Sunday, January 8th, 2017
Stephan: Watching the Trump transition team prepare to replace the Obama administration is a fascinating process in which an administration based on democracy, one consistent with the behavior standards of at least a century, and almost without scandal over 8 years, is being replaced with a corrupt Fascist anti-democratic cabal. There has never been anything like what is happening.
The behavior of the media is almost as bizarre as the politics; it seems to be normalizing what would formerly have been unthinkable. Fascinating to watch, I just wish it wasn't happening to my country.
And then there is the Congress. The Republicans spent millions of dollars and countless hours doing and redoing examinations of the Benghazi tragedy. Yet nothing is being done about the fact that the election was if not thrown, then strongly influenced, by the leader of a foreign power -- Putin and Russia. And the conformation hearings have been made a Kabuki theater. It's quite amazing. And whatever happened to Trump's tax returns, or his conflicts of interest? Not a word about any of that.
As we go on through the transition process to my mind the main take away for me is that 62,979,879 American voters chose to put into power a corrupt, psychopathic, Fascist, compulsive liar, whose every word and action bespeaks his contempt for democracy. This report is just one example of what I mean. Our country wasn't taken from us, 46.1% of those who could vote gave it away. Whom you voted for in this election I think will define you for the rest of your life.
The government agency in charge of overseeing ethics in the federal government and policing conflicts of interest has struggled to contact members of President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team since Election Day.
In emails obtained by MSNBC, Office of Government Ethics (OGE) Director Walter Shaub wrote that his agency’s attempts at outreach to the incoming administration have been met with silence.
“We seem to have lost contact with the Trump-Pence transition since the election,” Shaub said.
In a letter to Trump advisers, Shaub warned that by announcing its cabinet picks without proper vetting by the ethics office, the team runs the risk of causing “embarrassment for the President-elect.”
Requirements for White House aides are even more stringent with regards to conflicts of interest and incoming aides to Trump may be in violation of federal law.
“They run the risk of having inadvertently violated the criminal conflicts of interest restriction at 18 USC 208,” Shaub wrote.
Furthermore, he said, “If we don’t get involved early to prevent problems,” he added, “we won’t be able to help them after the fact.”
A U.S. president is required to place his or her assets in a […]
Stephan, your introduction to the article from the government ethics agency, and the article itself that is also the lead on Huffington Post this morning are filled with the frustration (to put it mildly) that so many of us feel. How can this be happening in this country? I have been the one to try to help friends get past a nervous breakdown over it all, but I feel myself falling into the same pit of darkness. Our President-Elect seems next to insane. I say that, not in denigration, but with great sadness and despair. Our entire governmental system and especially the media, also seems to be struggling mightily to cope with what is becoming either a denial of that insanity or an attempt to make it “normal.” I think we are all wondering what will become of us. At one and the same time, those of us who work as best we can on a spiritual path, know that we need to stay in the present moment and not fuss about what “could happen.” But at the same time, not to be concerned and wonder “what can I do?” continues to pervade our thoughts. It is especially difficult for elders like me. At 84 with problems walking, I’m not about to join a women’s march somewhere. As a writer and teacher, I do my best with words. Hence this little comment. But my despair grows each day.
Thanks to Stephan for his thoughtful Schwartzreport and his fine new book. We need all the wisdom and help we can get!
I agree with Stephan when he states whom you vote for in this election defines you, in the sense that it will affect the future in almost every way. Trump and Standing Rock are two earthquakes for which seismic will ripple for decades – government ethics intertwine both of these.
Voting makes you complicit with all the crimes of the person you voted for and gives explicit permission to the system to rule over you and everyone else. I stopped voting for these reasons among many.
Government ethics = oligarchy =empire