A boring lull during a slow news week...

Oh, ha ha! What a slow news day to cap off a slow news week here in sleepy DC! The White House Press Office must be fighting off the urge for a late-morning power nap - they need to get things ready for this afternoon's big "White House Press Holiday Party", which won't include not-invited woman-of-color WH correspondent April Ryan, and CNN (natch).

And it might not include the President and First Lady. Customarily, the POTUS and FLOTUS attend this event, helping to hand out punch and cookies to the Fourth Estate while posing for smile-time pictures with WH correspondents. But something happened earlier this morning which might have created a change in their scheduling...

So, let's see here. Trump Campaign Chair Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, George Papadopoulos and now former National Security Advisor, General Michael Flynn. MAGA: Many Are Getting Arrested. POTUS lawyer, Ty Cobb, describes Flynn as a "former Obama official". Yep, he was, until he got fired for incompetence, insubordination and recklessness! Then Obama told Trump to not hire Flynn because of the deep doo-doo he was up to with Russia and Turkey. But did Trump listen? Well, no... because he was in deep doo-doo himself! So, so deep is this Deep State of Treason we witness. Also, have a laugh, courtesy of snarky prankster "Frederick Douglass":

https://twitter.com/gettinnoticedmo/status/936650190169059328

Anyway, nearly all legal experts now point to Jared Kushner as the next domino to fall, according to the really good investigative reporter, Natasha Bertrand:

http://www.businessinsider.com/michael-flynn-mueller-trump-russia-jared-kushner-2017-12

And because Flynn was thisclose to Mike Pence during the campaign/transition/early days of the administration, it's being presumed that the Vice President is going to receive more attention from Special Counsel Mueller. And let us not forget that Pence was brought into the Trump fold by his old friend, recently-indicted Paul Manafort. It's all a giant hot mess. There is even scuttlebutt that Flynn is going to implicate President Trump himself:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/abc-flynn-to-testify-trump-ordered-him-to-talk-to-russians

Why is this all happening? Money. Big Massive Money. Russia wanted to have its economic sanctions lifted. Trump was in hock to Russian "loans". Also, Flynn was poised to make millions off of a hare-brained scheme to kidnap a Pennsylvania-residing Turkish cleric and deliver him to Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Erdogan! Ya can't make this stuff up! It was going to be a major payday for everyone... and it still might, for Putin, because Trump is not implementing the additional sanctions that the Republican Congress passed this summer!!

But hold your horses here! The Daily Kibitz is determined to not go down the rabbit hole any further with this. Nope. Nopitty-nope. Instead, let's take a fun look at some of the other High Ridiculousness that has happened over the last few days...

The President suggested that a Fake News Trophy be awarded to a deserving media outlet, suggesting CNN as a favorite. He also tweeted that Fox News should not be considered, because they are the best, very fair and beautiful to him. This all lead to some funny stuff:

http://mashable.com/2017/11/27/donald-trump-fake-news-trophy-jokes/#08RkUTJcdgqR

In previous tweets, the President has indicated his media preferences for sycophants like Fox, Breitbart News and some really strange outfits such as:

InfoWars. "The single most important voice in the alternative conservative media," says Roger Stone, the Nixon-era political trickster who orchestrated Trump's appearance on it... It promoted the insane Hillary Clinton Comet Pizza child sex slave traffic story. On a related note, it has pushed one about NASA having a child labor colony on Mars.

MAGApill. Yes, it is certifiably BatShit Crazy. That's why our President reads it, I guess.

The Gateway Pundit. Called "the stupidest man on the Internet", Jim Hoft somehow managed to get a White House Correspondent status through the Trump Administration. Incredibly dumb and deranged.

Oh, for some brain bleach. Take a quick break for a One Minute Mic Drop Special, here is the amazing Sarah Kendzior rebutting a Breitbart editor back in January on the real-world dangers of crazy political rhetoric. It's only 1 minute, but I guarantee you will wish it were longer:

OK, back to nuttiness! Our President's mental rampage this week included a few real head-scratchers. Speaking in St. Louis, he confessed that he had no idea that the Lewis and Clark expedition had begun there. Maybe he didn't know who they were?

He suggested that former Member of Congress and morning network TV news host Joe Scarborough had murdered an intern.

He sent a series of retweets of really vile anti-Muslim videos from a tiny far-fringe extremist right wing group from the United Kingdom called "Britain First". Naturally, these have been debunked and earned Trump a stern rebuke from British Prime Minister Theresa May. Of course that set off our President, who fired off a nasty tweet reply... except he sent it to the wrong Theresa May. His angry words were received by Theresa May Scrivener, who has six Twitter followers. She was kinda flabbergasted and didn't know what to do (sounds like an Onion story).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/11/30/donald-trump-blasted-theresa-may-on-twitter-unfortunately-he-got-the-wrong-woman/?utm_term=.1bcf36f46497

Once he figured things out, Trump sent the same Tweet to the Prime Minister, saying basically "mind your own beeswax, and your country sucks and we are great again!" No mention of the eight deaths from the Terror Truck in New York City, because we are doing just fine!

While leaders in Britain and Europe took great umbrage to Trump's tweets, his hard-core base of Deplorables here did not. Foremost among them was the response by former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke, fresh from his appearance at the Charlottesville, Virginia nazi rally:

"Thanks God for Trump! That's why we love him!"

Oy vey iz mir! Again, let it be said, Thank Goodness For The Onion:

https://politics.theonion.com/trump-retweets-video-from-anti-muslim-hate-group-1820885422

Yes, the White House Ceremonial Lighting of the Cross is the new traditional start of the Christmas season.

