Eye on the Ball Part 2

I went on vacation, one that involved being essentially cut off form all forms of news media, and I gotta tell ya, it didn't suck. But back is back and my addiction kicked in so I tried to play a little catch-up. Having done so, I remain concerned that we continue to be distracted by the wrong things. This is not to say that the things we follow or worry about aren't important, only that there are others with which we should be more cognizant. 

While I was away Lord Dampnut did something, said something, highly inappropriate and offensive. Again. But it wasn't any worse or more galling or more offensive than all the other things, and in fact was probably less than many. We seem to keep hoping that the latest egregious act will be the one that finally sends him or us over the edge. And while I certainly appreciate the argument that we can't normalize his behavior lest it become acceptable, the fact remains that while it certainly isn't normal - it is beyond the pale - it is the current norm. He is a boorish, racist, ignorant, bumbling, offensive, unrepentant greedhead who should never have been allowed anywhere near the presidency. Okay. But as long as we continue to focus on what is no longer news we lose sight of things that should be:

- the DOJ just requested that the DACA ruling be taken out of the normal channels of jurisprudence and reviewed directly by the Supreme Court. Why? So the court (that was tipped in their favor by the outright theft of a seat) can give them what they want without due process or establishment of rulings from which the court would then have to work.

- the majority of the National Parks Advisory Board just resigned in protest of Interior Secretary Zinke's pushing of the Trumpster Fire's agenda of pillaging public lands for fossil fuel. This group was established in 1935 and eight of the twelve members quit in the face of decisions to open the coastlines to offshore drilling and reduce the size of two national monuments, among other things. The now-former head of the board said that the Department of the Interior "appears to have no interest in continuing the agenda of science, the effect of climate change, pursuing the protection of the ecosystem". Oh, and Zinke has refused to meet with board at all since appointed.

- in related underhandedness, it turns out the shrinking of the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah was almost assuredly linked to a uranium firm's request to free up access to deposits that were previously inside the monument's boundaries. Zinke and Utah republicans of course lied about this.

- and maybe the worst of today's list is the Republicans using CHIP - you know, the Children's Health Insurance Program that provides health insurance for 9 million kids that those same Republicans voted to end when they passed their tax bill - as a bargaining wedge to pass a stopgap spending measure to avoid a government shutdown. Follow this one: GOP ends CHIP; Dems balk at voting for a funding bill that doesn't address DACA; GOP proposes a stopgap bill so they don't get blamed for shutting down the government but still puts off addressing DACA for a few more months (leaving those it affects in limbo) which the Dems don't want to do; GOP adds CHIP funding to measure, daring Dems to vote against something they want, that the GOP killed, and thus being accused of not funding CHIP. If it weren't so straight up vile and disgusting you could almost admire the genius of it. On a side note even if this plan works they might not be able to pass the measure with their own party because the military spending leeches are tired of temporary funding since their defense contractor donors are getting impatient. Sigh.

So yeah, Trumpty Dumpty is a nightmare. But while the changes he is making in the national conversation and the impact he is having on what the presidency means are profound, I believe he is temporary and his impact will eventually be fleeting. Our psyche and the office will survive, and maybe even come out stronger. But what is happening behind him and around him will have massive, significant and long-lasting, even permanent, consequences.