Deregulation Is Here Again

 

Somewhere between no government regulation and governmental overreach, there has to be a happy medium. Every new occupant of the captain’s seat of the good ship USS Government that results in a change of party domination, seems to bring about a 180-degree course correction. The compass needle swings wildly during the U-turn.

Republicans are now at the helm and the elimination of all regulations is seen by them as a reasonable goal. As was the response of the scorpion in the Russian fable of The Scorpion and the Frog where the scorpion dooms them both by stinging the frog that was carrying him across a river, "I am sorry, but I couldn't help myself. It's my character."

I recently watched the movies Margin Call and Too Big to Fail. Both movies involved the 2008 financial crisis. That event was considered the most severe economic meltdown since the Great Depression. The erosion of regulatory oversight allowed the extension of mortgage credit to high-risk borrowers resulting in a large number of so-called subprime mortgages. In some cases, the risk was compounded by extending additional credit backed only by inflated property valuations. I had a neighbor with a modest income who took that money and spent it on a new boat, a new car, vacations, and a pool. When the housing market bubble burst, he lost his house and was forced to move in with his in-laws.

These high-risk mortgages were bundled into complex financial products and sold to unwary investors as “mortgage-backed securities” (MBS) to spread the risk. The housing market valuations skyrocketed until the foreseeable defaults began and the bubble burst. When Lehman Brothers went bankrupt in September of 2008, it triggered a global financial crisis that became known as the Great Recession. The deregulation effort that allowed this to happen was started under Reagan and continued under Clinton and Bush.

The crisis resulted in massive bailouts of banks by the government, a sharp decline in consumer wealth, a significant downturn in economic activity, decimated retirement plans, and it triggered a global recession. The effects of the crisis lingered for years, reshaping financial regulation and economic policies worldwide. To prevent a future recurrence, the US enacted the Dodd-Frank Act with stricter regulations on the financial industry.

By 2018, however, under Donald Trump’s first presidency, major portions of Dodd-Frank were rolled back. Now, in 2025, the American oligarchy has assembled to hail their new leader who is once again bent on deregulation as a way of eliminating those pesky rules that protect consumers but, the elimination of which, benefit big business.

Financial deregulation is but one piece of the government regulation puzzle as this mindset factors into all manner of consumer protections. Food inspections, drug approvals, health and safety, agriculture regulations, and environmental protections are all now subject to serious cutbacks or elimination. The short-term effect of deregulation is to put more money into the hands of big business to the delight of the oligarchs surrounding Trump and contributing to his success. Trump makes money, big business makes money, Congress makes money, and local politicians make money, what could go wrong? Their mantra is, “Let us make the big bucks and we promise that some of it will trickle down to you poor folks at the bottom.”

The only ones at risk are the ones who can’t afford to ride out any setbacks. A new pandemic could once again catch us off guard. The current bird flu may only infect poultry raising chicken and egg prices, but it could also infect other livestock more broadly than it already has. It could spread to more humans than it already has.

The wealthiest cabinet in history

With fewer regulatory agencies and inspectors monitoring the situation and with political appointees with little experience running these agencies, again, what could go wrong? If things get out of hand you can always jump into your private jet and head to your private island where you will probably be safe. What’s that you say???

Our Democracy

 

Our Democracy

Our democracy can be likened to a two-hundred-thirty-nine-year-old grandfather clock. Construction started on our beautiful timepiece in 1776, and it was made operational in 1789. Just like the USS Constitution, also known as “Old Ironsides,” the exterior was made from white oak known for its strength and resistance to rot, and its vertical framing was made from live oak so tough that cannonballs could bounce off it.

The design was conceived in the Declaration of Independence, laid out in the US Constitution, and further refined in the Bill of Rights and subsequent amendments. The pendulum, gears, weights, springs, and hands were made of the finest materials available by the best of American craftsmen. It was a masterpiece of American ingenuity. Its gear train regulates the speed and power of the pendulum, and its’ time-keeping gears move the clock’s hands. The suspended weights turn a pulley to provide power to the clock held in place by chains. It’s mainspring stores and releases energy.

Our democratic clock can work with precision when properly balanced, cleaned, and oiled. It needs regular maintenance by qualified professionals to keep it functioning with accuracy. Our clock has survived a Civil War, two World Wars, and countless other threats to its existence. Many have given their lives for its survival.

