State of the Union- Eh!

 

The President with the worst first year approval rating in history came before the American people last night and in every place where he could have been a source of bringing the nation together, he was divisive.

He set himself up to show that he was responsible for the economic advances our country has made in the last year but he was constantly rebutted by facts. He wants us to think that he has gotten people back to work but the 94 million people who were looking for jobs at the end of the Obama administration is now 95 million. The 43 million on food stamps during the last Obama year is about the same. The trade deficit has increased and after talking it to death, he hasn’t done anything about our failing infrastructure. He railed about our lack of functional trade deals but of the 35 major international trade deals negotiated by nations during his first year in office we participated in only one. He boasted that under his leadership we would have a GDP of 4 to 5% and we have ended up with just short of 21/2 %. A lazy, rich man’s kid; Trump has inherited two great legacies during his life. His father left him millions and a functioning business, which Trump has managed to bring to bankruptcy four times. Then Obama left him a functioning economy, a miracle considering the mess he inherited from George Bush and so far Trump has done nothing with it.

Considering his four predecessors Trump has an approval rating after his first year that can only be considered dismal.

Clinton- 60%

Bush- 82% but that was right after 911

Obama- 50%

Trump-39%

Despite all the above Trump started his State of the Nation Speech by bragging about what he has accomplished. Needless to say this surprised no one.

All in all he said nothing about any of the foreign problems we face. He seemed not to acknowledge the existence of any of them. We know nothing after that speech of what we are going to do about the continuing losses in Afghanistan or about the problems in the Middle East. He did brag about crushing ISIS without acknowledging that most of the forces involved in that battle were Kurdish or Iraqi. We learned not a whit about how he plans to approach the North Korea problem or how he will deal with an aggressive China. He spoke not at all about Russia or his refusal to impose the sanctions voted by practically every member of congress. He has spit out a lot of venom about his predecessors policies but he seems to have no idea as to what he wants to do or even if he figures it out, how to do it.

So as soon as he started to speak, Trump began to lie. What else is new? What makes it all absurd was that it was about the economy, which he doesn’t have to lie about because it’s doing fine. The problem is, he just can’t help himself. He always has to be better than necessary, even if he isn’t, which he never is. Unable to control himself he continues to attack Obamacare even though he never came up with anything even close to it.

After listening to Trump brag about how great we’re doing all I could think of was; then how come so many people are so fucked up, so sad, so confused and so despairing? How come you keep losing points?

But it’s when this moral degenerate starts talking about God that we really flinch because if there is a God we know that surely he/she will strike the Capital Building with the biggest lightning bolt ever seen.

Trump makes a big deal about the care of vets and well he should; they have fought while he was too cowardly to serve his stint.

Next he brags about cutting regulations but never mentions that most of the ones he cut were put in place to protect workers from the dangers of the workplace and therefore will work to improve the employer’s bottom line while doing noting but endanger the work force.

But the boasting turns ludicrous when he brags about helping “beautiful coal,” that Black Death which poisons our population, and murders our children even as it chokes the miners he claims to be helping retrieve jobs long ago lost to draglines.

He follows this idiocy with a whole number on big auto plants opening in the Mid West but never mentions that they will all be fully robotized, which is the only reason they can afford to manufacture in this country. Yes, they will bring some jobs but that industry is long gone as a major employer.

To be fair his view of infrastructure is basically right. Let’s hope it’s not just bullshit. He says he wants to set up a multi-trillion dollar infrastructure bank to finance the rejuvenation of our rotting roads and bridges. I just wonder where he thinks that money is going to come from? Maybe we can sell his wall to Mexico.

Then, surprisingly, he brings up paid family leave and every Republican n the house almost choked, just like they did when he advocated a second chance for ex-convicts. Yes, trying to figure out what this blundering, blustering man-child really wants is more than a bit confusing but then he was just as confusing when he was running and we elected him anyway; so we have no one but ourselves to blame.

I found it particularly illuminating that when Trump talked about building our nuclear arsenal he got no encouragement from the brace of generals seated in the first row. They know, even if he doesn’t, that a strong military has nothing t do with bigger bombs when we already have the capacity to blow up the planet ten times over.

In what came as something of a surprise, Trump announced that he was going t reopen Gitmo along with stronger terrorist control rules. This was roundly applauded by the GOP section of the floor, but I’m not sure they really understood what he was talking about. There are only about 40 inmates still in Gitmo.

Question: What is the worst thing we can do right now in the Middle East?

Answer: Get between Israel and Palestine.

So that is exactly what we did. Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is as stupid a move as he could possibly have made. It will surely keep any bipartisan peace movement from ever even getting started in that beleaguered land. But he had to brag about this great accomplishment. He is truly death by ego.

Next he attacked the “terrible Iran deal.” Needless to say he has never read this deal but he probably heard that it’s terrible from one of the morons advising him.

He ended the speech with what I am sure he feels was an inspirational message about America, but considering the way he has conducted himself and run his administration it sounded way past cynical.

It’s important to note that the president celebrated his 1st anniversary in office with the shutting down of the government. It was never mentioned in his speech nor was the fact that we are facing a second shutdown in only eight days unless something serious is done to solve the DACA problem. A second shutdown is simply not acceptable and must not happen. This nation is not insured against such an eventually and neither “The Wall,” nor the dreamers or the other immigration policies under consideration must be a reason for that to happen.

It must be remembered that this administration brought the DACA problem to the fore by its decision to end the DACA program. Now Trump is wailing about saving the dreamers but the reality is, he caused this problem.

Look, Trump is not a great speaker. The whole thing was delivered in a lumbering monotone that was neither inspiring nor hopeful. Outside of bragging about the economic advances he thinks he has made and attacking those he wants to keep out of America, there was very little in regard to programs or plans to advance the nation. Infrastructure was mentioned but not healthcare or education. The only mention of the environment was to brag about destroying it with his awful energy policies. Generally speaking it was a big nothing and I mean big, the third longest and certainly the most boring in history.