21 DAYS OF TRUMP

  
THE TRUMP DIARIES:  WEEK THREE

21 Days of Trump

By Jack Random

In his first fourteen days Donald Trump set a blistering pace with executive orders and began to deal with international crises.  The administration’s first military action, a Special Forces operation in Yemen, was by most accounts blundered.  Relations with ally Australia were strained by an awkward telephone call, protests continued to rise up, the first signs of easing sanctions on Russia appeared and Iran was placed “on notice.” 

This is the third installment of the Trump Diaries. 

DAY FIFTEEN:  IRAN SANCTIONS, ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS

February 3, 2017

The Treasury Department announces new sanctions on Iran in retaliation for testing a ballistic missile.  The action is limited to individuals and companies connected to the missile program and is designed not to affect the nuclear weapons treaty signed by the Obama administration along with five international partners:  Russia, Germany, France, China and Britain. 

The administration gently admonishes Israel for recklessly pursuing expanded settlements in occupied territories.  The admonition that expansion beyond existing settlements “may not be helpful” to the peace process suggests that the Trump White House may not be as loyal to the Israeli right as anticipated. 

In a busy Friday, Trump initiates the process of dismantling Dodd-Frank, the legislative fix to a runaway Wall Street that collapsed the global economy and put us on the precipice of a great depression. 

Federal courts issue conflicting rulings on the legality of Trump’s Muslim ban. District Judge James Robart in Seattle placed a temporary restraining order on the executive action, finding it discriminatory and unconstitutional. 

The unfolding Trump foreign policy is as convoluted and indecipherable as a maze in a deep cave.  How do you affect closer relations with Russia and its allies Iran and Syria while simultaneously endearing Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu?  How do you square UN Ambassador Nikki Haley’s condemnation of Russia in Ukraine and Crimea with Trump’s unbelievable defense of Vladimir Putin in his pre Super Bowl interview with Bill O’Reilly:  “There are a lot of killers.  What? Do you think our country’s so innocent?” 

No, Donald, we don’t think our country is so innocent and we do not condone our immoral wars or extrajudicial drone killings; but neither do we hesitate to condemn the assassination of journalists, political rivals and dissidents.  Is the president really presenting a profound moral conundrum or is this Trump’s golden rule:  Never criticize Vladimir Putin? 

The balance becomes even more delicate when you consider Iran’s critical role in fighting back the Islamic State in Iraq. 

DAY SIXTEEN:  “SO CALLED” PRESIDENT

February 4, 2017

The State Department under its newly confirmed Secretary Rex Tillerson begins the process of reinstating an estimated 60,000 visas cancelled under the president’s ill-conceived executive order.  The Department of Homeland Security announces it is suspending enforcement of the ban. 

From his estate in Mar-a-Lago the president goes on a twitter rampage against the “so-called” judge who had the audacity to stand up to him.  The “so-called” president’s rant runs from 4:59 to 5:12 am.  Does this man ever sleep? 

Protesters are back on the streets in London, Paris, Berlin, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, New York, Salt Lake City, Miami, San Francisco, Boulder, Manila and Jakarta.  The “so-called” president threatened to cut federal funding to Berkeley for a protest last Wednesday that erupted in violence.  Trump’s threat is empty but it does suggest he is suffering from delusions of grandeur. 

DAY SEVENTEEN:  BAN ON HOLD

February 5, 2017

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals turns back the Justice Department’s motion to put a stay on Judge Robart’s temporary restraining order, indicating the government failed to prove there would be irreparable harm. 

The president takes the day off to watch the Super Bowl and root for the New England Patriots.  Watching the Patriots come back from 25 down was like watching the election night coverage:  Unbelievable.  The impossible catch was like FBI Director James Comey’s surprise announcement and the final results were stunning.  No word on whether Putin tried to influence the game. 

DAY EIGHTEEN:  AWAITING JUSTICE

February 6, 2017

As we await the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals next ruling on lifting the hold on the Muslim travel ban, Trump accuses the media of deliberately propagating fake news.  He is particularly incensed that any polls would find that his Muslim ban is less than popular.  Maybe Steve Bannon should explain the concept of political courage to his boss:  A leader holds his ground on principle even when his decisions go against public opinion. 

The New York Times reports that Trump was angry at not being fully informed on the executive order that increased Steve Bannon’s authority and prominence.  Trump calls the story “complete fiction” but it has the ring of truth. [1]

Given the president’s insatiable ego, how long can Bannon last?  The more Bannon becomes the story as the brain behind the policies, the shorter his White House tenure. 

DAY NINETEEN:  WAR ON PUBLIC EDUCATION

February 7, 2017

The senate confirms Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education on a 50-50 vote with vice president Mike Pence casting the tiebreaker.  DeVos has one mission and that is to destroy public education by allowing public funds to go to private schools, including religious and for-profit charter schools. 

For those who don’t know how it works, it goes something like this:  Take under-funded public schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods, apply rigorous testing requirements and impossible standards of achievement.  When the schools fail to meet standards, pronounce them failures, cut funding and offer parents vouchers to attend charter schools.  The vouchers represent money that would have gone to the public school, thus creating a cycle of perpetual failure. 

Reminiscent of No Child Left Behind, the approach has never improved education and it certainly hasn’t in Michigan where DeVos was a major charter school advocate for two decades. [2, 3] 

Interesting side note:  Betsy’s brother is the founder of Blackwater USA, the mercenary army responsible for so much chaos, death and destruction in Iraq. 

DAY TWENTY:  LAST STAND AT STANDING ROCK

February 8, 2017

In compliance with an executive order, the Army Corps of Engineers approved an easement to clear the way for completion of the Dakota Access Pipeline.  Veterans Stand issues a call for its members to return to North Dakota for a “Last Stand” to block the project. [4]

Energy Transfer Partners has completed all but the last 1,100 feet of the pipeline that courses under Lake Oahe, a reservoir of the Missouri River only a half-mile upstream of the Standing Rock Reservation.  What could possibly go wrong? 

The great fear is what happens if and when the cameras are turned off and no one is paying attention.  These are very brave people enduring harsh conditions for a cause that belongs to us all. 

With the president seated in the Oval Office, CEO Brian Krzanich announces Intel’s intention to invest seven billion dollars in a new factory in the notorious anti-labor “Right to Work” state of Arizona.  If there was ever any question, the Trump administration intends a full-scale assault on the rights of labor. 

The senate confirms Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions as the next Attorney General by a 52 to 47 vote.  There was a time when claiming the accomplishments of someone else was a sufficient impunity of character to block a nomination to high office but that is not the case with Sessions.  On his questionnaire for the Senate Judiciary Committee he listed four cases involving voting rights and civil rights as among his legal accomplishments during his tenure as Alabama’s Attorney General.  It turns out he had little to do with any of them. [5]

Painting Jeff Sessions as a champion of civil rights is like citing Judy Miller as an example of journalistic integrity.  Nevertheless he is our Attorney General. 

DAY TWENTY-ONE:  JUDICIAL BLOWBACK

February 9, 2017

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issues a stern rebuke to the imperial presidency of Donald Trump by upholding Judge James Robart’s stay on the Muslim ban. 

Civics lesson 101:  The United States is governed by three co-equal branches of government.  Get used to it.  You are not the king. 

Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut reveals that Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch labeled the president’s attacks on the judiciary “demoralizing” and “disheartening.”  Trump responds by attacking the messenger for misrepresenting his nominee’s comments.  The account is supported by multiple sources on both sides of the political aisle. [6] 

If Trump accepts the reality of Gorsuch’s criticism, he may well withdraw the nomination.  He seems incapable of accepting any criticism or acknowledgement that his actions or judgments are wrong.  This case presents a dilemma:  Either his judgment in selecting Gorsuch was wrong or his denunciations of a federal judge are wrong. 

Trump signs three more executive actions designed to portray him as a “law and order” president.  He believes we are in the midst of a historic crime wave though statistics do not comply with his belief system. [7]

While some suggest that Gorsuch is just playing the game to win confirmation, he offers a good beginning to the Trump presidential experience through 21 days:  Demoralizing, disheartening, disingenuous, despicable, dishonest, demeaning, defiant and delusional. 

But we’re still here. 

Jazz.

1.  “Trump and Staff Rethink Tactics After Stumbles” by Glenn Thrush and Maggie Haberman.  NY Times, February 5, 2017. 

2.  “DeVos’ Michigan schools experiment gets poor grades” by Caitlen Emma, Benjamin Wermund and Kimberly Hefling.  Politico, December 9, 2016. 

3.  “Betsy DeVos and the Wrong Way to Fix Schools” by Douglas N. Harris.  NY Times Editorials, November 25, 2016. 

4.  “Veterans return to Standing Rock, ‘not back off’ pipeline protests” by Nikki Wentling.  Stars and Stripes, February 8, 2017. 

5.  “Jeff Sessions says he handled these civil rights cases.  He barely touched them.”  Editorial by J. Gerald Hebert, Joseph D. Rich and William Yeomans.  Washington Post, January 3, 2017.  

6.  “Supreme Court Nominee Calls Trump’s Attacks on Judiciary ‘Demoralizing’” by Julie Hirschfield Davis.  NY Times, February 8, 2017. 

7.  “Fact-checking Trump’s rhetoric on crime and the ‘American Carnage’” by Michelle Ye Hee Lee.  Washington Post, January 30, 2107. 

JACK RANDOM IS THE AUTHOR OF THE JAZZMAN CHRONICLES, GHOST DANCE INSURRECTION, PAWNS TO PLAYERS: A MATCH FOR THE WHITE HOUSE, WASICHU: THE KILLING SPIRIT AND RANDOM JACK: TALES FROM JAZZTOWN (CROW DOG PRESS). 

FOURTEEN DAYS OF TRUMP

 THE TRUMP DIARIES:  Days 8-14

By Jack Random

In his first seven days Donald Trump signed thirteen executive orders, setting the tone for his presidency.  I begin to wonder if the president realizes that most of these executive orders are symbolic.  The emperor hands down his daily decree and his loyal servants inform the multitudes. 

This is the second installment of the Trump Diaries. 

DAY EIGHT:  THE BAN ON MUSLIMS

January 27, 2017

The president signs an executive action calling for a four-month freeze on admitting refugees from war torn nations – Syria, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Sudan and Somalia.  The ban on Syrian refugees is described as indefinite.  Once the freeze is lifted the administration will put in place “extreme vetting.”  No one knows what that is exactly since the current vetting process is extremely rigorous.  The order also cancels visas for individuals from the target countries.  Trump suggests he will adjust the ban to give priority to Christians and other religious minorities.  The administration denies that the ban is based on religion, a distinction that would clearly make it unconstitutional. 

No one is surprised at the bigotry of the ban but the ignorance of its administration is striking.  We have military and intelligence personnel on the ground in these nations whose lives may depend on the cooperation of locals.  We’ve made promises and now those promises will not be delivered.  Individuals with fully vetted visas from Iraq and Syria were denied entry into the United States.  Among the detained are an Iranian scientist, an interpreter who worked for the Americans in Iraq and a Syrian family cleared for relocation in Ohio.  Protestors have answered the call at New York’s JFK airport.  As the protest spreads, the president will have to amend his order or face consequences he could not have imagined. 

A second executive order calls for making the most powerful military machine on earth stronger, bigger and better with more ships, planes and weaponry.  The action is pointless because it requires the appropriations of congress. 

DAY NINE:  TELEPHONE DIPLOMACY

January 28, 2017

The president has telephone conversations with the leaders of Japan, Germany, France, Australia and Russia.  As leader of the only nation to ratify the Trans Pacific Partnership, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will want assurances on trade as well as security.  Candidate Trump called for Japan and NATO to pay significantly more for American military protection.  German Chancellor Angela Merkel will want to talk trade, refugees and relations with Russia.  Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, a signatory of the TPP, will remind the president of his nation’s loyalty to America’s militarism and ask for trade considerations.  French President Francois Hollande will have a short conversation about the logistics of taking back the Statue of Liberty.  He steps down in the spring. 

That of course leaves President/Emperor Vladimir Putin who may wish to take a bow for Trump’s surprise ascension to the American throne.  We can be sure that many ears are tuned to this exchange.  How long before the sanctions levied by Barack Obama and fortified by congress are lifted under the pretense of a new era of cooperation?  What role if any will America play in Syria?  Will Trump sign off on Crimea and Ukraine?  It all depends on what Putin has in his little black book.  Place your bets. 

I’m betting he has something.  With Trump, a man of uncertain character and documented sexual proclivities, we cannot rule out an embarrassing sex tape but it might as well be a crooked business deal or an unsavory foreign debt.  I’m betting the Central Intelligence Agency knows exactly what it is.

In an effort to gain entry in the Guinness Book of World Records, the president signs three more executive orders:  One orders a restructuring of the National Security Council, the second bans lobbying by administration members until five years after their service and the third is a request for a plan to defeat the Islamic State.  

DAY TEN:  MUSLIM BAN BLOWBACK

January 29, 2017

Protestors answer the call by the hundreds and thousands as story after story of detained women, children and university students are chronicled in the local and national media.  Attorneys win early appeals to stay the deportation of detainees but not necessarily to win their release.  Mass confusion reigns as the agencies involved do not know what to do with green card holders and do not know what to advise individuals from the target nations trying to return to America.  Iran announces reciprocal measures.  The Iraqi parliament discusses banning American contractors.  Canadian PM Justin Trudeau offers to receive the refugees America refuses. 

Was this the law of unintended consequences and the product of an ill-conceived policy or did Trump expect his Muslim ban to trigger a wave of protests at airports across the nation, multiple challenges in court and widespread international backlash?  Is he a master of chaos or a president unprepared for the job? 

It seems the Trump administration made some attempt to disguise the ban as something other than religion-based.  Whether it will survive legal challenges is an open question but it will not survive the international court of public opinion.  At this juncture not even Britain’s Theresa May is defending his policy. 

DAY ELEVEN:  MUSLIM BAN BACKTRACK

January 30, 2017

As the blowback spreads and the resistance rises across the globe, the White House backtracks on the inclusion of green card holders – i.e., legal residents but not citizens of the United States – in what the administration continues to insist is not a Muslim ban. 