We could go on, but we won't. But yesterday's appointment of the Trump Administration's version of the Third Reich's Leni Riefenstahl, Kelly Ann Conway, to become the Opioid Crisis Czar is really too much. Displaying her usual lack of empathy and warmth, Conway suggested that the problem of those millions who are addicted is that they lack the will power to rehab themselves. So she is going to instill a Triumph of the Will into them. This position was once designed for Boy Wonder Jared Kushner, but apparently he's going to be too busy solving his own problems.

That's it for now. Next time, better fun! In the meantime, check out the short video from a couple of weeks ago when The Daily Kibitz family traveled to Baltimore for a performance by Rodrigo y Gabriela. Here it is! We were standing about six feet from this videographer:

The amount of sound they generate from two acoustic guitars is simply amazing! Truly World-Class!!

Repeal and Replace Reality

Every day it seems we are experiencing life through the looking glass. And this week was no different. Here's a quick and random lighthearted romping roundup on some of the High Ridiculousness that holds our nation in its thrall.

The fate of the Trump Administration may end up depending on the testimony of this guy.

A Democratic Senator got called out by a nation for his stupid "joke" and boorish behavior on a USO tour. The President decided to ride herd by shooting off a couple of tweets as if to lecture Sen. Franken on moral propriety. What was once the kiss of political death - the disrobing and sexual fondling of a 14-year-old - is now a rallying point for God-fearing Republicans. Of course, there's no mention by Trump of Roy Moore's Major Serial Sex Problems in Alabama, or even his own 12+ sexual harassment and assault accusers. And everyone is still waiting for Trump to launch his year-long-promised lawsuits against these accusers!

Lying lies by lying liars who lie! Who are you going to believe - Trump, or everyone else who he says are lying.

Everyone is lying about Trump! Lies! Lies! But of course it's the inverse that is true. Check out Michael Gerson's take on the "spectacular accumulation of lies" that Trump & Co. have amassed. Gerson is no bleeding heart - he was George W. Bush's speechwriter and came up with the "Axis of Evil" catchphrase, something he now regrets. He's been around the block a few times, and what he sees happening is so flippy-flop unreal that he can hardly believe it. "This is, with a few exceptions, a group of people for whom truth, political honor, ethics and integrity mean nothing." Believe it:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-russia-investigations-spectacular-accumulation-of-lies/2017/11/16/741024bc-cb0e-11e7-8321-481fd63f174d_story.html?utm_term=.cbc164b09831

It's a constant - all Presidents lie at some point or other. Usually, it's for National Security reasons. Sometimes it's for Political Expediency. But most Presidents have honored their positions by, at the very least,  purveying a pretense towards truthful discourse. However, this President does not. This week, and every week, he keeps the firehose of Falsehoods flowing at full blast. Also, remember that Trump really doesn't think he lies: whatever he says he 1) Believes it is true, or 2) Believes it should be true. 

Here is one of our favorites - The Washington Post has an ongoing chart of the number of lies, the type of lies, and the categories of lies that emanate from the White House. It's a lot of fun - try it:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-claims-database/?utm_term=.15dc5fd7d1fd

Why it's enough to make a man holler, throw up both his hands, as Marvin Gaye once sang. Perhaps it was enough to drive this Navy jet pilot to create a Phallic Sky Art piece over the Washington DC area the other day:

Yup, ya don't see that up in the clouds every day. A gigantic FU over our seat of government. Maybe the pilot was expressing his dismay over Trump's insistence that 3 to 5 million illegal voters did not vote for him.

Each Secretary of the Treasury gets to sign off on US money. It's a perk of the job to see your signature on all the new ones/fives/tens/twenties/etc. that roll off the Money Printing Press. This week was Steve Mnuchin's chance to shine, and he didn't disappoint. Neither did his amazing wife. In a first, the Treasury Secretary's signature was not in cursive. It wasn't in Mayan hieroglyph, either, just block style print. Now why this traditional photo op for the head of Treasury should include his avaricious wife is one for others to contemplate - but it's another first!!

"This wallpaper will be perfect for the servants' bathroom!"

Speaking of dollar bills, it was revealed this week that the Trump Administration's Department of Justice has 10 lawyers and staff working against various lawsuits filed against Trump. "... the taxpayer-funded lawyers are making the case that it is not unconstitutional for the president's private companies to earn profits from foreign governments and officials while he's in office."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/11/15/taxpayers-pay-legal-bill-protect-trump-business-profits/848354001/

Holy Emoluments Clause, Batman! It's just another first - a President defending his ability to profit from being President, with his legal team being government lawyers, paid for by you.

In other week's news, it was announced (shortly after a military coup in Zimbabwe), that the US Department of Interior is abandoning its Obama-era ban on African wildlife trophies, such as lions and elephants. It really is a classic in upside-down rhetoric:

"Killing elephants will enhance their survival"

"We had to destroy the village in order to save it" was once said in Vietnam. As one who has spent time in Zimbabwe, The Daily Kibitz can assure that the rate of poaching these magnificent creatures will now skyrocket. Poverty-stricken villagers will expand their cooperation with the new wave of wealthy trophy-seekers and ivory collectors.

