{"id":1459,"date":"2019-01-08T10:53:43","date_gmt":"2019-01-08T15:53:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=1459"},"modified":"2019-01-08T10:53:48","modified_gmt":"2019-01-08T15:53:48","slug":"presidential-fog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2019\/01\/08\/presidential-fog\/","title":{"rendered":"Presidential Fog"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Presidential Fog<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost two years ago I wrote the second essay for \u201cTrump World,\u201d called \u201cLiar Liar Liar<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0We were entering the Trump Era, and I tried to define the new reality of \u201cfacts\u201d used by the Administration to justify whatever they wanted.\u00a0The final portion of that essay gave survival instructions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Hold fast to the \u201cfacts\u201d that are actual facts. Don\u2019t fall into the trap of allowing \u201calternate facts\u201d to take hold as reality. Remember, the formula for Trumpian success is to establish the \u201crules\u201d for his reality \u2013 pressing REAL reality onto that forces the administration to defend their \u201calternative.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Chaos creates \u201cthe fog of war.\u201d It is within the false reality of that \u201cfog\u201d that the Trump Administration operates. Don\u2019t get distracted by the \u201calternate fact\u201d of the day. Cut to the important decisions and news that is underneath<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Recognize the \u201cTrump Plan\u201d \u2013 and begin to counter-plan!!!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tonight, in the midst of his manufactured crisis on the border, the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, will address the nation on network television.  If he repeats what his Administration has been saying, he\u2019s going to lie to America.  Let\u2019s look at his \u201cfacts.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vice President Pence, Homeland Security Secretary Nielsen and Press Secretary Sanders have all said \u201c\u2026four thousand on the terror watch list have crossed the border this year\u201d to justify their Southern Border Crisis.\u00a0\u00a0The reality:\u00a0all but six of those came through airports or Canada, not the Southern Border.\u00a0\u00a0They also said the 17,000 criminals crossed the Southern border.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The reality:\u00a0the Trump Department of Homeland Security defines anyone who crosses the border illegally as a criminal.\u00a0\u00a0Crossing the border illegally is a misdemeanor offense<\/a>, not a felony like \u201crapists and murderers.\u201d\u00a0 It can even be handled as a “civil” offense, like a traffic ticket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When mainstream media fact-checked the 4000 \u201cterrorists,\u201d the Administration\u2019s story changed. Vice President Pence this morning said 3000 \u201cspecial interest aliens\u201d came across the Southern border.   \u201cSpecial interest\u201d aliens aren\u2019t criminals, or even likely terrorists, but simply trigger a \u201cred flag\u201d because of their travel patterns.  The \u201ccrisis\u201d of terrorists and criminals coming in caravans to \u201cattack\u201d the United States is manufactured and it\u2019s imaginary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And now, for the first time, we are in a \u201chumanitarian crisis\u201d according to the Trump Administration.\u00a0\u00a0All of those folks coming are \u201cstacked up\u201d in the border towns, victims of crime and fraud.\u00a0\u00a0Those conditions are forcing them to try to cross illegally, risking their lives and their children.\u00a0\u00a0This is an \u201cemergency\u201d that the President believes \u201cWALL\u201d will fix. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reality:\u00a0the migrants are in a bad situation, but their emergency was created by the Administration through their own policies.\u00a0Emergency powers aren\u2019t required; what is needed is more judges, medical care, and fewer incarcerations.\u00a0\u00a0Nothing extraordinary needs to occur; it\u2019s how both Presidents Bush and Obama handled increased border pressure.\u00a0\u00a0And, to answer the Trumpian excuse that \u201c\u2026Obama separated children at the border too;\u201d that\u2019s true. But there is a huge difference:\u00a0the Obama policy <\/a>separated children from parents who were criminals, but not everyone who crossed the border illegally were classified as criminal.\u00a0\u00a0The number of separations was much smaller, and dealt with felons, not misdemeanor offenders.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the most easily checked Presidential \u201cfact:\u201d four former Presidents told Mr. Trump \u201cthey\u2019d wished they\u2019d built a wall.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0The facts:\u00a0all of the living former Presidents, Obama, Bush, Clinton, and Carter have clearly denied speaking to Trump about this, or wanting a border wall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So if the \u201ccrisis\u201d is a manufactured emergency, why have we closed part of the government?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going back to \u201cLIAR LIAR LIAR,\u201d<\/em>Mr. Trump has created chaos. Government workers aren\u2019t getting paid, government services are getting cut back:  food stamps are in jeopardy, Parks are full of trash, TSA agents at the airport are taking sick days and plane inspectors are having trouble keeping up. This \u201cshutdown crisis\u201d was created so that the President can \u201cfulfill\u201d his campaign promise of \u201cWALL.\u201d  It helps solidify his base, and in the chaos, we aren\u2019t talking about the Mueller investigation, or about the new Democratic House of Representatives, or even the dramatic declines in the stock market. It\u2019s exactly the way the President operates; in the fog he moves the focus to the issue HE wants to talk about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tonight we will hear the President speak.  It will have all the trappings of a \u201cPresidential Address,\u201d with flags and pictures in the Oval Office.  The setting will remind us of real crisis times, of Bush after 9-11 and Johnson stopping the bombing in Vietnam.  Don\u2019t let the setting fool you, it\u2019s just more Presidential Fog.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Presidential Fog Almost two years ago I wrote the second essay for \u201cTrump World,\u201d called \u201cLiar Liar Liar.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0We were entering the Trump Era, and I tried to define the new reality of \u201cfacts\u201d used by the Administration to justify whatever they wanted.\u00a0The final portion of that essay gave survival instructions: 1. Hold fast to the … Continue reading “Presidential Fog”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nPresidential Fog : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2019\/01\/08\/presidential-fog\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Presidential Fog : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Presidential Fog Almost two years ago I wrote the second essay for \u201cTrump World,\u201d called \u201cLiar Liar Liar.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0We were entering the Trump Era, and I tried to define the new reality of \u201cfacts\u201d used by the Administration to justify whatever they wanted.\u00a0The final portion of that essay gave survival instructions: 1. 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