Like our metaphoric grandfather clock, our democracy is founded upon a robust framework of laws and principles, designed to uphold the rights and freedoms of its citizens. It was designed to last through the ages. The pendulum is at the heart of our clock, and it is a symbol of steady progress. It gets its kinetic energy from the will of the people. That pendulum continually sways between the policies and ideologies expressed by those people through their representatives in government.

The internal workings of our democracy rely on the balance of our institutions. The executive, legislative, and judicial branches must work in consort, and each provides a critical role. Like the clock of this analogy, our democracy requires a vigilant and informed citizenry to hold its leaders accountable to preserve the integrity of the system. Neglect can lead to an erosion of democratic norms and the rise of authoritarianism.

A grandfather clock displays the time and chimes regularly to mark the incremental changes. Our democracy marks change through elections, legislative updates, and civic engagement. Our democracy, like our grandfather clock, is a national heirloom that represents a legacy of enduring freedom and equality. Each generation inherits a civic responsibility to cherish and preserve this legacy for the enjoyment of future generations.

When that democratic precision instrument fails at its intended purpose, it is time to make adjustments. We may need to replace a worn part. It is not a time to break out the sledgehammer, prybar, and pickaxe. Reducing our democracy to a pile of rubble to start over is like a child kicking the game board because he didn’t get his way. Our man-child president seems bent on splintering our way of life to fashion something from the kindling that pleases him and others like him. We need to protect our national heirloom from all foreign and domestic predators.

Violence and Homage

 

In the opening segment of 2001: A Space Odyssey, a tribe of hominid apes approach a black monolith which triggers a violent response where one ape strikes and kills another.  He uses a bone tool to dispatch his prey all to the rousing music of Richard Strauss’s “Also Sprach Zarathustra.”  This act allows one tribe to drive a rival tribe away from a water hole.  Our evolutionary predecessors had simultaneously discovered tool-making and violence.  Such apes have existed for around 25 million years with human existence beginning just 8 million years ago.

In the year 2025, violence is still a way we solve our problems and territorial disputes.  We claim that we are now “civilized” but the truth of the matter is that we are often more willing to pick up a blunt instrument and smack someone rather than having a dialogue to settle our disagreements.  Violence is readily used where there is no real dispute, and its only purpose is to acquire wealth.  Movies and video games all depict violence as a means to an end.  Movie heroes can get hit, kicked, stabbed, and shot only to rise up and vanquish their oppressors.  In first-person video games we can shoot, slice, and dice hundreds of “others,” hit pause and go down for lunch.

Is it then any wonder that a man who used violence to attempt to overthrow our democracy has been given a free pass and a lifetime get-out-of-jail-free card and allowed a second chance to complete what he started.  Yes, we hired a bull to stock the shelves in the proverbial China shop.  We now have to expect some “breakage.”  He will not disappoint those seeking excitement within the carnage.  The demolition derby has begun and the overweight blonde guy with the long red tie is driving Grave Digger, the most famous monster truck of all time.

Theodore Roosevelt said, "speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far."  This “big stick” diplomacy relied on four things.  Act justly toward other nations, never bluff, strike only when prepared, and allow your adversary to save face in defeat.  His idea was to negotiate peacefully but be prepared to act when necessary.

Teddy Roosevelt

The Trump philosophy seems to be, “rant loudly and use the stick to strike first.”  It is a “do unto others before they do unto you,” mentality.  His cudgel is his Sharpie.  He takes a Realpolitik approach to everything which is to say that he is emotional and reactionary to circumstances, both real and imagined, without reliance on ideological, moral, or ethical premises.  Realpolitik was a term coined by a German writer and politician, Ludwig von Rochau who believed in power politics.

Blind nationalism combined with a violent disposition is a powerful force.  It can be corrupted by the unscrupulous to advance class and religious ideologies with the attainment of wealth used to keep score.

The oligarchs have been assembled, and they are willing to pay homage and tribute to their new champion.  The richest of the rich are about to find their Cockaigne, the imaginary place of medieval folklore where food and luxury abound.  It is a land of ease, comfort, and pleasure where houses are made of cake, rivers flow with wine, and streets are paved with pastry.

The Land of Cockaigne

In our current environment motivation is simple.  As anyone who has ever followed the mystery genre knows, you should always follow the money.  Our Grifter-in-Chief is easy to understand when you follow the money.  His forays into the world of crypto and its nefarious spinoffs like blockchain assets, NFTs, smart contracts, and crypto exchanges, have the potential to bring in great wealth hidden from taxation, regulation, or scrutiny.

