I spent years training to be a diplomat. But then, the Soviet Union crumbled and suddenly speaking Russian wasn’t ‘all that’. Language preferences leaned towards – “Do you speak Georgian, Latvian, Ukranian?” Ah, yeah. No.
So you can imagine my interest/horror when Trump announced his run for president of the USA in 2015. It spawned quite a number of essays. Most of them are scattered throughout the site but to make them a bit more accessible I thought I would give them a page.
Picking up Clues: January 6, 2021
January 7, 2021
You can’t see me but I’m over here shaking my head because of the events in the US in the past 24 hours.
I’m reading all my various news feeds and still head shaking. It’s mystifying – why are all these people acting surprised? I’ve said it repeatedly since December 2015 that Trump was going to be a disaster.
Tums for Breakfast
November 4, 2020
There are two emotions competing for my attention this morning, relief and dread. It is a curious combination…
Beginning of the end
November 1, 2020
It’s the first day of November and I should be knee deep in my novel writing today. I’m not because I’m sitting here at my computer distracted by something a family member said in our weekly internet get together.
“I can’t wait for the morning of the 4th (of November) to have all of this behind us.”
At the time, I couldn’t disabuse him of the thought. But, in good conscience I can’t let it stand either…
Trump Might Win
October 27, 2020
Trump could win another four years.
Despite a blue wave. In the clutch of a pandemic. Faced with so many people who have waited four years to vote him out, Trump could win…
A Trump Presidency
October 23,2020
This essay needs to be updated. As more details of the abuse and graft of Trump’s time in office comes to light I find the predictions of my original series were more accurate than I first thought.
I chose my education with the sole purpose of becoming a diplomat. As a child of the eighties, the Reagan “Bear in the Woods” message resonated. Add to that some other personality quirks and I was planning to save the world by disarming the two great superpowers to create peace.
Well, it didn’t quite work out that way…
The Accounting: A Trump Presidency
October 22, 2020
A couple of weeks ago (maybe more) I promised to do a follow-up to my series of articles that I wrote in early November of 2016…
Sowing a bitter future
June 17, 2019
I should be doing almost anything else. Instead, I am sitting at my desk, reading the spines of the books nearby and thinking about our future. When I say ‘our future’, I mean America, immigrants, children, citizens and yes, my family and myself.
Introduction to a Trump Presidency
November 10, 2016
The sun came up this morning. I was very relieved, but then I recalled President Obama is still in the White House. Trump’s Presidency won’t start until January, 2017. That’s months away. And if I’m honest, as dismaying as the Election Night results were, the smart money is still on the sun.
A Trump Presidency: Part I – The Dictator
November 6, 2016
Although in essays and proposals it is good form to end with your strongest argument, here we start with the worst vision. Let’s just get it out there and done. It is the vision that I proposed first in December 2015. I broke Godwin’s Law and put it out there. I called Trump a potential dictator, and now, he is in a position to lead this nation down that very dark and soul destroying path…
A Trump Presidency: Part II: The King
November 10, 2016
The last pathway we examined was terrifying. It was no less than a repeat of Hitler, Stalin, and Pol Pot. Take your pick. That had to be the first path examined because it is the one scenario that is preying on the public conscious. Think of it as lancing a boil, best get it done and let the pus drain. So now, with that terror out of the way, let’s look at the next unappetizing prospect…
A Trump Presidency: Part III: The Puppet
November 17, 2016
I have to admit this is the scenario that intrigues me the most. I almost titled this after the 1966 movie “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming”. I restrained myself. I have been looking at the Trump/Russian connection for over 2 years, maybe close to three.
A Trump Presidency: Part IV: The Sellout
November 17, 2016
So far in this series I have looked at some of the different “types” of president we might see with Trump. The first two types, the ‘Dictator’ and the ‘King’ are both scenarios that would be driven from internal needs for power and validation. The third type I described was the ‘Puppet’.
A Trump Presidency: Part V: The Cappo
November 17, 2016
So many uncomfortable questions. So many fears captured on paper. This is the last of the major themes that I found after I had spent a frantic post-election morning mapping all the fears that were running through my mind. As a trained political analyst who suffers from anxiety and a very active imagination the map was huge, and none of the options were optimistic…
A Trump Presidency: Resurfacing & Hope
November 17, 2016
This is the final installment of my series on the archetypes of a Trump presidency. These ideas come out of an exercise I used to alleviate the anxiety I felt on Election Night as the returns confirmed a Trump win. I was overwhelmed, disappointed, dismayed, but most of all, worried.
Echoes of 1933
December 8, 2015
The greatest generation, where are you when you are needed, again? Gone to flowers, every one. Well, not every one. But many, most. I cannot imagine what my Grandfather, either of them, would say about Trump.