Yes, let’s debate Trump’s atrocious foreign policy

President Trump feels cheated the last debate will not focus on foreign policy as it usually does. Of course, had he not cancelled the second debate, the third and last might have considered foreign policy. Trump knows his 2016 victory rested partly on running to the left of Hillary Clinton, opposing senseless, perpetual wars which most Americans dislike. He’s bragged the past 4 years about bringing home the troops.

All lies and exaggeration which need to be called out.
While Obama reduced troop levels by 208,000, from 484,000 to 276,000 during his 8 years, Trump’s decline of is a paltry 46,000. Even his most heralded move to cut 12,000 from Germany, is a sham as half of those are going elsewhere, including a thousand marching east to Poland to intimidate Russia. He hasn’t closed out troops in America’s perpetual war zones of Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria tho he talks about doing so endlessly.

But it’s potential new wars that are the hallmark of Trump’s foreign policy. Right out of the blocks he thundered death and destruction to North Korea, scaring the bejesus out of his seasoned foreign policy advisors. Pivoting to the Middle East, Trump dropped out of the Iran nuclear agreement, imposed crippling war like sanctions, even assassinated the highest ranking Iranian general visiting Iraq. Only the likely election of Biden, who promised renewal of the nuclear agreement and détente, avoided a more ominous Iranian response. In our own hemisphere, Trump ended Obama’s détente with Cuba, increased Cuban sanctions, then gave Venezuela the full monty of murderous sanctions to force the overthrow of hated socialist leader Nicholas Maduro. Every cruel and war threatening initiative against non-enemies failed miserably.

Nor should we forget Trump’s new Cold War with China, blaming them for America’s catastrophic pandemic response that has become the worldwide Gold Standard for needless infections and death.

Trump has become the King of Xenophobia, bashing, even dropping out of life enhancing organizations such as WHO, UNESCO, the International Criminal Court and the Human Rights Council. And don’t ignore Trump’s dumping the Paris Climate Accords, putting us and future generations at great risk from climate disaster.

Only in the delusional mind of mind of Donald Trump is that a foreign policy record to run on.

One hand clapping for Pope Francis on gay civil unions

Glad to hear Pope Francis has come out in support of civil unions for gays. He didn't exactly trumpet the news. It popped up in the documentary 'Francesco' which premiered at the Rome Film Festival. His comments do not change official church doctrine that "the Church's respect for gay people cannot in any way lead to approval of homosexual behavior, which is intrinsically disordered, or to legal recognition of homosexual unions."

When I heard the news, three words came to mind: Plessey versus Ferguson.

Current travails minor compared to parents’

Climate destruction, pandemic, economic decline, racial dysfunction apparently have degraded mental health in America. But when the blues become my only song, I ponder my parents’ timeline that covered most of the 20th century. They were both born shortly before WWI which ravaged Europe and beyond, claiming 20 million souls. Just when that was ending a flu pandemic took another 50 million plus, including 575,000 here in the Homeland. The 20’s gave them a respite with jazz, prosperity and flapper liberation. But the ’29 Crash devastated the Good Life when no social safety net outside of family existed. Married in ’36 they somehow survived till WWII, again claiming 50 million, started the US economic boom that carried them and all 3 kids to economic security. But just when we won the Good War, the specter of Nuclear Winter cast a pall over that prosperity for 2 decades, including near certain Armageddon over tiny Cuba in ‘62. Yet, growing up in the Fabulous Fifties, I never had a sense of the lifelong angst they soldiered thru. They both appeared untroubled, somehow having weathered life crisis after life crisis with an aplomb many cannot summon today based on increased reports of mental health issues. And like the Porter song, when those blues come along…I concentrate on them.

Trump celebrating 60 years of Cuban sanctions….with more sanctions

 President Trump announced new sanctions on Cuba stating, “Today, as part of our continuing fight against communist oppression, I am announcing that the Treasury Department will prohibit US travelers from staying at properties owned by the Cuban government and restricting the importation of Cuban alcohol and tobacco.”

I don’t fret about missing out on Cuban alcohol and tobacco, but I sure lament the inability of U.S. travelers, including me if I get back there, to stay at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba. Built in 1930, the Nacional is an historic Spanish eclectic style hotel in Havana, located on the sea front, offering commanding views of the sea and the city. Staying a night there was a highlight of our trip to Cuba couple years back.

I’m guessing Uncle Donald won’t spend much time ferreting out U.S. scofflaws of this ludicrous new U.S. sanction based on ‘communist oppression’. He’s probably clueless that the U.S. celebrates 60 years of cruel, murderous sanctions against the Cuban revolution in just three weeks. Trump surely doesn’t lose sleep about what goes on in Cuba. Tho pitifully poor, thanks in part, to U.S. sanctions, Cuba provides work, housing, health care and education to all its citizens, unlike that offered by cruel, heartless U.S. capitalism to tens of millions of its citizens.

Trump should visit Cuba himself and stay at the Nacional. He might even smell a deal and turn the fabled Grand Lady of Cuba into Trump Anti-Communist Tower.

Oberweis descends into the campaign gutter with Trump

Jim Oberweis, Republican candidate for Illinois’ 14 congressional district, should withdraw his ad accusing his opponent, incumbent Lauren Underwood, of condoning violent protests. When Underwood tells the Sun Times Editorial Board that protests were ‘beautiful’, she’s referring to the peaceful protests undertaken by millions of Americans, including me, to stand in solidarity against institutional racism. But Oberweis is taking his campaign cue from President Trump, who’s warning affluent suburbanites that Democratic supported minority mobs will be ‘wilding’ in the suburbs. So instead of addressing issues that matter in the 14th, climate change, pandemic response, alleviating economic collapse, health care for all, and yes, institutional racism, Oberweis, relies on Trump style racial fearmongering. Underwood’s support for those overwhelmingly peaceful protests is heard over visuals of violence. Oberweis has spent much of his $600,000 donation to his campaign in a massive ad buy on all local stations and cable news to hammer this single, false, misleading claim. What does he offer district voters? Nothing except fear and loathing. Only two folks can take pleasure in the offensive ad: Jim Oberweis…and his mentor Trump.

The madness of President Trump

It would take a psychiatrist, make that a team of psychiatrists, to unravel the twisted mental condition of Donald Trump. Yesterday he said that pandemic is ‘fading away and will soon be behind us’. He didn’t say this in an FDR style Fireside Chat. He said it at one of his now daily ‘Super Spreader’ campaign rallies with thousands of idolatrous supporters, many maskless, packed together. They cheered every delusional word uttered, not from a loudmouth drunk in a bar…but from the president of the United States. He said this as the U.S. enters its third wave of rising infections and deaths. Some of those rally attendees with contract covid, even die, just by attending.

This was not a unique ‘one-off’ comment. Such delusional comments have been his governing pandemic response since covid was identified last January. His national pandemic strategy was not to have one. He fought with Democratic governors, demeaning them for pandemic restrictions. He told his base to 'liberate' Michigan, prompting extremist supporters to target the the Michigan governor for kidnapping. He sidelined the infections disease experts on his task force to favor a radiologist with no expertise or experience with infectious diseases. This ‘X-Ray guy promotes herd immunity which has the potential to kill millions.

Trump may not be clinically insane. But at some point we must question whether he is clearly out of his mind. Of course, if voters somehow give him four more years to spread disease and destruction across the land….we might ponder the same question about them.