Enough of Trump

My son Marc, who lives in Florida, stopped here last week as he often does on his way to conduct business in Hampton Roads. Our tongues loosened by an after-dinner digestif, we wasted no time getting into a sometimes heated discussion about Donald Trump. Marc is avid supporter, but I'm not.

It's easy to understand why a quarter of Republicans polled have bought into Trump's aggressive approach. His frank comments resonate with voters who are fed up with Washington politicians and want somebody who will confront our adversaries abroad. Heaven knows we need someone who will reverse Obama's devastating domestic policies and restore America's standing in the world. But I want more than bluster and arrogance; I want to know specifically what Trump has in mind before I jump on his bandwagon, and so far he has offered little in the way of specifics.

Trump wants to send all illegals back to where they came from, but the sketchy program he has offered is totally impractical and unaffordable, not to mention devastating for targeted families; Trump clearly has not thought this policy through. As for building a wall on our southern border and getting Mexico to pay for it, only a person with Trump's ego would ever set such an unrealistic goal.

Many policy proposals are coming from Trump's primary opponents. Even if we don't agree with all of them, they present serious issues that deserve consideration. Bush on education, Walker on Social Security, Perry on immigration, Christie on terrorism, Jindal on healthcare, Paul on cyber security, Rubio on China, Cruz on taxes, and so on. Trump, for his part, has yet to give us specifics on any of these policy issues.

Trump gets a lot of air time, but he wastes it bragging about how rich he is, how many friends he has, and how many hotels he has built. Many of us are getting a little tired of his insults, too; calling people stupid and incompetent may resonate with an angry electorate, but it is not what we need to hear.

My son says that when Trump is president he will surround himself with smart people who will bring the necessary expertise to the table. Maybe so. But Trump, like Obama, thinks he is the smartest person in the world and, like Obama, is not likely to take anybody else's advice. As for me, I've had enough of narcissists in the White House.

Help Prevent Genocide

Genocide, to me, is the ugliest word in the English language.

Among all the animals on this planet, we humans are the most violent, the most murderous. We can rail against homicide in the streets or the killing of innocents in abortion clinics—and we do every day--but no atrocity is greater in scope or horror than the systematic extermination of a people for its ethnic identity or its religious beliefs.

Armenians, Jews, Cambodians, Ugandans and many others have been mass victims of monsters. But genocide is not a thing of the past. It is going on every day in many regions of the world, but particularly in the Middle East at the hands of Muslim fanatics. Yazidis, Druze, and Assyrian Christians in Syria and Copts in Egypt are all facing extinction. We read almost daily of beheadings, incinerations, and crucifixions of these people. Yet, we rarely hear of efforts to protect them or to save them.

There are some voices crying out in the wilderness, but we don't hear them, because we are too preoccupied with presidential primaries, falling stock prices, or the latest sex scandal. Pope Francis has spoken out against Christian persecution, but I have yet to hear his words repeated in my church, and I suspect not much is being said in other local churches either. I hope I'm wrong. As for our politicians, they're too preoccupied with preventing illegal immigration at our southern border to think of helping desperate people abroad.

The strange thing is that we have given safe haven to millions of Muslim immigrants and refugees in this country, but virtually none, for example, to Syrian Christians who have been displaced by persecution and are seeking our help. Poland is one of the few countries with programs that actively welcome Christian refugees. Why can't the United States do the same?

Disgusted

    As an American I was appalled and disgusted by President Obama equating America-hating Iranian mullahs with Republicans just because they disagree with him. This was the most outrageously repugnant statement Obama has ever made. And he doubled-down on it the very next day! All Americans, Democrats as well as Republicans, should condemn such malicious divisiveness.

    When I listen to President Obama touting his Iran deal as the only alternative to war, I am reminded of a famous description of Communist sympathizers as people with a bottomless human capacity for self-deception. In Obama's case is it something worse?
    In caving in to all of Iran's demands, Obama has failed to discharge his primary duty as president, the defense of America against all enemies foreign and domestic. His agreement with Iran guarantees that America's foremost enemy will have a nuclear bomb. It further guarantees that Iran will acquire the missile technology to deliver it. With the lifting of sanctions, Iran will also have the funds to continue funding terrorism. In short, Obama has given Iran a license to eradicate Israel and to continue killing Americans. If treason is defined as giving aid and comfort to the enemy, then Obama, by definition, is a traitor.
    Dr. Ben Carson, who knows something about medicine, recently said that ObamaCare was the worst mistake this country has ever made. Dr. Carson was wrong. The worst mistake we've ever made was electing Barack Obama to the presidency.

No to Turbines

     My friend Marty Drees was absolutely correct in his recent letter about the negative impact of wind farms. Construction of wind farms in Perquimans County would be a big mistake. If there is any way to do it, the project should be stopped. 

     I remember seeing a forest of these windmills near Palm Springs, California. I thought they were ugly and a blot on an otherwise lovely landscape. I imagine that the 600-foot tall monsters to be built here will be even uglier. And noisier. And not very efficient in an area not noted for high winds. 

     And I'm wondering why we haven't heard from naturalists. Wind turbines are responsible for killing thousands of migrating birds every year. Who will get the job of picking up the carcasses of eagles, ospreys, and falcons at the foot of our turbines? Turkey buzzards? Not likely—they will be among the victims, too.