Sunday, May 28, 2017
Trump Compares Very Poorly With Other Modern Presidents
It seems that the American people don't think Donald Trump compares favorably with the other presidents since World War II. About 55% say he is less organized, 44% say he makes more mistakes, 42% don't think he works as hard, 45% don't think he's as intelligent, and 47% don't think he's as competent. Only a tiny percentage thinks he compares well (or better) than the other presidents.
That shouldn't be any surprise. As the charts below show, the public has a very low opinion of Donald Trump. Only 39% think he's doing a good job as president. And majorities rate him poorly on all the qualifications for being president. In addition, 49% say his administration has not been competent and effective, while only 30% say it has been.
These are terrible numbers, and as I have said before, I believe that paint the picture of a presidency in deep trouble.
These charts were made using information in a new Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between May 20th and 23rd of a random national sample of 1,500 adults (including 1,276 registered voters), with a 3 point margin of error.
Belief In Creationism Is At An All-Time Low In U.S.
Creationism is the belief that humans did not evolve like other animals, but were created by a god in their present form (and that this probably happened less than 10,000 years ago). It is a strange belief that flies in the face of science, but it is a belief that has been strong in the United States.
Fortunately though, it looks like belief in creationism is declining. A recent Gallup Poll shows that belief in creationism has declined from 47% in the early 1990's to a current level of only 38% -- a record low since 1981, when Gallup began asking this question (and the first time since then that it has fallen below 40%).
An equal 38% now believe that humans evolved with the guidance of a god, while 19% believe humans evolved without the help of any god (a record high).
The Gallup Poll was done between May 3rd and 7th of a random national sample of 1,011 adults, and has a margin of error of 4 points.
Is Donald Trump's Mental Capacity Deteriorating ?
Whether you agree with the policies proposed by Donald Trump or not, there is one thing we should all want -- that Trump's mental capacity is strong and healthy to perform the duties of the presidency. But there is now some linguistic evidence that his mental capacity is not what it once was -- and that may well indicate those capacities are slipping.
Below is part of an excellent article by Sharon Begley at Stat. I don't know about you, but I find it very troubling.
It was the kind of utterance that makes professional transcribers question their career choice:
“ … there is no collusion between certainly myself and my campaign, but I can always speak for myself — and the Russians, zero.”
When President Trump offered that response to a question at a press conference last week, it was the latest example of his tortured syntax, mid-thought changes of subject, and apparent trouble formulating complete sentences, let alone a coherent paragraph, in unscripted speech.
He was not always so linguistically challenged.
STAT reviewed decades of Trump’s on-air interviews and compared them to Q&A sessions since his inauguration. The differences are striking and unmistakable.
Research has shown that changes in speaking style can result from cognitive decline. STAT therefore asked experts in neurolinguistics and cognitive assessment, as well as psychologists and psychiatrists, to compare Trump’s speech from decades ago to that in 2017; they all agreed there had been a deterioration, and some said it could reflect changes in the health of Trump’s brain.
In interviews Trump gave in the 1980s and 1990s (with Tom Brokaw, David Letterman, Oprah Winfrey, Charlie Rose, and others), he spoke articulately, used sophisticated vocabulary, inserted dependent clauses into his sentences without losing his train of thought, and strung together sentences into a polished paragraph, which — and this is no mean feat — would have scanned just fine in print. This was so even when reporters asked tough questions about, for instance, his divorce, his brush with bankruptcy, and why he doesn’t build housing for working-class Americans.
Trump fluently peppered his answers with words and phrases such as “subsided,” “inclination,” “discredited,” “sparring session,” and “a certain innate intelligence.” He tossed off well-turned sentences such as, “It could have been a contentious route,” and, “These are the only casinos in the United States that are so rated.” He even offered thoughtful, articulate aphorisms: “If you get into what’s missing, you don’t appreciate what you have,” and, “Adversity is a very funny thing.”
Now, Trump’s vocabulary is simpler. He repeats himself over and over, and lurches from one subject to an unrelated one, as in this answer during an interview with the Associated Press last month:
“People want the border wall. My base definitely wants the border wall, my base really wants it — you’ve been to many of the rallies. OK, the thing they want more than anything is the wall. My base, which is a big base; I think my base is 45 percent. You know, it’s funny. The Democrats, they have a big advantage in the Electoral College. Big, big, big advantage. … The Electoral College is very difficult for a Republican to win, and I will tell you, the people want to see it. They want to see the wall.”
For decades, studies have found that deterioration in the fluency, complexity, and vocabulary level of spontaneous speech can indicate slipping brain function due to normal aging or neurodegenerative disease. STAT and the experts therefore considered only unscripted utterances, not planned speeches and statements, since only the former tap the neural networks that offer a window into brain function.
The experts noted clear changes from Trump’s unscripted answers 30 years ago to those in 2017, in some cases stark enough to raise questions about his brain health. . . .
The reason linguistic and cognitive decline often go hand in hand, studies show, is that fluency reflects the performance of the brain’s prefrontal cortex, the seat of higher-order cognitive functions such as working memory, judgment, understanding, and planning, as well as the temporal lobe, which searches for and retrieves the right words from memory. Neurologists therefore use tests of verbal fluency, and especially how it has changed over time, to assess cognitive status.
Those tests ask, for instance, how many words beginning with W a patient can list, and how many breeds of dogs he can name, rather than have patients speak spontaneously. The latter “is too hard to score,” said neuropsychologist Sterling Johnson, of the University of Wisconsin, who studies brain function in Alzheimer’s disease. “But everyday speech is definitely a way of measuring cognitive decline. If people are noticing [a change in Trump’s language agility], that’s meaningful.”
Although neither Johnson nor other experts STAT consulted said the apparent loss of linguistic fluency was unambiguous evidence of mental decline, most thought something was going on.
