Inauguration

I'm beginning to like Donald Trump...a lot! I especially enjoyed his inaugural address even though I wasn't able to watch or listen to it live. Dear Diane and I spent a good part of inauguration day taking an elderly acquaintance to the doctor. She had fallen and broken her wrist a week or so ago and needed to see an orthopedic specialist. Sadly, the closest who would honor her Medicare and Wellcare insurance was almost an hour away so that's where we had to take her. The entire adventure, from home to home, took over six hours; therefore, we missed the new president's inauguration. But that's OK. The day was a typical, beautiful Florida day, so we had a delightful drive to Clermont, Florida. I got some reading done in the doctor's waiting room and we also met several very nice folks there. The traffic was light, and we stopped for a milkshake on the way home. What more could we possibly desire? It's these little things in life that I've come to enjoy as I shuffle through my senior years.

Oops! As I write this on Sunday evening, we've just been issued a tornado warning by the Weather Service. It's all very exciting, so exciting I've changed the channel from the Patriots-Steelers game to my favorite bunch of weather guessers on Orlando's channel 9. Dear Diane and I are ready to jump into the interior guest bathroom in the event of a tornado. Lots of thunder and lightning, very high winds, and torrents of rain -- it's all raging right now outside our doors. Interestingly, this storm system is moving through the area at 60 mph, much faster than most of the storms that visit us here in central Florida. I remember outrunning a storm like that years ago in my Navy helicopter. It was roaring across the South China Sea at over 70 mph and I had to race it back to the ship. Fortunately I won that race. (I will take a break until the weather improves.)

The storm is now over and we were, thankfully, untouched by tornadoes. And the Patriots won!

As I said above, I'm beginning to like Donald (now President) Trump. I've learned to measure people by their enemies. And when one looks at who hates President #45, it's hard not to like the man. Just consider all those who have convinced themselves his presidency is illegitimate: the same people who ranted when, during the campaign, he gave one of his famous off-the-cuff comments that he might not accept a Hillary victory. Well, these folks have taken non-acceptance to a new level. 

One particularly interesting Trump-hater is the Reverend Al Sharpton who along with his good friend, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, has perfected the profitable art of race-based extortion. Rev Al is very upset, certain our new president's election wasn't legitimate. In this he agrees with US Rep. John Lewis of Atlanta, a man who has done little of note since he was beaten up by thugs decades ago on a bridge in Selma. But because of that beating, we are not permitted to question his current absurdities. Both men, along with their admirers, are apparently convinced that the Russians perpetrated a Slavic version of the Vulcan mind-meld on the American people, causing them to shift allegiance from Hillary to Donald during the final days of the campaign. Rev Al, of course, is no more than a race-pimp, a walking, talking irrelevance who need not be taken seriously...and so I don't.

When considering haters, one can't ignore Madonna and her apparently unfulfilled desire to blow up the White House. Speaking to a sympathetic mob at the Women's March, she stated that she had instead chosen "love" and then proceeded to spew forth a stream of hate-filled rhetoric. The mainstream media, of course, were thrilled by her inarticulate diatribe even though she dropped a load of f-bombs and other obscenities on live TV. Such a lovely woman. 

I couldn't help but note that abortion seemed to be the overriding issue for those on the Women's March. For a gathering that speaks so much about love they sure do enjoy killing innocent unborn children. It boggles the mind.

Oh, yes...almost forgot. Michael Moore also addressed the Women's March. He was particularly upset with those women who voted for Donald Trump, calling them “victims”  of “misogyny and the sexism that is still so prevalent and ingrained.” Like most on the left, Moore believes that anyone who disagrees with him is either evil or crazy. 

Back to the president and the media...Did you hear Chris Matthews and the other MSNBC jokesters compare President Trump to Hitler and Mussolini? Or how about Democrat Representative Yvette Clarke of NY who was distraught because of the new president's fascism? In her words:

“You know, we may have fallen short on election day, but we did carry the popular vote. And, so, there are many more Americans who are in tune with the fact that we’re in the 21st century. And we’re not turning back the clock. We’re not going to stand for the type of, if you will, fascism — and I’m going to use that word — that many use to their advantage while suppressing and oppressing marginalized communities in this nation.”

One suspects that the representative doesn't have a clue about the real meaning of fascism. But who cares? Fascism is one of those scary words -- like racist, sexist, Islamophobic, etc. -- the left loves to toss around when speaking of conservatives. 

I also found it odd that the less-than-dynamic duo -- Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham -- seem a bit confused about the new leader of their party. Senator McCain claimed today that he was unsure whether he had confidence in President Trump. This seems a rather odd thing to admit before the man has completed two days in office, but I suspect the senator's evaluation of the president might be colored by a few personal concerns; i.e.,  he hates Donald Trump. Senator Graham also expressed confusion today when he stated: “I don’t know what America first means.” If that's true one can only assume he paid no attention to Donald Trump during the campaign. Of course, it's pretty apparent that he too hates Donald Trump.

The next four years should be interesting indeed.