The cryptocurrency welcome mat is out, the IRS is being crippled, investigative agencies are being staffed with lackeys, favorable judges are being appointed, and the White House has a For Sale sign in the yard.  The Wise Men will come bearing gifts for their new messiah.  The rich will become very rich, but they will throw out the occasional small tax cut to mollify the masses.  For those peasants who have no bread, "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche." 

A Little History

 A Little History

It was just a bit over 90 years ago that Hitler rose to power in Germany. His ascent involved the systematic removal of freedoms, attacks on minority groups, control of the media, the destruction of books, and the establishment of power through fear and intimidation.

After an arson attack on the seat of parliament, the Reichstag Building, Hitler asked President Paul von Hindenburg to authorize the Enabling Act that would give the Hitler government the power to rule by decree. All laws passed under this Enabling Act could not be challenged by a majority of the Reichstag. This act allowed for laws that violated the Constitution. Under the Weimar Constitution, the president could rule by decree in times of emergency. The Reichstag Fire was blamed on a communist revolt. The declared “emergency” was the threat of a communist revolution that demanded the expansion of Nazi power.

With this unfettered power, one of the first orders of business was Article 48 which limited the freedom of the press. Under Article 48, Hitler issued the Reichstag Fire Decree that suspended civil liberties in Germany. He used his Interior Minister, Herman Goring to enlist thousands of Sturmabteilung (SA) men as “auxiliary policemen” who could attack opponents of the Nazis. Social Democrats were a prime target.

Under the new rule, labor unions were suppressed, political opponents were imprisoned, and Jews were ejected from civil service. When Hindenburg died in 1934, Hitler decreed that the position of President would be abolished, and those powers would now be merged with those of the chancellor under the title Fuhrer.

Before the anticipated death of the 86-year-old Hindenburg, Hitler made a deal with the only group that could challenge him, the military. In exchange for their support, he promised the elimination of the SA (police force) and that they would be the only ones who could bear arms under his watch.

Rule by Executive Order and Decree

You are not alone if you have read the past week's news and seen any parallels with the above. Vilifying minorities, attacking the press, blaming an “immigrant invasion” to declare an emergency requiring military intervention, suspending birthright citizenship in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, freeing the violent leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, the attacks on transgender Americans, and the reinstatement of his first term Schedule F executive order to allow mass firing of civil servants who may be replaced by loyalists swearing allegiance to the new leader, all seem reminiscent of a bygone era.

National Archives Building, What is Past is Prologue

Engraved on the National Archives Building in Washington, DC., is a quote from the Immortal Bard’s The Tempest, “What’s past is prologue.” How apropos. We have released the Kraken to do his worst. How long before the less informed among us realize what is happening and say, OMG, what have we done?

No Surprise Here

 

For anyone surprised at the actions of the man living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC, where have you been living for the last decade? I must admit I didn’t see the renaming of Mt. Denali in Alaska as a priority, but the rest of this is business as usual for an angry billionaire on a power trip.

I would be hard-pressed to come up with something so outrageous that it wouldn’t be possible for a man under the guidance of Project 2025 (the document he has never seen), who has the morals of an alley cat, the scruples of Niccolò Machiavelli, and the emotional stability of a three-year-old on a sugar high.

He is no longer a neophyte in the land of governmental largess. His training wheels have been removed, and the guardrails have been sold for scrap. He will be transported on a palanquin of his own design and there will be no shortage of uber-wealthy sycophants to man the poles beneath the throne. They will leave no crypto coin unturned. His story will be told for future generations and his name will live in infamy. Protest will be futile because no one wants to hear anything they don’t already believe to be true.

It would be best to sit back and observe. Learn from our own past mistakes that allowed us to be without a proper response to a future that was so predictable. We were not caught unawares, we were caught unprepared.

I leave you with a favorite poem from Edna St. Vincent Millay titled First Fig. It has little to do with the above theme but is a life lesson.

My candle burns at both ends;

It will not last the night;

But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—

It gives a lovely light!

Who In Their Right Mind

 

Lately, two television series serve as fillers between movie offerings for our nighttime entertainment. Madam Secretary is one and Borgen is the other. Both feature female leads in atypical political roles, and both shows cover family lives complicated by the pressures of politics. Between the complexities of their jobs and the exhaustive strain on their marriages and families, one might reasonably ask, who in their right mind would want such a thing?

