Monday, August 27, 2018

Trump Log #58: Manafort-Cohen Week

I hope everyone enjoyed Manfort-Cohen week, I know I did.

US healthcare costs as a percentage of GDP is about 18%. This is extremely high, much higher than other industrialized countries. It increases at a faster rate than inflation which is alarming. But something good happened recently, for the year 2017 in remained relatively flat. This should be bigger news, good news. If Trump actually Tweeted about it, maybe they'd cover it. But if he did that, he might have to admit to something ... that the ACA is working. Obamacare, while still imperfect, is basically working. It is controlling cost better than anyone expected. This percentage is increasing again, up to 18.2% but it is increasing at a lower rate. Perhaps if we left the ACA alone or maybe improved it a bit, instead of trying to repeal it, it might actually work. Not with the leadership we have now though.

In hindsight, President Obama may be remembered as an even better president than we originally saw him as while he was in office. History might remember him as that one who was sandwiched between two of the nation's worst. Obama's administration was virtually scandal free with zero indictments during his time in office.

Two years into the Trump administration, the Mueller investigation has come up with over 100 different charges, against over 30 people and three companies. 25 of the people are Russian and they will probably never to be extradited. More is expected to come. This week two of the closest people to him were brought to justice. Paul Manafort, Trump's campaign manager, was found guilty of eight counts of tax fraud, bank fraud, etc. Ten counts were thrown out because one juror refused to vote guilty on them. Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to eight similar criminal charges. He is cooperating and will get leniency. Under oath, he admitted that the president had committed felonies. 

The only thing that would make this a better week, is seeing Trump escorted out of the White House in chains. We can only hope. Hope and change!

Trump Log:
Monday 8/20/18 - The Trump administration has lost three court cases in the last three days in regards to how they are running the EPA. (Source: Washington Post)

Tuesday 8/21/18 - Remember ex-EPA director Pruitt's $43,000.00 phone booth? Records show that he used the phone only once for a five minute call to the president. You think your phone bill is high! (Source: Washington Post)

Wednesday 8/22/18 - Trump's own lawyer, Michael Cohen, states, under oath, that the president has committed felonies. (Source: Washington Post)

Thursday 8/23/18 - It has been awhile since Trump has mentioned Africa on Twitter. The silence was broken on 8/22 when he came to the defense of farmers in South Africa ... "white farmers." The ambassador post to South Africa, one of the largest economies in Africa, has remained empty for almost two years (the entirety of Trump's tenure). (Source: Washington Post)

Friday 8/24/18 - Three years ago, Congress created an academic support fund to assist schools with issues like mental health of students, art, music and technology. Trump's Secretary of Education, DeVos, wants schools be able to use these funds for guns. (Source: New York Times)

Saturday 8/25/18 - Trump takes a photo with one of the leaders of QAnon. How a leader of a crazy group of conspiracy theorists has so much access to the US President, no one seems to know. (Source: Slate).

Sunday 8/26/18 - One of the few remaining decent Republicans passed away this week, John McCain. One of Trump's aides wrote up something really nice about him for the President to Tweet, but Trump rejected that and tweeted something else  ... he didn't say anything about McCain, just expressed condolences to his family. (Source: Washington Post)

