Category: Politics

Now It Makes Sense

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“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” 

This famous quote from Maya Angelou certainly holds true when considering it in view of the current political climate. Apparently, many of Donald Trump’s supporters want the person who has been revealed time after time.

They want the person who disparages military service and sacrifice. They do not mind that their cult hero stands in front of soldier’s graves, smiling and sending a thumbs-up salute to those who are receptive to such a message. Many others within Trump’s orbit have commented on the disdain he has shown before towards those currently in the military, or those who suffered wounds or death wearing the uniform. Yes, Trump denies having shown disrespect, because people have called him out for it. Like the toddler caught with cookie crumbs around his mouth, his only response is to lie about it. Nothing to see at Arlington, it was all made up to make him look bad. Never mind that he equated contributing millions to his campaign with someone receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor, and that was just recently, showing that his state of mind has not changed.

They want someone who can come up with the most pithy nickname for an opponent. Whether that is someone with the temerity to hold him to account, or a true political rival, it doesn’t matter. What matters is whether he is able to drive the conversation the way he wants it to go, and whether people automatically apply the nickname whenever the opponent is mentioned. And above all, make sure you own the libs. They want that most of all.

They want someone who supposedly is a fabulously successful businessman. Even though entities affiliated with the Trump name have had to seek bankruptcy protection many times in the past, the “Golden Boy” has escaped the terrible consequences of failure. In fact, due to a misguided reality show, many of his core supporters still believe in the myth of his success and business acumen represented by his character on his show.

They want someone to speak their prejudices out loud. It’s about time according to them, that someone spoke the quiet part out loud. After all, according to them, it is only the descendants of white European settlers who had the brainpower and moral standing to tame this savage continent and make it fruitful. Now we seem to want to turn it over to those Johnny-come-lately people from shithole countries. Well, no more.

They want someone who will stand up to the real enemies of this country. No, not those other nations who we really should be getting along with, like Russia and North Korea, but those elites who lord it over the real patriots of this nation, who do the real work. We should never have let these cities grow so big. People get strange ideas there, like all citizens have a right to vote. This country has gone downhill ever since those uppity blacks demanded we end Jim Crow laws, and indeed, ever since women got the right to vote. It’s about time someone spoke the real truth.

They want someone who thumbs his nose at any attempt to hold him accountable. He himself is blameless, it always has to be someone else at fault. The laws of the nation were not intended to apply to him. After all, he is the Chosen One. It was just a mistake they made when the laws were written, in that they did not carve out a deserved exception for the Chosen One.

They want someone who has all the answers. There is no room for any hesitation, any uncertainty. They want someone who is so sure of themselves, they need not review any topic where they may be a little less knowledgeable. No, if you are not sure of an answer, bullshit your way through an answer, any answer. Weave and bob through the discomfort you feel. Just make sure you appear to yourself to be supremely in control of the situation. That is what they want, those who have taken you into their heart as their ultimate champion.

They want someone to disrespect them. They know they are worthless, and Donald is happy to give them the disdain they so truly desire and deserve.

For that is what they want and need. What Mussolini provided, what propelled Hitler, that is what they want. And they think the answers are found in the persona of Donald Trump. You know, he was not wrong about being able to shoot someone in the middle of 5th Avenue and not lose any followers. What he didn’t say though, was that he could shoot one of his followers, and they would relish the individualized attention they received from their savior. Even if it was in the form of hot lead.

Meet the New Boss! Same as the Old Boss!

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He missed! But he took out others in the crowd, so we cannot be totally jubilant. The assassination attempt was unsuccessful in taking down its primary target. Some say it was divine intervention that kept Donald alive, and barely wounded. I’m not sure about that, but it is an obvious fact that it was a very close miss. But if you hoped that the attempt would bring about a Road to Damascus moment for Donald, it appears you will be waiting for a very long time. It took only about a day before the murmuring to resume, only now with added emphasis based upon the assignment of blame.

Of course, according to Republicans, all of the speech that provoked this attention seeker was Democratic. It is very easy to whitewash all of the Donald’s past comments about violence as an acceptable response to political differences as simply another case of fake news. And of course, all of the sycophants are happy to go along with the flow, and lay the blame upon the enemy. It is worse at the RNC since all of the sycophants are gathered together in one space, where they feed off of each other’s energy, and they have absolutely no compunction against revising the story of our lives in the last administration. According to these speakers of their truth, it goes without saying that the economy was never better than in the 2017-2020 time period, and everyone was fat, dumb, and happy. People have never been happier than they were back then, with depressed energy prices caused by demand collapse, and 15% unemployment. Those little irritating facts just get swept away as one speaker after another tries to sell their own line of reality.