The Iraqi parliament now recommends a reciprocal ban on Americans – a ban that might pose problems for oil executives and special operations forces involved in the fight against the Islamic State. [1]  Chancelor Angela Merkel reminds Trump that his action violates the Geneva Convention on accepting refugees. [2]

Former president Barrack Obama breaks with tradition by siding with protestors on the ban, issuing a statement through a spokesman that he is “heartened” by the engagement of citizens around the country. 

Trump signs an executive order directing federal agencies to cut two regulations for every one added.  How the president came up with a two-for-one ratio is not explained.  If it’s good for Subway, it’s good for government.  The first target of the anti-regulation campaign will be environmental protection.  The second will be Wall Street. 

Finally, press secretary Sean Spicer insists with inexplicable passion that the president’s restructuring of the National Security Council is nothing to fret about.  The order is a clear promotion of alternative rightwing media mastermind Steve Bannon to prominence in the Trump administration and that is something to fret about. 

DAY TWELVE:  SUPREME COURT NOMINEE

January 31, 2017

The president announces his nominee to replace Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court.  Federal appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch is cut from the same cloth as Chief Justice John Roberts and fellow George W. Bush appointee Samuel Alito.  He is above all a corporate loyalist, believing that corporations deserve all of the rights and privileges of citizenship.  His rulings point to a religious bent in jurisprudence, holding that corporations as individuals are not obliged to follow laws that offend their religious beliefs. 

The court will not change substantially when the Senate ultimately approves this nominee or someone just like him.  It will almost certainly change with the next opening on the court.  Liberal lion Ruth Bader Ginsberg is approaching 84 years of age.  Liberal ally Stephen Breyer is 78 and traditional swing vote Anthony Kennedy is 80.  It is not realistic to expect all three to serve another four years.  When the new court is seated the majority will take dead aim at women’s rights, labor rights, voting rights, civil rights, civil liberties and the environment. 

The Supreme Court is the greatest single danger the Trump administration poses to civilization on the planet earth.  If the party of opposition can muster any courage at all, they should fight every Trump nominee for the high court until he is no longer in office.  They should fight him on the grounds that his presidency is illegitimate.  There is too much at stake to fall back on politics as usual.  Force them to kill the filibuster and good riddance!  Unfortunately, if history teaches us anything at all it is not to expect courage from the Democratic Party. 

DAY THIRTEEN:  THE NUCLEAR OPTION

February 1, 2017

President Trump encourages Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to invoke the so-called “nuclear option” if needed to secure confirmation of his Supreme Court nominee.  The move could lead to the end of the senate filibuster.  The distinctly anti-democratic rule was used to block legislation and presidential appointees during the Obama administration until the Democrats voted in 2013 to lift the 60-vote super majority requirement on judicial and cabinet member appointments with the Supreme Court exempted.  Who can doubt that this president will demand an end to the filibuster for legislation as well if it stands in his way? [3]

Threatening the “nuclear option” is designed to send waves of terror through the regal halls of the US Senate.  It would reduce the elitist status of that body to a semi-democratic institution.  Traditional members of the senate have long considered themselves an American version of the House of Lords.  It’s time to come down from the tower and breathe the people’s air.  Let the filibuster die.  It has long outlived its usefulness. 

National Security Advisor Michael Flynn officially places Iran “on notice” after a ballistic missile test.  Former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson is confirmed as Secretary of State by a 56-43 vote, overcoming concerns regarding his cozy business relationship with Russia. 

It could be worse.  The president could have threatened the nuclear option with Iran and put the Senate Democrats on notice.  Given reports of his phone conversations with the president of Mexico and the prime minister of Australia, anything is possible. [4]

DAY FOURTEEN:  WHITE HOUSE ON NOTICE

February 2, 2017

The press puts the White House on notice that it will not get a pass on “easing sanctions” on Russia.  The sanctions were put in place by the Obama administration in retaliation for interference in the presidential election for the purpose of electing Donald J. Trump. [5]

The Treasury Department issued a statement that it would allow limited transactions between American companies and the Federal Security Service (FSB).  The successor to the KGB is one of two Russian intelligence agencies accused of cyber attacks to disrupt and influence the election.  White House press secretary Sean Spicer defended the action as only a technical fix. 

The president remains stunningly silent on the explosion of violence in Ukraine – the fifth day of escalating conflict.  Russia’s Putin blames the Ukrainian government.  Senator John McCain calls on Trump to stand up against Russian aggression. 

The U.S. Central Command is conducting a review of Sunday’s raid on a suspected terrorist collaborator’s home in the mountains of Yemen.  The first authorized military operation by President Trump resulted in the killing of Navy Seal William “Ryan” Owens, fourteen “militants” and an estimated 16-30 civilians, including ten women and children.  According to Reuters News Agency, military officials reported that Trump approved the operation “without sufficient intelligence, ground support or adequate backup preparations.” [6, 7]

Does anyone remember Benghazi? 

At the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump vows to repeal the Johnson Amendment – an IRS rule prohibiting the endorsement of political candidates from the pulpit. 

After fourteen days of Trump I am reminded of biblical prophecies of doom:  Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that ye not be troubled for all these things must come to pass but the end is not yet.  Matthew 24:6. 

Given the alt-right’s prominence in the Trump administration, I wonder if this is exactly what they had in mind. 

But the end is not yet and we’re still here. 

Jazz. 

1.  “Iraq’s parliament has voted to ‘retaliate’ against Donald Trump’s ‘Muslim ban’” by Bethan McKernan.  Independent, January 30, 2017. 

2.  “Merkel reminds Trump of Geneva Convention’s refugee policy” by Mallory Shelbourne.  The Hill, January 29, 2017. 

3.  “GOP going nuclear over Gorsuch might destroy filibuster forever” by Richard A. Arenberg.  The Hill, February 1, 2017. 

4.  “Report:  Trump lashes out at Australian PM on phone call” by Max Greenwood.  The Hill, February 1, 2017. 

5.  “U.S. eases sanctions on Russian intelligence agency” by Joel Schectman and Dustin Volz.  Reuters, February 2, 2017. 

6.  “U.S. military probing more possible civilian deaths in Yemen raid” by Ayesha Rascoe.  Reuters, February 2, 2017. 

7.  “Raid in Yemen:  Risky From the Start and Costly in the End” by Eric Schmitt and David E. Sanger.  New York Times, February 1, 2017. 

JACK RANDOM IS THE AUTHOR OF THE JAZZMAN CHRONICLES, D’ARC UNDERGROUND & OTHER PLAYS, NUMBER NINE: THE ADVENTURES OF JAKE JONES & RUBY DAULTON AND PAWNS TO PLAYERS: A MATCH FOR THE WHITE HOUSE. 

SEVEN DAYS OF TRUMP

  
THE TRUMP DIARIES:  THE FIRST SEVEN DAYS

By Jack Random

After eight years of chronicling the wars and disastrous policies of George W. Bush and eight more years tracking the ups and downs of Barack Obama, I am less than enthused about the four-year lament that lies before us.  Nevertheless, I have begun a daily ritual of recording the notable events of the Trump administration.  From the beginning I freely confess I am not a Trump supporter and my observations are anything but objective.  I stand with the opposition.  I stand with Standing Rock.  I stand with the Women’s March on Washington and the millions who marched across America and Europe to pledge their resistance. 

