Hope died in 2016. Not only did the Democratic Party implode, but liberalism appears to be on its death bed. The political center collapsed, with the extreme right flexing even more political muscle while the left whimpered with Bernie Sanders, then whined about candidate choices and finally, after election day, took its frustrations into the streets in useless self -congratulatory demonstrations. A flurry of inane petitions about the electoral college preceded what appears be a return to their daily lives or maybe just a holiday break. There is still sniping on social media which alternates with Facebook family holiday posts. We hold our breath.

Trump supporters have been jubilantly celebrating the ascendance of their presumptive  defender of the working and failing middle class. Yet even those voters are not hopeful; they voted more from despair than an ongoing belief that their future would be better. In interview after interview, miners understand that Trump can’t bring coal mining back, faced with the international market continuing to contract combined with cheap gas and oil prices. While Trump and his supporters may not have accepted climate change, most of the rest of the world which is choking under coal emissions is trying to convert to cleaner and cheaper fuels.

Those hoping to recover higher paying manufacturing jobs, in cities that are hollowed out after the factories closed, admit that the manufacturing is not likely to return, despite tax credits or reductions or deductions or shelters given to multinational corporations. Even if the global economy does not disintegrate in the near future, in the wake of a fractured Eurozone, struggling under the financial and political weight of 8 million immigrants, and a series of international trade wars, life will probably not get better for these working men, women and their families. They’ve placed their faith in trade restrictions, a dangerous game that can backfire into more expensive goods at home and eventually even less production.

Even so, Trump supporters are apt to give him a lot of rope. They want to believe, even when Trump’s actions are diametrically opposed to his campaign promises. They are buoyed by his unconventional behavior, his direct connection to them with outrageous tweets, his defiance of governmental traditions and his continuing insults to Obama, even seizing government initiatives while not yet in office. One example, admonition of Boeing for the Air Force contract, which does not yet exist. Since there is yet no contract, it wasn’t hard for Trump to press a “deal”. In short, they are still being dazzled by the razzamatazz of the show.

Another is the Carrier deal: fewer than announced number of jobs saved in the US with others still going to Mexico; a big tax break that will cost Indiana taxpayers future revenue and serve as further rationale for future budget cuts; and most importantly, Carrier plans to invest hundreds of millions in plant automation that will eliminate jobs in the near future after the news cycle has moved on. It’s all smoke and mirrors, but supporters shut out naysayers completely by using selective news sources or dismiss detractors as corrupt mainstream media.

Trump has inserted his hand into reshaping foreign policy, like a phone talk with the Taiwanese prime minister, pissing off the Chinese who felt their sacred belief in only one China was challenged. This touched off some petulant Chinese hanky panky with a refusal to return a seized US submarine drone to which the Obama administration had to respond. And yet, Trump took credit for forcing the drone’s return, all with the mighty power of the Tweet but in the absence of direct communication with the Chinese authorities. (in truth, the timing was a little off; his spokesman took credit for the return just before Trump tweeted that the Chinese could keep the drone.) Of course, Obama administration officials did have contact with the Chinese that resolved the issue. Trump ain’t president yet. Supporters are unconcerned that he has usurped the presidency early; he’s just sticking it to the Black guy. Oh yes, it matters a lot that our current president is Black.

Trump supporters now favor Vladimir Putin, as seen in polls that 70% of Republicans have a favorable opinion of Russia. They are unconcerned about FBI and CIA reports of Russian sabotage. It’s just sour grapes over Clinton’s defeat, they think, following Trump’s hyperreactivity to the CIA conclusion that Russian hacking was designed to assist his victory. That was like waving a red cape in front of a bull in the ring.

Supporters see no harm in Trump’s keeping his businesses; he worked hard to accumulate his wealth and deserves to retain them. The furor over Trump’s conflict of interests seems obscure; our leader has asked for our trust, and they trust him implicitly. In part, they want to believe that they can raise up their own small businesses to greater heights, freed from the yoke of government regulations that will be the cornerstone of a Trump administration. They understand that the millionaires and billionaires appointed to the new cabinet are the natural enemies of government regulation, but not that regulation is a major hindrance to the continuing corporate pillage of both the working and middle classes and the environment. The Republican party is, after all, the party of a white individual’s rights to shape his own destiny, unfettered by overreaching government intervention. The party faithful haven’t realized that it is also the party of “trickle down economics” that over the last 3 Republican administrations presided over the steady decline in average family income (2010 figures) to less than 1978 levels. And more than that, it is Obama who crafted the economic recovery. At the same time, most of the benefits from deregulation have been concentrated in the hands of the top 1%, as exemplified by the average CEO compensation package of Fortune 500 corporations is 345 times that of a typical worker. It is the party that makes the rich richer, the middle class poor and and the poor poorer.