Remember, more Americans died of Covid under Biden than under Trump say the Trump cultists. So Trump must have done so much right, according to the story sold by the true believers. (I am feeling like I have a horrible cheek hernia caused by my tongue poking through my skin after penning these lines.) Unfortunately, all of this is exactly what I’ve been expecting. Nowhere is anyone willing to take any responsibility for creating the culture that results in lone punks trying to take out a presidential nominee. My late father-in-law shared his wisdom from his 90 years on this planet. He said, “there are too many guns in the hands of too many people who have no business having them.” When you combine apocalyptic rhetoric from politicians of all persuasions, along with so many weapons out there, it is a wonder that this sort of event has not happened before.

Many people now want to believe it was an evil plot that nearly succeeded in Pennsylvania. We are so expectant that nothing happens by chance, we cannot accept any result that is not formed from a complex conspiracy. As it so happens, the tiniest of actions, like turning your head unexpectedly to the side, can prevent evil from triumphing. But in our society that has been raised on conspiracies, it is now impossible to accept simple answers. According to the cultists, no one has free will. Everyone is manipulated into their actions, and the more convoluted the explanation for an event, the more likely it is to be transmitted as undeniable truth. I am reminded of the Mexican bandits in the Treasure of the Sierra Madre, except their iconic line has been changed to: “Facts? We don’ need no steenkin facts!”

So now it appears that our nation is going to be captured by a rogue minority who doesn’t believe in the changes of the past 60 years. Heck, they want to go back to the days before 1920, when US Senators were elected by legislators, women couldn’t vote, and Social Security and other safety net programs were only gleams in the eyes of the libs. All of the changes to society are suspect, and the only solution is open carry. Submit, all ye women, as ye reclaim your rightful position as being inferior to males. How do you deal with people who exist in an alternate reality? Who believe in male superiority? Forget white privilege, it is male privilege that is truly more important to the members of the cult.

So to imagine society will be brought together by the tragedy of Butler PA is a fever dream. It ain’t gonna happen! Although, I guess, if all of the people decide to join the cult, they would deign to pretend they’ve brought about unity. Of course, when you are led by someone who inherited hundreds of millions, then somehow successfully peddled the myth that he was a self-made business genius, a little lie about unity is easy to swallow.

The Unending Crisis

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And so, as of May 30, 2024, our long national nightmare …. is just beginning again. To those who believe a first conviction of a former president of the United States will result in the cause of this former president going away, I have some beach front property in West Virginia to sell to you. If anything, the clamor from the “victimized” classes is going to increase, not go away. The nattering nabobs of negativism seem to believe that only crimes defined by Republicans are legitimate crimes. They earnestly believe the entire federal government is arrayed against them, merely because they are being prosecuted by those who administer justice.

So it is abundantly clear we have a split screen nation. One side is wanting to worship the con man who fooled millions into believing he was on their side, while the other side is wondering when the gullible fools will have the scales fall from their eyes, and undergo their road to Damascus conversion. I honestly believe the true supporters of Trump will never weaken in their support for the charlatan and his supposed cause. That is because they are convinced if they admit their champion is a fraud, the entire façade they’ve built up over the years will crumble. They will have to acknowledge the US has grown beyond a monolithic white protestant culture, into one that reflects the diversity found in the world. And, quite frankly, that prospect terrifies many on the right. They will be forced to admit proficiency exists across all racial and ethnic lines, which is contrary to their belief that white is best and deserves to dominate.

You hear so many of these idolaters transfer their allegiances from God to the developer who has mucked up most of the businesses he’s been associated with over the decades. They decry the deep state that stands against their ascension again, since anyone who opposes them, must be against America. You hear many claim that Biden has been terrible, though if you push them for an example of his errors, they are unable to reply. Really, what you are seeing is the demolition of an entire belief system built up over decades. Face it, trickle down economics as enunciated by Ronald Reagan and his followers, has been a poor deal for many people. It has turned them from the middle class, to the poor who cannot afford life. Of course, since many people are incapable of understanding subtlety, they support those who scream the loudest and share the shortest soundbite to support their position. Expecting a reversal of 40 years of mismanagement, they choose to follow someone who conveniently reverses all of reality. It is so easy to draw out fake memories of times past, when things were good. Never mind that all of history is against them. And by following their selective memories, they ignore all of the evidence of future intent found in the statements of their supposed leader.

So we are to believe that crime is raging out of control, when all statistics show crime rates have come down from decades past. And we are to believe we have a feckless foreign policy, because of course, no country would dare to attack another while the past president was in control. And we are to believe the economy in the US was never better than under Trump, something than can be disproven through a simple Google search. While at the same time we are supposed to believe that truth, justice, and the American way will flourish once again if we only put these supposed patriots back in power. How gullible to they think we are?

