President Elect Trump Fires Himself To Hit The Ground Running

Watching Mr. Trumps news conference this morning I came away with alot of ambivalence, if while being somewhat reassured at the same time. Here are some thoughts.

A SERIOUS WARNING
In my opinion, the entire “fake news” story is fake unto itself. I don’t know anyone who puts any faith in the rinky dink outfits that publish tabloid journalism in the first place. Unfortunately, I come to the conclusion that Trump’s begging the question of Hillary’s 30,000 emails provided the incitement for the subsequent hacking by the Russians in the first place. In short, a conspiracy to provide mainstream media with the ammunition it needs to propagate a monopoly of sorts on social media, which has already begun in earnest on fb. To the extent that the Russian’s engage in propaganda, deal with it in context. To the extent that American media lacks veracity, there are protocols for dealing with that too. “Fake News” is more often than not, satire, or metaphoric, and usually makes a valid journalistic point – no matter how ridiculous or juvenile it may seem – it is not a national security issue.

The ramifications of the president elect, with the insinuations coming just short of taking charge of the media, are threatening and real. Mr. Trump is already walking a very thin line, at least in his bombastic rhetoric, that is seemingly on the verge of a literal coup. Grandiose dictators have takin authority and murdered millions of conscientious objectors throughout history, and while the joking undertow has always been that Barack Obama would declare his own third term by force, it is in fact Mr. Trump who very definitely fits the pattern and profile of what is really more the norm throughout history than the exception. The lesser notion that social media monopoly first be achieved by corporate media outlets is already underway, and the step by step process transitioning to a Chinese style system of Internet censorship, has already been demonstrated as plausible.

THE SEDUCTION
On the other hand, Mr. Trump’s prolific use of Twitter has made it virtually impossible for that organization to continue it’s attempted censorship’s in an aggressive form. Although I am not aware as to the current status of the previously discontinued accounts. Neither Twitter or fb are legitimate membership clubs, and both are too large to engage in enforcement of their views of politically correct. In my estimation, doing so on what amounts to a public utility would be unconstitutional censorship. In the extreme case, like deliberate Russian propaganda, if there are overt threats, let them take action. If Mr. Trump is “owning it” so he may alone draw the line and then surrender it – it simply isn’t his decision. The social media companies should remain what they are, platforms. Which begs a final comment in this light. NO school system has any jurisdiction what-so-ever over the content a student, no matter the age, places on social media. Their jurisdiction is only in what behavior a student is engaging in when officially in their custody. NEA indoctrinations are obviously a part of the great American divide, and must be stopped.

A BUSINESSMAN FOR PRESIDENT
I will give the president-elect some credit, and wonder why this point hasn’t been more plainly stated. The fact is, if the President were subject to the same conflict of interest rules as government employees, no successful businessman would ever run for president. It seems to be another door, or seduction as the case may or may not yet turn out to be, that Mr. Trump is holding open for the betterment of constitutional jurisprudence. The method of his divestment’s I find to be reasonable, appropriate and laudable – and not even required. However, while also not required, the excuses for not releasing his tax returns have been refuted and are ridiculous and thin. To truly act in good faith, exposing his business interests to the American people would be the right thing to do.

GONNA HIT THE GROUND RUNNING
The President-elect has got less than two weeks before taking office, and on all things he’s doing I’m already taking a wait and see attitude. His bombastic rhetoric is just short of delusional, unless in the context of “negotiating” the election. Dude, you already won, the campaign is over. He claims, along with other congressional leadership that Obama-care will be “repealed and replaced” within weeks after that. The idea is to his credit because it recognizes the better path of universal healthcare, especially given it’s inevitability due to shifting demographics if nothing else, once he leaves office.

Assuming our smart guys have been doing their homework, the initial implementation of a new program is doable if problematic. He even seems to make overtures in an affirmation of the recent USAT editorial endorsing the incremental expansion of medicare by systematically lowering age brackets. That approach, however, would likely require a total federal takeover of medicare to include consistent coverage in all states – a monumental expense unto itself before any downward age expansion. This is the correct approach, however, if there is to be universal coverage. How Trump gets past the delusional expectation of bigger, better, faster and more, for less money, is yet to be seen.

STAGING A SUPREME BLUNDER?
I also note that at one point he intoned that his tenure will be “eight years,” while his “hit the ground running” approach seems to acknowledge he may only have two years of efficacy prior to the midterm elections. If Mr. Trump would like a second term, he likely does still have time to moderate his bombastic tone enough, through rhetoric and action, to give him that opportunity. The healthcare prognosis is the right action, the threats against media are the wrong rhetoric.

Mr. Trump also put on his sneakers today in regard to the appointment of a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, saying that a new nominee would be forthcoming in a matter of a few short weeks. That’s good for the business of the court, which needs to continue with a full deck. However, there is still the likelihood that some of the other liberal old geezers will try to opt out after Mr. Trump is gone. They have running shoes too. To maintain conservatism on the court, the second term may necessary, thereby increasing Mr. Trumps impetus for compromise. Assuming, of course, Mr. Trump’s expectation of eight years is based on being re-elected, not staging an outright coup.

ADDENDUM
Mr. Trump also affirmed his intention to build a wall, a beautiful purdy wall, not a fence, within a couple of years. Similar in scope, the Great Wall of China took about 1700 years and millions of Chinese workers. Not a fair comparison since today we do have heavy equipment. In order to pay for the wall, Trump says we’ll have to accept reimbursement – presumably from all the jobs and money that stays in this country after exporting the illegal foreign nationals. It does occur to me that since Mexicans are such good brick layers in the first place, that all the deportees could simply be conscripted as slave labor to build the wall.

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© 2017 – Jim Casey
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