Prior Trump Logs:
Issue # 1 - posted November 15th, 2016
Issue # 2 - posted November 22nd, 2016
Issue # 3 - posted November 29th, 2016
Issue # 4 - posted December 6, 2016
Issue # 5 - posted December 12, 2016
Issue # 6 - posted December 19, 2016
Issue # 7 - posted December 26, 2016
Issue # 8 - posted January 3, 2017
Issue # 9 - posted January 10, 2017
Issue #10 - posted January 17, 2017
Issue #11 - posted January 24, 2017
Issue #12 - posted January 31, 2017
Issue #13 - posted February 7, 2017
Issue #14 - posted February 14, 2017
Issue #15 - posted February 21, 2017
Issue #16 - posted February 28, 2017
Issue #17 - posted March 7, 2017
Issue #18 - posted March 14, 2017
Issue #19 - posted March 21, 2017
Issue #20 - posted March 28, 2017
Issue #21 - posted April 5, 2017
Issue #22 - posted April 11, 2017
Issue #23 - posted April 18, 2017
Issue #24 - posted April 25, 2017
Issue #25 - posted May 2, 2017
Issue #26 - posted May 9, 2017
Issue #27 - posted May 16, 2017
Issue #28 - posted May 23, 2017
Issue #29 - posted May 30, 2017
Issue #30 - posted June 6, 2017
Issue #31 - posted June 13, 2017
Issue #32 - posted June 20, 2017
Issue #33 - posted June 27, 2017
Issue #34 - posted March 12, 2018
Issue #35 - posted March 19, 2018
Issue #36 - posted March 26, 2018
Issue #37 - posted April 1, 2018
Issue #38 - posted April 8, 2018
Issue #39 - posted April 15, 2018
Issue #40 - posted April 22, 2018
Issue #41 - posted April 29, 2018
Issue #42 - posted May 6, 2018
Issue #43 - posted May 13, 2018
Issue #44 - posted May 20, 2018
Issue #45 - posted May 27, 2018
Issue #46 - posted June 3, 2018
Issue #47 - posted June 10, 2018
Issue #48 - posted June 17, 2018
Issue #49 - posted June 24, 2018
Issue #50 - posted July 1, 2018
Issue #51 - posted July 8, 2018
Issue #52 - posted July 15, 2018
Issue #53 - posted July 22, 2018
Issue #54 - posted July 29, 2018
Issue #55 - posted August 5, 2018
Issue #56 - posted August 12, 2018
Issue #57 - posted August 19, 2018 

Sunday, August 26, 2018

On Gatsby

It has been a while since I've read The Great Gatsby. I've read it three times. Each time I am reminded why I love America ... the freedom, the opportunity, the ability to reinvent oneself. Each time I read it, I am reminded why I hate America ... the greed, the inequality, the lavish wastefulness. I should read it again, I could use a dose of American love, but the hate, that's what I am afraid of. I've had enough of that lately.

The next best thing is seeing the film. Yesterday I watched Baz Lurhmann's 2013 version of the classic and I was surprised. I was prepared to hate it. I usually hate the film versions of books that I love. HBO's Fahrenheit 451 was an abomination. I've already complained in this blog about Peter Jackson's The Hobbit. Lurhmann's Gatsby is pretty good, enjoyable even and the visuals were stunning. The visual contrast between wealthy Long Island and Valley of Ashes, the strip of land between Long Island and Manhattan, is stunning. The parties at Gatby's Long Island Shangri-La-like home are lush while the Valley is destitute,looks almost war-torn. I was impressed. Even the Jay Z rap music seemed to work. Anachronistic, yes, but it just seemed to work. Like I said, I was surprised.

But like most adaptions, I had problems with some of the changes they made. They botched the ending for one thing. The mystery of Gatsby's demise is powerful in the book. It leaves you thinking. The mystery is no more in this film. Lurhmann doesn't leave it to your interpretation or imagination. Why? Hollywood films like to wrap things up and not leave anything hanging. I like it hanging. They also did too much back story. We are not supposed to know that much about Gatsby. He is supposed remain a mystery. Once you take the mystery away, he is less interesting. Leaving some things up to the audience can make a story more dense. The reader's/watcher's imagination fills in the empty spots making for lush landscapes.

Casting of a classic is always difficult. I can't think of an actor alive that would make a good Gatsby. My wife and I pondered this and the only actor we could agree on is long dead, Clark Gable. Casting Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby ... eh ... I guess is as good as any other. For one of the greatest characters in American literature maybe an unknown actor would have been a better choice. I couldn't help but think of Gilbert Grape Gatsby. That is where my mind went a few times. He was certainly better than Robert Redford. The 1974 Jack Clayton film was my intro to the book. Having the image of Robert Redford as Gatsby didn't ruin the book for my young mind, but it was an obstacle. Neither of these actors seems to possess the darkness and depth that Gatsby requires. He is America, after all, we are full of contradictions.