On left, a dead rare leopard with Trumps. On right, Donald Jr. is holding a severed elephant tail

Meanwhile, the tax "reform" bill advanced.  Among other high blood pressure howlers, it allows Corporations to deduct unending expenses, like a Private Jet Deduction, but won't allow teachers to deduct expenses for buying their own classroom supplies.  It demolishes the Estate Tax ("the Death Tax"), which plays well for H.L. Mencken's "boobouisee" (Trump Base) who think it affects them - when it really affects 0.2% of the population. Oh, and that percent is the wealthiest in the US. Of course! Within a few years, nearly all tax cut benefits will have trickled up to the 1%. Yep, "trickle down economics" is really "trickle up". For more, here's the great Dana Milbank presenting the Alternative Facts Reality we live in:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/forget-alternative-facts-were-now-in-an-alternate-reality/2017/11/17/52e53a56-cba0-11e7-8321-481fd63f174d_story.html?utm_term=.611414034076

"Ignore the rules and disqualify the referees who were put in place to enforce standards of integrity." Yes, that's our new socio-political reality as evidenced by those actions from the Republican Congress and White House. Standards for lifetime-term Federal judges? Ha ha! Behold the latest Trump nominee for the Federal bench - Brian Talley. He is the 4th Trump nominee to receive a unanimous "Not Qualified" judgment from the American Bar Association. In fact, since 1989 there have been four judges placed on the bench who received this unanimous "Not Qualified" status. Two of them have been put there by Trump.

Talley has been a lawyer for three years. Never tried a court case in his life. But he is a Paranormal Investigator and has written fiction and non-fiction about his work in this field. Oh! And he is married to the White House Counsel's Chief of Staff, who has been interviewed by Robert Mueller in the ongoing Russia investigation.  Is this what Trump meant when he said he was going to Drain The Swamp?
Forget it, Jake... it's Americatown:

http://www.businessinsider.com/brett-talley-trump-judge-ghost-hunter-wife-2017-11

On a slightly more serious note, the fantastic Sarah Kendzior weighs in on this week's amazing testimony by Attorney General Jeffrey Beauregard Sessions. Noting the changes in memory and evasions that Sessions employed, Kendzior determines that,

"Eroding the law may well be the point... dilute the value of truth - both to sooth Trump's ego, but also because the value of truth is closely linked to the integrity of law... (it's) part of a purposeful dissolution of legal norms. When truth erodes, and the law crumbles, an independent judiciary loses its rigor. In this formulation, Trump does not serve the law; Trump is the law, and Sessions is Trump's willing servant." Please read her whole article, it's that good:

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/amp/ncna821141

Finally, as we struggle through this morass of upside-down alternate reality, let's take a good look at the whole of what's been happening. It ain't pretty at all, but Mother Jones has been quite excellent at documenting all the nonsense and long-lasting damage inflicted by the Trump Administration onto our country. Read it weep:

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/03/creeping-authoritarianism-trump-trumpocracy-300/#

Oh, for cry-yi. Our President is a Bullshit Artist and his Administration is filled with folks who seek to grift for themselves, and/or to dismantle institutions and demolish social and political norms for their own extreme ideological purposes. It's quicker to destroy a building than it is to build it up. With the powerful help of State TV Fox News and Radio Hot Breaths like Rush and Mark Levin, nearly half of the country has been "gaslighted" over the last generation. Our upside down world may seem like a new experience, but it has been a long time in the making. Gaslighted? Why, yes. Here is the piece from Teen Vogue (of all places) that got the ball rolling on this idea last year:

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/donald-trump-is-gaslighting-america

We've gone through the looking glass and have tumbled down the rabbit hole. Remember, though, in our inverted world, everything that falls down comes back up. Let's take a quick musical moment to remember another time when America had fallen down a rabbit hole. Our old friend Grace Slick is here to give testimony:

Yes, feed your head. With facts. Verifiable facts.

The NRA will always keep your gun safe.

Thoughts and prayers certainly did not help the victims at Sutherland Springs Baptist Church. And they won't help future massacre victims, as our Congress and its enabler, the National Rifle Association, continue to spin the fairy tale that guns aren't the problem here.

Mental Health. It's a Mental Health issue, the NRA says. Newtown. Orlando. Virginia Tech. Las Vegas. Sutherland Springs and Killeen and Austin, Texas. San Ysidro and San Bernardino, CA. Edmond, OK. Fort Hood. Certainly nearly all of these "Top 10" shooters seem to have had significant mental health issues. Deranged, one might say. Maybe they were taking the wrong psychotropic drugs that accelerated their murderous zeal for slaughter. Or not being treated at all.

Earlier this year President Egg Nog revoked the Newtown-inspired regulation that prevented severely mentally ill people from purchasing guns. Yet he, too, claims that mental health issues are at the core of these slaughters. Huh. Just another shoulder shrug moment? "What ya gonna do?"

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-signs-bill-revoking-obama-era-gun-checks-people-mental-n727221

That one didn't age well. The fact remains, though, that the use of semiautomatic military style rifles compounded the body count in these events and caused grievous life long wounds for the survivors.

The Daily Kibitz has friends and family who are gun owners. We're comfortable hanging with them, even though at times some possess gun zealousness that enters into the realm of the fantastical.

And guns aren't going away. The government is not going to go door to door and confiscate them. Nobody needs to bury them in the backyard - it's just not going to happen, no matter what our NRA buddies may say - Second Amendment, and all. Heck, even Mrs. Kibitz enjoyed a day at the shooting range with a high-powered semiautomatic. Guns are fun to shoot.

But we do need to be a helluva lot smarter about how and what kinds of guns are sold to the public. And why it's so vital for current gun control laws to be stringently enforced. So, let's take a look at Guns in America, and how the NRA evolved from a gun marksmanship and safety group to a gun manufacturer advocacy lobby.

