I guess I’m not the only one who’s sick of the Trump clown car:

Trump Is Woody Allen Without the Humor
Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal

Half his tweets show utter weakness.  They are plaintive, shrill little cries, usually just after dawn.  —  The president’s primary problem as a leader is not that he is impetuous, brash or naive.  It’s not that he is inexperienced, crude, an outsider…

A few weeks ago, we unplugged from cable and went to streaming TV only. The transition was smooth. And, soon, we noticed something wonderful:

We didn’t have to hear about the day’s Trumptanic Disaster™ unless we wanted to. And we don’t want to. Listen:

From the Chief: Our Perspective on the Presidential Visit
Scouting Wire

—  In the last two weeks, we have celebrated the best of Scouting at our 20th National Jamboree with nearly 40,000 participants, volunteers, staff and visitors.  The 2017 National Jamboree has showcased and furthered the Scouting mission …

The ABC News headline describes it with a wee tad more backbone: Boy Scouts chief apologizes for Trump’s politically charged speech

Lord Robert Baden-Powell, Founder of Scouting

[emphasis added ibid.]

But for our Scouting family at home not able to see these real moments of Scouting, we know the past few days have been overshadowed by the remarks offered by the President of the United States.

I want to extend my sincere apologies to those in our Scouting family who were offended by the political rhetoric that was inserted into the jamboree. That was never our intent. The invitation for the sitting U.S. President to visit the National Jamboree is a long-standing tradition that has been extended to the leader of our nation that has had a Jamboree during his term since 1937. It is in no way an endorsement of any person, party or policies. For years, people have called upon us to take a position on political issues, and we have steadfastly remained non-partisan and refused to comment on political matters. We sincerely regret that politics were inserted into the Scouting program.

As a former Boy Scout, I can only add, in the Scout Oath: HONEST. Donald Trump is a human fustercluck. Period.

And I’m sick to death of hearing about him. He was overcovered (and overcoddled) in the primaries and election and he’s overcovered, overexposed and an overwhelming stench in the body politic, and I found myself, for the first time, unplugging from the American news media.

I wrote about this before, as the world’s REAL news was shunted aside for nearly two years to promote the worlds WORST television show in history:

“Who Wants To Be President?”

I wrote about it in 2012 when the GOPs managed to get themselves upstaged by Ronald Reagan’s 747 in his Presidential Library. And it only has gotten worse. The fourth estate became, in essence, a fifth column, destroying democracy from within as a stupid and intentionally dumbed down American public was encouraged to vote with the same frivolity reserved for “American Idol” or “America’s Got Talent” and the contest for the awesome power of the American Presidency was belittled and diminished into a pageant of mostly imbecility.

Image from page 18 of “Mental defectives in Virginia”
1915; Public Domain

Non-issues like Hillary Clinton’s email server became paramount, and issues like serial sexual harassment, utter lack of experience and general narcissistic flatulence were downplayed in favor of ratings. Lester Moonves (CEO of CBS and may his name be ever damned) said, famously, “It may not be good for America, but it’s damn good for CBS.”

Right. Thanks, Les. On the other hand, “super scout” Rex Tillerson is considering resigning from his Secretary of State gig, given that Trumpf has reneged (seemingly) on all the guarantees he gave Tillerson to leave Exxon-Mobil and take over the increasingly skeletal State Department. Well, Rex, consider that Donald Trumpf is a living repudiation of the Scout Oath.

Here, from memory (some things stick with you to the end),

A Scout is:

trustworthy

Mr. Trumpf has repeatedly thrown campaign promises under the bus as they prove “inconvenient.” Latest is his sudden reversal in deciding to throw all transgender troops out of the US military.

loyal

Trumpf demands loyalty from others but evinces none himself. Ask Jeff Sessions.

helpful

As in God Helps them that HELPS THEMSELVES. He helps himself to whatever’s available.

friendly

Only in the sense that a seducer is “friendly” to their mark before they screw them. But this is not “friendly.” It is merely salesmanship.

courteous

Again, only when it suits his agenda. Thus far he has been the least courteous occupant of the White House in US history.

kind

Perhaps as in “one of a” as in sui generis, but his casual cruelty and viciousness are too well-known to go into detail here.

obedient

to his id, perhaps.

thrifty

three bankruptcies rather neatly disprove that notion

cheerful  

When he’s on his meds. Think of how many times you’ve actually seen him smile. If ever.

brave

Trumpf is a coward and a bully. There is no bravery there.

clean and

The most foul-mouthed White House in history. As to his personal hygene? DON’T WANT TO KNOW. Dubious.

reverent.

