MAN OF THE YEAR

When the Person of the Year, for 2017, is considered, regrettably, Putin will be a strong contender.  He will have been successful in having, for the first time in almost 70 years, been able to unpin the U.S.-Europe Axis that we call NATO, acting through his personal surrogate, Donald Trump. 

When Trump declined to confirm the willingness of the U.S. to reconfirm commitment to Clause V of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, he fulfilled the dream of the old Soviet Union and Russia, to one day rid themselves of the constraint that NATO represented to their ambitions. 

All the money and time spent to cultivate Trump as an intelligence asset will have been worth it, to Putin, by that single moment.

THE LAST CHAPTER

With "bombshell"  leaks coming out of the oval office, about the Trump-Russia scandal, so frequently, it is difficult not to conclude that there is a mole in the White House, at this writing.

Without knowing who that might be, it is hard to know whether any particular actor is a villain or a hero.  Personally, I am going to reserve judgment until the last chapter. 

UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES

Even as Robert Mueller, the recently appointed Special Counsel, is looking into the Trump ties to Russia, the Trumps are preparing a case for the prejudicial nature of the investigation.  
Just as Trump could never catch a break from a judge having Mexican ancestry, because he was building a wall, he feels that an investigator with a German name, like Mueller, will never be fair to a Trump.  He offers as proof:

• His grandfather, Friedrich Trump, was forced to leave that part of Germany, called Bavaria, by the authorities, in 1905.
• There are, today, no hotels or buildings, bearing the name Trump, in all of Germany.
• He doesn't get along with Angela Merkel, the head of the German government.
• He is highly critical of the fact that German companies have better sales, of their American made cars, than American companies have their German made cars, in Europe, and he, Trump, wants Germany to do something about it.

Under the circumstances, only the immediate resignation, and replacement, of Robert Mueller, would be proper.  

PURSUING GREATNESS

There really should be no doubt as to the fact that the American public has misunderstood Donald Trump.  Although many may feel that he has betrayed them, he has remained steadfast in his desire to make America great again.

The misunderstanding seems to have arisen as to just when it was that America was great.  For Trump, the time of greatness was the last days of the  GeorgeW. Bush administration.  He could discharge all of his debts in bankruptcy and even though it was his creditors who lost their money, Trump could claim the tax deduction.  Real estate prices were plummeting and, with a mountain of Russian cash backing him, Trump could pick up great properties at bargain prices. Ah, those were the great days!  No wonder Trump's personal animus towards Obama for having ruined his particular paradise.  

To Trump, the key to a return to greatness was to revive the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy along with deregulation in hopes of replicating the conditions which could lead to a return to the Great Recession, thus meeting the campaign promise to make America "Great" again.  

GUEST POST

New post on The Octogenarians

The Fingerprints on the Glass… by daedal2207 California congressman Ted Lieu,no supporter of Trump,said in a recent interview that he hoped that Trump would do us proud on his travels to Saudi Arabia,Israel and Rome(the Vatican)and then come back to face the music.At best we can only hope that there is no egregious stumble.Congressman Lieu is probably unfamiliar with Alfred Adler's quote to the effect that personality is all encompassing and doesn't change as context or environment shifts.Thus,the fingerprints on the glass remain the same over time.If he sticks to carefully prepared script he may not grossly embarrass us.The minute his showman instincts prompt him toward spontaneity...watch out! It would appear that the business of this trek was preset by Jared Kushner acting as crown prince in this Romanoff recapitulation.No humanitarian insistence on limited use of technology against civilian populations (Yemen).Bargain rates for an autocracy which holds sway over a suppressed population that gives rise to Baathist terror export.The resurrection of Shalom in Israel based on Trumps personality while the crown prince may have already torpedoed a two state solution ? Trump's U.N ambassador talks up moving the U.S. embassy to Bethlehem while his secretary of state hedges all bets." Do Us Proud " ? Ya gotta be kiddin! daedal2207 | 23 May 20

MAKING GOOD ON CAMPAIGN PROMISES

During the election campaign, Donald Trump made clear that, in order to defeat ISIS, he would "bomb the shit out of them".  ISIS is about to find out that Donald means what he says and ISIS elements, in Manchester, are going to get what's coming to them.

DESERVED OPPROBRIUM

In a speech, given by Donald Trump, in Saudi Arabia, this date, the President severely castigated Iran,  The severe criticism is surely deserved.  How many Trump hotels are there in Teheran?  When was the last time an Iranian official stayed at the Trump hotel in Washington?