First, there is the role of money. Gun Business is Big Dough in our economy: 50+ Billion dollars last year, when it's all accounted. It provides some 300,000 jobs. Check out the not-liberal-at-all National Shooting Sports Foundation 2017 report on Firearms and Ammunition economic impact:

https://www.nssf.org/government-relations/impact/

Then there is the bird's-eye view of how gun violence affect our society:

Naturally, with stats like these it shouldn't surprise that the USA leads all developed countries in gun violence - the "competition" can't even be seen over the horizon. We're Number One!

The NRA - the gun lobby - is a highly politicized group that counts 5 million members in its fold. It ensures that Nothing advances in Congress or state legislatures that will impede the ability to purchase nearly any kind of gun. There are 50 billion reasons for this. What once was an organization that was more concerned with gun safety training than anything else has over time evolved into a Big Business advocate, while keeping its membership radicalized with agitprop. For a fascinating look at how the NRA changed, check out this masterful look by The Washington Post from a few years ago:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-nras-true-believers-converted-a-marksmanship-group-into-a-mighty-gun-lobby/2013/01/12/51c62288-59b9-11e2-88d0-c4cf65c3ad15_story.html?utm_term=.18d948b81953

"I have never believed in the general practice of carrying weapons. I seldom carry one... I do not believe in the general promiscuous toting of guns. I think it should be sharply restricted and only under licenses... I believe in regulatory methods." said Karl Frederick, NRA president during the 1930s. An Olympic target shooter, Frederick would not know his organization today:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/10/05/the-forgotten-nra-leader-who-despised-the-promiscuous-toting-of-guns/?utm_term=.da37061f9d31

In fact, until the late 1970's, the NRA worked with Congress to help regulate gun control and safety. Then it was taken over by hard-liners and gained rivers of lobbying money. Read this terrific overview of how the NRA changed into the raging behemoth it is today. It explains the transformation far more succinctly than the Kibitz can:

https://www.npr.org/2017/10/10/556578593/the-nra-wasnt-always-against-gun-restrictions

And to help with its lobbying efforts in Congress and state capitols across the country, the NRA pushes a mind control agenda with its membership that would make George Orwell's Big Brother proud. Fear is a big factor. Fear of The Other. Fear of having guns taken away. Fear of being made helpless. Fear of uncontrolled change, and of a undetermined future. It galvanizes, creating a monolithic body that marches lockstep to whatever NRA leadership decides.

From an advertising perspective, here is how the NRA keeps its flock active, engaged and enraged:

https://www.fastcompany.com/40477572/how-nra-advertising-changed-the-second-amendment-and-american-gun-culture

The NRA's long-time president, Wayne LaPierre, is an expert in gaslighting his membership. Here he addresses a conservative political action group about the need for more guns:

http://www.businessinsider.com/nra-wayne-lapierre-cpac-2017-2

Following this speech, the NRA released a bizarre ad that seems to advocate a civil war-style violent advocacy against "the opposition." Again, it's American Taliban agitprop all the way. If it doesn't give you the "willies",  nothing will. Also, it's interesting that the use of "They" is left ambiguous, so as to fill in whatever grievance the NRA viewer may have:

http://www.businessinsider.com/national-rifle-association-ad-call-to-violence-2017-6

Where does all this lead? To places like Sutherland Springs, Texas. If you can bear it, read the whole tale of how the church slayings unfolded, because it is worth the awful heartbreak:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/the-sound-of-hymns-drifted-from-the-country-church-then-came-gunfire/2017/11/08/4bd191b4-c4b7-11e7-aae0-cb18a8c29c65_story.html?hpid=hp_rhp-top-table-main_texastictock-937pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.9934c8f7bab5

So... how do we change things for the better? Maybe if gun advocates could see the horrifying results of such high-powered gun mayhem, a chance for moderation might ensue. There was a video recording of the shootings. Should we have a mandatory viewing of the church video? Should we review the insane and grisly details of the Newtown Sandy Hook massacre? Both involved upclose mass murders that reveal the terrible shooting power of the semiautomatic rifle and the special bullets used. The Newtown guy lined up the first-grader kids and blew them into little pieces. The Sutherland Springs nut did the same, pew by pew.

Today the NRA remains on the side of the gun, not with the victim. And if you own guns and think that the NRA is watching out for your interests, think again about the 50 billion reasons they have other interests in mind.

Before jumping off, here again is the finest piece of satire produced since Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal." God Bless The Onion:

https://www.theonion.com/it-s-an-honor-to-continue-being-valued-over-countless-h-1819585030

And let's close this set out with the sultry sounds of Nancy Sinatra, singing the Sonny Bono classic, "Bang Bang":

Do Fossil Fuels Prevent Rape?

This is what happens when our President hires "the best people": we get the very best whoppers. The  gaffes roll down like water, and the inoperative statements like a mighty stream. Not sure what this all means? Well, the Trump Swamp is over-the-head deep with examples, so... let's go!

Our first example is the excellent Secretary of Energy, Rick Perry. During his appearance at an American Petroleum Institute-sponsored event, Perry was interrupted by protestors who suggested that fossil fuels are accelerating climate change, which will cause global food shortages, resources collapsing, wide-scale massive and uncontrolled refugee/immigration, and wars - things that our own military is preparing for. The nonplussed Perry responded:
Huh. So... sexual assaults go away when the lights are on? And expensive-to-import-and-refine fossil fuels are the best bet for developing poor African countries' infrastructure development? Why not solar? Far cheaper, and no need for creating costly pipelines, grids and polluting power plants. Oh, that's right - this is the former Governor of Texas Rick Perry, Mr. Oil and Gas. The same guy who ran for president and famously stumbled during a debate when he declared he'd eliminate three federal agencies - but couldn't name the third.

