Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Trump / Obama .... two princes of vanity

In case you do not recognize the two individuals (I hesitate to use the word "gentlemen") in the photograph, to the left is Donald John Trump, the current president of the United States, and Barack Hussein Obama, the immediate former president. I have no idea what is transpiring between the two men, but I would venture a guess that both are forcing their smiles and that Trump is expressing his opinion about the size of Obama's legacy .... or whatever ....

Once again about "The Donald"
 
It has been a rather long time since I wrote anything about our el presidente .... Donald John Trump .... so, here goes ....

Way, way, way back when, which is to say during the primary season of 2016, I had a lawn sign which read, "Defend America Defeat Trump." I like to describe myself as conservative fiscally and liberal socially, which is pretty much accurate, and, undoubtedly, I would have voted for any Republican candidate other than Trump, rather than casting a ballot for Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton. As it went, I did not vote for anyone for president. (I will leave it at that ....)

Trump has been a bit of a pleasant surprise for me in the sense of his policies, although I think him disgusting as a human being in just about every way possible. Last week in Helsinki was an example when he stood adjacent to Russian el presidente Vladimir Putin and more-or-less told the world he was not sure who to believe in terms of Russian meddling during the 2016 election in the United States -- the intelligence agencies of the U.S. or Putin.
 
Then, a few days later, for Trump to say he had "misread / misspoke" a word in his remarks was an obvious lie in a ridiculous attempt to correct his foot-in-mouth, unforced error. This is nothing new. He has a reputation for exaggeration / half-truths / outright lies. As the cliché goes, I would not trust him any further than I could throw him.
 
I have heard Trump-defenders say they accept his explanation. I have heard Trump-antagonists say it is obvious Trump admires Putin as a strongman dictator and thinks of himself that way -- or, in the least, he is a "wannabe" dictator. I am beginning to be a believer in the anti-Trump crowd in that regard, but I cannot accept their stated goals and policies in most other respects.

For better or worse, the American White House is occupied for the second time in a row by a mega-zealot in the sense of self-love and self-aggrandizement. Remember Barack Hussein Obama? I do, with sadness and regret of a great failure and a significant opportunity lost.
 
What is a word for an ultimate egoist .... for someone who has reached the pinnacle of narcissism?
 
I think there are two words "Obama" and "Trump" .... take your pick and say your prayers ....

 


6 comments:

Smareis said...

Hum, nem sei se cavalheiros se enquadra bem nesses políticos, aqui eu chamaria os políticos de outros adjetivos que não ficaria bem citar aqui. Com certeza, o papo desses dois “chefes de Estado” parece mais de deboche de alguma coisa, bem “pequena”. Pelo que lia aqui nos jornais, eu achava que Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ganhava as eleições com o Donald John Trump. Os resultados das eleições depende muito da campanha feita pelos candidatos. Se os candidatos tiver muito dinheiro pra investir nas campanhas do seu partido, no final quem investiu mais sempre é o ganhador. Rola muito dinheiro em propaganda presidencial.
Já faz bastante tempo que só voto nulo. Na verdade eu acho que erro quando não voto, mais prefiro não colaborar pra colocar mais ladrão no poder. O Brasil é percebido como um país extremamente corrupto, e tem muitos partidos desnecessários no Brasil, em termos de representação ideológica. Quando um partido é criado, normalmente é para atender a um grupo ideológico pouco representado, dar voz a grupos. Mas não é o que esta acontecendo. Os partidos no Brasil estão sendo criados por outras razões, não para defender bandeiras. O povo brasileiro às vezes fica dividido, indeciso, quando vai as urnas dar o seus votos. Eu, particularmente prefiro votar nulo, a votar em ladrão, corrupto. O Senado já está cheio.
Eu não curto muito falar sobre politica, porque fico com muita raiva do que acontece no Brasil. Estamos no ano de eleição pra presidente em outubro, e ainda não me decidi se voto nulo ou não. Tenho muitas dúvidas em relação aos novos candidatos que irão concorrer a Presidência da República.

Fram, não consegui ver o vídeo. Aparece uma legenda “O vídeo não foi disponibilizado em seu país pelo usuário que fez o upload.

Continuação de boa semana!
Um punhado de sorrisos.

Fram Actual said...

Actually, it appeared Hillary Clinton would win the election until well into the evening on election night. I looked up at the television at one point and saw the numbers. For a few moments, I did not believe my own eyes because it appeared there was a chance Donald Trump would win. I almost fell off my chair when it was announced that he had won. I was not happy, but I was sort of relieved that Clinton would not succeed Barack Obama in the White House.