For those unfamiliar with Borgen (aired between 2010-2022), it is a dubbed-in-English Danish political drama covering Denmark’s first female prime minister. After a slow start with character development and a somewhat difficult-to-follow fast pace, Borgen evolves into a good show with strong parallels with the more familiar American political drama, Madam Secretary. It’s kind of like Madam Secretary meets West Wing but in Denmark. Both shows are fictional but deal with real-world problems and events. Borgen was somewhat prescient given it was written a year before Denmark actually had its first female prime minister.

Borgen

Both of the shows mentioned cover the work-life balance issue and how bleak life may be when work overshadows all else. In these shows the inference is that we may tend to accept such situations more readily when it is the man who has the important job.

Returning to our titled topic question, why would any sane person want to put themselves through such an ordeal? I think the answer is in the question when it mentions sanity. Only crazy people would want such a job. Enter Donald John Trump, and I rest my case. Just kidding, about resting.

Yes, Donald Trump is due to be sworn into office tomorrow, for the second time. I feel he is both stupid and smart in a sort of idiot-savant way. I understand that this term is now considered offensive to some so the more preferred reference is “savant syndrome” or “autistic savant.” Whatever term we use, the original reference is from the French words idiot and savant meaning “learned idiot.” Fictional savants include Forrest Gump, Sherlock Holmes, Will Hunting, and Sheldon Cooper.

Elon Musk has autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and was described by Time magazine as a “business savant.” His self-declaration is that he has Aspergers Syndrome. This explains his affected speech pattern and perhaps some of his technical skillset. Donald Trump is not a savant by any stretch of the term, but he does exhibit some limited advanced skills coupled with a total lack of empathy which allow him to function in the rarified atmosphere of wealthy politicians. While savant is off the table in reference to Trump, the idiot part will be in the eye of the beholder.

Idiot Savant

What our new president lacks in intelligence, political experience, and character, he makes up for with being entertaining. Being the center of attention is like a drug for him, and he is willing to act a fool to get his moment of fame. He is willing to do this even at the risk of infamy. As a nation, we are so upset with the status quo and bored with what we see from our traditional political leaders we seem to be willing to risk our democracy to be entertained. The money-politics hamster wheel has mandated that we just sit back and watch the show. With both Trump and Musk in the West Wing, I think we have both our idiot and our savant, just not all in the same person.

Trump Wants the Panama Canal, Greenland, and Maybe Canada

 Trump Wants the Panama Canal, Greenland, and Maybe Canada

Speculation abounds as to why Donald Trump wants the Panama Canal. The simple answer may be that he wants to own the Santa Maria Golf and Country Club in Panama City. From there he plans to expand and build another club straddling the Panama Canal using it as a water hazard. Imagine a tee shot with you trying to clear the Culebra Cut (300ft) with a Maersk container ship moving through. Break out your 6-iron and keep your head down and arms straight. Bank shots off the Maersk bridge are possible but difficult to control.

The deadly Sharpie strikes again

As to Greenland, golf again is in the plans. The problem is that Mr. Trump made the same mistake many folks make in assuming Greenland is green and Iceland is covered in ice. Unless Artic Golf becomes a sport, Greenland would not be a great place to build a country club. On the other hand, golf is very popular in Iceland with 12% of its population playing on its 70 courses. Adding to Trump’s confusion is his assumption that Canada owns Greenland when it is an autonomous territory of Denmark.

Coincidentally, it is Denmark which is the headquarters of Maersk, the second largest container shipping company in the world and a regular user of the Panama Canal.

This brings us to Canada which Trump calls America’s 51st state. It has been speculated that Mr. Trump wants to follow in the footsteps of President William McKinley whose little 1898 dust-up was called the Spanish-American War and saw us eventually controlling the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico. It was Puerto Rico where, in 2017, Trump demonstrated his athletic prowess by tossing out paper towels to hurricane victims.

Like Trump, McKinley was a big lover of tariffs and his “McKinley Tariff” raised the average duty on imports to 50%. As might have been predicted, the tariffs saw a steep increase in prices, the public got pissed, and Republicans lost their majority in the House, the Senate, and the Presidency. Trying to emulate President McKinley, Mr. Trump should be reminded that McKinley’s presidency didn’t end well. His second term was cut short by Leon Czolgosz who shot him.

