Donald Trump - The Godfather
My long-standing rule with Trump is: whatever you think about him, the truth will turn out to be worse.
Donald Trump is the godfather of an international criminal organization. His show business antics (some may say "malignant sociopathy") distracts us from the big picture of long-standing criminal activities of his immediate family and extended family of tyrants and criminals.
He is systematically dismantling the rule of law in the US, resulting in staggering profits for the Trump family and criminal associates, such as Vladimir Putin and his criminal organization. I expect Trump and company to fall, if at all, as the result of an investigation of the activities of this group (family and friends) as an organized crime family conspiring to conduct such activities as fraud, bribery, obstruction of justice and money laundering. Eventually, the sprawling assets of this organization will be seized under the RICOH legislation as proceeds of crime. Alternatively, Trump will succeed in turning the USA into a kleptocracy like is beloved Russia, Panama, Turkey, and Indonesia. This is the drama that is worth watching. The antics of Donald Trump, like those of Al Capone, are of little long-term importance. The activities of Trump's family are far more sinister and blatant than the clown show put on by "The Donald." We need an organized crime prosecution, not impeachment of the godfather.
He is systematically dismantling the rule of law in the US, resulting in staggering profits for the Trump family and criminal associates, such as Vladimir Putin and his criminal organization. I expect Trump and company to fall, if at all, as the result of an investigation of the activities of this group (family and friends) as an organized crime family conspiring to conduct such activities as fraud, bribery, obstruction of justice and money laundering. Eventually, the sprawling assets of this organization will be seized under the RICOH legislation as proceeds of crime. Alternatively, Trump will succeed in turning the USA into a kleptocracy like is beloved Russia, Panama, Turkey, and Indonesia. This is the drama that is worth watching. The antics of Donald Trump, like those of Al Capone, are of little long-term importance. The activities of Trump's family are far more sinister and blatant than the clown show put on by "The Donald." We need an organized crime prosecution, not impeachment of the godfather.
Part of the Trump drama is the way that Trump has co-opted an important segment of American craziness, sometimes referred to as the "right." Like Hitler, Trump is currently purging "his" political party of disloyal members, drawing leaders into a tightening ring of lies, conspiracy and outright lawbreaking. The Republican Party is not yet the "Party of Trump," but for Trump to succeed, it must be. It remains to be seen if America will allow itself go the way of Spain, Germany, and Italy, becoming a Fascist kleptocracy.
There are no guarantees, but my money is on the eventual triumph of the rule of law. As Churchill is rumored to have said: the Americans can be trusted to do the right thing after exhausting all the alternatives. The vast scope of Trump's activities virtually guarantees that "rats" start to trade inside information for leniency. The current trickle of rats will become a flood.
On the plus side, Trump is educating those who would pay attention to the value and vulnerability of what we call "the rule of law". This is particularly valuable at a time when the criminal elite is trying to persuade all of us that there is no such thing as facts and that all politicians are corrupt. Again, we come to the issue of "public morality" and the difference between immoral behavior and lawbreaking.
Yes, it's complicated, and there are many shades of gray. Historically, we have dealt with this through "test cases" - specific instances where the lines need to be drawn. We can thank Mr. Trump for providing us with an encyclopedia of bad behavior that will be debated long after we have gotten rid of him. We don't seem to have adequate institutional protection to prevent someone from running the Presidency of the United States as a for-profit criminal conspiracy, nor a remedy for massive intervention in an election by a hostile foreign power. It's an old idea, but nobody has so blatantly succeeded in the US before. It's worth noting that Americans usually find themselves in a slightly different position on this issue: being the hostile foreign power and installing friendly kleptocracies in foreign states. Ironically, this has led them to have a huge blind spot against the same tactics being applied to them.
The Trump success story illustrates the mistake we made when allowing corporations to be legal persons (the core idea behind the "Dragon" blog). This has allowed the profits of crime to be hidden while individuals remain anonymous. Trump corporations have repeatedly declared bankruptcy, "legally" stealing from vendors and empoyees while Trump himself floats free with his pockets full. It has also allowed virtually unlimited political donations from corporations, effectively concentrating political power in fewer and fewer hands - especially in the hands of individuals who specifically do not value the public welfare and do not wish to see public welfare to restrict their ability to pick the pockets of the public through the "free" market and ballooning debt. As I write, the Trump budget proposes to cut taxes for the rich (including the Trump family) and "corporations" while increasing taxes for the middle class and undercutting affordable medical insurance for millions. It is kleptocracy on a grand scale, enabled in large part by our decision to grant rights to corporations while shielding those who benefit from corporate profits to anonymously pocket the lion's share of the wealth created by all of society.
There are no guarantees, but my money is on the eventual triumph of the rule of law. As Churchill is rumored to have said: the Americans can be trusted to do the right thing after exhausting all the alternatives. The vast scope of Trump's activities virtually guarantees that "rats" start to trade inside information for leniency. The current trickle of rats will become a flood.
On the plus side, Trump is educating those who would pay attention to the value and vulnerability of what we call "the rule of law". This is particularly valuable at a time when the criminal elite is trying to persuade all of us that there is no such thing as facts and that all politicians are corrupt. Again, we come to the issue of "public morality" and the difference between immoral behavior and lawbreaking.
Yes, it's complicated, and there are many shades of gray. Historically, we have dealt with this through "test cases" - specific instances where the lines need to be drawn. We can thank Mr. Trump for providing us with an encyclopedia of bad behavior that will be debated long after we have gotten rid of him. We don't seem to have adequate institutional protection to prevent someone from running the Presidency of the United States as a for-profit criminal conspiracy, nor a remedy for massive intervention in an election by a hostile foreign power. It's an old idea, but nobody has so blatantly succeeded in the US before. It's worth noting that Americans usually find themselves in a slightly different position on this issue: being the hostile foreign power and installing friendly kleptocracies in foreign states. Ironically, this has led them to have a huge blind spot against the same tactics being applied to them.
The Trump success story illustrates the mistake we made when allowing corporations to be legal persons (the core idea behind the "Dragon" blog). This has allowed the profits of crime to be hidden while individuals remain anonymous. Trump corporations have repeatedly declared bankruptcy, "legally" stealing from vendors and empoyees while Trump himself floats free with his pockets full. It has also allowed virtually unlimited political donations from corporations, effectively concentrating political power in fewer and fewer hands - especially in the hands of individuals who specifically do not value the public welfare and do not wish to see public welfare to restrict their ability to pick the pockets of the public through the "free" market and ballooning debt. As I write, the Trump budget proposes to cut taxes for the rich (including the Trump family) and "corporations" while increasing taxes for the middle class and undercutting affordable medical insurance for millions. It is kleptocracy on a grand scale, enabled in large part by our decision to grant rights to corporations while shielding those who benefit from corporate profits to anonymously pocket the lion's share of the wealth created by all of society.
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