Clueless

I was flabbergasted when I learned that the unemployment rate actually dropped from near 15 percent to 13 percent in May, which sent the stock market going closer to its record high from earlier this year, as if COVID-19 had never happened.   Needless to say, I knew that Trump was going to try to spin all of this supposedly good news to his advantage.  After all, many if not most of the 2.5 million jobs added in May were in fact furloughed jobs that their former occupants were returning to.  Many people don't profit from the stock market.  And while the overall unemployment rate was down the rate of black unemployment was up - a sobering fact in the wake of George Floyd's killing.  But I knew Trump would spin this news as a positive thing and make himself stronger among registered voters to get an edge over Joe Biden, who inspires less passion among voters than Trump and can't even motivate the Democratic base the way that Barack Obama could.

But then Trump made everyone realize why it was important to vote for Biden.  With the demonstrations protesting police brutality toward black citizens continuing unabated, Trump actually tried to tie Floyd's death to the supposedly improved economy. 

"Hopefully," Trump said this past Friday, "George is looking down right now and saying, 'This is a great thing that's happening for our country.'  It's a great day for him, it's a great day for everybody. It's a great day for everybody. This is a great, great day."

First of all, this past Friday was not a great day for anybody.  With demonstrations in the streets, people dying from COVID-19, and millions of people out of work, it was a horrible day.  It was certainly not a great day for George Floyd - because he's dead!  And he's dead because of the police brutality Trump himself has encouraged since he moved into his current digs in Washington.  And it's hardly a great day for black Americans who have at least had the good fortune of not being killed by overbearing police officers, because, as noted, the unemployment rate for them is up.  When PBS's Yamiche Alcindor and other White House reporters asked how that last point of fact could be considered a "victory," Trump replied, "You are something."

I don't know how he gets away with saying that without standing in front of a mirror.

I've seen people out of touch with reality before, but I don't think Trump is even in touch with this dimension.

Again, I can't say any more . . .

Change We Can't Believe In

For those wondering when Barack Obama would reach the point of irrelevance, the suspense ended with his descent into it this week.  First of all, he tried to schedule his much-ballyhooed jobs speech before Congress next week on Wednesday, September 7, to give the Republican presidential candidates (who are debating on MSNBC that night) some politically charged competition.  House Speaker John Boehner said no, though, and so the President gave in (again) and agreed to have the speech the following night . . . at 7 P.M., when few people even bother to watch political speeches - especially when more attention will be paid to the opening of the 2011-12 football season with a game between the Green Bay Packers and the New Orleans Saints that night.

Also, President Obama overruled his own Environmental Protection Agency leadership and decided not to implement anti-smog regulations, saying they would adversely affect the economy and would be too costly. This sounds like something a President McCain would have said and something a President Reagan did say. (Reagan vetoed a clean water bill in 1987 citing the cost involved; his veto was overridden.)

Finally, the economy is not improving. A net gain of zero jobs - zero, nothing, nada - was created during the month of August 2011, and the President's jobs speech - for which expectations have already been lowered by several thousand feet - is almost certain to be a major letdown, likely offering few if any new and inspiring ideas.

So, it appears that there's a lot that Obama simply cannot and will not attempt to do, anything he has done hasn't been been enough, and what he has accomplished will be torn out by the roots when President Perry takes over in 2013.

Please don't bang your head against your PC monitor, dear reader . . ..