Why I love the God Emperor Trump

There hasn’t been as consequential OR polarizing political figure in my lifetime. One of the questions I get often is why, oh why do you like President Trump so much. He’s a con man, a fraud, and only in it for himself. He’s made negative comments about women, is uncouth, a bully, too politically incorrect and basically unfit to hold the highest office in the land.

So why is it that I and millions of others are such fans of his?

Well, here it is. Most of my adult life I was inundated with media messages that were one sided. I grew up enjoying hunting and fishing and the outdoors. I grew up with guns and enjoyed them for target shooting, hunting and when I was older self defense. Yet, from the age of 12 practically all the messages I saw on TV or in newspapers or magazines were negative. Abortion was covered much the same way. I’m where most Americans are on that topic. Not a huge fan, but it shouldn’t be illegal in the first trimester. It’s just not something I think should be glorified. And yet, the media rarely if ever presents an accurate view of the majority view of Americans. Climate change is another issue that rarely gets a fair presentation. It’s become a religious debate between heretics who don’t fully believe and those who think the world as we know it will end. And on and on it goes.

With all these different issues there were very few people with a national voice to stand up for the side of those who were and are generally voiceless. I often use Clint Eastwood’s epic western “The Outlaw Jose Wales” when discussing the President. It’s a story of a farmer whose family is killed by outlaws from the North after the Civil war. He joins a resistance group who is fighting the mercenaries from the North only to have them machine gunned after being putting their weapons down and surrendering. He then becomes a wanted fugitive running from them across the country and defeating his pursuers time and time again. He has a young sidekick whose constant refrain is “You whooped them again Jose”.

The President is our Jose Wales. Time and time again the media has thought they had him boxed in, he was done, completely over and on his last political breath. And time and time again he comes back to beat them. To overcome overwhelming odds. To whoop them again.

For me there is also another pop culture reference. I grew up in the punk rock era. The music was rebellious, at odds with mainstream narratives and despised group think. While I wasn’t looking for Anarchy in the UK like the Sex Pistols the message stuck. Question authority, question conventional norms and most importantly be an individual. Be bold and brave and unafraid of having your views challenged. Never be bullied into a particular view, always ask questions and never trust those in authority completely.

Today, to support President Trump is a punk rock position. The easy stance is to despise, dislike, and attack him and those like me who support him. You’ll be applauded and cheered on for such a bold position. But is it bold to toe the line that those in authority want? Is it bold to limit speech? Is it bold to want war with Russia? Is it bold to declare allegiance to huge tech companies? My position and those of all the deplorables is that it’s a supplicating, suffocating and a mistake of the highest order. We don’t want to be told what to do, think, how to speak or act. We believe in freedom. We believe in the individual. We believe that no one should restrict our freedom especially our tech overlords. I don’t want a narrative crammed down my throat and I’m guessing you don’t either.

Issue by issue our leaders have been wrong. Whether endless wars in the Gulf and around the world, the housing crisis that was in large part created by government programs that although had good intent had horrible consequences, outsourcing jobs from the US in the quest for ever lower labor costs they have proven time and again that they have NO idea what they are doing. They have long lost any connection to most Americans and are beholden to large corporate interests. The little man is just that. Little, with almost no ability to do anything other than go along for the ride.

This changed the day Donald Trump began campaigning. He was a former democrat, a NYC billionaire, a man with dozens of girlfriends and known as a playboy. Yet, he was able to connect with the average voter like me in the parts of America that are laughed at by those in Los Angeles or NYC. We were mocked and not even behind our backs. It was directly to our faces. Our views were denigrated, we were personally attacked. Homophobe, xenophobe, transphobe, nazi, hater, etc. Day in and day out we had leaders who wouldn’t defend our views even though they were elected for that reason. Day in and day out the media laughed and joked at our expense. No one stood up to the hoards. No one, that is, until Trump came down the escalator.

