Tales from real life |
There's a certain presidential candidate who is being accused of being a DEI hire. The acronym isn't being used in the sense of diversity, equity, and inclusion, but rather as an insult meaning 'didn't earn it'. The insult is meant to demean a woman who achieved exemplary grades throughout her academic career and passed the bar to become a successful attorney. A woman who prosecuted felons instead of becoming one and then went on to a distinguished political career. The implication of DEI in this context is that she somehow doesn't deserve the credit due for her hard work and impressive accomplishments. But what about the other guy? What has he earned? He's never had an interview for a real job, never had to punch a time clock, and never had to submit to a performance review. He's a real estate developer who's never designed a building or hammered a nail. A golf resort magnate who never laid out a course or put down a single piece of sod. A politician who's never won the most votes in a general election. This failed, one term, ex-president claims to hold a business degree, but there is no proof that he actually received one. There's no proof because a legal injunction was filed to prevent the school from releasing his records. We can only speculate that his grades were embarrassingly poor, and that his transcript would show that he 'didn't earn it'. It's very possible that he benefited from what is known as the gentleman's C. That's the practice of moving wealthy or well-connected white boys through the academic system whether they attend classes or not. It would be difficult to prove, but if true, then he definitely didn't earn it. This same presidential candidate who rants about being treated unfairly relied on his father to jump-start his business career. He was gifted seed money from daddy rather than earning it. His father also provided him with access to real businessmen, pressured banks, and co-signed loans on his behalf. His start in business was handed to him on a silver platter, he didn't earn it. But even with the advantages of wealth and political connections, he managed to lose much of his father's net worth with a string of poor investments and multiple bankruptcies. One of his biggest personal successes was a stock company, DJT, that lured gullible investors to put their money into literally nothing. The company never offered any products or services, and never showed a profit. But the bankruptcy of DJT netted huge profits for its CEO, Donald J. Trump. In addition to taking millions in salary, Trump sold his own over-mortgaged properties to DJT at inflated prices. This paper shuffle left investors with ten cents on their dollar. DJT ceased to exist, and Trump received hundreds of millions without earning it. The supposedly spontaneous announcement of Donald Trump's presidential career was cheered and applauded, but the adoring crowd was mostly made up of paid actors. This startling fact came to light because he tried to stiff them, and the subsequent lawsuit became public record. The applause for his candidacy wasn't earned. It wasn't even paid for. Eventually, this serial fraud was appointed to the highest office in America by the electoral college. He was elevated over a better qualified candidate who received 5 million more votes. He may have been president, but he certainly didn't earn it. Now Donald J. Trump is running again, and he's running scared. His only realistic hope of avoiding a federal prison term is to pardon himself. He's already promised pardons to co-conspirators at all levels, from convicted capitol rioters to corrupt supreme court justices. And he's threatening retribution against all who dare to oppose him. Trump recently said in an interview that he's going to get nastier in his quest to regain power. As if he isn't already the nastiest politician we've ever seen. Trump could be an insult comic, but his jabs are mean rather than funny. He's never been known to apologize or say the word please. Donald Trump may demand your vote, but he certainly hasn't earned it. |