The Unraveling -- Donald Trump

I'm with you Yogagirl. I'm so sick of him too. 

What does everyone think about Trump visiting North Korea?  I live in New Zealand and the international media is raving about how fantastic Trump is for going into North Korea.  Trump seems to be getting more popular which I find terribly disappointing and frustrating.  From a foreigner point of view it is hard to see how he will lose the election. 

The Pope praising Trump

https://nypost.com/2019/06/30/pope-francis-praises-historic-trump-kim-meeting-at-the-dmz/

Everything that I have read in the US and UK press reported generally that the visit was a first and all of them also reported the criticism that he was receiving for making the visit in the first place. I was briefly watching CNN morning news today and they mentioned that there were people in his own party that are not happy about the visit and the position that it places the US in. I had a brief look in the German press and I am sure that they reported about it yesterday, but today they are only talking about Trump trying to pressure them into buying liquid natural gas from them (instead of the Russians) and why that would be a bad idea. I read the article about the pope praising his attempt at unity and peace but note that the article also mentions that the Pope has been critical of him in the past. He is probably trying positive reinforcement since he considers him not insulting someone and blatantly stirring up trouble for once a good thing. That is a low bar, but that is where we currently find ourselves.

As for my own opinion, I think he did this to try to prove to his base that he did something useful and for the photo opportunity. Like you, Here Right Now, I am on the outside looking in. I am American but don’t live in the US. In the long run, he has probably damaged the US position in the world by being friendly with a savage dictator and compromising on the US/international position that they should not be a nuclear power. 

Maybe someone who lives there can tell us what the folks on the street are saying. 

Thanks Baba.  Yes, he loves and admires the dictators, while destroying relationships with allies.  Hideous man.

Baba- I am 4th gen American and live in the US. I can tell you what "the buzz" is.

2/3 of the population thinks the NK stuff is nuts, and agree that Twitler's actions this past weekend were damaging from beginning to end. Those of us in that 2/3 also see that the media coverage continues to be damaging to our democracy as well. The press is not doing its job, frankly. They hold Twitler to a MUCH lower standard than anyone else who's ever been a president. He'd literally have to trip over his own d*ck on camera before they'd criticize.

The other 1/3? The base? They think this is all great. And because we are still about a half year away from the next bubble burst/recession, they think everything will be great going forward too.

Those of us with a remaining brain cell recognize that we are under minority rule. This was a plot that began in earnest with the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, and accelerated when Reagan won in 1980.  We all protest, call our reps, etc. Because we are the more meta-aware portion of the population, we try to avoid violence at all costs. I remain gobsmacked that all the domestic terrorism is from the Right, not the Left. Back in the 60s, it was the other way around.

I continue to lose hope on a daily basis that I will live long enough to see true, lasting change for the better in this country. I'm not ill or anything, but I really feel it's going to take about 50 years to really change - pretty much not until every last Baby Boomer is gone.

I have no idea where to put this but felt this thread was as good as any.  I hope the intended actions of these vets on July 4th will totally unravel Trump. Anyone who has read my previous posts on the subject of John Mc Cain and the USS John S. McCain will not be surprised by this posting.  I hope Trump sees these USS McCain shirts  everywhere he turns.  I hope when he goes to bed at night, he  dreams of a huge military parade lead by veterans wearing these shirts marching  directly at him row by row.  

I am American but don’t live in the US...Maybe someone who lives there can tell us what the folks on the street are saying. 

We would if we could, but we have all died-          from embarrassment.

Watch the video again.  Watch it as if you didn't know who he is, or what it means for the world.  Look at his gait, his slump.  Or rather, his schlump.  Schlumping twenty feet in, and three inches over the border "wall".    I guess they don't have golf carts in NK.      Sad.        Notice the "tailoring" of his suit.  Only the best people...     meanwhile, Justin Beiber is laughing his ass off in the VIP lounge of the Hair-Don't Salon.   This has got to be the stoopidest timeline ever.

