There is a real risk of something worse happening.

As I write this, I've just digested the news that Donald Trump has made a $25 million settlement for the Trump University swindle, without admitting any fault for the problem.  On the same night, his VP was at "Hamilton" and a cast member stuck up a challenging conversation with Pence.  To distract people from Trump's paying off on a settlement, Trump accused the cast member of harassing the VP elect.  Again, we're seeing business as usual from Trump - when you have to pay for your sins, distract others from the confession, and certainly don't admit any fault or responsibility.

No one ever expects Trump to ever expose his tax returns to public scrutiny. If they were public, they would expose the many intricate layers of international deals with people who are less than honorable. Couple this with not divesting Trump's holdings into a blind trust and disconnecting the family from the family business, we have great potentials for conflicts of interest which I have no trust that Trump will handle honorably.

Everyone I speak to in my bubble of friends is horrified about what this presidency means. To me, I expect to see a lot of scandals, with a president trying to scuttle freedoms enumerated in the 1st amendment and upheld by over 200 years of legal precedent. His election has unleashed conservatives who want to shred the social safety net.  The Speaker of the House is now floating proposals to scuttle Medicare, and replace it with a voucher program.  We have never had a decent marketplace solution to healthcare issues in this country, and the Speaker only will make things worse.  He wants to subsidize the wrong side of the Supply/Demand curves with his voucher based proposal, and this will only raise prices.  If he were to subsidize supply, he'd reduce prices - but politicians never have a clue on how to make markets work to solve problems and not make them worse.

I see a major attack on Gay Rights coming, and the GLBT communities have much to fear. It's amazing how many people are killed around the world because they do not fit the molds of traditionalist sexual identities and/or practices. With a VP such as Pence, Trump has signaled that he doesn't give a damn about social rights or safety to marginalized groups. He is a bully, and only respects bullies - and despises anyone who could be a victim. Hopefully, more gay people will join groups such as the "Pink Pistols", and signal that they will not allow themselves to be pushed around.

But it is not just the Gays who are at risk.  I go to a Muslim doctor for treatment.  He has always treated me with respect, and we have always had the chance to talk a little about social affairs on my visits.  He has been a valuable member of my community for generations. Why should he be called on to register with the government because of his religion - as posed by Trump before and after his election?  How does one choose who is good and bad from any religion?  Should Christians get a free pass?  We see religious terrorism from some people from our religious right, and no one demands that Christians register with the government.  And what about the Jews?  They should always remember the yellow stars sewed on to their clothes.  They must always remember the numbers tattooed on their arms during the Nazi years.  They must start standing up to say NO - this should never happen to any group, not even our professed opponents, ever again!

What about the rhetoric of rebuilding our military?  We're the only nation in the world that can fight a war in two theaters of operation at the same time.  We spend as much on our military as the next 5 nations in the world combined.  The biggest problem with our military is that it is too big!  Much of our spending takes place because we have grown addicted to the jobs that building unneeded equipment brings to communities across the nation.  It is an inefficient way of keeping people employed, as once bullets are shot and bombs are dropped, we have nothing to show for this spending.  No new bridges are built.  No roads are constructed. No houses are erected.  No children are educated.  No sick are healed. I could go on and on about the things we don't have because we have chosen to fight "forever wars" instead of preparing ourselves for a future of prosperity we could 
have earned.  

We do have problems.  For example, we have alienated people in both rural and urban areas. They are not well educated, and live where good jobs are not available to them.  In rural areas, the mills have closed down, and the people can't move to places where plentiful jobs are.  In urban areas, the high paying jobs require educations that people can't afford to get.  And when people fail to achieve to a reasonable potential, they often fall into despair and escape into drugs and alcohol.  No amount of moral and legal punishment can help these people.  Only opportunity can help them.  Sadly, structural unemployment is becoming a greater problem every day, and the elites have at best neglected the worse off in our society. And at worst, they have warehoused these people in a prison industrial complex geared to keep them out of sight and out of mind.

