Button Button who\u2019s got the Button<\/p>\n
Wednesday, January 3rd<\/sup>, 2018 \u2013 a day in American politics.<\/p>\n We went into the day with the President back in Washington, and the ramifications of what George Popadoupolos, part of the Trump campaign, revealed in a drunken conversation in May of 2016. He let out that \u00a0the Russians had possession of the stolen Clinton emails, \u00a0It was \u00a0months later that \u00a0even the DNC knew they were gone. The Australians eventually notified the US intelligence services (including the FBI), creating probable cause for an investigation.\u00a0\u00a0 That Popadoupolos would tell an Australian diplomat, but not tell his own bosses at the Trump campaign, is beyond implausible.<\/p>\n On the \u201cRussiagate\u201d front, the Fusion GPS team revealed that the FBI already was investigating the Trump campaign when Christopher Steele (of the infamous Dossier) felt compelled by what he had found \u00a0to inform the agency. In addition, they testified to the House and Senate committees that there was a great deal of information about Trump\u2019s dealings with shady and illegal money from Central America to Russia, much of it through Deutsche Bank. The Fusion GPS statement: the committees have only demanded Fusion GPS bank records, not Trump\u2019s.<\/p>\n On the domestic political front, Steve Bannon has co-authored a book with Michael Wolfe, in which Bannon calls Donald Trump Jr and Jared Kushner \u201ctraitors\u201d for having their meeting with the Russians in June, and states with certainty that after that meeting, the Russians would have been taken to see Trump Sr. This puts the entire Trump defense in jeopardy: if President Trump knew about the Russian meeting and didn\u2019t inform the FBI, this becomes more than \u201ccollusion\u201d with the Russians (whatever that word really means,) and reaches the level of conspiracy, a legal term with legal consequences. Trump says that when Bannon was fired from the White House, he lost his mind.<\/p>\n Oh, and President Trump took credit for there being no commercial aircraft deaths in the United States this year.<\/p>\n But the day started with the \u201cbig\u201d story: the size of President Trump\u2019s button. This weekend, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made what was a generally conciliatory speech, aimed at opening up negotiations with South Korea. One part of his speech stated that he had a nuclear button on his desk.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s twitter response:<\/p>\n North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the \u201cNuclear Button is on his desk at all times.\u201d Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!<\/em><\/p>\n Trump, ignoring the possible negotiations that Kim was offering, instead immediately focused on the \u201csize\u201d of Kim\u2019s button, and made sure to let it be known that HIS button was \u201c\u2026bigger and more powerful than his, and my Button works.\u201d<\/p>\n I wonder if the underlying sexual connotations, obvious to every American sixteen year old boy, translates into Korean. Perhaps the North Koreans are not quite so concerned about the \u201csize of their buttons.\u201d But if they are, and, if Kim is an unbalanced as the Trump Administration is continually stating, then what is President Trump\u2019s intent?<\/p>\n Is he challenging Kim to a \u201cbuttoning\u201d contest? Let\u2019s see whose button can \u2013 what \u2013 push the farthest? And what if Kim, as unbalanced as they claim, takes Trump up on his adolescent game? Are we really chancing a nuclear exchange over a middle school challenge?<\/p>\n Trump clearly believes he can bully Kim into some action, probably trying to force him to negotiate. It seems highly unlikely that Kim will decide to give up his nuclear missiles (a Trump pre-condition) and even more unlikely that \u201cbutton size\u201d insults will force him to do so.<\/p>\n I used to watch a TV show called \u201cBoston Public.\u201d It was about a high school in Boston, and all of the crazy things that happened there. As a teacher, I\u2019d watch that show and think, \u201cthat\u2019s not how schools really are, that\u2019s just drama.\u201d When I became the Dean of Students of a high school (mostly discipline) I discovered a different truth. What happened on Boston Public all really did happen in public school, it just didn’t all happen one day in real life.<\/p>\n There must be a whole lot of Washington veteran politicians who are thinking the same thing. Except, this really is happening, all in one day. Whew!!!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"