For those who are concerned about the appropriateness of using psychiatric diagnostic tools to assess the mental fitness and dangerousness of President Trump the following: It apparently is totally legitimate, even legally required, for mental health professionals to warn targeted people and society at large for the dangers a troubled person or group of … Continue reading “On Trump: The Tasaroff Doctrine Trumps the Goldwater Rule”
Category: Politics
On Trump: Against Normalization: The Lesson of the “Munich Post” by Ron Rosenbaum
I consider Ron Rosenbaum as one of America’s best and most entertaining journalistic writers. For me memorable articles include the ones on Watergate, the CIA mole-hunt and a few articles about Yale’s semi-secret senior society Skull and Bones.[1] He also wrote a fascinating study, Explaining Hitler: The Search for the Origins of His Evil, … Continue reading “On Trump: Against Normalization: The Lesson of the “Munich Post” by Ron Rosenbaum”
On Trump: “Trump’s New World Order”
It is interesting to see how delusional and divided the far right is in the US. First of all I consider the far right that faction of the conservative movement which is authoritarian. This is the faction composed of people who have become intolerant of certain social and cultural differences and tend to exaggerate dangers, … Continue reading “On Trump: “Trump’s New World Order””
On Trump: US Lying Its Way to War (again)?
The recent January 29, 2017 missile test by Iran is not in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions as many members of congress and certain media claim. The 2015 Iran nuclear agreement has no binding provisions about missile tests. Before the day of implementation of the agreement on January 2016 the Iranians were … Continue reading “On Trump: US Lying Its Way to War (again)?”
Breitbart’s Yiannopoulos’ Sexist Nonsense
Alt-right ideologue and vocal Trump supporter Milo Yiannopoulos just wrote a gem of a sexist piece for Breitbart asking for a cap of 5-10% for females to enter STEM studies (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). He is concerned that if female participation would be above that level society would be “giving in to ideology and social engineering, … Continue reading “Breitbart’s Yiannopoulos’ Sexist Nonsense”
On Trump: Why We Should not Normalize Trump
In December 2016 I found online a list of 76 proven lies by Trump and read them all. The list is named “Donald Trump’s Bullshitopedia: An Ever Expanding Catalog Of Lies”.[1] The list is a good reminder that Trump is a pathological liar. I am not just saying that to bash Trump, but to make … Continue reading “On Trump: Why We Should not Normalize Trump”
On Trump: Elias, Civilization and Trump
Last summer I read the phenomenal study The Civilizing Process by the eminent sociologist Norbert Elias.[1] some of his findings can be applied to understand the rise of authoritarianism in the West as embodied in the political career of President Trump. This article will present some of the theoretical underpinnings of Elias’ work, then … Continue reading “On Trump: Elias, Civilization and Trump”
On Trump: The Splitting of the Libertarian Movement
It looks to me that the libertarian movement, like the GOP and the Tea Party, is falling apart over the Trump phenomenon. One faction sees Trump as someone who is ignorant of, even a danger to, libertarian and constitutional principles and therefore should not be followed, while another faction thinks Trump will restore a coveted … Continue reading “On Trump: The Splitting of the Libertarian Movement”
On Trump: Intolerance and Authoritarianism
To make some sense of the chaos in the Republican Party during the primaries and to partially answer the question why conservatives are flocking to Trump to the extent that he won the 2016 US general election, the following: Political scientist and expert on political authoritarianism Karen Stenner sees three different kinds of conservatism which … Continue reading “On Trump: Intolerance and Authoritarianism”
On Trump: Trump Positively Mentions Arch-elitist Richard Haass. Why?
In March 2016 Trump mentioned Council on Foreign Relations president Richard Haass as an “excellent” foreign policy adviser.[1] This created some consternation in some libertarian and conspiricist conservative circles. What is the big deal here? Why would Trump name the quintessential establishment figure Haass as an excellent (potential) adviser on foreign policy? He probably knows … Continue reading “On Trump: Trump Positively Mentions Arch-elitist Richard Haass. Why?”