The “stuff” Donald Trump is doing to destroy the “America as we’ve known it” mounts every day to the point where it’s hard to keep up.  Think of this:  Trump’s lawyer paid off a “porn star” to hide an illicit affair about a month prior to the election, likely an illegal campaign “expense.”  It’s hardly an issue – as far as the media AND, more significantly, his “conservative Christian” base seem to be concerned.  I’m not sure what they’re seeing that is OK to “look the other way from” – but, the reality is they voted for Trump knowing he’d admitted to being a sexual predator on the “Access Hollywood tapes.”  I keep wondering if Trump is willing to “throw” this stuff out there to deflect “we the people’s” attention off the “Russia thing” because he knows his “Christian” base will accept whatever comes their way?

Trump seems to believe he can “deflect” anything and all of his “base” will stick with him.  I believe that’s true regarding the hard core white supremacists, but as a Christian myself (I guess I’m liberal – see my previous post for the disclaimer) I continue to struggle as to how Christians can continue to support this man.  Aside from the reality that there’s something “deplorable” with the “Russia thing” that ALL AMERICANS should be ALARMED about, Trump is a serial adulterer and think about how that makes the Christian community look as they continue to support him.  I have to wonder “are there any limits for these ‘Christians’?”  Lately, I’ve been feeling a sense of empathy for Trump’s present wife Melania – how is she handling all this.  The affair with the porn star happened after her son by Trump was born by just a few months (and, reportedly, he propositioned others at the same golf event).  The Access Hollywood tape was made while she was pregnant with Baron.  Yikes!

The “damage” as I’ve referred to it comes in HUGE swaths every day, but there’s a lot of what might ultimately be called “collateral damage.”  Take for example Andrew McCabe who was the second in command in the FBI under James Comey and who’s been under relentless attack from Trump and the republicans over the “Russia thing.”  McCabe is reportedly planning to retire early in the coming months because he’s tired of being attacked from republicans.  This is a man who’s served for over 20 years and was integral in the anti-terrorism work of the FBI after September 11, 2001.  Every top official that resigns during this Trump fiasco makes the fallout worse as we continue to wait for republicans to come to their senses and stop this nightmare. Comey, (despite how he handled the Clinton email thing), McCabe, Christopher Wray, and Robert Mueller should all be considered national heroes and not subjected to this crap coming from Trump and right wing republicans.  They are the patriots in all this!  (Apparently, McCabe’s “crime” was being married to a democrat who ran for office in Virginia and received support from the governor of Virginia – who was a supporter of Hillary Clinton – in 2015 no less!  You can’t make this stuff up!  “We the people” should encourage McCabe to “fight on” and remain on the job!)

EVERYONE knows Donald Trump is a LIAR.  That can’t be in question.  Yes, his supporters are going to say, “all politicians lie,” but, I’ve never seen anything close to Trump (well, there’s Kellyanne Conway and “alternative facts”).  When someone LIES like Trump, you can’t believe ANYTHING he says!  And, you have to keep in mind that someone like Trump has no problem looking into the camera and LYING to the American people (kind of like Bill Clinton) plus he’s LIED so much that he probably TOTALLY believes the Mueller investigation won’t touch him.  Maybe, but it doesn’t look that way to me.  In fact, at this point, it appears to me Trump believes he’s invulnerable and there’s no way he could be subject to the laws like us poor minions.  Like when he said he believes he should have total control over the Attorney General – as in telling him who to investigate and in expecting him to “protect” the president.  As in so many ways, Trump appears to be delusional.

Here’s another thing.  There’s a lot of members of the Trump “team” who could be in serious trouble.  When you witness a crime and don’t report it, that makes you part of a conspiracy as far as I can tell.  When you’re willing to LIE to protect the president you could be in very serious trouble – ask Mike Flynn or George Papadopoulus.  People like Jeff Sessions, Steve Bannon, Sean Spicer, Sarah Sanders, Don McGahn, Reince Priebus, and others may learn to loathe the day they signed up as surrogates to Trump.  And, of course, both Donald Jr. and Jared Kushner confirm the saying, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”  They seem to be proficient LIARS.  I have to wonder if they’re going to be stupid enough to LIE to Mueller.

Both Donald Jr. and Kushner appear to me to be vulnerable on their own merits.  The June 9, 2016 meeting with the Russians was COLLUSION clear and simple!  From where I’m sitting it matters not what they received in the meeting.  It appears rather obvious the discussion centered on some quid pro quo that would repeal the Magnitsky Act.  That they were talking about “adoption” is so absurd it boggles the mind they think “we the people” are that stupid. (Well, we just might be, because, to an extent, the LYING is working)  Fortunately, I’m very confident neither Mueller nor any of his investigative team are that stupid.  That meeting was COLLUSION.  So, Donald Jr. is likely to LIE more than he already has about it – he probably already has to Congress (and, the republicans will enable it) and Jared will pretend he was an innocent observer.  Here’s the bottom line – they were both in the room (as was Paul Manafort) – period, end of story!  COLLUSION

