Tweetle Dumb and Tweetle Dumber

Donald and Kellyanne were in the back of the Limo.  Kellyanne was reading her Book of Spells, and Donald was Tweeting, his tiny thumbs flying over the phone screen.

“So, K-K,” said Donald, “Once I do that ‘Naugration thing, and get the swearing and all, I can just Tweet laws, right?  I Tweet it, and America has to do it.”

“Donny, Donny,” said Kellyanne, “we’ve told you about the Constitution, and we showed you the Schoolhouse Rock film about a Bill and a Law.”

“Too long,” said Donald.  “That thing was three minutes long.  I’m an important, busy man.  Just give me the top line.”

“That little rock song, which was for 2d graders, is just about as condensed as we could get it, Donno.  Let’s try it again.  The president doesn’t make laws.  Congress makes laws, and the president either signs them or vetoes them.  Someone in the House or the Senate writes a bill.  Both houses debate it, and if both houses pass it, then it will come to you.”

“ZZZZZZZ, Who thought this crap up?  Where are you getting this?  Too complicated.  Not Trump enough.  Bills.  Debates.  Signing.  LOSERS.  I’ll just Tweet out the laws.  Or, you can go on Fox and tell them the laws.”

“Well, I’m glad to go on Fox for you, but it was the Founding Fathers who thought this up.  It’s the Constitution, Donny, you really need to finally take a look at it.”

“I love the Founding Fathers.  Great Founding. Great Fathers. But now there’s me.  And I have the best brain.  It’s a better brain because it’s a newer brain.  All those Founding guys have old brains.  I don’t need to read the Constitution.  I have lawyers to read papers and find loopholes.  Just get them to find the Tweet Loop, and get back to me.  I want to be putting out laws on my first day.”

Exasperated, Kellyanne finally shouts, “Donald, you can’t Tweet laws.  And Tweets are not laws, even Tweets from the president.”

“You get in my face again, Kellyanne, and I’ll fire you.  I do that, you know.  I fire people.  I’m famous for firing.”

“Oh, Donald, you’re cute.  You won’t fire me.  Remember, Donny, I own all those videos, and I have those negatives, and copies of your tax returns.  And, remember Don, dear, I recorded all of your phone calls during the campaign.  All of your overseas phone calls.”

“I didn’t make any overseas calls.”

“Russia, Donny, Russia is overseas.   THOSE calls.”

Don stewed, “Vlad said those calls were local calls now.  He said there’s no difference between our countries.”

“Whatever, Don.  But your SURE don’t want those calls released.  All that whining and begging is so unbecoming to you.”

“Humph.  Well, at least I can fire the Press Corp.  Get that done, will you?”

“No, Don, you can’t fire the press.”

“Look, they’re called the ‘White House Press Corps’, right?  And I’m the president, right?  That makes me the White House, so they work for me.  Fire them.”

“Don, White House Press Corps just means the people sent by newspapers, magazines, TV and such to report on the White House.  They work for the TV and publishers.  They don’t work for you.”

“I’m president. Everyone works for me.”

“Actually, Trumpie, no, as the elected president, YOU work for everyone else.  That’s democracy.”

Don was fumed.  “We’re gonna have to change that.  Bigly.  When I was President of Trump Properties, it meant I could fire people.”

Kellyanne assumed a teacherly tone.  “Well, this is a different kind of being president.  You are now a Public Servant.”

“I AM NO SERVANT! NO!  If I can’t Tweet laws at three in the morning, and I can't fire people who report my words, then just what is this presidency worth.”

“Well,” said Kellyanne, “since November 8^th, 2016, it’s not worth much.”

A Landslide or a Mudslide?

The Donald and yet another aide walk in:

“A landslide, I tell you, hugely, bigly, the best, the most landslide in history. Our History. Any History.”

The aide broke in, “Actually, Sir,…….”

“Don’t you actually me.  You sound like that sad Alec Baldwin.  What I say is actually, is actually.  And I actually won the Electrical College unanimously.”

“Sir, the count was 304 to 227.  Unanimous means getting all of the votes.  You didn’t.  And, you didn’t win the popular vote at all.”

“SHUT UP! I’m the popular one.  People love me.  I went on my ‘thank you tour’ so I could thank people by letting them cheer for me. Hillary is not popular.  She’s a nerd.  You know what we do to nerds.  If I say unanimous, then unanimous it is.  Ask any of my voters.”

“But sir, the meaning of words……”

“Don’t you dare argue with me.  That would be unpresidented.  No one who works for me argues with me.  Never.  My brain is bigger than theirs.  I have a brain.  A good brain.  And I make words mean what my brain tells me.  I’m going to be a great president.  The greatest.  I’m the first president who has never, not once, failed at anything.”

“Mr. Trump, now, I don’t think that’s quite true.”

