Category: Living in Society

I’ve been sleeping soundly since the 45th President of the United States was inaugurated Jan. 20.

It’s not for reassurances from the new administration chosen by millions of Americans. Quite the opposite.

The stress I felt after the election got to be unbearable, stymieing almost every activity.

Resolution came from talking with scores of people I know, sometimes about the election and sometimes not. Family, close friends, co-workers, and neighbors were all engaged. Today, normal sleep patterns have returned enabling strength in coming weeks and months.

The roll-out of 45’s agenda has been predictable and steady. It seems similar to 43, especially with the efforts to control communications between the federal government and the public. Whether or not the White House will censor and alter information presented by key administration officials is an open issue. It is one thing to take down web sites and social media accounts, and quite another to censor what is said by administration officials going forward.

I attended a public health conference in Columbus, Ohio after the Bush administration where Dr. Julie Gerberding, 43’s former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explained the process required to give a public speech about her department’s work. The text of the speech was to be reviewed by the White House communications office, she said, which exercised editorial rights to make sure it was consistent with administration messaging. Dr. Gerberding disagreed with some edits, expressing dissatisfaction with the process. She remained loyal to the president until asked to resign effective Jan. 20, 2009 when Barack Obama was inaugurated.

In 2007, Al Gore published The Assault on Reason which documents the use of information control as a political tool by the Bush administration. He details actions by the administration that seem familiar ten years later: lies and disinformation told prior to the Invasion of Iraq; ExxonMobil’s climate change pseudo-studies released in response to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report; and suppression and intimidation of corporate media outlets. The book is a primer on what happened then and what to expect from the Trump administration.

Yesterday’s Associate Press interview with Douglas Ericksen is helpful in understanding 45’s approach to information control:

The Trump administration is scrutinizing studies and data published by scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency, while new work is under a “temporary hold” before it can be released.

The communications director for President Donald Trump’s transition team at EPA, Doug Ericksen, said Wednesday the review extends to all existing content on the federal agency’s website, including details of scientific evidence showing that the Earth’s climate is warming and man-made carbon emissions are to blame.

Ericksen said there was no mandate to subject studies or data (at EPA) to political review, according to Associated Press. So the question has been asked and answered. In the shifting sands of Trumpworld, there is no assurance this position will hold.

I’m not going to lose sleep over the administration’s roll out.

I agree with John Podhoretz who wrote, “If every word out of Donald Trump’s mouth is greeted with shrieks of horror and rage and anger and despair and hysteria by his opponents, they are going to find it impossible to serve as any kind of effective opposition to him.”

Oppose, we must. So I am coping with 45 by relieving stress and sleeping better. It’s all part of sustaininability in a turbulent world.

The Obama administration has been personal, beginning with meeting him in the rope line at the 2006 Harkin Steak Fry where I took this photo with my flip phone.

I haven’t agreed with him on some issues, particularly with his prosecution of our ongoing wars and expansion of spending on the nuclear complex. In the end, he is a Democrat and so am I. We share more values than I probably realize.

People have oddly moved on from the fact he wouldn’t name the successor to Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. This blocking play was a legitimate use of power that created injustice not only for President Obama but for us all.

Godspeed Barack Obama. Thank you for your work. We expect more great things from you during the coming years.

Coping with Donald Trump during the next four years will require critical thinking and teamwork.

Our legitimate yet imperfect electoral process took the next step yesterday. A joint session of the U.S. Congress counted the electoral votes and determined Trump won the general election. All that remains is the Jan. 20 swearing-in ceremony, after which he will be the 45th President of the United States.

I would never have predicted writing such words. I still feel a little numb after the election and that’s a good thing. Our nation survived Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Richard Nixon and George W. Bush. We will survive Donald J. Trump.

If I got upset last week, it was after seeing this photograph of Trump’s nominee to be administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency with Iowa’s junior U.S. Senator. It served as a reminder that the figurehead at the top of the administration is less important than the work being done by his employees and appointees. Scott Pruitt is expected to dismantle much of the Obama administration’s work to protect the environment at EPA, including the Clean Power Plan.

As ridiculous and petty as many of Trump’s public statements seem, his government will be no trivial threat to everything we hold dear. It’s clear where the government will be going under 45: rolling back progressive initiatives since the New Deal in a full court press.

To cope with Trump’s presidency, and to keep my sanity and mental health, it is critical to watch, listen and learn about his and his minions’ efforts. It is equally important to evaluate his opponents’ arguments and actions, and keep my own powder dry so I’m able to use my limited resources effectively.

I’m ready to take action to defend our progressive way of life. I’m not willing to randomly select points of outrage driven by Trump’s effective management of corporate media.

The key to perseverance in Trumpworld is to first take care of oneself. Without that, effectiveness in resistance would be diminished. I am ready for Trumpworld knowing I’m not alone in feeling this way.

At noon today the 115th Congress will be sworn in.

Overnight House Republicans voted to hobble the independent Office of Congressional Ethics in the name of due process for members and their staff suspected of criminal or unethical behavior.

Seeming to have forgotten high-profile cases that led to the creation of the office in 2008, the move seems brazen, craven, even traitorous. That the action was taken in the middle of the night without any Democrats present provides the flavor of what’s to come during the next two years.

The first order of business in the 115th Congress is expected to be repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, something House Republicans have voted to do scores of times since the bill became law. Members favoring the move appear to have no clue what to do about the political blow back such an action is expected to bring.

On Friday, Jan. 20, President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 45th president but Trumpworld has already begun.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Later in the day, House Republicans abandoned proposed changes to the OCE. Media reports indicate there was a blizzard of negative public reaction directed at congressional offices once the secret meeting became public. Two positive things about this: the news media reported the story quickly, and public reaction was evidence that contacting one’s representative can move the needle on such egregious actions.