One of the things that grad school did for me is lighten me up. I stopped seeing works of literature as monuments of civilization and more as living texts. Before I had that experience, I may not have been able to enjoy a Gatsby film with rap music in it. One of my cohorts did a reception study of The Great Gatsby and one of things she discovered was that the origin transcript is sometimes incomprehensible. Fitzgerald was a drunk, he wrote feverishly while intoxicated with an awful hand writing. Some people think his editor, Maxwell Perkins, should be considered a co-writer because Fitzgerald was often hard to reach, due to his binges, so entire passages were reshaped to how Perkins thought they were supposed to read. It is this image, of there being a very different version of Gatsby hidden in the scribbles of the original manuscript, that makes me see this text as truly alive, breathing, awaiting editing, awaiting interpretation, awaiting new civilizations to rip it apart and reinvent it, like Gatsby himself. Kinda like ... "boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

Monday, August 20, 2018

Trump Log #57: The Man-Child Cometh

He is a man-child. If you criticize him, he doesn't reflect on the criticism and learn from it. He lashes out like a child, a spoiled brat. Presidential? Not even close! Adult, even? I don't think so! Man-child? Yes.

His lashing out is Nixonian in quality, but worse. He out-Nixons Nixon. His obstruction of justice is obvious and public. His enemy list is published daily, hourly even, on Twitter. Unlike Nixon, he actually follows up on his enemy list. Nixon used to have a list, he never did anything with it. Trump removes your security clearance if you criticize him, he bashes you in public or he fires you.  Wah! Wah! He's all id. He hasn't reached the stage of his development yet that he has developed empathy for others or an understanding that his action have repercussions.

... and the GOP, they are his enablers.

Trump Log:
Monday 8/13/18 - The numbers are in. Trump's tax cut helped the extremely rich. That's it. No one else. No big surprise. (Source: New York Times)

Tuesday 8/14/18 - Turkey announced tariffs on US electronics in response to Trump's tariffs. (Source: Washington Post)

Wednesday 8/15/18 - Even those people supplying numbers to Trump are lying. Between his receiving erroneous reports and watching Fox "News," truth never reaches him. (Source: Washington Post).

Thursday 8/16/18 - Another tyrant has a friend in Trump. (Source: New York Times)

Friday 8/17/18 - Trump claims he is going to strip the people investigating him of their security clearances. He's acting a lot like Nixon did during Watergate, a.k.a. like a guilty man. (Source: Washington Post)

Saturday 8/18/18 - Trump's Interior Secretary, Zinke, is using the California fires to help ... victims? ... don't be silly ... he's helping the timber industry. (Source: TheIntercept)

Sunday 8/19/18 - Trump's new plan for power plants does away with Obama's plan to speed up the retirement of coal plants and puts limits on their emissions instead. (Source: Washington Post)

Prior Trump Logs:
Issue # 1 - posted November 15th, 2016
Issue # 2 - posted November 22nd, 2016
Issue # 3 - posted November 29th, 2016
Issue # 4 - posted December 6, 2016
Issue # 5 - posted December 12, 2016
Issue # 6 - posted December 19, 2016
Issue # 7 - posted December 26, 2016
Issue # 8 - posted January 3, 2017
Issue # 9 - posted January 10, 2017
Issue #10 - posted January 17, 2017
Issue #11 - posted January 24, 2017
Issue #12 - posted January 31, 2017
Issue #13 - posted February 7, 2017
Issue #14 - posted February 14, 2017
Issue #15 - posted February 21, 2017
Issue #16 - posted February 28, 2017
Issue #17 - posted March 7, 2017
Issue #18 - posted March 14, 2017
Issue #19 - posted March 21, 2017
Issue #20 - posted March 28, 2017
Issue #21 - posted April 5, 2017
Issue #22 - posted April 11, 2017
Issue #23 - posted April 18, 2017
Issue #24 - posted April 25, 2017
Issue #25 - posted May 2, 2017
Issue #26 - posted May 9, 2017
Issue #27 - posted May 16, 2017
Issue #28 - posted May 23, 2017
Issue #29 - posted May 30, 2017
Issue #30 - posted June 6, 2017
Issue #31 - posted June 13, 2017
Issue #32 - posted June 20, 2017
Issue #33 - posted June 27, 2017
Issue #34 - posted March 12, 2018
Issue #35 - posted March 19, 2018
Issue #36 - posted March 26, 2018
Issue #37 - posted April 1, 2018
Issue #38 - posted April 8, 2018
Issue #39 - posted April 15, 2018
Issue #40 - posted April 22, 2018
Issue #41 - posted April 29, 2018
Issue #42 - posted May 6, 2018
Issue #43 - posted May 13, 2018
Issue #44 - posted May 20, 2018
Issue #45 - posted May 27, 2018
Issue #46 - posted June 3, 2018
Issue #47 - posted June 10, 2018
Issue #48 - posted June 17, 2018
Issue #49 - posted June 24, 2018
Issue #50 - posted July 1, 2018
Issue #51 - posted July 8, 2018
Issue #52 - posted July 15, 2018
Issue #53 - posted July 22, 2018
Issue #54 - posted July 29, 2018
Issue #55 - posted August 5, 2018
Issue #56 - posted August 12, 2018