There are a smattering of political parties in the United States with two major ones: The Republican Party and the Democratic Party. Depending on state rules and regulations in terms of voting, I have been registered as both a Republican and a Democrat, but I think of myself as an Independent (no party affiliation) and have been registered that way whenever possible. I do vote in most elections, but if I do not approve of any candidate in a particular race, I simply leave that category blank without a vote and move along to the next category.

There is considerable corruption among both major political parties in the U.S. .... much dishonesty / much lying / much quid pro quo arrangements. Such is the way of mankind, I think; it always has been that way and it always will be that way.

I do try to pay close attention to political activities and enjoy talking / debating / arguing about them. I even once worked as the press secretary for a Democratic Party candidate for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and, to my surprise, he actually won the election. He offered me the choice of a permanent job as his press secretary with him in Washington, D.C., or as the manager of his district office in Michigan. I declined both jobs for a variety of reasons. Occasionally, I wonder if that was a mistake -- but, the past is the past, and there is no way now to know where such work might have led me.

The song is, "You're So Vain," by Carly Simon. I wish the version I posted would have worked for you. Besides being very, very, very appropriate to the post, it is a very funny rendition. Here is a link to another version .... https://youtu.be/j-4I3W_GZy4 .... if that does not work, either, I hope you will go to YouTube and try another version. There are a few of them there.

It makes me happy when you find your way back to me, Smareis. Thank you. I send many smiles to you ....

Smareis said...

Eu leio e assisto quase todos os dias noticia de vários Países do mundo. Atualmente o Donald Trump está entre quase todas noticia, jornais e tevê aqui no Brasil. Isso devido essa crise de imigrantes, que todo jornalismo aborda esse assunto que foi separado as crianças dos pais. Crianças estariam recebendo injeções sedativas. E Nova York descobriu que tem 239 crianças detidas em sua própria cidade. O destino incerto dos pequenos detidos que migram para os EUA: sedados e espalhados pelo país.

Assisti uma entrevista de uma Mulher de El Salvador que narra às dificuldades e trauma do tempo em que ficou detida com o filho que foi tratado muito mal, além de ter tirado os filhos do braço dela como se fosse uma prisioneira. Ela dizia que o governo Trump tem de parar de processar os pais cuja única infração cometida foi a de cruzar a fronteira. Tem de parar de colocá-los atrás das grades, assim como seus filhos, em instituições criadas por empresas que só pensam em lucro. Ela disse que agora está em um lugar seguro, ela e filho, recebendo cuidados, mas jamais vai esquecer-se daqueles dois meses de terror.

Em minha opinião a pessoa que faz essas travessias perigosas pra entrar em outros Pais, tem que ter consciência que é muito perigoso, tudo pode acontecer. Trata-se de uma escolha que deve ser pensada e repensada com muito cuidado. E tem que lembrar- se, que em um país estrangeiro, a pessoa será sempre... Um estrangeiro! (Independente de seus méritos). O Brasil está abarrotado de imigrantes. Atualmente, o Brasil tem aumentado o número de imigrantes que vivem aqui, principalmente aqueles de países subdesenvolvidos e/ou com conflitos de guerra, como Gana, Palestina, Haiti e Angola. Aqui muitos Italianos, Portugueses, chineses, suíços e alemães. Tem também uma grande parte de imigrante europeia, mas houve também os asiáticos, onde podemos destacar os japoneses, sírios e libaneses. Uma mistura de várias raças. A maior colônia de japoneses do mundo está localizada no Brasil. Os japoneses chegaram a partir de 1908, em São Paulo para trabalhar nas lavouras de café. Estabeleceram-se em dois grandes Estados do Brasil e inovaram as técnicas de cultivo conhecidas no Brasil. A Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU) calcula que, por dia, pelo menos 800 imigrantes entrem no Brasil, fugindo da crise vivida no regime de Nicolás Maduro, presidente da Venezuela. São muitos venezuelanos no Brasil.

Desculpa-me falei muito sobre um assunto que nem foi abordado na sua postagem, risos.

Vou acessar o link que deixou aqui e vejo se consigo ouvir a música. Caso não consiga vou procurar no YouTube. Depois lhe falo se consegui.
Continuação de boa semana Fram!
Um punhado de sorrisos.
Até mais!

Fram Actual said...

The immigration dilemma is complex and nuanced and related to the same problems humankind faces in any number of other areas. Genetic studies are demonstrating that "we" did not evolve along a single root in a straight line from one source in the evolutionary chain. Humankind has emerged from dozens, probably hundreds, of pre-human and human ancestors into what we are today.