Actually, we have very clear evidence about their beliefs. An entire party is predicated upon supporting their leader, simply because they now have a leader who uses bullying as a primary tool. Once their current leader goes away, either through electoral defeat, or through administration of justice, or through human mortality, they will turn around and select another who is capable of being a figurehead to lead their one, true cause. The many who insist on the purity of their cause will latch onto someone, anyone, who is able to deceive them into believing they need him. And have no fear, it will be a him, not a her. Eventually the Republicans will support a woman, but just as the election of Barack Obama did not eliminate the latent racism in the country, the first election of a woman to the presidency will not eliminate the misogyny of the country. Given how that trait seems rooted more firmly in one party, I predict it will be Democrats who cause the election of the first woman to the presidency.

And just like the racism that oozed out after Obama’s election, the virulent strain of misogyny will tear apart this nation even more than it is already. Face it, the attacks upon women’s agency are just beginning. Should Donald win another term, the hounds will be unleashed. Forget any form of contraception. That is something thought of by evil people who do not want women to be vessels of creation, a calling clearly authorized in the Bible (sarcasm on). That is what upsets me the most, is the misuse of the words of scripture to justify the subjugation of – just about anyone viewed as potentially progressive. When you hear about ministers who are upbraided by members of their congregation for preaching on the words of the Beatitudes, because they cast Jesus as a woke liberal, that’s when you realize there is nothing these brazen hypocrites will not do to gain power.

But then the economy. Things were so much better back then The political ads are already dripping their poison into the veins of America. And while some sense the true nature of this poison, others welcome it as they welcome morphine to ease their pains of existence. Sooner or later, they will find themselves addicted to the words of their cult leader. When that happens, we all will lose.    

The Rematch of Our Lives

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Memories! It’s amazing how memories can be manipulated. They are actually claiming conditions were so much better under the past administration, and if we only grant them our vote again, they will institute nirvana once more. Well, I invite all who have short memories to look at the archives of this blog. I began the blog after the inauguration of Donald Trump, and have kept it ever since. It is a reflection of the chaos we all felt set down in real time. But what I now see is that the chaos does not matter to so many of today’s citizens who may vote in November for Trump. No, what matters is ignorance. A recent poll from NBC shows that people who use newspapers to learn about the world favor Biden over Trump by a 70%-29% margin, while people who don’t follow political news favor Trump over Biden by a 53%-27% margin. Hidden within these numbers is a belief that traditional media gives a more comprehensive understanding vs. reading T-shirt slogans. I know some reject that belief.

So we now understand the reason why so many people are supporting Donald Trump. They are ignorant of the real issues.  At last, a real reason for why people are voting against their long-term interests. They believe politics are totally outside of their concern, and they have no need to understand issues or have any sort of political perspective. They are content just to skim the surface of culture, and are subject only to the loudest voice. That is why one party is able to claim the exact opposite of reality and get enough folks to buy into it that they are able to win elections.

I do understand that there are many who have bought into Trumpian principles. Some of them are true believers in the Republican mantra of lower taxes and smaller government, and they honestly believe other positions are evil and must be opposed. Bill Barr fits into this category, since he has come around to supporting Trump since the Biden / Democrat leftist thrust (according to him) is so evil, Trump is better by comparison. More than a few also share in the Trumpian racism which is reflected in so many of his positions, such as a vituperative distrust of any immigrants from what is called the Third World. These are the ones who believe in the great replacement theory, wherein whites are being deliberately forced into subservience and minority status, primarily by Jews who are pulling the strings of society. These are the hard core of Trump’s support, and no one will ever convince them otherwise.

No, what seems as if it is defining the election to come is the core of lazy and ignorant people who refuse to get involved. They may be convincible about the total unfitness of Donald Trump for presidential responsibilities. Somehow we must show these folks that the upcoming election is not an ordinary choice between opposing views of government. What we have instead, is a choice between reality, and a fantasy world of entrapment. Should we choose the latter, what might we expect?

For one, expect an attempt to be made to expel all who do not possess legal status inside of the US. Even if those who have a status of undocumented have lived within this country for decades, and have obeyed all other laws during that time, there will not be an exception made for good behavior. The mere act of illegal immigration will be enough to offset any subsequent behavior, and forced expatriation will be pursued throughout the second Trump administration. Expect scenes to be broadcast of crops rotting in neglected fields, followed by inflation in all prices agricultural. Remember that we no longer have a meat packing workforce that employs  legal residents, so prices for all farm protein will also skyrocket. If we thought prices escalated during the Biden administration, you can expect many times that level of inflation to afflict US consumers during the next administration.