Saturday, August 18, 2018

On Catholicism

I grew up Catholic. I have to say, for the most part, it was a positive experience. Yes, they weren't big on free thought or being challenged, but there are other things I got out of it. Having a place to go every weekend, with my dad, to gather with people I know, sing, engage in ritual and socialize afterward, not exactly a bad thing. I actually considered the clergy as a vocation for a short time in my youth. I was that serious about it. At some point in my late teens I realized that I no longer believed in God in any shape or form. I am not sure if I remember this correctly, I may have mythologized it a bit in mind, but I believe it just struck me one day as being a very silly idea. I had some doubt early that gradually grew and I have no idea what got me over the hump.  I told my mom that I had my doubts and that I probably shouldn't be making my Confirmation. She was quite adamant about me sticking with it with something like "... while you live in this house ..." etc. I made my Confirmation which was a big lie. That was the lesson my young mind learned at that point. Sometimes a Big Lie is what you do to maintain the peace.

I made my Confirmation, I lied through the entire process and continued going to church with my dad pretending the whole way through. I even wrote a letter to Bishop Angel proclaiming that I wanted to be a "knight for God's righteousness" some bullshit like that. When I met him in person, he told me that I should be a priest so that I could write sermons. This was the first person ever to compliment me on my writing. Another positive experience. On my 18th birthday, in my senior year in high school, I told my parents that I was an atheist and that I was no longer going to attend church. This had nothing to do with abuse or any actions by anyone in the church, but more to do with my beliefs. The church was complete bullshit to me and my young rebellious mind, and I was sick of lying and pretending. I was an adult now and I was going to make my own decisions. They could throw me out of the house if they wanted to. They did not. I was going off to college anyway.

Most of the priests and nuns in my parish were decent people, some were positive role models and great people to know. I was an altar boy for many years and got to know some of them very well. I was never touched inappropriately by anybody to my recollection and I was alone with them a lot. As far back as I can remember, we did joke about priests being pedophiles. We didn't use that word in the 1970's, but it was something we talked about. I don't know why. The specter was always there it seemed. To my knowledge, none of them ever got charged with anything. My worst experience with a priest was with one we called Father "Rubbernose" when I was very young. I don't remember his real name but it sounded like that. In one of my first experiences in Sunday school, Rubbernose threw a chalk at my wide open mouth as I yawned. It missed but then he yelled that it was rude to yawn in class and that he could see the "dog food" that I had for breakfast in my mouth. I wrote this off as him being insane and old. He retired a short time afterward and was replaced by some hip younger priest, Father Paul. I remember one time going on an outing with him in his sports car with two friends, Ken and Jimmy, listening to Zeppelin and all four of us singing "Stairway to Heaven." My best memory is of Father Lessard on an altar boy outing at Camp Ker-Anna in Cumberland, RI when he let us boys climb on top of him in the lake and he would pick up each of us kids and throw us to the deep part. He was a very strong, stoic and sweet man. He seemed to really love us and we respected him a lot.

Regardless of these mostly positive memories, I really hate Catholicism. Everyone that knows me knows how much I hate the Republican party. It is all over Facebook and Twitter. Yet most don't know what I think about Catholicism. Well, here it is. My disdain for the Catholic Church far outweighs my disdain for the Republican party perhaps tenfold. Republicans suck, but at least, they are obvious about it. Regardless of how disgusting the Republicans are, we don't leave our children with them. Catholics claim righteousness and then are guilty of one of humanities worst crimes, preying on children. I generally don't bring it up because I don't want to lose my composure, so please excuse me while I do so in writing.

