For all of you are cannot help but suffer, here is another blog.
Since my last blog I have discovered that there are some people courageous enough to admit they have actually read my blogs. I won’t shame them by revealing their identities in public, except for my loving son who said I should give more thought as to whether I want to continue using the word “Rump.” Do I want to sink to the same name-calling level as Trump? I told him I would think about it.
I have thought about it. I will not continue using the word “Rump”. I think my son is right. By referring to Trump as Rump I am sinking to his level. But I will allow myself one self-indulgence. I am not going to put “President” before his name. I will use the word President when I am referring to the office in general.
History lesson? One day George Washington was asked for a picture I.D. He pulled out a quarter. (Heard on KTJZ Radio 1/27/20, paraphrased.)
I want to talk about Trump’s Senate Impeachment Trial. We all know how it will end. The majority Senate Republicans have each already telegraphed how they are going to vote (to acquit Trump), although I would bet everything I own that in their heart of hearts they know the allegations against Trump are true and he should be removed from office.
Hillel (born c. 110 BCE, died c. 10 BCE), was a Jewish sage who said, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, who am I? If not now, When?” This is an important question. Are the Republican Congressmen sitting as jurors in Trump’s Senate trial so worried about their re-election that they are only for themselves? When will they not be only for themselves and be for the American people and the Constitution? Only when they are not only for themselves will they be worthy of representing the American people in Congress.
Are Republicans in Congress like mythical lemmings? In the myth lemmings commit mass suicide. This is a widely believed tale. Why it is widely believed I do not know. Perhaps because it provides a metaphor for someone who blindly follows a crowd, even though it might lead to a catastrophe. With this in mind Republicans should give thought to the 2018 election and the change of majority in the House of Representatives.
Maybe Trump and McConnell are Pied Pipers? Remember the story of the Pied Piper? He was hired by the town of Hamelin to rid it of rats. Using a “magic pipe” he lured the rats away. When the town refused to pay him, he retaliated by using his musical instrument to lure the town’s children away. Are the Republicans so afraid of Trump and McConnell that if they do not pay them for their leadership with obedience he will steal their children [read “re-elections]? I remind Republicans that Trump supported Republican Eddie Rispone in Louisiana and incumbent Republican Matt Bleven in Kentucky. Both lost.
Trump keeps saying that he has a plan for the Middle East. I am not sure what he is referring to. Israel and the Palestinians who occupy the West Bank? The Palestinians view him as very pro-Israel. He is the one who moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. For what purpose or advantage he moved the embassy I do not know. What was gained by the move? Nothing. It only reinforced the belief by the Palestinians that Trump is pro-Israel. What was lost? Trump‘s ability to talk to the Palestinians, if he ever had that ability. (I suspect that Trump thought the move would get him the Jewish vote. News flash! It didn’t.)
Maybe Trump is referring to the rest of the Middle East. I would note that every Middle Eastern country has made peace with Israel either formerly with a treaty or informally by accommodation, cooperation, or inaction. When is the last time any Middle Eastern country other than Iran has threatened Israel or even spoken badly about Israel? It has been a long time.
Iran is the only threat to Israel and peace in the Middle East (other than the Palestinian issue). Peace can only come with a plan that includes Iran and Iranian controlled militias Hamas and Hezbollah. But thanks to Trump, there is no real communication between Iran and the U.S. So what part of the Middle East is Trump planning to bring peace to? The already peaceful part, the west Bank, or the part occupied by Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah?
Sleep with one eye open. Trump is still in office.