation and Vladimir Putin. I would posit that the former
makes little sense in that if was blackmail Putin would have begun to
use Trump more effectively and sooner. No, this is as John Harrington
put it…when both parties prosper it is treason based although the
semantics change the outcome. Donald J. Trump is a willing
co-conspirator with no excuse for what he has done…his motivation power
and self aggrandizement.
Finally ponder this, at no time since his election to the Presidency has
Trump placed the needs of the United States above his own or Vladimir
Putin’s.
None may dare call it treason, but I do.
Friday, July 27, 2018
WHEN EGO GETS IN THE WAY
WHEN EGO GETS IN THE WAY
We have as our current President, Donald J. Trump, a man seemingly
driven completely by ego. We are all, to one degree or another, driven
by that same psychoanalytically defined force. Some ego is a good trait
as it drives each of us toward whatever goals we wish to achieve. Even
the most altruistic among us gain feelings of good will and ego
satisfaction when a good deed is recognized. There is absolutely nothing
wrong in that.
We must also recognize that the ego can be a very destructive force,
e.g., a defensive football player who lowers his head when charging his
opponent, may have his ego gratified by making a devastating tackle, but
it may be at the cost of causing great physical harm to his opponent,
as well as a penalty against his own team. Therefore it is incumbent
upon us all to be in control of the ego as much as is possible. This is
often not an easy, or simple thing since each of us develops our own
level of egocentricity in childhood, and is it reinforced as we grow. It
would seem that President Trump’s ego has served him well throughout
his life. He has been a seemingly successful businessman, who amassed a
great fortune, and was very influential in many of the diverse spheres
in which he participated.
As President, Donald Trump has not had the kind of success he realized
as he did in the business world. There are numerous factors contributing
to his current lack of achievement. He is certainly a neophyte
politician, with little patience for those with whom he disagrees. This
shows up in his tendency to shirk responsibility for actions that seem
to have a negative effect upon his governance. Then too, he is likely to
give himself a pat on the back for good things that have their
beginnings with someone else’s actions. Finally President Trump sees
himself as knowing more than anyone who may advise him, even though his
experience may not be adequate to determine the best course in a given
situation. This then is definitely a case of ego getting in the way of
successful governance. His pre-Presidential campaign promises, most of
which were ego driven have, for the most part remain unfulfilled.
President Trump made many promises as he campaigned for the highest
office in the land: the border wall to be paid for by Mexico, repeal and
replace the Affordable Care Act, tax reform that would benefit the
working and middle classes (never the wealthy), preventing China’s
continued mercantilism, protectionism and intellectual property theft,
repairing U.S. trade imbalances worldwide, lowering the deficit,
regaining manufacturing jobs, re-negotiation of the Iran deal, leave
Social Security alone, and more. To date most of those promises go
unfulfilled, and his ego says it is all someone else’s fault. He loves
using the Democrats as his foil for his lack of success, completely
ignoring the fact that his party, the Republicans, control both Houses
of Congress. In addition, he has made many claims regarding his ability
to negotiate good deals; all beneficial to the United States.
Unfortunately, here too his ego has gotten in the way of success.
First let’s look at President Trump’s actions regarding North Korea.
Initially, there was the ego driven bluster….my bombs are bigger than
your bombs; frightening the entire world. Then suddenly he did a
complete turnaround and decided, against the advice of his diplomatic
service, that he and Kim Jong Un can be “friends” and should have a face
to face sit down and come to an agreement as to the total
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. This rapprochement was the
work of the South Korean President, Moon Jae-In. Trump quickly took
credit for Moon’s work; and, when someone mentioned the Nobel Peace
Prize Trump virtually glowed.
The President had his meeting, the result of which was a suspension of
the annual multinational tactical naval maneuvers in the region
(suggested to him by none other than Vladimir Putin), and a piece of
paper signed by both he and Kim, that says virtually nothing…no mention
of denuclearization. And when all was said and done, Kim resumed his
nuclear program and publicly stated that he never agreed to the
denuclearization of the peninsula.
