Trump’s takeover of the 4th of July is complete.  The Park Service is having to shift millions of dollars over from other projects to accommodate his Miss America style display, and he’s taken over the Mall for himself.  He’s going to hold a political rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, take the entire area around the reflecting pool in front of the memorial for his high dollar donors, and use US military personnel as props for his cheesy Salute to America Twitterfingers’ Tiny Hands.  He’s going to park tanks on the mall, move the picnic honoring military families away from the South Lawn of the WH to the Mall, bring the Blue Angels back from holiday leave to do a fly over of the Mall, and, of course use Air Force One as his own.

He’s moved the fireworks down to Potomac Park and made it larger than the Bicentennial display in 1976 using private donations.  Even worse, the Smithsonians’ Folk Life Festival, a 10 day celebration that has been held over the 4th for over 50 years was cut down to 2 days, and ended this weekend.  It was shortened because Trump’s idiotic government shutdown over the holidays  caused planning to be also shut down making it impossible to hold the entire event.  Thanks for nothing, Donnie.  And, all of this will likely cost well over $100 million before he’s finished.  All we need are banners of Trump’s likeness carried by young MAGA sycophants goose stepping down Constitution Ave.

Two bright spots are planned, though…first, the Trump Baby blimp has been approved to fly over the event, and several veterans organizations will be handing out USS John McCain t shirts for vets to wear

I cannot describe in words how much I despise this worthless thing who inflicts himself on the American people 24/7.  He’s stolen our culture, our elections, our economy, our soul, our history, our traditions, common decency, and now even our national holiday to honor – himself.

Fuck him.  There.  I said it.

Since his first day infesting the WH, Trump has been trying to produce a militaristic super duper patriotic ceremony to celebrate…himself.  The Pentagon succeeded in shutting down his Soviet style military parade last year, but now he’s decided to co-opt the most American of American holidays and make it about himself.  The National Park Service has announced that, at Trump’s order, they are turning a traditional non-partisan event of American music and fireworks into an event centered on His Orangeness, including giving a speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial, and rearranging the entire holiday celebration to put himself in the middle of it.

My response to Trump trying to take over OUR HOLIDAY to make it about himself?  Fuck you.  I refuse to participate in any way, not even turning on my television for it.  Enough of this nonsense is enough.  He’s turned the entire US government into a reality television show starring him, his criminal cronies, and his entire fucking family.  I’m sick of it. Congress needs to stop this narcissistic asshole in his tracks, get him out of office, and then return our government to some level of normalcy.

For God’s sake, I want my country back from insanity and cheesy reality television.

I grew up in the age of the nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union.  I was in the 4th grade during the Cuban missile crisis.  I participated in the “duck and cover” drills that did nothing to protect us and scared the crap out of all of us.  During all those years, the guy sitting in the Oval Office was cautious; calculating; surrounded by foreign relations and defense experts.  As a young boy, I feared the Russians and depended on Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and HW Bush to protect us.  In the years since the Soviet Union collapsed and the arms race waned, I didn’t think too much about nuclear weapons or war, nor did most Americans.

Then came Trump.  The Reality Show President loves to stir the pot to stay at the top of the news cycle.  He insults television stars, politicians, foreign leaders, and everyone who gets in the way.  He spends hours a day watching Fox Noise, then tweeting out advertisements for the network on an hourly basis. And he brags.  He brags on himself in a continuous stream, takes credit for everything from the stock market to airline safety and loves to saber rattle.  He’s now in a twitter war with Kim Jong Un arguing over nuclear button size.

Jesus.  As my spouse said just this morning, “I used to worry about nuclear weapons launched by other countries.  I now worry about my own.”  No truer words were ever spoken.  We are now being threatened with nuclear war by our own goddam president.  He thinks this is a reality television episode, where he wins by vanquishing his foes.  This lunatic has shaken the American psyche, and certainly the world, to the core.

Joe Biden said in October that, “Violating the norms of personal conduct generates more anxiety and fear than any policy prescription that this president has enunciated.  Sending his Secretary of State to talk with North Korea and saying he’s on a fool’s errand… it is absolutely bizarre. It’s bizarre conduct.”  And this is the problem;  the job of the President of the United States is to give comfort to its citizens.  It’s to calm fears; instill confidence in the electorate in times of trouble.  The problem with THIS president, though, is that he couldn’t care less about you, me, or anyone else for that matter.  Trump uses the office of president as a giant funnel to fill his needy ego and his wallet.  If that means stirring up long-dormant fears of nuclear wars, so be it.  If it involves childish name calling and bullying, no problem.

