August 14, 2020
I believe Benjamin Franklin would be turning over in his grave if he could see what our “wonderful” (His claim, not mine.) President, Donald J. Trump, is doing to the United States Postal Service (USPS)! The Second Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin ‘Postmaster General’ in 1775, but the ‘Postal Service’ was not established until 1792, and finally became an officially established, department of our government, in 1872. Franklin’s main contributions— to what would eventually become the USPS with just under 500,000 employees—were; he surveyed post roads and post offices, and instituted mile markers, as far south as Virginia, introduced a simple accounting method for Postmasters, and had riders carry the mail by night as well as day to speed delivery. (The ‘Pony Express’ was established about a century later.) I remember being on the ‘Boston Post Road’ when I was a young businessman, travelling with my New England sales rep (Norris P. Sargent) in the early 1960’s. Of course I didn’t understand then why it was called by that name— but I do now. Benjamin Franklin’s annual salary was $1,000.00
And now we have another of Donald Trump’s lackeys, Mr. Louis DeJoy, who seems to know absolutely nothing about running a ‘service’ business, much less a very large and very critical service business, who Trump recently appointed as Postmaster General. Mr. DeJoy is being paid close to $300,000.00 per year to carry out Trump’s plan to destroy the Postal Service before the 2020 Presidential election so that ‘mail-in’ or ‘absentee’ ballots cannot or will not be delivered in time to be counted in that election. Benjamin Franklin and Donald Trump provide the perfect example of the difference between ‘good’ and ‘evil’. Benjamin created value, Donald destroys it.
I have an ‘ex-pat’ friend who left the USA for Canada long ago, but now lives in Mexico part time, who wonders, “Why don’t 10 or 12 million Americans with pitchforks surround the White House and don’t leave until Donald J. Trump resigns?’ I asked her, “Where would they get the pitchforks, China? She hasn’t answered, yet. I tell you that story because most of the intelligent people of the world are somewhere between laughing at the political scene here in the USA, or sick to their stomach’s, watching what is happening to our fragile democracy. We were the hope of the ‘un-free’ world until Donald J. Trump started to put intending-to-be-immigrant children in cages as they tried to cross the border into what they had hoped and expected to be a ‘welcoming’ country. Donald J. Trump is one of the most evil, stupid, idiots, I can ever imagine as ‘President’ of the United States of America. Just how he got there is going to be the ‘meat’ of comedian’s and historian’s delight for years to come, but, ‘what is he going to do next?’ and, ‘why is he going to be allowed to do it?’ has us on the edge of our collective seats—and we are going to have to stay there until we find out. I was hoping to watch Charlie Chaplin in the old movie ‘The Great Dictator’ the other night on Turner Classic Movies, for clues as to what may be coming next from the great ‘Donald’, but, my Parkinson’s Disease condition wouldn’t let me stay awake long enough to see the movie. Suffice it to write, Trump has psychiatric mental disabilities much like Adolph Hitler— which I explained in my blog #80 two weeks ago. So, it is reasonable to assume that almost anything bad, not anything good, is, most likely, to happen next.
One of the most desperate acts of an idiot-despot, afraid of losing power, is (A trumpet fanfare, please)— to start a war! Let’s hope that the Republican Senate has enough good sense and integrity remaining in that sick body of Trump enablers to prevent him from doing that. I realize that I have often been guilty of ‘wishful-thinking’ but, given the number of nuclear bombs in the hands of idiot-despots like Donald Trump, plus the certified idiot-narcissistic-sociopath that is now our President, maybe we should all be praying instead of wishful-thinking?
If Donald J. Trump believes; that anyone who has brains and wants to give him advice is an enemy and can’t be trusted (I.e., most of his ‘ex’ cabinet choices), he can lie and provide his lenders with phony statements of net worth (Deutsche Bank and all of his lenders), he can insult and demean the heads of state of our European allies, (England, France, Germany) at will, he can praise and pander-to our most vicious long-term enemies (Russia, North Korea, China), he can promise the American electorate during an election campaign that he will present his tax returns if elected but then renege on that promise throughout his term in office (over three and a half years) thus far, he can praise the white supremacists who murder blacks as ‘good people’, he can put potential immigrant children in cages, do his best to cancel DACA, and build a wall between the USA and Mexico, all to stop or cruelly limit immigration, he and his temporary henchman, John Bolton, can disband critical departments of health and pandemic research and then claim he is not responsible for our government’s failure to be prepared for the pandemic we are now experiencing, he can fire Inspectors General with impunity, he can use his office as President in any way he chooses for personal aggrandizement, and he can put his family members into critical positions as ‘advisors’ and have them paid exorbitant salaries, then— he must believe that he can do any dam thing he wants to do, both while he is in the office of President of the United States of America and to be re-elected to that office.
Good morning America, how are you? My friend, the ‘ex-pat’ Canadian now temporarily in Mexico, is probably correct. There really should be 10 to 15 million Americans with pitchforks surrounding the White House insisting that Donald J. Trump resign. I not only told my friend that we would have to get the pitchforks from China but that most of our electorate would really prefer to stay at home, in front of their TV’s, and hope (not pray) for college and professional sports to resume play, in spite of the continuing pandemic.
Of course I had to relate all of the above to Hubris. He was munching on a fresh carrot when I finished my recitation of the above. When he finished the carrot he looked at me and said, “Lou, I’ll bet you even-money that Clemson will beat Alabama if they get to play this fall. Go figure!
We settled on a ten dollar bet. Then, Hubris suggested we saddle up and go for our evening ride on the ditch banks. So, with a hearty shout of Hi Ho Hubris, Aawaay! we were on the way to what is going to be a very warm and possible rainy ride. Until next week——–
Adios amigos, and stay safe!
Lou
Copyright, August 14, 2020, Louis J. Christen