Michelle Wolf’s Jokes Were Less Offensive Than Trump’s Lies.

Wolf’s comedic attacks on administration officials at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner were seen by many as offensive. But, in reality, she merely called attention to the actions of occupants of the Trump clown car. And the truth sometimes hurts. Moreover, in the case of Michelle Wolf’s jokes, it can be damn funny!

And you have to ask yourself: What harm did her performance really do? After the outrage of the Trumpanzees, Fox News hosts, and right-wing radio hosts fades. There will be no serious consequences. No one, except maybe Wolf, will be hurt.

On the other hand, many of the actions of those she attacked will have grave, long-term consequences. The president’s incessant attacks on the press have already caused a portion of Americans to question factual reporting and to accept the diatribes of partisan propagandists, instead. The administration’s constant lies have obscured the truth. The administration’s attacks on government institutions, such as the FBI, the CIA, the NSA, and the justice system, will make it easier to supplant democracy with fascism. And the administration’s refusal to denounce the white nationalists that support it has exacerbated racial discord in America.

Further, the administration has fostered corruption. It has ignored science, demeaned education, attacked the poor, and taken actions that will hasten the destruction of our planet. And Trump, himself, has verbally attacked women, the disabled, a Gold Star family, a war hero, his political opponents and many, many others.

So, before you attack the so-called tasteless jokes of a comedian, consider the task she was given: To find humor in the devastating actions and statements of the administration officials in attendance. I’d say she did her job a whole lot better than those officials have!

A Culture Of Corruption.

Trump used his campaign and his first year in office to line his pockets with donors and taxpayers’ money. His businesses have raked in an estimated $15.1 million since he began his presidential campaign and he continues to use campaign contributions as his personal bank account. And he’s only getting started. But Trump is not the only member of the administration to play fast and loose with taxpayer money.

Trump changes cabinet members more often than he changes wives. Yet despite the record-setting turnover within the administration, to date, only one member of the administration has left the job under pressure for corruption and ethics violations leaving us to wonder: Are members of the administration and Trump’s advisers merely following their leader’s example? Or were they chosen for their positions precisely because of their lack of ethics?

Even those who haven’t been caught with their hands in the proverbial cookie jar have committed serious lapses in judgment or have seriously damaged the departments they were chosen to lead.

For example, before being fired via a presidential Tweet, former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson virtually dismantled the department. The New Yorker magazine described his time in office this way: “His tenure may well be regarded as the most consequential in postwar American history: not for what he built but for what he destroyed. In only ten months, Tillerson, the former C.E.O. of ExxonMobil, has presided over the near-dismantling of America’s diplomatic corps, chasing out hundreds of State Department employees and scaling back the country’s engagement with the world. Most alarming has been the departure of dozens of the foreign service’s most senior officials—men and women who had spent their careers living and working abroad, who speak several languages and who are experts in their fields.”

The person nominated to replace Tillerson, current CIA Director Mike Pompeo, may be no better as he is known to be virulently anti-Muslim and a denier of Russia’s interference in our elections.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin conveniently failed to disclose $100 million of investments prior to his confirmation. And, since taking office, the billionaire has spent millions of taxpayer money for the personal use of government planes, including one for his honeymoon. In addition, he used a government plane to fly his bride to Fort Knox so they might better view the solar eclipse.

Before becoming Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross was known as the “King of Bankruptcy” for plundering companies before forcing their closure. He repeatedly exaggerated his net worth – a lie that fits right in with those of his new boss.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue displayed a penchant for corruption before assuming his current position. While governor of Georgia, 13 complaints were filed against Perdue with the State Ethics Commission, which on two occasions ruled that he had violated state ethics laws. The commission took the unusual step of fining Mr. Perdue while he was governor. Yet before he was done, Perdue pushed through a bill to give himself a $100,000 tax break.

Billionaire Betsy DeVos used her money to push charter schools in her home state of Michigan for more than 20 years. The result is that the state’s schools failed to keep pace with the academic progress of other states. Indeed, Michigan now ranks near the bottom for fourth- and eighth-grade math and fourth-grade reading on a national test. But in Trump’s mind, that somehow qualified her to become Secretary of Education – public education.

Trump’s original choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services was pushed out of office for spending roughly $1 million on charter jets when commercial flights were readily available. He repaid the department just $60,000 for the travel. But Trump adviser Kellyann Conway, who accompanied him on many of the flights, has not paid a dime. And Price’s replacement, Alex Azar, is accused of gaming the patent system for Eli Lilly’s Cialis by promoting its use for male children who suffer from a rare muscle-wasting disease. The product failed to help, but it allowed the patent to be extended for another six months and another billion dollars of profit.

As Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson ordered a dining table for his office at a price of $31,000. Worse, he is reversing the department’s efforts to enforce fair housing laws and sidelining those who are aggressively pursuing civil rights cases.

Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao and her family recently donated $40 million to the Harvard Business School to be used for a building that will bear their name. Interestingly, that the money was withdrawn from an account in an off-shore tax haven. That’s right, a long-time government employee, and the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, is using an off-shore account to avoid paying taxes!