Though I hope against hope he does more good than harm, I believe we are observing an unfolding catastrophe of historic proportions.  I considered the son of Bush the worst president in modern history.  Next to Trump, Bush almost seems presidential. 

Here then is the first installment of the Trump Diaries. 

DAY ONE:  THE INAUGURATION

Friday, January 20, 2017

Chief Justice John Roberts administers the oath of office to the newly anointed president: Donald J. Trump.  Trump delivers a truncated inaugural address painting a portrait of an American nightmare.  He waves the flag of patriotism and pledges to place America first.  His real message:  There will be no unification.  There will be no softening.  He will stick to the hard line that got him to the White House. 

The crowd at the National Mall is small relative to expectations and past inaugurations, lending hope that the passion of his loyal followers, the passion that led them to one of the greatest political upsets in modern history, the loyalty of the throng is at last abating.  Maybe even they are awakening to the reality that they were played and that Vladimir Putin was the master that played them. 

DAY TWO:  THE RESISTANCE

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Reminiscent of the mass protests on the eve of the Iraq War, millions gather on the streets of protest led by the Women’s March in Washington D.C.  Michael Moore rightly pins the blame on the donkey, pleading for a new and younger Democratic Party – one that can address the pressing needs of working people.  The overriding question is:  Can this movement be sustained? 

After weeks of demeaning the intelligence community, the new president drops in at CIA headquarters in Langley to pledge his allegiance and complain that the media deliberately underestimated his inaugural gathering.  I suspect this event was staged.  If it wasn’t then the agency is staffed by individuals who will not hesitate to applaud the miscellaneous ramblings of an egomaniac if he carries the weight of commander-in-chief.  Could it be our leading intelligence analysts cannot decipher when they are being patronized? 

DAY THREE:  ALTERNATIVE FACTS

Sunday, January 22, 2017

Counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway defends White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s bizarre claim that the president attracted “the largest audience ever to witness an inauguration” by stating that Spicer accessed “alternative facts.” 

As a writer I believe in the precise use of words.  The media as well as our nation’s leading politicians have leveled the accusation of “lying” so frequently that it begins to lose impact.  To lie is to deliberately misstate the facts.  Did Spicer deliberately substitute fake facts for real facts or is he living in an alternative reality?  Since the same question applies to Spicer’s boss:  Which is more frightening? 

In a meeting with high-level administrative personnel at the White House, Trump makes a point of singling out and shaking hands with the one individual who, more than any other – more than Kellyanne Conway or Steve Bannon or Vladimir Putin – was responsible for making him president:  FBI Director James Comey. 

DAY FOUR:  FREE AND FAIR TRADE

Monday, January 23, 2017

In the first full work day of his administration, Trump withdraws from the Trans Pacific Partnership.  Spokesman Sean Spicer makes it clear that the president supports bilateral “free and fair trade.”  Not one of the press corps bothers to point out that “free” and “fair” trade are polar opposites.  It is the first oxymoronic, Orwellian phrase of the Trump administration.  We can be sure many will follow. 

The withdrawal from the TPP is of course only symbolic since the trade pact was never enacted.  Of the twelve member nations, only Japan had ratified the agreement.  NAFTA, CAFTA and membership in the WTO are on hold for now.  If Trump is serious about withdrawing from these free trade deals, he could post notice today and the withdrawal would take effect six months from now [1].  If he’s not serious then he has perpetrated one of the greatest electoral frauds in political history.  Stay tuned. 

DAY FIVE:  OIL TRUMPS CLIMATE CHANGE

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Two days after forty-one tornadoes rip a path of destruction like Sherman’s march across the South, the forty-fifth president signs executive orders clearing the way for Canadian oil to be pumped to the Gulf of Mexico.  In supporting the Dakota and Keystone oil pipelines he declares his contempt for climate change science, renewable energy and the sacred lands of native peoples. 

If you stand with the Standing Rock Lakota you cannot stand with this president; if you believe in science, you cannot believe in this administration; and if you are sworn to protect mother earth you must oppose these policies. 

The president repeats his claim that millions voted illegally in the November election and all voted for his opponent, moving seamlessly from alternative facts to alternative reality. 

DAY SIX:  BRICK IN THE WALL

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

The president signs an executive order directing the Department of Homeland Security to begin building an impenetrable barrier on our southern border.  Trump is only beginning to understand the limitations and complications involved in erecting The Wall.  There are currently about 650 miles of fencing on a border of roughly 2,000 miles.  Trump has repeatedly said he wants a Wall – a beautiful, awesome, Major League Wall – but he has occasionally said he would settle for fencing in “certain areas.” There are limited funds for extending fencing but nowhere near the estimated $15-40 billion required for the full Monty. [2] 

There are laws governing construction along the border, including a 1970 treaty with Mexico that among other things bans barriers that obstruct the flow of rivers.  There is also the stubborn fact that much of the borderland is owned by private individuals, many of whom do not want Trump’s wall on their property.  He continues to insist that Mexico will pay for it “one hundred percent” though Mexico’s leaders vehemently deny it and no one but Trump really believes it.  Finally, there is the question of who will build The Wall if not migrant workers from Mexico.  If it falls to the Army Corps of Engineers let us hope they do a better job than they did on New Orleans’ levees.

Trump the candidate made The Wall the centerpiece of his campaign.  It seems Trump the president is determined to keep it front and center.  Here’s my prediction:  If he manages to waste billions constructing a Major League Wall, a future president will be elected on the pledge to tear it down. 

As for Trump’s pledge to rid the nation of dangerous criminals among the illegal immigrant population, it is hard to distinguish his policy from his predecessor’s.  The new president will, however, make good on his promise to cut off federal funds to Sanctuary Cities.  None of them voted for Trump.  

DAY SEVEN:  TRADE WAR & VOTER FRAUD

Thursday, January 26, 2017

On the seventh day the president doubles down on the myth of mass voter fraud and the coming trade war with Mexico. 

While no one in either party or the media backed up his claim of a conspiracy to deprive him of the popular vote, Trump repeats his call for a federal investigation.  Some critics believe his accusation foreshadows a wave of voter suppression laws.  That wave has already swept the nation though the courts have struck down the most egregious laws on grounds of racial discrimination.  The new Justice Department will not bring such cases before the court so there are certainly grounds for concern.  My concern is that the president is delusional and actually believes that three million Mexican immigrants voted illegally just to deprive him of the popular vote. [3] Why George Soros and Warren Buffet didn’t send them to Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Florida is beyond reckoning.  We sure didn’t need them in California. 

A formal investigation would reveal that the conspiracy is a myth invented by the rightwing propaganda machine and thus undermine the voter suppression laws the Republicans are still determined to pass. 

Meantime, President Enrique Pena Nieto announces his cancellation of the planned meeting with our new president.  Trump counters that the cancellation was a mutual decision and later floats the idea of a twenty percent tariff on imported goods from Mexico.  This is not what we had in mind for trade policy.  We do not wish to punish our neighbor for refusing to pay for a wall it does not want.  We want a trade policy that stands up for the workers of both nations.  Mexican workers deserve a living wage, decent working conditions and union representation just as ours do. 

