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The "Gray Lady", as the New York Times is often called, had a lot to report on the day I wrote this post. And I was unsure about what was the most important thing out there. Was it the resignation of Michael Flynn, after less than a month into Trump's regime? Was it Trump's statement that Israel need not pursue a "two state" solution with the Palestinians? Was it the revelation that senior Trump assistants were in constant contact with Russia during his campaign? Was if the assassination of Kim Jong Un's half brother in Malaysia? Was it the revelation that Russia broke one of the nuclear anti-proliferation treaties, by testing a new type of missile? Or, was it the revelation that the American intelligence agencies no longer trust Trump or his staff to keep America's secrets secret, and are now withholding information from the president? Any one of these things could be major news items in their own right. But all of these things happening at once has gotten me worried.
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Our current president is as inept as he is corrupt. Couple this with a GOP that is ethically bankrupt, and wants power over doing things for the public at large, and we are in serious trouble. One Republican that I once respected, Rand Paul, has just lost any support I might have given him. He would prefer to dismantle the ACA (Obamacare) than to determine how close a relationship the Trump Campaign had with the Russians. Paul believes that no Republican should be investigating other Republicans. Paul Krugman notes that the GOP would rather choose treason to give tax cuts to the wealthy, as corruption is endemic to the GOP. Whether I'd go this far, I don't know. But it seems as if the GOP wants power for power's sake, and not to exercise it wisely.
I am concerned about giving Netanyahu options NOT to pursue a two state solution in Israel/Palestine. This region is dangerous enough now. Why give extremists any more fuel to add to the fire? Our previous Secretary of State noted that Israel could be either a Democracy or a Jewish State. But it could not be both if a two state solution is not pursued. If we support Netanyahu's actions, we may just light the fire of the next Middle Eastern war without realizing it.
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Often, what North Korea does is an interesting side show to the world. They tend to make bellicose statements, but can't do much to cause trouble elsewhere. Yes, they have forged $100 bills so perfect that the Federal Reserve told US banks to honor the "funny money" until they had a reliable way to detect the bogus bills. Yes, they have hacked into many computer systems, and caused organizations such as Sony Pictures much grief. But now, they have started to assassinate people outside their borders. Can this be tolerated? Yes, the fellow who was poisoned was the half brother of the "supreme leader". But who might be killed next?
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Russia has tested a new cruise missile that the US says violates previously signed treaties. Would this have taken place had Hillary Clinton been in office? I doubt it. With Trump in office, Putin can do no wrong. Now that US intelligence agencies no longer trust the president to keep secrets, I wonder what comes next.
These are scary times, and I don't trust our leaders to do the right things, nor do I trust the system of checks and balances to work in the presence of this much corruption in the system. I could be wrong. But when Joe Scarborough started worrying about the White House and its lack of respect for the Judiciary, we should see this as the canary in the coal mine alerting us to big problems ahead. No president should have unchecked powers, and Joe makes this clear after reviewing Steven Miller's comments on the power of POTUS.
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