Why are there so many religions in the world? Why are racial problems rampant? Why are there so many political systems/beliefs? Why is there any number of books and films and songs? The answer is because we are not all the same in our genetic makeup and have emerged with vast differences in the way we see and understand and interpret the world and each other.

In the short term, there are neither easy solutions nor quick answers. People with kind hearts often are incapable of facing reality; people whose actions are ruled by logic usually only can pay superficial attention to the suffering of others.

In the United States, generally the Democratic Party sees the flood of illegal immigrants as potential votes for political power. California, for instance, has granted illegals the right to vote, which is being challenged in the courts. The Republican Party generally sees the flood of illegal immigrants as "cheap labor," which is beneficial to their own bank accounts and to the national economy. Selfish, power-hungry politicians do nothing about the impasse for fear of losing their seats in the Senate and the House of Representatives.

As for separation of children from their families, the law as it is written requires children to be housed in facilities separate from adults, and some judges are demanding that they must be reunited within a certain number of days. Again, the law could be rewritten, but lawmakers in Washington, D.C., for whatever reasons, choose to do nothing to remedy the situation.

Beyond these things, over population and money are the primary problems. While the earth might be capable of feeding the ever-increasing numbers, there is not enough work for them which pays enough money for everyone to enjoy all the "fruits" of life they seem to demand: Multiple cars, multiple televisions, multiple cell phones and a big house in the city and a big cabin at a lake. There are many negatives to unbridled growth.

I could go on and on and on, but I think these words offer at least a glimpse of what I think about the immigrant predicament. Some day, the problems we contend with every day of every year might be solved, but I am not going to hold my breath.

There have been countless books written about the immigration situation, but most of them only deal with the superficial problems. Personally, I think science fiction writers, beginning (perhaps) with H.G. Wells, have had a better grasp of the actual circumstances of the matter. Humankind is not ignorant as an entity .... it simply is composed of too many greedy / selfish / power-mongering individuals who cannot see beyond the end of their own noses.

Keep on writing your thoughts and feelings when the mood strikes you, Smareis. I enjoy reading them and learning them .... thank you, for expressing yourself here today .... yes, many smiles from me for you and see you ....

Smareis said...

Você falou exatamente correto a respeito dos imigrantes. Esse problema em relação à imigração será sempre complexo, e difícil de ser resolvido. Os seres humanos são tolerantes com os demais, desde que tenham as mínimas condições materiais para sobreviver. Quando a subsistência material se vê ameaçada, o risco do outro ser visto como inimigo é grande. O termo "imigrante" traz consigo a ideia de pessoa em fuga de seu país de origem por conta de dificuldades econômicas. Observa-se que um novo termo tem sido utilizado para identificar o cidadão de outra nacionalidade que tem uma condição econômica superior e que se desloca para outro país: o "expatriado". Para ser classificado como imigrante ou como expatriado, basta uma rápida revisão da história de vida do indivíduo e o recorte de classe social estará evidente. Enquanto o refugiado é visto positivamente, com base nas contribuições que pode oferecer ao país de acolhida, o imigrante sofre um processo contrário, sendo classificado como parte de um segmento social descartável nas sociedades que o recebem.
O link da música que deixou no comentário abriu e deu pra mim ouvir.Bom começo de semana Fram!
sorrisos!

Fram Actual said...

First, I will apologize for taking so long to reply to this comment, Smareis. It is not unusual for Sundays to be among the busiest days of my week and, on this particular Sunday, it also was necessary for me to run two sort of time-consuming errands .... such is life ....

So, I will borrow your words in reference to your comment: "You spoke exactly right about the immigrants."

In my view, there are two distinct types of immigrants = legal and illegal. Legal immigrants are good, but illegal immigrants clog up the system and, especially in states and cities where bleeding-heart politicians are in control, cause an undue monetary burden on the actual citizens of the city / of the state / of the country. Taxpayers bear the cost of medical treatment for all illegals, and for the education of the children of the illegals.

Well, enough from me for now about the immigration situation. I think it is a never-ending problem ....

I am glad you were able to hear the song. As far as I know, Carly Simon never has revealed name of the individual she wrote the song about. I assume there are legal reasons for her silence. I am sure I also can safely assume many people identify with the lyrics.

Thank you, Smareis. You brighten my day with your presence.

The sky outside my window is filled with magnificent clouds right now .... it is a grand sight. I wish it would be what you are seeing out of your window, too, but since I have no idea what you can see out of your windows, I will imagine it is a beautiful sky just like my sky at this moment, filled with huge, billowy, white clouds, ....

Something special ....