Dare We Must: Yeah We Must Call It Treason

Some may remember a Stephen Schwarzman back in 2010. He was and is the billionaire CEO of perhaps the largest private equity firm in the country. He became hysterical over Obama's attempt to make some “very slight” changes to the carried interest charges. He compared it to “Hitler invading Poland in 1939.” Just more nonsense from the privileged class.

No, carried interest charges is not something that most of us need to worry about. It was devised by and for the very rich, sort of like the tax havens across the globe that have been in the news lately. It also remains in the “tax overhaul” plan the Republican cult wants to get passed as fast as possible this week. Of course, if we actually closed all these assorted welfare programs for our pampered parasite class we probably wouldn't have to screw the vast majority of Americans ... or at least as badly as what might very well happen.

While we have been distracted by the degenerate, half-bright sociopath in the White House, the Republican Congress has been crawling frantically through their own swamp desperate to appease their overseers. After all, they have been told in no uncertain terms—no 19^th century, no more campaign contributions, from us, the kleptocracy.

No, no, possible collusion with a foreign power, conflict of interests, failure to disclose income tax returns, environmental degradation, unqualified nominees, health and safety, growing inequality, gutting of health insurance, third world U.S. infrastructure repairs, corporate personhood etc, etc and etc is not the priority. The Republican Congress is counting on an electorate unable to tear itself away from the latest distraction on social media, television and talk radio.

The Republicans will give the one-percent over one-fifth of the tax cuts, while the top 5-percent will get just under half of the tax cuts. Oh and they will have to be paid for, not by some fanciful economic expansion or trickle down nonsense, but by all the rest of us. The holy grail for the parasite class is of course Social Security and Medicare. But the millennials have not been forgotten. Well, they actually have, been forgotten, actually.

There will be no American dream for the overwhelming majority. For that 40 to 60 year old group, well, work is good for you. Stay healthy. Don't waste time on vacations. You may even win the lottery. That's the definition of Libertarianism: FREEDOM to be unemployed, under educated, sick and powerless to do anything about it. Oh, and we haven't even talked about net neutrality. But it's too complicated for most Americans anyway. The Democratic Party? Well, we don't have time right now. They're still deciding on who they are.

Oh, speaking of Libertarians, at least the rich ones. Many of them don't believe in a lot of the childlike nonsense they yap about. They just don't give a damn about the “democracy” thing. Regardless, at this point we have only a fig leaf of a democratic republic anyway. Yeah, I'm inclined to think we're dealing with treason; we have been betrayed. Sorry, I forgot to mention the “chained CPI tax hike.” Look it up.

Secret desires and nocturnal emissions

In America, anyone can become president. That's the problem.

(George Carlin)

White House home shopping network

I thought a colleague of mine was putting me on recently when he told me that the Trump family had been peddling products and advertising their family businesses on a dot gov web site. Ivanka herself was marketing her $10,000 bracelet. I discovered it was true. The site came down after a few days. I guess someone realized it was not a subtle way to begin the four year scam.

This is a family of rich grifters … and that's why they're liked by so many Americans. It doesn't matter if the Donald is a billionaire (thanks to daddy) along with numerous conflicts of interest, deadbeat morality and totally unqualified to be town dog catcher let alone the President of the United States.

America he's ours—certainly for a large percentage of white people--and we want to believe he's revenge on the “ruling class,” which ruling class of course depends on your point of view. Donald is going to make America “great again.” I may be wrong but did anyone among our corporate info-entertainers over this past dismal year ask him “when” America was great? But hell, who cares. Right?

The rational worldview

People I know have told me I need to be patient. After all, Trump did win the presidency fair and square. Let's wait and see what he does before we react. We need to bring the country together in order to move forward. The opposition needs to accept this fact. Unless you have demonstrable proof that the election was “stolen” get it line and support America. Forget the blather about Hillary having more of the popular vote than Trump; Mr. Trump clearly won within the current system.

I refuse to participate in this process of organized amnesia, to cooperate in normalizing a man who stands for everything America should not.

(Leonard Pitts Jr., journalist)

The Lord of Mordor

I've been following a particular social media site very much in opposition to Donald Trump. I've read with interest a lengthy thread dealing with trolls, insulting remarks and how best to handle individuals who do this.

What struck me while reading many of the comments was the naivete of so many, well meaning and committed individuals who are against Trump. Nasty individuals, however, mocking liberals is the least of our worries. Steve Bannon, the Donald's Rasputin in the new White House, has little interest in what you think about damn near anything. It will likely get so much worse and we have no time for a lengthy learning curve or being shocked or upset by troglodytes.

