THE AMERICAN POSEIDON ADVENTURE

WRITTEN IN PENCIL

“Written in pencil.” That is how Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney described agreements made with Trump. It is a fitting description of dealing with this White House: nothing is dependable, nothing is permanent, and apparently nothing is worth the paper it is written on.

Once again, Trump has triggered a “war”, this time economic, although both the confrontation with Iran and the one with Canada ultimately carry enormous economic consequences. But these wars are not really between two countries. They are between other countries and one man sitting in our White House, pretending to be a leader concerned about America.

It is all a lie.

Trump made promises to get elected. Promises to raise the standard of living for Americans and keep us out of wars. They weren’t promises. They were campaign lines designed to get him back into power, protect his backside and, once there, fill his pockets.

So where are those promises being fulfilled?

In the economy? Perhaps if you are among the wealthiest 10 percent. For everybody else, there isn’t much to sing about. Food costs more. Housing costs more. Borrowing costs remain high. Manufacturing jobs have struggled. Cars, trucks, lumber will increase. Farmers and cattle ranchers are screwed. And now Trump is engaged in another conflicts carrying with punishing consequences for the American economy, to say nothing of the damage being done to our integrity, credibility and international standing.

Trump casts America as a country whose word cannot be trusted.

Which brings us back to the pencil.

Why pencil? Because nearly everything Trump and his mob touch seems erasable. Every commitment they make, every tariff they impose, every trade agreement they announce, every economic policy they reverse, every voting restriction they promote and every military commitment they undertake appears subordinate to two objectives: protect their power and enrich themselves or their friends.

America be damned.

I recently wrote about reality and how differently each of us sees it. But it is hard to look at what is happening between Trump and Canada without wanting to simply retch. Americans have long valued our relationship with Canada. We have been neighbors, allies, trading partners and friends, compadres, in almost every meaningful sense. We have fought alongside one another, traded with one another, vacationed in each other’s countries and shared the longest peaceful international border in the world.

But a stable and productive relationship doesn’t generate dramatic headlines. It doesn’t produce manufactured victories for a narcissistic ego. It requires something far less theatrical and far more valuable: communication, reliability and mutual respect. Qualities Trump neither understands nor is capable of practicing.

We still have nearly 29 months of this egotistical orange clown and his band of Rasputins. He is a cowardly, pathetic, pudgy pussy, possibly Russia’s most useful dummy, who desperately needs a cage or at least a leash.

And where is Congress?

The current Congress has failed to exercise its constitutional authority to protect the country from presidential abuse of power. Too many members have fearfully and shamefully surrendered that responsibility to preserve their own power and positions while this administration damages our relationships, our institutions, our families and our future.

We deserve better! And we can demand better!

The people who refuse to exercise the power we entrusted to them can be replaced by people who will. That is the beauty of democracy. The pencil may belong to Trump, but the eraser belongs to us. VOTE.

VOTE!!!

RESIST!!! & EDUCATE!!!