The report that came out this week about priest pedophiles in Pennsylvania isn't old news. This is just the latest. Over 300 priests, over 1,000 victims in 70 years in only six dioceses. Some of the victims are as young as 18 months old. Some of the offenses happened in places we consider very "safe" like in hospital rooms. Wrap your head around that!  Someone sexually abused an 18 month old kid. Someone did it in a hospital room. Families trusted these people with vulnerable members of their families and they betrayed that trust. The report I read in the Washington Post described some really gruesome acts. Other reports I've heard have described priests passing boys around among a small group of priests in-the-know ... like trading cards. Sick shit!

The Church knew about all this and did their best to hide it. When caught, they simply shuffled the priests to other parishes so that they could prey on other innocents. The leadership structure in the Vatican hasn't changed. No reason exists, other than the investigations, for this behavior not to continue. They've changed nothing and the Pope's response (supposedly a "good" Pope)  is pathetic. America isn't the only place this is happening. Australia, Chile, Canada, France, Ireland and Germany all have major investigations going on.

Here is the thing that really disgusts me: people I know, and some I even love, are still members of the Catholic Church. If you are still a member of this sick entity called the Catholic Church, you are a part of the problem. If you give them money, you are supporting pedophilia. If you are bringing up your children in a Catholic Church, the only reason why they are safe is because they are being watched. The moment the world stops watching, they will be at it again. Why would you continue associating with this organization? I question your intelligence and your morality. It is time you join the ranks of the recovering Catholics.

Now, I know I sound intolerant, but intolerance is okay when you are intolerant of a disgusting organization like the Catholic Church. My intolerance isn't the problem, your complacency is. And if you are a member of one of these churches, you are complicit. Judgement of you will ensue.

Monday, August 13, 2018

Trump Log #56: It Is Not the Economy, Stupid!

It is unfortunately that some people use the economy as a barometer to measure a President's performance. In America, Presidents have little affect on the economy. They can shift priorities, spend on roads or over defense, on schools over banking reform, etc. But overall, Presidents are usually only along for the ride. Economies are cyclical. I hear people say they like President Clinton because the economy was a boom when he was in office. But the economic boom during the 1990's had little to do with him. He just happened to be in office during the dot-com boom. I hear people dislike Obama because of the economy sucked when he was in office, but he inherited a global banking crisis that had little to do with him. His administration helped with the recovery a little, he could have done more, but mostly, it just needed time to recover.

You think Trump is doing a good job because the economy is recovering? I think you should reconsider. It is finally recovering from the global banking crisis that started in the W. Bush days. It is recovering in spite of Trump not because of him. It would be doing a lot better if it were not for his tariffs and his unpredictability. There was a spike in the economy in recent days, which is a great thing, but this is because firms were rushing to buy from their suppliers before the tariffs became official. How will the economy react to the tariffs? No one expects it to be good. Hopefully, they blame him for the bad economy when it happens.

People will vote based on the economy no matter what anyone says. So what should you consider when voting for President if not the economy?  Everything else.

Monday August 6: When President Trump gets criticized by a black person, he always retaliates by attacking their intelligence. This is consistent with the Candidate Trump who retweeted white supremacy groups multiple times during his campaign. (Source: Washington Post)

Tuesday August 7: When you testify before Trump's School Safety Commission, you will be asked not to talk about gun control. (Source: LA Times)

Wednesday August 8: Trump stands to save a lot of money from the latest tax cut that he is proposing. (Source: New York Times)

Thursday, August 9: Make America great again! How? Asbestos, of course. (Source: Washington Post)

Friday, August 10: VP Pence will be unveiling the details of Trump's new Space Force, the first new branch of the military in 70 years. It isn't needed, most of the Pentagon is against it and it introduces another huge bureaucracy into our Federal Government. The Republicans have really jumped the shark on this "small government" thing. (Source: Washington Post)

Saturday, August 11: In Trump's meeting with North Korea two months ago, we received no official agreement from them. So would you believe that they are asking for more now? (Source: New York Times).