We now know what Trump has in mind:  He will use tariffs to punish nations who do not bow to his will.  This is hardly Fair Trade.  It is Trump Trade and I don’t see many nations lining up to be Trumped.  It was interesting watching British Prime Minister Theresa May stand before the same Republican audience in Philadelphia that Trump previously addressed.  She delivered a strong defense of Free Trade, the International Monetary Fund and NATO: the polar opposites of what Trump has advocated. 

I have to give him credit:  His first seven days have been interesting, eventful and we’re still alive.  While he has not yet been tested by an international crisis or a national disaster, he has demonstrated his intention to hold true on his campaign promises.  As so often is the case, the devil is in the details. 

Jazz. 

1.  “Termination or Modification of US Trade Agreements.”  White & Case LLP, January 13, 2017. 

2.  “Donald Trump is Moving Forward with his Wall.  Is it Really Going to Happen?” by Danielle Kurtzleben.  NPR Politics, January 25, 2017. 

3.  “He Claimed There Were Three Million ‘Illegal Voters.’ Now He Says He May Name Them.” by Ben Collins and Olivia Nuzzi.  The Daily Beast, January 24, 2017. 

JACK RANDOM IS THE AUTHOR OF THE JAZZMAN CHRONICLES, HARD TIMES: THE WRATH OF AN ANGRY GOD, APACHE JACK: NATIVE VISIONS & STORIES AND RANDOM JACK: TALES FROM JAZZTOWN (CROW DOG PRESS). 

JAKE'S WORD: The Accidental President

As always. Right on the mark.

While Democrats and some Republicans rant and rage and cannot seem to come to terms with reality (nothing new there), the rest of the U.S. has accepted the outcome of the election and tries to find some reason to be optimistic.

We tell ourselves that he has thrown the stagnant and unresponsive political establishment into disarray. Can this be a bad thing?

We hope that Trump’s narcissism will at least occasionally intersect with the interests of the American people.

But it is indeed a crapshoot. We will see. But we will have to see it, if we are to see it clearly, outside the domain of the media establishment that created this monstrosity.

The facts will be there plain enough - in the policies, in the executive actions, in the appointments.

Perhaps the two parties will reconstruct themselves into actual representatives of the the people and sponsor candidates for the presidency in four years that are both qualified and connected to our concerns.

Considering the abject blindness that has given us the accidental president, all of this may be wishful thinking.

Very soon we shall see where this strange and impulsive experiment leads.

Thank you for your words, your wisdom and your concern. You are a true citizen.


RANDOM'S RESPONSE:

I thank you for your analysis. It appears neither of us have a great deal of confidence in the coming presidency. They say god works in mysterious ways; maybe random fluctuations in the political sphere will in the end produce some benefit to humankind. We can never know. I suspect the president-elect won't last too long. The game is afoot and the stench of betrayal surrounds this pretender. My hypothesis is the Russians had the goods on FBI Director Comey. My hope is it all comes to light. I suspect that Putin was the player in this drama and Trump was merely a piece on the board -- albeit a King....

DARK DAY DEMOCRACY: THE ACCIDENTAL PRESIDENT

JAZZMAN CHRONICLES: DISSEMINATE FREELY.

By Jack Random


The rage has subsided, the streets of protest have calmed and the process of accepting a cataclysmic event is well under way. Donald J. Trump will become our next president. We must now accept that the impossible – or what we considered impossible – has happened. An arrogant, bombastic overlord of the business world, wearing the mask of a populist, has stumbled into the White House and will awaken on January 21st the most powerful man on earth.

No one can read the mind of a megalomaniac but I suspect the Donald never actually intended to become president. He wanted to boost his brand and quite possibly launch a cable television network that would rival Fox News [1]. His is an accidental presidency and he now faces a critical choice: He can either be president, a responsibility only he believes he is qualified to undertake, or he can delegate the presidency as his Republican predecessor George W. Bush did. Given the makeup of his cabinet-in-waiting I don’t know which is more daunting.

We who oppose this president also face a choice: We can assume the role of resistance, opposing everything this man says and tweets in his midnight ravings, or we can wait and see what he actually does.

I fully understand the instinct to blanket resistance. I opposed Trump the candidate as much for who he is as for what he proposed. I opposed a candidate who played the white supremacy card to sweep the South in the Republican primaries. To those who say it was only politics I would argue that a candidate cannot play the racist card without harboring racist views. Even his fondness for Russian Czar-President Vladimir Putin may have been calculated to appeal to the white supremacist community [2].

I opposed a candidate who never failed to paint whole communities, races and religions, with the broad brush of bigoted stereotypes. I opposed a candidate who held facts in contempt and disseminated fake news like it was manna from the gods instead of false propaganda from rightwing media and Russian sponsored web trolls. I opposed a candidate who was caught on tape admitting to serial sexual abuse of women.

Because he so frequently discarded facts and promoted mythology, I did not believe him even when his policies seemed in harmony with my own – most prominently, trade policy.

When all is said and done, I was stunned, enraged and ultimately impressed. The team of Donald J. Trump ran a perfect, Machiavellian insurgency campaign. They parlayed a thirty percent base into a forty-six percent block that swept through the rust belt with a promise of resurgent industrial jobs. They masterfully exploited the anti-democratic flaws of the Electoral College. They took a billionaire elitist and portrayed him as a champion of the working class.

Of course, none of that would have been sufficient without a tone-deaf Democrat who gathered her sense of the people’s mood from pollsters at a Starbuck’s on Fifth Avenue. Hillary Clinton didn’t believe that people were dissatisfied with a healthcare law that failed to fulfill its fundamental purpose: making healthcare affordable. She didn’t bother with a rust belt sweep in the closing weeks because (1) she didn’t believe it was necessary and (2) she couldn’t bring herself to repeat the lie of her opposition to Free Trade – a lie that Bernie Sanders forced her to speak.

Trump stumbled into the presidency on waves of deep discontent and a convergence of circumstance that tipped the election on its head in the waning days of a long and torturous campaign.

If FBI Director James Comey had not issued his eleventh hour reopening of the email investigation, the media firestorm over Trump’s long history of groping and degrading women would have continued unabated. If Hillary Clinton had countered Trump’s march through the rust belt with her own promise of Fair Trade instead of sticking with identity politics, she would have carried the day. If the media had fixated on conflict-of-interest and Russia’s clear attempt to influence our election as they did on the email scandal, we would not be facing the prospects of a Trump presidency.

We are where we are for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which is the wholesale failure of the two-party system to address the fundamental needs of its citizens.

We are stuck with an accidental president who will improvise through the next four years. His God is and always has been the profit motive. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. He has no ideology to guide him and no principles to constrain him. His policies are late-night sketches on a napkin. Instead, he has his loyal advisors, each of whom has his own agenda and can’t wait for a chance to influence the new chief executive.

The first hint of the accidental nature of his leadership came in the form of an impromptu trip to Indiana where the president-elect negotiated to keep an American industry from exporting jobs. So said the Donald: “I said Carrier will never leave but that was a euphemism. I was talking about Carrier like all the other companies from here on in, because they made the decision."

For the record, a euphemism is a polite term for something unpleasant – like downsizing for mass layoffs or Free Trade for labor exploitation. Maybe the new leader of the free world meant aphorism. Who knows? Whatever he meant, he probably did not mean that he would repeal the nation’s Free Trade policy and replace it with Fair Trade. For the record and for the next president’s enlightenment, Fair Trade requires that our preferred trading partners respect and protect the rights of labor so that our own workers can compete on a level playing field.

