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Members of the New England Patriots kneel during the national anthem Sunday. Photo: Billie Weiss/Getty Images
Well, once again the covfefe has hit the fan, courtesy of Mr. Trump, our fearless leader. All of you have seen and heard by now his staunch defense of the national anthem and his urging of sports team owners to fire any player who takes a knee while the anthem is playing. But here’s the thing. Have you all noticed a pattern emerging in Mr. Trump’s more outrageous and divisive words and actions? Every single time he creates a controversy there are other things going on. If he’s a master of anything, it’s manipulation and misdirection. So, whatever could he trying to deflect attention from this time?
1. The imminent demise of the Republicans’ second attempt, since Mr. Trump took office, to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Mr. Trump has been cajoling and threatening Congress to give him any kind of legislation to sign, no matter how many millions of people lose their insurance, yet once again it looks like this will be an epic fail. (Fingers crossed)
2. The the war of words between Mr. Trump and Kim Jong Un of North Korea. His unhinged insults and cavalier threats to annihilate another country which has over 25 million people, plays well with his base, but not the majority of Americans.
3. The candidate he’s supporting, Luther Strange, in Alabama’s Senate primary is poised to lose tomorrow which will be quite the embarrassment to Mr. Trump.
4. There’s been a lot of new revelations in the past week regarding the Russia investigation, including the fact that Russian operatives used ads (at last count 3,000) on Facebook to exploit the racial divisions in the U.S. There’s also been new allegations against Paul Manafort, Mr. Trump’s campaign manager.
5. Remember Mr. Trump railing about Hillary Clinton’s use of private email servers for government business? Well, yesterday Politico reported that there’s now a bipartisan congressional investigation into Jared Kushner’s occasional use of a private email account to conduct government business. And it seems like he’s not the only one. Senior aides such as Economic Advisor Gary Cohn, Ivanka Trump, former Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon have all used personal devices and email accounts for official business.
6. Mr. Trump’s travel ban 2.0 was rolled out Sunday with surprisingly little fanfare. With this new version entry into the country by foreign nationals from Chad, Syria, Libya, Iran, North Korea and Somalia, will for the most part be suspended. Iraqi nationals are to undergo intensive screening. This will take effect October 18.
I have a short wishlist of things I’d love to see Mr. Trump doing instead of cynically using patriotism to attack sports players 1st amendment rights and further dividing the country. I know this is futile, but I can dream.
1. Stop insulting the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un and engaging in what amounts to a childish schoolyard taunting match. It’s not only embarrassing, it’s bringing us to the brink of war. Let the diplomats who know what they’re doing, try to find some sort of compromise.
2. Instead of remaining on your determined path to annihilate President Obama’s legacy, learn from this latest healthcare debacle. Echo Senator John McCain’s call for bipartisan teamwork to fix the parts of the Affordable Care Act that aren’t working.
3. Stop denying that there was Russian interference in our election. At this point, you’re just embarrassing yourself. There is no “deep state” conspiracy to overturn the legitimacy of your presidency. Let Robert Mueller and the Senate committees who are investigating do their job instead of attacking them and crying “fake news!” all the time. If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.
4. Puerto Rico needs you. After being devastated by Hurricane Maria, our fellow Americans need to know they’re not being forgotten. With 16 dead so far, no electricity, running water, fuel, or cell phone service, they are in dire straits, yet until singer Marc Anthony called you out on Twitter today, you’ve remained silent about their suffering. Right now you need to be “Comforter-in-Chief” and that includes not sending out tweets like today, finally acknowledging the work that needs to be done, while at the same time bringing up Puerto Rico’s debt to “Wall Street and the banks”.
5. Stop using divisive rhetoric with racist undertones to tear apart our country just so you can rally your base which is filled with white supremacists. And, when you do make comments like you did this weekend and after Charlottesville, stop denying that these involve race. You’re fooling no one. Not even your supporters.
6. No more cries of “fake news” every time there’s a report that you don’t like. Yes, the media needs to be held accountable for truthfulness, but to accuse them of things like not showing your crowd sizes is ridiculous. Your continual heated attacks on them are also dangerous. It was bad enough when MSNBC’s Katy Tur, a well respected journalist had to be escorted from one of your campaign rallies last summer when the crowd of your supporters turned on her after you pointed her out, and called her a liar and a third rate reporter. Your attacks on journalists have only gotten worse and I am truly afraid that one of your less mentally stable supporters is going take things too far someday as a result of your words.
I have quite a few other wishes as well, including one involving time travel, but it’s getting late and I’m giving myself a headache. So I’m going to end this post by again sharing what sends me to my Happy Place.
C’mon! It just never gets old, does it?!
Excellent. Thank you for this, always refreshing to see another who is about the truth of things. 🙂
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Thank you Gustavo! I’m always a little nervous when doing a political post because I’m never completely sure how everyone will take it. I try not to post them too often, but as I can’t participate in protests due to my health, I have my voice and this little blog. I honestly feel this is one the most dangerous times in American history, and if I didn’t speak out about the injustices that are occurring on a daily basis, I don’t think I could live with myself. So your support means the world to me!😊
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You’re very welcome. You’re right as well, we can’t be silent, now is not the time. When seeing injustices, there is never a time where silence is the answer.
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😊
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Well said! I have to agree Trump seems to love to detract from what’s really going on, I can’t believe somebody with such a loose mouth is responsible for the whole of America. Indeed, dangerous times.
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Thank you! And the media and a good majority of us fall for it Every. Single. Time. What he said about the football players and the response to his idiocy is definitely an important news story. But it shouldn’t be to the detriment of everything else.