Trumpf is the antithesis of “reverence.” Two Corinthians will testify to that.

Now, you will note that Trumpf is a clear failure on twelve out of twelve.

You could even say that Donald J. Trump is the ANTI-Scout. (Take your antiChrist conversations elsewhere, please).

But lifelong Boy Scout enthusiast and former Chief Scout Tillerson went along anyway. This is, parenthetically, the problem I always had with Boy Scouts: they demand “morality” and “straight”ness. (Note that Trumpf fails this simple oath, as well):

The Scout Oath

On my honor I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country
And to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake, and morally straight.

“Morally straight” CAN also apply to homosexuality, if one thinks forward, a bit. I’ve never had a problem with it. Fidelity and honesty are virtues in ALL sexual relationships. (As regards the “morality” of a solitary Biblical book [Leviticus] that prescribes the death penalty for wearing polyester/cotton blend shirt, well, a truckload of salt might be necessary for its full apprehension.)

As it stands, a lot of scouting organizations — most specifically, the Mormons — have pulled away from the BSA because they (Tillerson, ironically) removed the prohibition against homosexuality and STOPPED equating it with pedophilia. (This has baffled the Catholic Scout troops, BTW.) And, as we all know, the Mormons are a MORAL religious cult.

The simple morality of daily life seems to bypass an awful lot of scout leaders and troops, while they can wax infinite on side issues. Tillerson, can, in other words, serve a moral monster, and never notice the disconnect. Don’t get me wrong: I use the skills and values I learned in Scouting each and every day of my life, and I don’t regret it a whit, but I don’t see a lot of wit expressed within Scouting these daze.

Perhaps the move from New Brunswick, New Jersey to secessionist and treason center Irving, Texas, has something to do with it. Boy Scouting and Texas generally DON’T mix, mostly because clueless braggadocio is NOT a Scouting virtue, but seems to be the Texas National Anthem. Sorry, Tejanos. I lived among you, and I appreciate you within your state, but Texanness does NOT export beyond its borders and certainly should not taint Scouting.

Otherwise you get Tillersons.

Eagle Scout medal

Just goes to show that a lot of Eagle Scouts still managed to never “get” Scouting. Right Rexy?

Trump’s Boy Scout speech should give everyone the creeps
John McLaughlin
Washington Post

… Then the jarring spectacle of the kids cheering and applauding as Trump blasted through a speech full of derision toward others, self-obsession, political spin, and incoherent rambling about cocktail society and high finance in New York City. I suspect it was the excitement of the occasion that spurred the applause rather than actual endorsement of what Trump said. Still, it evoked the sort of cheering for obvious nonsense — or worse — that we’ve witnessed in dictatorships around the world.

The kids were being used. If my child had been there, I’d be mad as hell. I suspect widespread reaction like this is behind the apology issued by a Boy Scouts of America leader three days after the speech….

John McLaughlin teaches at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He was deputy director of the CIA from 2000 to 2004, serving as acting director in 2004.

My point is this: I can’t stand hearing about the creep. Trumpf that is. (Tillerson can take a flying leap, for all that I care, but I don’t care whether I hear about him or not.)

Unplugging from American news media has left us with France 24, Al Jazeera, Sky News, Free Speech TV and several other world newscasts.

And guess what? News may be more boring, but it IS news and we CAN finally find out what’s going on with the rest of the world — and not just Trumpf all the damned time.

I am nauseous from the endless depredations of the Trump-GOP Clown Car, and tired of hearing about it, frankly.

So, for only the second time that I can recall (the first being my “vision quest” in 1984) I have unplugged from a big chunk of American popular “news” and media, and I don’t miss it a bit. My local PBS station stopped airing two British crime dramas I’ve become very attached to, and voila! they have appeared on Amazon and Hulu:  Midsommer Murders and Banks, DCI.

I have LOTS of episodes to console me.

Being a Geezer, of course, it is a miracle that I could
figure out the new streaming setup. Sacre bleu!

This seems entirely serendipitous, and I don’t have to watch Trump and Tillerson making a mockery of Scouting.

And that’s a good thing.

Courage.

This has been cross posted from his vorpal sword