Never Trump

Hard to stomach reading today’s news. An opinion piece cited Trump’s tariffs as his biggest policy failure.

Opinion: Trump’s tariffs are his biggest policy failure

I disagree; I think the war with Iran is Trump’s biggest policy failure. It also completely undermines Trump’s whole philosophy.

Trump came in. Removed generals and military leadership. Then he hired sycophants such as Hegseth to shape military policy and develop strategy.

Screaming, “WOKE! DEI!, Hegseth bludgeoned the established military establishment. Took people who earned promotion off the list because of the color of their skin or their sex, or their political loyalties.

Trump did all of this while scoffing at the military. He declared himself smarter than generals and has repeatedly blasted them.

Trump blasted top military generals as ‘a bunch of dopes and babies’ according to new book

Yet, here we are, mired in a war that Trump started. Trump claimed to have won. Claimed it was already over. Claims it’s not a war.

Yet it’s draining us in multiple ways and exposing Trump and his arrogance. He and his chosen staff thought war was easy. Though it was just a matter of power: who has the biggest military and the most weapons.

And the war continues without a certain end in sight.

As in many other things, Trump was exposed as ignorant and wrong.

Both policies — tariffs and the Iran War — are policy failures, though.

Both are driving increased burdens to the economy and to our citizens. The war, though, also resulted in people being killed, maimed, and injured, and has devastating consequences on the people of another nation.

When I think of things that Trump boasts of as successes and triumphs, I realize that there is nothing that this administration has done that has impressed me. He’s exactly how terrible I thought he’d be, and then some. We as a nation stagger through increasing loops of disasters.

Take our healthcare issues. Rural hospitals are closing. Measles outbreaks are increasing. Healthcare premiums are rising. AI plants are being built, which will increase energy costs and use land, further driving up healthcare costs. Yet Trump pushes to build more AI centers, more data centers. Models say that will worsen the extreme heat problem as well as the water shortage. It’s like WTAF are people thinking?

Instead of real solutions, We the People are offered more political theater as another underqualified Trump nominee moves toward confirmation for a powerful Federal position.

We’re instead subjected to Trump crowing about himself winning a golf tournament. Venting at his staff about the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool fiasco.

Distracting us with AI-generated photos of himself as Elvis Presley.

While our nation is at war. While wildfires burn. While extreme heat and drought sweep the nation. While healthcare and affordability problems worsen.

That seems to be okay with MAGAts and the greater GOP, even if the rest of us are angry and disapprove of Trump. As long as Trump and his family keeps getting wealthier and speaking out for them — whatever the fuck that now means to them — they remain happy.

As far as those things falling apart and policy failures, that’s because of other people. It’s not because of Trump.

Never, in their eyes.

Never.

As for me, it will always remain, “Never Trump.”

Never.

Frieda’s Wandering Political Thoughts

I read a headline out to the my wife.

Why the American consumer is fed up

“That’s CNN,” I add for her. “I know why I’m fed up but I want to see if CNN knows why I’m fed up.”

This is an Analysis by Harry Enten. I don’t recall the name. Doesn’t mean much for me. I may have read Harry Enten’s work before but didn’t realize it. I’m often ignorant in that way.

Harry Enten began, ‘Americans just feel like they can’t catch a financial break. You know the feeling. You go to the grocery store, you look at the prices and you want to channel your inner Vince Lombardi: “What the (heck) is going on out here?”’

I read that to my wife and subject her to my opinion. “He’s a little wrong on that. I know what the heck is going on. It’s inflation, protecting profits, supply and demand, tariffs, among other things.” Yes, I’m in a quarrelsome mood. That often takes place as I read the news in 2025.

The analysis continues.

“Worst of all, it feels like it’s only going to get worse. There’s a very good reason for that: Americans may, in a way, get taxed more when they go to buy things – more than they have for a long period of time.

“No matter what some people will tell you, tariffs are, in fact, taxes. When you combine the potential tariff rates that the Trump administration could impose on us, the consumer, with the inflation that raged out of control coming out of the pandemic, it feels like things have gotten away from us.”

That earns an eye roll from me. “Yes, no kidding.”

“Take a look at a recent report from the nonpartisan Tax Foundation. It estimates that under President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs, the effective tariff rate will be 8% in 2025. That’s so high that it would go off the page if you were charting tariff rates over the last 55 years.”

“Yes, but those are facts and history. Trump deals in prejudices and myths,” I tell my suffering wife.

She relates a story abut Wall Street. “This says that men working on Wall Street are happy with life under Trump because they’re free to sexualize women again.”

I grunt dismay and keep reading the CNN analysis. Prices are going to go up. Yes, no kidding. I read aloud, “Keep in mind that an estimated 25% to 30% of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck.” Right, I know.

Of course, what I’m doing is validating my opinions. Experts tell us that’s one reason why politics are so divisive these days. While I’m reading this, people reading Red State read nothing about prices and tariffs. They’re busy writing up Trump’s glory, how great his cabinet is doing, and demonizing Democrats. Their targets these days are Fetterman, Pelosi, and Walz.

I finish the CNN article and resume my doomscrolling. Arctic ice has shrunk to a springtime record low but don’t you dare talk about climate change. Non-U.S. citizen Elon Reeve Musk is trying to buy votes in Wisconsin. Ohio is further narrowing what can be discussed in classrooms. Looks like it’s gonna be another quarrelsome day.

More coffee, please.

Omicron Thoughts

A friend sent me a link to Tomas Pueyo’s analysis on the COVID-19 Omicron variant. He writes in a nice, lucid style, with simple explanations and some interesting, illuminating charts. Knowledge is power, so check it out.

The Omicron Question

Cheers

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