Why Trump?

A citizen of another country recently confessed confusion.  This person has watched hours of documentaries regarding Mr. Trump, but still cannot understand how he can be President of the United States.  Here are a few points that may provide insight.

In one of the most colossal political blunders of all time, Hillary Clinton, Mr. Trump’s opponent in the US 2016 Presidential election, lumped half his supporters into a “basket of deplorables.”  Yes, Mr. Trump has support from some citizens with views that most would like to think are contrary to American values, but insulting the supporters of one’s opponent is not very intelligent.  This elitist comment provided a banner under which all of Mr. Trump’s supporters could rally.
Ms. Clinton was a weak candidate.  She was not charismatic and there was an overtone of entitlement to her campaign.  She was not one to inspire undecided people to vote for her.
Mr. Trump pays attention to the “flyover” locales.  He has made, and continues to make frequent appearances for rallies in places like Hershey, Pennsylvania, and Tupelo, Mississippi.  The mere notion that these are places to fly over rather than stop is offensive to the citizens living in these areas.  Mr. Trump is especially good at telling
those people he cares about them, and that his opponents do not.
The decline of American manufacturing has drastically decreased the need for unskilled and low-skilled workers.  Those decent-paying jobs are not coming back due to the low wages in competing countries.  Though few in the current workforce were working during the post WW2 heyday of American manufacturing, that era is looked back upon as a golden age when anyone who desired one could have a living wage job.  Hence at least one reason for the power of the “Make America Great Again” slogan.

The Official version costs $25,
and profits are a political contribution to Mr. Trump.
The knock-off shown here
is available on Amazon for $6.99.

The retirement investments of middle class Americans have swelled on the basis of Mr. Trump’s policies.  The generation that suddenly had to work longer until retirement due to the crash of 2008 has seen much of that lost wealth returned.  This may be the most important thing for the Baby Boomer voters, and it is the fulfillment of a campaign promise to stimulate the economy.

https://www.macrotrends.net/1358/dow-jones-industrial-average-last-10-years

Businesses large and small have benefited from deregulation.  Most businessmen viewed the regulations of the previous administration as unnecessarily punitive, and are happy to see less government involvement in business.

The environment is a secondary issue to most Americans.  A good deal of the deregulation compromises environmental safeguards, but most US Citizens are more concerned with other issues (including jobs) to worry about something that may not affect them until years later, if at all.

Mr. Trump is happy to use strong-arm tactics to get what he wants.  This attitude is embraced by many citizens who are happy to see the desires of career politicians thwarted by Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump promised more jobs, and has delivered low unemployment, continuing along the trend line of the previous administration.  His deregulation and tax cuts for corporations have also worked towards this goal.

Unemployment rate graph supplied by the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Mr. Trump is in no way politically correct (PC).  This is also embraced by many Americans frustrated with the euphemisms employed by the purveyors of political correctness.  They feel that political correctness is the enemy of straight, honest talk, and that only those unable to stomach truth will try to be PC.

“Drain the Swamp” is the mantra employed to indicate that the federal government needs to be overhauled, or at least repopulated with representatives who are less concerned with personal enrichment than the welfare of their constituents.  The outsider status of Mr. Trump purports to give him some better perspective on how this can be done than anyone with previous political experience, which includes almost all of his political opponents.  Some honestly believe that Mr. Trump is exactly what the USA needs.

The Evangelical Christian community tends to support Mr. Trump because his presidency has the potential of providing Supreme Court Justices which will be sympathetic to their primary issue, which is outlawing legal abortion.

Many gun owners support Mr. Trump because he makes no attempt to rein in gun violence through ownership restrictions.  The concern that gun ownership rights will be compromised has been fostered and reinforced by the activities of the NRA (National Rifle Association), one of the most powerful and influential lobbying organizations in the US.

24 hour “News” channels, spend the bulk of their efforts on negative and fear and smear campaigns.  The biased media expands small bits of news into constant chatter about the awful activities of their opponents.  At best, these attacks are overblown.  At worst, they pervert reality for the political purposes of those who fund these outlets.

