I consider myself a well-read person. I read into every issue I cover, and I go down internet worm holes and read stuff that’s not important to anybody. I know stuff. But, there’s a lot of stuff I will never understand.
I don’t understand why now is the best time to revoke DACA, and threaten to deport around 800,000 young adults who were brought to this nation by no choice of their own when they were children. Trump says he only wants people who are educated, working, and can be a benefit to this nation…so why kick 800,000 people out who fit those guidelines? I guess I can understand it if the explanation is that Donald Trump is racist toward brown people. Even if he’s not, his base is racist.
I don’t understand why we’re talking about pumping billions into a useless wall on the border that can be circumvented by a $45 ladder when FEMA is about to run out of money from rebuilding American cities struck by two major hurricanes. I do understand that it’s feeding a racist base, but I don’t understand why anyone, even racists, support something so expensive and useless.
I don’t understand why we argue about the debt ceiling each time it comes up. It’s money that was already agreed upon. I do understand why Republicans wanted to use it to shut down the government during the Obama era, as they were just total obstructionist and hated everything connected to Obama. But why are they threatening a government shutdown while they have the House, Senate, and White House? Don’t Republicans understand they control the government? I do understand why Trump made the magic-bean deal with Democrats, and that’s because he’s not a great deal maker. It was great for Democrats and the nation, but not for Republicans. I think Trump made that deal because if the negotiations were to continue, trying to understand how the debt ceiling works would have confused and exposed him. That, or he was too busy ogling his daughter who had walked into the room. Ew.
I don’t understand people who still deny Climate Change. I understand why Republicans oppose it, as they’re funded by oil companies. I understand why conservative think tanks continue to claim it’s a hoax because they’re funded by oil companies. I do understand why Donald Trump believes it’s a hoax created by China, and that’s because he’s an idiot. An editor wrote me a couple days ago and said he’d never run my work because it’s so divisive. Yeah, OK. But I’m not so divisive that I made the weather and climate partisan issues.
I don’t understand why people listen to Rush Limbaugh. I actually worked with two, TWO, editorial writers at The Free Lance-Star who listened to Rush on a daily basis. The man proves time and time again that he’s an idiot, and he doesn’t understand how anything works in the real world. Yesterday, he told his listeners that these hurricanes are never as bad as advertised, and it’s a conspiracy between the media and advertisers who sell stuff during an impending disaster. I guess Rush didn’t watch any of the footage from Houston. Was Harvey not as bad as advertised? I thought it was actually worse.
Would Rush be pushing this theory if he was still hawking Florida orange juice? Years ago he briefly pitched the orange stuff until the company that hired him realized that most people hate Rush. Most would rather throw oranges at him than take his suggestions on what to drink.
The real danger with Rush is that there are idiots who will believe him. Rush may have put stupid people’s lives in danger. Now that I think about it, it might even out. The one question I want answered is; Will Rush evacuate his Palm Beach home, or will he sit on the beach screaming for Irma to bring it on? I challenge him to do a live show from his front porch during the hurricane. He should put his money where his fat-ass mouth is.
I don’t understand Florida. It’s a really weird place. I don’t understand why people retire to live among giant, flying, creepy, stingy, buzzy things. I don’t like bugs. Reptiles, I can deal with. Currently, there’s a really long fuzzy centipede thingy with antennas and a gazillion legs in my shower that someone needs to come over here and kill it for me.
I don’t understand why there’s only one road out of the Florida Keys. I realize it’s a very long road and it’s difficult to build bridges going over seven miles from island to island, but wouldn’t that be much easier logistically than wasting billions on a wall on the Mexican border that goes over mountains, deserts, rivers, and private property? Hurricane Andrew hit 25 years ago. Couldn’t there have been another road constructed in that time frame? Florida, stop electing Republicans who look like Voldemort.
What I don’t understand is why people are at the stores fighting over bottled water at this time. Their water at home has not been turned off yet. Are we such a spoiled, first-world nation that we’d rather punch a guy over a bottle of Dasani, Voss, or Fiji water than to drink out of the tap? By the way, your tap water’s PH level is around 8.0. Dasani is 4.5, Voss is 6.0, and Fiji is 7.5. That stuff from Walmart is 6.5. In a natural disaster, I think you’ll be OK if you drink from the tap for a few days.
Lastly, what I really don’t understand are Trump sycophants. I understand partisanship, spin, and even loyalty. What I don’t understand is tying your little row boat to a sinking yacht. Everyone has flaws and defects, but Trump is just one big defect. The man has proven he is not anything he’s boasted about himself. He doesn’t know more than the generals. He doesn’t understand how government works. He’s not a great deal maker. He doesn’t have the best brain. He doesn’t have the best words. He didn’t even write the book he brags about writing. If we attached a disaster rating system to human beings, Trump would be a category five.
I don’t understand people who believe Obama is a Muslim, but think Trump is a Christian. I get the worship of a cult of personality….but why of a personality that is so stupid? Some people don’t understand why Trump’s attack on veterans didn’t kill his campaign, or his mocking a handicapped reporter, or his “pussy grabbing,” or the racism, or the stupidity and the not knowing anything. For me, I don’t understand why the ridiculous hair didn’t kill the campaign. This man actually chooses to look the way he does. Would you vote for a guy who knew he had a booger hanging and didn’t do anything about it?
Even if you’re a racist, you’d think you’d find a much more competent racist to follow. There are plenty of racists out there who are able to hide it better and are not displaying it on Twitter on a daily basis. I don’t believe that everyone who voted and supports Trump is a racist. But, I don’t understand why racism is not a deal breaker for the rest of them.
Trump understands two things, and that’s marketing his name and his debt. But even the stuff he’s marketed has gone under. And understanding how to make other people pay for your debt doesn’t mean you understand the federal debt. We’re not gonna get Russian banks to finance the border wall. Quite frankly, I’d be surprised if Trump is capable of dressing himself and tying his shoes.
Regarding Irma: I have friends in Florida. If you’re down there, get out. I do hope the hurricane spares the state from the brunt of its devastation. And if you’re staying, you can drink the tap water. You’ll be fine.
Clay Jones can be reached at [email protected]