“Name me one thing I’ve ever failed at.  One.  I bigly win.  Always. Everything.  Every time.”

“Sir.  You’re on your third marriage.  I’d say the first two marriages were failures.”

“WRONG!  WRONG!  I made two successful strategic upgrades to newer, better models.  Success.  Trump success.   In fact, you might want to check Melania’s sell-by date.  It may be time for another, fresher model.  I have the expiration date tattooed on her left butt cheek.  Have her show you.  She’ll show her butt to anyone.  Just ask.”

“Are you really getting ready to trade her in?” asked the aide. “Is that why she isn’t going to the White House with you?”

“She’s staying at the Tower.  Ivanka and I will be sleeping at the White House.”

“Sir?  Sleeping?  By that, do you mean.”

“I mean sleeping.  Beds.  Night time.  You KNOW my daughter is one hot piece.”

“Sir, now that you’re going to be president, I think you need to stop saying some things, or Tweeting them.  You need to think about your words, Sir.”

“My words are the best words. Real words.  Words that mean and stuff.  And my brain will think if I need it to.  Best brain.  Don’t want to use it up.”

The aide tried again, “Sir, back to the No Failure thing.  What about your bankruptcies?  Weren’t those failures?  Isn’t that what bankruptcy is, a bailout of a failure?”

“Punk, that just shows why I’m a billionaire, and you aren’t.  The way I do bankruptcy isn’t failure.  It is successfully making other people pay my bills.”

“I think your being a billionaire has something to do with the millions you inherited,” muttered the aide.

“See.  I was the successful sperm.  I’ve been a success from the first squirt.”

“I don’t think you want the press to hear you talk like that, Sir.  And what about your failed University?”

“I made millions more than I had to pay those chumps to settle.  That’s success.  Bigly.  Tens of millions in success.  And, why should I care what the press hears.  No one wants to hear the press.  I’ll just out-tweet ‘em.  My voters get their news from Tweets from me.  The press is sad.”

“Ok, Sir, then one last example, we’ll forget the airline, the steaks, the other businesses that didn’t make it.  But, Sir, how can you call a closed and boarded up casino a success.”

“Easy.”

“How?”

“You’re fired.”

Inaugurating the Great White Whale

Donald pulled his coronation inauguration team together.

“OK, now, I want my ceremony to be a lot cleaner than the last two.”

“What do you mean by, ‘cleaner’, Sir?”

“I mean fewer ‘smudges’ up there on the platform.  Fewer of those ‘dirty’ looking faces.  You know, fewer servants and field hands.”

The aide was still confused.  “Sir, are you trying to say you don’t want African Americans on the platform?”

Donald exploded.  “Damn it.  This is the white peoples’ ceremony for the White House, and I don’t need any welfare cheats on my platform.”

“Sir, those people are Congressmen, Senators, and Supreme Court Justices.  You can’t throw them off.”

“Didn’t we fight a whole war just to show those slaves, and teach them to keep their place?  I thought I heard that.”

“Mr. Trump, the slave states lost that war.”

“Not if you look at who elected me.  Bigly.  And not if you see which flags are flying at my rallies. Stars and Bars.  Lots.  Big flags.  On big pick ups.  And, speaking of flags—you know those stars up there in the corner of the ‘Murican flag?  Don’t they, some way, stand for the states?”

“Yes, Sir.  One star for each of the fifty states in the union.”

“First of all, never say ‘union’ to me.  Dirty word.  Sad.  Second, for the flags on my day, take off any star that stands for a state that didn’t vote for me.  Start right now making them sorry.  So sorry.  Sad. Anyway, do we need all of those stripey banners and things all over.  Can’t we just have white stuff?  White drapes.  White banners.  And maybe a cross with a fire?”

“Sir, the Red, White, and Blue bunting is kind of traditional.”

“But I like white.  With some gold trim.”

Donald stopped for thought.  “And I get music, don’t I?  Good music.  My special song. ‘Heil to the Chief.”

“Yes, sir.  The Marine Band, known as ‘The President’s Own’ plays for the ceremony.”

“No.”

“No? Sir?”

“I want the Navy Band.  Keep with the theme.  The Navy Band uniforms are white.  Go with the white. And these are the songs they can play:

"White Christmas"
"White on White (lace on satin)"
"A Whiter Shade of Pale"
"White Lightning"
"The White Cliffs of Dover"
"Red Necks, White Socks, and Blue Ribbon Beer"
"When the White Lilacs Bloom Again"
"A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation"
"Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White"

And maybe some of Putin’s favorites.  I’ll have to ask him.”

“Anything else, Sir?”

“Yes.  Talk to the Chief Justice about his robe.  That black robe he wears is so dull.  So not Trump. Ask him if he can’t wear a white robe to swear me in.  If he doesn’t have a white robe, tell him to borrow one from David Duke.  He has plenty.  And a matching hat, I think.”

