Terror in Charlottesville

Last weekend the Alt Right--Ku Kluxers, Neo Nazis, and other right wing vermin--gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia. When people tried to counterprotest the Fascists, call them for what they are, attacked. One of those morons drove a car into the crowd, killing 32 year old Heather Heyer, and injuring 19 people. Reports are that they Fascists were heavily armed, more so than the police. The Fascists also carried lit torches in imitation of Nazi rallies from Hitler's time.

Donald Trump is ultimately responsible for this. Maybe he thought he could stir up racism and then turn it back off. Instead, it has produced the worst racist violence since the 1960's.

The Curse of Interesting Times

The following week has not lacked for events. The Trump/Session administration has announced a new attack on affirmative action. Then Trump got into a long distance shouting match with Kim Jong-un which has heightened fears of another Korean War. Now comes news that the FBI has raided one of the houses belonging to Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman. If any doubted that the Trump scandals had substance, nobody can doubt it now. The problem is that things are happening so fast it's hard to focus on anyone thing. These may "interesting times" but I'm less than enthusiastic.

The Court of the Idiot KIng

The one week rise and fall of Anthony Scaramucci is only the latest bizarre event from the Trump White House. The "Mooch" forced out Sean Spicer and Reince Priebus but has been himself forced out by John Kelly, the new Chief of Staff. Kelly himself is not exactly good news; he's been one of the loudest cheerleaders for Trump's "border wall." It remains to be seen if Kelly is able to control the chronic backstabbing that characterizes the Trump administration.

Call Them For What They Are

Trump's decision to not speak at the NAACP convention should remove any doubt that he is a racist. Not that there was any doubt, considering how he spent years pandering to the "birthers." That was in addition to the hatred he aroused against all other minority groups.

Last Sunday 10 migrants suffocated to death in San Antonio, while locked in a trailer. That should give the lie to Trump's "border wall" notion. In fact, migrants are more likely to be victims. Building walls will do nothing to stop the organized crime of human trafficking.

Trump and his supporters are not only deplorable, they are despicable.

Kakistocracy

New revelation from the 2016 campaign: Steve Bannon the thug like presence in the Trump White House, at one point called Paul Ryan a "limp dick motherfucker."

Senate GOPers are still trying to repeal "Obamacare." The new plan is to repeal now and give themselves two years to come up with a replacement. Of course they're not going to fix anything. If this goes through millions of people will lose access to healthcare. This in spite of the fact that the Senate plan is widely unpopular with most Americans.

The American political system can no longer be called democracy but has become kakistocracy; government by the worst people.

Trump's Legacy

With all the turmoil coming out of Washington, it's tempting to forget how messed up things are in the rest of the country. In West Goshen PA, a few weeks ago, 18 year old Bianca Roberson, an African American woman, was shot and killed and by a white named David Desper. Desper killed Roberson simply because she cut him off in traffic. Desper could be seen as an example of white privilege. White thugs who think they have the right to go about armed and killing anybody who pissed them off. These kinds of incidents have become increasingly common since Trump became President. However long Trump stays in the White House, his legacy will primarily be a wave of racist violence.

GOPers Can't Shoot Straight

The GOPer Senate has apparently failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act. After 7 years of railing against "Obamacare" the Gopers can't even get a workable alternative. That might sound like good news, for the moment. The Gopers can only think about cutting taxes on the rich and kicking people off Medicaid. In the middle of an opioid epidemic, they want to cut funding for substance abuse treatment. The best thing would be for the Gopers to just drop the whole thing. The problem with Gopers is that they don't even know when to let things drop.