Has America Put A Con Artist In The White House?
Yesterday, two things happened that I thought were interconnected. And yes they have to do with the upcoming presidency of Donald Trump.And yes, I made a promise to back off and curb my enthusiastic opposition to his presidency, and I will. But like I said a couple of things happened and I just couldn’t resist.
The Pitbull GrowlsThe first thing that happened was that I saw this update by Senator Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic Party’s resident pitbull and MVP, where she pointed out that Trump has been inviting lobbyists from various groups and corporations into his inner circle of advisors, with an eye to appointing some of them to cabinet posts.
(I would post this vid, but it hasn't been uploaded to YouTube yet)
This behavior runs completely counter to the adamant “trust me folks” pronouncements he made all through the campaign, to clean up the pork barrel of bought-and-paid-for-politicians in Washington.
What he appears to be doing is creating his own private trough at which to feed, because wherever there are lobbyists, there are kickbacks. And if there are lobbyists in Trump Tower, you can only imagine how huge those kickbacks would be.
This is shaping up to be similar to the way Russian President, Vladimir Putin does business. He hands out government contracts to companies who will guarantee him an under-the-table kickback of anywhere between 7 and10% of the company’s revenues. It's estimated that this has made him weel in excess of $40 billion, tucked safely away in a Swiss bank.
So the fix already appears to be in, just a week into this transition phase.
Trump argues that he’s bringing these people because they know how the system works. But that, again (glorioski!) runs completely counter to his vehement campaign claim that “nobody knows the system better than me”.
What this very much looks like to Senator Warren and probably to a lot of people who are not Trump Koolaid drinkers, is a con. Pure and simple.
And it’s a con arrogantly being played out right in plain sight.
Trump Heart TrumpMy opinion has always been that a narcissist’s only obsession is with himself. When you mate that with Trump’s fanatical desire to win at any cost, which he has proven to us all, you end up with someone whose only interest in America is how much money he can make off it.
I’m not saying this is true. But, to quote Bill Maher, “It sure as hell looks like it.”
The Second Thing
Yesterday I had a sauna and was leafing through my newly discovered stack of lyrics when I came across this. (below) It has no date on it, but I assume that I wrote it sometime in the late 1970s.
When I read it over, I realized that this metaphor could just as easily apply to Trump as it could to (pick a despot) anywhere in the world at any time.
It also goes to show you that my interest is justice has been pretty much a lifelong thing.
Guess you could call me a dove in hawk’s clothing. It’s a dirty job but there are a lot of us out there doing it. And the more the merrier
Likes, comments and shares gratefully welcomed and encouraged.
Download my free ebook, Small Business Communication For The Real World, here:
https://onwordsandupwords.wordpress.com/2013/11/24/small-business-communications-for-the-real-world/
All my profile and contact information can be accessed here:
https://www.bebee.com/producer/@jim-murray/this-post-is-my-about-page
All content copyright 2016 Jim Murray
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Comments
David B. Grinberg
7 years ago #18
Thanks for the message, Jim, you sure know how to push my buttons. Remember, I'm a long-time registered Independent who neither supported nor voted for Trump. However, I will share some thoughts: 1) There's is a big difference between campaigning and governing. I recall President Obama's 2008 campaign promise to shutter Guantanamo Bay detention center, for example. Well, it's still up and running full speed. 2) I believe America's founders would have agreed that it's healthy for democratic governance to finally have a non-career politician in the White House -- someone who actually has firsthand experience about business, trade, the economy and international finance. Someone who has actually employed tens of thousands of people. Someone who actually ran a successful global business empire. 3) So far, the mainstream media -- also known as the "liberal media establishment" or "lamestream media" -- has been dead wrong about Trump every step of the way, from before he entered the race, through the primaries, the general election, and post-election (per the exit polls they reported favoring Hillary which never panned out). Thus I don't but much credence in the news media's continuing attempts to demonize the President-elect. In essence, the test of time will reveal the truth. To quote another native New Yorker, singer Billy Joel from my hometown of Long Island, "You may be right. I may be crazy..."
Jim Murray
7 years ago #17
...The benefit of the doubt? Whoa. This is one month later and the self-fulfilling prophecy is being fulfilled. There's no doubt he is setting himself up the same way Putin is set up in Moscow.
Jim Murray
7 years ago #16
Your hatred for Obama is well document on beBee Brian. At the very least you have a point of view. Just wondering if, like a lot of other right wingers there isn't a certain amount of racism that's mixed up in your opinion. Please correct me if I am wrong in my supposition. If I'm not then you would just be like all those other Americans who drank the con man's Koolaid. If you honestly think that Trump will make a better president than Obama did, then I certainly feel bad for you. We should re-convene on this issue in say, June of 2017, it there is still an America left to discuss. BTW Hillary is now 1.5 million popular votes ahead of Herr Trump.
Philippe Collard
7 years ago #15
don kerr
7 years ago #14
Ian Weinberg
7 years ago #13
Political circus and economy on a knife-edge
Jim Murray
7 years ago #12
Phil Friedman. Thanks bud. I guess I wasn't as Trumped out as I thought.
Jim Murray
7 years ago #11
Thanks Debesh. yes it is a big concern. But I'm afraid it's really not being treated as such. People are just worn out from a year of bullshit.
Jim Murray
7 years ago #10
Howling is good for the vocal cords. Maybe a few Americans will hear it. Thanks John Rylance
Jim Murray
7 years ago #9
Randy Keho. So inventive and predicatable at the same time. I take comfort in that.
Jim Murray
7 years ago #8
Thanks Ian Weinberg. How are things over in SA?
Jim Murray
7 years ago #7
That's very egalitarian of you David. But frankly, I don't believe he deserves anything at this point. He preaches hate and division and he does it in a way that's blatantly obvious. His chief advisor is the biggest hater in America so pardon me if I'm still about making sure that people keep their eyes on their fries. This guy is a con man and he's running the biggest con ever in America. I would love nothing more than to give him the benefit of the doubt. But he needs to earn it and from where I sit, that just has not happened yet.
David B. Grinberg
7 years ago #6
John Rylance
7 years ago #5
Randy Keho
7 years ago #4
Debesh Choudhury
7 years ago #3
Phil Friedman
7 years ago #2
Ian Weinberg
7 years ago #1