It’s the Christmas season and I’d like to take a few days off from writing :o) but, it’s not happening, I guess, if I keep paying attention to the news.  Let’s take a quick look, for example at something I believe all Americans should be paying attention to: Russia.  In this coming March Vladimir Putin will be “running” for a fourth term as Russia’s “president.”  He’s been in charge since shortly after, maybe, 2000 – but, it took a bit of “creative politics” to figure out how to have a “never ending” term as Russia’s “president.”  He’s now running for 6 year terms, where it was originally 4 years per term and, likely, he’ll figure out a way to get rid of the two term maximum (which shouldn’t be a problem for someone as creative as Putin, either way).

So, you might ask, “why pay attention to Russia and Putin’s impending election?  Well, just in case you see some similarities to what we in America seem to be evolving toward.  Let’s start with political opposition.  In Russia, Putin simply has his opposition thrown in jail so that he can then declare they are not “qualified” to run for office and, therefore, he eliminates his their political future.  As far as the media is concerned, if you’re a reporter and you report critical “stuff” about Putin you either end up in prison or, you “fall” out of a hotel room several stories up, you disappear, or – I think this is a favorite – you mysteriously get POISONED.  So, that takes care of any “oppositional research” if you know what I mean.  And, the intelligence community – like their version of the CIA or the FBI – well, no worries, because Putin is in charge.  NO ONE would be working there without pledging complete loyalty to Putin.  (That’s Trump’s wet dream)

Let’s compare Putin’s Russia with Trump’s America – maybe being able to explain why there are reports of Trump getting  very angry at all the “stuff” he has to put up with that his friend Vladimir is able to avoid.  Well, as far as the political opposition is concerned, Trump seems a bit of a “lightweight” compared to Putin – he has to go after his opponents “after the fact.”  That is, where Putin is “pro-active” and he has his opponents JAILED before any election, Trump is STUCK with America’s system and, at least in the case of Hillary Clinton, he’s being forced to attempt to get her jailed AFTER the election.  It’s not as if Trump didn’t attempt to get Mrs. Clinton “locked up” during the election – I’m sure you remember Mike Flynn leading the now infamous “lock her up” chant at the republican convention – but, Trump failed at the time and is being forced to attempt to “lock her up” post election.  And, of course, Putin could just order this and Trump is still “saddled” with a Justice system that, at least for now, still requires at least some level of due process before you can jail someone.  (Speaking of the convention, that’s another “bother” Putin can dispense with)

OMG – the media!  Sometimes you just have to feel sorry for Donald Trump, don’t you think?  Whereas Putin can imprison, vanquish (Siberia anyone?), or POISON anyone who speaks poorly of him in Russia’s media, just look at what poor Mr. Trump has to put up with.  Now, I don’t watch CNN, but it must be really bad because I hear Trump complaining about them all the time.  I believe he has succeeded in getting one of his flunkies (er, oligarchs?) to block a merger of two large communications companies unless one of them divests itself of CNN.  Poor Donald, that’s how things are in America.  Forced to find subtle ways to punish the enemies.  Putin would just have CNN’s license – if they have licenses in Russia that aren’t TOTALLY controlled by Vlad – I’m presuming that’s what his friends call him – I’m temporarily pretending I’m “the Donald” – Yuck, it’s Vladimir – I feel as if I need a shower –   OK, I’m back (I wish I knew how to write the sound a horse makes when it shakes off a bunch of water)  Obviously, I’ve digressed ……  Donald is STUCK with harassing outlets like CNN and making idle threats to outlets like MSNBC, but, he’s apparently searching for Putin like ways to eliminate them.  I’m guessing he’s going to “tweet storm” them into oblivion – at least with his fervent followers.  (those “uneducated voters” he claimed to love during the campaign)

There’s the media outlets in Russia that Putin would simply close down should they fail to complement him appropriately, but what about the reporters.  Well, in Russia, I’m sure Putin, in his private meetings with Trump, assured him there are NO unfriendly reporters in Russia.  In fact, Russian reporters are not only friendly and complementary to Putin, but also to Trump.  Putin wouldn’t have it any other way.  Poor Trump, what he has to put up with.  He so much appears to want to be like Vlad er Vladimir.   In America, not only are there reporters on TV, almost every day, who are reporting about the “Russia thing” (which, obviously, “is a made up story by the democrats”) and, reporting in a way that would suggest Trump’s COLLUSION with the Russians was somehow illegal (we all know “there’s no law against” COLLUSION) and, who he’d (Trump) likely get criticized for if he had them poisoned, but MILLIONS of uninformed Americans refuse to believe the “real” reporters on Fox and Friends.  I believe Trump is attempting to solve this problem by having the licenses of their employers pulled which is proving difficult.  I know this is much more cumbersome than in Russia, but Trump was over heard the other day saying, “you gotta do what you gotta do.”  (Another way Putin’s “lucky” is that the Russian people believe anything he says, he calls them “ditto heads”)

