Hello Downriver,
So, do you get it now?
Do you understand?
Because at every turn, they’re making it clear: Trump and his Trumplicans hate America.
I know, you either don’t believe me or figure this is partisan hyperbole.
But I’ve been paying attention.
Have you?
My point starts, of course, with the obvious mental deterioration of a 79-year-old with a deranged view of America that, among other things, has led to spastic, incoherent ramblings and attacks on friend and foe alike.
Like our favorite neighbor, Canada.
Discounting his drivel about making Canada the 51st state, Trump has somehow made our second-largest trading partner (Mexico is No. 1) the target of illogical and disjointed criticism that has damaged our unique relationship.
For no good reason.
Of course, Trump doesn’t exist without enablers — which is the entire Trumplican Party.
Even though Trump is a lame-duck president, few, if any, in Congress are willing to show a spine and stand up for America.
Instead, they prefer standing in line for a red ballcap.
And they fulfill their obsequious by promoting and perpetuating lies spewing from the mouth of their liar-in-chief.
(The joke applies here: “How can you tell Trump is lying? His lips are moving.”)
For example, in the on-going government shutdown, every Trumplican worth their submissiveness has spouted and repeated the lie that Democrats want to give health care to “illegal aliens.”
Welp, there’s a problem with that: it’s illegal to do so — and the Trumplicans know it.
They say this because they can’t defend their rejection of a Democratic demand to re-open government in exchange for extending the enhanced income-based subsidies for “Obamacare” customers.
Democrats want to extend the subsidies, which expire at year’s end, to prevent millions of Americans from losing their insurance.
But Republicans say no — and refuse to negotiate.
Here’s the problem: The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that more than 4 million Americans who would otherwise have insurance under Obamacare won’t have it by 2034 if the subsidies aren’t extended.
Which means premium payments would increase from an average of $888 this year to $1,904 next year if the subsidies expire, according to health policy think tank KFF.
So, since they can’t win that argument — about “illegal aliens” being eligible for Obamacare (or Medicare or Medicaid) — they shift to “illegal aliens” getting treated in our hospital emergency rooms.
But that ignores the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), which requires U.S. hospitals that accept Medicare patients to provide an examination to anyone who comes to an emergency room.
Regardless of their ability to pay, their insurance status — or their citizenship.
Oh, and the act was passed by a Democratic House and Republican Senate and signed into law under Ronald Reagan.
But Trump and Trumplicans don’t care much about those kinds of details; they hate America so much that they’re willing to hurt Americans to make political points.
Except they’re not: According to a new KFF Health Tracking Poll, 78% of Americans say they want Congress to extend the enhanced tax credits.
Of that percentage, 59% of Republicans and 57% of MAGA supporters favor extending the enhanced tax credits.
And 92% of Democrats and 82% of Independents support extending the enhanced tax credits.
Oh, and 84% of those who buy their own health insurance through the Marketplace support the extension.
Keep in mind that Trumplicans’ refusal to extend the healthcare subsidies comes on the heels of Trump’s destructive tax bill passed earlier this summer that cut more than $1 trillion from healthcare programs – the largest rollback of federal support for healthcare in American history.
According to various reports, these cuts will result in an estimated 10 million Americans losing their health insurance coverage.
In addition, the bill slashed $120 billion from SNAP (formerly known as food stamps), reducing food assistance for low-income families.
So, can you spell “I hate America — and Americans?”
Trumplicans can, as they continue to prove.
The bottom line is that Trump and his merry band of sycophantic Trumplicans are on the wrong side of the argument about subsidies (among other things) — and if they prevail in Congress by convincing some moronic Democrats to go along with letting the subsidies expire — they’ll reap the whirlwind come next November.
In other words, America will hate them right back — at the polls.
And good riddance to them all.
But getting back to Trump’s hatred of America — and Americans (who aren’t kissing his tie) — consider his “war” on American cities.
Forget the nonsense about “blue” and “red” cities — there’s no such thing; the labels are a purely manufactured totem based on mayoral politics: American cities are populated by people from every stripe of life, from every political bent.
But such nuances don’t work for Trump’s simplistic — and childish — view of America and the world: for him, it’s red vs. blue.
That’s why he’s called for going to “war” in “blue” cities — as if a contrived partisan label makes it OK.
