Did Putin Win Our Election?

There is a conspiracy theory that I want everyone to consider. Now the only evidence I have for my theory is the news itself and so don't automatically believe my theory. Instead, let time tell if my theory is true? My theory says that Trump made a deal with Putin. The deal stipulated that if Russia used enough disinformation to get Trump elected, the latter would be a Vassal President who would be subservient to the former. Vassal can mean a person or nation that is subservient to another. And so in exchange being subservient to Putin, Trump avoids at least one prison sentence. In addition, Trump gets to forge domestic policies that are economically beneficial to himself, his fellow oligarchs, and his wealthy peers. If my theory is true, then Trump made deal for himself in a very timely fashion.

If my theory is true, then it was Putin who won the 2024 Presidential Election. That is because he is the one who gets to holds Trump's reigns while Trump is in control of the nation. And that would make Putin and his oligarchy the new deep-state for America.

The evidence that supports my view is circumstantial in that Trump's foreign policy decisions are the drastic reversal of America's usual policies toward Putin.

The circumstantial evidence includes Trump's economic threats and attacks are mostly on NATO nations first. His threats are not just economic, they are physical in that he is threatening to annex one NATO member and the land that is loosely supervised by another. Such threats threaten to divide and seriously weaken Russia's strongest rival: NATO. And now, the Trump Administration is joining far right groups, like the AfD in Germany, in siding with Russia in the Ukraine War. Part of that includes Trump's blaming Ukraine's President Zelensky for Russia's invasion.

 I would be remiss not to mention what America's new conservatives get out of this deal. By riding in on Trump's coattails, they get to implement Project 2025 which concentrates Washington's power, rather than weakens it, on the President who can then enact policies that will make it impossible for conservatives to lose control over the government. There is no need to point out how Project 2025 is working out.

Again, don't believe my theory at first. Let the news tell us how correct that theory is.

With Members Like US, Who Needs Russia?

The article below was originally scheduled to be posted two weeks ago in response to the implementation of Trump's tariffs. Because the tariffs were put on pause, I wrote another article. This article has not been updated since the pause in the tariffs except to put in this preface.

 Trump seems to be publicly announcing his enemies list by his actions and words. From his responses to the horrific airline accident and some of his EOs, one such enemy is DEI. But we might want to add another one to that short list.

That next entry is indicated by Trump's plans. His unwarranted 25% tariff on Canada provides a hint regarding one of his enemies. His 10% tariff on the EU is rationalized without providing any context, and his plan to take Greenland from Denmark's control is another. After all what do Canada, Denmark, and most of the EU have in common? It's NATO. 

Here we need to go back to our government's belief that Russia was working to promote Trump's chances at being elected in the past 3 elections. We need to go back to Trump's publicly stated admiration for Vlad Putin and other dictators over the past several years. And we should note that Trump criticized Zelensky for fighting back against Russia's invasion.

Plus, Trump is telling NATO members how much of their own GDP they should contribute to defense and if they fail to meet that mark, he would not defend them against Russian attacks. Here we should note that while the treaty requiring NATO members to defend each other is a binding, how much of a given nation's GDP contributes to defense is not. And while he initially said that the minimum percentage of a member's GDP dedicate to defense should be 2%, he has upped that to 5%.

As for his tariffs, yes, Trump is imposing tariffs on Canada, EU nations, Mexico, and, reluctantly because of his warm feeling for its leader, China. But the proposed tariffs on our neighbors are 25% while the tariffs on the EU and China will be 10%. That means that China is being treated as an equal or better than our allies.

One of Trump's stated reasons for the tariffs on Canada has to do with the border and fentanyl trafficking. But, according to a CBC broadcast, only around 1% of the fentanyl trafficked into the US comes from Canada. The USCBP's own data supports that estimate. Similar comparative statistics show how illegal crossings from Canada are minuscule compared to those coming from Mexico. And yet, they both are receiving the same penalties in tariffs. 

Along with that are Trump's arrogant statements that Canada should become our 51st state. Such a prospect might horrify Texans if Texas was a province in Canada, it would be around the 2nd or 3rd smallest province. Trump's claim is that Canadians would have lower taxes. It is at this point that we see who one of Trump's gods is and why he doesn't understand people. Trump can be bought and so he believes everyone else can be too.