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As always, a brilliant post!! As I’m not from America I don’t understand – what is wrong with people kneeling during the national anthem?? You are so very correct though, that Trump likes to deflect. He is playing a game and he will do anything to take the focus off what he is doing with North Korea, healthcare, Russia etc. I personally think that if he stopped provoking North Korea things may be able to be sorted out a bit better than what is happening at the moment. Kim Jong Un is a narcissist and loves the attention and loves having a platform…Donald Trump and the media need to stop giving it to him.
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Oh my goodness! Thank you so much! There are many people who think that by kneeling during the anthem, the players are showing disrespect to the country and the men and women who fought and died for it. I happen to disagree with this viewpoint. If you listen to some of the players who have engaged in this peaceful and silent protest, they’re not doing this because they hate the U.S. or hold our military in contempt. It’s because they feel like they’re not being treated like American citizens, and that’s just tragic. Also, the 1st amendment to our Constitution protects freedom of speech and expression, which includes peaceful protests.
You’re absolutely right about North Korea. Unfortunately, Mr. Trump is a narcissist as well. 😒
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Oh ok, I understand now! It’s scary then that Trump is saying those things about people who are kneeling throughout the anthem…he is essentially throwing freedom of speech out the window. Americans are so incredibly patriotic and take the anthem very seriously, I therefore can’t imagine that anyone would kneel out of disrespect for the country. I think he is angry because it is more of a finger point at him and the horrible things he is doing…like you said, he is a narcissist as well, which means that he isn’t really thinking “they are disrespecting America”…he is thinking “they are disrespecting me”. He hasn’t earnt that respect unfortunately
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You’re absolutely right. In Trump’s mind EVERYTHING is about him.😠
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Man, sounds like things are getting really hectic there. I just see Trump and North Korea all the time on the news and it is looking dire.
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Now is not a good time to be living here Zoe.😒
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In the middle of all that, the little pup made a lovely diversion from the events that concern you.
I find the attitude of the sports players rather strange, from an outsider’s viewpoint. We don’t have the anthem at every game in that way, so it is unlikely to become an issue here. However, if these multi-millionaire sports stars are so concerned about what is happening in America, then they could do more than kneel during an anthem. They could use their wealth and influence to try to change something. Run for office, donate to charity; or if all else fails, they could abandon their luxury lifestyles, resign from the sport, and refuse to be part of the system that has made their fortunes.
Just a thought,…
Best wishes, Pete.
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I saw that little gif and just had to include it Pete. Race relations here have always been difficult here but not since the Civil Rights era have thing been so heated, especially in regards to the way minorities are treated by some police officers. The black community in particular feels disenfranchised from the rest of the country, and to be honest, I can understand why. As far as the players kneeling during the anthem, peaceful and silent protest are an American tradition. I can’t give you any examples off the top of my head, but most sports players do give back to their communities. I like your idea of them running for office though. That indeed would be a great way to bring about change.
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I doubt It even realizes Puerto Rico is a US territory. My wish would be for It to actually act like a leader instead of like a playground punk or 13 year old on Twitter. I’m not holding my breath though.
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I’m sure at some point he had to be told that Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory. And I definitely agree that none of us should hold our breaths where “It” is concerned.😒
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Nope.
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His other embarrassment and reason for misdirection is that it’s emerged that Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and several of his other inner White House circle have been using private email servers for government business.
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Yep. #5 on my list of things happening that he doesn’t want people looking at. This morning it’s being reported that at least 6 people in the administration have been doing this. Awkward!
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Oh, wait! Il Trumpe has finally responded to the crisis in Puerto Rico. It’s apparently all the Puerto Ricans’ own fault and no aid is on the way: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/26/trump-puerto-rico-crisis-massive-debt
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Yes. That was part of #4 on my wishlist. And the only reason he responded at all is Marc Anthony called him out on Twitter.😒
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I don’t think the message he actually sent is part of your wishlist — have you seen it?
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I did click on your link, thanks for sending it to me. I didn’t use the exact quote last night from the first tweet. I just mentioned that he commented about Puerto Rico’s debt to Wall Street and the banks. He really has no conscience.😒
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“The covfefe has hit the fan” – that’s a good’un! 🙂
3. “Luther Strange” – sounds like he’s straight out of a comic book!
“involving time travel, but it’s getting late” – classic!
And no, your Happy Place never gets old, Kim! 😉
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Thanks for your supportive words Brad.😊
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I really like your list of things we’d prefer him to be doing. 😉
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Thank you! I know none of my wishes are likely to be granted but I’m not giving up hope.
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I thought you might like this one https://dispersertracks.com/2017/09/25/about-sitting-and-kneeling/#comment-33408
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Thanks for the link Eddy! That’s an absolutely brilliant post, and the comments are quite interesting.
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Amen baby! You be you, and if someone disrespects YOUR freedom of speech, well, as my mom would say to them, “don’t let the door hit ya, where the good Lord split ya”!
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Thank you Cass!😁
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Epic post Kim! I don’t follow the news as I should but I love getting your updates. I did not realize how fucked up Trump has been lately, just wow. This blog post should be an eye opener for any American. It’s time to wake up America!!!🙏✊🚨🌎👏
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Thank you so much for your supportive words Dani! He really is a horror!😒
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He is!!! This ia just tragic Kim.
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😥
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Is** Damn smartphones. But yes this is just absurd!!!
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Brilliantly said, Kim. Is outrageous, this man.
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Thanks Lashaan!
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Reblogged this on Things Carla Loves.
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Reblogged this on Coalition of the Brave and commented:
An absolutely brilliant article!
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