Preserving American Values

A while ago, I suggested that one thing the Democratic Party should do to counter Trump is to have a weekly new conference to highlight what Trump has done during the previous week that harms the people or endangers the country.  Democrats have not adopted my idea, so I’ve decided to put together my own weekly scorecard.  This is the first. I will start by noting two things Trump did just prior to the beginning of this past week.

9/19  Trump said that broadcasters that allow their media personalities to criticize him should lose their license. So much for his defense of freedom of speech.  As usual, Trump demands his rights and those of his supporters, but has no concern for the rights of others.

9/20  It was reported that Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Act” included a provision to shift part of the funding for the Food Stamp program to the states (together with other such shifts on other social welfare items). If fully implemented the shift would cost states $35 billion over six years according to the Congressional Budget Office.  Since it is likely, given other shifts to the states, that the necessary money cannot or will not be found, many of the 42 million people getting Food Stamps will either see their amount reduced or be cut out of the program entirely. This will have a major impact on the food security of millions of Americans.

And now for the new week:

9/21

Trump demands the Pam Bondi, the Attorney General, move “now” to prosecute his enemies.  He said in a social media post, “They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”  Trump as presidential candidate railed against the Democrat’s alleged weaponization of the Department of Justice.  If this demand of his is not weaponization of the DOJ, I don’t know what is.  But as is his norm, what is good for the goose is not good for the gander; he always demands his rights but feels that those who disagree with him have no rights.  The traditional independence of the DOJ since Watergate has been totally disregarded by Trump.

9/22

Today, Trump held a news conference in which he claimed that acetaminophen (the ingredient in Tylenol) taken by pregnant women can be associated with a “very increased risk of autism.” This despite no scientific proof. And he endorsed the use of a little known and researched drug to treat autism.

The number of children diagnosed with autism spiked in the 2000s and has continued growing at a fast pace. None of the suggested causes for the spike have been accepted scientifically.  The head of the Dept. of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., besides being a renowned vaccine sceptic, has promoted unproven theories of the cause of autism. 

Autism is a serious problem that has the potential of having a grave impact, not just on the individuals that have it, but the health and strength of our country because of the growing number of individuals diagnosed each year.  This problem needs to be addressed seriously, not by spending millions to further research the fringe theories.  (See my post, “The Increase in Social Media and Autism – Coincidence or Causal?”)

9/23

President Trump addressed the United Nations General Assembly today.  In a rambling 55-minute speech that seemed to have no direction other than being a platform to vent his frustrations. Among other things, he:

• accused environmentalists of wanting to “kill all the cows;”
• insulted the Muslim mayor of London;
• he said the consensus of climate change was made by “stupid people;”
• he criticized allies on a number of points; and
• he said that “your countries are going to hell.”

This is the man who campaigns on “Making America Great Again.”  Instead, this is a man who, in spite of the fear people have of him and his power, is a laughing stock to most international leaders and so has degraded the impression of the United States in the minds of the world. He is thus harming our country.

9/25

Trump moved forward with his plan to punish his enemies.  His newly appointed Federal prosecutor obtained an indictment against James Comey, the former director of the FBI.  And the DOJ issued a directive to prosecutors to investigate a group funded by George Soros.  The directive suggests possible crimes that the group could be charged with and suggests that the DOJ is following orders from the President.  

These are yet more instances of Trump using the power of the Federal government to harass and punish his enemies.  This from a man who charged Biden with weaponizing the DOJ against him. Whatever any former President may have done to use the government to carry out political retribution, Trump has raised the practice 10-fold.

9/26

Trump’s Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced today that the Medals of Honor awarded to soldiers for the valor they showed in the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre would not be revoked, citing the recommendation of a panel that had reviewed the matter during the end of the Biden administration.  Not only would they not be revoked, but Hegseth he was making clear that they “deserved” the medal.

This was a massacre of mostly-unarmed men, women, and children, that the military had detained.  No matter if the massacre was the result of a military order that was valid at the time, this was a crime against humanity that no order or current more can excuse.  The American government and military made that very clear at the Nuremberg Trials after the end of WWII.

Not satisfied with the tariffs he’s already imposed, Trump announced new tariffs of 25-100% on various items: for example, a 50 percent tariff on imported kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities and associated products, along with a 30 percent tariff on imported upholstered furniture and a 25 percent tariff on foreign semi trucks.

These tariffs, which are paid by the US importing companies, not the foreign companies where the items are produced, are frequently paid for by the companies by passing the extra tax on to the consumer.

Also, the Trump Administration has dropped the practice of the National Intelligence office issuing a Global Trends report every four years that notes threats to US security in the coming years.  Some of the warnings, especially on climate change which had become a focus of these reports, are clearly inconvenient for the administration.  As a result of this action, the US now has no analysis of future threats, which adds to the result of having no future data on pollution, and many other aspects of climate change.