Restaurants will close down as the work force disappears. Schools will be in flux as some students abruptly leave in order to accompany their families across a border to a land totally alien to them. Television crews will focus on those left behind, some with family support, but others trying to tough it out having lost both parental figures. The GDP of the country will nosedive as the US attempts to compensate for the loss of a substantial portion of its labor force.

This all did not have to happen. Immigration policy has been verboten to resolution in our congress for decades. Now, it appears the issue will be forced upon us because of the threats coming from one of the two political parties in this nation.

Other consequences we can expect? How about the abandonment of the rule of law, both domestic and foreign. We can expect the commitments to international order to vanish in a flurry of Presidential decrees, and people will be surprised to see an expansion in international conflicts, instead of the peace promised by Republicans. An attempt will be made to seize the levers of control for the US justice department, and only court challenges will potentially stop that from happening. Expect the job market for attorneys to ramp up, while productivity in the US economy slows to a crawl.

Of course, food-borne illnesses will take a huge jump up, as we abandon any semblance of regulatory control. All of the guard rails set up to prevent financial players from gouging clueless consumers? Gone in a blink. The political group that wants to eliminate Darwin from the schools has no qualms about unleashing financial Darwinism on the hapless people who live on the margins of the economy.

The controls on women of reproductive age will tighten. Reproductive rights? Merely a mirage, nothing to see here, your duty is to produce a new generation of citizens. The right kind of citizens, that is. Remember the laws against miscegenation? They were big when America was Great. Those same laws will reappear to prevent our culture from homogenizing. You want your government to monitor the status of your pregnancy? Your wish will be fulfilled in many states.

Worst of all, we will see the continued crackdown on political expression. TDS will become a capital offense, Even the far corners of the internet, like this blog, will be searched and forbidden. Those who think this is all hyperbole? Just go ahead with the election of Donald Trump and see how many of these projections come to fruition. This is not my choice of societies to live in for my remaining years. Unfortunately, societal dystopia may be coming for us all.

5th Avenue Shootout

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Beelzebub bowed down to the Don. “What an easy mark he is,” thought the Devil. “Just a little bit of flattery and he’s eating out of my hand.”

The Donald looked around him. They were alone, so no one else could see this remarkable exchange taking place. He had finally arrived! Someone the Donald looked up to was paying homage to him. “Go on, get up. No need for formality here.”

Beelzebub took advantage of the proffered familiarity, and slunk over to the Donald’s side, taking his arm. “You already have just about anything I can offer. The best women money can buy, the camaraderie of those leaders you like to pal around with, sycophants who thought they held power in this nation until they came up against you. What more do you desire?”

The Donald thought for a brief moment. “I want to make it certain I get elected, then I want to never have to have an election after that.”

Beelzebub pondered on how best to make this bargain. He had already received the Donald’s soul wrapped up in a bow. The only thing left was the submission of the foreclosure notice. Then he knew. He knew what he could do that would provide the ultimate takedown for this preposterous charlatan so looked up to by his admirers. “You know that thing you said about shooting someone on 5th Avenue and not losing a supporter? Well, we can make that happen, and once it does, no one will ever challenge you again.” Beelzebub looked around, making certain no one else could overhear them. “I’ll get you Alvin Bragg out there on 5th Avenue. You can’t ask for anything more.”

The Donald appeared gleeful. “That’s wonderful. I’ve always wanted to take down that stuffed shirt. How he ever got elected, I’ll never know. One of those affirmative action hires for sure. Probably has immigrant blood in him.”

Beelzebub stroked his goatee. This was going better than he had any reason to expect. Not only was the mark accepting the bargain, he was pushing the bounds by asking for more.

Since Beelzebub was nearly omnipotent, the Donald instantly found himself outside of his namesake tower, holding a semi-automatic rifle just like the images he would see festooned on banners his followers liked to display. Only those banners had muscular definition that the Donald sorely lacked, though no one dared to mention it to the Donald. Sure enough, walking across the street the Donald could pick out the form of Alvin Bragg. The Donald raised the rifle, and pulled the trigger. Since this was still under the control of Beelzebub, the Donald found that the rifle he held was fully automatic. The rapid firing did bring down the Manhattan DA, but also brought down dozens of other denizens of Manhattan as collateral damage.

The Donald yelled excitedly. “Got him. I got him.”

Swiftly the Donald’s Secret Service escorts came up and grabbed the offending weapon from his hands. One of his escorts put his finger on the trigger, and it fired wildly across 5th Avenue. That unlucky agent was instantly gunned down by the others in the patrol. The agents huddled, and soon came up with the story that it was only a rogue agent who was responsible for the carnage. The Donald was totally innocent.