Then you’ve got what appears to be a MOUNTAIN of illegal activity by Jared Kushner on his own.  It’s no wonder Trump’s daughter was so attracted to him. He had to fill out his SF 86 form for his security clearance and, apparently, still doesn’t have full clearance because he keeps LYING.  Surprise, surprise.  He lied about numerous of his contacts with foreign governments and/or officials and, based on recent reporting he’s managed to mix his own business interests into his “job” with the government.  Like his father in law, it appears he’s focused on improving his bottom line while in the “White House.”  Also, like his father in law, it appears he’s become compromised based on his dealings with foreigners – who are much more sophisticated than himself – especially, in his case, by the Chinese while his father in law appears to be compromised by, at minimum, the Russians.

Unfortunately, not only are “we the people” dealing with a so-called president who’s a LIAR, but also those right wing members of Congress who have proven themselves willing to say whatever they need to say to accomplish their goal – which is power for themselves and MONEY for their donors who sit at the top of the “food chain.”  Republican members of Congress have used this attack, attack, attack strategy to gain and attempt to hold power since the early days of Newt Gingrich (who continues to soil himself with LIES to this day – it appears to me Gingrich is in a constant audition for Secretary of State every time he comes onto Fox “news,” kissing up to Trump in a really embarrassing manner).

This is the same formula Gingrich used to change the power in the House back in the early 90’s.  It’s continued to work because republicans believe in the theory: “the end justifies the means,” and they’ve succeeded in gerrymandering the Congressional districts in many states to create numerous “safe seats.”  They’re led, behind the scenes, by the very sophisticated “Koch brothers.”  I don’t believe it’s going to work much longer, but the Koch’s already have their LYING adds out for 2018 (I’m in Pittsburgh right now and have seen a couple – it’s disgusting – but, it works) committing $400 MILLION for republicans who supported the tax scam for 2018.  (It’s not hard to imagine how much it saved them)  Maybe all “we the people” needed to stop this right wing takeover of America was Trump.

One reason I believe the republican “strategy” of “the end justifies the means” is coming to an end is because they’ve now become the “party of Trump.”  I figure by 2018 Trump will still be in the 30’s in the polls and, quite likely, by the election, Mueller will have completed most of his investigation and will be focusing on prosecutions.  What the republicans do with any charges suggested against Trump will have a bearing on how bad the “wave” is.  If they confirm we’re a “nation of laws and not men” they may be able to mitigate the “wave.”  However, if they “look the other way” at a charge of say, OBSTRUCTION, or MONEY LAUNDERING, or COLLUSION I can’t imagine a majority of Americans being OK with that.

I have to believe that even some of Trump’s “base” don’t want the Russians involved in our politics.  Clearly, they’re still here and they’re attempting to help the republicans in 2018, which SHOULD be antithetical even to them.  It,s very problematic to me there’s a TV network (Fox “news”) now referred to by many as “Trump TV” that is willing to allow the Russians to help manipulate the electoral process and the thinking of the American public.  Just think how they would have reacted had President Obama been snuggling up to Russia and encouraging their ACTUAL “fake news” to support his campaigns.  Every time I hear Trump say those words, “fake news,” I almost gag because it’s the Russians who have mastered the “strategy.”  It goes hand in hand with the “Big Lie Theory” of Joseph Goebbels’ which Fox and the republicans have endorsed for years.  It’s immoral, but it works.  Most Americans are too busy to take the time to figure out what is “real” and what is not.  Sad!

I’ll end this by saying the attacks on some very good men at the FBI make me – I want to say something like discouraged or sick to my stomach – but, I think what I really feel is anger.  Someone like Andrew McCabe, who’s dedicated his life to public service – and, no doubt, at times in ways that threatened his own health – shouldn’t be facing these barbarous attacks as Trump attempts to – as usual – deflect from his own misdeeds.  If McCabe truly wants to retire he should be doing so with honor – although, he’s only 49 years young.  If he’s just tired of the politics and the fact our Congress is allowing these attacks on his character – I feel it’s a great loss to the nation.  And, every civil servant who’s dedicated themselves to this country and who are being either forced out of government or leaving because they can’t support Trump, are not “making America great again.”  That’s a HUGE part of the “damage” I’m always talking about.

America was MUCH “greater” before Trump moved into the Oval Office.  I keep thinking of the metaphor of smoking.  Like when you quit, how long does it take for your body to recover.  Once Trump is out of the “White House” – however long from now that might be – will determine how long it takes for America to “recover.”  As I’ve said many times, “the damage is mounting fast.”  The place I’m the most worried is internationally.  I’m concerned that Trump is empowering China, India, and other countries around the world economically and, me not being an economist, I have a bad feeling in my gut of what will happen if there’s a significant downturn while he’s in office.  Our traditional allies are not happy we elected someone like Trump and they very well may start looking elsewhere economically.  I’m not sure, but what I am sure of is this:  If republicans really want to make America great again, they need to impeach Trump!