Greetings from Tyler,

The saga continues, day after day, night after night. The somber expressions of fear on the faces of mainstream news anchors have turned to outbursts of hilarity over the “lying” president who, when caught red-handed simply doubles down. Haven’t we seen some of this before? This isn’t the first time this bunch thought Trump was just a barrel of fun, somebody to provide some comic relief from the serious matters being attended by truly dignified leaders, like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

But this time, like every time, they’ve almost got him! He’s committing possibly impeachable offenses, not to mention that he’s an unrepentant religious bigot and racist, as just confirmed by the very serious Hawaiian Federal Judge who again “stayed” the Executive Order banning U. S. entry from terrorist infested nations in the Middle East. Apparently, everybody on earth is covered by the American Constitution, and this lightweight judge has determined that they’re being discriminated against, not by the order itself, but because of personal intentions behind it. These people from Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan or Iran may be a danger? That’s nonsense, say the liberal courts. Trump is simply exercising the religious bigotry he displayed during the campaign. It’s a “Muslim ban.” Everybody knows these “refugees” pose no risk! If you think they might, you must be a bigot like Trump. That’s how it goes every day, between presentations of likely collusion between campaign officials and Russian spies, which means that Trump may well owe his presidency to the Russians! He might be Putin’s puppet, for all they know.

There you have it. A brief synopsis of the reality show playing out on outlets that tout themselves as news media. Some will no doubt say it’s all “politics,” and what do we care? In this case it’s personal, not only to the parties involved, but among spectators the world over. It looks more every day like a fight to the death, or at least until Trump is impeached or the mainstream media thoroughly, and maybe permanently, discredited. This dispute will play out globally.

Meanwhile, it looks as though North Korea and its diminutive dictator may have been ignored long enough. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made news this week when he said that attempts at diplomacy with North Korea have failed and now military action is “on the table.” China may have one last chance to get the world’s worst haircut under control, but failing that, something could go boom. For the mainstream, that’s just additional evidence that we have, for the moment, a president who is clinically “unhinged.” That’s the most overused definition of the current president of the United States by one panel of experts after another, with the possible exception of “unmitigated liar.”

Another whistling bombshell is the possibility that U. S. funding for the United Nations may be cut dramatically. Wouldn’t it be an outrage if the U. S. no longer paid the freight for an organization dedicated to our demise and Israel’s condemnation? It shouldn’t be long before we learn that there is some racist component to that possibility as well.

Wouldn’t you love to be a fly on the wall during discussions between President Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel today? Both have the proclivity of revealing facial reactions, and neither could be any more opposed to the domestic policies of the other. Is it possible Mrs. Merkel feels no personal responsibility for gruesome terrorist attacks carried out by foreign “immigrants” and “refugees” in Germany, Belgium and France? What about the crime wave of assaults, rapes and murders that characterizes every European city since the massive “refugee” influx. Will she try to lecture the president that he should abandon his policy of “extreme vetting” and get with the program? Or will be president shame her with the reality of her situation? Although European public opinion is steadily moving against the prospect of yet more and more “refugees,” it may not have moved far enough to be decisive in upcoming elections. If the problem gets worse, or if the media should begin to report the extent of the problems hidden by leaders of the EU, national leaders and the media, there may well be a political backlash like we’ve seen in the UK and in the U. S. That would see Mrs. Merkel and a host of other familiar names returned to private life, and the results could prove other than orderly.

One thing they may discuss, in fact we’d hope that they would discuss, is the dispute that has arisen between President Erdogan of Turkey and the Netherlands, expanding now to include Germany and the EU in general. It began when the Netherlands banned political rallies conducted by Turkish ministers presumably to gain support for a referendum expanding the powers of Erdogan’s regime, among Turkish residents. Germany also banned such campaigning within its borders. Now Erdogan is calling the Europeans “Nazis” and threatening to unleash a wave of refugees into Europe that will “blow their minds.”

The situation looks like it will get a lot worse in Europe before it ever gets better, and it’s starting to look like it won’t get better in this age. How bad will it have to get before Europeans turn to strong leadership to push back against the Muslim onslaught that may have already permanently altered their culture and way of life?

This update wouldn’t be complete without comment on the pope’s latest utterances. In lieu of all else competing for our attention it’s no surprise that incredible scandals playing out in Rome aren’t finding their way into our headlines. But the Vatican has some particularly nasty stories playing out, too sick to even detail on this page. Given the known proclivities of these “men of the cloth,” you might well surmise. But the pope is worried about companies that lay people off, in pursuit of, say, profitability, and therefore deprive workers of their dignity. That, the pontiff says, is a mortal “sin.”

As far as the exploits of the priests, whether publicly cavorting with men in drag (no kidding), or arranging unspeakable group sessions, maybe that will get them some time in Purgatory, but apparently, it doesn’t really rate pontifical comment. But his overwhelming humility guarantees that we’ll have another “divinely inspired” utterance within a few days! He’s all but destroyed Europe with his socialist empathy. Now he’s going after capitalism on religious grounds. Maybe Catholics, which ironically seem to dominate conservative media in the U. S. should take stock? Stay tuned.

 

Mark Armstrong