“Sir, will Mr. Duke be invited?”

“He was one of my biggest fans.  We see eye to eye.  And one last thing, I won’t be repeating the oath with the Justice, I’ll be Tweeting it out.  If people want to see it, have them look at Twitter.  I’ll be making some comments about people I don’t like who snuck in, too.”

“Sir, I don’t think you should take your iphone onto the platform.”

“You’re Fired!”

A Guest Column From Constitutional Scholar Lori Hepler

I was born into Kennedy's democratic republic that stood up to the Russian threat. Both democrats and republicans came together for equality, and passed both the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. We fought the Vietnam 'conflict' to prevent Russia's communism from metastasizing to the rest of the world.

Today, I awoke in Obama's Vichy puppet state of Russia where robots matter more than people, and most of those people are too stupid to see that We the People no longer determine the destiny of our government. We have been invaded and conquered, and we didn't even realize it, let alone lift a finger to actually fight it.

We have a growing cancer inside us that is killing us. We are at Stage 5 in hospice right now. We have a little more than a month before the end.

This is a constitutional crisis. Obama knew and decided not to tell us, shrinking from the threats of a preposterous KY Turtle. How absurd! He has the power of the greatest nation on Earth, and he let us down.

A handful of democrats tried to sound an alarm, but it was far too little and it came too late. They knew the election was rigged in September, but they let us go through the motions pointlessly. Now, Schumer says we'll get around to it next year. No. Right now. Kill the cancer NOW.

Every GOP threw their 'better angels' in the trash bin, embracing everything Lincoln stood against, and gleefully handed our country to Putin's errand boy. Comey knew details of Russia's overthrow, and, in channeling J Edgar Hoover, he acted as a Russian agent to effectively assassinate Hillary Clinton. He should have been fired immediately. Now, he must be tried for treason.

Any elector that votes for Trump commits treason, defined as overthrowing our democratic form of government. Where the People's vote' does not represent their will because of deception, the election results are farcical. No state can certify, and no elector can vote. The election cannot go to the House where the GOP has acted with treasonous intent in nominating Trump.

Any republican that advocates for Trump is treasonous. Trump does not embody the will of the People. Lindsay Graham is the only one who speaks truth.

Any democrat who does not do everything possible to bar Trump from office right now commits treason as well. The senate intel senators, Cummings, and Schiff have led the way, but the others need to get in line. Any citizen who supports a GOP Trump Putin dictatorship is an enemy.

We all awoke in a state of war in the country of our birth, but now, is totally foreign to us. We must resist. The French woman I live with has been literally sick about this, and I failed to listen. I'm listening now. Merde! How could we be so blind, deaf, and dumb?

La Résistance used the Cross of Lorraine as its symbol during WW II. They were patriots. That fits, so I'm adopting it. This is a picture of a resistance armband showing the Cross. We must be patriots now. Viva La Résistance! NEVERTRUMP! Take back our country!

And finally, we bash the MSM, but without the few of them who report truth, we would still be ignorant. WaPo broke this, and Rachel, Lawrence, and Joy are blazing the trail. I don't have much use for the others.

Saturday Potemkin President Potpourri

Donald Trump:  The Potemkin President.

“In politics and economics, a Potemkin village (also Potyomkin village, derived from the Russian: Потёмкинские деревни, Russian pronunciation: [pɐˈtʲɵmkʲɪnskʲɪɪ dʲɪˈrʲɛvnʲɪ] Potyomkinskiye derevni) is any construction (literal or figurative) built solely to deceive others into thinking that a situation is better than it really is. The term comes from stories of a fake portable village, built only to impress Empress Catherine II during her journey to Crimea in 1787.”  (Wikipedia entry.)

Considering that Trump is a president quite possibly built by a Russian Dictator, this seems entirely appropriate.

Apparently, millions of Americans can't tell the difference between an Alpha Male and a Psychopath.

Isn't it awful that Hillary gave a speech to Goldman Sachs? Why, what if she'd ended up appointing some G-S people to the government?

Now Donald is saying that both his presidenting and his billionairing are such easy jobs, they are both part time, and he will do both at the same time. Constitution be damned.

Oh, and even doing both jobs will leave him plenty of time for Tweeting and Pussy Grabbing.

That darling of white evangelicals, Donald the Bong Man Trump, doesn't seem to know of the scripture about not being able to serve two masters.

In case you were wondering.

Article I, Section 9, Clause 8:

“No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States: and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.”

One of Aaron Burr's descendants just sent Donald Trump an invitation to meet him on the New Jersey shore at dawn.

I don't think he wants to show him new casino locations.

I learned in the Army to never volunteer for anything.

