Well, that was pathetic. So pathetic that I
don’t even know where to start. And so embarrassing that I can’t even
cover it all without writing a “War and Peace” sized diary. So, I’m just
going to touch on a few points that have really stuck in my craw, and
let it go at that.
First, the “tone”. The administration has been leaking and touting all day that the tone of the speech was going to be “uplifting and inspirational”. Sweet Jeebus, if that’s uplifting and inspirational, I don’t wanna hear this orange whip coiffed buffoon give us real bad news. The man has no other emotion than hatred and vitriol. All of his uplifting rhetoric was saved until the last two minutes of his speech, after he had spewed all of his standard campaign speech red meat.
The content. Talk about a dog’s breakfast of disaster. I knew it would happen, Trump has no other speech mode than campaign. He couldn’t control himself, he just had to go back and lick his tiny nuts over his primary and general election victory, rubbing the Democrat’s noses in it. He couldn’t resist making it seem like America was on life support, one step away from the edges of our national vision beginning to go black. He inherited a disaster that hasn’t been since the inception of mankind. Everything is shit, and he can’t even sleep because he’s so overtaxed by the problems. Of course he can’t sleep, 3 a.m. is his prime tweeting period, and there are so many enemies, and so little time!
Immigration. What a bunch of bullshit. All day, the press has been reporting that Trump was going to make a major statement on comprehensive immigration reform, based on a statement he made at an off-the-record lunch with some members of the media. He barely touched the subject, yet he packed the gallery with families of victims of crime committed by undocumented immigrants. He announced a new department to support those victims. He bragged about all of the vicious criminals(?) that he was kicking out. If this was a Kumbaya moment to kick start comprehensive immigration reform, it’s the worst roll out since the Edsel.
The Ryan Owens moment. This was particularly problematic for me. I thought that his tribute to the fallen American hero was well done, and the reaction in the chamber was beautiful. His wife was clearly grateful and overwhelmed by the appreciation of her husband’s sacrifice. But here’s the problem I have. He just couldn’t help himself, he had to make a statement, pushing back against the media that his Defense Secretary had just assured him on the phone that the raid had yielded an incredible trove of information that would save countless lives. Fine, if it turns out that way. But, if in the long run it turns out that the media reports are true, and there was little or no valuable information retrieved, “Houston, we have a problem”. If it turns out that the tiny thumbs little fucker lied on that podium, CPO Ryan’s widow should have the right to walk into the Oval Office and slap Trump until his goddamn cheeks fall off. It will have been a direct betrayal of her husband’s memory and service. We’ll see what happens.
The Democrats. All in all, I was very pleased with the Democrats. All or most of the female members wearing white made a statement, and with the lights up there was no way Trump could miss it. Unless there was an honestly uplifting moment recognizing an inspirational person in the gallery, they stayed in their seats, seldom clapping and just stared at Trump. You could tell it was getting to him, later in his speech, when he was talking about unity, he would wave a pointed finger over the Democratic section. One criticism I will note. Joe Manchin must be primaried this year! He may as well have been in the GOP section of the chamber with his responses to Trump’s every word. At this point, what can we trust him to do?
There it is. There is so much more that I’d like to rant and rave about, but to tell you the truth, I just don’t have the stomach for it. I feel sick and sad in the pit of my stomach.
First, the “tone”. The administration has been leaking and touting all day that the tone of the speech was going to be “uplifting and inspirational”. Sweet Jeebus, if that’s uplifting and inspirational, I don’t wanna hear this orange whip coiffed buffoon give us real bad news. The man has no other emotion than hatred and vitriol. All of his uplifting rhetoric was saved until the last two minutes of his speech, after he had spewed all of his standard campaign speech red meat.
The content. Talk about a dog’s breakfast of disaster. I knew it would happen, Trump has no other speech mode than campaign. He couldn’t control himself, he just had to go back and lick his tiny nuts over his primary and general election victory, rubbing the Democrat’s noses in it. He couldn’t resist making it seem like America was on life support, one step away from the edges of our national vision beginning to go black. He inherited a disaster that hasn’t been since the inception of mankind. Everything is shit, and he can’t even sleep because he’s so overtaxed by the problems. Of course he can’t sleep, 3 a.m. is his prime tweeting period, and there are so many enemies, and so little time!
Immigration. What a bunch of bullshit. All day, the press has been reporting that Trump was going to make a major statement on comprehensive immigration reform, based on a statement he made at an off-the-record lunch with some members of the media. He barely touched the subject, yet he packed the gallery with families of victims of crime committed by undocumented immigrants. He announced a new department to support those victims. He bragged about all of the vicious criminals(?) that he was kicking out. If this was a Kumbaya moment to kick start comprehensive immigration reform, it’s the worst roll out since the Edsel.
The Ryan Owens moment. This was particularly problematic for me. I thought that his tribute to the fallen American hero was well done, and the reaction in the chamber was beautiful. His wife was clearly grateful and overwhelmed by the appreciation of her husband’s sacrifice. But here’s the problem I have. He just couldn’t help himself, he had to make a statement, pushing back against the media that his Defense Secretary had just assured him on the phone that the raid had yielded an incredible trove of information that would save countless lives. Fine, if it turns out that way. But, if in the long run it turns out that the media reports are true, and there was little or no valuable information retrieved, “Houston, we have a problem”. If it turns out that the tiny thumbs little fucker lied on that podium, CPO Ryan’s widow should have the right to walk into the Oval Office and slap Trump until his goddamn cheeks fall off. It will have been a direct betrayal of her husband’s memory and service. We’ll see what happens.
The Democrats. All in all, I was very pleased with the Democrats. All or most of the female members wearing white made a statement, and with the lights up there was no way Trump could miss it. Unless there was an honestly uplifting moment recognizing an inspirational person in the gallery, they stayed in their seats, seldom clapping and just stared at Trump. You could tell it was getting to him, later in his speech, when he was talking about unity, he would wave a pointed finger over the Democratic section. One criticism I will note. Joe Manchin must be primaried this year! He may as well have been in the GOP section of the chamber with his responses to Trump’s every word. At this point, what can we trust him to do?
There it is. There is so much more that I’d like to rant and rave about, but to tell you the truth, I just don’t have the stomach for it. I feel sick and sad in the pit of my stomach.
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