One Of A Kind: Presidency of Trump

Last night prior to sleep, something I had viewed earlier triggered my still-humming mind to revisit the US 2016 presidential election which highlighted to the world the almost-impossible win of Trump against the overwhelming forces of his competitor, the latter exhibiting overpowering favorable odds in the political and financial spheres.  So compelling nobody even thought Trump could win, but win he did.

Anyway, just realized that more than what we know was stacked against Trump, we need to add the entire machinery of the vaunted US intelligence community, plus the premier law enforcement agency (the FBI), which both we are slowly and grudgingly learning, were weaponized and unleashed against Trump, not only during the hotly-contested campaign, but even through the years of his administration.

Yet he still stands.  And if we are a people of faith, we have to believe that some unknown but unrelenting force must be behind Trump to enable him to surmount all the challenges he has been through and which he continues to face.  It has to come to this for us, how else to explain this phenomenon.

But looking at him, I do see unmistakable signs of the stresses that he must be going through.  He now looks hunched and looking physically older, which not even a heavily-padded suit could hide.

So I just hope that he is able to survive these next few months until the November reelection vote, against the monstrous array, which has displayed no limits and boundaries, lined up against him, with definitely redoubled efforts and resources to guarantee the last result is not repeated.

If he has survived because he has been singularly blest by the forces of righteousness, again people of faith have to hopefully entreat that Trump does not disappoint by not making it to the finish line.  Yes, and that would be after the election and his win.  I am confident the steady and hardy VP he has chosen is sufficiently equipped to carry on with his legacy if there needs be.

But he needs to win again.  So the virtuous things wrought will not all be for naught.

In this contest we know exactly what the other side is against.  They are collectively against Trump and what he represents, and the loathing is very palpable.  But what are they for?

Based on what Trump and his administration has done and continues to do, we know exactly what he stands for.  He is pro-Life.  Pro-God. Pro-Religion. Pro-Police.  Pro-Military.  For peace and order.  For economic progress for all.  For fair trade and commerce.   Etc.  What else?

Some Thoughts on Social Media Giant Facebook

Facebook creates a world to its own.  It has its own unique citizens, its own iron-clad rules and standards, and, yes, its own indubitable chaos and confusion, just like in the real world.  And akin to it, I too regularly travel through it and observe the many happenings in it.

Like the real world, many citizens there are respectably reticent, timidly reserved, too kind to a fault, etc. while just as many are quite noisily vocal, infinitely categorical, steadfastly judgmental, godly self-righteous about their own perceived attitudes or opinions of events being played out in this burgeoning virtual world.

 

Thus we listen to the boisterous cacophony of declarations about how bad and greedy this woman is for what she had done, how corrupt or how untainted certain politicians are, how unfair certain actions or laws are, etc...   All this prior to the truths about them being unraveled and declared before the entire world.

Of course, all the citizens who passed judgment cannot all be wrong, but neither can they all be right.

I wonder then what happens next, when they are proved wrong.  I know if proved right, they could gloat and declare, yeah, I told you so.  Or simply be quiet about it, and maybe say a prayer or two in hope of some things good coming out of it.

But again, what happens when we are proved wrong?

Do we look back and make amends, or at the very least apologize? Remember we have thrown bad thoughts out there, words that will perpetually reside in that ether easily accessible to be recalled at any time.  Hurts and smears inflicted that may forever traumatize and haunt those they were directed against.

A good question to ponder.  Maybe even for any and all untoward, or maybe just a bit unkind or unflattering, statements we have directed against somebody who is more than just one listed as our “Friends” on FB.

Mea Maxima Culpa.

Law Enforcement and the Military in the US

I have long known that many of our FilAm compatriots are quite active politically, with some quite vocal about their political leanings in their new homeland.

As further information to be sifted in arriving at more-rounded political decisions, I have also long harbored the idea of suggesting to them the unusual request as hypothesized below.

