A Cold, Hard Month is Coming In Many Ways
In terms of the actual weather, it has been all over the scale of severity around the country. My neck of the woods has had a pretty mild, if brisk, winter approach, while much of the country has endured really cold, tough weather. But the weather provides a good metaphor for the “climate” we humans construct- lots of turbulence, many storms, some rays of hope. Let’s take a look at some of the current sightings on our “weather map.”
How Could the Shooting of Two National Guardsmen Be Made Worse? Ask Trump.
It would be difficult to imagine a more terrible, horrific act than the cold blooded shooting of two national guardsmen in Washington. As of this writing, one has died, the other is clinging to life. All this happened right at Thanksgiving. Both soldiers had volunteered for the duty that day so others could be at home with their families for the holiday.
As awful as this is, Trump managed to make it even worse, in three actions that are not only bad, but blasphemous in how he chose to use these soliders who strive to serve us all:
- He blamed the act on Biden, noting the Afghan who committed the attack came in under Biden’s term. Others in the administration have piled on, stating that there was no screening for such refugees – a statement of pure BS. To keep the record straight, by the time Biden took office, Afghanistan was hopelessly lost; the government would fall in days, and the US had not nearly enough troops on the ground to do a full scale evacuation or any stabilization. All this a direct result of the secret deal Trump made with the Taliban on his way out of office.As chaotic as the situation was, an impressive number were evacuated, and all of them were checked before being allowed to enter and stay in the US. They guy who did this shooting had worked for the US and had, as far as we know at this point, no bad record or worrisome signs. Only Trump would use this to take yet another dig at Biden.
- Trump will use this to expel many Afghans who did come here; he has made that clear. There is nothing more shameful than abandoning those who fought with you. We left too many in Vietnam, far too many in Afghanistan. That those few who got out now fear expulsion is as shameful as it gets.
- Trump is using this as yet another racist hammer. He initially said entry visas would be severely restricted or eliminated for about 20 countries. Later in his social media, he indicated this tragedy is a rationale to stop all migrations from anywhere in the Third World.Some of the countries on the original list seem chosen at random; looking to exclude much of the planet makes no sense at all. The man is mentally ill, encouraged by the likes of Stephen Millar. On a more practical matter, many of these governments cooperate with us in sharing intelligence and in related ways. Count on that well drying up quickly, putting the US in further danger.
Funding the Affordable Care ACT – A Fork in the Road for Those Who Care
So, a lot of Republicans are now nervous about what they wrought in cutting ACA funding and other cuts in the health area. Turns out their districts are being hit hard by all this, including the closing of rural hospitals. There are still Republican legislators that hate ACA (and Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, …) but enough see the effects on their people and the likely effects on them politically to make some resolution possible. We will know shortly.
The Democrats have two goals. One, save ACA funding, simply because not doing so hurts too many people. Getting the funding back is the primary goal. The second goal is to ensure they get political credit for restoring funding if that happens and ensuring EVERYONE knows which members of Congress killed it if it does not get restored. It should be a political win either way.
Word is that Trump is trying to get ahead of any negotiations by offering up a much reduced funding package as a take it or leave it offer. But what is rumored to be under consideration is too little to be acceptable for anyone who cares about ACA and is too generous for those who still want to kill it.
Were I King For A Day, Here Would Be My ACA Recommendation
The Democrats, hopefully joined up front with a very few Republicans, note that this is an important, complex business that cannot be cobbled together in a back room. The Republicans have been moaning about the ACA for over a decade and have yet to come out with a comprehensive fix. So, here is the plan:
Restore ACA funding to its original level for two years. Before those two years are up, the Republicans offer up a complete plan – not patchwork- for consideration. The Democrats agree to listen to what they have to offer. Importantly, if the Democrats control one or both houses of Congress at that time, they pledge to allow a Republican plan to have full hearings and a vote. No gamesmanship but time and effort for a serious outcome.
Put up or shut up. Failing to do so, the Republicans are responsible for the suffering that follows and for making another shut down at least possible early next year. I am betting that just enough Republicans would sign on to carry the day on such a proposal, enough that Trump would hesitate to veto it.
Nurses Are Not Professionals?
In a breathtakingly stupid and untimely decision, this Administration has reclassified several careers as “not professional,” making obtaining student loans more difficult and more expensive to pay back. This when we have a massive shortage of nurses already.
Doing this to the nursing profession got the most attention, as it should have, but others are also included, for no discernable reason other than to make it hard for people to advance. Among those no longer considered professionals are nurses, accountants, physician assistants, physical therapist, audiologists, architects, educators, and social workers.
Short sighted and mean spirited, for no good reason.
Trump and the G20
The Trump administration chose not to attend the G20 Summit this year, citing the stories planted by Elon Musk that whites were being persecuted in South Africa, the host of G20 this year. The administration even declined to send a high level official to accept the gavel as next year’s host. Now Trump says South Africa will not be invited to attend next year.
G20 members do not need invitations – those come with membership. Trump could be petty (not a surprise) and deny them visas. My hope is that should he do so that other, important members of the G20 would decline to attend. Most helpful if such members states would let him know quietly that they will not attend without all members being present, which would be yet another embarrassment for Trump.
This is likely to become yet another example of the world simply deciding to work around Trump, ignoring him as much as they can. We see this regularly now with Canada, Mexico, NATO, the EU, and others. America will never regain the leadership we held for so long because of this one inadequate president who got a second chance to screw up everything – again.
See You Next Week
Plans as of today for next week are to talk about what happens after the midterms, a look at Republicans in Congress who feel disrespected by their Fearless Leader, and a question about Trump’s choice of seating.
A Footnote: I invite you to read a short post by Heather Cox Richardson a few days ago. It is a very precise and succinct posting of just how wrong this Administration is for America, on moral grounds and on a foundation of completely erroneous strategy. A short, powerful read:
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/november-28-2025?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=20533&post_id=180231967&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=3jv05y&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
Bill Clontz
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