Trump Doctrine Sheds American Blood

In the insanity that is the Trump presidency one very important story got lost. Last week four American Special Forces were killed in Niger (not to be confused with Nigeria.) Why they were is not very clear. Supposedly, they were on a "training" mission. In war zones the difference between "training" and fighting often becomes blurred. Trump claims that his policy will not be based upon nation building but "killing terrorists." However, it seems that he is repeating the same over-aggressive policies as Bush II, and doing it in an even stupider way.

The Perils of Secession Mania

There have recently been secessionist votes in two different areas--Kurdistan and Catalonia--which while different threaten to upset international politics. In Iraq, the possible break up of the country would bring the collapse of the American efforts since 2003. In Spain the possibility of real war in western Europe should concern everybody.

The question of nationality and statehood is complicated. It depends on the issues. If the questions are policy matters that could be resolved peacefully, then secessionism is not justified. Going to war just on emotion-- like the CSA or Biafra-- is never justified.

Ken Burns Get Vietnam Wrong

Ken Burns documentary on the Vietnam War has turned out to be a disappointment. It is a strangely schizophrenic piece of work, torn between the squalid reality of the American involvement in Vietnam and Burns' compulsion to affirm America's "goodness." The American involvement in Vietnam was based on a series of deceptions. The first was the Truman administration being bamboozled into supporting the French attempt to re-colonized Vietnam (1946-54). Then followed by Eisenhower's "domino theory" which among other things, lead them to create the puppet Republic of Vietnam. It now turns out that JFK, LBJ, and even Nixon believed that the war was unwinnable, yet the escalated the war killing an estimated 2 million people (on all sides).

Burns cannot conceal the ugly reality of what should be called the American War against Vietnam. It's obvious that American troops came to see the Vietnamese people as the enemy, and treated them with a brutality that doomed the effort to "win hearts and minds." A large part of the reason why America lost the war is from the American inability to empathize with and understand people of other cultures. It's a mistake we keep making, in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the next country we attack.

Burns only becomes objectionable occasionally. Like on last night's episode when the narrator claims that the puppet Saigon regime was a "free" society. What kind of freedom is this; millions of people having their culture and way of life destroyed so they can eke out a living as peddlers and prostitutes? This is what America has brought to the world: wealth for the few, poverty and squalor for everybody else.

Haven't We Been Here Before?

The after effects of Hurricane Harvey are just being sorted out. While the death toll from Harvey is not as severe as Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the economic and environmental consequences will be serious.

* The Arkema Chemical Plant in Crosby Tx. exploded.

* Several oil refineries shut production

* Flood waters have been contaminated by toxic waste.

This is preliminary but it's going to get worse. We are now having 500 year floods every 12 years.

Fences Don't Stop Tunnels

The title is simplistic but sometimes the truth is very simple. A tunnel was recently discovered near the Otay Mesa point of entry in California that was being used to smuggle people. That part of the US-Mexico border already has a "wall," actually a double fence. If Trump's wall ever gets built, it will do nothing to stop other kinds of smuggling. It's so obvious but Trump's supporters really are that stupid.

The Scatterbrained Administration

Keeping up with the Trump administration yields only bits and pieces of information that do not yield any kind of pattern.

* Steve Bannon is out apparently after running afoul of Ivanka and Jared Kushner.

* The Secret Service is running out of money. Protecting the Trump Clan and their properties is an unbearable drain on the Secret Services budget.

* Trump announced a new "strategy" on Afghanistan, except that it isn't really a strategy. Trump's plan is to send in more American troops and escalate the conflict.
Basically a repeat of the GWB era. Anyone with any knowledge of history, knows that when a country starts a war without a strategy it usually loses.

The Trump administration has collapsed into chaos. Will it bring down the rest of us with it?

The Social Contract Revisited

This is an addendum to yesterday's entry. It is shocking that the ACLU took the side of the White Supremacists in allowing the march to take place. I think that the ACLU was in error. To the question "Aren't we supposed to tolerate other people's opinions?" The brings out the problem of people and groups who not only don't recognize the democratic process but who use violence to attain their ends.

I think that the test for acceptable conduct should be

1. Obeying the law

2. Respecting the rights of others.

What the Fascists in Charlottesville were doing wasn't demonstrating but committing acts of violence. There is no such thing as a "right" to deprive other people of their rights and there is no way that acts of violence can be defended as "free expression."