Scum on Top

Inevitably, the scum rises to the top among Republicans. Marco Rubio and Tom Cotton express displeasure over impeachment. Unnecessary, they think, since the miscreant is out of office. They want to get back to their work on Benghazi . . .

A Piece of Shit in Every Job

With Biden in there the contrasts really stand out. I'm realizing how much I defensively distanced myself from the utter horror of the Trump administration. I think it's especially pronounced in Biden's hirings and appointments. Trump was determined to have a piece of shit in every job.

I've seen the light . . .

 as the smoke clears, which has been streaming out of Trump's ass . . .

The Soul of an Old Machine

In spite of our enormous technical advancements the modern world's neglect of meaning has weakened its foundations. We think barbarism is behind us. It surely isn't. People exist on symbols and the content they encapsulate. Think of 9/11 and the images that brought about a belated and flawed awakening, riddled with reactivity and denial. Now think of the grudge riot at the Capitol. Will we face what it means or deny it because we don't like how it reflects on us? Denial, as we  know, only causes faults to fester. 

Fester they will, I fear. 

Lethal Presidency Finally Ends But Goons Are Still a Concern

Donald Trump's lethal presidency, in which he only looked our for himself and, incidentally, the richest Americans, is finally ending. Corpses litter the ground. The Trump pandemic rages, during which he tried to deprive millions of citizens of access to health care. The economy subsists on a typical Republican sugar high, stoked by unsustainable tax cuts and easy money, that portends a bust. 

The government itself is a shambles. Bush's practice of sabotage by installing hacks in every possible position was raised to new levels, with active, deliberate destruction the new norm. Mere incompetence was not enough. Personal loyalty to the president, flouting constitutional constraints and provisions, was the only acceptable practice. In spite of it all, Republicans lined up to serve him. 

Trump's legacy is this, the exposure of the soul of the Republican Party, a treasonous den of iniquity, as a morally bankrupt and hopelessly corrupt entity that runs on racism and division for personal profit. Why do they cling to their jobs to save their lives? They came not to serve but to plunder. And to serve plunderers because even that yields impressive rewards. They are that addicted to power.

Their henchmen remain a concern, feeling encouraged and emboldened as never before. Many are still in the government but, more alarmingly, others feel free to turn to the streets with ridiculously deadly firearms designed to kill people as efficiently as possible. They respect no law or tradition. The system of elected government is breaking down, with persons of the worst character everywhere. 

This is more than Trump's legacy. It's the legacy of a political party that sold its soul decades ago. Internal checks on their behaviors don't exist. Only deniability keeps them from violent rebellion and that is slipping away under the influence of Trump, who dared to speak the hate that was once hidden. All they have is hate now. It animates their entire movement. 

Demonicracy

America is inventing a new kind of government. Only demons are enfranchised. The government and its power are limited to servants of Satan. 

What's Next for the Appendages?

Pay attention. An encounter with someone as sick as Trump is educational. Opportunities this visible and extreme seldom arise. Because of Trump public figures getting killed for their views or associations is now entirely possible. Mostly sad fantasies present themselves.

But, what would happen if Ivanka got shot? Mind you, this isn't wishful thinking only a mental exercise -- a simulation. Would Don-Boy care? Only to the extent that HE was diminished. People are appendages to him. Or, not. But they have no existence in-and-of themselves.

Trump inhabits a world of one. He is all of his existence. Nothing else is real. All "being" emanates from him. Give his goons some credit. They are picking up on something -- that this is god-like in its aspect. No matter that it's pure psychopathology. People are not gods.

Especially, Trump. 

Licentiousness

Trump will live on in his licenses. He issues them informally. He's done it forever. Everyone in his orbit is drug down. It's his life’s work.

Licenses to kill. Licenses to overthrow our government. Licenses to act on the hate and resentment he's fed on himself and inspired in others. 

Redneck Revolution

My objection to Hillbilly Elegy (the book) was that it was delusional. Hillbilly culture isn't lost it just stormed our capitol. Redneck values aren't in retreat. They have disseminated. The Confederate diaspora spread them everywhere. 

The American Dark Ages began with Bush. Bush signaled the evangelical, fundamentalist takeover. That meant ignorance. That meant violence. That meant making war on principle, and tribalism everywhere. A violent time is upon us. 

A Declaration of the Rights of Assholes

Assholes also have rights. Where would Jesus be without Judas? And, notice that in the Bible Judas is his own punishment. There is no posse of apostles to track down Judas. There is no inquest or assignment of punishment. Assholes are a fact of life. 

They will always be with us. 

It's the responsibility of those who can to protect the weak and innocent from assholes and not to empower them. Assholes shit all over everything but they challenge people to be better. Good people are defined against the standards set by assholes.

But you never let them run things.

Plunderdome

Maybe we need to isolate all of the capital obsessors. A big-ass fence. The lobbyists can fight it out in there for the booty. To make it interesting let's reduce the available resources incrementally to overall subsistence level, if that, as has happened to working Americans, in good part because of those lobbyists. Keep them in there and let them fight it out. See how they like it.

Sentimental Journey

I come from sentimentalists. I know the dangers. Sentimentalism can be a kind of denial. A failure to see the reality. We are beset by that now. 

The reality of it is that we have a flourishing Nazi Party in America. I don't fault anybody for an attachment to our, American, ideals.

I don't fault anybody for a sentimental attachment to their own experiences. America was the promised land for my family. But not for everyone.

And those people, the people with grudges, have taken over. They are a hate movement. And they think they are justified. 

They think they are justified to the point of doing whatever is necessary to reestablish white supremacy and their, Republican, racist hegemony.

Stop the Stealers

The only reasonable course now is to expel every member of the Treason Caucus from Congress, every elected representative who sided with Trump in trying to steal an election.

Trumphenge

Whitehouse is looking like Trumphenge . . . prehistoric . . . inexplicable . . . reflecting some kind of power or power dynamic . . . maybe useful for excarnation . . . are there vultures flying about? 

Both Sides Now

It's life's illusions we recall. We gave ourselves away. 

This Connotes a Coup

Lots of loose talk about coups these days. Words get used in different ways. The law is all technicality. I don't even know if there's a word for the spirit of the law but we're learning something about that -- that the technicality of it is meaningless without some kind of goodwill and informal commitment to its authority. There's a semantic field to everything. 

A range of meaning to every word. 

People are claiming to be the keepers of our legal Torah. Fundamentalists. Federalists. They don't dispute the existence of a Talmud but claim they have possession of the ark of truth so they get to decide all the issues. Reformers be damned. But, no matter how wise those original documents, the spirit of the law must be understood and applied independently.

 

Or, forget it. We are fucked. What is going on now might not denote a coup. Technically, I don't think so. But it sure as hell is an illegal attempt to seize power for minority interests. The coup conviction is there. The will of coupists is there. That's good enough for me.

Ted Cruz

Now we understand the beard. He's a Proud Boy. If not, maybe a Proud Boy wanna be. He wears it in solidarity. I heard his speech. It left me wondering what the meaning of the word "is" is. And, some other words. 

Trump Goons Invade Capitol

We needn't make a point of saying what this means. We know what it means. But we must insist that every Republican legislator shares the blame. None of them has taken a stand against it, as we watched for four years. Fuck them all.

Smoking Gums

We have the smoking gums now, a whole hour on tape of President Trump trying to wheedle and threaten his way into stealing an election. For those who demand smoke this is it. The fire is coming from Trumps's mouth.

Non-Work Ethic

Somewhere in my youth and childhood I got the idea that you find out what to do in life because it comes to you so easily. It makes some sense but I think I took it too far.