The Stark Contrast

The outpouring of respect, affection and accolades directed at Senator John McCain of Arizona on the occasion of his passing has brought into sharp relief for me the differences between him and Donald Trump. Moreover, I believe the contrast between these two men can and should be instructive to our nation as to how best to conduct oneself in the public arena.

John McCain served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War and was shot down over North Vietnam during a bombing raid. He was a prisoner of war for five and a half years, endured unspeakable torture and famously refused release ahead of his comrades in arms. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives for four years and served as the senator from Arizona for over thirty-one years. During that time, he was noted for working across the aisle with his opponents in the Democratic Party and for opposing measures supported by his own party (the Republicans) which he felt were not in the best interest of the republic. Finally, he served as the Republican nominee in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

Donald Trump received five deferments for the draft during the Vietnam War. Donald Trump served his own financial interests until he decided to run for president in 2016. Trump indicated that McCain was only considered a war hero because he had been captured by the enemy. He went on to say, "I like people that weren't captured." Trump vilified his enemies, continuously attacked them and sought revenge when they defied him.

We are, of course, all flawed human beings. Nevertheless, it is clear to me that John McCain is far and away the better standard for public service.

GUILTY X 2!

A jury of his peers has convicted former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort of 8 felonies today: Filing false tax returns for 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014; failure to file reports on foreign bank accounts for 2012; and bank fraud against Citizens Bank ($3.4 million) and Banc of California ($1 million)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/paul-manafort-jury-trial-verdict-day4-1534861860

Michael Cohen, formerly the personal attorney of Trump, plead guilty to 8 felonies today: Tax evasion for the years 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016; making a false statement to a financial institution in connection with a credit decision; willfully causing a corporation to make an illegal campaign contribution; and making an excessive personal campaign contribution
https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/21/politics/read-michael-cohen-plea-deal/index.html

Although both cases reflect poorly on the caliber of men with which Trump has chosen to surround himself, most analysts agree that the Cohen plea presents the greatest personal legal jeopardy for Mr. Trump. The last two of the Cohen felonies name Trump as an unindicted co-conspirator (related to the payment of hush money to two women who claimed to have had sexual relations with Trump so that their stories would not come out before the November 2016 election).

Although I am quite confident that there is not sufficient honor left within the Republican controlled legislature to do it, I think that what happened today provides sufficient evidence to impeach this pretender to the presidency (Trump)!

What is truth?

Pilate to Jesus Christ:

"What is truth?"

--John 18:38

From Trump's speech to the VFW National Convention last month:

"And just remember: What you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening."

--https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-veterans-foreign-wars-united-states-national-convention-kansas-city-mo/

From this past Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press, we have this exchange between Chuck Todd and Rudy Giuliani:

“When you tell me that [Trump] should testify because he’s going to tell the truth and he shouldn’t worry, that’s so silly — because it’s somebody’s version of the truth. Not the truth,” Giuliani said.

Todd responded, “Truth is truth.”

“No, it isn’t truth. Truth isn’t truth,” Giuliani said.

---https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/truth-isnt-truth-giuliani-weighs-risks-of-possible-trump-interview-in-russia-probe/2018/08/19/61c11916-a3ca-11e8-a656-943eefab5daf_story.html?utm_term=.cca9029804e8

Was/Is America Great?

Earlier this afternoon, I was watching the panel discussion on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace regarding New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's remark last week that America "was never that great." He was, of course, trying to draw a distinction between himself and Trump's 2016 campaign slogan that he would "Make America Great Again." Which brings to mind the question that serves as the title of this post: Was/Is America Great?

A 2016 poll by Vox found that 67% of Americans view their country as great, and that a further 20% believe that the nation used to be great (past tense). https://www.vox.com/2016/5/17/11685342/is-america-great-poll We also know that a sense of greatness/exceptionalism has been prevalent throughout most of our history as a nation. Hence, we can safely conclude that Cuomo's remark is not supported by the vast majority of Americans who clearly believe (and have always believed) that their country is great.

Nevertheless, the Vox poll also reflects the fact that a substantial minority of the American public do not view their country as currently being great (20% said it used to be great and 7% said that it was never great). It is interesting to note that both Cuomo's remark and Trump's slogan are more in sink with these minority views than they are with the views held by the majority of Americans (Trump's slogan implies that greatness has been lost and needs to be restored).

