Shooting the Messenger

 We witnessed an example of "shooting the messenger" yesterday.

Trump fires statistics chief after soft jobs report

The firing yesterday of the Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner is a classic example of shooting the messenger, but portends a more sinister and potentially devastating situation for our nation. 

What happens if, as Project 2025 describes, the federal workforce becomes staffed with people who are loyal to the president over supporting the Constitution? Will we be able to believe anything published by the government? That is my concern. When facts are no longer facts but become twisted to make the president happy while managing reality, the United States will become no better than a banana republic.

It is also clear that businessmen do not make good presidents. The idea that people can be fired because you don't like what they are telling you, if it is based in fact, is not good government. Period! Bad news is just as important as good news.

Trump said something the other day about the declining value of the dollar (down 10 percent since he took office)* that made no sense. 

"Well, you know, I'm a person that likes a strong dollar, but a weak dollar makes you a hell of a lot more money," Trump said in a media Q&A. (Newsweek)

If the dollar is worth less, then he has less economic power at the end of the day. Am I missing something here?

If the dollar is worth less then things like oil and imports cost more dollars and We the People certainly are not earning more. I know that my income has not increased by 10 percent this year. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

 *Note: The article says that the dollar is down 11 percent since the first of the year, but made the point that Trump was not president for the all of that time. I had heard it was down 10 percent since he took office, but I cannot find where I heard that. So, I went with 10 percent.