Divisive politics is the order of the day.  This issue has become much worse over the past 20 years.  Many politicians are more interested in thwarting the desires of their opponents than compromising for the sake of the populace.  Compromise has become equated with weakness, and the election primary system tends to replace moderate candidates with more radical ones.

There is a lack of a strong, charismatic opponent for Mr. Trump.  There is no Democratic or Independent candidate who can come close to Mr. Trump's media presence.

The citizens are suffering from apathy, media-imposed stress, and truth confusion.  There are so many lies perpetrated all the time, it is quite difficult to determine the truth.  The research necessary to ferret out the lies is exhausting.

Innocence of wrongdoing is the conclusion of many who feel that all negative accounts of Mr. Trump's activities are frivolous, politically-motivated attacks.  That he has been under intense scrutiny for a long period of time without being convicted is assumed as an indication of innocence.

Big money has a negative effect on the political process for all but the largest donors.  An unfortunate Supreme Court decision has allowed huge sums to be used to support candidates and political positions.  This often becomes propaganda with precious little fact checking.

Mr. Trump delivered on his promise of a tax cut.  In particular, there has been a major tax cut for corporations.  The net result is a short term boost in the economy, a small gain for much of the middle class, and a huge addition to the government deficit and national debt.  It may well be that the Baby Boomers have continued their lifestyle at the expense of their children and grandchildren who will have to deal with the debt.

Many patriotic citizens have been alarmed at the erosion of use economic and military power and welcome Mr. Trump's promises of Making America Great Again.  Others embrace this motto because they are distressed and made uncomfortable by the changes they see, particularly in social mores.  They believe America was a better place in an earlier age.

There is over-representation of states with larger percentages of rural inhabitants due to the legacy electoral college, which is the actual elective body.  A vote in a state like New York is not as valuable as a vote in Wyoming, in terms of determining electors.

Wyoming is in the sparsely populated American West.

There is widespread frustration with gridlock and do-nothing politicians.  There is also frustration with the fact that our representatives seem to get rich over the years, too often by guiding government money to "friendly" places, or by investing with inside knowledge of where that money is going. Many welcomed Mr. Trump as an alternative to business as usual, even though his financial dealings are not particularly exemplary.

The rise of targeted persuasion by organizations like Cambridge Analytica (assisted by big data corporations such as Facebook) have allowed politicians to characterize and sway voters in previously unseen manners.  Tailoring information received by "influence-able" people has been proven to be effective.

Many politicians are completely convinced that they have a monopoly on the proper programs, policies, and proposals, and that there is no good in anything the opposition proposes.  Party is put before country.  More cynically, these politicians put their self interest, best supported by party, ahead of all else, and their self interest is determined by lobbyists.

There is a severe lack of empathy in America.  Most do not believe that we are all in this together and treat fellow citizens as foes.  We disregard the reminder that is on every one of our pennies.  "E Pluribus Unum," ... Out Of Many, One.  We are at our best when we remember this and act accordingly.

Adirondack Autumn

The fall is a great time to explore the Adirondacks, but timing is everything.  Weather and elevation conspire to make peak peeping indeterminate.

Here are some images collected on a few well-timed excursions.

The view across Piseco Lake.
That rock ledge looks interesing.

$50 gets you a view from the air
at Long Lake.

Adirondac, later called Tahawus, was the site of mining operations
and a sportsman's club.
The massive ruins here were once a blast furnace, built in the 1820s.

If you want something to last,
build it with rock.
A little restorative stabilization doesn't hurt either.

Across the Hudson River (near the headwaters)
is a decrepit but still standing sportsman's cottage.
There was once a foot bridge to this fixer-upper.
Teddy Roosevelt was in town nearby when he learned
President McKinley was headed toward his demise.

Much farther south, the climb to the cliffs on Good Luck Mountain
is rewarded with a great view to the west
over Spectacle Lake.

Watch your step!

