It\u2019s Christmas Eve. In my younger years, this was the first (and last) day to get my Christmas shopping done. Pressure is a remarkable thing: when you don\u2019t have a lot of time, or a lot of choices Christmas shopping goes pretty quick. Saving money wasn\u2019t the objective; crossing off the list, and headed for home, was the plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christmas Eve then was a day of pressure and solution. Get done shopping, and get on with the celebration. The \u201cclock and the calendar\u201d were ticking: get the presents, get packed, and get home to Cincinnati. In later years I learned to spread the shopping over a few days. I would go to a mall where I was unlikely to see folks I knew, far across town, and get my presents done. And even later, the Internet changed the process. A lot of shopping went online. But I miss my annual trip, pressing through the crowds at City Centre, or Tuttle Crossing, or Polaris. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And, of course, COVID Christmas is completely different. The shopping was done weeks ago (except for some Dollar Store stocking stuff), and was all from the kitchen table. Santa\u2019s sleigh may be loaded, but FedEx and UPS and Amazon are the reindeer this year, delivering my gifts both here and across the country. Merry Christmas \u2013 the folks in the delivery trucks are doing the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And this is the fourth, and last, Christmas of the Presidency of Donald J. Trump. He came in the New Year of 2017, in a flurry of Executive Orders, Alternative Facts, and outright lies. So, to quote Lincoln, \u201c\u2026it is altogether fitting and proper\u2026\u201d that his Presidency end with just as much chaos, just as much disruption, and just as much concern about the fate of our Nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just like buying all my presents on Christmas Eve, the United States Congress works best under pressure. The \u201cclock and calendar,\u201d (Congressman Doug Collins\u2019 best contribution to the public discourse) of deadlines sharpens the mind and gets work done. The National Defense Act, the Omnibus Spending Bill, and the COVID relief Bill all popped out of the Congress the weekend before Christmas. All through the House, and all through the Senate, the staff was stirring. Over five thousand pages of legislation had to get to the White House, get the President\u2019s signature and become the law. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To quote Hamilton, the Musical<\/em>, this is \u201c\u2026 the art of the trade, how the sausage is made\u201d. And in the \u201croom where it happened\u201d weren\u2019t just members of the House and the Senate. The President\u2019s men were in there too, led by the Secretary of the Treasury, Steve Mnuchin. Everyone was \u201con board\u201d, with the exception of some parts of the Defense Act. <\/p>\n\n\n\n President Trump decided to veto the Defense Act.\u00a0\u00a0His argument is that the United States shouldn\u2019t rename bases that are currently named for Confederate Generals.\u00a0\u00a0But, more importantly for Trump, he wants \u201cSection 230\u201d, a portion of law that protects Internet Social Media services removed.\u00a0\u00a0What that\u2019s got to do with the National Defense, no one is certain, but here it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Trump also is trying to renegotiate the COVID relief bill, which is part of the Omnibus Spending Bill, the bill that allows the US government to continue to spend money.\u00a0\u00a0After all of the \u201csausage was made\u201d, he wants to start over.\u00a0\u00a0The passed bill calls for a $600\/person check for Americans.\u00a0\u00a0But now, after the process is done, Trump calls for it to be $2000.\u00a0\u00a0That was the Democratic legislators\u2019 position at the beginning of the negotiations, the Republican Senators whittled it down to $600.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the \u201cwhittling\u201d was the way the deal was made. And since Trump absented himself from the \u201croom where it happened\u201d, he cut himself out of the deal. Now, with all of the balancing done, he\u2019s upset the Omnibus apple cart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why now, why did he wait?\u00a0\u00a0 He is dribbling out pardons like candy canes at a Christmas parade.\u00a0\u00a0Why are war criminals, tax cheats, and former Trump campaign aides all now free?\u00a0\u00a0And after creating all of this disruption, this chaos, what did the President do?\u00a0\u00a0He headed to Florida \u2013 it\u2019s time for his last government sponsored vacation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s Christmas Eve.\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t expect President Trump to be upstaged by Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, or even Santa Claus.\u00a0\u00a0The Trump team \u2013 \u201cOn Jared, Ivanka, Eric and Don (and of course led by Rudy)\u201d might get their \u201cGet Out of Jail Free\u201d card tonight.\u00a0\u00a0And, of course, the real crazies are ready for the \u201cinsurrection\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0Today is the day for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s the last Donald Trump Christmas, and he\u2019s going to be front and center. Right in the middle of the Chaos.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Merry Christmas!!!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Keeping the Spotlight<\/h3>\n\n\n\n