I love Trump because he stands unafraid of the mobs that come for him. He is unafraid of the Wall Street lobbyists who told us that America’s best days were behind us. He is unafraid of the media morons who are simply highly paid democrat shills. He is unafraid of the warmongers who have wrecked the Middle East. He is unafraid of the deep state bureaucrats who hold all the power and enough data to destroy almost anyone. He is unafraid to put the interests of America first.

For those simple reasons he is a hero of mine. He is the man who comes to town defeating powerful interests in favor of the unheard and unappreciated man and woman. He suffers the slings and arrows for the benefit of you and me. He is an iconic figure that has forever changed the nature of politics. He will be talked for years to come as the one man who took on everything when he had no reason to do so other than his love for America. So, yeah, I love our God Emperor Trump along with millions of other Americans.

The democrats are playing for our side!

There could not be anything more helpful to republicans than the current craziness that is going on in the democrat party. With their current call for socialism, third trimester abortions, gun control and increased taxes and regulations they seem to be getting further and further out of the mainstream. Add in their religious like belief in intersectionality and you get a party that is no longer relevant to most Americans. Even those who would consider themselves to be liberal are feeling increasingly left out.

While they move towards more extreme positions the Trump republican party has a firm grasp on the center politically. Our President has an intuitive feel for where most of America comes down on these issues, even if the establishment of the party doesn’t. He knows that controlling illegal immigration is an important issue for a large swath of Americans. Also that lower taxes, less regulations and reasonable restraints on abortion are where most people fall politically.

What has been interesting is the shift between republicans and democrats on free speech and war. Democrats used to be the party of free expression and have abandoned that in favor of restricting speech that which they disagree with. This is evident at universities, in the media generally and certainly on social media. The Republicans are now the party of free speech. It’s a huge change from the days of the religious right attempting to control expression. It will be increasingly important for the republicans to be champions of free expression to survive as a party and to use as a unifying factor for Americans.

The democrats have also become the party of continual war and have assumed the position that the neocons have consistently advocated for. It’s amazing to see Bill Kristol and the dems having so much agreement and certainly calls into question the judgement to value him a a “thought leader” for so many years. The dems firmly believe that overthrowing leaders that are problematic and installing “democracy” is the way to go even after the failures in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya among others. It’s been a disaster for the people in those countries, for our service members and a massive expense for the taxpayers in the US.

Amazon pulling out of NY is the latest concrete example of the effect that the drift towards socialism has had. The debate over the tax inducements became so intense that Amazon took their ball and went home along with 25,000 jobs. The far left wing of the democrat party were incensed that tax breaks were offered to Amazon to get them to choose Long Island City as there latest home. Somehow they missed the huge number of jobs and the resulting additional business that would be created. Think restaurants, dry cleaners, grocery stores, real estate, auto sales and repair, etc. Because they were ONLY focused on the tax breaks that were offered they missed the massive economic potential of the deal overall.

This brings us to what to do as the dems get nuttier and nuttier. First - when you hear the latest wacky proposal from them you should cheer them on. The wackier and crazier they get the better the chances for rational and intelligent proposals. Second - you should share their craziness far and wide. They do NOT represent the majority of Americans. So, when you hear the democrats talk of the latest third trimester abortion plan, or getting rid of air travel, or pushing for much higher taxes amplify that message.

Build that wall?

Every week or so the pundits in the media find something else to shriek about.  Over the last couple of months it's been the North Korea summit, the NATO meeting, the meeting with Vladimir Putin and now the threat to shut down the government if there is no funding for the wall.  It's like watching Groundhog Day.  You would think the hosts and pundits were reliving every controversy as if it was their first.  There is no acknowledgement that they have seen how this plays out.     

Look, here's how it works.  President Trump goes in hard and says things that shock the DC establishment.  Recently,  there was a hue and cry over the threat to shut the government down if an immigration deal doesn't come to pass.  This is an interesting example because a majority of Americans public believe that illegal immigration is an issue that should be fixed.  80% of Americans want a secure border and 54% want some kind of physical barrier based on a recent Harvard Harris poll.  Building a wall is a commonsense answer.  Just ask Mark Zuckerberg or President Obama. They have nice walls around their homes.   The elites are well aware that walls are an effective way to keep people out and provide needed security.  

