Even a blind hog can sometimes find an acorn.
That’s a phrase my father used to use when a colleague he really didn’t care for made a significant discovery — not very charitable, but sometimes pretty accurate
Which brings me to the state of our country today.
We have arguably the blindest of hogs in the White House, and the term “hog” is particularly apt since he has used his position to make profits from selling swag. No other president has turned the office into an overpriced gift shop.
Oink, oink.
Which brings me to the bombing of Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities. I hate to say it, but it may have been the right move. An atomic bomb in the hands of Iran is not a pretty picture.
While most nuclear powers hold their arsenal as a deterrent, I suspect Iran would not hesitate to use one to obliterate Israel, and they, too, are a nuclear power.
See where this goes?
So far it seems that between our strategically used “bunker buster” bombs and Israel’s continued destruction of above ground facilities, Iran may be out of the H-bomb club. And I’m fine with that.
But am I going to rally behind the president and applaud him as a great leader?
Oh, hell no!
He is a feckless, conniving charlatan who has no business holding the keys to the nation’s military. But this was probably a good move.
I also doubt he made this decision on his own. This smacks of an operation that was already set up and held in abeyance until needed. That seems obvious during the press conference where Pete Hegseth spouted Trumpian hyperbole and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine gave a realistic assessment of the attack.
It remains to be seen what the result of the U.S. bombing of Iran will be and exactly what kind of end game is planned. Trump most likely has no idea what to do next, and, if he has a lick of sense, he will continue to pretend he is a leader while strategic thinkers in the military work in the background.
I would like to see this as a “one-off” event that will not end up with “boots on the ground” in Iran.
Though I am sure Trump is already figuring ways to profit from another forever war, I don’t think the military wants one. And neither does the American public.
Another Afghanistan or Gulf War has little appeal to voters, especially those veterans who came back from those conflicts to a country that was weary of war.
And now, with Trump cutting veterans’ healthcare, the military will be even less than gung-ho to get into another war.
The recent sad military parade shows how the troops feel about following the Orange Man. If you watched that depressing spectacle, you likely noticed the passive aggressive actions of the troops, who deliberately walked out of step and did not salute the man in the president’s box as the sauntered by.
The silence, the absence of cheering spectators was punctuated only by the squeaky wheels of the tanks that looked more like an invasion force than a parade.
I am heartened by the huge “No Kings” marches in every state in the country, which stood in bold contrast to the lackluster armed forces strolling down Pennsylvania Avenue.
People in this country were tired of Trump during his first term and even more so now. I, too, am weary of seeing him and hearing him and wondering what in the hell he is going to do next.
But this one time, it seems this hog found an acorn.
This is about as much praise as I can muster.
Hardy Haberman is a longtime local LGBT activist and a board member of the Woodhull Freedom Alliance. His blog is at DungeonDiary.blogspot.com.