Sunday, August 12: Trump is extremely unpopular in California. He lost the state by over 4 million votes and the state government has filed 29 lawsuits against his administration. Now that they are in need of funding for recovery for forest fires, he is retaliating. This type of political pettiness is unheard of among Presidents ... until now. (Source: Slate)

Prior Trump Logs:
Issue # 1 - posted November 15th, 2016
Issue # 2 - posted November 22nd, 2016
Issue # 3 - posted November 29th, 2016
Issue # 4 - posted December 6, 2016
Issue # 5 - posted December 12, 2016
Issue # 6 - posted December 19, 2016
Issue # 7 - posted December 26, 2016
Issue # 8 - posted January 3, 2017
Issue # 9 - posted January 10, 2017
Issue #10 - posted January 17, 2017
Issue #11 - posted January 24, 2017
Issue #12 - posted January 31, 2017
Issue #13 - posted February 7, 2017
Issue #14 - posted February 14, 2017
Issue #15 - posted February 21, 2017
Issue #16 - posted February 28, 2017
Issue #17 - posted March 7, 2017
Issue #18 - posted March 14, 2017
Issue #19 - posted March 21, 2017
Issue #20 - posted March 28, 2017
Issue #21 - posted April 5, 2017
Issue #22 - posted April 11, 2017
Issue #23 - posted April 18, 2017
Issue #24 - posted April 25, 2017
Issue #25 - posted May 2, 2017
Issue #26 - posted May 9, 2017
Issue #27 - posted May 16, 2017
Issue #28 - posted May 23, 2017
Issue #29 - posted May 30, 2017
Issue #30 - posted June 6, 2017
Issue #31 - posted June 13, 2017
Issue #32 - posted June 20, 2017
Issue #33 - posted June 27, 2017
Issue #34 - posted March 12, 2018
Issue #35 - posted March 19, 2018
Issue #36 - posted March 26, 2018
Issue #37 - posted April 1, 2018
Issue #38 - posted April 8, 2018
Issue #39 - posted April 15, 2018
Issue #40 - posted April 22, 2018
Issue #41 - posted April 29, 2018
Issue #42 - posted May 6, 2018
Issue #43 - posted May 13, 2018
Issue #44 - posted May 20, 2018
Issue #45 - posted May 27, 2018
Issue #46 - posted June 3, 2018
Issue #47 - posted June 10, 2018
Issue #48 - posted June 17, 2018
Issue #49 - posted June 24, 2018
Issue #50 - posted July 1, 2018
Issue #51 - posted July 8, 2018
Issue #52 - posted July 15, 2018
Issue #53 - posted July 22, 2018
Issue #54 - posted July 29, 2018
Issue #55 - posted August 5, 2018

Monday, August 6, 2018

Trump log #55: Just When You Thought It Couldn't Get Scarier

One of the aspects of American culture that candidate Trump glommed onto, was the growing popularity of conspiracy theories. He attacked our previous president with nonsense about his birth certificate. Some of our more shitty media companies gave him free publicity when he did so. He also clings to the bad ideas about vaccines, believes that Supreme Court Justice Scalia was assassinated and that global warming is a hoax invented by China. In normal times, a candidate who did such things, who admitted to such beliefs, would be laughed off the stage. But this is not normal times. Has this aspect of our society always been here and we didn't see it? Has the Internet simply made it easier for insane and paranoid people to more easily meet and exchange "ideas?"  These people have always fascinated me but up until recently, they never scared me. Qanon kinda scares me.

Qanon is getting a lot of exposure this week, with New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and The Guardian etc., all giving them ink. Who are they? If you watch a Trump rally and scan the crowd, you will see people with Q t-shirts and "We Are Q" signs. They believe that all presidents after Reagan through Obama were members of a cabal or a syndicate of powerful people from government, industry, media and other parts of American life. It is unclear what this group's apparent motivation is other than power and pedophilia, but they are all plotting against Qanon's savior, Donald Trump. It sounds nutty. If it were a movie, I would not believe it. When a group of delusional and easily manipulated people get together, they could believe anything it seems. What is scary about this group is that they are growing and some famous people (Roseanne Barr and Curt Schilling) are doing their bidding. They also have some odd obsessions: the Titanic, the Rothschilds and the Illuminati.

