Miner Queries | Cherie Miner

Is anybody else exhausted? Last week during my fifth vacation Bible school, the steam heat, and an endless list of engagements, I came home each night to the latest development in the Trump Russia scandal.

As the New York Times reported, Donald Trump, Jr. met with an attorney tied to the Russian government after being offered opposition research on Hillary Clinton. Instead of notifying the FBI about the offer from a foreign government, Trump Jr. convinced campaign manager Paul Manafort and his brother-in-law Jared Kushner to attend the meeting.

With each day, we get closer to evidence that our president colluded with Russia to turn the election.

Meanwhile, the media circus provides cover for a host of other unsavory power plays designed to enrich the few and impoverish the many. For example, Senate Republicans returned to Washington, D.C., and vowed to keep working on a bill to repeal Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act or ACA), despite hearing from countless constituents who do not support ACA repeal.

Additionally, the resulting furor in the White House has emboldened other administration officials to push their own plans. As Heather Digby Parton writes in Salon Magazine, Steve Bannon has presented a plan to relieve American troops in Afghanistan by using private military contractors.

This plan involves Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater Worldwide, and Stephen Feinberg of DynCorp International. Parton cites another Salon report by Matthew Pulver about Prince’s plans not only to use the colonial corporate model of the British East India Company, but to extract Afghanistan’s resources to pay for the venture.

Parton writes: “I have long believed that the notion Trump is an isolationist is a grave misunderstanding. He’s a crude imperialist, who believes we should ‘take the oil’ because ‘to the victors belong the spoils.’ Lately, it’s become less clear that Bannon’s ‘nationalism’ is aligned with America rather than some vague (and racist) notion of ‘the West.’ It looks more and more as if Trump’s loyalties lie wherever the Trump Organization has a real estate or licensing deal.”

Let’s hope Special Counsel Robert Mueller follows the money.

But in the meantime, Americans are overwhelmed with multiple battles. In addition to fighting to maintain their access to health care, Iowans are looking at a state budget crisis that will further erode state services, education and environmental protections. Conveniently, former Gov. Branstad has moved on and left Kim Reynolds and the Republican-led legislature holding the bag.

And across the nation, multiple state attorneys general are battling President Trump’s specious voter fraud commission headed by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. Kobach, who seems to be on a mission to suppress voting, demanded states turn over confidential voter registration records, leading to lawsuits and voters cancelling their registration to keep their records private. CNN reported on July 5 that up to 44 states have refused to turn over voter data.

This wrecking crew we elected blindly pursues their own power and enrichment while further eroding the benefits of our democracy. When will real governing begin?

Without people standing up and demanding their rights, elected officials will continue to ignore our needs. If we really believe in government, of, by and for the people, we must make it so.

Bang your pots and pans, people.

Cherie Miner is a local parent, community volunteer, freelance writer and artist. In a former life, she was a corporate writer and public relations professional. Contact her at news@redoakexpress.com or on Facebook.