Trump Blames Hegseth For His Birthday Parade Failure

 

This is by Julia Ornedo in The Daily Beast:

President Donald Trump was unhappy with his sparsely attended military parade over the weekend and blamed it on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, biographer Michael Wolff revealed.

Wolff told The Daily Beast Podcast that Trump wanted a “menacing” show of force to celebrate the Army’s 250th anniversary and his 79th birthday on Saturday—but got a “festive” parade instead.

“He’s p---ed off at the soldiers,” Wolff said. “He’s accusing them of hamming it up, and by that, he seems to mean that they were having a good time, that they were waving, that they were enjoying themselves and showing a convivial face rather than a military face.”

As thousands of soldiers flanked by tanks made their way past empty bleachers along Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C., social media users pointed out that the soldiers were marching out of sync, and the muted atmosphere appeared to match the gloomy weather.

That didn’t escape Trump, who pointed the finger at his defense secretary, according to Wolff.

“He kind of reamed out Hegseth for this,” the Trump biographer said. “Apparently, there was a phone call, and he said to Hegseth, the tone was all wrong. Why was the tone wrong? Who staged this? There was the tone problem. Trump, he keeps repeating himself.”

“It didn’t send the message that he apparently wanted, which is that he was the commander in chief of this menacing enterprise,” Wolff added.

Trump Seems To Think America First Means America Alone

Since World War II, the United States has been the preeminent power in the world - both militarily and economically. And every president (of both parties) has acted to defend other democracies and allies, while opposing authoritarian and rogue nations. It has resulted in U.S. presidents being universally acknowledged at the "leader of the free world".

Trump could have inherited that title, but he doesn't seem to want it. Since entering office the second time, he has attacked our allies. He has imposed tariffs on our good neighbors (Canada and Mexico) to start on March 4th. And he has said he will also impose tariffs on the European Union. He has demanded that NATO nations spend 5% of their GDP on defense (even though the U.S. only spends about 3%). And he has suggested that any nation that doesn't do his bidding will not get any help from the U.S.

At the same time, he has repeated Kremlin talking points - even to the point of Russia's invasion of Ukraine being the fault of Ukraine. He has even voted to support Russia in the United Nations. And he started "negotiations" with Russia to end the Russia/Ukraine war (without allowing Ukraine to participate).

Then, last week, he took the final step to complete the isolation of the United States from the rest of the world.

He invited Zelensky (Ukraine's president) to the White House to sign an agreement giving the U.S. half of Ukraine's valuable minerals (which he forced them to do in hopes of getting a security pledge from the United States). Then in an Oval Office showdown, witnessed by the press and television cameras, Trump started to tell a bunch of lies about the war (like how much the U.S. has given Ukraine and how they don't need security because he trusts Putin to keep his word).

Zelensky, an ethical leader, could not go along with the lies. And he would not agree to a peace plan that did not insure Ukraine's future security. He knew that Putin cannot be trusted (even though Trump trusts him). When Zelensky disagreed, Trump blew his stack.

He began to berated and threaten Zelensky. Then Vance joined in, demanding he thank Donald Trump for U.S. support (even though he's publicly thanked the U.S. dozens of times). Both tried to humiliate the Ukrainian president, and when he would give in, they kicked him out of the White House.

The temper tantrum Trump and Vance threw was a black mark on U.S. foreign policy. It was a turning point in U.S. history. And it effective ended the U.S. president being the leader of the free world. 

Most other democratic nations were quick to back Ukraine after the Oval Office fiasco. And it brought them to a realization. They had hoped they could nudge Trump into keeping the treaties, agreements, and economic cooperation that exists. They now realize that is hopeless. Trump is a bully whose not interested in real negotiations with anyone, but only trying to force others to agree with what he wants. They cannot trust him or depend on him for help.

Trump has turned "America First" into "America Alone" - a rogue nation with no friends. That makes the future much more dangerous for the United States - and for the World!

You Are Not Wrong To Be Angry With The Unvaccinated

We have had three vaccines that work for several months now -- and yet, the number of new cases of COVID-19 and the number of deaths from it are once again surging. There is only one reason this is happening -- too many people are refusing to be vaccinated, and sadly, many of them are doing it for political reasons (following the lead of Republican officials who don't want President Biden to get credit for ending the pandemic).

