Be Careful What You Wish For

Donald Trump gave himself credit for the Baghdad attack that killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani two days ago.  As he often does, Mr. Trump responded poorly to criticism of that action, even pretending to ignore the 48-houir deadline imposed on him by the War Powers Act of 1973 (also sometimes called the War Powers Resolution).

But Trump may find himself hoisted by his own petard.  It's reported that, among the forms of retaliation against the United States being considered by Iran, Tehran will almost certainly attempt to prevent Mr. Trump's re-election.

A Wealth Tax

Do we need one?  Consider these:

• The 500 wealthiest individuals in the United States added an estimated $1.3 trillion (that's $1,300,000,000.00) to their aggregate wealth.
• That works out to $2,600,000.00 ($2.6 million) per person.
• Which becomes particularly disquieting when one considers that, over the past 50 years, wages have essentially flat lined.
• More disquiet - the gap between the wealthy and the rest of us - that is, the measurement of income inequality - has not improved over that same period.

Given the reaction of the stock market today to Mr. Trump's chest-beating approach to Iran policy,  one cannot realistically expect any of the above conditions to improve in the immediate future..

Reading Tea Leaves

In his year-end message for 2019, Chief Justice John Roberts struck a note that might rankle with Donald Trump.  Roberts urged his colleagues to uphold the independence of the Judiciary.  Over four pages, he touts the contributions of Article 3 folks to our government and our society.

What I find especially interesting is that, while the message never explicitly refers to the upcoming impeachment trial, its yeoman's effort at celebrating the Judiciary might be a signal to Mr. Trump.  The message?  His trial will be conducted according to what Justice Roberts considers appropriate, not according to Trump's wish lists.

Domestic Terrorism

What should have been a joyful moment turned into an horrific one on Saturday, when a Hanukkah celebration in New York became a stabbing attack in which five were injured.

Full disclosure - the rest of this post aspires to being more than just another effort at Trump-bashing on my part.  It hopes to understand Trump's hold on the base of the Republican Party, and to remind that base of the Be careful what you wish for, Ensign - you may get it  eidolon.

In August, shortly after mass shootings in Texas and Ohio, Mr. Trump did his Janus thing.  He vowed to give Federal law enforcement all the tools needed to combat hate crimes and domestic terrorism.  Then, his Department of Homeland Security persisted in directing resources away from combating far-right and white-supremacist groups.  And there's more.  Courts are beginning to see what's being called the Trump defense in domestic terrorism cases, and in less weighty suits as well.   It's seen as a motive for anyone who'd like  to intimidate those he (or she, but that latter is unlikely - most crimes of violence are committed by males)  perceives as Trump's enemies.

Here's why I feel Trump-bashing is justified.  I agree with Rep. Eric Swalwell (D - CA  16th) that Mr. Trump may unintentionally have contributed to an increase in anti-Semitism.