John Montgomery, a psychologist in New York City and adjunct professor at New York University, said “it’s hard to say definitively without rigorous testing” of Trump’s speaking patterns, “but I think it’s pretty safe to say that Trump has had significant cognitive decline over the years.”
Saturday, May 27, 2017
Is It Now Three Bullies Vs. The World ?
I don't wish to whitewash the history of United States actions in the world. It has a long history of bullying other nations into accepting its corporate power and greed -- using both its economic and military power. And when that bullying doesn't work, it has at times even been involved in overthrowing some democracies to protect that corporate power and greed (Iran, Chile, etc.).
But that bullying has, in the past, been tempered by a fight to protect and establish democratic movements, and to further the establishment of basic human rights around the world. That has been this nation's saving grace.
Unfortunately, the Trump administration is changing that. Trump has made it clear that he admires and supports autocratic regimes (Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, etc.) while denigrating Western-style democracies. He has made it clear that human rights are no longer a priority for the United States. It is "America first", and democratic values and human rights are to be tossed under the bus in that effort now.
The United States has now joined Russia and China in being the bullies of the world -- just another country that cares only for its own power and greed. The rest of the world is just individual pawns in the power game for these three countries, as they jockey to be the number one power. And sadly, Trump's party (the Republican Party), seems to agree with this new vision.
I fear for the future of this world. I fear for democratic values and human rights -- as neither seems to be a priority for any of the big three bullies. Trump, by shifting this nation's policies toward greed and power (and away from democracy and human rights) has made the world a much more dangerous place for all people in every nation.
The American Public's Opinion Of Their Military Branches
With Memorial Day fast approaching, I thought it would be appropriate to show your the results of this recent Gallup Poll -- done between April 24th and May 2nd of a random national sample of 1,026 adults, with a 4 point margin of error.
It seems that Americans have a very positive view of all the branches of our military, and that view is pretty equal among the branches.
Trump's First Trip Has Been An Embarrassment For U.S.
I read the opinion of one pundit that said Donald Trump has actually looked "presidential" on his first foreign trip. That has to be a sick joke. He has praised nations with serious human rights violations (Saudi Arabia, Israel) and berated nations that are the most democratic -- calling Germany evil and berating most Nato nations. He also refused to assure Western European NATO nations that the U.S. will live up to its NATO obligations (making many wonder if they still have a solid ally in the U.S.). He was also seen pushing other leaders aside to make sure he was in front for photo opportunities. In short, his first foreign trip has been an embarrassment for the United States.
Is it any wonder that he is not respected in the free world? If you doubt that, consider this editorial from the German newspaper Der Spiegel. I post only part of the editorial below:
Donald Trump is not fit to be president of the United States. He does not possess the requisite intellect and does not understand the significance of the office he holds nor the tasks associated with it. He doesn't read. He doesn't bother to peruse important files and intelligence reports and knows little about the issues that he has identified as his priorities. His decisions are capricious and they are delivered in the form of tyrannical decrees.
He is a man free of morals. As has been demonstrated hundreds of times, he is a liar, a racist and a cheat. I feel ashamed to use these words, as sharp and loud as they are. But if they apply to anyone, they apply to Trump. And one of the media's tasks is to continue telling things as they are: Trump has to be removed from the White House. Quickly. He is a danger to the world.
Trump is a miserable politician. He fired the FBI director simply because he could. James Comey had gotten under his skin with his investigation into Trump's confidants. Comey had also refused to swear loyalty and fealty to Trump and to abandon the investigation. He had to go.
Trump is also a miserable boss. His people invent excuses for him and lie on his behalf because they have to, but then Trump wakes up and posts tweets that contradict what they have said. He doesn't care that his spokesman, his secretary of state and his national security adviser had just denied that the president had handed Russia (of all countries) sensitive intelligence gleaned from Israel (of all countries). Trump tweeted: Yes, yes, I did, because I can. I'm president after all.
Nothing is as it should be in this White House. Everyone working there has been compromised multiple times and now they all despise each other - and everyone except for Trump despises Trump. Because of all that, after just 120 days of the Trump administration, we are witness to an American tragedy for which there are five theoretical solutions.
The first is Trump's resignation, which won't happen. The second is that Republicans in the House and Senate support impeachment, which would be justified by the president's proven obstruction of justice, but won't happen because of the Republicans' thirst for power, which they won't willingly give up. The third possible solution is the invocation of the 25th Amendment, which would require the cabinet to declare Trump unfit to discharge the powers of the presidency. That isn't particularly likely either. Fourth: The Democrats get ready to fight and win back majorities in the House and Senate in midterm elections, which are 18 months away, before they then pursue option two, impeachment. Fifth: the international community wakes up and finds a way to circumvent the White House and free itself of its dependence on the U.S. Unlike the preceding four options, the fifth doesn't directly solve the Trump problem, but it is nevertheless necessary - and possible. . . .
The U.S. elected a laughing stock to the presidency and has now made itself dependent on a joke of a man. The country is, as David Brooks wrote recently in the New York Times, dependent on a child. The Trump administration has no foreign policy because Trump has consistently promised American withdrawal while invoking America's strength. He has promised both no wars and more wars. He makes decisions according to his mood, with no strategic coherence or tactical logic. Moscow and Beijing are laughing at America. Elsewhere, people are worried. . . .
In "Game of Thrones," the Mad King was murdered (and the child that later took his place was no better). In real life, an immature boy sits on the throne of the most important country in the world. He could, at any time, issue a catastrophic order that would immediately be carried out. That is why the parents cannot afford to take their eyes off him even for a second. They cannot succumb to exhaustion because he is so taxing. They ultimately have to send him to his room - and return power to the grownups.
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