There is a tendency for those who are alienated to follow authoritarian leaders when they don't feel like they are getting their fair share from the system.  They look towards a messianic figure to deliver them from the injustices they perceive are being inflicted on them without delving deeper into their problems.  For example, many people voted for Trump because he promised to eliminate environmental regulations which made the coal mines unprofitable. Sadly, he can't make people use coal who don't want to buy it.  As such, the people are going to get screwed again, because the false messiah made promises which could not be kept. If these people saved their money when times were good, they could have left their one horse towns at the first sign of decline.  The unions could have negotiated phased shutdowns of plants, with safety nets in place to help people transition to skills currently in demand - and provided relocation assistance so these retrained workers could go to where the new jobs were.  Instead, the former workers blame the wrong "others" for their problems, and keep sowing the seeds for future disappointments.

The election of Trump was a signal by the masses that they wanted change.  They did not care much about the nature of the change - they wanted to riot using ballot boxes as weapons.  Trump can not and will not deliver the changes the people want. He has too many conflicts of interest for him to even govern honorably.  All he can and will do is push this country towards an authoritarian government - if we don't resist it.  Resistance can be peaceful - mobs of people can block movement of traffic in a city.  Mobs of people can protest at key locations and get the press needed to show that the government lacks critical public support.  But mostly, they can slow things to a halt until a new and more honest leader can come through the ranks, and truly push for healthy change.  Until then, I pray that the decent people in the GOP will reach across the aisle to the Democrats and use the legislative branch of government to check and balance the power of this Sociopath who will be in charge of the executive branch of government. 

The conservatives won this election.  Now they have a duty to govern responsibly. Only time will tell if they handle their responsibilities honorably in spite of having a dishonorable man in charge of the executive branch of government....

What scares me about Trump....

This is a real photo!!!  And Trump's disrespect for our judiciary and of our constitution is a big potential problem. Why is it that "Conservatives are the ones most wanting to change the constitution instead of achieving their goals within it?  Aren't they smart enough to show that their goals are in the best interest of the American people?  My guess is that they don't really want the rule of law, but instead want the rule of and by their tribe.  There is a clear and present danger to our society, and the Washington Post articulates that threat much better than I can do.

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I find it interesting that Ted Cruz (at the time of writing this entry) has not yet endorsed Donald Trump.  He may actually have a small amount of principles he can stand on. (Although he has not enough principles for me to show him any respect.)  But what's most interesting is how many of the GOP elite stayed away from the convention, using the flimsiest of excuses to stay away. Normally, I find political conventions unwatchable, as they are only meant to stir the passions of their associated tribe.  But this year is even worse than usual, because the quality of "entertainers" (yes, this is political entertainment - the serious stuff is still being done outside the public view) is so totally amateur.

Next week (at the time I started to write this entry), it will be Hillary's turn to entertain the public, and the Democrats will throw their quadrennial party.  And, like the GOP, their entertainers will take the stage, make a lot of contentless speeches, and stir up the passions of their tribe.  Unlike the GOP's convention, I expect the entertainment to be much better than what is on the TV now.

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It is eerie to many that Trump has the same kind of charisma that a certain Central European had 85 years ago.  People respond to him in a more primitive way. He appeals to people's feelings and not their minds.  And they are being led like sheep.  I'm not saying bad things about these people - many want a real change, and are disgusted with the political elite of both parties. 

Hillary represents the "Nomenklatura" of America's political elite. Leaders of both parties have their lists of people who are in power, and those being groomed for power.  Like the Mafia, people have to pay dues to the system before the system takes care of them. And I am just as disgusted with this group of people as most of the public is.  But at least, much of the system functions, albeit poorly.

Trump, on the other hand, buys and sells Apparatchiks. Even though he hob nobs with the high and mighty, he knows which low level palms to grease to get things done. Yet, whatever business he touches turns to lead, while his bank account turns to gold.  He has no idea of how to run a business for the long tern, nor does he have an idea of how to manage a large bureaucracy.  If he were to do even a small fraction of what he proposes to do, he will likely cause the whole system to collapse.  (Imagine what would happen if he were to start trying to expel illegal immigrants - how many legal residents and citizens would get caught up in the INS sweeps?  It's bad enough now that many American citizens fear the INS.  But what would happen if this part of the bureaucracy were given extra power?) But then, he speaks to the fears of the public, and not to their aspirations.

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In short, this is an election that indicates whether America is a nation who fears the world, or whether America is a nation who stands up to the world.  America can be a beacon that inspires the world or one that terrifies the world.  Acting out of fear will create terror for everyone.  Acting out of courage will embolden others to be more like us.  We have a choice, and I hope America can make one in line with its better qualities.....