You can hike up Prospect Mountain,
but most drive up the Veterans Memorial Highway.
If you are an old New York State resident, you can use the toll road for free.

Lake George fills the valley below.

Looking north, the Adirondack High Peaks
show themselves beyond the foothills.

Down near the southern border of the park,
Lily Lake (one of many in NY)
provides lovely views of nearby foliage and Kane Mountain.

...and puffy clouds in a blue sky.

...and geese flying overhead.

And now to close with a fine sunset.

...or two.

For those of you unable to attend

The 2019 fall Loon Weekend was a major success.  Lots of stuff happened.

Booboo brought Picasso Loon to his new home.

Dock Doc provided pasties (That's "past -- ease," Sinman)
prepared with new interesting novel ingredients:
marjoram and Guinness.

There were many other fine meals including Clam Chowder and Lasagna.  No one lost weight.

The DEC promised that the water would be let down the week before,
but the rain and slow hand on the valve
made it higher than it has been all year.

These two tried to convince us they were on the level.
You buyin' it?

Hard at work on the egress hole covers
by the masters of "design as you go."

Meanwhile, Booboo expertly drops a couple of trees,
sparing the small hemlock in the foreground.

An opaque egress cover for the guest house,
since the snake living in the hole really doesn't need much light.
Hopefully, it will provide crawl space access if necessary.

Covers in place.
Bring on the snow.

It's not just a downed tree.
It's a Pete filter.
After the tree disintegrated,
we invited him over for a beer.

Frosty Saturday morning.

Good thing Cut Boy is so tall.
He put up the gutters on the guest house almost single handed.
Would have gone faster if he'd used both hands.
He didn't need the ladder...that's for the shrimpy support staff.

Color match is superb.
One can barely see the gutter.
The overhang at the back is to assist in getting the water
away from the building
(and to remove the need for cutting metal).

Someone rewarding himself for all the hard work.

Last winter, the need to get into the crawl space
was caused by a snow drift covering the intake.
Reset was easy, once digging through 8 feet of snow and ice was finished.
The elevated intake and exhaust should prevent the need.

The pudgy purple hand
was caused by doing handstands to crush the wine grapes.
Or by poor handling of PVC primer.
Could be either.

Staining has begun.
Dr. John and Chowdahead begged to be allowed to do the deed
so that they could get high on the fumes.
Later that same night, they did a magic trick,
making a bottle of good scotch disappear.

Regretfully, there are no shots of the mud in the entryway or the sill on the window.  You'll have to see those for yourself.

Also missing - the ghost in the wood shot, images of the fine bonfire, OSHA ladder safety course images, and other stuff, no doubt.

And after all save one were gone,
the setting sun provided a spectacular sky.

Chasing Humans Up A Hill

This is the hill: Panther Mountain, NY.  I work here. I carry a badge, hanging from my neck.  It helps me find humans should they go missing.

Up the trail, humans!

I like it when they show some initiative.

Other times, I must remind them of our purpose.

  

Like here, when they pause on the reclining rock.

Onward and upward, humans!

At times, I must cajole them.
"Though you only have two legs, don't be discouraged.
You can still get up the hill."

In places, the rocks are set like steps
making it easier for the minimally legged humans.

I encourage them to use the roots in a similar manner.

They dawdle incessantly.
Without me chasing them,
they'd never reach the top.

 

There are many other humans at our destination.
Other four-legged friends have also done their jobs.

Particularly in the fall, the view over Piseco is spectacular.
I'm sure the humans are glad I chased them up here.

The rocky outcropping of Echo Cliffs provides a lookout.
Of course, there is no echo.
Your barks do not return.

This is a good shot I took of the humans, don't you think?
I am a full service guide.

I even capture their shenanigans.
Humans are so silly.

I have to admit I also enjoy the view.

I'm happy to have chased the humans up the hill
so they could enjoy the autumn panorama.

And I am also glad to provide guidance when humans become confused.

 

"Yes, take a picture in that direction."

There you go.

Perhaps next time I'll chase them up one of those other hills.

And then I chased them back down.