Of course, statistically speaking, the United States remains the greatest nation on the face of the earth by a wide margin. We lead the world in GDP (Gross Domestic Product).
see https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/022415/worlds-top-10-economies.asp We spend more on our military than any other nation on the face of the earth. see https://www.pgpf.org/chart-archive/0053_defense-comparison As a consequence, the U.S. is ranked first in military strength. see https://www.globalfirepower.com/countries-listing.asp

Now we come to what most folks would agree is the most subjective portion of our attempt to answer our question (Was/Is America Great?). I'm talking, of course, about the moral fiber of the nation. There are a number of ways we could attempt to measure this particular metric, among them religious devotion and attempting to gauge progress on moral questions.

According to Gallup, the percentage of Americans who claim that religion is very important in their lives has averaged somewhere between 51% and 61% since 1992. see https://news.gallup.com/poll/1690/religion.aspx On the other hand, the percentage of the population which identifies itself as Protestant has declined from 69% in 1948 to 38% in 2017, while the percentage of the population that identifies as Catholic has ranged from 22% in 1948, 28% in 1974 and 21% in 2017. Likewise, the number of folks who say that they are an active member of a congregation or synagogue has declined over the years. Nevertheless, the number of Americans who profess a belief in God has remained high over the years (96% in 1944 compared to 87% in 2017).

Those who are familiar with the history of this nation are aware of the fact that Europeans displaced Native Americans, slaughtered and mistreated them in that process, imported the institution of slavery to this continent, forcibly removed people from Africa, transported them to this country and enslaved them, squandered natural resources and polluted the air, land and water.

At the same time, however, it must be remembered that folks like Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Franklin and Madison created what was arguably the freest and most sustainable republic on the planet. Moreover, by any objective standard, the United States has greatly increased the number of people who are eligible to participate in the political, economic and cultural life of the nation over the years since its founding. And, as the story of my own family suggests, there is ample evidence that the American people have endured many trials, tribulations and challenges through the years and have landed on their feet over and over again (I'm thinking about things like civil war, two world wars and numerous recessions and depressions). The link to my book: https://millerjonesaafb.blogspot.com/

Hence, I think that it is reasonable to conclude that America is great. Nevertheless, like many of my fellow Americans, I continue to believe that America has the ability and potential to be even greater than it currently is or has been in times past. Ironically, both Cuomo and Trump have attempted to appeal to this view in their own ways - albeit using "inartful" and divisive language.

What do you think? Is America great? Could we be better?

Former CIA Director Panetta on Revoking Brennan's Security Clearance

From the transcript of his remarks today on the CBS program Face the Nation:

Security clearances are critical to our national security and decisions regarding security clearances ought to be based on national security issues. Our concern now is that security clearances are going to be used as a political tool to go after people that the president doesn't agree with or issues that the president may not agree with and we think that undermines the importance of security clearances particularly when it comes to national security.

Whether one agrees or disagrees with what John Brennan said is not the issue. We have something called free speech in this country. And whether you're a former CIA director or whether you're a former president of the United States or whether you're just a citizen on the street you have a right to free speech to say what you think about our country and our president

The entire transcript is available here:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transcript-leon-panetta-on-face-the-nation-august-19-2018/

William H. McRaven

The man responsible for coordinating the raid that killed Osama bin Laden had this to say about Trump revoking John Brennan's security clearance:

Dear Mr. President:

Former CIA director John Brennan, whose security clearance you revoked on Wednesday, is one of the finest public servants I have ever known. Few Americans have done more to protect this country than John. He is a man of unparalleled integrity, whose honesty and character have never been in question, except by those who don’t know him.

Therefore, I would consider it an honor if you would revoke my security clearance as well, so I can add my name to the list of men and women who have spoken up against your presidency.

--Taken from his letter which appeared in The Washington Post

Trump Revokes Brennan's Security Clearance

I loved the former CIA Director's response to the news that Trump had revoked his security clearance:
“It’s astounding how often you fail to live up to minimum standards of decency, civility, & probity. Seems like you will never understand what it means to be president, nor what it takes to be a good, decent, & honest person. So disheartening, so dangerous for our Nation.”
I wholeheartedly agree!

Why I am opposed to Trump!

