The Madness of King Donald

      It is time for all media especially those legacy news interviews and analysis programs, major newscasts, front page of news sites and newspapers and cover stories in magazines to begin discussing the implications of a president who is, to put it insensitively, crazy. 

     This is not about mental illness or stigma, or the challenging life of those who suffer, but it is about the world that must suffer the consequences of a petulant narcissist who is damaging lives and what can or should be done about it. 

    It is past time to seriously address the abnormality and danger of our status. If you are not interested, enjoy the photos and click away. Otherwise we will explore this historic crisis just ahead.

OUT AND ABOUT

   A friend who was, among other careers, a human development psychologist, says it well. 

    "Trump has made the USA as narcissistic as he is. On the world stage we now have allegiance for no one and will use, manipulate, extort, bully and coerce our adversaries and allies alike for our own self interest."

    Now we have seen the 9th international military action of this young administration. This does not account for the 148 people who have been murdered in the 43 airstrikes on boats in the Caribbean and  Eastern Pacific all without evidence or proof of wrong doing. They are extrajudicial killings ordered by the  president. 

    Please understand this is not about policy or politics. It is not even about his incompetence or lack of character.

    When in American history has a President behaved as this man? We can argue power and politics, and have in this space, this is about insanity. The Rubicon in my analysis was when he began putting his name on buildings, and hanging his face on banners, and talking about naming airports and terminals.

    Trump is becoming more delusional, a captive of the narcissist personality, a disorder he suffers and increasingly displays. This is from the American Psychiatric Association.

    "Many people may be familiar with the casual use of the term narcissist, referring to a person who is very self-centered, boastful and hungry for attention and admiration. However, narcissistic personality disorder, a condition described in the DSM-5-TR*, is more severe, persistent and problematic.

Narcissistic personality disorder is complicated and nuanced. It is defined as a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (sense of superiority in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and occurring in a variety of contexts (APA 2022; see symptom list below). An estimated 1% to 2% of the U.S. population has narcissistic personality disorder (Weinberg & Ronningstam, 2022)."

    As someone who has reported on American politics and governance since 1968 I've seen no limit of debates and arguments about policy, legislating, the arm wrestle over war powers, quality of leadership and etc. It has been absurd watching media and national political analysis put the actions of the Trump regime into a frame work as though this is just another policy cycle. 

    From the beginning this regime has broken things; mores, values, alliances, history, policy, stability, the economy and lives. It's not only that he lies, or that he and his gang are incompetent, corrupt, operating by his whims, unrestricted by his lack of preparation or capacity. We are living under a sick and delusional man who has taken the world to the brink of complete disorder. 

    Criminals, including police killers, are pardoned. US citizens are assassinated, our military is killing people in the name of all of us, under his orders. We are changing the nature of our very being under his intentional divisive directives. 

  When will all of this be lifted to a point of priority discussion. This is not politics. This is consequence of a human being with a clear record; he has lived a life of corruption, racism, venality, vulgarity, bullying and deceit. (That he got elected is a discussion for another day.) Now even some who put him in office are bailing, he has one of the lowest approval ratings in history, but now he has escalated his reach and has turned this nation into a lawless pariah. Perhaps we should excuse our desire to keep things normal and simply acknowledge the insanity is taking over the American soul. Have you seen the size of the warehouses he wants to convert into detention centers? The inmates have taken over the asylum.

    These are not normal times. There is nothing normal. We must be honest and begin the discussion, no matter how painful, fraught and challenging it may be; what are we to do about the madness of the tyrant. This is a new and frightening time in US history. 

    He talks about Trump derangement syndrome. It's real, he is deranged and the world is suffering, that's the syndrome. 

     The world has been here before, even in the lifetime of some who remain with us. It's time to deal with the truth. These are not policy debates, these are the actions of a madman, belligerent, aging, sick, and caring about and obsessed only with himself. What could go wrong? Ask yourself what kind of people offer such fealty and serve such a man? What could go wrong? 

    It's time to make this discussion page 1, lead story, framing all of his actions by reference to his illness. We must persist until the cancer is excised. 

    See you down the trail.

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

the edge of a crisis?

    People heard what they wanted to hear in the Comey testimony. Vindication or condemnation! This is a locked culture, locked into hardened views with little or no room to reason or evolve. Minds are made up and people hear only what confirms.

     It is far more complex, demanding hard thinking and honest evaluation. What mattered most in the Comey hearing was what he said in closed session. Repeatedly he said he could not answer a specific inquiry in open session. I bristle at the idea the American public is not entitled to hear and know everything about its government. But a lifetime of reporting, including investigative work and covering issues of national security and intelligence, leads me to understand why some things are better out of public view, though I regret that. As a Chair of the intelligence oversight committee told me, "Some things don't look so good in the light of day..." So it is with investigation and legislative inquiry that seek to determine if there has been wrongdoing. 