Interestingly,  the very people who live behind the security that walls provide are loath to provide the same security to the the cititzens of the United States.  It's anathema to both the Republicans who want the cheap labor and the Democrats who want the future voters.  However, the will of the people is clear as the polls show.  Americans want better controls on immigration. Donald Trump was elected on a few specific issues.  The biggest was the promise to build a wall.  The odd part of the immigration debate is that an illegal act: crossing into another country without proper authorization is treated as an act of heroism.  

We hear from the Democrats that these are refugees fleeing horrible conditions in their own countries.  And that is true in some cases.  The highest murder rates in the world are in Central America.  It's a mess and has been a for a long time.  The countries have suffered from poor leadership and a tiny group of people who have profited from the political situation.  It's not a problem that is easily solvable.  There are nearly 43 million people in Central America.  Mexico has roughly 128 million people. Simply migrating the entire population of the region to the United States isn't in the cards.

Think of our policy in the middle east.  We have spent TRILLIONS on destroying and then rebuilding countries like Afghanistan and Iraq.  The goal was to remove a dictator who fell afoul of US foreign policy in Iraq or to stamp out radical Islamist forces in Afghanistan.  These countries are thousands of miles away.  Afghanistan isn't a country that will be redeveloped to western standards in my lifetime. Iraq is a sectarian disaster currently with the Shia, Sunnis and the Kurds fighting it out. Yet, countries that are close enough for people to literally walk to the United States are seemingly forgotten. 

Perhaps instead of focusing on far away places we should focus closer to home.  Mexico is one of our biggest trading partners and has enormous potential.  Yet, it is a country beset by crime on a scale that we simple can't imagine.  The journalists brave enough to report on the cartel violence have been killed and the others who value their life have been paid off.  The same goes for their politicians. If you are presented with the option of truth telling and being assassinated the safe bet is to opt for safety.  Most of us would.   

Most of those who emigrate from Central America would prefer to stay in their home country.  Generally, there are a few individuals who are bold enough to move to a country with a different culture and language.  Because of the nature of this type of move it's anomalous.  It takes a brave and hearty person to upend their entire life and go someplace new and different.  The simple fact that so many people are willing to make this tremendous transition indicates extremely troubling times in their home countries.  The question is what can we do to help or can we help at all?

Americans are a giving people.  We have a generous spirit and are accepting of peoples from all across the globe who want to participate in the American experiment.  We are also believers in fairness and equality under the law.  The main problem Americans have with illegal immigration is the fact that it is illegal.  It's much less about the ethnicity that the open borders folks would have you believe.   Most of the people on the Trump side are FOR immigration.  What we do want is a systematized, orderly process for bringing in the people that we need.  As a country it should be our needs that hold priority.  There are billions of people who are impoverished and millions who live in war torn areas across the globe.  We simply can't accept them all.  There is such a thing as the accident of your birth place.  It's a shame, but a reality that won't change.

That the elites are fighting the will of the American people is interesting.  We see all of our supposed betters lecturing us on why we are morally deficient.  But we live in a republic.  The will of the people is expressed through our elected representatives.  Ultimately, the question is whose will are they going to represent?  Will it be the multinational corporations and the chamber of commerce who donate heavily to the Republican party?  Will it be the elites of the Democrat party who believe that their path to power is based on the explosive growth demographics of the new immigrants?  Or will it be the American people who love all people, but who know that OUR benefit should be the first consideration.  Time will tell. 