Supporters so thoroughly steeped in denial, which in many ways is how they came to be conservatives, are waiting with anxiously baited breathe and low expectations. On the other hand, non-conservatives shutter at every new Trump tweet. The presumptive premature seizure of power, through Twitter and phone calls, is bad enough in itself. More disturbing, it happens away from any scrutiny by the investigative press. If there is no paper trail, how are we to know what has transpired? If Trump is unavailable for spontaneous questioning, except in the entertainment forum of TV and radio calls, how is the public to understand the context of what is happening? The word of a committed liar has no value unless it can be corroborated.

Only the far right is energized. Rather than sanitize the movement with the new term “alt-right”, we should identify them plainly as a collection white supremacist, including Nazis and KKKs, fascists, free staters, conspiracy theorists, anti-governmentalists and various shades of government paranoia. Until Trump coddled and unleashed these elements during his campaign through social media, fake news and Breitbart, they tended to be isolated, linked through message boards and blogs. Trump politicized them, elevating “politically incorrect” expressions of bigotry, racism, homophobia, xenophobia to social acceptability. Trump’s American Greatness harks back to the days when white men ruled the roost; when he could bully and intimidate women and minorities to accept what he wanted them to have without fear of reprisals, circa the 1960s. Now, the white supremacists have seen what political action can achieve and they are organizing into groups that are well financed and communication savvy, starting at local and state levels. And they have Steve Bannon in the West Wing, as the Donald’s communications right hand. Let’s hope this segment remains small and their hope becomes frustration and prompts a return to their basement computer screens.

It is Trump’s obfuscation of the flow of information that goes hand in glove with Trump’s obvious dictatorial proclivities, clearly not discerned by his supporters. The handcuffing of the free press, the refusal to disclose financial ties, a refusal to divest business interests, the continued interweaving of his family members in transition activities, an apparent blindness to questions of conflict of interests and influence peddling, a cabinet lineup designed to implode the government agencies, the complete disregard for established government precedents and protocols, admiration for past and present dictators, including Putin, and the continuing interference with the current administration are all hallmarks of despot who has begun lulling the populace into coalescence to nondemocratic forms of government. Trevor Noah has joked that Trump has borrowed the playbook of African dictators. It’s not just our economic well-being we’re worried about, it is our unique form of government.
2017 will be the year of despair.

Bravo Barack. The closing of 2 Russian intelligence compounds in the US and expelling 35 Russian intelligence officials is a wonderfully strategic move. In addition, there are sanctions on Russian officials and agencies, businesses and 2 other known hackers. This is the first public US response to Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee headquarters and leaking of democratic official emails during the recent campaign.  In addition, this is a response to recent harassment of US officials in Russia.

The announcement now is well placed. There is still time to add subsequent rebukes before Putin’s cheerleader assumes the office in January. And while Trump can reverse these actions, he can’t erase them or their propaganda impact. If he wants, he can welcome the Russian intelligence officials back to the US after his inauguration. He can even throw a fancy reception at Trump Tower, or better yet, his DC hotel (because he never misses a chance to line his (or family) pockets). The White House would be an outrageous setting, at least for Russian intelligence officials, but Trump is not beyond the outrageous.

One other benefit, it interrupted the news cycle around the UN resolution against the continuing extension of Israeli settlements into Palestinian territories and the Trump-Netanyahu kissing fest. Yuck!

The choice of targets is precise. The two Russians sanctioned are known cybercriminals, now moved up the FBI most wanted list. The two Russian compounds are repudiated to be used for espionage. And the intelligence officials and their families who are expelled with 72 hours notice will find themselves travelling during the New Year holiday, which is particularly important for Russians. That was just a little added zinger. Obama has intelligently limited these actions to intelligence personnel, striking back at ongoing Russian intelligence operations that are the usual practice between opposing nations.

Trump can express disbelief, but that makes him naive about the nation’s security. His remarks suggesting that “we should be moving on with our lives” reflects Trump’s insecurity about his victory while maintaining his enormous Russian blind spot. His statement that he believes we are confounded by the complexities of the internet shows a shocking lack of sophistication about what is almost certainly the most pressing global security problem and current cyber tracking techniques. Trump’s blind spot appears to have expanded. At least, he has acknowledged national concern and scheduled a security briefing for next week. Perhaps, Trump shouldn’t have been skipping those daily briefings. On the other hand, it’s probably better that he didn’t have advanced notice, so he had no opportunity to torpedo the president’s action.