Canada needs to be very concerned because President-elect Trump is a whiz with a Sharpie and a map. It wouldn’t take much for him to just circle Canada and Greenland and those two countries could be enjoying our healthcare system with its drug pricing set by greedy corporations and medical decisions made by insurance companies and not doctors. He could do it quicker than they could say, “Eh?”

Ebenezer Goes to Washington

 

Our Christmas celebration has just passed. I am reminded of one of the central characters of the many and varied stories of the holiday season. The one and only Ebenezer Scrooge. In the telling of A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens introduces us to this unhappy cold-hearted miser. The original story has been retold countless times in plays, movies, and animated features. It is a story of redemption where the miserly skinflint is shown the error of his ways by four ghosts, and he repents. Scrooge starts as a mean and despised individual but ends up making a transformation for the better. Such changes in real life are few and far between.

I am also reminded of another character that has been with us unchanged for decades. I see his name used with a certain derision in old episodes of Law and Order which is set in New York. He pops up in various film pieces like Ghosts Can’t Do It with Bo Derek and Anthony Quinn. In that movie, he is a businessman who has dealings with mob figures. Not much of a stretch there. He also had a cameo in Home Alone 2 where he gives Kevin directions to the lobby of The Plaza Hotel. He was mentioned in Devil’s Advocate where he could have easily played a more central role. He is even used in American Psycho as the idol of the main character, Patrick Bateman, a rapist and murderer. Talk about your typecasting.

The fictional Scrooge had a happy upbringing but, when push came to shove, he chose his lust for gold over the love of his life. With the Ghost of Christmas Past, when he looks back on his life and sees his fiancé, he regrets his decision. Our non-fictional Scrooge also chooses his lust for gold but still craves love and affection. He seeks to buy it like a commodity. He would never understand the Beatles' warning that money can’t buy love.

There have been over 130 “Scrooges” in film adaptations of the Christmas classic. The best of them was probably Alastair Sim (1951) and the second best, was George C. Scott (1984). If they ever make a true horror version of A Christmas Carol, their role of Scrooge could find none better than that guy from Palm Beach, Florida.

Dickens supposedly patterned Scrooge after a noted British eccentric and miser named John Elwes. Had Dickens lived in New York in the latter part of the 20th Century he might have had an even more despicable central character. The updated A Christmas Carol might be more horror-tragedy than inspirational. Our modern-day Scrooge would bulldoze the Cratchit home to erect a condo, take away Tiny Tim’s healthcare, and kick his crutch when he wasn’t looking.

When the Going Gets Tough...

 

There is nothing like a disaster to test the mettle of our leaders. I am reminded of a classic encounter between Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore) and Lou Grant (Ed Asner) on her show where Lou explains his survival in the tough world of television broadcasting. He claimed that his longevity was the result of learning how to “delegate blame.”

The Los Angeles fires are just another example of how shallow some of our leaders can be. While the good ones are looking for both immediate and long-term solutions to the complex wildfire problem in a drought-savaged environment, others are looking for political advantage with outstretched fingers pointing to delegate blame.

Enter our “Blamer in Chief” (NY Times description) to seize the day and place the entire event at the feet of California Governor Gavin Newsom. Yes, the president-elect-convicted-felon Donald Trump went so far as to break out his eight-page-with-Stormy-Daniels-centerfold dictionary, to come up with a derogatory term, twisting the governor’s last name to “Newscum.” Yes, the PECF soon-to-be PCF (President-Convicted-Felon) slithered to the cameras to once again try to distract from his own clown-car pile-up of a life to deride a political opponent instead of offering sage advice. I’m guessing that sage isn’t on his spice rack.

Of course, PCF Trump would have been prepared for such an event if he were in charge. That statement might have some validity if we just forget about hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria where, 5 months into his presidency he had failed to appoint administrators at FEMA or NOAA and had frozen 216 positions at the National Weather Service. We do have to credit then President Trump (he had not yet earned his coveted CF, convicted felon title) who, in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, personally tossed Puerto Ricans rolls of paper towels to mop up their own mess. We can also ignore the failed federal response while he was president that resulted in almost 3,000 unnecessary deaths in that 2017 disaster.

Certainly, there is a time for reflection, analysis, and Monday morning quarterbacking, but while raging fires are still destroying homes and placing lives at risk, now is not the time to score political points. If you can’t use your hands to help the situation, keep your hands and pointing fingers in your pocket.

Hmmm!

