Project 2026-Just Citizens

 

As someone who enjoys science fiction, I thought I would ponder a new genre, political fiction. This would be similar to sci-fi in that it would have foundations in the real world of the possible and fantasize a different future. The following would be just an outline of such a story.

You are about to enter another dimension. A dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead—your next stop, the Trump-Free Zone!

A group of young citizens comes together with a common cause. I say young because youth in this instance is a requirement for motivation. Their future lives depend on the outcome of their efforts. They are just citizens, and while labels are not appropriate here, the term Just Citizens would be acceptable. They are inhabitants of a land now governed by a dictator in the remains of what was once a representative democracy.

In this group, are citizens of both the dominant former political parties and those who never identified themselves with either side. The core group has no defined leadership. They discuss plans, agree on a course of action, and announce that as their plan. The prime directive is that all such actions be legal and covered within the scope of the original Constitution. Toward that end they have among their group, legal scholars. They have also contracted with two large legal firms to assist when matters must go to court.

They have sought out and found financial support from wealthy individuals who have agreed to provide funding but not to be involved in the decision-making process. They have seen what tying financial sources to decisions has done to create the mess they are in.

This is to be a “think tank” that will develop their plan to oppose this dictator while some semblance of the former government still exists. The plan is simple in scope but requires a certain stealth if it is to be successful. With that in mind, this group has enlisted a cyber security team that has adopted a two-tiered communications network using Signal for the most secret directives and WhatsApp for other mass communications. Servers are air-gapped with no access from the outside. Unlike Project 2025, Project 2026 will remain unpublished.

Also within this group of Just Citizens are political analysts and former members of government who have held elected office. This specialty group was established to identify at least 20 Republican senators who would risk their political futures to save the remnants of democracy. The assumption here would be that all Democratic senators along with the two independents who caucus with Democrats would vote as a block. While only 17 Republican senators would be needed if this desired scenario came to be, the three “extras” would provide some insurance for success.

All of this would require the origination of impeachment proceedings with a simple majority in the House. While this is a lower threshold, it too will require planning and execution. Contacting House Republicans and Senate Republicans would be the final step in the process after all of the plan was in place. It would need to be swift and highly organized as the opposition is already positioned to resist with dire consequence if the effort is unsuccessful.

As a prelude to the final political steps, another section of Just Citizens would play a vital role, the communications branch. This section would include members of the media who are already covering the missteps of the current administration. It would also include members of the entertainment industry who would provide a multi-pronged media attack to amplify the existing outrage of those being fired, displaced, made homeless, and who have suffered under the meat axe dismantlement of all manners of government aid and support.

Impeachment, when successful, would also mean the acceptance of the vice president to fulfill the remainder of the term. It is a difficult pill to swallow but not unlike chemotherapy that is required after the removal of a cancer. It would be hoped that the new exile status of his predecessor would act as a moderating force to incentivize him to not continue with his same disregard for the law. With midterms fast approaching, a shift in the political winds would be probable.

As I opened this outline of political fiction with a tribute to The Twilight Zone, I will leave you once again with some poignant remarks from that source.

“Any state, any entity, any ideology which fails to recognize the worth, the dignity, the rights of Man...that state is obsolete. A case to be filed under "M" for "Mankind" (The Obsolete Man)

"No moral, no message, no prophetic tract, just a simple statement of fact: for civilization to survive, the human race has to remain civilized. Tonight's very small exercise in logic from the Twilight Zone." (The Shelter)

“The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices to be found only in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill, and suspicion can destroy, and a thoughtless frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all of its own for the children, and the children yet unborn. And the pity of it is that these things cannot be confined to the Twilight Zone.” (Monsters Are Due on Maple Street)

“A sickness known as hate. Not a virus, not a microbe, not a germ—but a sickness nonetheless, highly contagious, deadly in its effects. Don't look for it in the Twilight Zone—look for it in a mirror. Look for it before the light goes out altogether.” (Color Me Black)

Constitutional Crisis

In a “sign of the times” posting on Facebook, a friend and Trump supporter stated, “I am confused. Is the President we Elected in Charge of America's Policies or R Unelected Judges really running America?” He is parroting the sentiments of our president which is to say he is espousing a revisionist version of our constitution.

In this “new and improved” version of the US Constitution, the president is now lord and master of us all. The courts may only support the mandates of the president and may never challenge his decisions, even when they violate the laws established by the Constitution. The courts may only see things one way and may only enforce those laws that get approval from the president or risk removal by impeachment. In his alternate reality, the laws are only there to support his decisions as president. All laws that would otherwise conflict with his desires are null and void, unless later needed to support him in another matter.