Remember: The next president promised the workers of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin that he would bring back jobs. If he thinks negotiating with every business that proposes opening a plant in Mexico will fill the gap, he is badly mistaken and must be called to task. If he leads the repeal of NAFTA, CAFTA and other Free Trade deals and insists on bringing labor to the table, however unlikely, we must support his efforts. Pending further developments, Mr. Trump deserves some credit for being the first Republican presidential candidate to oppose the bipartisan trade policies that have prevailed since the Clinton administration.

On healthcare, the accidental president has painted himself into a corner before taking the oath of office. He wants to keep the popular components of the ACA (Affordable Care Act) while cutting out the unpopular components (insurance mandate). He hopes to pay for it by opening up interstate competition. Wouldn’t it be strange if that approach actually worked – or even if it works better than the ACA? He is walking a tightrope. Cutting twenty million people from the insurance rolls is untenable. Allowing the insurance companies to keep jacking up the rates is unacceptable. Welcome to the White House, Mr. Trump!

On foreign policy, Mr. Trump promised to be unpredictable and seems destined to fulfill at least that promise. So far he has threatened a preemptive strike on North Korea to prevent deployment of a long-range missile, demanded compensation of some sort from China for our trade imbalance, delivered a promise of unconditional support to the Israeli rightwing for expanding the settlements in violation of international law and proclaimed a new world order headed by Emperor Putin and King Trump.

The president-elect has issued a challenge to the American intelligence community, citing WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange and the bogus weapons of mass destruction claim that laid the groundwork for the Iraq war. It would carry more weight if he appeared motivated to uncover the truth. Instead, he looks like a man who wants to legitimize his election while affirming his affinity for all things Russian.

To these eyes, Julian Assange is no less credible than Director of Central Intelligence John Brennan. The CIA did in fact tailor their findings, without regard for objective data analysis, to the political demands of the Bush administration. While Brennan was not in charge at the time, he was in charge when the CIA hacked the computers of the Senate Intelligence Committee in a blatant attempt to alter their findings on torture during the Bush years [3].

Of course, none of this counts until the next president takes the oath and pledges to uphold the laws of the land. We can only hope that he delivers on some campaign promises (repeal NAFTA, CAFTA, block the TPP, rebuild the nation’s crumbling infrastructure and refrain from unnecessary wars) and fails to deliver on others (withdraw from the Iranian nuclear disarmament agreement and the Paris climate change accord, build the wall, bring back the coal industry and deregulate Wall Street).

The one certainty is that we have never had a president like Donald Trump. We know that he has an ego as large the known universe, he loves the camera and he is not bound by what he says on a day-to-day basis. He can love you one day and fire you the next. He can be your best friend and your worst nightmare.

Who knows? Maybe he’ll wake up tomorrow and become the president we want him to be. It’s a crapshoot. They tell me it makes for compelling television (I like a good script myself). It’s like watching a high-speed train trying to stop on a short track. You fear the worst, hope for the best and you can’t take your eyes off it.

Jazz.


1. “Is Donald Trump’s Endgame the Launch of Trump News?” by Sarah Ellison. Vanity Fair, June 16, 2016.

2. “Extremists Turn to a Leader to Protect Western Values” by Alan Feuer and Andrew Higgins. NY Times, December 3, 2016.

3. “The Google Search that Made the CIA Spy on the US Senate” by Jason Leopold. Vice News, August 12, 2015.


JACK RANDOM IS THE AUTHOR OF NOVELS, PLAYS AND POLITICAL ESSAYS, INCLUDING THE JAZZMAN CHRONICLES, VOLUMES I-X, AND WASICHU: THE KILLING SPIRIT. HIS WORKS ARE AVAILABLE AT AMAZON.

ELECTION POSTMORTEM DIALOGUE

JACK RANDOM, JAKE BERRY, CHRIS MANSEL & JIM WIZ.

On Nov 9, 2016, at 2:15 AM, Jack wrote:

Jake:

Well, my friend, it seems we are all living in Alabama now. I look forward to seeing your take on this event.

It's late & I've had a bit to drink.

Peace & Good Morning in the new America!

Jack,

Good to hear from you on this darkest of November evenings. Like everyone else I believed the polls. They are just another example of how the media created this problem then failed to address it as anything more than spectacle. People responded to the spectacle, now we all have to deal with the reality of Donald Trump as President.

I want to hope that the bigoted rhetoric of the campaign was only to bring people into the system. I want to hope that he really does rebuild the infrastructure and put millions of Americans to work at decent wages doing it. I want to hope, but I see no reason to do so.

As someone who has lived in a state largely run by people like hose who so passionately supported Trump, I want to assure you that you can survive, even thrive, in an adversarial environment. Arlo Guthrie once said that if we lived in a perfect world we wouldn’t have anything to write about. It appears we’re going to have a flood of resources from which to draw inspiration.

And hey, pot is legal in California!

It may be a new America, but we’re still part of it, and we will continue to exercise the full freedoms of our birthrights as Americans and our occupations as children of boundless imagination.

Take your rest my brother. Tomorrow, like every other day, we have work to do.

Jack:

I went to breakfast at my usual redneck diner at 6 am, everyone was glum, then to the grocery store and stood in line with half a dozen old farts buying lotto tickets, then to the auto parts store followed by the lumber store. It was not until I got back to my studio where the Uzbekistan woman working for me announced the news. Amazing. I guessed wrong and I have to admit my heart sank for a while and the embarrassment for our [electoral] system has risen to a level that should not exist.

Hope you are well.

J:

I encountered a similar response at the local Raley's. Not that I didn't know. I did. We all did. But no one wanted to acknowledge what had happened. We still don't. The people on the streets have broken the silence. I don't know what happens next but I have a sense it ain't good. As Jake says, at least we have food for the creative appetite. Peace be with you brother.
Jack:
It could be that this is the turning point, the kick that finally sends the moderates out? The last man on the skyscraper to jump finally realizes there is a way and he was wrong all the time. Maybe we can realize that the focus needs to be not on the single mindedness of the campaign and realize that what Bernie Sanders grassroots idea was the way to go or like Francis Crick said, "It is the molecule that has the glamour, not the scientists."
Chris
Jack,

Thank you for yet another thoughtful, reasonable response to the debacle in which we live - the American empire. I hope others will read what you have to say and take it into consideration. It is a valuable addition to a conversation that is unfortunately as polarized as the election itself.

Hilary Clinton is a very capable leader, a canny politician and would have brought a wealth of experience to the job. What she apparently could not bring was any new ideas. We were likely to have four more years like the last eight - mostly stalemate. Though Clinton’s version would have been even more acrimonious on both sides. Roughly half of those that chose to vote (which was roughly half of those that could have voted) decided they’d had enough of that particular show and thought they’d give the clown a chance. Unsurprisingly, three days after the election he’s still acting the clown.

It occurred to me today that since 1992 the Democratic candidate has received the most votes in every presidential election except one (2004). More Americans prefer a Democratic president. The problem is that most of them live in the population centers. Obviously people who live in and near cities and those that live in small towns and rural areas have a different idea of what civilization is and how it should be governed.