Like a lot of fringe movements, this one also comes with violence. In June, a gunman on a Qanon mission had a standoff at Hover Dam demanding more action against Hillary Clinton for her emails. In December, 2016, a few weeks after the election, a gunman shot up a pizza place in DC claiming that a child molesting ring was being run in its basement. This was "discovered" by reading coded messages in John Podesta's emails to his candidate Hillary Clinton. This is serious. We live in a society that has legal access to guns and the insane are organizing. They even have their own president now.

Trump Log: 

Monday, July 30 - Straddling the line of church vs. state, AG Jeff Sessions announces a Religious Liberty Task Force. (Source: Slate)

Tuesday, July 31 - So not only is our Federal government separating migrant children from their parents and then treating the children like animals, but they are drugging them with psychotropics. Something tells me these kids are really going to hate America in the future ... just a guess. (Source: Washington Post)

Wednesday, August 1 - Trump's lying and hate mongering has lead to an uptick in popularity of conspiracy theories.  The most scary and bizarre is Q-Anon. (Source: Washington Post)

Thursday, August 2 - Trump announces that he plans to freeze automotive fuel-efficiency requirements. (Source: Washington Post)

Friday, August 3 - Trump's tariff on Canadian paper could to be the death knell to many American newspapers. (Source: New York Times)

Saturday, August 4 - We could stop Russia from interfering in our election in November pretty easily. Many in Trump's administration are ready to step up and do it, if only he would admit there was a problem. (Source: Slate)

Sunday, August 5 - We have had Presidents that were out of touch with the economy before, but we don't expect this from a President's whose only qualification was his business acumen. (Source: Washington Post)

Prior Trump Logs:
Issue # 1 - posted November 15th, 2016
Issue # 2 - posted November 22nd, 2016
Issue # 3 - posted November 29th, 2016
Issue # 4 - posted December 6, 2016
Issue # 5 - posted December 12, 2016
Issue # 6 - posted December 19, 2016
Issue # 7 - posted December 26, 2016
Issue # 8 - posted January 3, 2017
Issue # 9 - posted January 10, 2017
Issue #10 - posted January 17, 2017
Issue #11 - posted January 24, 2017
Issue #12 - posted January 31, 2017
Issue #13 - posted February 7, 2017
Issue #14 - posted February 14, 2017
Issue #15 - posted February 21, 2017
Issue #16 - posted February 28, 2017
Issue #17 - posted March 7, 2017
Issue #18 - posted March 14, 2017
Issue #19 - posted March 21, 2017
Issue #20 - posted March 28, 2017
Issue #21 - posted April 5, 2017
Issue #22 - posted April 11, 2017
Issue #23 - posted April 18, 2017
Issue #24 - posted April 25, 2017
Issue #25 - posted May 2, 2017
Issue #26 - posted May 9, 2017
Issue #27 - posted May 16, 2017
Issue #28 - posted May 23, 2017
Issue #29 - posted May 30, 2017
Issue #30 - posted June 6, 2017
Issue #31 - posted June 13, 2017
Issue #32 - posted June 20, 2017
Issue #33 - posted June 27, 2017
Issue #34 - posted March 12, 2018
Issue #35 - posted March 19, 2018
Issue #36 - posted March 26, 2018
Issue #37 - posted April 1, 2018
Issue #38 - posted April 8, 2018
Issue #39 - posted April 15, 2018
Issue #40 - posted April 22, 2018
Issue #41 - posted April 29, 2018
Issue #42 - posted May 6, 2018
Issue #43 - posted May 13, 2018
Issue #44 - posted May 20, 2018
Issue #45 - posted May 27, 2018
Issue #46 - posted June 3, 2018
Issue #47 - posted June 10, 2018
Issue #48 - posted June 17, 2018
Issue #49 - posted June 24, 2018
Issue #50 - posted July 1, 2018
Issue #51 - posted July 8, 2018
Issue #52 - posted July 15, 2018
Issue #53 - posted July 22, 2018
Issue #54 - posted July 29, 2018