We are on a path of certain long term damage to our democracy, if not worse.  The glib references to nuclear war keep the entire globe on edge.  This behavior hurts everyone, including Trump.  It’s time for Congress or the Cabinet to stand on their hind legs and get this guy out of there before he burns down the planet.

Cheeto Jesus made an appearance with family members today on the Truman balcony at the WH to witness the solar eclipse.  Here is Trump and Melania:

So, here’s my question – Why did Trump come out to the balcony? Why did he (eventually) put on protective glasses to witness the solar eclipse? Why did he do that?  How did he know what time to come out and what the proper glasses were to protect his eyes?  Did he just make it up?  Did an evangelical pastor give him a prophecy?  Of course not; the answer to all these questions is science…astronomy, physics, math, astro-mechanics.  There was no guessing about it.  We knew exactly when the eclipse would happen.  There was even an app that could tell people by zip code when to watch.  It’s easy.

As we all know (except for a few ignorant flat earthers), the solar eclipse that transversed the entire US was predicted by scientists down to the second for each precise location where one might want to watch.  Scientists and engineers also developed the precise eye protection that was manufactured by the millions to protect people’s eyes from damage due to exposure to the sun.  They knew exactly what to do.  In addition to all that whiz-bang, scientists have already set the date and time for the next US solar eclipse in 2024.  The path is calculated, and the times are already known. That’s some bad voodoo if you ask me; or conversely, damn good science.

So, here’s the question – Why, when science and math nails the exact time and place of a solar eclipse that millions believe, that science about climate change is then dismissed out of hand?  What about medical science that develops vaccines?  What about immunology that predicts, calculates and fights pandemics of exotic diseases?

Donald Trump is one of the most cynical science deniers to ever occupy the WH.  While believing the science that predicts solar eclipses, or being completely confident in the astro-physics that calculates targets for our nuclear arsenal, why does he deny other science? Is he stupid?

That’s easy.  He is certainly stupid, but he’s also a narcissist that plays to the adoring hordes of ignorant shitheads who respond only to manure shoveled by the truckload.

In his first major network interview since the inauguration, TwitterFinger’s personality was on full view of the American people, and it wasn’t pretty.  It wasn’t just laughable; it was terrifying. It was unbelievable.  It was embarrassing.  The Washington Post’s summary of the interview is even more chilling.  To read those words is almost more jarring than hearing them since we’ve all gotten used to his 5th grade playground bully schtick.  In print, his words are horrifying.  My God, this guy’s not just a flaming asshole (sorry, Momma), he’s actually mentally unstable.  He is so pathologically narcissistic that everything, I mean everything is about him.  His speeches are the best ever, his crowds are the best ever, his standing ovations are larger, longer, and better than anyone’s.  To wit:

“See what Fox said. They said it was one of the great speeches. [At the CIA] They showed the people applauding and screaming. … I got a standing ovation. In fact, they said it was the biggest standing ovation since Peyton Manning had won the Super Bowl, and they said it was equal. I got a standing ovation. It lasted for a long period of time. You probably ran it live. I know when I do good speeches. I know when I do bad speeches. That speech was a total home run. They loved it. … People loved it. They loved it. They gave me a standing ovation for a long period of time. They never even sat down, most of them, during the speech. There was love in the room. You and other networks covered it very inaccurately. … That speech was a good speech. And you and a couple of other networks tried to downplay that speech. And it was very, very unfortunate that you did.”

Holy Jesus.  I used to think that he was just a cynical reality television star using his fame to play his supporters for chumps.  I have changed my opinion – he’s a nut.  He’s truly unstable and dangerous.  He obsesses so much about his fame and popularity that he actually makes decisions based on how much attention he can get.  If he gets offended, he flies into a rage.  If he perceives even a tiny slight he wildly overreacts and lashes out for days.  And this guy has the nuclear codes (and he’s putting Rootin’ Tootin’ Rick Perry in charge of the nuclear arsenal.)

I’ve gone from head shaking disbelief that the voters have inflicted this clown on us to truly fearing for our country.  The pit in my stomach isn’t healthy, but I feel completely helpless to do anything about this impending national tragedy.  I’m not even sure that even when impeached he’ll actually leave the White House; he’ll likely have to be physically removed.  This is not just a big Celebrity Apprentice episode, this is a modern day Madness of King George.