The most recent flaunting of presidential power unrestrained by a constitutionally established co-equal branch of government, Trump officials disobeyed a direct order of the court. Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan said, “I don’t care what the judges think.” He ignored the judge’s ruling and continued deporting migrants without due process. Trump’s Attorney General Pam Bondi stated that the judge had intruded on the president’s authority.

Since when is an official ruling from a court an “intrusion” of authority? We have a process in this country. The president has the right to appeal that judge’s ruling to the Supreme Court which has the final say. There were no exigent circumstances here that would have demanded urgent action, only a desire to make a political statement with a video of over 200 prisoners in shackles being shaved and then dragged across a prison floor in El Salvador. The president with this action openly defied the legal orders of a federal judge.

All federal judges are nominated by the sitting elected president and then confirmed by the elected members of the Senate as per the US Constitution. Saying that judges have no authority because they are appointed and not elected is saying that the US Constitution got it all wrong. There is no clause in that constitution that states the president has the final say in their interpretation of the law. While the president has great power as the head of the Executive Branch of the government, he is but one of three equal branches of our government. When it comes to interpreting the law, SCOTUS makes that decision.

In the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera, The Mikado, they introduce the Grand Poobah (Pooh-Bah). He is the prideful character who holds numerous exalted offices, including "First Lord of the Treasury, Lord Chief Justice, Commander-in-Chief, Lord High Admiral ... Archbishop ... Lord Mayor" and "Lord High Everything Else." Trump must think his election as president of the United States also meant that he was its’ Grand Poobah. I would remind him that this title was also held in high regard by the secret society, the Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes in the cartoon tv series, The Flintstones.

Trump has surrounded himself with a group of nihilistic extremists who are tearing at the very fabric of our nation. They have rejected all societal norms and moral principles. They believe that all values are baseless and have no purpose. Talks of a Constitutional crisis are not premature, in fact, that ship has already left port and someone forgot to close the bilge plug.

There is Method in the Madness; Polycratic Chaos

 

What appears to be a three ring circus, high on a mixture of ketamine, Adderall, and Xanax, is really a working plan. Project 2025 provides the general framework, and Trump is modifying it with his own personal agenda. The goal is to advance the leadership principle of führerprinzip, where all power and sovereignty is vested in one leader. To that end, the Trump organization is following the time-honored path of authoritarian leaders throughout history.

The attacks on free speech, education, and the free press. The weaponization of the Justice Department, the elimination of watchdog agencies, the hamstringing of the IRS, the politicization of the courts, and the attacks on institutions of higher learning, are all necessary to achieve their goals. Eliminate books that contradict your message, call for violence against those who will not accept your authority, and flood the media with so many alternative theories of the truth that the real truth becomes unattainable. Do these things and you will be well on your way to autocratic rule.

While Hitler and his Schutzstaffel (SS) seemed to have had a well-oiled machine, that was far from the truth. The Nazi state was disorganized and chaotic with numerous leadership positions, departments, and security forces that lacked a constitution or clear structure. Hitler often changed state organization by creating new offices and shifting responsibilities without a clear plan. Ultimately, the government was described as “polycratic chaos.” Power during this chaos was scattered among different agencies but relied entirely on Hitler. Though he held ultimate authority, he often distributed power arbitrarily, and his subordinates constantly strived to satisfy him.

Trump’s version of the SS is a rag-tag assortment of radical organizations with varying agendas who have included many of Trump’s objectives among their own. Nazis, white supremacists, along with various and sundry radical malcontents, have all pledged some form of allegiance or alliance with the Trump agenda. Trump then uses his “bat signal” to summon them with tweets and verbal pronouncements. He promises them legal cover for their actions. When more direct control is needed, he has now placed his stooges in control of the FBI and CIA.

Drawing parallels between the Musk/Trump regime and Hitler, Stalin, or Mao Zedong might seem like radical left-wing rhetoric, but it was Musk who recently tweeted his support for the theory that this infamous trio of genocidal maniacs was not directly responsible for the deaths of millions of citizens. He claimed/retweeted that the real blame lay with “public sector workers.”

Joseph Stalin-Mao Zedong-Adolph Hitler

The blowback was swift, and the tweet was quickly pulled. This tweet and others supporting politicians like Javier Milei of Argentina, Bolsonaro of Brazil, and Modi of India show the true nature of the man. Perhaps attacking “public sector workers” and blaming them for atrocities helps him justify the carnage he has waged on our own American public sector employees. Musk is not an employee of the government and should legally function as an “advisor.” In practice, he is but Trump’s henchman who may end up the scapegoat if it all goes in the crapper.

