Saturday, November 26, 2016

Election Lemonade

Election Lemonade

Let us look at the good side of the US "election." It was 180º opposite to the “elections” of Joseph Stalin, where you could only vote yes for the one candidate. In the recent US “election,” there were more votes against the candidates of the two major parties than for one or the other. Lawn signs advised “Anybody but Clinton” or “Anybody but Trump.” 

Now that Donald Trump has won, and received the congratulations of Vladimir Putin (formerly of the KGB)‚ why couldn't Trump and Putin celebrate their newfound friendship with a Deal?  And why not also Kim Jong Un?  Our new bumper stickers could be: 'Make Deals, Not War.' The Donald is the self-proclaimed Master of the Art of the Deal. Let’s hold him to it.

In North Korea, Kim Jong Un may not be as crazy as he seems. He doesn’t seem to want to lie down and play dead before threats from Washington, whether Republican or Democrat. And, he does have nuclear weapons, if only about three all told. [That’s 50% more than the US had as a result of the Manhattan Project.] He may just be trying to parlay those few into a peace treaty. You mean the Korean War is not over, only at the armistice stage? Yes, just a cease-fire, no peace treaty has ever been signed. The Kim Jong family, father and son, have offered to dismantle all nuclear testing and uranium enrichment in return for a peace treaty. Perhaps, the Korean War can finally be ended with a Deal.

Right up to November 2016, the US has been making ‘overflights’ through North Korean airspace with B2 bombers. We are holding war exercises practically right up  to the DMZ. It’s time for, not contention, but cooperation. Donald Trump  and Kim Jong Un even see eye to eye as to lifestyle. Kim has a taste for fine French brandy, and he has an eye for pretty young damsels, much as the Donald does. After Donald arrives in Pyongyang with well selected embassadresses, the two can sit down over a VSOP smooth brandy or two and make a permanent Deal. Nixon already set a precedent with China. We can show that we’re serious, not by ‘modernizing’ our own nuclear arsenal of nuclear missiles and bombs, but by dismantling 90% of them. That would still leave ten — enough [in Churchill’s words] to make the rubble bounce. Trump’s friend Putin would need no convincing to do the same. That 90% reduction would set the standard for India and Pakistan — a diplomatic impossibility up to now.

Back home in Washington DC, if any political types incur the displeasure of Commander in Chief Donald, he would not hesitate to say, “You’re fired!” On Jan 20, 2017, when he is sworn in as President, that dictum can be applied to the CIA, the first agency that ran the drone program, and of which Barack Obama has said, “The CIA gets what it wants.” The Donald will be able to trump not only the CIA but also the FBI, the NSA, and the whole Pentagon, if need be.

He already has an avid group of inspectors general in the existential circle of whistleblowers, which Obama has tried to jail or intimidate out of existence. Our Number One Whistleblower, Edward Snowdon, is under the protection of Vladimir Putin, Trump’s friend.  What a development! 

The rest of us already have the precedent of candidate Trump speaking his mind without inhibition. Let us follow his example by addressing contentious issues, with only our conscience to guide us. May the moral compasses of We the People be a reliable model for our politicians to follow.

There is, however, a disturbing negative to Donald Trump as President. The Donald thinks that a) Global Warming is a myth, b) there’s no shortage of water in California and Texas still has plenty of oil, and c) we can continue to use fossil fuels, even coal, with impunity. The Gadfly Revelry & Research team is already working on changing his mind. Trump owns too many properties which may be at risk from Superstorms, and Trump Tower is on the island of Manhattan, not much above current sea level. Yet, Donald does not appear to be a canoeist or kayaker, which skills could some day save his life. Watch this space.