Some of my Republican friends have expressed their dismay at my opposition to Donald Trump in the light of what they see as his accomplishments (a booming economy, a tax cut, the appointment of conservative judges and an increase in military spending). With regard to these "accomplishments," I agree that some justification for my negative view of the current occupant of the Oval Office is justified. In short, I am opposed to Trump because of what I see as colossal failures in the following areas:

In the area of economics:

1. His abandonment of free trade - abrogating the agreements of previous administrations and instituting tariffs that have inaugurated a trade war that will do serious harm to our economy in the long term.
2. His complete disregard for fiscal responsibility - he makes the spending of Obama and the Democrats look like baby s__t by comparison (look at the deficits that we are generating under his administration).
3. His budget busting tax cuts were overwhelmingly slanted toward the wealthiest in our society and have done little to boost the recovery which began under the previous administration.
4. The chaos his attempts to do away with the Affordable Care Act have generated within our health care system - not to mention the uncertainty it is has generated for the personal economy of Americans with preexisting conditions.

In the area of domestic politics:

5. His failure to launch any effort at bipartisanship - indeed, the trademark of his administration heretofore has been his continuous pandering to his base.
6. His success in remaking the Republican party in his own image - the abandonment of traditional conservative Republican values is alarming (deficit reduction, free trade, strong support for NATO and disdain for Russia and other totalitarian regimes).
7. His tweets attacking and dehumanizing his enemies, playing fast and loose with the truth and failing to condemn white nativist racism.
8. His failure to be a good moral example to the country via his own personal behavior and example (his infidelity, misogyny and bullying).

In the area of foreign policy:

9. His repeated alienation of our NATO allies through his statements and policies and his failure to support the efforts of his own State Department.
10. The summit with the North Korean dictator which has so far failed to achieve any reductions in that country's nuclear arsenal and has only served to enhance the reputation of that brutal tyrant.
11. His fawning and embarrassing summit with Vladimir Putin which failed to hold the former KGB agent responsible for his escapades in Crimea/Kiev, Syria, poisoning of adversaries on foreign soil and his overt interference in the internal politics of the United States.
12. The unnecessary provocation and alienation of Palestinians and other Arab countries by making the decision to move the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
13. His playing into the hands of Islamic terrorists by inaugurating a Muslim travel ban which reinforced their notion that the war against terrorism is fundamentally a clash between Christianity (or the West) and Islam.
14. His interference in British politics over the Brexit situation - which advocated a specific course of action for the British government, gave a nod to the current Prime Minister's political enemies and created a very awkward and embarrassing environment for his meetings with her.
15. His decision to unilaterally withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal - exacerbating tensions with that nation and further alienating us from the other parties to the agreement (many of them friends) without doing anything to further curb or restrict Iran's nuclear ambitions.

In the area of immigration policy:

16. His oft repeated derogatory statements about immigrants from Latin America.
17. His disastrous policy of separating families at the border and failing to reunite children with their parents when he finally admitted the policy was a mistake.
18. His focus on the wall as a solution for our immigration problems - ignoring all of the evidence that points to its impracticability, that it fails to address the underlying causes of the problem and the awful optics that it presents to the rest of the world (we have always opposed the building of walls to separate people).
19. His proposals to limit and reshape legal immigration to this country (we have always been a sanctuary for the oppressed of the world and have always sought to keep families together and promote their happiness and welfare).

In the area of environmental policy:

20. His failure to embrace the science of climate change and take meaningful action to curb global warming and his decision to unilaterally withdraw from the Paris Agreement.
21. His decision to dramatically reduce the area of two previously designated National Monuments (Bears Ears and Grand Staircase).
22. Many of his administration's proposals to roll back regulations relating to clean air, water and land and the protection of endangered species.

In the area of ethics and law enforcement:

23. The conflicts of interest inherent in his business dealings (hotels, loans, etc.) and the violations of the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution which some of the income generated by his businesses/business dealings have created.
24. His repeated attacks on our free press, law enforcement and intelligence gathering agencies and failure to support and follow their advice.
25. His relentless efforts to undermine the Special Counsel and his investigation of Russian interference in the last election - including attacks on his own Attorney General and Deputy.
26. His overt collusion with the Russians (regardless of what Mueller's investigation concludes about that) as evidenced by his very public invitation for them to find Clinton's missing e-mails and his public and private assurances to them that he wanted better relations and would work to reduce or eliminate sanctions put in place against them by the previous administration.
27. His overt obstruction of justice as evidenced by his firing of James Comey to gain relief from the Russia probe and his continuous efforts to characterize that investigation as a "witch hunt."
28. His lack of judgment and ethics is amply demonstrated by some of the people he has invited into his administration (e.g. General Flynn, NSA; Scott Pruitt, EPA; Betsy Devos, Education; Omarosa, Senior Adviser).

I could go on, but I think that these are sufficient reasons to justify my opposition to Donald Trump. What do you think?