But, in the case of Trump's blacklist, I think I'll make an exception. It will be an honor to be on it. Sign me up.

(PS, Draft dodger Donald never learned anything in the Army.  He had a thingy on his foot that didn’t allow him to serve, but was quite OK for playing sports.)

We know, Trump is viciously attacking people, companies, and organizations that speak out against him. The only defense, really, is to not be intimidated. There is strength in numbers. Either we must ALL speak out, or none will be able to. We can't depend on journalists or "spokespeople."

How would you like to be the aide who has to try to explain law, the rule of law, and the expectation that our government be run in a legal manner, to The Donald?

I thought Trump was a first-class idiot. But compared to the people he's appointing, he's not even honorable mention

.

Special right-wing hypocrisy bonus comment:
I hope you've noticed, that the same fundamentalists who claim that statues of Mary, and Saints, and others in Catholic churches show that Catholics practice idol worship , are the same ones who demand Nativity Scenes on courthouse lawns .

"Constitutions and Contracts are Made for Breaking."

An aide came to Donald.  “Sir, before you take office, I’ve been asked to explain a few things to you.”

Donald snapped, “I’m in office, I was elected.”

“Sir, you aren’t actually president until you are sworn in on January 20^th.”

“Where does it say that.”

“It’s the law, Sir.  I’ve been asked to explain that, and this.”  The aide lays out a copy of the Constitution.

Donald explodes, “What the hell is that?  That’s nearly 15 pages long.  Just give me to top line, the Executive summary.”

“Sir, this is the Constitution.  It is the supreme law of the land.  It lays out your duties, obligations, and the rules of your power as president.”

”Rules?  What rules?  Why didn’t someone tell me about this Constitution thing before now?”

“Let me begin at the beginning.  Sir, there are three co-equal branches of government….”

“We’re not gonna use that liberal word anymore.”

“What word, Sir?”

“Equal.’  We’re not gonna say that crap anymore.  No one is equal to me.  No ideas are equal to mine.  ‘Equal’ is the word that has ruined America.  I’m gonna make America Great Again.  Have a hat.”

The aide sighed.  “We hold these truths to be self-evident………”

“Speak up.  What are you babbling about?  We don’t need all that paper.  I have the rules.  I know the rules.  I make the rules.  We’re gonna have new rules.  The best rules.  Rules that work for me.”

“Sir, you can’t just do that.  Right here, in Article II, Section 3, Clause 5, it says the president must see that all laws are faithfully executed.  It’s called the “take care clause,” and the courts have said….”

“Will you put that silly paper away, and quit babbling?  I’ll follow the laws, the good laws, the laws that work, the laws that make money.  I always follow any law that is convenient for me.”

“Sir, you really don’t have any choice.”

“The people gave me the choice.  My landslide is a choice.  They want me to do things.  Great things.  The best things.”

“Sir, you didn’t get a landslide.  In fact, Secretary Clinton actually got nearly 3 million more votes than you did.  Luckily for you, there’s a part of the Constitution called ‘The Electoral College’ that can put you in office.  It’s a technicality, but…….”

“See.  I’m just following the law.  A convenient law.”

“Now then, Sir, about your appointments.  You need to send them to the Senate for Advice and Consent.  They need to be approved by the legislature.”

“Says who?”

“The Constitution, Sir.  If you would please just read it, it explains a lot.”

“I don’t need explanations.  I have my own explanations.  Explanations from my brain.  My very good brain.  The best brain.   Say, would you get me the First Nookie, I mean, First Lady on the phone?  I’ll bet she’s never heard of this Constitution thing either.  She needs a laugh.”

“Sir, you can’t just laugh off the Constitution.”

“You’re Fired!”

Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign

Donald called in an aide.  It doesn’t matter which one, all minions are the same to him.

“When does my sign go up?” he demanded.

“What sign, sir?”

“The TRUMP sign on my new building there on Pennsylvania in Washington.”

“I’m sorry, sir, you aren’t allowed to make any changes to the outside of the White House.”

“Believe me, I can.  I can change it Bigly.  I have TRUMP on every one of my buildings world wide, and I’ll have it on that one.  By the way, White is sad.  Paint it gold.  With red trim.”

“Sir, you can’t.”

“I will.  And I’ll make Obama pay for it.  Call Putin for the paint for the red trim.  He has plenty of red paint, and he owes me.”

“Sir, you can’t ask for or accept gifts from foreign governments.”

“We’re gonna change that.  Why do you think I ran for president?  Bucks, boyo, big bucks in this ruler business. And right after you put my sign on that little cottage, I want you to paint TRUMP on my airplane.  Who ever thought ‘USA Air Force’ would look good on a plane?”

“Sir, I don’t think you can do that, either.”

“I don’t pay you to think.  I’m the one with the huge brain.  Really big brain.  The very best brain.”