Following that diplomatic triumph, Trump began his trade war by
instituting new trade tariffs on goods from aluminum to soy beans, the
effect of which so far is to have increased prices on both durable and
perishable commodities. His tariffs so far have hurt, not China but
Trump’s own voting base: especially the farming community. Many family
farms, which produce 87% of our food, are at risk of bankruptcy due to
retaliatory measures taken by China. In addition, he has extended the
war to our European allies, who have also retaliated in kind. One result
of this extension of the trade wars is that Harley Davidson is moving
its manufacturing operations offshore in order to be competitive and
sell more products in Europe…so instead of increasing manufacturing jobs
in the U.S., Trump is reducing them.
As if causing the cost of living to rise, and being made a fool of by
Kim Jong Un weren’t enough President Trump has attacked all of our
European allies both individually, and through his attacks on NATO,
collectively. Ironically while he is attacking NATO, we are the only
nation to benefit from NATO’s Article Five, which in its commitment
clause defines the casus foederis. It commits each member state to
consider an armed attack against one member state, in Europe or North
America, to be an armed attack against them all. Which is why following
the attack on the United States of September 11, 2001, NATO committed
more than one hundred thousand troops to the war in Afghanistan in
support of the U.S.
Following the unsuccessful NATO meetings at which Trump accused the
member nations of not holding up their end (see above remarks regarding
the only invocation of Article Five)the President moved on to Helsinki,
Finland. It was in Helsinki that Trump met with Vladimir Putin, former
head of the KGB, and currently the President of the Russian Federation.
They two men met for a little over two hours, alone with only
translators in attendance. It has been six days since the meeting and we
still have no idea of what was discussed, or if any commitments were
made. The only thing we do know is that Trump is apparently still not
ready to tell Russia to stay out of U.S. politics. What Russia did in
the run up to the 2016 election should be considered, at the very least a
hostile act, and at the other end of the spectrum, an act of war. Yet
the President seems to be cozying up to the man behind it all.
As I said at the very beginning of this opinion piece, we are all to
some degree, ego driven. And as I also intimated it behooves each and
every one of us to control and use our ego to serve us best. It appears
to me that our President’s ego is placing the people of the United
States at risk. What is more disturbing still is that there are 535
other egos in Washington, D.C., that cannot seem to be brought under
control to the detriment of the nation. The Republican’s who control
both Houses of Congress, collective ego seems to support the President
blindly, and without reservation. The Democrat’s, in the minority,
collective ego seem unwilling to look for solutions that will be
palatable and benefit everyone.
Additionally, there is the electorate, that’s us. Our egos also get in
the way of finding a solution. For those of us who lean toward the
progressive approach to problems and solutions, our ego is just as much
in the way as everyone else’s. I routinely review both Left and Right
leaning sites on the internet and there is much name calling and general
vitriol, complete with what are thought to be rational justifications
on many of the sites of both Left and Right. And there is also what to
me is the loyal opposition (Woody Allen describing his relationship with
God), the Right. I know this will upset many people of a conservative
bent but I’m here to create dialogue, not to find friends. I believe at
this point most of Donald Trump’s supporters are letting their egos get
in the way of finding a solution to what seems to be a Freight Train
called the United States of America running at full speed, out of
control, headlong toward a collision with a destiny that no one on
either side wants…the destruction of our Republic. The ego of President
Trump’s supporters does not want what it perceives as failure in the
election of Donald Trump to the Presidency. I think Trump knows this and
feeds it. It is time to look at what is happening in this country and
to stop letting ego get in the way of success. If for no other reason
than everyone on the planet knows that Vladimir Putin and the Russian
Federation attacked our democracy, and our Commander-in-Chief refuses to
do anything about it, ego must be put aside and under control and we
must rid our House of the infestation called Donald J. Trump.
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