@laura-f, I’m right there with you.  I’ll be turning 67 in a couple of weeks.  I wasn’t expecting that I’d be living my senior years during such a dangerous time in our country, with an insane, corrupt, immoral president and his enablers.  I wasn't expecting that I'd be living in a country that's gone stark, raving mad.  I wasn’t expecting that I’d be feeling so exhausted, powerless and traumatized.  I wasn’t expecting that the economy will probably tank soon, making my senior years even more challenging.  This dark presence can permeate every part of my psyche, if I allow it.  I have some chronic health issues, and fortunately as far as I know, they’re not life threatening.  I’m feeling that it won’t take 50 years to see some good changes in this country, but I am sensing much more than a decade for things to s-l-o-w-l-y begin to return to sanity.  But perhaps even that’s wishful thinking.  Sometimes I’ll  find myself speculating how old I’ll be when we will begin seeing lasting light at the end of the tunnel.  Right now, that light I sometimes see feels impermanent -- in much the same way you’ll see a bit of sun peak out through the clouds, then quickly retreat.  Teaser light.  And since I am 67, like you I wonder whether "I will live long enough to see true, lasting change for the better in this country.”  To give myself some comfort, I’ll even think to myself, “well, if I’m gone from this earth before our country turns around, maybe I can still help from the other side.”  But since I am human, that thought sometimes feels like cold comfort.

I don’t like what I just wrote.  I feel selfish, and I’m certainly not living in the moment.  After all, I’m not going through this alone; we’re all in this together.  And I have a lot to be grateful for.  I went into a rage yesterday over some personal issues.  I stormed out of the house, intending to take a long drive and cool off.  I was so angry that I was afraid to drive, so I sat in my car.   I later recognized that although the personal stuff triggered my anger, my rage was misplaced.  The rage was really over what we as a nation are going through.   Such trauma for all of us.

More than anything, what I want to feel is peace in the midst of this horrific chaos.  And not feel guilty about it.  I’m not responsible for the whole world; only the small part that I play in it.

I am very grateful for tonight’s meditation with all of you fellow travelers.  That gives me some hope and comfort.

deetoo and lauraf you are not alone.  And no you are not selfish.  It is difficult to realize what our country has become.  This administrationa and their followers are truly unhinged.  The admin is all about power and money and the supporters are sad scared little people who think if they support him he will make their lives better.  They are in for a rude awakening.  We have seen a lot in our political lifetime.  Kennedy asssascinations, Viet-nam, Nixon, Reagan's trickle down economics, 9/11, Iraq and Afganistan wars.  I had hope with Obama that there would be a somewhat intelligent aproach to governing.  Unfortuanety the Reps don't want that.  They want money and power and to humiliate as many people as they can.  I read a post on twitter Sunday (again I say take with a grain) that the NK leader likes trump because he has no morals.  He doesn't consider anything out of bounds including killing his ouwn people.  In an interview with Tucker the Fool he is now saying that in the last two years homelessness and unsanitary conditions are unlawful and he will have to do something serious about them.  Someone in his hoard suggested letting the militia "take care of them"  ie let's kill homeless people.  He has just been to a conference where he palled around with Putin and the Saudi murderer athen goes to NK where the leaer kills his own people at will.  His Faux news handlers are feeding him talking points like "to be a leader you have to kill people".  this should scare the hell out of everyone.  The rest of the Reps are so afraid to lose power and money that they have sold their soles to the devil.  Wait until he falls, and I'm sure he will, they are going to scramble like roaches when you turn on a light.  This is why it is so important that we vote Blue.  I know he will fall because history has shown us that all nasty arrogant dictators fail in the end,  The one shining light is that he will be remebered as a fool.

Bless you, Yogagirl, for always "telling it like it is."

I just listened to a Canadian woman who gave me such hope.  She made so much sense to me. It's all about the energy and not constantly telling the Universe what you don't want, but rather envisioning what you do want. Focusing on the positive only, which means to stop focusing on what the orange blob is doing is much better for us all, especially to also band together in this fashion is very helpful to all dems. We need to focus on winning and only winning and become as ONE.  She feels that the candidate is Biden with Kamala as VP. She feels his 4-year only term will be spent undoing the harm Trump has done in office (which Joe is so very capable of doing) while Kamala takes a much more active roll as VP (same as Biden did with Obama) and she then smoothly transitions into the POTUS role in 2024. Even though my heart wants Warren, I feel she will play a very key part in the new administration anyway (as will many who are running).  I pray for this because it resonated with me and  made sense.  Wondering what you all think of this! Much love light to you all!