Hmmm

I recently saw a post that gave reference to a 1982 discovery of a highly preserved body of a human over 7,000 years old, in Florida. Now, Florida is not known for such artifacts so my curiosity was peaked. It turns out the remains of over 168 humans were found in a pond bog in an area southwest of St. Augustine, near Titusville, and west of the Indian River. Many of the bodies had been intentionally buried and wrapped in cloth by someone. These Native Americans lived in Florida 2,000 years before the pyramids were built in Egypt.

This group is called the Windover People and DNA analysis shows they had ancient Asian marker similarities. They fished, hunted, and gathered food. They fought with other humans as some of the remains revealed they had been killed by spearpoints. The burial process was deliberate as the bodies were covered in cloth that was secured in the bog with stakes below the water line.

We’ve been around a long time. We are all part of a lifeform continuum that has existed for over 200,000 years, and our hominin human relatives were around as far back as 7 million B.C.E. When I was born, the world population was 2.3 billion. By the time I reached high school, that number was up to 3 billion. Today, it stands at around 8 billion. We have been stumbling over the surface of the earth for just around 0.01% of its history.

Spain, France, Great Britain, and the United States have claimed the area now called Florida. I will intentionally ignore the Confederate Flag as the CSA was never considered a nation by any foreign government. So, we have an ancient civilization in Florida of Asian descent and other Native Americans who were here before any Europeans dared venture to this Florida corner of the world. This raises the question, “Who are the immigrants again?”

Democracy

Democracy is that flawed unattainable objective that we strive and die for. It is a concept that can’t be seen but we know when it is threatened. In its simplest form, with just two people, it can function but still doesn’t always work. Add more people and the problems expand exponentially.

A marriage between two people can be democratic. If successful, a marriage works when two people work together toward common goals in a symbiotic relationship that exists on compromise. A husband wants the thermostat set at 76 degrees, but his wife wants it set to 72 degrees. The solution is simple, you set the temperature at 72 degrees and the husband puts on a sweater. There you have a working democracy.

When we add more people to this democracy, we find it can become unmanageable. The solution in the United States was to set up a representative democracy where our elected representatives make decisions for us with the goal of benefiting the constituency. It may look good on paper, but the reality is that it fails to factor in greed, corruption, naïve emotional voters who may be easily swayed by empty promises, and any number of external forces that work against the democratic objective.

While it remains to be seen what awaits us after January 20, 2025, we have been here before. Our new president could issue an order to round up and deport all Chihuahuas because they are Mexicans without proof of citizenship. While such a scenario is totally ludicrous, he would find support from some in Congress, if it happened. That is the current insane state of our democracy.

Project 2025 is a blueprint for the dismantling of democracy to be replaced by a Frankenstein-like creation that is large and powerful but impossible to control. This pseudo-democracy would be nothing more than a dictatorship managed by a powerful wealthy class of oligarchs. If you understand anything about the “democracy” of Russia, you can see where this is headed. By admission, this new president admires the power of Vladimir Putin, Viktor Orbán, Kim Jong Un, and others of their ilk. He has learned the lessons of Hitler and Mussolini and thinks they had it right but only lacked the right environment for success. When I say “he has learned” I mean that others who are his influencers learned as he is too busy to be burdened with history or facts.

Over a million Americans have died in service to our country with over half of those deaths in combat. Countless more have been maimed or so badly damaged as to be considered additional casualties in our fight for democracy. It would be a shame to see their sacrifice be for naught as monied interests with corrupt intent squander those lost lives in exchange for more gold in their pockets.

Warning, The Surgeon General has found that politicians are bad for your health.

Americans have made poor elective choices before and survived. We seem to be in a lather-rinse-repeat cycle where we keep electing charlatans, eventually see that nothing improves, and wait for the next bastard to come along with more outlandish promises. As consumers, we regularly fall for the spiel of “new and improved” only to find that our clothes are no cleaner, our teeth are not brighter, and that this brand of cigarettes is not safer because it is the choice of nine out of ten doctors.

I don’t envy our youth who spend much of their time with their heads buried in “the cloud” that is our new world structure. Artificial intelligence has the ability to help humanity but only if real human intelligence doesn’t get burned in the process. I can only hope that our youth look up from their devices long enough to see what is happening around them in time to salvage this democratic ideal before the monster takes a bride. The monster's offspring will not be pretty, even if they wear expensive clothes and long red ties. I could go on but I feel a chill and I need to go find my sweater.