Naturally, he is now the head of that hard-to-recall agency. But he didn't even know what the Energy Department really does! He was surprised to discover it mostly did things he thought it did not:

https://newrepublic.com/minutes/139961/rick-perry-didnt-know-energy-department-month-ago

Sheesh, what an utter doofus! Recall that his predecessor was a Nobel Prize winning physicist. At least he's bringing back some dignity to Washington, DC after that Obama guy stunk it up for eight years... yes, this guy:

"The perfect Energy Secretary for a nation that requires a "Do Not Eat" warning on a box of nails," said one commenter. Okay, you might say, like Donny Osmond, "one bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch, girl." But that's where you and Donny would be wrong. The whole barrel is rotten! It's a comprehensive collection of Idiots, Sycophants, Grifters and Creationists. Exaggeration? Not hardly:

The Cabinet represents the best and brightest of an Administration. We have Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, a gentleman with no diplomacy experience but spent decades with Exxon.  Rex called his current boss "a fucking moron." He has hollowed out the State Department, is fond of napping, and is overseeing the diplomatic diminishment of our country. Also, good to note that during this whole North Korea kerfluffle, we still have no Ambassador to South Korea.

Another great catch is Secretary of the Treasury, Steve Mnuchin. As a never-before public servant, Mnuchin was a hedge-fund major domo in Goldman Sachs, a reviled place for Trump supporters. Then he became chief of OneWest, a mortgage lender renowned for its aggressive foreclosing practices on folks like Trump supporters. He has done lots of murky stuff. And he married a modern-day Marie Antoinette.

Other Cabinet question marks include:

Dr. Ben Carson, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. The good doctor has no experience with anything that his agency oversees. Except he lived near a housing project when he was young. And he believes the pyramids were built by the Bible's Joseph to store grain.

Ryan Zinke, Secretary of the Interior. "Fracking is proof that God's got a great sense of humor and He loves us," Mr. Zinke claims. He spends too much on his own special transportation, he cuts back on Interior's budget/workforce, and he wants more fossil fuel companies to work public lands. He also doled out a $300 million contract for Puerto Rico power restoration to a two-man outfit from his hometown in Montana. A neighbor. Where his son had worked. The best, though, is this:

Wherever/whenever Zinke travels, the Interior Department building that he happens to be in must fly a special flag that indicates he is inside. Salute the elite!

Scott Pruitt, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA protects our air and water. Under Pruitt's watch, we have coal power plant wastewater re-introduced into nearby lakes and rivers. This should not be a shock for Pruitt-watchers - as Oklahoma Attorney General, he launched numerous lawsuits against... the EPA.  He's bringing on a new advisor who believes... that the air is too clean. He also has decided to reorganize the department, citing the Bible's Book of Joshua to explain things (it also opens the door for more Big Business influence).

Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education. DeVos went to private Christian schools, as have her children. As did her creepy brother Erik Prince, the head of what used to be the infamous Blackwater Security (of Iraq War notoriety). Now she runs the department that manages public school direction and funding on the federal level. And as a wealthy religious zealot, it is her calling to make public schools build "God's Kingdom" here in the US. She also made news during her confirmation hearing when she expressed concern that bears present a problem to schoolchildren, so guns should be kept in schools. She is a visionary, of sorts.

But enough of the Cabinet, as this examination would drag on beyond our tolerance for pain. Although it is worth mentioning that there are nine Fundamentalists in the Cabinet... not that there's anything wrong with that, unless one takes in the in-house "Spiritual Advisor" for them, the influential Ralph Drollinger. He shepards them and numerous other sheep in the GOP Congressional Caucus. He advises them that the  US Government is "an avenger of wrath," that Trump is "an adjudicator of wrongdoing," that "women can't teach men" and won't be in a room alone with another woman not his wife. Yes, he's a Mike Pence guy and a Creationist! He seems nice.

Well, you might say, these are bad, crooked and inept people... but surely they can't ALL be like this? That's true! But it does seem like most are:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-other-huge-scandal-mueller-brought-to-light-this-week/2017/11/01/5e05a458-bf4c-11e7-959c-fe2b598d8c00_story.html?utm_term=.20d90c6834d0

and this:

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/vote-controversial-trump-epa-nominee-delayed-n811836

and this:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/11/02/trump-nominates-some-club-members-plum-government-jobs/823231001/

and this:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-pledged-to-drain-the-swamp-instead-he-filled-it-with-industry-sharks

and this:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41655117

Oh, and this, too:

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/01/jim-bridenstine-nasa-confirmation-hearing-244416

Hoo boy! Nominating high level folks with experience like being a member of Mar-a-Lago, a Meineke muffler shop manager, a bartender, and a wedding consultant. And, of course, the grifters and unbridled nutty zealots. Looks like we can't keep winning for losing.

For what it's worth, our most favored of all ridiculousness exhibited by this Administration has to be that of White House Counsel, Don McGahn. This position is the primary legal counsel for the White House. It's among the most important jobs, especially for this particular president. But according to recently departed Director of the Office of Government Ethics, Walter Shaub (who couldn't stand it anymore), Mr. McGahn was, well, kinda incompetent:

McGahn displays his ignorance

Wow, what a howler!! For more on how the competent fled and what their views are on what remains behind, check this out:

http://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/trump-quitters/

"That set the tone for, Oh boy, this is really bad." Yes, indeed. It did, does and will continue. And it is reflective of the partisan base that sent Trump to do his good work. Here is our final link, from the highly respected Annenberg Public Policy Center, regarding a study made of how Americans don't know squat about their government. This is frightening and revealing how someone like Trump could get elected:

https://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/americans-are-poorly-informed-about-basic-constitutional-provisions/

"I love the poorly educated!" exulted candidate Trump. Little did we know that he spoke about most Americans. Betsy DeVos, bring on the Kingdom of God!