Then there’s the FBI and the “intelligence” community in America.  Without them, this “Russia thing” would not be a problem.  Yes, they helped get Trump elected when FBI director James Comey under cut Hillary Clinton’s campaign with an ill-advised announcement about some extraneous emails 11 days before the election that literally swung the election Trump’s way – but, that was then, this is now.  This same (pesky) FBI seems to be thinking COLLUDING with the Russians may be illegal.  Trump’s got his legal team at Fox and Friends working overtime to get them to understand this is just politics as usual.  Anyone who’d suggest Trump would do anything illegal is on drugs.  In fact, there are Senators in America, like Orrin Hatch, who believe Trump is arguably the greatest president ever.   He’s like George Washington, he not only wouldn’t COLLUDE he would NEVER LIE!  All those stories in the Washington Post and (failing) New York Times suggesting he’s a (pathological) LIAR are all LIES.  Just like ALL the claims (LIES) by the women he sexually – er, allegedly – assaulted – they’re ALL liars – just like the people in the FBI who are investigating him (unless, of course, they don’t find any wrongdoing – then they will be patriots) and Robert Mueller.

Don’t listen for a minute to ALL the people who have claimed that Mueller is honest and above reproach – like, for example, Newt Gingrich, Chuck Grassley, and Orrin Hatch.  Clearly, Mueller is part of some conspiracy to prove that Trump is no Putin – that he has to somehow be expected to follow the laws of the land.  That’s really the point here – if Putin can make up the laws as he goes why can’t Trump?  Do you know what I mean?  Isn’t it reasonable for anyone who takes a job in the Justice Department or the FBI, or the CIA, or in America’s schools for that matter, or at Costco to take an oath of LOYALTY to Trump?  I realize, in the past, in America people – like Mueller, FBI agents, and CIA agents – have taken an oath to that pesky constitution – but, don’t you see, that’s exactly what’s causing all these problems for Trump and preventing him from being like Vlad.  Sorry, Vladimir.  Put yourself in Trump’s shoes when he talks to Vladimir (I got it right that time) – picture trying to explain being investigated by people you can’t just poison.  It’s like living next to someone driving a Tesla and you’ve got an old Volkswagen.  It’s just not fair.  No one had to take an oath to President Obama because he was born in Kenya.

And, Trump had to hide his gifts to the American oligarchs in the form of a “tax cut.”  Vlad, he – oops!  There I go again, Vladimir – he’s able simply to give his “friends” businesses so they can become BILLIONAIRES and no one in Russia says a thing.  (well, unless you want a vacation in sunny Siberia)  Many Russian Oligarchs have had to launder their money through Trump businesses due to messy divorces – that’s another area where I’m certain Trump feels inferior to the “Russian way.”  (I mean, three marriages.  OK, that’s only two divorces – so, probably not a lot of “laundry” required)  I’m guessing Trump’s tax cut was designed to make sure America’s oligarchs are richer than the Russian ones for publicity purposes.  (Putin doesn’t seem to mind that it’s not public knowledge he’s the wealthiest man in the world – although, I’m guessing knowing that really bothers Trump – America’s got much more wealth than Russia, but too many people are watching Trump’s “laundry mat.”  Trump would likely be richer if he was a Putin oligarch.

There’s hope for Trump.  The republicans in America’s House of Representatives appear to want to be like Russia as well.  And, they’ve got their own TV station with lots of unsuspecting viewers – I’ve heard they want to change the name of the station from Fox “news” to AT.  (RT is already taken so, instead of Republican TV they are stuck with American TV – as I’ve said before, some times you just “got to do what ya gotta do.”  They’re perfecting Goebbels’s “Big Lie Theory” and, even though that’s  a Nazi strategy of propaganda from the thirties, it’s a safe bet the Russians are using it as well.  When you master the art of LYING (which, based on this theory means all those LIES the “failing” New York Times categorized regarding Trump are really not LIES at all – because Trump and his surrogates repeat them often enough to make them true!  In this regard Trump takes a “back seat” to no one.  And, his “White House” staff is proficient as well) you’ve taken yourself one step closer to becoming like Russia.

To fully succeed at being like Putin and making America like Russia, all Trump needs to do is get rid of that pesky Mueller, PURGE the FBI of anyone unwilling to rescind their oath to the constitution in favor of a loyalty oath to Trump, and – oh yes, also purge the CIA of anyone still harboring resentment toward Trump for disrespecting their wall of honor – loyalty oaths there as well, AND anyone in the media MUST give an oath of loyalty to Trump and agree with Orrin Hatch (and Trump himself) that Trump is the greatest president in the United States’ history and, one more thing – six year terms and anyone who wants to run against him goes to jail.  Trust me, if Trump can pull this off there will be very fine people – on both sides – in the streets with signs showing EXACTLY how much they love him!

Final Thought:  I guess the real difference between Vladimir Putin and Trump is the U.S. Constitution and the people who vigorously defend it.