…he’s not misguided, he’s mean. On purpose. Karen Amy on Facebook

Sometime about ten years ago, at about ten at night, Michele and I were leaving San Francisco on our way home. We had just turned on to Fourth Street when a homeless guy walked across the street in front of us, walking at the slowest speed possible, seemingly with no purpose but to stop us. As we sat in the car watching him, Michele said: “Poor guy, he must really feel powerless; he’s not helping himself, all he is doing is making us wait…I guess that’s the point, that’s the only power he has.” I often get the same feeling when President Trump does something like change lightbulb standards back to incandescent (during the CNN special on the environment). It’s stupid and hurts the environment with no upside for him.

When Trump ran for office, he ran against both the Republican and Democratic Establishments and he pitched several policy positions rough ideas that I agreed with. Get out of Afganistan and Syria and use the money on infrastructure, acknowledge that North Korea exists, don’t sign the Pacific Trade Treaty, rationalize our relationship with China, or streighten out the immigration mess, for starters, but, he hasn’t done any of that. Instead, his Administration has governed – for lack of a better word – in a much more orthodox, if extream, Conservative Republican manner. But, using “his Administration has governed” and “orthodox” together in a sentence gives the wrong impression because Donald Trump’s way of governing is not orthodox. From announcing, even establishing, new policies at events that are nothing more than interactive, partisan rallies to making international diplomacy almost entirely personal, to Tweets like China just enacted a major stimulus plan. With all the Tariffs THEY are paying to the USA, Billions and Billions of Dollars, they need it! In the meantime, our Federal Reserve sits back and does NOTHING!, President Trump has become the constant center of everybody’s attention – including his – while spreading chaos. He is the most powerful man in the world and he often acts as if he has no power.