“Mr. Trump, the plane doesn’t belong to you.  It belongs to the nation.  To the air force.  You just get the use of it while in office.”

“And I’m gonna be in office a long time.  A great time.  The best time.  Change the plane.  Or I won’t buy another.”

“Sir, the Constitution says……”

“I’m gonna build a wall, a giant wall, the best wall, all around the Constitution.  No one will get close to it again.

“And while you’re changing that sad, shabby house, put mirrors in my bedroom.  Big mirrors.  The best mirrors.”

“I thought Melania wasn’t going to live in the White House.”

“Who’s talking about Melania?  She’s 46.  Way past her sell-by date.  Believe me, even Ivanka is 35.  That’s older than a president has to put up with.”

“Sir?”

“Get me those mirrors.  I’ll say they aren’t up to my standards, and I won’t pay for them anyway.  And put the word out I’m auditioning for the next wife.  ‘World Leader’ has to be a hell of a Babe Magnet.”

“Sir, I really don’t think you can do any of that.”

“You’ll see.  If I say it, I can do it.  I even think I’ll grab Elizabeth Warren by her sad old pussy.”

“I don’t think you should do that, Sir.”

“You’re fired!”

Yes, it DOES mean “he ain’t a good man.”

In the book and the movie, “Prizzi’s Honor”, when mobster Charley finds out his “fiancé” is actually a mafia hit(person) from LA, and has stolen money from his mob family,  his friend Maerose counsels him, “Just because she’s a thief and a killer, that don’t mean she ain’t a good woman.”

I have thought of that a couple of times this week as Republican acquaintances insist that they are only supporting Trump because of certain parts of his stance, and hinting that we should take him as a “yes but” president, while demanding we, “give him a chance.” 

 You know what I mean by “yes but president.”  “Yes, he’s a bully, but he’s going to drain the swamp.”  (actually, no)  “Yes, he’s a fraud, but he’s going to shake up the establishment.”  (hey, a billionaire IS the establishment) And on, and on, demanding that only parts of “the package” count, and indicating they are willing to accept the bad to get what they see as the small, but essential, good.  What it all actually boils down to is, “Yes, but he’s a white Republican.”  Nothing else matters to them.  And that is not only the problem, but the root of the problem.

And, for the record, NO, I will not give him a chance.  Aside from the blatant double standard of that demand when taken in light of the total, intentional lack of “chance” the Republicans gave to President Obama, I will not give Trump a chance to recklessly send us into war, I will not give him a chance to trash Social Security and Medicare, I will not give him a chance to bring White Sumpremacist philosophy into the government, I will not give him a chance to hurt our LGBT brothers and sisters, I will not give him a chance to turn bank regulation over to the very bankers who wrecked the economy, I will not give him a chance to wreck the economy while looting the treasury for his own benefit.  No.  I will not give him a chance. Period.

If you are a so-called single-issue voter, who was/is willing to hold your nose and vote for a candidate (I won’t call Trump a “man”) who you think will deliver on your narrow interest, and whose other issues and deep problems you will ignore to get your way, be prepared to be screwed over. 

Trump isn’t going to cut the deficit.   Trump isn’t going to outlaw abortion. Trump isn’t going to “make America Great.”  Not only does he not have the power, he doesn’t have the will.  The man is a fraud (by his own $25 million admission), a thief, a liar, and a con man.  He is also an arrested-development narcissist who has been a bully all his life, and who has a hair trigger temper, and no self-control.  Not good traits in a national leader.  And, PS, I doubt you’d want your 18 year old daughter, granddaughter, or niece alone in a room with him.

His only real fiscal policy will be the flow of money from your pocket into his.  That is not a chance worth taking, or giving.

Grabel’s Law, and Trumpublican Math

Grabel’s Law states:  2 is not equal to 3, even at very large values of 2.

It is fun, and funny, because it pokes subtle fun at both math speak gobbledygook, and math ignorance.

Like many jokes, Grabel’s Law is also true, and reveals a hidden reality.  Some things will never equate. And mass, size, or volume of the competing items does not alter that. 

So, how does that apply to the Trumpublicans?  Well, restate Grabel’s Law this way:  “Dumb does not equal Smart, even at very large concentrations of Dumb.”  Or, “Blind Faith does not equal Science, even at firmly held concentrations of Blind Faith.”

