In a year-end poll, Donald Trump and Barack Obama were tied for being the “most admired” men in the country. How does this happen and what does it say about us, the American people?
Climate change and cognitive bias
While the signs of climate change are now emerging, too many people still see it as a vague, remote event that may or may not occur, not as a process that is currently underway. These people view the immense expense needed to combat the crisis only as an unnecessary cost, not as an investment to assure our future well-being.
Paying the cost to be the boss?
President Trump recently pontificated about how his critics were using “the phony emoluments” clause as a cudgel to hammer him. In fact the emoluments clause just happens to be embedded in the United States Constitution. By extension, the President is also questioning the legitimacy and the wisdom of our republic’s founding governing charter. At the same time that he is debasing the Constitution, he is spreading the message that being the President has “cost” him two to five billion dollars in lost income over the past three years.
On Saturday, President Trump abruptly canceled secret peace talks scheduled at Camp David with Afghan leaders and Taliban insurgents. Assuming these talks were even a “real” thing and not simply another presidential fabrication, Trump acted swiftly, trying to show strength. But, what is the president’s strategy? Or is this simply one more example of how truly transactional this President is?
I have a new pet peeve, and it’s not trivial — in fact it could be life or death. It concerns the relatively new pedestrian crosswalk lights installed at key, busy Swarthmore intersections. They are not working as intended, and the answer is simple.
The fabric of our society in the United States is being tested as it has not been, arguably, since the Civil War. We are not facing the prospect of states seceding or of an armed conflict (yet), but we are facing a real threat and challenge to our way of life and to the successful functioning of our democratic republic.
It has become much more obvious that our President, Donald J. Trump, is a flimflam man, who everyday creates his own false narrative to feed his megalomanical ego. The startling, yet sad, realization is that the president does not really care about solving issues or closing deals. He cares only about creating a sense of movement, of action, of appearing strong, not weak. The incredible thing is not that two-thirds of the public believe he is lying about his achievements, but that it is not one hundred who believe this.
Scientists are warning us that the planet Earth is in the midst of a sixth great mass extinction. More than one million species are at risk of disappearing. Why does it matter? All life, including human life, is woven into the fabric of our world, inextricably interconnected in ways we might not even imagine or understand. Aside from the travesty of losing some incredible and beautiful creatures, they are an integral part of what makes our world so awesome.
Over this past weekend, once again, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to bash the memory of Senator John McCain. To hear Trump, a putative draft dodger who never served in the military, disrespect a man who was a genuine war hero and life-long public servant is simply beyond the pale of human decency.