Well, here we go....

I began this blog back in 2004 while I was teaching English in South Korea. Back then, I was single with no children and not employed by the military, so I used to post about my political disagreements with the George W. Bush administration. Nowadays, I am far more constrained.

The way the election went was a big surprise to me. Though the idea of growing the military is in my interests, I value thing like institutions, globalization, decency, and fairness far more. I value pragmatism over dogma -- effectiveness over morality. I don't look to the presidency to create jobs -- I look to it to advance the national interest globally and "level the playing field" for its citizens. Suffice to say things didn't go the way I'd have preferred.

Nevertheless, I was indignant with the rioting following Election Day, and disagreed with efforts to subvert the Electoral College. I also felt there was merit to the argument that we should "give him a chance," before resorting to obstruction. Once upon a time, the president got to pick his Cabinet without any problem from the opposition party, and I feel we should go back to that, with the caveat that the administration face public scrutiny of its decisions and take responsibility for the Secretaries' actions.

So what has the newly inaugurated president done with his chance? In his first few days, he and his aides "made it clear they will continue to make false claims to buoy Trump’s image, withhold key information from the public, and wage war against the media." [Source] Looks like it'll be a wild next four years.


At least the comedy will be good.