     The substantive work will occur out of public view. There are critical matters to be resolved, no matter how inflamed may be the public, the partisans or the media. 

• The Russians Attacked the Presidential Election
• Did they affect or alter votes-no evidence of that yet but the probe deepens. Newly leaked data provides a new trail.
• Did members of the Trump organization collude with the Russians? Investigations continue.
• Why did so many of the Trump team have contact with Russian principals and intelligence officers?
• Did the Trump organization's contact with the Russians violate laws?
• Why did Trump people, including Kushner go around existing protocol to have contact?
• Did Trump know about the contacts?
• Has he lied about it?
• Why did Trump want the Russian investigation stopped?
• Was there obstruction of Justice?

      Perhaps you were struck by the same thought. In all of the Comey testimony and in the memos he wrote the president never asks about how serious was the Russian attack, or what we could do to make the nation safe from further invasions. Instead, he was interested only in himself and Comey's loyalty and his efforts to stop the probe. Let that sink in for a moment-the president, after an invasion of our electoral process sitting in private meetings with the director of the FBI expresses no concern about the attack? 

      Of course this is the same man who gave secret intelligence to Russians in the oval office the day after he fired Comey and slurred him and the FBI. 

 what do we tell the kids?

       Trump admitted on national television he fired Comey because of the Russian investigation. Whether that and what he said to Comey in private and perhaps other actions constitute an obstruction of justice is a work of legal determination. 
      It could be there was nothing any of the Trump people did with the Russians that is illegal, but to stop an investigation or interfere with it is illegal. With the Mueller inquiry and two Congressional investigations, determinations will be made, according to law. But despite how Trump's words maybe parsed or how legal minds decide, what Trump did and said is offensive, immoral and wrong. It is further evidence he is unfit and unqualified. What he said to Comey is evidence of a corrupt mind. (To reach this judgment I am putting more weight in the credibility of Comey than Trump. Only a fool would not. Their own records make that case.) 

turn it down

    Much of the media lead-in to the Comey hearing was  hyperbolic  and childish. But the biggest loser of the day was the Trump lawyer brought in from New York. Marc Kasowitz fell flat on his face when he tried to discredit Comey. Kasowitz was completely wrong on the timeline, blowing his big "gotcha."  Plus he misspelled the word president in his released statement. 
     Several law firms blew Trump off when he asked for help. He brought in one of his New York gang who has threatened to sue media sources who reported on earlier trump sexual assault allegations. The sleaze is never far from the nincompoop. 
      The Trump gang is on the ropes. And to mix metaphors- they may be hanging themselves.

my how time flies

     Some of you are readers of Oddball Observations written by the Catalyst aka Bruce Taylor. You may know he and Judy have recently completed a move to a new home. Well, here is that same couple with Lana and our eldest Kristin some 30-35 years ago. As Bruce laments how hard the move was on his ancient body-I want to remind him of the inner young dude who still exists in there. 

     Take it easy.  See you down the trail.

NAW-SHOULDN'T HAPPEN

CAN WE TALK?

   Now do you really think AT&T wants T-Mobile so they 

make customers happy and do a better job?  

   This time the government intervention is a good thing for all of us. T-Mobile forces more competition, meaning better pricing. AT&T's swallowing of T-Mobile would do one thing for certain with fewer options-drive up service costs? 

    Maybe there is a little Teddy Roosevelt DNA still pulsing through the federal government. 

OH YEA?

SAYS WHO?

      I heard a former intelligence chief, who served in the George W. Bush administration say it well. According to the criminal pictured above, the only person who was right was him.  Exploding heads he said.  Well he tried that before didn't he?  Powell, Tenet, and even the challenged W himself had it wrong.  Only uncle grumpy here was right, according to the charming war criminal himself.  

      Military officers and intelligence operatives have said

this man's actions put American personnel at greater risk.

That he lied only adds ignominy to his pathetic attempt at 

image control with his book.

      A friend did work on the audit that found at least 

$60 Billion in war dollars were wasted on fraud.  He told me a couple of years ago that though he didn't want to believe it, the more he saw, the more it became apparent that 

this Vice President was a kind of "air boss for corruption" employing tactics of no bid contracts to old cronies and business partners.  And then looking the other way when price gouging and over billing, under stocking and other larceny took place. I hope this man lives long enough to be

charged with either war crimes or just old fashioned 

corruption.   

     Hey Dr. Evil, maybe we should re-cycle the idea of one of your long ago enemies-Abbie Hoffman.  Remember his 

admonition "STEAL THIS BOOK?"

DAY BOOK

 "Naw. Forget about it. We've got company.

We'll talk later."

See you down the trail.