The new “forever war”

There were any number of ways for the president to stop the escalation spiral and negotiate with Iran. At every turn, he chose conflict. The days that follow may provide Congress, and the American people, our last best hope at halting a new American war in the Middle East that should have been utterly avoidable.
Did Trump Just Sign Up to His Own ‘Forever War’?

The list

Here is a list of Trump’s accomplishments so far:

ACTION	WHY?
Redo NAFTA	Other presidents created it.
Leave Paris climate agreement	Obama supported it.
Dismantle Affordable Care Act	It’s Obama-Care!
Criticize NATO	Obama supported NATO.
Leave New START treaty	Obama wanted to stay.
Support Russia	Obama won without Russia’s help.
Cancel Iran agreement	Obama created it.
Be nice to North Korea	No other president could.
Turn back on Cuba (again)	Obama opened the door.

Boris and friends

Boris Johnson is all about LEAVE making GB great again. But no mention of climate change, Scotland still wanting to REMAIN or that there WILL be customs checks between Britain and Ireland.

And Australia’s idiot PM:
Scott Morrison returns from holiday and signals no change to climate policy despite bushfires crisis

And alt-right friends in the U.S.:
Democrats are concerned that impeachment will not chasten the president, and that the 2020 election won’t be free of foreign influence because (1) Trump will invite meddling and (2) he and his allies continue to promote Russian propaganda.
Trump promotes Putin’s take on a “far-fetched” impeachment process

Why bother?

Why bother discussing anything serious on Facebook. All people care about is:
* cute pet or kid pictures (I have a plant and no kids.)
* them sitting with their grand kids (I have no kids.)
* pictures of their vacation (I can see better in a travel guide.)
* pictures of past family gatherings – OK, this I like!
* little or no political posts
* I “like” and comment a lot but many people don’t give ANY feedback!
I often unfriend them, to see if they even notice. They usually don’t.

Trump’s legacy

He is so worried about his legacy. What legacy? Here is the top 10 list:
1. Lie like a rug at every turn.
2. Remind his wife that he cheated on her.
3. Start trade wars, disrupt the world order.
4. Deny climate change, pull out of Paris Agreement.
5. Attack the E.U., NATO and all that is good in the world.
6. Give weirdos like Steve Bannon, Steven Miller and Peter Navarro something to.
7. Give alt-right and white supremacists a poster boy.
8. Give praise to dictators and clowns (Boris Johnson).
9. Give Evangelists a president “sent from God.”
10. Piss off Iran and the Palestinians.

Well, at least Twitter is happy!

Syria Policy Change

Trump has now officially given up on Syria. Only time will tell if he was right. My money is on ISIS!
What Trump Actually Gets Right About Syria

John Bolton may be gone, but his legacy is not

John Bolton is finally gone. But can his path of destruction be reversed?

John Bolton was a serial arms control killer

Ireland and Great Britain have a checkered past

6 times the Irish learned not to trust the British
“You now have British politicians saying the Irish are bringing this border up to stop us from leaving Europe. As if the Irish put the border there!” [They didn’t – the British created the border in 1921.]

Results of the 2016 UK EU membership referendum
Note that these major areas voted “remain”:
Scotland, Northern Ireland, London, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester

We need a backstop too!

Mikie Sherrill Is Not Feeling the Pressure

“If this president wins reelection, we need to have the House of Representatives. I think he’s been very bad for this country. And I think the only backstop right now is the House. And so I don’t take that responsibility lightly.”

He’s a wild card that you can’t count out

Foreign diplomats brace for Trump 2020 win

“He’s not an isolated phenomenon,” a European diplomat said. “In his campaign and his presidency, he’s just responding to what the American public feels. The frustration he expresses, the grievances he responded to in his campaign are very often real.”

Countries that have elected right-wingers since 2016:
* Poland, Hungary, Italy, UK (sort of – Boris Johnson)

Countries that have benefited from Trump’s presidency:
* Russia, North Korea, Israel, Saudi Arabia

Trump’s 45% approval rating seems high. Evangelists + NRA + white supremacists + anti-immigrant + anti-abortion = 30%, right? Oh, I forgot “just plain stupid” = 15%.