{"id":40047,"date":"2017-02-22T22:41:35","date_gmt":"2017-02-23T05:41:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=40047"},"modified":"2017-02-22T23:34:38","modified_gmt":"2017-02-23T06:34:38","slug":"random-thoughts-passing-political-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2017\/02\/random-thoughts-passing-political-scene.html","title":{"rendered":"Random Thoughts on the Passing Political Scene"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"It<\/a>
Dusk over Honolulu (Wikimedia Commons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s time to clear out of my files some of the political items that I\u2019ve marked over the past month, before they become completely obsolete.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an article from nearly a month ago (before, for example, the sudden fall of Michael Flynn) on a subject that still bears watching:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBannon Is Given Security Role Usually Held for Generals\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And another, also on Steve Bannon:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSteve Bannon Carries Battles to Another Influential Hub: The Vatican\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I find Mr. Bannon\u2019s rise to power quite worrisome.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, about two weeks ago, a major talent with lots of experience was deliberately excluded<\/em> from\u00a0Mr. Trump\u2019s foreign policy team:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTrump nixes Elliott Abrams for State Department job\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s this, from a while ago:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Right Can\u2019t Defend Trump\u2019s Behavior\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And this:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Trouble with Nationalism\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And, although I\u2019ve voted for him and although I liked him when I\u2019ve spoken with him (including that meeting with Utah Muslim leaders two or three weeks back), I do worry:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes Jason Chaffetz understand his job?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s an item from The Onion<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTrump Accuses Media of Not Reporting Voices He Hears in His Head\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In fairness to Mr. Trump, though, as an alert reader informed me a few days ago, The Onion<\/em> is a satirical<\/em> publication. \u00a0Which means that its reporting may not be 100% accurate. \u00a0Who knew?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Finally, lest the Trumpists out there accuse me yet again of never seeing anything positive in the actions and words of President Donald J. Trump (the lineal successor to General Washington, Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Lincoln, General Eisenhower, and Mr. Reagan), let me point out again that I\u2019m extremely enthusiastic about his nomination of Judge Gorsuch to the Supreme Court and that his new national security advisor, Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster seems to be precisely the kind of soldier-scholar whom I hold in extremely high esteem.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And President Trump hasn\u2019t yet appointed Milo Yiannopoulos to any high position in the federal government. \u00a0That<\/em> has to be reckoned to his credit, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Posted from Honolulu, Hawaii<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 It\u2019s time to clear out of my files some of the political items that I\u2019ve marked over the past month, before they become completely obsolete. \u00a0 Here\u2019s an article from nearly a month ago (before, for example, the sudden fall of Michael Flynn) on a subject that still bears watching: \u00a0 \u201cBannon Is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nRandom Thoughts on the Passing Political Scene<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    It's time to clear out of my files some of the political items that I've marked over the past month, before they become completely\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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