His legend grew. Those who were hesitant at giving their total allegiance, now could barely stand the wait in line to give their own obeisance to the Donald. Those who had spoken up previously somehow mysteriously lost their voices. It was strange to see the leading subject matter on networks like MSNBC, now disappearing into the cable void. They had to find new topics to take the time. Did you know that Anthony Fauci is now employed by pharmaceutical companies? I didn’t until the topic of the Donald disappeared from view. So what that his employment is truly with academia, we all know who’s really paying the bill.  

The campaign flew past in a blur. Those who had talked about the interminable length of the upcoming campaign, had to swallow their words as the news cycle swung around to the unbearable lightness of the Donald’s being, as each pronouncement became more favorable for the Donald. Election day was upon the US, and the outcome was a foregone conclusion. Not only was it possible for the Donald to shoot someone on 5th Avenue, and not lose support, but somehow the actual act of shooting folks on 5th became part of the allure of the Donald. Why vote for steady competence when you could vote for the nation’s latest superhero! The Donald, with his photo shopped abs, holding an AK! The voters of this nation spoke with almost one voice, selecting the obese one to lead the country. Soon it would be inauguration day.

Beelzebub rubbed his hands together in glee. Time to foreclose.

Poor Choices? It’s Up To Us

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In the rest of the northern hemisphere, Spring is inexorably coming. The daffodils have burst forth, and the Lenten roses are blooming. In the isolated world of politics, winter is coming. We face a reprise of the 2020 election in the US, with two flawed candidates leading their respective party tickets. Meanwhile, the legislature in the state of West Virginia has fitfully drawn to a close, with extended debate over culture war touchpoints, and not much else. It seems that the faults inherent in the original constitution have finally manifested themselves in our current political climate. We have the reality of the supreme body of the judicial branch, which is suffering from the lowest approval ranking of its long duration, and it also suffers from the sclerosis of its longest tenured members thinking they have all the answers, therefore they have inherent rights most of us can only dream about.

We have a legislative branch which has twisted itself into knots, bringing Shakespeare’s line to mind. Merely a sound and fury, signifying nothing. At the same time, the effectiveness of the executive branch of government is greatly hamperedt, with many in one party doubting the legitimacy of the current leader based only upon the repeated bleating of the past leader and his minions.

You can go back a long time and never come up with a time when all three branches of government were viewed with as much disdain as is found today. Always there was at least one branch of the three-headed creature called the US Federal Government which would fulfill its purpose as spelled out in the Constitution. Now? It seems like we continue to have crises in confidence streaming out hourly through social and commercial media. No longer is it necessary to hide your hypocrisy or your racism. In fact, if you don’t manifest it daily, you will be outed as a “gasp” liberal or RINO, since you obviously are not a true believer.

We don’t have to believe in nasty facts anymore. We do not need a common understanding of any situation. Just sit back and let the languid tones of your political superiors wash over you like a full-body massage. After all, you never need to really understand the implications of our political choices. If you say often enough that one candidate is enfeebled due to advanced age, then it entitles you to a free pass for all of your own gaffes, and allows you to claim execution of “sarcasm” as a reason for your misstatements.

What I really dislike is the tendency of people to assume problems that have built up over a 50-year period are owned strictly by the party currently in charge of the Executive branch of government. Memory does not extend back to the abhorrent acts of the previous administration. Well, for those who wish to understand why so many folks in the US are unhappy, it would be good to review the income distribution for the US. The last data I’ve seen was from 2019, so it does not cover the pandemic and subsequent recovery. That data shows 30% of families across the US earn $40,000 or less. For a full-time employee, that is less than $20 / hour. I would maintain that this amount is not sufficient to live on and support a family in any metropolitan area within the US. Even in my depressed area of West Virginia, that level of income would not allow you to live unless you already owned your house outright. And even then, the mandatory bills keep increasing. Utility bills in this state are soon to eclipse housing cost, as this state holds onto coal-based electricity, and inefficient water and gas utilities. A base level of utility service is approaching $500/month. For those who are retired, with inflexible incomes, these increases in utility costs are causing real hardship.

Yet our taxation and other governmental policies seem to indicate a lack of concern for these folks. Every program aimed at assisting these people who are working hard, is viewed as yet another handout for the undeserving. Indeed, there is a supposition of moral superiority for those who do not need any governmental assistance. Why do you think there is such a preference for unearned income (capital gains, dividends) in the Federal tax system vs. earned income (wages). Since taxation represents a moral judgement, the tax system at a Federal level reveals a strong preference for not working but merely using money to make more money.

There are so many cases where the moneyed class decry any assistance to the working class, on the stated belief that those who labor for a living do not deserve to receive governmental largesse, but giving taxation relief to the moneyed classes is morally required, since all taxation is viewed as illegal taking (thanks Ayn Rand). Now this group has its sights set on the WV income tax, and is slowly reducing the taxation stream to the state, even though the income tax is 40% of state revenues. This is something that affects me personally. My taxes will be reduced, while a world of need exists throughout the state.