And then there are Trump's threats against the EU nations because of their restrictions on importing our food products. Here we should note that Trump's protests against the EU's restrictions on our food product are without context. Trump doesn't mention why the EU doesn't allow many US food products to be imported. Issues such as preserving small farms, keeping environmental regulations in the production of agricultural products, and additives that are in our foods are prohibited in European foods provide reasons why the EU doesn't import many, if not all, of our food exports. One could look at Trump's tariff threats here as his way to impose his views on environmentalism, climate change, and food safety on Europe. It isn't that the EU treats us badly; it is that the EU answers to a higher authority in terms of standards for both the environment and health in the production and consumption of food.

There is more than one motive behind Trump's tariffs. One of those motives is that they are used to reduce tax rates for Americans--especially the wealthier ones. Such is basically an attempt to get other nations to pay for the government services that Americans access. And reducing those tax rates is a campaign carrot Trump offers during elections.

Yes, we have large trade deficits. And, yes, Trump is right in pointing out the problems that nations like China and Mexico significantly contribute to. But neither Canada nor the EU nations significantly contribute to any problems. And yet Canada is singled out like Mexico and China are and the trade problems regarding food was pointed out without providing the context.

Certainly Canadians rightfully see Trump's tariffs as a threat to their sovereignty. Trump's tariffs on Canada is an economic blitzkrieg because of their immediacy amount. And so we see in Trump's EOs an attempted shifting of power in the Western Hemisphere. But perhaps what Trump aims for is larger than that. Perhaps, with his attacks on the EU, Perhaps Trump is aiming to create a geo-political shift of power where Trump is taking the US out of NATO and into an accord with Russia and China. Or perhaps Trump sees the US being able to stand by itself for as long as he is President because, in his mind, he is that great of a leader. In either case, we would be out of NATO.

And so when we put together the threats against the holdings of a NATO member along with economic threats against the economies of other NATO nations along with claims that he would not defend certain NATO nations from attack, all of that indicates that NATO, and Canada, might have to prepare for a future where the US is not just missing in action, it is an adversary.

So Far, We Don't Have A Dorothy To Save Us

As I was taking a shower this morning, I realized how much the stories that The Wizard of Oz and part 1 of Wicked reflects on America today. 

Of course Trump and Musk are our wicked witches from The Wizard Of Oz, not necessarily from Wicked. However, both are also similar to Elphaba from Wicked in that they are products of their environment. But we should also note that the real coming of age stories ofTrump and Musk seem far different from that of the Wicked Witch, Elphaba.  Along with them we have the Republicans in Congress who are doing their best to resemble the Wicked Witch's flying monkeys. We have the conservative news and information outlets as well as my fellow believers in Christ who still support Trump who serve as the guards at the Wicked Witch's castle. And what does the water in the bucket which eventually melts the Wicked Witch represent? Isn't it The Constitution?

Outside of the Wicked Witch's castle we have the animals from Wicked Part 1 who lost their ability to speak in a human language and were disappeared from civilization. They represent the lower economic class and other formerly marginalized people in American society some of whom started to gain a voice but have now lost it and are being remarginalized. However, this is where our analogy using Wicked has problems. Why? It is because in Wicked, it is the Wizard who seeks to silence and disappear the animals. In our current situation, our  Wicked Witches are the ones who are seeking to remarginalize those who were previously marginalized. However, we should note that neither our previous status quo nor our Wicked Witches are showing significant concern for the economic lower class. 

The Democrats are our Munchkins of course. Much of our entertainment from our pop music to many of our tv shows and movies to our sporting events is the poppy field outside of Emerald City (editorial correction). And who do the residents of the Emerald City represent? Don't they represent those who are economically privileged?

The question to be asked about our Wicked Witches by a Red Sox fan such as myself is this: who will be able to reverse their curse? Please note that since the water used to melt our Wicked Witch is The Constitution, I am neither threatening nor promoting the use of physical violence when talking about melting the Wicked Witch. But if our judges and judicial system fail in preventing the evil empire from being established by the Wicked Witches, who will be our Dorothy?

Finally, who will join the Munchkins in singing No One Mourns The Wicked after our Dorothy finally rescues us? Will the flying monkeys join in the singing? Or what about the guards at the castle? Will the residents of Oz, who live in a segregated city and whose status quo is wicked but just not as wicked as the Wicked Witches are, join in the singing?

I'm Suffering From National Identity Dysphoria

Though physically, I was born an American, I was born in America to parents who were natural born citizens and whose parents were American citizens, I identify more with Canada. My dysphoria started well before Trump's current attempts to be an American Tsar. 

My dysphoria started last summer when I took 2 trips to Canada. The wife and I toured the Canadian Rockies by train and bus. Then just as Fall began, I spent around 5 days in Montreal while the wife was with her sister. I have written about the first trip in an article last year. I noticed how Canada was civilized while the US was arrogant--and that was before Trump became President. I noticed how even bicyclists obeyed traffic laws. Canadians are more polite than Americans in part because they exercise more self-restraint. And I noticed that we Americans, myself included, talk too much and listen too little.