Less we forget, the Cult controls Congress. The list is long. Characters like Paul Ryan think their libertarian college boy dream can soon become a reality. You gonna stop it? In addition to the ACA they're coming after Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, the environment, which includes national parks and wildlife. Women your place is in the kitchen barefoot and pregnant. Hell, some 53% of white women voted for Donald. What happened to the last forty years or so? Trickle down economics is back with a vengeance. Oh yes, tax cuts for the parasite class is the wave of the future. After all, they're clearly your betters and struggle is good for you. Serfdom has some good aspects because you'll know what to do day after day after day. You just do what you're told. First amendment, well, we may have to cut back a bit in order to make America great. Now the “other” people, you know who you are. You've got to understand who runs this country, and realize who is on top of the dung heap, sort of like the natural order of things. Best of all we're going to have guns and more guns everywhere—hospitals, schools, churches and conveniently you'll be able to buy them in a Quick Trip or maybe a 7Eleven, hell, Hobby Lobby possibly, who knows and no waiting time. An educated citizenry? Well, there is too much thinking going on in this country. A well run country can't really have educated citizens. And there is so much more. I bet Russia could be our closest ally because we'll have so much in common. Imagine, we could give a select group of angry white people brown and black shirts and they could earn merit badges and move up in the ranks. I know, it's an old idea, but we could reduce unemployment to zero and have a lot of torchlight parades and be proud Americans again. Be happy, don't worry citizens, you're not in a dream....

I'm going to a restaurant tonight. It's owned by Muslims. Last week white nationalist Orcs smashed some windows and wrote graffiti on the walls. This approaching Kristallnacht we better not ignore or worry that we might upset the Cult. We can apologize profusely and promise to work together if Trump and company do not turn out to be a collection of ignorant, undemocratic thugs that want to turn the clock back to some mythical and exclusive white boy paradise.

This is not going to be a gentle struggle or a weekend beating of drums, chants and inspiring folk music. The thread for how we got here goes back to the very beginning of this country founded on slavery, racism, genocide, predatory capitalism, Social Darwinism, total disrespect for the natural world and “I got mine.” Now the monsters have been unleashed. Be grateful for what you have and realize and understand what and why you have it and be clear that you're not alone or powerless. Make this Thanksgiving a time to commit to a much better country.

And suddenly the mirror went altogether dark, as dark as if a hole had opened in the world of sight, and Frodo looked into emptiness....

(Frodo seeing Sauron, in the Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien)

You're getting Tired

Let us come together ... uh, huh

Democracy is beautiful in theory, in practice it is a fallacy. You in America will see that some day.

(Benito Mussolini, leader of National Fascist Party, 1922-1943)

I love the old days—you know what they used to do to guys like that when they were in a place like this? They'd be carried out on a stretcher folks … I'd like to punch him in the face.

(Donald Trump, discussing a protester this past February being dragged out of a Trump rally)

The 60's redux

I remember in graduate school writing a paper on the late Mario Savio, the leader of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement in 1964. My professor, an Englishman who had fought the Nazis at Dunkirk, thought the paper was “well written” but its premise naive. It was certainly naive, in the sense that soaring rhetoric, lofty idealism and mere protests would quickly cause the “establishment”-any establishment—to crumble before our eyes. Of course, positive change did eventually occur in a great many areas, but over time through a lot of hard work, a lot of creative thinking, a lot of sacrifice ... and a lot of pain.

The victor will never be asked if he told the truth.

(Adolf Hitler)

What it is for the moment

It was by definition Populism, a mixed picture in American history. (See The globalboneyard.) Whether or not Donald Trump has the slightest idea what Populism is, he talked about change, creating jobs and “throwing out the rascals.” These slogans have worked in America for over 200 years.

According to the polls (for all that means), the voters had pretty much made up their minds by September and Trump had a very, very good chance of becoming president, although Clinton and the Democratic strategists, in hindsight, remained largely clueless, in itself a reason to gut the Democratic party or turn it inside out.

At the moment the Democrats control virtually nothing. We know what has happened at the national level but how many of us know that the majority of state legislatures and governorships are controlled by the Cult. We are knee deep in the effluent—meaning “crap.” It matters a great deal ultimately what we end up doing, from the town council on up to the presidency. What we do have are many of the cities and that matters a great deal, an article unto itself.

You got 9 weeks

For the time being we have to take the Donald mostly at his word. No, I don't think all the nonsense that Trump uttered during the campaign is going to get implemented and become law, but in the short-term America is going to become coarser, uglier, less democratic and increasingly unpleasant for perhaps a majority of Americans.

For many Americans, their real education is about to begin. Presidents have significant power in issuing Executive Orders, requiring no advice and consent of Congress. As well, they have the power to undo Executive Orders implemented by their predecessor, in this case President Obama. But there is so much more being talked about already in the Cult-controlled Congress.

