The Decline of the United States                                      #373

By Hank Silverberg 

Commentary 

We have now entered the second year of Donald Trump's second term as President of the United States. It feels like he has been hammering away at the American way of life ever since he strolled down that elevator in 2015, almost eleven years ago. 

This is not a comprehensive or scholarly analysis of the damage this one man and his close associates have done, but it is a simple look at this weapon of mass destruction know as Trumpism. 

Let's start with our treasured institutions created by the U.S. Constitution, the three branches of government.

Trump has damaged the presidency, possibly beyond repair. His use of executive orders has been extensive, 225 in his first year of this term, and 220 in the four years of his first term. 

Barak Obama signed 277 of them over EIGHT years. George W. Bush signed 291 over eight years. Reagan enacted 381 over eight years. Trump has gone beyond them all already. 

Many of Trump's orders were designed to bypass Congress or negate federal regulations that had been established over decades. Rule by Fiat is what kings and dictators do, not presidents. 

Trump has misused the court system--filing many lawsuits, but then ignoring the rulings that go against him. He faces 228 lawsuits in just the first year of this term, and his administration has filed 21 suits against state and local laws. 

So far, the Supreme Court has yet to rule on most of the big cases. If they rule against Trump, most likely he will ignore them, forever damaging branch number two --the Judiciary. 

Then there is Congress. Here we have to blame not just Trump, but the Republican leadership as well for either rubber stamping Trump's positions, or simply ignoring policy changes that should be done by Congress and not the President. That is damage done to branch number three. A victory for Democrats in the mid-terms could slow this down, but Trump is already making moves to suppress the vote and throw doubt on the election results.     

A president's main job, steering the ship of state through international crisis both as chief diplomat and commander- in- chief, is perhaps the biggest worry.

Our allies in Europe and elsewhere no longer trust the United States, which under Trump has damaged the NATO alliance and international agencies like the World Health Organization and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.  

Trump has put a smile on the face of our enemies like Vladimir Putin (Russia) and Xi Jinping (China) by rolling back our support for Ukraine and Taiwan, and withdrawing foreign aid to countries in Africa. 

In the meantime, his attempts to bully Venezuela and his effort to steal Greenland from Denmark have made us look more like our enemies, the authoritarian rulers of Russia (Putin) and China (Xi) while at the same time pulling back foreign aid from developing countries, particularly in Africa,  that have raw materials we need.   

Putting "America First" has thrown us back into a mixed blend of isolationism and imperialism that will produce nothing but trouble in the decades ahead.  

And finally, there is the attack on the civil rights of every resident of the United States, citizen and non-citizen, with the use of federal agents to stop and question people on the streets of American cities asking for "papers" to prove they belong here.

It is aimed at illegal immigrants, but like much of what Trump does, it has been pushed to the brink of totalitarianism.  

Finally, there is the media. The free press is vital to the success of a country ruled by power from the bottom up. Our Founding Fathers knew this. It's why journalism is the only profession specifically protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. 

But Trump's continuous attack on journalists he doesn't like and promotion of those he does has whittled away the integrity of the press and forever damaged its credibility in the public's collective mind. News networks have been intimidated by federal regulators who threaten TV station licenses, and two reporters were actually arrested in Minnesota for covering a protest inside a local church. The Fourth Estate too, may be forever damaged.  

So, the question we need to ask: Can The United States of America, as we have known it for 250 years, survive the next few decades without suffering irreputable damage?

The Roman Empire lasted 600 years. Can we make it to 300? The Barbarians are at the gate. 

GOP Majority In The House Narrows!

The Republican majority in the U.S. House narrowed a bit on Saturday when Democrat Christian Menefee won a House seat in a special

(U.S. Capitol)

 election. The seat had been vacant for almost a year after the death of Congressman Sylvester Turner of Texas last March. Republican Governor Glenn Abbot had been slow to call for the special election, and there had to be a runoff for the Democratic nominee.  The seat has been traditionally Democratic and was once held by legendary Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, a key figure in the impeachment of Richard Nixon.   Republicans now hold a slim 218 to 214  majority in the House with three vacancies going into the November midterms. 

 Fly Me to The Moon!

The United States returns to the Moon next week for the first time since 1972. Four astronauts are set for a lunar flyby on a new 322 foot Artemis Rocket.

 The launch is now set for February 8th, after a two

(Artemis on the launch pad, NASA photo) 

day delay because the cold weather prevented the fueling of the rocket. The Orion capsule will carry the American and Canadian astronauts to the Moon and back in ten days, with a splashdown set for the Pacific Ocean. 

The Moon mission is a preliminary flight with new technology in preparation for future missions. Future plans include the construction of a Moon base that will eventually be used as a staging point for a mission to Mars in the 2030's. 

Twenty-four astronauts went to the Moon with the Apollo program between 1968 and 1972. Twelve of them walked on the lunar surface. 

The Apollo program was then cut back because of the price tag. NASA focused on the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station in the years since.  

https://www.msn.com/en-us/science/aeronautics/nasa-begins-a-practice-countdown-for-its-first-moonshot-with-astronauts-in-more-than-50-years/ar-AA1Vpnyl?ocid=BingNewsBrowse

Dumbest Quote of The Week!

This week's dumb quote comes from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. During a press briefing, she said:

"Taxpayers can expect substantial refunds due to tax cuts in President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill."   

Well, guess what? A lot of people are going to be disappointed. The cuts apply only to overtime pay and tips, and if you don't work a job that has either, you will get no big tax cut. And it only covers a percentage of overtime pay for those who do get it.  It's not the first time Leavitt has distorted the truth or lied from the White House press room.  Remember this at tax time.  

(You suggestions and comments  are welcome)

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