Power Ploy

   As violence continues across America, the president said he will designate Antifa "a terrorist organization," despite lacking any legal authority to do so.  It was the latest in a series of vocal power ploys he has used to solidify his right-wing support base.
   The name Antifa is a contraction of the term "anti-fascist," and is used to describe any of several groups engaged in political -- sometimes violent -- activities. Antifa has been defined as "a protest movement that strongly opposes neo-Nazis, fascism, white supremacists and racism," according to a BBC web posting. Its members often oppose many policies that the president has enacted.
   The president blamed the protests on "radical-left anarchists," and accused the news media of "doing everything in their power to foment hatred and anarchy."
   Before the president used the term to fix blame, there have been no reports of involvement by Antifa related groups.
   And on a TV interview, the mayor of Atlanta said the president's tweets are making things worse, and "he should just stop talking."
   Meanwhile, organizers of groups protesting police mistreatment of minorities maintain that their activities have been peaceful, but have been disrupted by others deliberately causing violence.
   As journalists document the disturbances, there have been several instances of police arresting or shooting rubber bullets or tear gas at television news crews, some as the cameras continue to roll, so the nation watches as it happens. Normally, police warn demonstrators before taking such action, but as reported by Ali Velshi of NBC, there was no advance warning, and police were some 200 yards away when they fired tear gas and rubber bullets against the people.
   Separately, the president took credit for the successful launch of astronauts to join the space station. Before he took office, he said in speech, "There was grass growing through the cracks" of NASA's launch areas. "With this launch," he added, "the decades of lost years and little action are officially over."
   The vice president added that the launch was "the culmination of three and a half years of renewed leadership in space."
   But the project of sending astronauts into space on a commercial vehicle began more than ten years ago, long before the current president took office.
   As the resident cynic Pug Mahoney often says of political leaders, "If it's good, they claim credit. If not, they blame their predecessor."