The unvaccinated are responsible for the resurgence. They are responsible for the shortage of medical personnel and the lack of space in our hospitals. They are responsible for the breakthrough cases of COVID among the vaccinated. They are responsible for the spread of the new and more virulent Delta variant (which is even attacking young people and children). 

It short, they are responsible for putting everyone in danger. And I sick of it. I'm angry -- especially at those who claim it is their right to put the lives of others in danger by refusing the vaccine. It's time to mandate the vaccine in schools and in all workplaces -- and I don't care whether the vaccine refusers like that or not!

The following is a small part of an op-ed by Paul Waldman in The Washington Post:

On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration granted full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for the coronavirus, and approvals for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines could follow soon. This could be a significant step in convincing the millions of unvaccinated Americans to finally get vaccinated, even if it doesn’t quickly transform the state of the pandemic.

It’s also an opportunity for us to say to the hard-core vaccine refusers: We’re done with you.

We’ll treat you when you come to the hospital, of course, because that’s how medicine works; while doctors and nurses dealing with the wave of covid-19 patients caused by the delta variant might like to turn away anyone who refused to take a vaccine, they won’t. But it’s time to refocus our outreach efforts and our public and private pandemic policies so that accommodating, understanding and pandering to the refusers is no longer one of our chief concerns. . . .

To those who say “mocking those people will never convince them to take the vaccine!”, let me suggest that it’s too late to persuade them. I’m not talking about the hesitant and the uncertain — they can be persuaded, and we need to redouble efforts to reach them. But when you see that in Mississippi — which like many states with low vaccination rates is now being ravaged by the delta variant — the state’s chief public health official felt compelled to make a public plea for people to stop drinking livestock dewormer, since a good number got the idea that it’s a treatment for covid, you have to ask if there’s anything at all that would persuade committed refusers.

Actually, we know how they got the dewormer idea: the supercharged rumor-spreading machine known as social media. Over the weekend, Facebook reluctantly admitted that “an article raising concerns that the coronavirus vaccine could lead to death was the top performing link in the United States on its platform from January through March of this year.”

It’s gotten to the point where at a rally on Saturday in Alabama of his most loyal dead-enders, former president Donald Trump said that while he believes in everyone’s freedom, “I recommend: take the vaccines. I did it. It’s good. Take the vaccines,” and boos rang out.

I’m pretty sure that if between swigs of horse dewormer, your uncle is booing his god-king Donald Trump for saying a good word about vaccination, gentle persuasion isn’t going to have much effect on him. . . .

They’ll be trying out insane new treatments, while the rest of us shake our heads at people who’d rather gargle with turpentine (or whatever the next Facebook remedy is) than get a free lifesaving vaccine. They’ll keep engaging in unhinged and violent public behavior (like assaulting teachers over mask policies), for which they should just be arrested. Our only concern should be keeping ourselves safe from them; they deserve no more consideration than that.

They won’t disappear, but we can treat them like social pariahs. And if they don’t like it? They can go ahead and wallow in their fantasies of oppression and courageous independence. Nobody said “freedom” was free.

Nebraska Corn Farmers Are Not Happy With Trump

Corn farmers have received a double-whammy from Donald Trump, and they are hurting. Not only are they continuing to be hurt by the trade war with China, but Trump has changed the renewable fuel rules which is hurting the farmers that provide corn for ethanol.

The following is a statement released by the Nebraska Corn Board.

As harvest approaches after an extremely difficult year for agriculture, many Nebraska corn farmers are outraged by the Trump administration’s lack of support for the American farmer. The Nebraska Corn Board and the Nebraska Corn Growers Association call upon the administration to fulfill its promises and to abide by the law and uphold the integrity of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

President Trump’s administration continues to erode the RFS by granting 31 unjustified refinery waivers, destroying demand for corn and ultimately choosing to bail out the oil industry rather than helping American farmers. Corn farmers are already suffering from ongoing trade disputes, uncertain weather and continued low prices.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this,” said David Bruntz, chairman of the Nebraska Corn Board and farmer from Friend. “All we’re getting is lip service. At one moment, we think President Trump is on our side, and then the refinery waivers come through. It’s truly a slap in the face. Farmers are hurting and it just keeps getting worse.”

Along with undermining the RFS, the U.S. has made little progress in trade. A new deal between the U.S., Mexico and Canada still has not been reached and tensions continue to escalate between the U.S. and China.

