Well, I hope you're all ready for one unpredictable ride. Donald Trump's presidential term has officially begun, and if these first two weeks are an indication for what's to come, then everybody better hold on to their asses. I'm not sure the reality television star's political and social philosophies will make us great again, unless of course your definition of great means some sort of utopia for idiots or cranky old white men. It's quite possible that we're well on our way to resembling the society depicted in the movie Idiocracy, but with more of a neo-nazi flavor. I'm also worried that President Trump's policies might take a while to fix and undo. In Trump's world view, corporations and the super wealthy should have more say on policy, because well, they must be smarter. Meanwhile, the working class controls nothing except their decision on what kind of contaminated food to eat OR which brand of drinking water to purchase (bottled and stolen by corporations and sold to us at a price more expensive than gasoline).
The recent election of Donald Trump showed me that nearly half of our country supports racism, sexual abuse, fraudulent business practices, not paying income tax, and an outdated 2nd amendment (so they can protect themselves from whatever villain cable news scares them with this month). Voting actually did nothing this time around, the electoral college made sure of that. Hillary Clinton showed that campaigns can be rigged, super delegates outright bought, good candidates tossed in the trash, and a hateful, corporate financed warmonger ran instead. And despite all of her advantages, Hillary still lost! I guess she forgot to rig the FBI. Silly democrats, the GOP is a very formidable team... if Trump took down more than a dozen of their established guys in the primary, how was an establishment Democrat going to fare? Especially one that pretty much followed the same game plan as Jeb, John, and Marco. Well, we now know the results and Bernie supporters like myself are left wondering what could have been.
So the ultra wealthy can celebrate! They've got a measurable control over congress, the white house, and soon-to-be the supreme court. I will admit Donald Trump is a little bit of a wild card because he's so unpredictable, but don't sweat it conservatives! You've got a guy in place that would never let some annoying regulations get in his way. Deregulation never has disastrous consequences because corporations do such an incredible job at monitoring themselves. And as a bonus, it doesn't look like this president will fight for fair wages. This should give the 1% plenty of surplus to continue paying off their minions in congress. Don't worry, I'll be fine living off the scraps and finding ways to make it from one paycheck to the next. Hey, if you play your cards right and get rid of the EPA along with that pesky Affordable Care Act legislation, I might die of treatable diseases I contracted from drinking tap water before I become a real burden.
Oye. As for our environment, particularly the ocean, there is no plan from the Trump administration to protect it. In fact, efforts are already being made to discredit the scientists who have been working tirelessly to save it. The ocean only makes up about 75% of the planet, maybe it's not that important. This is the new America now, this is your future, our ocean's future. Sweet!
If you're concerned about how the oceans and coastlines are being impacted by legislators and the industries they protect, here's a few websites to get you active...
- Oceana