Not to be outdone, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, treats his job as though he’s either the CEO of a multinational company or royalty. He, too, has spent millions of taxpayers’ money on private charters when he could be flying coach. Worse, he has sold off public lands and national monuments to his friends in the fossil fuel industry. And he’s the one responsible for awarding a $300-million contract to a two-person start-up company in his home state to rebuild Puerto Rico’s electrical grid.

Finally, we come to the man who has become the symbol of the administration’s corruption – the Environmental Protection Agency’s Scott Pruitt. So far, Pruitt has demoted and pushed aside senior EPA officials and scientists who raised concerns about his direction for the agency and his spending habits. He took advantage of a sweetheart deal for a Washington condo co-owned by an energy lobbyist. He brought in two friends from Oklahoma as aides and gave them huge raises taken from a budget intended for environmental emergencies. He has a 24-hour security staff of at least 20 people that accompany him even on personal trips, such as a family trip to Disney World. Like other Trump appointees, he also misuses government planes and charter jets. And, when he does fly commercially, he travels first-class on taxpayer money.

Pruitt spent more than $25,000 on a secure, sound-proof phone booth. And it’s alleged that he uses phones other than his own to deal with some EPA matters so the calls won’t show up in his call log. Further, he has avoided the creation of written records of meetings in order to circumvent FOIA laws and to hide his actions.

Given the incompetence and corruption of Trump’s cabinet, we all should be asking ourselves: Is Trump trying to manage the government? Or is he actually trying to destroy it?

Trump Tower Fire Is A Metaphor For The Trump Presidency.

I’ll begin by stating that the fire at Trump Tower was a tragedy. 200 firefighters and emergency personnel were required to fight the fire, at least four firefighters were injured, and a 67-year-old resident lost his life. Sadly, the man was only living in the apartment because, after the 2016 election, he was unable to sell it. With Secret Service and media camped out at the building, it felt like a prison. And when prospective buyers found out it was in Trump Tower, he couldn’t give it away.

His death didn’t have to happen. After two deadly high-rise fires in the nineties, the City of New York proposed an ordinance to require sprinkler systems in all high-rise buildings. But Trump claimed that sprinklers were not needed and that they would be too expensive. After much whining, bullying and purported bribery, he succeeded in having Trump Tower grandfathered until such time he chooses to make major renovations.

You see, Trump hates regulations no matter how well-intended they are. He only cares about himself and his profits. And he simply doesn’t care about others.

It has been reported that residents weren’t notified to evacuate the building. Not sure what to do, some watched the event on television hoping that the result wouldn’t resemble 9/11. Yet, as always, Trump insiders received special treatment. Trump’s attorney, Michael Cohen, reportedly called a friend who lives in the building and warned him to leave. Of course, he made no effort to warn others.

Once the fire was finally extinguished, Trump thanked the firefighters for saving his building and took the opportunity to pat himself on the back by mentioning how well the tower is built. He failed to mention the dead and injured.

This event should be a warning for all US citizens about how our government operates under Trump. His primary focus seems to be using taxpayers’ money to enrich himself and his family. He threatens and bullies those who refuse to kowtow to him. He and his cabinet have repealed and undermined regulations designed to protect ordinary citizens while at the same time rewarding his cronies. And, at every opportunity he turns the conversation to talk about himself in the most self-serving, self-aggrandizing way possible.

It’s difficult to see how this presidency will end well. I fully expect to see our government in virtual and, possibly, literal flames.

Are The Latest Russian Sanctions Mere Window-Dressing?

Last year, Congress passed a bipartisan bill calling for stricter sanctions against Russia in response to its meddling with our 2016 election. But, with no explanation given, the Trump administration failed to implement any further sanctions until after the attempted assassination of a former Russian spy in England. Even then, it appeared that the administration was reluctantly responding in support of our closest ally.

Now, months after congressional action, the Trump administration has imposed sanctions designed to harm Russian oligarchs close to Putin. Among others, the oligarchs named include Oleg Deripaska, former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort’s long-time benefactor, and Alexander Torshin, the Russian who gave millions to the NRA to be used to aid GOP candidates during the 2016 campaign. One has to ask why those guys? Why now?

After all, these men would seem to be allies of Trump, the GOP and the NRA. And we know that Trump has never uttered a harsh word about Russia or Putin – quite the opposite. He has repeatedly gone out of his way to praise Putin despite the investigations by Congress and the special prosecutor.

I believe a recent post from a Facebook friend, who is obviously wiser and perhaps even more cynical than I am, offers a possible answer. Could it be that the long delay between the congressional sanctions and the implementation by the Trump administration was designed to allow Putin and his pals to minimize the consequences? Did the delay allow them to transfer their billions out of accounts in the US and other western nations? Did the delay allow Trump to pretend to be tough on Russia, as he now claims, and demonstrate to GOP members of Congress and his right-wing base that he did not conspire with Russia to help his campaign?

More to the point, will the delayed sanctions convince GOP members of Congress to ignore the coming reports from Robert Muller and refuse to impeach Trump? Will they further free Fox News, right-wing radio hosts, and Sinclair Broadcast Group to launch a propaganda campaign to support Trump and portray the Russian investigations as a hoax?

Based on what we’ve seen in the past year and a half, I think the answer to all of those questions is a resounding “yes.”