We have lost the ability to share a burden as a nation. We cannot comprehend that we need a viable service class, which means paying them a living wage. When prices go up (as has happened with fast food), we scream for succor. How many problems could be solved if people accepted increasing the revenue side for the government, instead of focusing solely on the “excess spending”. We will never solve the problems of this nation or state if we insist upon continuing the path begun under Ronald Reagan. Taxation is not an unreasonable taking, it is part of the cost associated with living inside of a society that is not tearing itself into pieces. Those who are insisting upon nouveau isolationism will find out sooner or later the truth of the old advertising adage – you can pay me now, or pay me later. And the cost of later payment will likely be much much higher than the costs associated with paying now.

Racism? It’s Not Just For Breakfast Anymore

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Photo credit Wikipedia Unite the Right article

It would be so easy to slip into an adoration mode. All I need to do is adopt racist attitudes and actions, and I would not react in an emetic fashion to his pronouncements. To think it could be that easy, to slip into a comatose state where all things emotional are provided by my master. Of course, we have to oppose any immigration, since only evil people want to come in over our borders. Of course, it is only white northern European stock that is capable of advancing society. Those primitive natives in shithole countries have never invented anything. It is only because of our beneficence that they have any semblance of civilization. To think of then coming into our country and poisoning our blood, why it is an appalling concept!

Or so one side of the debate would have you believe. More and more, you hear only of the evils of immigration, and unwillingness to accept the “other”. Makes you wonder whether these hypocrites remember their Bible stories, since they are so eager to impose their supposedly biblically-based morality on everyone else. Do they remember the parable of the Good Samaritan, who was the one who cared about an injured person and spent their own money making certain that the injured person could recover from their wounds? Even though the injured person was from a different human group than the Samaritan? Probably not, since so much of the hypocrite’s time and energy is spent on making certain they never come across anyone different than themselves.

I wish we could adopt the same race consciousness that cats have. Differences in coat coloration do not matter in the least to a cat. Instead, they roll about in play not caring whether they cat they are playing with has a black, or tabby, or calico coat. We’ve adopted two kittens and they make no distinction about who they play with or any superficial differences between them.

It does seem that humanity is regressing, moving away from full integration of the flavors of humanity, and insisting on the superiority of a single strain of the population. This resistance to the future seems to be what is driving so much of our politics today. One side seems convinced we are in a zero-sum world, where advances by one group will result in diminished returns by all others. Since white, European people have been the dominant group in the US, challenges to that dominance are greeted with as much hostility as the aggrieved group can muster. When this fear is coupled with a political leader who explicitly gives permission to vent political incorrectness, we see an abandonment of supposedly long-established principles. It has long been said that the veneer of civilization is thin, and once it is removed, animal impulses come out. That is the explanation I see for the rank hypocrisy exhibited by what the Republican party has become. It is now a party of Archie Bunkers, full of rage against anything that would interrupt their stay in a recliner. What so many people fail to realize is how easy it is to fall from a high perch. If we resist coming change, it will overwhelm us and the dominant class will find out what it is like to live at the bottom of the ladder. If we don’t bend with the applied pressure, we will break. I for one do not wish to live in a society which is broken. If the party of regression somehow wins the next election, I’m afraid it will confirm a break. Such a result will make me think long and hard as to what my response will be.

Trump – This Time Around

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Photo credit: Matt Barnard/Tulsa World Via AP. Photo of Tulsa rally 2020.

He viewed the slope going up to the microphone. Damn it, they forgot his explicit instructions that he was never to walk up or down an inclined plane. “Bring me my golf cart”.

One of his flunkies retrieved the golf cart from the hold of his plane, and drove up to him. He threw his 320- pound frame into the empty seat, and the cart took care of the hard work of the 1-10º slope right away. He swiveled his legs to the side, and gestured for the driver to go back behind the crowd until he was needed to go down at the end of his diatribe.

Once he assumed his place behind the teleprompters, he felt at ease. He stiffly raised his arm above his head, then did a little jig as the speakers blared out YMCA. Totally out of time with the music, he seemed to be a parody of himself. Still, his crowd ate it up, roaring a cry of “4 more years!” as he basked in the adulation he was receiving. It mattered little that the crowd only filled half of the available space, and the empty chairs stretched well beyond the section of the hanger allotted for the press.

He started with one of his sure-fire lines for success. “See all of the fake news out there. Probably waiting till I make some comment about poisoned blood so they can compare me to Hitler. Well, let me tell you now. Hitler had nothing on me. I’m going to be the greatest of all time. Folks will remember me before they remember that Hitler fellow. I’m going to start by executing all of these peddlers of fake news. Then maybe I’ll start to get some better coverage by what’s left of the fake news.”