Finally, to end on a high note, consider the ongoing efforts to ridicule and satirize this government. On Halloween night, someone put a Jack-o-Lantern in front of the residence of recently indicted former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. The visage, of course, is that of Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Got him! And the pipeline is ready to flow...

"Someone killed a butterfly and now we're trapped in the dumbest timeline imaginable."

Yes, Pogo, America is its own worst enemy. It's been nearly a year since the election. There can be little debate that we have a President and Congress that are dedicated conspiracy-minded xenophobic bigots, anti-immigrants, anti-intellectuals, anti-science and expertise deniers, and anti-institutional plutocratic socio-economic authoritarians who are quite interested in establishing an oligarchic and White Evangelical rule of law. That's a whole bunch of contrarian variables, but it's true. We really are in a major mess, one of the real tipping points in our history. So, to paraphrase the Talking Heads, "how did we get here?" 

Although our country is 241 years old, the causative problems that beset us are, again with the Talking Heads, "same as it ever was" although now they're nearly the worst we've experienced. It's just that we collectively are seeing our current dysfunctional national scene with Media-and-Internet-enlightened eyes. 

So let's take a quick stroll through some of the parts of American history that reveal our long-standing strands of internal divisions! (And give the Talking Heads a listen while we review...) Meanwhile, Daily Kibitz readers who take pride in our studious use of fact-based links should note that this post won't have much this time - it's history, you can Google it!

We've NEVER been a monolithic nation. Even during the War of Independence, the colonial population was riven between the Revolutionists and the Loyalists. When we weren't fighting the British, we were fighting each other. It continues to this day!

Our Constitution (and subsequent official society) was created after much debate and compromise. In addition to establishing the functions of a democratic republic and rights of its citizens, the issue of Slavery was codified. Each slave was represented as 3/5ths of a human. States were able to determine if they'd allow slavery. Some did. Such "slave states" based their economies and societies on the backs of these involuntary servants. White Supremacy had become enshrined.

The notion of States' Rights versus a National Government animated much confrontation through the 19th century. South Carolina wanted to secede from the Union back in 1832 (because of federal tariffs on its slave-based economy) but was unsuccessful. As Abolitionist sentiment rose in the North, pro-slavery protectionism became a part of the pre-Civil War dialogue.

Meanwhile, in 1840, Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in Democracy in America that Americans were freedom-loving, but anti-intellectual: "I know no country in which, speaking generally, there is less independence of mind and true freedom of discussion than in America... In America the majority has enclosed thought within a formidable fence." Regarding slavery, he commented, "everybody feels the evil, but no one has courage or energy enough to seek the cure."

As America expanded westwards, new and potential states considered whether to allow slavery. The territory of "Bloody Kansas" became a literal battleground as pro-slavery interests imported Southeners and their slaves while Abolitionists responded in kind. Debates raged across the nation. In Congress, Senator Charles Sumner was nearly beaten to death by a Congressman from South Carolina following an anti-slavery speech. It is regarded as one of the breakdowns that lead to the Civil War:

Speaking of breakdown of civil discourse, we have John Brown, the radical abolitionist who entered Kansas to stop the state from becoming Slave. His idea was to kill slave-owners, and he succeeded.  He followed up by escaping to Virginia where he hatched the idea of arming slaves throughout the South, leading them in a mass rebellion. He made this attempt by raiding the U.S. Arsenal in Harper's Ferry. His bloody raid failed and helped launch the Civil War.

Of course there were less radical expressions happening, but American divisions were on full display. The "Know-Nothings" were a popular political party of the time. Their platform was based mostly on xenophobic Anti-Immigration positions and conspiracy theories such as the Pope taking over the nation. Calling Alex Jones and InfoWars!

When it appeared that Slave State expansion into the West would be tempered, and Abraham Lincoln - viewed as an Abolitionist sympathizer - was elected President by a minority of voters (39.8%), the South decided to call it quits and form their own country. But the North wouldn't let them. The result was not good for civil discourse:

The South lost. Afterwards, the Lincoln-less North sought to "clean-up" the South by initiating long-term martial law (the Reconstruction) while imposing a kleptocracy (Carpet-baggers). White southerners seethed as they saw former slaves given land and resources... and the vote. They responded by forming the Ku Klux Klan. Eventually, the Federal army left the South, leaving its citizens to reconstruct themselves. This resulted in the rise of Jim Crow laws, or Southern Apartheid.

Meanwhile, the American economy experienced the Industrial Revolution (though the South remained mostly agricultural). The great business leaders of the age - the Robber Barons - used their  enormous wealth to create laws and the governmental muscle to enforce them. The media of the time was owned by these same gentlemen. The jobs were, too. To speak about such things as forming a union to fight unfair practices was difficult in this Gilded Age. Citizens were set against each other to go along or resist. The US had become something of a closed society.

During this time, public schools continued to flourish. By the turn of the 20th Century, there were more public than private schools. More people could receive an education. As World War 1 approached, cities grew through industrial proliferation. Unions finally became a real thing. The economic tide was lifting most boats. Except those in the Deep South. The release of the silent film blockbuster, "The Birth of a Nation", which depicted the fall and rise of the South in the form of the KKK, created a whole new surge in nativist racism and Klan membership throughout the country:

Throughout all this, the fear of "The Other" had taken form in numerous anti-immigrant actions, both legal and not. Irish, Italian, Slavs, Jews, Chinese... most groups not White Anglo-Saxon Protestant experienced rough times. This fear extended to religions and political ideologies not formed on our own soil. And they all represented a threat to native employment, or so it was represented, as it is today.