And lest you forget, he’s slapped the nickname “War” on the Defense Department to underscore the wannabe tough-guy persona of his lame secretary, Pete Hegseth.
(The name change isn’t official; it’s just window dressing — and another attempted distraction from Trump’s relationship with convicted and dead child molester, Jeffrey Epstein.)
It was Sept. 30 Hegseth called a meeting of hundreds of generals, flag officers and high-ranking non-coms to perform his tough-guy routine in front of a huge American flag.
This is what I posted on Substack right after the performance:
“I watched the movie “Patton” — and Pete Hegseth is no Patton; he’s not even George C. Scott playing George Patton.
“No, Pete Hegseth is a clown, a small man who needed to puff his chest out … to try and prove he’s something he’s not: an honorable man, a leader of men.
“But he did just the opposite; he stood in front an oversized American flag — like right out of that movie — and instead of looking powerful, he looked… tiny, befitting his intelligence and leadership abilities.”
But it was Trump who uttered the words that should concern all of us: “We should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military,” he told the brass, adding that his worry is about “the enemy from within — and we have to handle it before it gets out of control.”
“Enemy from within?”
Hey, that’s us.
Since when have we become the enemy?
In using the phrase, Trump embraced the fear-mongering language of Sen. Joe McCarthy, who in 1950 infamously used it to launch his widespread “witch hunt” that ruined the careers of thousands of Americans.
Today, though, it’s not about communists; it’s about Trump’s perceived political enemies and nearly anyone who has ever opposed him and his policies.
It also includes the press and protesters, which Trump has collectively labeled as being part of “Antifa,” which isn’t even an organized group.
Indeed, on Sept. 22, he signed an executive order that labels Antifa a “Terrorist Threat.”
Why?
Because, the order says, “Antifa is a militarist, anarchist enterprise that explicitly calls for the overthrow of the United States Government, law enforcement authorities, and our system of law.”
Isn’t that the kettle calling the pot black?
Isn’t it Trump and his Trumplicans — the true “deep state” — who are in the process of overthrowing our form of government and flouting the law at every turn? (With the acquiescence of a corrupt Supreme Court majority.)
Isn’t he the one who said he’s going to send in troops to “blue” cities” — and “straighten them out one by one?”
Isn’t he the one who told that room of generals and admirals that invading our cities with military is “a war, too… (that) it’s a war from within?”
Isn’t he the one who said Portland, Oregon was so overrun with crime and chaos that it “looked like World War II?”
Isn’t he the one who signed an executive order “to provide training for quick reaction force that can help quell civil disturbances?”
Heck, if opposition to this kind of illegal use of our military is called “Antifa,” well, I guess that includes me.
Sadly, the response to Trump has been mild to meek — except for those who take the streets to take about our country (which we’ll be doing again on Oct. 18).
For too many lawmakers, governors and mayors, the counter argument against the use of the military in our cities has been to cite declining crime rates.
As if that’s the problem.
But it’s not: We’ve always had crime and we employ police departments to respond to and fight that crime.
Not the U.S. military — which is prohibited from conducting police actions on American soil.
But that hasn’t stopped the felon-in-chief from puffing up his ankles and playing tough guy.
With an emphasis on “playing.”
So far, all of these events have occurred elsewhere; no armed troops have shown up in Bishop Park raking leaves with M4s slung over their shoulders.
But is that what it will take for the rest of America to realize what’s going on?
As I wrote on Substack, Hegseth hasn’t got a clue about war; that it’s to be avoided, not glorified.
And that applies to conducting “war” in our cities.
Yet Hegseth relished the spotlight in front of our military brass to puff himself up as a leader — but, instead, proved himself a clown.
Trump, of course, followed the jester with his own brand of nonsensical blather and campaign-style bullshit.
In the end, all Hegseth and Trump did that day was demonstrate yet again that neither of them are up to the task of defending our nation from enemies — both foreign and domestic.
Especially when the enemy is them.
Not us.
To read the rest of my piece on Hegseth, Trump and their clown show last month — as well as other essays — check out Substack.com and look for me at “Farrandipity.” It’s free. Craig Farrand is a former managing editor of The News-Herald and can be reached at: craig.substack@gmail.com
