Donald Trump is insane! His administration is an embarrassment to the Keystone Cops. Everyday, I physically cringe and get not a little nauseous when it comes back to me that he is our president. I have spared nothing in my derision, outrage, sarcasm and disgust. I have been about as merciless with those who chose to vote for him.

However, a sobering thought keeps hitting me in the head. Bill Maher touched on this in his "New Rules" monologue last Friday night. In it he stat...ed that we should give up trying to change his true believers' minds by cynically bringing up facts. All we're accomplishing is cementing them even deeper in the hardening concrete of their delusion.

As hard as it will be, we have to find a way to understand where it is they are coming from. We need to be sincere in our efforts to communicate, mainly to listen and then discuss the issues and attempt to find common ground. 

This will not be easy, but consider, we generally consider ourselves as being generally smarter and more aware of what's happening than most Trumpsters. I know this sounds not just a little smarmy and condescending. I guess it is. But if we want to break through the barrier between our respective camps, it will likely be up to us to take the first step. It will require that we swallow hard, that we gird our loins (however that is accomplished) and dive in.

Frankly, I don't have any idea how to begin, other than for us to go to friends and family and give it a go. I think it's probably best to listen a lot more than we talk.

Our world wise president once again proves he knows absolutely nothing about history, in particular, American History. He hasn't so much as picked up a book anytime in his adult life.

He now claims that that bastion of racial tolerance, Andrew Jackson would have had just the right touch to mediate between the north and south, and therefore, would have avoided the Civil War. What a guy! Never mind that it was Jackson who oversaw the slaughter of thousands of Native Americans and displacing thousands more. No doubt he would have mustered the sensitivity to deal fairly with all factions including Black slaves, southern plantation owners, northern merchants and abolitionists to come to an amicable agreement that would have been lauded by all.

Trump has also said that he would be honored to have that "pretty smart cookie" Korea's Kim Jong Un come for a White House visit so they could "work things out." He has also made an open invitation to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to come have a nice WH dinner. This after calling and congratulating Turkey's dictator Erdogan for his electoral victory, eliminating all democratic elements of their government.

Notice a pattern here? Coupled with his long time swooning over Vladimir Putin, Trump has repeatedly and consistently shown an admiration and probably not a little envy for the world's current crop of authoritarian leaders. Delusions of grandeur.