Following the traumas of the Depression and World War 2, the US was mostly united. Except for The South. Jim Crow laws continued to limit Blacks in their ability to live decent, empowered lives. The Great Migration of southern Black Americans seeking work and better lives in Northern cities created racial antipathy in white neighborhoods there. Sleazy operators created the "blockbusting" phenomena, designed to frighten white homeowners into selling their places cheap; these same places were sold, high, to arriving Black families. Racial animus spiked as the Civil Rights movement surged into the late 1950's and early 60's.

Then came "The 60's" and a societal breakdown lead by the Viet Nam War, Civil Rights actions and the expansion of Feminism. Class resentment became manifest as "inferior" players entered the workplace. Institutions became weakened as revelations regarding the true rationale for Viet Nam was exposed in the Pentagon Papers. Things had become Officially Wobbly. Watergate delivered another body blow against trust in the government. Older Americans joined Baby-Boomers in becoming alienated with societal institutions.

When Ronald Reagan announced his 1980 Presidential campaign, it was all about Getting Big Government Off Our Backs. But it was also more. The Republican Party had benefited from the 1964 Civil Rights Act (which Lyndon Johnson famously remarked would turn The South from Democrat to Republican). His speech near Philadelphia, Mississippi - site of the infamous murder of three civil rights workers - was an immense Dog Whistle.

Republicans had also begun to woo White Evangelicals, so predominant in the South. By the time the Reagan Administration was revealed to have illegally sold arms to Iran so it could funnel forbidden cash proceeds to Contras in El Salvador (another blow to government trust), White Evangelicals were in the deep pocket of the GOP. This further cemented the direction of the party, one that mimicked the absolutist qualities of Evangelical church doctrines.

Following the Reagan Years, his former Director of Communications, Roger Ailes, launched Fox News. It became the unofficial Propaganda outlet for the Republican Party and Pissed Off White People. The Politics of Destruction that was introduced by President George H.W. Bush's advisor, Lee Atwater, was perfected by George W. Bush's advisor, Karl Rove. Nihilistic political bomb-thrower, Newt Gingrich, became Speaker of the House. Any remaining Republican practitioners of principles in politics were being forced to the sidelines. It had become a Party over Country, and an opponent was the enemy. Meanwhile, the Clinton Impeachment created more institutional rot.

The government's response to 9/11 created a profoundly deep reactionary racist and religious backlash that is still powerfully present today. Even more significantly, the official reasons for entering the Iraq War were fundamentally fallacious, adding to more distrust in the federal government, and widening divisions in society.

Rollbacks in budgets and removal of government regulation safeguards designed to prevent the effects of Ruthless Capitalism helped grease the way for The Great Recession. Working Class and Middle Class workers were hit hard. Their resultant struggle added to their woes of not having advanced economically for 30 years -- roughly the time that Republican administrations had sidelined unions. Their economic pain was compounded by watching Big Bankers walking away with Federal money to keep their banks - and the US Economy - afloat while homeowners across the country foreclosed in record numbers. It reeked of wrong and entrenched resentments.

Jobs that vanished never re-appeared. The world and domestic economy had made adjustments. Full time work with benefits became tougher to get. It's now a Part-Time World. White workers who had been treading water for decades found themselves in the same big pond as immigrants and native People of Color. And they didn't like it one little bit. So rather than rail against the 1% who have gamed the system, they reserve their wrath against those who they think might be getting ahead of them.

Into this dynamic enters the Supreme Court ruling on Citizens United. The result was unleashing unlimited amounts of money that can be supplied to political organizations. This has animated extremely wealthy conservative ideologues like the Koch Brothers, the Scaifes and the Mercer Family. They have contributed oodles of millions, a king's ransom, to Republican political action committees and murky organizations that promote their strict and libertarian world view. They bought themselves a political party. The stage was set for the unbelievable to happen.

Our President is a horrible person and personally represents the worst aspects of humanity. He has connected with a base of poorly informed, indoctrinated, bigoted faith-based voters who have been groomed through the years for this moment.

Events have helped with their collapse into active hostility towards a progressive national community. But they drank the nativist Kool-Aid a while ago. In fact, this conflicting and not delicious Kool-Aid has been a part of the nation's DNA, as our now not-so-quick-stroll has revealed.

What can we do about it? Is there some future time travel device that created a Butterfly Effect for us? It took a long time to get to where we are now. It is not going to be easy to change for the better. But we don't have a choice, do we?

Now, to help us all collect our resolve as we enter the weekend, let's enjoy this great and powerful piece by Les McCann and Eddie Harris. Yes, the incomparable "Compared To What?" OK, it's a little long. But it is really pertinent to the climate of today. Here's what you should do:

Use the first couple of minutes to assemble the ingredients for a tall glass of something special. Begin the mixing while Les McCann begins his rumble about "The Goddamn Nation". Let the song work its magic. You'll be moving and shaking in no time! It'll be fun!! And here are the lyrics so you can sing along:

http://www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/les_mccann/compared_to_what-lyrics-1210340.html

Right!!