Trump’s pal, Vladimir, has already come to his defense, accusing Obama of trying to undermine the Trump administration. On the other hand, House speaker Paul Ryan has already praised Obama’s actions and some Republican legislators are unlikely to get on board with any Trump efforts to reverse actions that are clearly targeted at Russian subversion. It’s difficult to see how the general public could support those either although Trump has sucked them in before.  

Spokesmen for Trump have taken up Putin’s mantle. Still trying to dismiss FBI contention that the Russian hacks were designed to help Trump get elected while missing no opportunity to criticize Obama, they are literally following a Russian script. Putin, having magnanimously refused to respond by expelling US personnel, said that Obama was trying to cast doubt on the legitimacy of his successor. Trump spokesmen have echoed these comments: Obama is expressing sour grapes; he’s trying to preserve his pitiful legacy. And further, they see Russia as a legitimate world power with which Trump will have to negotiate on the global stage. And there it is; Putin has achieved his goal. Remember that Russia has not been considered a world power in decades, even after the seizure of Crimea. Suddenly, it is negotiating Syrian truces (another propaganda high) and is powerful enough to introduce chaos into US elections and influence the choice of president and his policies. That’s heady stuff. Trump’s dismissal of cybersecurity issues seemingly guarantees Russian intrusions will be tolerated. Some have even suggested a role for Russia as an intermediary between the US and China, resurrecting the Big Three.

Granted, these sanctions will have little effect on Russian activity. No one would expect Russia to stop its espionage although an aggressive response may have Putin rethinking the electoral arena. But the sanctions send an important signal to American allies in Europe and the Baltic states, fearful of Russian aggression and similar attempts to influence their elections. There is also the possibility that more international agreements may be negotiated, similar to the response to Chinese hacking when the US, UK and the G20 countries negotiated agreements with China against cybertheft of intellectual property, trade secrets and commercial designs, even if Trump chooses to opt out.

The response, truthfully, is a little delayed. A sharp outcry should have been made at the time Russia was highly suspected as source of the hacking and the DNC emails were released. It was an act of sabotage that should have been decried. The disadvantage, of course, was the propaganda boost it provided Putin, but he had that anyway as the truth unfolded. Obama was maybe too thoughtful in hesitating to issue a stern rebuke to the Russians, fearing he would be accused of trying to unfairly influence the election. Fighting for the Democratic candidate is what sitting presidents do; certainly he delivered some fiery speeches as the campaign was hurtling toward that horrendous conclusion. So yes, he wanted to influence the election using the prerogatives of a sitting president. But more importantly, Putin has reaped a global propaganda windfall, enhanced by the tepid US response. A stronger response may have mobilized outrage in the American populace and Congressional leaders. Now the importance of national security is mired in the inane partisan politics of the day and the significance of the threat to American security has been lost.

But the main disadvantage of remaining quiet so is that Congress, lost in the headiness of Republican victory, seems to have soaked up Trump’s spin. Hopefully, they will not blindly follow Trump leading to devastating consequences for American foreign policy and security. On that, we will have to stay tuned.

As Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was poised to visit Pearl Harbor, I pondered the images of President Obama at Hiroshima. It is the closing of a circle: vastly expanded destruction at war’s end evolved from a small strategic strike at Pearl Harbor in the beginning. The 2400 casualties at Pearl Harbor mushroomed into 150,00-200,000 at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These numbers round up to 80 million people killed in World War II.

Photos from this and other events, remind us that when Barack leaves the White House, the elegant and tasteful style that he and Michelle ushered into the White House will fade, likely replaced with gaudy glaring gold plate plastered in every corner. It’s hard to imagine a man who burst out of elevators with arm extended to hail the press so he can brag about his latest magic trick in any of these images. For example, the Japanese billionaire pledged to bring 500,000 jobs to the US. (No details, like when, where, what kind of wage scale?)  Or attacking a Boeing executive for comments on free trade by questioning the $4 billion price tag of the new Air Force One plane contract.

Trump used Twitter, his preferred method of communication, to slam Boeing for overcharging the Pentagon. He followed with a comment that he didn’t want Boeing to make too much money. True to form, Trump fabricated a response from half baked information. Actually, Boeing’s contract is for $170 million to develop a design for the 2 aircraft with an estimated cost of $3-4 billion. The Donald has said in the past that his own Boeing plane is “much better” than Air Force One, a strong indication that he hasn’t grasp the requirements for designing a modern day flying warship with advanced defenses and communications capable of launching a nuclear attack if necessary.  It’s not a lavish luxury plane, but a working presidential office. Trump’s plane might have one or even two phone lines; the current Air Force One has four, including top secret secure lines. It’s not the kind of thing you want to nickel and dime unless you want to chance losing a sizable chunk of our executive branch ala “Designated Survivor”.