Now we are left to observe Trump choosing a cabinet. Since no choices have been announced yet I am hopeful that he will choose people that do not have strong loyalties to either political party establishment. If he governed as an independent and forced both parties to restructure according to something closer to a reflection of the actual populace we might at least see some change in the way the work gets done in D.C. If he draws from the usual gang of supply-siders and neo-conservatives no one will gain anything - including the people who voted for him.

As you say, we will survive. Yes. And so will America the empire, unfortunately.

Have you seen the new Adam Curtis documentary, HyperNormalisation? Like his other docs, worth watching: https://youtu.be/-fny99f8amM

See you round the edges,
Jake

MOURNING IN TRUMPLANDIA: ELECTION POSTMORTEM

By Jack Random


Everyone who thought they knew anything about politics in America awakened Wednesday morning in an unfamiliar land. Through the rigged system known as the Electoral College, we have elected president a man who promised to build a wall that – if ever built – a future president will promise to tear down. We have elected a man who cynically and skillfully capitalized on bigotry, racism, sexism and fear to navigate his way through the electoral process. We have elected a man who was caught on tape admitting to serial sexual abuse of women. We have elected a man who scorns facts and holds science in contempt. We have elected a man whose understanding of complex issues is reduced to bumper sticker slogans.

It happened. The Cubs won the World Series and Donald J. Trump was elected president of the United States of America. Those who supported him must be accountable for what happens next and those who opposed him must resist his regressive policies. But before we deal with the implications of a Trump presidency, we need to understand how it happened. What follows is my contribution to that conversation. In my estimation, the election of Trump required a perfect storm. These are the factors that made it possible in order of importance.

1. THE COMEY EFFECT.

On Friday, October 28, FBI Director James Comey issued his infamous letter to congress, implying that the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails had been reopened. To that point Clinton was comfortably ahead in the polls, the daily news drumbeat was all about the women Trump had groped, and the momentum was all on Clinton’s side. Trump was dead in the water. It hardly matters that on a Sunday, two days before the election, he recanted his story. The damage was done. The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation inserted himself into a presidential election, reversed the polarity of the race, and attempted to cleanse his hands of the mess. It was an egregious affront to the democratic process. Director Comey should step down.

2. OBAMACARE PREMIUMS.

At the end of October a government report revealed that health insurance premiums under Obamacare would rise by an average of 25% in the coming year. The report highlighted what most Americans already knew: That the Affordable Care Act has failed in its most fundamental intent. It failed to make health insurance affordable. The Obama-Clinton response that there are good things about Obamacare, that 20 million people who didn’t have any insurance now do, that insurance companies can no longer disqualify a person with pre-existing conditions, was tone deaf. For years liberal Democrats have lamented that so many people vote against their own financial interest. Well, this issue hit us where we live. We didn’t need a government report to know that the cost of health insurance is out of control. How many of those 20 million people who now have insurance actually want it? We certainly don’t want it at any price. Sure, insurance companies can’t turn you down for a pre-existing condition but what prevents them from jacking up the rates until you bleed? There are in fact many reasons why the Affordable Care Act failed but the most fundamental is this: It retained the health insurance industry. If health care is a right, then Medicare for all is the solution. Bernie Sanders knew this. At one time Hillary Clinton knew it as well. If she didn’t she should now: It cost her the election.

3. TRADE POLICY.

There was a time when Free Trade was the hallmark of Republican economic policy. Bill Clinton changed that equation with the North American Free Trade Act. That act was the beginning of the end of American industry. It marked the beginning of the end of the working middle class and strong union representation. With the Free Trade mandate the Democratic Party ceased to be the party of labor. The new Clinton Democrats needed a new foundation and they looked to Wall Street to supply it. Though he never seemed to understand the premise of Fair Trade, Bernie Sanders understood what NAFTA and CAFTA had done to the workers of America. He understood that the Trans Pacific Partnership represented more of the same and he managed to pull Hillary Clinton to his side of the issue. But once the nomination was secured all talk of trade policy disappeared from the Clinton campaign speech. She was never credible on trade policy. She clearly represented Wall Street. So when Donald Trump went to Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan with a promise to bring American industry back, the voters were ready to listen. At least someone was willing to talk about it and his name was not Clinton.

4. IDENTITY POLITICS.

It is typical of political parties that they take a winning strategy and work it to its death. The famed Obama coalition that won two close presidential elections was supposed to be good for several more cycles – at least until the Republicans found a way to appeal to minority voters. Barrack Obama, perhaps the best politician we are ever likely to see, could get away with Wall Street sponsorship and the compromised policies that went along with it because he was the first black candidate and he advocated progress on social issues. Hillary Clinton picked up the banner and ran with it. She felt certain she could sidestep her close relationship with the elites of Wall Street because she would be the first woman president and she too would advance social issues.

The Democrats went to the well one too many times and the well went dry. The Black Congressional Caucus lined up to support Clinton and effectively eliminated Bernie Sanders from the competition but they could not get the African American community to show up at the polls in the numbers required for victory. The Hispanic vote was supposed to make up the difference but it too fell short. This time we needed more than the first woman president and social issues. We needed policies that spoke to us where we live. We needed someone committed to Fair Trade and universal healthcare. We needed someone who had a viable plan to bring back the middle class. We needed someone who cared for us more than for the fat cats on Wall Street.

No, Hillary, we really didn’t care about your damned emails. We just wanted someone we could believe in. The electorate did not reject you because you’re a woman. They rejected you because they did not believe you stood with them.

5. A RIGGED SYSTEM.

This one is dripping with irony. As I write these words, Hillary Clinton is winning the popular vote for president of the United States. Al Gore won the popular vote in the pivotal year 2000. Had Gore become president instead of George W. Bush we would certainly have a different nation and worldview today. Maybe Gore would not have brushed aside that daily briefing warning that Osama bin Laden was planning an attack on US soil. Maybe it would have happened anyway. Whatever his response to that terrorist attack, it would almost certainly not have included starting a war in Iraq that predictably became a never-ending clash of civilizations.

How many times can we observe this result and still defend the antiquated Electoral College System? The system is rigged in innumerable ways. It offers endless barriers to third party and independent candidates. It requires vast amounts of money to stage a viable campaign. The media is biased – not in favor of parties or candidates but in favor of the corporate entities that own them. Voter suppression is an accepted political strategy when it should be a crime. Nevertheless, the most obvious and egregious betrayal of our representative democracy is the Electoral College. Had we gone about the business of ending it in 2000, we’d still be counting meaningful votes today.

We have had bad presidents before. Franklin Pierce conducted séances in the White House and based policy decisions on Tarot readings. His presidency paved the way for the Civil War. Andrew Johnson did all he could to undermine the emancipation and mitigate the twelfth amendment, sealing the racial divide that persists to this day. Andrew Jackson defied the Supreme Court and relocated the Cherokee nation in what is known as the Trail of Tears. Warren G. Harding gave us the Teapot Dome scandal and a legacy of corruption. Herbert Hoover’s response to an economic crisis gave us the Great Depression. Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace. George W. Bush delegated his presidency to his twisted vice president and left a legacy of global economic collapse and perpetual war in the Middle East.

We survived them all and we will survive Donald J. Trump as well.

Jazz.