The Crazy Train keeps a-rollin'

While enjoying time in England, we at The Daily Kibitz learned that President Trump had been called A Fucking Moron. While this assessment was no surprise on its face and is commonly shared, the source was a startle: his own Secretary of State! Apparently, The Orange One had decided that his Presidency should have the biggest and best nuclear arsenal ever! All the King's horses and all the King's men have tried to dissuade and educate him on this (and every other) subject, to no effect. He remains our Uninterested Chief Executive. Our top diplomat blew off some blue steam while leaving the meeting and was overheard by others.

Of course this all leaked, because - after all - it is the Trump Administration. President Towering Intellect "jokingly" suggested that he and Secretary Tillerson could have an IQ Battle (maybe it could be televised for The Best Ratings!) and no one would ever again doubt that small hands indicate superior brains.

Now think on this a moment. Ponder upon the smartest people you know. How many have bragged - even once - about how brilliant they are? None, right? Yet President Best Brains has made a career of making such claims:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/10/10/a-brief-history-of-trump-challenging-people-to-iq-tests/?utm_term=.c7a418571248#comments

It might be that it's the inner P.T. Barnum in him, the master showman/con artist, that propels this sort of behavior. But what Tillerson suggested has been perceived as a manifest fact for those who are paying attention. Our President may be many things, but an enquiring mind is not among them.

Upon our return from Not-So-Jolly England, we were struck by the apparent shift in perception that the President is not just a moron, but something of a small child that requires constant care. This became Loud and Clear when Senate Foreign Relations Chairperson Bob Corker (R - Tennessee) characterized the White House as an "Adult Day Care Center".

https://www.salon.com/2017/10/08/sen-bob-corker-the-white-house-is-an-adult-day-care-center/

Ouch. That is a devastating burn - "Someone obviously missed their shift this morning." Trump has tried to triple-down on this, to no effect. Corker's dart hit the bulls-eye. Trump's problem here is that these and similar assessments are not coming from Democrats - they issue forth from his own party... from his own White House staff! "One Trump confidant likened the president to a whistling teapot, saying that when he does not blow off steam, he can turn into a pressure cooker and explode. 'I think we are in pressure-cooker territory,' said this person..." Read the rest in this revealing write-up:

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/10/infantilization-of-a-president/542613/?utm_source=atltw#article-comments

Well, we all have bad days mixed with the good. But all that really sounds bad. It makes statements and stories like this make sense:

"I hate everyone in the White House!" - Trump

In that article, then-senior advisor Steve Bannon discussed with the President the chances of being removed from office by impeachment. Not likely. Instead, he told Trump, it was far more likely that the 25th Amendment will be invoked. "What's that?" the President asked. It is this constant attempt by his staff to educate Trump in basic Civics that is emblematic of this Administration.

What is also impressive is the staff's ability to keep the Chief Executive from sticking a fork into the closest electrical outlet. Pity his staff, pity his advisors, pity the whole country for what goes on every day. Check out this amazing compilation of incidents and statements that indicate how Trump is managed by so-called grown-ups:

"I'll believe Trump is growing into the Presidency when his staff stops talking about him like a child..."

Wow, that's good. In addition to all that, one of the best anecdotes that reveals our Infant-in-Chief's behavior was found in a piece about White House dining. Trump gets Diet Coke; everyone else gets water. He gets extra sauce, no one else does. He receives special salad dressing. And he slurps up two scoops of ice cream while everyone else settles for one:

Trump gets two scoops of ice cream!

Is there a food taster employed there?

Here are some more examples of the President's elementary-school level of thinking. In a recent interview, he suggested that the stock market was making such great advances that the national debt was becoming erased:

The market is erasing the national debt!

Never mind that that the market and the debt are not linked and are both increasing on their own. Then there was the story about how Trump was briefed on Global Forces Deployment by having a world map with Trump Organization properties indicated where US forces are. Keep him involved!

https://www.voanews.com/a/trump-advisers-globalism-session/4033541.html

Naturally, this and everything else doesn't generate positive news for his administration. And he does not like it one little bit. In response to the nuclear arsenal story, Trump went ballistic and suggested NBC, and all other television news sources that provide negative light on him, have their FCC licenses revoked:

President suggests that network news have licenses pulled

There may come a time when Trump tries to take his ball and go home. Until then, we are left with trying to figure out the dilemma of the age - what to do with the guy. For a chilling read, here is a piece that was published a year ago as a "what if Trump were to actually win" article. It ain't pretty:

Inside the mind of Donald Trump

Okay, this is all crazy and grim. But it's not always going to be this way. It may take several years, but the National Meltdown will pass and reason will return. As mentioned in previous posts, satire and pranks are often the best medicine. While the Daily Kibitz was in the United Kingdom, a prank on Prime Minister Theresa May was performed that would have gladdened the hearts of Abbie Hoffman and Dick Tuck. While May delivered a much-anticipated televised address to her peers, a guy approached her and served her job termination papers. It was brilliant:

The greatest living political prankster?

For some more comic relief... with all the North Korea nonsense and deepening freeze with Russia, it's easy to harken back to the bad old crazy Cold War days. Just for the fun of it, here's a little snippet from one of the Greatest Comedies Ever Made, "Dr. Strangelove" in which President Merkin Muffley has to phone Russian Premier Kissov with some very bad news. "One of our generals, well, he went a little funny, in the head, you know... funny. And he went and did a silly thing..."

Purity of Essence. It could be a good band name. The original ending of Dr. Strangelove featured an epic pie fight among the generals, politicians, advisors and diplomats. It was cut from the final version, but it could be added today and it would fit seamlessly into our current scenario. An epic pie fight at Trump's White House would be a normal event. Not a bad idea! We can all use an epic pie fight, right about... now!