Two very dominant sectors in American society are the law enforcement community and the military hierarchy and their command.  Beyond anything else, entry in both sectors is voluntary since all the members signed up on their own volition.  And the typical and primary reason for joining these organizations with very hazardous tasks has been the ardent desire to serve the country and the people, by providing and maintaining peace and security.  Everything else appears secondary.  So we can surmise that we have there a good number of hardy and patriotic citizens, with the best interests of the country in their hearts and minds 

These are big sectors, the military comprising of about 1.5 million people from active and reserve categories, and law enforcement totaling about 700K members.  All in their productive years and prime voters, so forming quite a formidable constituency.  And it will be noted many from the military cross over to law enforcement

All of them under the strict control and command of the highest executive officer of the political unit they belong to, whether the mayor of the city, the governor of the state, or the president of the country.  They are all necessary tools of the executive department of the political unit in the discharge of its duties, and as such needless to say, they have to be above politics, especially partisan politics.  They cannot be otherwise given the very sensitive relationship they possess with the corresponding city executive.

Still we are sure deep down, they do have their political ideologies and their choices of candidates that best exemplify their noblest goals.  Choices we surmise informed by their intimate contacts or interaction with their executive leaders.

One wonders then how many of our compatriots have family members, or other relatives, or simply close acquaintances who are connected or may have previously served under any of the two groups?  It would be nice to suggest to them to find out from them what and how they feel about the current politics.  They could be reticent about it given its delicate nature, but one is confident that the conversation being premised in confidence, they would be coaxed into revealing their thoughts.

It would be quite revealing to find out what the results are, and maybe quite divergent from the pictures mainstream media has been painting.

No rush.  But do try to find out.   And ask clarifying questions about their choices. 

The prophecy of doom continues . . . .

The prophecy of doom continues . . . .

. . . and there are no signs of it abating.  We rather see the unmistakable signs point to weightier coming conditions for the entire world.

We all started as disparate communities living as different countries with all our dissimilarities.  Differences not only in looks, but in values, goals, etc.

Then somehow in spite of widening chasms in divergence of thought and action, the drive toward globalization, and the anticipated forthcoming one world government, was imperceptibly initiated with many powerful advocates casting their lot on the efficacy and the suitable time for the ideology.

But we know we are nowhere near it and the friction points are so severe, the   chances are nil that that this desired option is available to humanity, not especially after we have been decimated by this pandemic.   Our differences continue to make that an almost impossibility.  And what is more is that many find that such change would not really redound to the benefit of the world, bit would widen the rifts already existing between countries.

Some caveats or premises before we can even hope to reorient ourselves to the path toward resolution of all the global problems now gripping the entire planet.

First, like it or not, the world has to be aligned, or at least not be obstructive, on the side of the US of A.  Aside from being unarguably the mightiest military power in the planet, it also has the biggest economy making all other countries not only interconnected with it, but also interdependent.

The US dollar is the reserve currency of practically every other nation in the world.  Thus, it is unthinkable to have people wish ill on the dollar without spiting themselves.  Those countries who hold US debt have this in their minds, too.  The US has to continue being what it is and doing what it does, or the world economy will be grossly affected.

Because it has the biggest economy it also is the biggest consumer in the planet.  75% of its GDP is consumer spending.  Because of this, those countries who produce and export have to reckon with the US.  Even China, a largely exporting country, understands this, and cannot disregard the US without jeopardizing its own existence.  This holds true to other nations in the world.

Which country has gone past this pandemic and having its economy already on the path to recovery?  Hard to name one, except maybe a little country like Taiwan.

But in spite all this, the US as the world leader and trailblazer has a lot to be accountable for the actions it has been taking to get past this pandemic.

With that explained and set aside, we turn our attention to what the world under this abnormal and entirely unfamiliar state of affairs has become.

 

Unemployment in the US has reached 20%. Unemployment ceiling for the US as far as we can reach back has only been at 10%, never more.  Its GDP has spiraled down to negative territory by as much as 33%. This because of the lockdowns, artificially slowed down by stimulus spending.  But for how long can this be sustained?

US FED policies have not only been unhelpful; it has exacerbated a deteriorating situation. And this has been so for quite a while, what with all these confusing QEs that they have employed and now, the country and the world with it are now being conditioned to the set of stimulus packages waiting in the pipeline. And as far as can be gleamed these amount to nothing more than printing more money and releasing them to the economy at large, albeit doing all this digitally.  But still mirroring the same effects.  So we have to ask, when can we expect runaway inflation?

Add to all this, the political chaos and destruction we have seen in the last months in US streets and government structures continue to consume whatever desirable advances the beleaguered administration has been able to garner the past three years.

All this points to a future that is not only uncertain, but undeniably gloomy for the entire planet.