take a step back

Were the truth really to be told - and I'm fairly certain no one close to the man will EVER admit it - I don't think you could find one single person (including the candidate himself) who thought he had a snowball's chance in hell to win the election. Perhaps his obsession with numbers is a cry for someone to wake him up out of this nightmare that is quickly turning into the not funny version of "Groundhog Day." I know. Wishful thinking. 

As Democrats or Independents or Third Party-ers - the ones who have the most to gain - we must stay ever vigilant to support the media in their efforts to ferret out the truth. Perhaps journalists should adopt the Harry Potter approach of "He Who Must Not Be Named" when it comes to the very over-used term, "fake news." Repeating that phrase only gives it more power - whether it be to a television audience or when asking a question at the White House. Could it be that the rabid spreading of this sad, childish taunt is playing directly into his tiny orange hands?

It's become clear that he craves the adulation of those who can't (or won't) see that he is still just a rich bully who has no trouble giving them what they want. Conversely, he doesn't give two shits about what his supporters need. really need.

The Republicans, who have much to lose, need to wake the hell up and right their already right leaning ship (😜) or their party could experience catastrophic atrophy, perhaps even death. I read recently that many representatives (maybe senators, too) are cancelling upcoming town hall meetings, ostensibly to avoid angry constituents.  Do they really think that will send a positive message or gain the respect/votes they need to stay in office? Rumor has it that our representatives in Washington were elected so that OUR voices can be heard. OUR values, OUR concerns, OUR livelihoods. It's been a pathetically long time since I've seen or heard my fellow Kansans in Washington put their money where their mouths are.

Actually,  it's not the political parties that stand to gain (or lose) the most.  It's US. You and me, and our neighbors and co-workers who should be at the forefront of the gain/lose equation.  And, based on my newsfeed on Facebook, there is no shortage of petitions to sign, rallies to attend. It can be overwhelming with all the things that are - apparently - about to disappear from our American bubble. I know that, for me, inaction just leads to an unhealthy daily dose of CNN and reading lots of articles from a variety of news outlets. I may feel more informed, but I'm not doing anything constructive with that information (unless you consider blasting facts and non-stop "can you believe this crap" stories at my family the second they step foot inside as constructive.  I assure you, they do not find it helpful OR endearing).

It has been only 29 days since the inauguration. It feels like three years. In the manic comedy of Cheri O'Teri, everyone needs to simmer down. Take the pot of lies, innuendos and unknowns off the front burner. I'm not saying the media doesn't need to stay vigilant. No, that's more important than ever. Everyone now has a clear understanding that the man lies. He lies about the lies. He lies about the lies he's lied about.

The numbers are important to only him. Everyone who's within shouting distance of a TV knows that he's prone (that's a very tepid evaluation, I know) to exaggeration. Let him play in the corner with his number fantasies. Journalists, get back to reporting substantive news. There are crises in the world that need media coverage. The small "I can't believe he just said that" stuff is detracting from issues that don't deserve to be covered in just the last few seconds of a newshour. The absurdities and minutiae are whipping us into a futile frenzy.  Ok. Maybe it's just me that's getting whipped. But I kind of doubt it.

I don't think anyone needs more evidence that he's a pathological liar. Quit giving them life by airing them.

No air, no life.

In the words of my second favorite president, Josiah Bartlet...what's next?

Is This Grief?

Ever since the election in November, I've been in a funk.  Not because my candidate didn't win.  I can honestly say that.  I'm funked out because people voted for what appears to be to a fundamentally terrible person.  I say "appears" because I've not met the man...my opinions are based on what has been paraded in front of me for the past eighteen months.

I cannot for the life of me understand how any intelligent, rational, concerned person could vote for this man after listening to the hate-filled, bigoted, misogynistic, false, racist, and just plain mean shit that has come out of his mouth. Help me understand.  Please.

I can appreciate peoples' aversion to Clinton.  I wasn't 100% thrilled with her either. But. There should have been a better (more consensus building, well-funded) candidate offered by the Democratic Party...or any other party.   I'd bet my life no one could have predicted the Trump phenomenon.  Still, we should have been given better choices.

But.  Here we are.

And I am angry.  Depressed.  Hopeless.  Sad.  Repulsed.  Wary.  Afraid.  Indignant.

Why?

Because we know better, people!  COME ON!  The media is trying to force-feed me a new "normal" that I refuse to accept.

NONE OF THIS IS NORMAL.

The tweeting.  The mocking.  The bullying.  The utter stupidity of things that are said with no filter and no understanding of why it's not okay to say those things. Does he know about The Golden Rule? It's gold, for Pete's sake.  Thought it might have caught his eye, given his love of all things Midas-ized.

I get that this guy is polarizing. It's kind of how democracy works...during an election.  But that part of the process is over.  He won.  He will be the next President.  So stop calling out people who have a right to express their opinions.  He has a very serious job ahead and it's mortifying that he spends so much time and energy on being a mean person.

As I've tried to become reconciled with this new regime I told myself that he'd surround himself with intelligent people who would give him sound, measured advice.  So far all I can tell is that most of his major appointees are very wealthy. When Rex Tillerson, the nominee for Secretary of State, was asked if he and Trump agree about a position on Russia, Tillerson said they hadn't discussed it?  Really?  Wow. Exactly what DID they talk about during their time together?  ANYTHING regarding expectations of what foreign policy might look like?

My gut tells me (supported by any number of sound bytes in which Trump uses every adjective ever created to feed his insatiable ego) is that he won't be able to resist bragging one too many times about the deals that he's turned down...at this point ANY business deals involving the Trump organization should not even be presented to him.  Period. Comments he made this week indicate that he thinks he is legally allowed to pretty much continue business as usual, with a few minor tweaks.  I'm guessing the laws regarding conflict of interest pertaining to the President of the United States are great in number and highly intricate.

Then there are the countless number of conflicting statements he's made and the outright lies he's told. Ok.  I know lots of people fudge the truth, or skew facts to present themselves in a better light.  Doesn't make it right, but it happens. However, it's a bit unnerving (bordering on ridiculous) when quote after quote after quote after quote is then compared to other quotes that directly contradict the first assertions.

I get a mental picture of two rows of gold plated china spinning on top of teetering poles.  One side is lies. The other side is conflicts of interest.  Trump is sitting in the middle, looking bored.  While Ivanka, Don, Eric, Jared and Kellyanne are frantically trying to keep all the plates spinning.  Next scene: splintered, gold plated china in piles.  Trump, still in the middle. Still bored.

"Give him a chance."  He says he can be presidential.  I'd be interested to hear him articulate what he thinks that means.

Better yet.  Do it.  Dammit, do it.

P.S. Last time I checked, America has elected a former actor as President, a former actor and professional body builder as Governor, a wrestler as Governor, a former SNL writer as Senator, and, most recently, the star of a reality television series and owner of a beauty pageant franchise as President...and, according to Wikipedia, there are quite a few more entertainment folk who have sought and/or served in government.  Which brings me to Meryl Streep's comments.  I didn't hear a strong political statement.  I heard a citizen who was dismayed by a public display of cruelty towards a fellow human being.  I heard a plea to acknowledge that negative actions do not build up, they destroy.  I heard a call for truth and accountability in reporting events in the world.  Above all, I heard an American - who happened to have a large platform - share the concerns of her heart.

Not unlike what I've just done.  But without the big platform. Or shelf full of gold statues.