After the first 100 days

The first 100 days of the President Trump administration has gone by. Nothing spectacular has been accomplished, although much was promised. The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare as its detractors like to call it, is still with us. 

Tax reform is promised for this week, although many in Congress are skeptical until President Trump releases his earlier tax returns and legislators can see how and if he will benefit from proposed tax code changes. And, everyone should be concerned about who will benefit from proposed changes - the top 1 or 2 percent, the middle class or even those lower on the economic ladder.

I had a discussion last week with a lady who is a Trump supporter and who believes the news media has been too critical of the new president. There is no doubt the media has been robust and reporting on the flaws and goofs coming out of the administration. But better a free and reliable media with its criticisms than a cheering section for ignorance and stupidity. 

One action, in particular, disturbs me: the Attorney General’s decision to stop looking at police departments across the country when citizens and groups file protests. AG Sessions tried to delay implementation of a continuing review of the Baltimore police but a court ordered it to go forward. The majority of American police departments are stacked with good men and women and conduct themselves in the ritual of Preserve and Protect. But when citizen complaints are made they need to be looked into, and this has been the responsibility of the Justice Department. This must continue.

It appears that Steve Bannon’s role as chief strategist to President Trump is a thing of the past. His “America first” ideas are ill-advised and out of touch with reality. Since World War II, America and the American President have been at the forefront of world leadership and we cannot neglect, ignore or discard that duty. The world is too big and volatile for the number one super power to step aside and let things sort themselves out. I told a friend a couple of weeks ago that Bannon will be gone by Labor Day. I stand by that statement. 

Global warming, terrorism around the world, security of nuclear weapons, world trade and finance, poverty, refugees, roads and bridges in America, are all calling for leadership and action. 

New jobs must be created and an aging workforce assisted with training to fill those jobs. Opening up the mines and other industries will not automatically result in more jobs. Robots and automation are always going to cut into what were once good jobs for men (and women). 

There is not much to show for the first 100 days of this Presidency, but we can hope that the administration ship will be righted to an even keel and sail on to better days for the U.S. and the world. 

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Irritants

The one continuing thing that absolutely PMO is Donald Trump’s ignorance about how to carry out his role as President of the United States and leader of the free world. 

Then there are lesser, but still mind-warping, irritants - and this weekend I had two on the same day within hours of each other.

Mind you, these occurred while Trump is consistently PMO.

Driving from North Carolina to my home in South Carolina on a nice Sunday morning I  stopped for gas at a name brand station. The first pump had an out of order sign on it.  OK. No big deal. I pulled around to a second pump. I put my brand loyalty card in the slot. Did I want the cash reduction? Of course. I followed with a credit card and went through the usual litany of questions. Each one requiring me to punch an answer on the display panel, which, by the by, was almost too dirty to read, Is this a debit or credit card? Credit was the answer. So then I had to enter my ZIP code and did I want  a receipt. Yes, I want a receipt.

After all the bookkeeping was done I lifted the handle, pushed my choice and proceeded to fill up. When it finished, I put the pump back, screwed my gas cap on tight and closed the side panel. I turned for my receipt and instead got a message telling me to see the clerk. 

Irritant #1. No receipt paper in the pump is becoming an all too frequent occurrence. It happens at brand name stations, and the “Have a happy Trump day” gas station I used - out of necessity - in Florida a couple of weeks ago. The operator there gave me this greeting when I walked in to pay. (His pumps didn’t take credit cards.) He gave me the same greeting when I went back in to use the men’s room and when I (thank God) finally got out of there. 

Back to North Carolina. I walked to the store and opened the door. Eight people were standing in the one open line. At the head of the line, a customer was buying a candy bar and a soda pop with a debit card and having difficulty working the credit card machine. Smoke was coming out of the ears of the seven people behind him. I left. Eff the receipt.

Since this see the clerk is happening all too often, I believe failure to keep receipt paper in the pumps is a gimmick to lure customers into the store hoping they will make an impulse purchase. They must be some automatic way of knowing when a pump is out of receipt paper, or the first time someone walks in to ask for receipt ought to be enough of a clue. 

Number Two. I went back on the road and got home. No Sunday morning paper at my door. This is the fourth or fifth time since I subscribed in late January that my paper has not been delivered. I called the newspaper and was greeted, as on all other occasions, with recorded messages on about how important my call is to someone who is never available to answer the phone. I will spare the reader further details, but on Monday I canceled my subscription via email. A woman from the paper called and left a message, so I decided to be friendly and return her call. She was not available and her message box was full.

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