These are great posts today, y'all...Looking forward to tonight's meditation.  Glad to see you are recovered, Laura.  I am still laughing/crying at your post and appreciative of your remaining brain cells.  I've been thinking of our country's situation as living under minority rule for some time now.   It makes me think of apartheid in South Africa, the jailing of dissidents, the oppression, inequality and the majority's feeling of hopelessness.  Minority rule didn't last there and it won't last here.

Yes, it's true that all dictators are brought down, but they do so much damage before their fall. 

That's what bothers and concerns me the most.

Regarding the Pope praising Trump's NK photo op, which is all it was:  We all know that Trump could just as easily start a nuclear war next week with NK or Iran for that matter.

I have liked this pope from time to time. 

But I am sad that he praised Trump's photo op with NK.  It gives Trump more voters so he can stay in office and crush immigrants and people of color and put children in cages, and shift more money to the wealthy and further remove access for elderly, poor, and middle-class to  health care, and pick random fights with countries bringing us ever closer to nuclear war. 

Maybe the Pope is trying positive reinforcement on Trump as a form of training?  That's how they train exotic animals, like tigers and lions. They start with a really low bar, then gradually raise the bar.  The question remains, is Donald Trump trainable?  

I feel that sending Trump positive loving energy is a good thing.   I recommend that method when you are feeling strong enough to do it.  

But the Pope just handed him voters.  

But it's important to realize WHY dictators do so much damage. It's because the citizens feel suppressed and let them. Once they've had enough, dictators are powerless against them because there are so much more of them than the dictator. Look at the horrors Ceracescu (sp) visited on Romania. Knocking down their beautiful buildings, living in a golden palace while people were put in apartments that looked like long-term parking structures. Well, once they'd had it, he and his horrible wife were running out of the back of their palace and their guards deserted them. And they say for every shot he got, she got two because she was so much worse. It's like India - they could have gotten rid of the British at any time, but they needed to hit bottom first. It seems to me our "bottom" is endless! 

Posted by: TriciaCT

I just listened to a Canadian woman who gave me such hope.  She made so much sense to me. It's all about the energy and not constantly telling the Universe what you don't want, but rather envisioning what you do want. Focusing on the positive only....

OK, here's where I get so (expletive) frustrated with "the universe", "all that is", "god", "insert your favorite deity here".......

If all we need to do is focus on what we do want.....then why is the situation in the US (and world) the way it is?  In other words.....did "the other side" focus all their positive energy on what they wanted, which was to put hispanic children in concentration camps?  To suppress the voting rights of those against them?  To allow the super wealthy elites to control the world?

If we don't constantly envision a positive world, that the default is the world falls  into darkness and chaos when left unattended?  Or is our current situation here because the darker forces collectively wanted the world this way, put their dark energy into the world they envisioned and this is what we have?

I dont really think that, on a global stage, the world is any darker than it was 10, 20, 30 years ago. I just think that with the coming of Trump, the US has been more publically involved in it than before. This is nothing new and, frankly small compared to the travesties happening worldwide the last half century. We are just now exposed to it because it is now knocking on our front door instesd of hiding in the bushes. Trump couldve been a manifestation of dark forces, but I actually see him more of a final straw to awaken those with blinders on. Yes it is horrible but the only true change is that we are forced to finally see and deal with what has been going on globally and domestically for decades. 

Think of it like this.....Picture NYC in your head. What are you picturing? My guess is a glorious skyline or a bustling Times Square. Is that the real NYC? No. The real NYC is streets littered with homeless, crime, poverty, broken dreams, people struggling to make ends meet, etc. In the past, our vision of the US and the world has been that skyline. Now we are being forced to deal with the reality of what is out there and we cant fix a problem if we arent aware, or acknowledging' of it. 

What an excellent post, MAS.

I love this country.  I have a lot of ancestors and relatives who died for it.  But there is, and always has been, a lot of darkness behind the flag-waving.  Maybe that darkness does have to be exposed before we can be reborn in light.

MAS1581, I agree with Polarberry -- your post was excellent.  I remember long before T became president, I expressed my concerns and criticisms concerning some of our country's actions and inactions.  The response from some family members was, “if you don’t like it, you can leave.”   Seriously?  Like you, I love my country.  True patriotism has little to do with flag waving.   I draw the analogy of going to church on Sunday because you profess to love Jesus, but treating people like crap outside of those hallowed walls.

Such arrogance and denial.  That’s why we’re here now.  We’ll have to learn the hard way.