A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

Here we are, several days after President Donald J. Trump's infuriatingly underwhelming "first 100 days," with a Chief Executive who hasn't matured into his job and his popularity still at world record lows. Unlike President Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous first 100-day period in 1933, Mr. Trump's first months in the White House will be remembered for his crass behavior toward Mexico and other countries, his insistence on building a $21 billion dollar wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, his constant use of Twitter to spout bits of Orwellian nonsense, the mean-spirited assault on President Obama's legacy, his bumbling attempts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, and, of course, Russiagate. As hard as it is for Mr. Trump's devoted followers to accept, the 45th President of the United States has been an abject failure since his Inauguration nearly five months ago. His popularity, which was at record lows even before he took the Oath of Offic...

Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the United States, has been in the White House for less than a month. In that short period of time, he has become the least popular Chief Executive in American history, thanks to his abrasive, take-no-crap-from-anyone demeanor, his penchant for divisiveness and "rule by fear," and just plain dishonesty. As a result of such unpopular decisions as banning people from seven Muslim countries from entering the U.S. with visas, insisting on building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border (and saying that Mexico will pay for it), waging a vigorous war against the press, and dissembling about why former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was asked to resign over Flynn's pre-inauguration conversation with Russia's ambassador about the possible easing of sanctions, Mr. Trump's popularity continues to spiral downward. Per the latest Gallup poll (February 17, 2017), the President's popularity hit a historically low po...

It's been less than four weeks since President Donald J. Trump took the oath of office (you know, where he swore "to  preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States" to the best of his ability). In that short time, he and his White House staff's ineptitude have left the Executive Mansion "in disarray."  After a disastrous week which included Andy Puzder's withdrawal from his nomination as Labor Secretary and the forced resignation of Michael Flynn from his post as National Security Adviser, the President of the United States is now mired in a drama, mostly of his own making, which centers on his alleged connections to Vladimir Putin's Russia. According to USA Today , Flynn's resignation over his contacts with Russian ambassador Sergei Ivanovich Kislyak during the transition has " accelerated the controversy over the Russian connections of President Trump and his associates." Per an article written by Gregor...

I must be one of the densest persons in the United States, because I simply don’t understand why President Trump’s supporters still, you know, support his Administration. Over the past three weeks, Mr. Trump, advised by the Machiavellian Stephen K. Bannon and abetted by such luminaries as Kellyanne (“Alternative Facts”) Conway and Sean Spicer, has done more to undermine American democracy – and its standing in the world – than any President since Richard M. Nixon. Consider. Since President Trump took office on January 20, he and his staff have: Called the judicial branch a “threat to national security”  - In a Twitter post dated February 5, Mr. Trump wrote: Just cannot  believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad! Declared that they will label any negative reporting on what the Trump White House does as “fake news," even if it is not actually fake news -   In a recent co...