His crowd ate this up. They began a chant of “Dead Fake News! Dead Fake News!” He listened for a while, then began again.

“I don’t know why these folks are so upset about a few words that I say. Just wait till I can use my powers again. Powers that should never have been taken away from me. Everyone knows I won that election. Those Democrats stole it from me. I had 7 million more votes than in ’16. They’ve never seen someone gain that many votes over a term. We should have stopped counting votes that first night on election day. Each day that went on, we lost more and more ground. I want to change the Constitution so that only votes cast and counted on Election Day count. No more of this voting till it turns out like the Deep State wants. I’ve had enough of that. Have you had enough of that?”

“Enough! Enough! Enough!” The crowd, although somewhat small, still made an impressive sound as they yelled in unison.

He smiled back at the crowd beatifically. He let the shouts decay, then began again before they had totally died away. “Of course, I still have to deal with all of these fake indictments against me. That totally evil man, Jack Smith. How I hate him! Did you know his wife hates me even more that Jack does? Those are two really evil people.”

A yell began to emerge from the crowd spontaneously. “Hang Jack Smith! Hang Jack Smith!”

He let the chant raise up to a deafening crescendo before he went on. “I need to get inside of that Justice Department and shred all of those folks who are trying to persecute me. They will never forget how I get my revenge on them. And you are going to help me, by voting for me, but more importantly, sending me money. I’ve begun a new thing. I need you to tithe to me as well as give to your church. Only if I have enough money can I bring down the evil doers who want to go after me.”

There was no unified response to this last statement. Just a sort of murmur that filled the arena with muffled sound.

“Of course, there’s evil we still need to face in this world. Can you believe they still want to waste money sending it to Ukraine? What I need is for people to let me get those countries to stand down. Why, I bet I can get Russia and Ukraine to stop fighting 6 hours after I get back in the White House. And why stop there? Can’t you just see it if we are friends with Putin, and Xi, and Kim Jong Un? We could tell all the rest of the world to follow us. We’d have all of the power then! These leaders are my friends. We can rule together!”

The crowd legitimately went crazy after that. Shouts rang out throughout the crowd, nearly drowning out the shots fired into the ceiling by some of the patriots who were packing. A part of the crowd broke away, seeking out the few news media still left in the hanger. “Kill them now! Kill them now!” You could make out a few people who were doing their best to bring about summary execution. Fortunately for the media, most managed to make it out of the doors. It was only a few who were set upon by the crowd and torn to pieces.

He was just about done now. Only a few more phrases to toss out to his ravenous hordes. “Just remember. They are coming after me only because I am protecting you. Without me, you would be at the mercy of those terrible, terrible people who want to tear down this country. If you want this country to be great, you must support me. I’m the only thing keeping them away from you.” And with that, he motioned for his cart to come around. It duly appeared, and he went down the treacherous slope with no hesitation. He rode in the golf cart all the way to his plane, because it would have been a hundred-yard walk. Nobody could expect him to make that kind of physical exertion. It might have caused his 6-pack to collapse. And we wouldn’t ever want to see that, would we?

Move Along. Nothing to See Here

evenabrokenclock10Leave a comment

It must be nice to belong to a cult. Imagine having the ability to outsource all of your thinking. You just have to accept what your cult leader tells you, and even if the cult leader contradicts himself within a single setting, you can refer to his definitive posting is later on when he’s had the opportunity to correct reflect on what he said.  Never have to do your own processing of reality – you get reality spoon fed to you via regular dosage of your cult leader on your favorite media.

You do not have to have a functioning memory. So your cult leader can talk about how much respect has been lost internationally due to the feeble flailing of the current leader. You can eagerly forget the 2018 United Nations General Assembly meeting where the diplomats representing the nations of the world openly laughed at our dear leader. We should just get rid of the United Nations anyway. What use do we have of an organization that does attempt to set standards across international borders, anyway. We just need to go our own way and forget about the rest of humanity.

Oh, to revel in the selective memories of the cult leader. We do not need to proclaim our positions on any issue. We choose whatever the leader wants as a point of emphasis, and we will obfuscate, obliterate, and annihilate any attempt at the serious job of governance. We believe he is at the pinnacle of moral leadership. Witness the exploits of some of his most ardent supporters, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren “Boom-Boom” Boebert.  There has been enough ink spilled about Lauren’s latest adventure in high culture, but here’s a bit more. Nothing can demonstrate overt hypocrisy better than tweets about church services being preferred to drag shows by a member of Congress, than the public fondling by the selfsame member of Congress of a new boyfriend who happens to be the owner of a bar that takes part in a civic festival which includes hosting drag shows. But our cult leaders have spread their wings over these two exemplars of common sense and cocktail culture.