Sadly, we are seeing two concentrations of Dumb on a previously unimaginable scale.  The first, of course, is in that portion of the electorate who were fooled by the con man, and voted for him based on a whole list of statements which, even before he takes the oath, we know, and he admits, he will not deliver. They hate the “elitist establishment”, yet were dumb enough to be tricked into somehow believing that a billionaire was neither an elitist nor a part of the establishment.  They were fooled, by media owned by the elite; by carefully crafted dog-whistle messages; and by Oligarchy money stretching from the Cayman Islands, to Wall Street, to the Kremlin, and elected the Oligarchy’s own candidate. They are going to get the hate and bigotry they so loved, they are just not going to get the specific walls, registries, repeals, and other agenda items.  As Indiana blogger and Public Affairs Professor Sheila Kennedy says, “The ugly truth is that most of his voters saw Trump’s bigotry, misogyny and authoritarianism as features, not bugs. They didn’t overlook his appalling behaviors—those were what attracted them.“  (By the way, that fact, and quote, are handy ammunition to have on hand when some “reasonable” Republicans try to tell you, “Give him a chance.”)  His voters, and all of us, are also going to get a looting of the public treasury and our own pockets at a scale not seen since the Robber Barons of the railroads and banks in the Nineteenth Century.

The other concentration of Dumb (if one can make a logical construction in which the absence of something—knowledge and thought in this case—can be somehow construed as concentrated.) is in the head of Donald, and the extended heads of his proposed appointees.

Regardless of the claims emanating from that anti-concentration, Donald DID NOT win in a landslide, in point of fact he didn’t win at all except perhaps on the technicality of the Electoral College—and that is modified with “perhaps” because we still have to see just how “rigged” the Republicans and the Russians managed to make the election.  Donald told us it was rigged, he just wasn’t specific about who was doing the rigging.  And, as candidate Trump would say, “Believe me, a casino owner knows about rigged games.  Bigly.”

So, don’t let Republicans grab and define the conversation.  Fight.  Use, and demand, fact.  If needed, hit them upside the head with a proverbial Clue by Four.  We can and must resist any triumph of dumb, and the hate and bigotry we see following in its wake. Resist.  Always. Everywhere.

Remember, and live by, the fact that in the real world, 2 is not greater than 3, and 2+2 still equals 4.  Remember the cries of the Labor movement and the Civil Rights movement, “The people, united, can never be defeated.”

I ain't locked up in a camp yet.

For you Trump supporters who might be keeping score at home:

There will be no wall.
Mexico certainly will not pay for a damn thing in the US.
There will be no ban on Muslim travel.
There will be no Muslim registry.
There will be no 35% tax on foreign produced goods.
There will be no reining in of Wall Street.
There will be no "draining of the swamp."
There will be no wholesale rejection of DC insiders.
(Statements and actions from Trump prove all of my above points.)

What there will be is looting of the public treasury on a scale not seen since Caligula.

So, tell us again what it is you voted for, and why we should give Trump "a chance"?

 The "solution" to the influx of undocumented workers has been right there all along. Find, charge, prosecute, and punish the businesses and bosses who hire them. The workers come because they know they can find jobs. Eliminate the jobs, and you eliminate the draw for the immigrants.

Also, a worker, foreign or domestic, cannot "steal" a job. The job is assigned and awarded by the employer. No one secretly sneaks in and begins working in a field or factory, and then mistakenly gets paid by the owner.

And, BTW, 14 MILLION + jobs were added to the economy under the Obama administration, 14 million NEW jobs. And you want to crow about 1,000 "saved" jobs? If you do, you aren't very good at math.

Way back in 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave us the road map for living in the Trumpublican era:

" I say very honestly that I never intend to become adjusted to segregation and discrimination.

I never intend to become adjusted to religious bigotry.

I never intend to adjust myself to economic conditions that will take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few.

I never intend to adjust myself to the madness of militarism, to self-defeating effects of physical violence. "

Republicans, the party of live fetuses and dead children.

Donald is considering Palin for a high position because he want's someone around who has a shorter attention span than he does.

And because he plans to grab her by the pussy.

Derek Penwell says,

Pro tip: If your primary defense of your candidate is, "Let's wait and see what does first; he may not be as big a train wreck as everyone fears," maybe it's time to reevaluate your loyalty.

November Ender.

We will resist Trump.  We will fight fascism on our shores.  If the Democratic Party will not move against Trump, then we must move against the Democratic Party.

There are not two Americas. There is one. We are in it together. If the nation is damaged, we are ALL damaged.

The lie of two nations, or two groups, one of which can be "put down" while lifting the other up, is a lie of the 1%. The 1% will gladly destroy BOTH Americas in order to amass more and more wealth. They spread the lie of "a divided population." There is only one real division, and that is between the Oligarchy and all of us. ALL of us. Don't think of other voters as "they," think of the 1% as they. That is how we will win. By realizing you can't just destroy half of a people. We are ALL at risk.

I agree totally with this other vet. And I SURE don't want to hear about patriotism from a crooked, lying, draft dodging Donald.

