From the very election of Donald J. Trumpf as President of the United States of America, opponents were quick to make comparison with Adolf Hitler.
Your Captain, although not a Trumpf fan, was reluctant to make such a comparison. Hitler was one of the most heinous world leaders of modern times.
It would take a great deal to measure up.
Besides, most of the time it appears Trumpf simply doesn’t know what he’s doing. It’s more ignorance than evil.
Captain’s Note: In that vein, I don’t ever want to hear someone tell a child, “Anyone can grow up to be President.” You tell that child s/he should study world history and political science and government and economics and diplomacy and… Then maybe, just maybe, they’ll be ready to lead our nation.
But now Trumpf is in danger of losing the upcoming election.
What a blow to his ego that would be!
He might be able to convince racists and neo-Nazis and other
of the dregs of society that he is “their President”.
But you can’t bullshit your way through a pandemic.
You can’t scare a virus.
You can’t threaten a virus.
Tell all the lies you want to about COVID-19, but the truth is the coronavirus is going to do what the coronavirus is going to do.
And if you don’t lead your nation in taking necessary precautions and focus on finding a cure, the virus will do just that.
Captain’s Note: During the Obama administration, the nation faced Ebola, Swine Flu (H1N1), and Zika, causing the Obama administration to draft a playbook to follow in future epidemics/pandemics. Trumpf threw out the playbook.
Because… “Obama”.
But with the attention span of a gnat, after only 6 months Trumpf has already gotten bored with COVID-19 and wants to move on to the next thing.
Right after another round of golf.
To date, the U.S. has confirmed 3.8 million cases of COVID-19 resulting in 143,000 American deaths.
And counting...
The pandemic has caused the cancellation of his regular political rallies – at which he freely spews his vile nonsense to his adoring crowds and get his ego stroked in the process.
It has even threatened the Republican National Convention.
So now Trumpf finds himself in a stiff competition to retain his office in the White House and he has grown desperate.
His campaign slogan from 2016, “Make America Great Again”, is not turning out to be as simple as he thought. After 3 ½ years with Trumpf in office, many are waking up and realizing that America is not becoming great again.
The promised Border Wall has not been built, despite illegal shifts of federal money, no-bid contracts to cronies, and even a private organization raising funds to help out – an effort that has produced sections of substandard fencing that will likely have to be removed.
And Mexico has yet to pony up even a peso toward the cost.
Trumpf has yet to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act” (“Obamacare”) as he promised, and he doesn’t even have the beginnings of a plan for a replacement.
Because of the pandemic, the stock market and the economy have taken a beating and a record number of Americans are out of work.
And yet, Ivanka “Marie Antoinette” Trumpf, had the nerve to declare, “Just go look for another job!”
And after nearly two months, people are still marching in the streets across the nation protesting police brutality in the treatment of black Americans.
This is Trumpf’s America.
Which brings us to the Captain’s point today.
One of the cities still besieged by nightly protests is Portland, Oregon.
The protestors are not violent nor are they armed.
But they are still there.
Yes, a few are spray-painting graffiti on public buildings and streets, burning flags, and setting dumpster fires.
So, under the guise of Homeland Security and the declared need to protect federal properties in Portland, a militarized federal “task force” was sent to quell the protests.
The mayor of Portland did not ask for such federal involvement, nor did the Governor of Oregon. In fact, even most of the citizens of Portland don’t want federal involvement like this.
There have been reports of the use of pepper spray, tear gas (which is illegal) and “non-lethal” weapons being used against the protestors.
And, most disconcerting, unmarked vans with unidentified men in camouflage uniforms and masks are kidnapping protestors off the streets and transporting them to undisclosed locations.
Captain’s Note: If I recall correctly, similar crimes against the people of Iraq led to U.S. involvement in removing Saddam Hussein from power. Is there possibly a nation out there somewhere gearing up to liberate America?
There is so much illegal activity being perpetrated by this administration against U.S. citizens and yet, those who can do something about it are remaining silent.
And their silence makes them complicit.
And this is where the comparison to the Nazis comes in for the Captain.
Following the end of WWII, an international court was
convened in Nuremberg to try captured Nazi leaders for “crimes against humanity”.
Following the initial trials, additional cases were heard.
Against doctors accused of conducting medical experiments on prisoners of war, lawyers and judges charged with implementing the Nazis’ “racial purity” program through eugenic and racial laws, military officers accused of atrocities against prisoners of war and concentration camp inmates and industrialists who profited from slave labor and plundered occupied countries.
“I was just following orders” was not an acceptable excuse.
When Trumpf is voted out of office in November - and I trust he will be, the Captain would like to see a tribunal convened against the Trumpf administration and those who enabled it to commit crimes against humanity, those who sought to dismantle our democracy, those who profited from this administration’s criminal activities.
Those who, even right now, are getting dressed in their unmarked
uniforms and hiding behind shaded visors preparing to perpetrate crimes against
their fellow Americans should be rounded up and included in the trials.
If there is possibly even one such person reading my post today, the Captain would encourage you to think twice before going to work tonight.
You will have your day in court.