“Many of our corn farmers have stood with Trump for a long time, but that may soon change” said Dan Nerud, president of the Nebraska Corn Growers Association and farmer from Dorchester. “Trump needs to uphold the law and his commitment to our nation’s corn farmers by making the RFS whole and bringing trade agreements to the finish line.”

Nebraska Corn urges you to stand up for our state’s corn and ethanol industries by telling the Trump administration to stop stripping the RFS. Rural America is under attack and now is the time to act. Submit a letter to President Trump by clicking here. Submit comments before the August 30 deadline.

It's Not Mental Illness - It's Guns In Hands Of Angry Men

(Cartoon image is by David Fitzsimmons in the Arizona Daily Star.)

The Texas mass shooter, like the one in Las Vegas, was not a minority or a muslim. That means, according to Trump and his Republican cohorts, that nothing can be done except to offer "thoughts and prayers". If it had been a minority doing the shooting, they would be calling for more restrictive laws against minorities -- and if it had been a muslim, they would be calling for banning more muslims from entering the country. But it was a white man, so they just shrug their shoulders and blame it on mental illness (ignoring the facts that they are the party that cut funding for helping the mentally ill, and passed legislation allowing them to buy firearms).

It's convenient for Republicans to blame mass shootings by whites on mental illness, because it means they don't have to take any action to stop the killings. But there is a problem with that accusation -- it's just not true. Consider this article by Laura L. Hayes at Slate.com. I post only a part of that article below.

In the wake of a string of horrific mass shootings by people who in many cases had emotional problems, it has become fashionable to blame mental illness for violent crimes. It has even been suggested that these crimes justify not only banning people with a history of mental illness from buying weapons but also arming those without such diagnoses so that they may protect themselvesfrom the dangerous mentally ill. This fundamentally misrepresents where the danger lies.

Violence is not a product of mental illness. Nor is violence generally the action of ordinary, stable individuals who suddenly “break” and commit crimes of passion. Violent crimes are committed by violent people, those who do not have the skills to manage their anger. Most homicides are committed by people with a history of violence. Murderers are rarely ordinary, law-abiding citizens, and they are also rarely mentally ill. Violence is a product of compromised anger management skills.

In a summary of studies on murder and prior record of violence, Don Kates and Gary Mauser found that 80 to 90 percent of murderers had prior police records, in contrast to 15 percent of American adults overall. In a study of domestic murderers, 46 percent of the perpetrators had had a restraining order against them at some time. Family murders are preceded by prior domestic violence more than 90 percent of the time. Violent crimes are committed by people who lack the skills to modulate anger, express it constructively, and move beyond it.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, the reference book used by mental health professionals to assign diagnoses of mental illness, does very little to address anger. The one relevant diagnosis is intermittent explosive disorder, a disorder of anger management. People with IED tend to come from backgrounds in which they have been exposed to patterns of IED behavior, often from parents whose own anger is out of control. But the DSM does not provide a diagnostic category helpful for explaining how someone can, with careful advance planning, come to enter an elementary school, nursing home, theater, or government facility and indiscriminately begin to kill.  

Violent crimes committed by people with severe mental illnesses get a lot of attention, but such attacks are relatively rare. Paolo del Vecchio of the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has said, “Violence by those with mental illness is so small that even if you could somehow cure it all, 95 percent of violent crime would still exist.” A 2009 study by Seena Fazel found a slightly higher rate of violent crime in schizophrenics—but it was almost entirely accounted for by alcohol and drug abuse. Likewise, the MacArthur Violence Risk Assessment Study found that mentally ill people who did not have a substance abuse problem were no more violent than other people in their neighborhoods.

With no clear explanation of the causes of violent crime from the mental health field, and with significant encouragement from the gun lobby, the public has begun to seize on the wrong explanation for tragic, violent events. They focus not on the IED-diagnosed patients but on those with other diagnoses, schizophrenia in particular, ignoring the fact that what the perpetrators have in common in every single one of these cases is a loss of control of their anger.

The attribution of violent crime to people diagnosed with mental illness is increasing stigmatization of the mentally ill while virtually no effort is being made to address the much broader cultural problem of anger management. This broader problem encompasses not just mass murders but violence toward children and spouses, rape, road rage, assault, and violent robberies. We are a culture awash in anger.