Fake news fact checking

Recently, we've seen the controversy with Facebook and Twitter in their quest to eliminate  "fake news".   These big platforms are currently working to separate out the "legitimate" news from the supposed fake. But what does that really mean?   What is fake news?  Certainly, the world of news is different than it used to be.  Anyone over the age of 40 remembers three network channels and prominent national newspapers and magazines.  Think of Time and Newsweek and the The New York Times and ABC.  In the past these few media arms controlled the majority of what people learned about.  The presentation was tightly controlled to project certain narratives.  You were told what to pay attention to and how to feel about it.  There was very little balance in the presentation of certain topics. 

Abortion and gun control are the easiest examples. When was the last time you recall a major media source presenting the pro-gun or pro-life side of those debates?  Those sides are never presented and if they are it's a few lines buried deep in the article to ostensibly provide balance to the piece.   There is a mainstream/democrat view of both gun control and abortion that is the ONE TRUE NARRATIVE. Contrary thought is rejected as either a sop to religion in the case of abortion or a sop to historical anachronism in the case of the 2nd amendment.  Both are rejected out of hand, yet roughly half of the country in the case of abortion or higher in the case of gun control Americans hold the opposite view.  Their voices had rarely been given a platform until recently.

Today we have YouTube, Twitter, and thousands of websites and blogs.  The narrative has been irrevocably changed.  Today no matter what the issue you can find similar thoughts and minds.  The news calls this a bubble.   What they fail to realize is that we were living in their bubble before.  Today we get to choose our own.  Journalism is supposed to be a presentation of fact.  Who, what, when, where, why.   It's purpose is to inform on issues or events that are generally of interest to the public.  With the facts laid out the public should have a clearer understanding of why decisions were made or how certain events transpired.   Mainstream journalism today is the same as it's always been: presenting opinion as fact based on a selective use of narratives.  The difference is that control has been lost by the former arbiters of thought.  

Facebook is hiring 20,000 people to provide fact checking as well as security against foreign interests with ill intent. They are targeting fake news and propaganda.  But what is fake news.  If I believe in national sovereignty and the value of borders does that make me fake?  If I can see reason to believe in a world that doesn't revolve around war and only fighting for a legitimate national interest does that make me fake?  No, those are my opinions.  They just conflict with the mainstream media narrative.  Neither are fake, but they are certainly divergent.

Fake news is something like "I had Michael Jacksons' alien baby".  Differing thoughts on economics or politics isn't fake.  It's just a difference of opinion.  What the mainstream media hates about today's environment is that YOUR voice matters as much as theirs.  You have platforms to express your ideas and can challenge their narrative.  It is an age where citizens control their own narrative.  This is what the outrage of the media reveals.  They hate the fact that you may find alternate sources of news that completely bypass them. 

The success of people on YouTube and Twitter to form their own narratives has given heartburn to those who manage those platforms.  They again see divergent opinions as a threat to the narrative that THEY want to be magnified.  Deplatforming, shadowbanning as well as outright banning for relatively innocuous but conservative views is common.  The fake news they complain so loudly about is simply an alternative view of the world which runs counter to their beliefs.   With the fervent belief that Russia hacked the election in 2016 there is enormous pressure to protect us from nefarious interlopers.  It also provides the perfect cover for trying to eliminate views that are contrary to the narrative they espouse.  

The battle over fake news is less about the news and much more about whose version of reality will prevail.  In the marketplace of ideas it's always better to have more rather than fewer.  One look at the success of Jordan Peterson's current world wide tour shows that people are hungry for complicated thought provoking ideas.  Joe Rogan and his 1,000,000 subscribers has also shown the desire for long form interviews that provide a much deeper conversation and allows for greater context to be developed. 

The new media is a powerful new way to express ideas.  The fake news witch hunt is a direct response to the influence that these new platforms offer. Yet, it's vitally important that all ideas have the ability to be expressed.   The essence of our republic is an informed public and healthy debate.  There is fake news out there.  However, most of what is labeled that today doesn't fit the definition.  The debate over fake news is really about free speech and should be treated as such. The 1st amendment prevents the govenrnment from suppressing ideas they find distasteful.  Companies with billions of users should abide by the same principles.