Rational Nation USA

We begin the New Year with an Open Thread . Please keep it respectful!

We all know by now, or should know anyway, that DJT is a reality show POTUS. He is one who craves the attention that the media falls all over itself to give him. Trump is addicted to the limelight cable news, print media, and electronic media provide him 24/7. Bluntly stated Trump is a media whore who needs the media every bit as much, if not more, than the media needs him. From Th e Washington Post : In President Trump’s interview with the New York Times, he declared: Another reason that I’m going to win another four years is because newspapers, television, all forms of media will tank if I’m not there. Because without me, their ratings are going down the tubes. Without me, the New York Times will indeed be not the failing New York Times, but the failed New York Times. So they basically have to let me win. And eventually, probably six months before the election, they’ll be loving me because they’re saying, “Please, please, don’t lose Donald Trump.” On one level, the comment i...

Donald Trump has been obsessed with talking about the absence of any collusion between his campaign and the Russian government. We're no expert here but people that find it necessary to repeatedly, and often, defend themselves against allegations sound like they're trying to convince themselves. Which creates the thought in others that they indeed have something to worry about, and, if possible hide. From The Washington Post : You know how if you repeat a word over and over, eventually it starts to sound strange to your ear, like merely a random collection of sounds? That is apparently what President Trump is doing with the word “collusion.” Say it often enough, and perhaps it will lose all meaning. That’s just one of the things that comes through in this bizarre and disturbing interview Trump conducted at the Trump International Golf Club with Michael Schmidt of the New York Times, apparently on the spur of the moment and with no aides there to protect him. As we’ve alm...

We note that even when erring on the plus side and giving all categories the +2.9% only Republicans and White Evangelicals approve of the way Trump is handling his job as of November 2017. The trend line has been heading south (in all categories) since February 2017 and there are no indications that will change anytime soon. Hopefully the American people continue to grow in understanding Trump lacks maturity, understanding, integrity, vision, and so much more. As leader and head of the Republican party it is deserving of absorbing the disillusionment of the majority of the American people in 2018 and 2020. Article BELOW THE FOLD .

A most truthful statement. Found on a consevative weblog . In this age of Trumpisms a lie is the truth, even when its not . Just ask 30%-40% of Americans that continue to supprt the BLOTUS.

Trump is reshaping America's role internationally. Do the possible perils in doing so outweigh the perceived benefits? The Atlantic - When great powers fade, as they inevitably must, it’s normally for one of two reasons. Some powers exhaust themselves through overreach abroad, underinvestment at home, or a mixture of the two. This was the case for the Soviet Union. Other powers lose their privileged position with the emergence of new, stronger powers. This describes what happened with France and Great Britain in the case of Germany’s emergence after World War I and, more benignly, with the European powers and the rise of the United States during and after World War II. To some extent America is facing a version of this—amid what Fareed Zakaria has dubbed “the rise of the rest”—with China’s ascendance the most significant development. But the United States has now introduced a third means by which a major power forfeits international advantage. It is abdication, the voluntary r...

When the Republican Party’s current coalition falls apart, those who stood up to bigotry will be the only ones with the credibility to rebuild. Excerpt from The Atlantic . Conservatives and republicans need to read, reread, and fully understand the following as well as the ramifications of their failure to stand for right rather than the misguiuded right wing of their party . Of course, Trump has presided over many policy failures. Any president could pass a tax bill or confirm federal judges given a Senate and House that is controlled by their party. And Trump’s tax bill failed to simplify the system while his federal court appointments include embarrassingly unqualified choices. But even without those caveats to the two policy achievements that conservatives cite most often, there are sound reasons to justify opposition from Never Trumpers. Some relate to incompetence, others to lack of transparency. And the most important and damning traits that distinguish Trump from hi...

A Very Merry and Safe Holiday To ALL .