Trump may think he can drive a good bargain as Chief Negotiator, but that’s not how government contracts work. He may want to manage his government like his business, but he’ll be far too busy with executive functions to sit at the table for every government major contract. That’s best left to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  We would all concede that government purchase processes are rife with cost overruns and waste, much guided by Congressional shenanigans to bring money into their own districts. Process changes rather than false pronouncements are needed to effectively change that. Trump’s reaction is yet another instance of his vindictive hyper-reactivity to what is, after all, the exercise of free speech by the Boeing executive.  However, as President, his stage is the world and his power dangerous, for even minor infractions. For instance, Boeing stock prices dropped in the wake of Trump’s attack, reflecting anxiety over this and future government contracts. Oh, the sting of a Tweet is as sharp as a scorpion’s.

Or Psyche! Maybe just a crumb to get the press scrambling so Trump can watch the dust up. Or maybe a distraction from the ever larger looming conflicts of interest controversy. Or questionable Cabinet choices.

It is hard to imagine someone so niggardly could humbly lay a wreath at a memorial reverently honoring the brave and fallen in the somber setting of pale marble or granite. Bowing his head doesn’t come naturally to a man sensitive about revealing his double chin. The ego that stokes Trump’s flare for dictators’ gold obfuscates his ability to envision the world outside his person as anything other than objects, empty of higher principles and ethics. Trump’s speeches are persistently devoid of lofty phrases, even in the wake of the tragedy of the most recent flooding in Louisiana.

The Obama administration stands in sharp contrast to the current dust up about Trump’s self promotion in his upcoming administration. Trump’s announcement that he will continue as executive producer of “Celebrity Apprentice” is extraordinarily small minded. While it might be lucrative, as Trump has said, it also introduces questions of unfair advantage for NBCUniversal and Comcast against competitors along with pay-to-play influence in the White House. This controversy is just the latest in a string of Trump’s obvious promotion of  his own self interest. The Indian business partners, Washington Hotel, Ivanka in a meeting with the Japanese minister are only a few examples.

The Trump campaign is the culmination of the most recent manifestation of the White Rage, (a phrase I’ve borrowed from the book of the same name by Carol Anderson) that catapulted him into office. White Rage is the reaction in this country, throughout its history, to the baby steps of African American advancement to full US citizenship. In the latest chapter, Republican officials bristled at the election of a Black president with the highest ever Black voter turnout rate, almost equal to that of whites. They responded initially with redrawing districts in Republican controlled state legislatures, augmented with a subversive campaign lauded as an attack on voter fraud but designed to lower the number of Black voters by requiring state issued IDs, limiting motor vehicle offices where IDs could be bought, shortening early voting periods and inadequately staffing polling places in areas where African Americans vote. Republicans mounted a successive rollback of the Voter Registration Act, to limit the number of districts that require prior federal approval of voting plans in districts with history of racial discrimination. The strategies success is revealed in declining African American turnout in 2010, 2012, 2014 and finally 2016.

Simultaneously, Congressional Republicans vowed to subvert every legislative piece of the Obama agenda to “make him a one-term president”. In addition, they fomented a culture of incivility toward the president, highlighted by a congressmen screaming “you lie” during a State of the Union address. There was relentless criticism from Fox News and CNN about Obama’s interaction with international leaders. The Birther Movement. Conservative radio commentators hurling epithets, tinged with code switch words evoking anti-Black sentiments. The persistent support for the lie that Obama is a Moslem. It all culminated in the Trump campaign where the cover was ripped off the racism and bigotry in service of “damning political correctness.”

Yes, I will miss the Obamas who stood graciously in the face of cascades of insults. They are, after all, the ultimate expression of the American dream particularly because of their dark skin color. Michelle promoted a campaign against obesity, healthy eating, vegetable gardening, and physical activity. These things ruffled the feathers of Trump supporters who want the freedom to choose unhealthy habits, so taxpayers will ultimately bear the burden of paying for the care of their chronic disease. This is the same impetus that fires up opponents of Obamacare who would rather opt for bankruptcy in the face of medical expenses than have the government force them to purchase insurance.

But Michelle’s White House events exposed hundreds of kids to a different approach to health and nutrition. The President recognized hundred of heroes, military and civilian for their contributions to American culture and the defense of their country. He granted medals to soldiers’ families, long deprived of recognition for valiant action in war by racist military policies still practicing segregation until Vietnam. They supported music and art from the White House. None of these activities feel like they live in Trumps’ wheel house. But there will be plenty of golf. Oh yeah, and First Lady attacks on cyber bullying. Hopefully, that will begin with shutting down the President’s Twitter account down on Inauguration Day.