Vince Pesce 

I swore the oath, carried the weapon and stood the post to protect American freedom.
The first amendment of the Constitution, which I swore to defend against all enemies, foreign or domestic, guarantees all Americans freedom of speech among other rights.
The Supreme Court ruled that burning the American flag is protected under the first amendment of the Constitution I swore to defend.
The minute it becomes illegal to burn the American flag I'll be burning mine.
My grandfather fought against fascism abroad, I will not stand for it here!

Trump is against burning a flag. But he's ok if you want to paint a swastika on one.

I do something every day that scares hell out of Republicans.

I read.

Q: What did Santa say when he found three Trump women at the White House on Christmas Eve?

A: Ho, Ho, Ho.

Soon, the CIA and the NSA are going to have to start giving briefings to Donald. They are stocking up on crayons and hand puppets.

The fact is, the vast majority of babies in the world have "no crib for a bed "

Trump did not win because he recognized and tapped into the anger and fear of the white middle class.

The Democrats lost because they failed to recognize and address the fear and anger of the white middle class. The party of the working people failed to even address those people.

I don't care how you identify, but if you say about another ethnic group or religion, "If they would only...........", then you are displaying your racism and bigotry. As the scripture says, look to the log in your own eye.

The metaphor of Bethlehem.

OK, first of all disabuse yourself of any illusion of Biblical literalism, it just isn't. For example, only two of the four Gospels contain a birth narrative, and the two of those are so different as to be totally incompatible.

BUT, the message of Bethlehem, the metaphor contained, is that the one who will overcome the wealthy, greedy, oppressive, and powerful of the world will not come from the palaces or the temples. Salvation, no matter how you choose to define it, present world or future world, will be the poor leading the poor to throw the yokes off of their shoulders.

The wealthy and the powerful have NEVER given up any power, or a shekel of wealth willingly. The fight, the victory, must and will come from below.

Of course, the powerful moved quickly to confiscate this truth and metaphor, and pervert it so that it could be made to serve them and their stranglehold.

And so it continues today. Christmas is not a story about "King of Kings." Christmas is a story about how revolutions must begin and grow.

Wonder what would happen if they tried to run a pipeline through St. Patrick's in New York, or Temple Square in Salt Lake City?

Black Friday Black Ink

Trump has a fool-proof plan to stop immigration from Mexico into the US.

He will make the American people more impoverished than the Mexican people, then there will be no reason for them to come North for opportunity. There will be no opportunity.

According to conservative myth, if everyone in the US would just "work hard", then everyone could be a millionaire. Well, first of all, I have yet to see a rich person who really works hard, or earned what he/she has by hard work.

Second, the math doesn't work. The total household worth in the US is currently about $84.9 trillion. With the vast majority of that concentrated in a few hands. However, if equally distributed, each person in the US would have approximately $245 thousand.

Now, while certainly more that most people have, that doesn't approach millionaire status. No, the only way there are millionaires is that some people grab more than their share. That's Capitalism. That's how it is set up. Capitalists like to talk about the "winners" in the system. What they don't mention is that the system depends as much or more on there being losers.

Trump has said, in a conservation and economy move, they won't begin EVERY cabinet meeting by burning a cross.

What is going to be proper protocol in the Trump White House?

Do you take your white hood off as you step into the Oval Office, or do you leave it on?

Dear Republican voters.  I am willing to bet you right now, that a year from today, there will be no Wall; there will be no Muslim registry; there will be no significant change in the War on Terror; there will be no change in US crime rates; there will be no significant increase in jobs, particularly high-paid factory jobs; and there will be no Republican health care plan.  What there will be is a flow of billions of dollars into the pockets of Donald and friends; a crashing economy; attempts to limit freedom of speech and freedom of the press; diminished US stature world wide; and an increase in inequality.  Are you willing to bet?

Bottom of Form

Wednesday Morning Kick Off

Poor and working class whites who vote Republican are always surprised when they lose benefits under Republican rule. What they swear they heard during the campaign was that those things would only be taken away from blacks and 'spanics.

Want to know what modern Organized Crime looks like?

Take a glance at the Trump transition team.

A Republican voter named Ray
Shakes a fist at the sky in dismay.
He's wailing and gnashing,
His world has come crashing.
They are taking his healthcare away.

I love it when Tea Baggers try to sound smart. In a comment on a friend's blog, a TB created the word, "equivilate" to express the attempt to make two completely different candidates sound similar.

A not-yet-a-president threatens and jerks around the leading news outlets in the nation, and they take it?

WTF. Why didn't one of those supposedly intrepid reporters stand up and say, "How DARE you threaten us?"

Where are Ben Bradlee, Edward R. Murrow, and Walter Cronkite? Can you imagine them putting up with that from the puffed up Orange Orifice? We deserve better from our press than this.

Oh, the irony of Donald complaining that the press isn't treating him fairly.

Come on, NPR. Since when is screaming accusations at the press called, "airing grievances"? Trump's only grievance is that some, certainly not all, but some of them reported the truth about him some of the time.