Soon we will be privy to one of the great spectacles of Federal governance. The total failure of one house of Congress to keep the lights on in said government. To the nihilist class, this represents a crowning achievement. We will put these overreaching, unelected bureaucrats in their places, and we will prune the branches of government down to the roots. Who needs any efforts at curbing the excesses of the excesses of corporations. After all, without some oversight of global corporations, we would all be wandering about in the wilderness, wondering where our pollution controls and labor standards went. If we are really lucky, the convulsions of one party (the party of the cult) will result in the decapitation of the leadership of the house. What is the over/under on the number of ballots it will take to select a new speaker? I myself think the number is over 50. Can you bet on this in Vegas yet?

I’m not certain we ever need to revert to reality again. It is so comforting to live in the adulation of our dear cult leader. We can snuggle up under our covers whenever someone brings up unfortunate facts. We can officially refuse to listen to them because they are coming from all of the fake media sources that somehow manage to exist outside of the control of the cult. But just wait. Because the cult leader has promised retribution against all who have waged war against his holy cause. We do need for someone to get control over the evil world that insists we are victims of a cult leader. How else can we expect his Pax Americana to take hold if there are any voices in opposition? I know, there may be a few eggs broken in the transition to a more perfect union, but will we really miss hearing from the voices of those who persist in saying such horrible things about our dear leader? I am quite certain that we will be much better off when we have such a wise leader back on the seat of power he had been expelled from in the last “election”.

I know there are those who exclaim that our dear leader has lost a step or two over time. But I am here to exclaim to you he has always been consistent in his personality, and has never had any propensity towards saying things that can be factually corrected by checking against previous statements. Any media source that would bring those things up are candidates for retribution when our dear leader resumes his reign. Again, I say to you, there is so much peace you can have by placing all of your trust into this man who inhabits a 6’3”, 215-pound body. He uses the Harold Hill school of exercise. If you just think about it, you don’t need to actually exercise to maintain fitness. Besides, if you exercise, you take away energy you may need in future years. You only have so much energy in your life. Remember, everything is transactional, and we live in a zero-sum world. We can only aspire to hold on to what we once had, and when that is gone, we don’t have a country left.

I wish I had more time to share with you the wonderfulness of our dear leader. But they are ringing the dinner chimes, and soon I will be led down to the room where they will release me from my strait jacket, if only for a while, so I can enjoy the meal provided by my dear leader.

Put Me In, Coach!

evenabrokenclock101 Comment

Put me in coach. I’m ready to judge his guilt.

Ah, the dreams we can come up with when a hint of a trial relocation is made. Just transfer a case from the District of Columbia, to West Virginia, where we are “more diverse”. First time I’ve ever heard a reference to my current state having any sort of diversity in it. I guess what is meant is a conviction is less likely in this state since this state voted for him by a margin of greater than 30%. But I can dream, can’t I?

I could just see being impaneled in this state for his trial. Never mind that I have a history in this blog of bashing him mercilessly, and my main complaint is that his record is a too target rich environment. Like late show comedians, these past few years have been a bonanza of material just waiting to be mined. Of course, I recognize I am atypical in this state.

I realized that shortly after I moved here in the mid 1980’s. One of the first issues I voted on was an amendment to our state constitution enshrining the right to bear arms. When my side lost by a 6-1 margin, I knew I was an outlier, even with a hugely democratic legislature. Well, over the decades that margin has melted away, and this state has had Republicans in charge of state government for nearly a decade. During which time we’ve been swimming in the fetid pool of culture war items, you know, the sort that declares transgender athletes are an existential threat. Of course, they are only worried about males who transition to female. I’m not aware of any concerns about the athletic prowess of females who transition to males. Wonder why that is?

It is amazing. I’ve made it to nearly 69 years of age, have voted in almost all elections I was eligible for, but have never been impaneled on a jury. I did receive a summons for service – from Memphis, about 6 months after I had moved to West Virginia. I never even responded to that request. I imagine any issues arising from my lack of response has now been wiped away by the statute of limitations. So I make my case right now to be impaneled, but only in the event that a change of venue is granted to go from the DC district to the southern district of West Virginia. I’ll even offer to forego any compensation for the chance to be a juror on his trial.

My biggest problem will be to limit myself to consideration of the facts brought up in court. There are so many other crimes that come to mind, I have no doubt but that I will be able to find him guilty. Oh, well. Since it is extremely unlikely that the trial will be moved, and even more unlikely that I would be accepted as an unbiased juror once the existence of this blog is made known, this just is another pipe dream I have of being one of twelve avenging agents of justice.  Besides, the trial won’t be televised, so it would hardly be worth it to participate.