Make no mistake; they are going for everything as fast as possible. The unspoken belief is that the Cult really can take us back to the “good old days.” Best be aware and best be prepared for what is to come. Wisdom, intelligence, discipline and awareness will, in a few weeks, be worth all the money in the U.S. Treasury. Pull up your bootstraps America and get ready to listen to your “betters.”

We have basically nine weeks to create the beginning of an organization, at the national level as well as at the state and local level. A good place to start is learning how government works at all levels and how ideas become laws. We could begin by talking to those politicians that actually make the laws. It is much more than anger and righteous indignation that will bring about the changes we want.

The good news is that the wailing and gnashing of teeth appears to be short lived; therefore, we can get on with the business at hand. Some 59 million people voted for Trump. We have millions of potential customers if we learn how to close the deal. How much incentive do you need?

Economic America: A delusion wrapped in an illusion

Ha, just keep 'em watching the bouncing ball

Climate change is happening now and much faster than anticipated.

(Sir Robert Watson, former chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)

The Arctic is a principal, global driver of the climate system and is undergoing an unprecedented rate of change with consequences far beyond its boundaries.

(David Grimes, President of World Meteorological Organization)

So the American voter wants change?

Possibly one of the world's largest ice avalanches, which contained some 100 million cubic meters of ice and rock, occurred in western Tibet this past July. Glaciologists are not yet certain why an entire “glacier tongue” would collapse so quickly and violently. The glaciers of Central and South Asia, including Tibet, have the largest reserves of glacier ice outside of Antarctica, Greenland and Canada.

As mentioned previously, an international climate goal is to keep temperature rise under 2 degrees Celsius. The current reality is, however, that the Arctic, which makes up 4 percent of the earth's surface has already risen some 4 degrees Celsius. Climate scientists believe that if we don't take far more serious measures, temperatures will certainly rise to 1.5 degrees C by 2030 and quite conceivably 2 degrees C by 2050.

Yes, stuff could happen—in our lifetime. Permafrost could melt in the tundra (where it used to be cold all the time) releasing more carbon dioxide—and methane—making what we call feedback loops an unpleasant reality. Ocean currents could change and weather patterns might begin to vary a lot, with extreme weather events becoming the new reality.

This time you might want to stop living in flood plains and do not expect the government to bail you out citizen. Massive die offs of plant and animal life could occur, along with water wars, forced migration of millions of people across the globe, famines and no more exotic vacations for the privileged and the wealthy … get the idea?

My fellow Americans, ignorance is not bliss, right here in “River City”

Watching the recent presidential debate, I was surprised by the amount of revulsion I felt toward Donald Trump, in my opinion the most unqualified presidential candidate in modern history, but I do not consider him merely an ignorant, narcissistic carnival barker. History offers far too many examples of seeming buffoons and charlatans seducing the citizenry, taking power and then wreaking havoc.

We are being told by assorted pundits that the demographic group designated “millennials,” some 75 million souls, ages 18 to 34 dislike or are uneasy about voting for Hillary Clinton and she could lose the election if she does not get their support.

If you are a 34 year old millennial right now, in 2050 you will be 68 years old and some of you will presumably have children and grandchildren. If you are 25 years old you will be only 59 in 2050. Donald, Hillary and a great many of us will be long gone 34 years from now.

third party

You forget the Greens and the Libertarians

I'm doing my best to definitely forget about Jill Stein and Gary Johnson, the nominees for the Green Party and the Libertarian Party. It is a wasted protest vote. Jill Stein appears to live in a world of illusion and seems to have little understanding of political reality, how the political system actually works and how people actually make decisions.

Then there is Gary Johnson, a seemingly nice guy who needs to brush up on world events before running for the presidency of the United States. But perhaps even more important in a diverse, continental sized country with more than 300 million people, libertarian, free market claptrap is the last thing we need in a world with climate change, demographic increases, global trade, nuclear weapons and a host of grown up issues requiring collective action.

Wishing is hardly enough

My personal wish list includes such things as universal health care, the repeal of Citizen's United, national gun legislation that reflects a 21^st century world, criminal justice reform, reducing livestock farming (a global warming disaster), free college education, a genuine progressive income tax, intelligent cuts in the bloated defense budget, increasing funding for our national parks (one of the greatest public policy successes in our history), a large scale infrastructure program and above all, an actual commitment to fighting climate change.

I'm going to vote for Hillary Clinton without reservation, not because she ignites my passion or guarantees my wish list, but because she is capable of the “change” so many Americans claim that they want. Of course the change comes when we who profess the need for that change actually organize, educate and vote at all levels all the time over the long term.

Finally, there is the definition of what “change” means. I have a pretty good idea of what Donald Trump's most passionate supporters mean by change.