We have just been taught again, that about half of America has no use for people who think.

The Church of the Latter Day Republicans

I had a wonderful retired businessman friend named Skinny Grooms.  He taught me a lot about life in business, and the business of life.

One of the things he used to say was, “When you see a situation which you just cannot understand, look for the money.”    I have found that to be a great truth.

A couple of years later, a waggish friend of mine appended the extension, “…..if the money doesn’t explain it, look for the BJ, it will be one or the other of those two.”

For today, however, let’s stay with Skinny and his dictum.  While Skinny was addressing American business practices, I have found that the same rule can be applied to religion and politics as well.  And it can particularly be applied at that strange three-way intersection where Big Business, Religion, and Politics all meet--the crossroads of greed that is the Republican Party.

And, please, don’t try to say that the Republican Party isn’t all about money because, “So many poor white people vote Republican.”  As Sinclair Lewis said, those poor white people have been taught by a cynical media to see themselves not as impoverished, but as “temporarily embarrassed millionaires.”  In a party that denies both climate change and evolution, of COURSE the members can be deluded into thinking their millions will be arriving any day now.  Clear, rational thinking is not encouraged among the rank and file ‘Pubbies. And, this year, who can blame them for thinking, “If a guy as dumb as Trump can make billions, I’ll have mine soon.”

However, there’s one way of looking at the current Republican coalition which can yield both fright, and hope.  The Republican Party now slouching toward Washington looks more like a religion than a political organization.  It requires blind obedience from its members; it expects acceptance of certain “gospel” tenants without question or examination; and it operates strictly on a “we/they”, “communicant/ apostate” model of duality.  You are either a member of the church, or you are deservedly damned to hell.  A hell they have under construction, and which is NOT being built by Union Labor.

That’s the fear part—an American Taliban run amuck and given power.

The hope part is that built into the very fiber of the religion model of politics as practiced by the Republicans is the disintegration of the party.  As religions grow, and pull in disparate groups, they begin to become internally unstable, and the major denomination soon splits into competing, viciously competing, smaller denominations.  Think, Roman Catholics and Protestants, the various branches of Lutherans, the competing Presbyterian factions, the Baptists of many colors, even the Sunni and Shi’a Muslims.  Religionists never hate anyone as much as they hate their slightly different thinking brothers and sisters.

Right now, the Republican Party is made up of three primary strains.  The traditional Republicans of country clubs and Episcopalian piety.  The group made up of the various stripes of white supremacists, white nationalists, NRA paranoids, and haters of government in any form.  The strange bedfellow mix of Catholics and Evangelical culture warriors who will “hold their nose” and vote for anyone who promises to ostracize gays and outlaw abortion.

The aims and agendas of those three groups are greatly at odds with one another.  Eventually, single-issue voters must somehow be appeased and their demands delivered, or they are liable to march out of the Prom, tearing down the crepe paper banners as they go.  And the internecine warfare is going to be far uglier than anything we’ve seen between the above bunches and their “liberal” whipping boys.  While there will be anger and slashing aplenty, in the end the controlling group will still be the money group.  Money after all, as the above business observation holds, rules.  And money is STILL the grease of American politics.  The billions waiting to be stolen will not be found in KKK rallies, clinic closings, or denying wedding cakes to lesbians.  The billions will win out.

The Church of the Latter Day Republican is splintering.  Watch and enjoy.  And be sure not to be hit by any of the gargoyles falling from the roof.

Afternoon round up, 11/21

Dear Lord, let me live this day in such a way that Donald Trump demands I apologize to him. Thank you.

Have you noticed that the guy who said he was so tough that ISIS, Putin, and world leaders in general, would quake before him is being handed his ass by the cast of a Broadway musical, and a semi-funny TV comedy show?

As he puts on his C in C suit,
Trump dreams of naught but the loot.
All those heavenly bribes
For the crap he'll let slide,
The election, for Trump, bears gold fruit.

Watch how little Presidential vacation days are going to matter to Republicans once Trump's term begins.

As the Trump admin unfolds, it is obvious that we have no obscenities and curses strong enough to address the horrors.

"F" words, "C" words, "B" words, "G-D" words and all of the rest now seem Sunday School tame, and totally insufficient.

Please list below your nominations and constructions for a new vocabulary of words to scream at Trump and his minions.

The REAL headline:

Cast of Musical, HAMILTON, Harassed by Presence of Gay Hating, Constitution Destroying Demagogue.

Right now, to say, "Not all American Christians are harmful," is the same as saying, "Not all mushrooms are poisonous."

While a true statement, if you don't really know your stuff, and aren't positive about which fungus you're picking up, you could end up mighty sick.

Also, some of the largest and most colorful of the mushrooms are the most toxic. Mega churches, anyone?