Canadians tend to be modest about their nation. When I told them that I was jealous of those who have a Canadian citizenship, they were quick to point out that their country has problems too. I sometimes responded by saying that their response shows one of the differences between Canadians and Americans. For if I was a Canadian who said that I was jealous of those who had an American citizenship, the American response would most probably be somewhere along the lines saying, 'of course you are.'

With Trump, the differences between Canada and the U.S. could not be more stark. As seen in Trump's treatment of USAID and his proposal to Ukraine, he seems not to be interested in providing any compassionate aid if there isn't a buck to be made out of it. The Canadian government is not that way.

Right now there is a pause in applying the tariffs that Trump threatened. The Canadian government should take this time to expand the markets for their businesses so that if Trump either implements the tariffs at a later date or attempts to economically threaten Canada again, Canadians will not be put at risk by economic attacks on its sovereignty. And please remember, Canada, the kind of person Trump is. He seems to have an insatiable lust for self-recognition, power, and money. He is not one to be trusted. I am especially now jealous of those who have a Canadian citizenship. Yous guys might have to live next to him, but we have to live with him. And he is a reflection of many of us Americans.

And for Trump, don't think that there will be no economic responses despite the pause in tariffs by Canadians. They rightfully feel betrayed by the threats. In addition, if there is one thing I know about Canadians is that the self-restraint and politeness they show is what they expect to see returned by other people. And so, though they are relieved by the pause, what they have just felt from Trump's threats will far outlast the sunsets of a Canadian summer.

One final point should be added here. If Trump feels so free to use threats and extortion to change Canadian policies, perhaps the EU and Canada could return the favor. Perhaps the EU and Canada should threaten to put tariffs on the businesses of Trump's friends and Trump himself until the US government restores USAID in full.

 

Trump's End Game For America

Trump's end game for America is to make America an extension of himself. And so just as Trump has his name in big bold letters on many of his businesses, he renames the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America so the that respect for America in the West becomes how Trump expects to be respected by others.

And so we are threatening military action to take control of Greenland and the Panama Canal.  And so we will place tariffs on those nations with whom we are not showing a profit in trade. And so Trump seeks to freeze foreign aid, especially those programs that Martin Luther King Jr. would call programs of 'social uplift.' Trump's initial executive orders revolve around making America the highest profit making business and unquestioned power in the West. In addition, it is  one of the reasonswhy he is declaring war on DEI, Wokeism, and environmentalism--of course another reason is that declaring such a war is one of the big bones that he is throwing to Evangelicals to keep their support.

If Trump wants America to be an extension of himself, there eventually comes a time, if it isn't already, when the belief that to oppose Trump is to oppose America becomes the way the public sees that opposition. At least that is how it is in Trump's mind. Perhaps that is already why Trump has already called the Press that criticized him the 'enemy of the people.' For as an extension of Trump, America and Trump have forged this special identification. This special identification between a leader and a nation or movement is where to oppose the leader is seen as the same as opposing the nation or movement has as some of its historical examples of the Tsars and Russia along with Lenin and the Revolution. We should note that with both, sets of leaders ruled as dictators.

Besides his over the edge narcissism and authoritarianism, this seeking to make America into an extension of himself is a sign that Trump will pursue more and more power until he can preside as a dictator. To do that, he will have to gain more control over the courts either through judicial appointments or possibly learning how to ignore judicial rulings.

Though we citizens may not see our nation this way,  it seems that Europe sees America's economy as being strong and healthy. But for Trump,  just as Joe Torre described George Steinbrenner in latter's expectations of the NY Yankees: 'it was never enough.'

The South Fell Again

For those who watched College Football's National Championship game last night, there was a conspicuous absence among the participants: a team from the South. Last year's championship was between Washington and Michigan. This year's championship was between Ohio State and Notre Dame. And for those who were sick and tired of all of the arrogant boasting coming from Southern football fans, the past two championships have provided a breath of fresh air. The only drawback to these absences is that the North could become arrogant.

But there is something far more significant to notice about all of these sporting event playoffs. It is that they are being held in kind of royal palaces that provide many amenities to the attendees and participants and these amenities point to the direction of our society. It shows what society is investing in both in terms of time and substance. As we marvel at these great venues, we realize that a significant portion of our nation's investing is in entertainment, largely for the haves, instead of education and infrastructure for all, and for our present enjoyment instead of preparing for the future. This kind of investment has been going on for a while now. And then we often incredulously complain when the chickens of not investing in the future come home to roost.

Yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr. day and because of what society is investing most in, his dream is dying. What was that dream? It was, according to his 1967 interview with Xander Vanocur (click here for the interview),  a dream for true equality. That true equality was not just the stages of equality gained from his earlier work which he labeled as a struggle for decency. It included that plus an economic equality between the races.

We should note that with the beginning of our current form of Capitalism, which is Neoliberal Capitalism, income and wealth disparities have constantly grown both between the economic classes and the races. The IMF has noted that when those disparities grow too large, they can destabilize a society. And one way of reducing that growth in those disparities is to invest in education, job training, and in regulations that protect and empower workers. So what are we doing? We are being content with watching one form of entertainment after another while refusing to be aware of how our failure to prepare for the future can have ominous effects.

It certainly is not wrong to enjoy entertainment, such as watching sporting events. What is wrong is our refusal to adequately invest in the future especially by refusing to invest in the people who need the greatest support. If we continue refuse to invest in people, in our future, then, like the South, we will fall. And if we are lucky, we will  become vulnerable to fall again, though falling again is not necessary.

If This Is Who We Are, What Do We Do Now?

 For many Americans, the soonest that joy can return to Mudville is Jan 20, 2029. But even that is not guaranteed. Why? It is because of who we are as a nation. And who we are as a nation is that we preferred Donald Trump to a non-felon candidate. We preferred a grifter to a former District Attorney. We preferred a person whose judgement is seriously impaired by the combination of narcissism and authoritarianism to a person who appears to be more normal than her opponent. And we preferred a person who stokes racist fears to a mixed race person. What are we to do?

We could choose to depend on others to solve the problem of who we are. For example, we could depend on future elections  to change who we are. Or we could look to change who we are by our own actions. That is we could go out and talk with others about who we are and who we should become. Or we could do both. 

But before going out and changing who we are by talking with others, we should take note of one of my favorite Martin Luther King quotes. It comes from his speech against the Vietnam War (click here to access the speech):

'The Western arrogance of feeling that it has everything to teach others and nothing to learn from them is not just.'

We should take note of that statement because it tells us about a necessary prerequisite to successfully talking with others. That necessary prerequisite is having the absence of arrogance in ourselves. For, according to King, it is arrogance that leads us to believe that we have everything to teach others and nothing to learn from them.

If arrogance is so bad, why are we drawn to it? Of course, we are not always drawn to those who are arrogant. But to earn the privilege to  feel that one can be arrogant provides one with a sense of significance. Unfortunately, that significance is built on delusions of grandeur, the belief that one is superior to others. Such a belief goes against the teachings of the New Testament. 

And not only does is a belief sinful, we see the horrible effects that such arrogance has produced: the election of Donald Trump for example. For many of his followers have fallen prey to a powerful tractor beam from certain conservative news sources. And those followers have told the world that they have nothing to learn from those news sources outside of their Death Star bubble of Truth. And so those followers believed lies about Climate Change, the pandemic, the presence of systemic racism in our nation, about the 2020 election, and about those who were still incarcerated due to their participation in the January 6th Insurrection.

Our job is to somehow disable that tractor beam, to pop all bubbles, so that they could be enabled to be objective when they are reading various, including their own news sources. However, there is a catch here. If we insist that Trump followers and his other voters must admit that they have something to learn from us, we must return the favor lest we embrace the arrogance that they have so passionately embraced.

A problem that we must consider is that there is an implied teaching in conservative Christian circles that unless one sees the world with a Christian worldview, that one is disconnected to the truth and thus cannot truly understand the world.  And what that teaching promotes is what mentioned in the quote from King. It is an attitude among many of my fellow religiously conservative Christians that says that others need to listen to us while we don't need to listen to them. And that is what I mean by warning us about returning the favor to the Trump followers and many of his other supporters. 

We, who oppose Trump, can't afford to talk with Trump supporters with the attitude that we have everything to teach and nothing to learn from them. They too have insights despite their faulty sources. And our sources and logic have flaws too. No one person, group of people, ideology, ism or any other group are omniscient. We need each other to learn all that we can.

And so our task is simple but difficult. It is to help Trump followers and supporters to realize that they need to learn from others too. And the prerequisite to that learning is to listen. If we want Trump followers and supporters to listen and learn from us, we must model that behavior. And if we want the nation to avoid repeating the mistake of electing a person like Trump, then we have to interact with as many Trump followers and supporters as we can. After all, Trump was elected because of who we are as a people.