JACK RANDOM IS THE AUTHOR OF THE JAZZMAN CHRONICLES, NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES. HIS PUBLISHED WORKS ARE AVAILABLE ON AMAZON. HE HAS POSTED COMMENTARIES ON COUNTERPUNCH, DISSIDENT VOICE AND NUMEROUS OTHER WEBSITES.

MIND OF MANSEL: THE PLAYWRIGHT

The Playwright

He wonders this morning as he often does if August Strindberg went for a walk in present day America would it inspire him to write a play. Just a day ago he wrote, “How can you trust your enemies when you don’t know yourself?” Often these thoughts were around him but as often than not he thought about Strindberg taking on a role in a world created by Beckett, wandering a wasteland. Maybe it was a wasteland.

In one version Strindberg had the body of a workman and carried a large toolbox with both hands over a mountain. As he walked he recounted the last days of his life in chronological order. “Two weeks before my death, I took it upon myself to arrange every photograph of myself by throwing them off a cliff into a raging sea. Let the beasts of the sea rest them on a shore somewhere and that is how a biographer will find me.”

In another he is paralyzed in a hovel in India. His eyes look about until they meet mine. This being a dream he looks into the camera. He speaks to me with his thoughts. The voice the dream creates is harsh and old. He flashes a set of teeth that is loosening as the dream goes on. I find myself shaking as he speaks. “In the Ganges you will find the words needed for escaping what brought you here. Wipe your hand over the surface like the froth of a warm drink and it will enable you to see through to the bottom. On the bottom is a set of sketches that when arranged describe every dark dream of infancy. If you can break this autobiographical transformation then any room you decide to sleep in thereafter will not close in, but burn.”

He goes for a walk and finds the weather is stormy but accepting. Strindberg would have said of course your death is accepting. He turns from the end of my street and into a wooden area he knows well. I think of the opening shot of Alexander Dovzhenko’s Earth as he looks out at a familiar landscape that has suddenly changed. Moving through the tall grass he sees a giant orchard ahead. He can smell the apples ahead of me. He begins to smile as he approaches them so close that he can almost touch them. His hands become arthritic and he is unable to pick one. He bends down and tries to take a bite but is unable. He looks down and there are thousands at his feet. All around him the tall grass is sprouting apples. He sees Strindberg himself wipe an apple on his sleeve and take a bite as he begins to bleed from his side.

Chris Mansel

ELECTION MIMICS NOVEL

CROW DOG PRESS
Turlock CA


PRESS RELEASE

July 24, 2016


DEBBY WASSERMAN SCHULTZ RESIGNS IN DISGRACE
CAMPAIGN MANIPULATIONS RESEMBLE NOVEL



Does art mimic life or does life mimic art? The recent manipulations of the Democratic and Republican political machines are a reminder that every election campaign is a chess match. Bishops, knights and pawns fall according to the dictates of the players behind the scenes.

Jack Random gives us a glimpse behind the curtains in his latest novel, Pawns to Players: A Match for the White House. It is a contest that mirrors the current presidential campaign in a multitude of ways. Pitting a former Secretary of State against an outspoken billionaire with no political experience, it follows the dirty deals, the spying, the lying and manipulation that are central to every campaign. Behind it all sits two elite masters at a chessboard.

Would you like a glimpse of how it really works? Would you like to know who really wins, who really loses, what’s really at stake and how the players go about their work? Read Jack Random’s Pawns to Players before election time.


PAWNS TO PLAYERS: A MATCH FOR THE WHITE HOUSE
A NOVEL BY JACK RANDOM
THE CHESS SERIES
328 PAGES; ISBN-10:
PUBLICATION DATE: MAY 2016

Using a complex system of shadows and operators, Solana Rothschild and William Bates translate a chess match to real-world events to determine who will become the next president: Secretary of State Shelby Duran or flamboyant New York billionaire Daniel J. Wynn.

Available at Amazon.com.

MAY DAY FROM MALTA

[Editor's Note: Too often in America we forget the origin and meaning of May Day. Today, as the dream of real change fades with the demise of the Sanders campaign, we would do well to remember International Labor Day.]

MAY DAY 2016

No Gods, No Masters

By Joseph Cachia

“There is really only one 'non-negotiable' demand. And that is; 'power to the working class'.

Each year, as we join millions across the world to celebrate the victories of workers, our own Freedom Day remains still fresh in our minds.

On May Day, we remember that the workers' flag is not red simply by accident or for artistic reasons. As the traditional Labour song goes, “Our life's blood has dyed its every fold”. Not all those who wave the red flag or claim to speak for the working class actually do so while entertaining that feeling.

Of course, the workers have made some gains in this century of struggle.

We live in a globally integrated capitalist society in its highest stage of imperialism, fueling perpetual militarism and warfare. Consequently, we should be aware of the hijacking of our Socialist persuasions by the opportunistic deviation of the 'pseudo-left' factions, whose tendencies do not even deserve the term 'centrist', as these are simply unattested 'anti-Socialist' parties or groups. The 'pseudo-left' denotes political parties, organisations and theoretical blocs which utilise populist slogans and democratic phrases to promote the socioeconomic interests of privileged and affluent strata of the middle class. In other words, the "left" lap dogs of the capitalists. Not unlike the Greek Syriza Party, our Maltese ex-Malta Labour Party has been hijacked and all Socialist principles jettisoned. It is understood to have been converted into a 'pseudo-left' entity under the presumed caption 'Progressive & Liberal Movement'. How would our dear ex-PM Dom Mintoff be turning in his grave!

And is it really the trade unions who shape the future of work? Both the trade unions and the Labour Party have failed the workers miserably! Instead of giving concrete support and calling upon workers to take action, they did absolutely nothing. Our trade unions have become mouthpieces of partisan politics besides the morality crisis reigning in our Maltese politics.

However, the greatest setback for our workers arrived when Malta was tricked into joining the European Union. The European Union does not represent the unity of the European peoples, but rather the dictatorship of the most powerful economic and financial interests over Europe. In reality, the EU is the main instrument for inciting social divisions, fostering national antagonisms and developing authoritarian forms of rule. Since the financial crash of 2008, Brussels has imposed brutal austerity measures, besides enforcing privatisation decrees on Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and other countries, including Malta. It has condemned millions to unemployment and poverty; destroyed education, health and old-age benefits; and left the young generation without a prospect for their future. We must reject all that EU hypocritical fancy talk which finally is translated in to “I dictate”.

The achievement of our rights as citizens and our rights as workers should indeed be celebrated together. Our history has made them inseparable, as well as our destiny. Together we are stronger!

But today, the working class in its millions is not yet in a revolutionary situation. In fact today, it is the capitalists who are on the offensive and the working class that is in the position of the strategic defensive. In striving for our goals we must dispel the idea that change can come from government alone, while our people wait passively for delivery.

“Arise, ye prisoners of starvation.” May Day is the day of the working class, the class that has borne untold sufferings and has nothing, just nothing to lose but its chains.

“When the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century brought a rapid increase in wealth, the demand of workers for a fair share of the wealth they were creating was conceded only after riots and strikes.”

John Boyd

MALTA SOCIALIST PARTY
April 2016
FIGHTING FOR SOMETHING FAR GREATER THAN OUR SELF-INTEREST
Email: mailto:jmcachia@maltanet.netjmcachia@maltanet.net