Electile Dysfunction (Current students plz look!)

[ScottyB]

I guess I'm just jaded enough that I assume most cabinet positions have things like donor or lobby status taken into account for their appointment.

and i don't blame you. i expect every president to work that way in some capacity, because politics. i'm just saying i've never seen it this bad, and i've also never seen such an exodus of qualified, decorated senior appointees leave under duress (Mattis) or come under direct fire for not bowing to complete ignorance (Fauci). you don't end up with 8 of your closest presidential associates charged with serious federal crimes if you aren't actively attempting to subvert the position, and i've never seen such an attempt before.

again - what is an institution, really? is it equality? prosperity? freedom? upholding the amendments, and in what form? how far does one have to read between the lines of individual offenses to compile an overall picture of widespread incompetence that disregards those institutions? i'm not entirely sure, but i know in my adult life i've never seen an overall picture quite this flagrant.

I just want to know who they are and what specific harm has befallen them at his command.

well my nextdoor neighbor's 71 year old father was a healthy man, and then died in 3 weeks from COVID. they had gone to Florida because they were told COVID was no big deal and was under control, by the president. Trump said a couple days ago "almost nobody's died"....200k nobodies, and rising. is COVID's existence Trumps fault? nope. is his lack of leadership during COVID directly responsible for more dead Americans than we should have had? i don't see how it isn't.

i feel like the dismissal of anything other than hand-picked news sources (i.e. Fox) has affected everyone's ability to understand the truth, and to wage a war against the free press is in conflict with 1A IMO.

i've never seen so much abject racism in my adult life as i have since 2016, and i think it started with the C'ville riot response. its not just Trump's inherent racism that's a problem, its his willingness to enflame conflict and division (which is in large part due to his textbook narcissism and urge to be the center of attention, good or bad). his cult followers confuse it with being "straightforward" or "winning" - both characteristics to be celebrated in the right context - when its just straight up ignorance, and they in turn take this as a green light to take the restraints off their own behavior. Trust me, here in GA, it was under the surface the whole time but its really out there now and i see a celebration of that as harm to my community's pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness.

or, i'd ask a non-white person what they feel Trump has improved in their lives over the last 4 years. are we a more perfect union? how would true leadership accomplish that, and what attempts were made lately?

is his lack of transparency and constant urge to obstruct others an affect on me, personally? its a stretch really. is constantly attempting to silence critics, the inability to accept expert direction, and lately the manic attempts to stop the release of his taxes the same as preventing the American people with knowing the truth, and therefore making an informed decision?



anyway. my 4.3 cents. we'll never have a truly "good" person as president, i'm sure of it. there's always baggage, and always favors to give. but i think we're at a high water mark right now, and i think the fallout has made our people worse for it.