Hitler did not provide a clear vision of a Nazi government structure during his rise to power. Once in control, he created new departments and positions as needed, causing the Nazi state to grow organically and without a clear hierarchy. This led to a mix of bureaucracies, organizations, and offices with overlapping responsibilities and conflicts over jurisdiction. If you think that this sounds like something that is happening under Agent Orange, join the club.

In the Nazi state, polycratic chaos was seen as a contributing factor to “cumulative radicalization” that resulted in the Holocaust. In the Musk/Trump regime the death toll will probably be nothing more than vague losses where blame can be “assigned” elsewhere. Death by preventable diseases, deaths indirectly caused after the loss of medical coverage, deaths after the elderly are made homeless, and any losses resulting from the elimination of funding for medical research can all be difficult to link to the lack of a cogent central administration.

The motivations may be somewhat varied for those now involved. Just know that the result will be of great financial benefit for the anointed few. I’ll give you three guesses as to who will end up paying for all of this under the pretext that they are saving us money. If two of your answers are me and you, you can go to the head of the class.

While a central goal of the Trump/Project 2025 agenda is to shift us away from the tedium of democracy and toward the confines of authoritarian dictatorship, the underlying objective is wealth concentration. As free speech is constrained, legal hurdles removed, oversight eliminated, and power consolidated, an American oligarchy will arise from the ashes of our former republic like a Phoenix.

In the new American oligarchy, those without enormous wealth will be slaves. Not slaves in the more traditional sense with direct ownership, but the more subtle version known as debt slavery. This is a practice where people are coerced to work under conditions that are exploitative. In the Amazon today, poor laborers are lured to remote areas where they rack up debts to plantation owners who overcharge for subsistence items. In America this situation was prevalent in the coal mines as made famous in the song, Sixteen Tons by Tennessee Earnie Ford.

You load 16 tons, what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt
St. Peter, don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store

A chasm is opening between the oligarch class and those who serve them. The financial burden of responsibility is shifting away from the wealthy and being heaped upon the working class. Eliminate Social Security and other forms of financial safety nets. Take away good education for all but those who can afford one. Enact tariffs that hurt wage earners far more than corporations who merely pass on the costs to consumers. As homegrown terrorists go, none are more dangerous than a certain blonde-haired orange-faced billionaire and his henchmen

Shutdown?

I agree with Chuck Schumer’s decision to avoid a government shutdown and approve the spending bill. A government shutdown would play right into the hands of the Musk/Trump maniacal plans. Right now, the Musk/Trump (MT as in empty) group is totally responsible for all the grief befalling our government and our economy. If the government were allowed to shut down MT could point to it as the culprit and not their own lawbreaking.

Additionally, a shutdown would put MT into a better position deciding what are and are not “essential services.” The courts have had the ability to at least push back on the firings at federal agencies but, in a shutdown, all bets are off. The term “essential services” is arbitrary and MT love arbitrary. Vague and arbitrary is like milk and honey to this near-sighted Siamese-twin-headed cyclops. Going in, managing, and coming out of a shutdown would give MT unrestricted decision making ability. They could prioritize which functions of government would survive.

Supporting the avoidance of a shutdown is the lesser of two evils. While it might be nice to turn up the volume on the chaos and destruction, I feel too much would be lost in the resulting cacophony. Democrats hoping to add language to the bill that would stop DOGE from cutting spending already approved by Congress would be an uphill battle. While slower, the courts have been making some headway in this regard, albeit with moderate effect.

For now I say, let Trump be responsible for all the charred ruins of our democracy. Don’t give him an easy out. He will certainly make up some fantastic excuse, the more outrageous the better. “It was Biden’s fault for leaving him with such a good economy that there was nowhere for the economy to go but down.”

When Does the Greatness Start?

 

Many are wondering when they will notice the promised greatness in America. For those who might have slept through Trump’s first 53 days, there are perhaps a few other questions that people might have. WTF comes to mind, followed by, AYI? I had to make that last one up and it means, Are You Insane?

For any who brushed aside some of Trump’s more outrageous utterances as jokes or political bluster, just know that he has not only repeated them, he’s seriously taking action. He is planning his invasion of Panama. Trump asked the US military to come up with options for that to happen. He is serious about annexing Canada, against their will, and declaring Canada our 51st state. He says he plans to use “economic force” to compell annexation. He also wants to annex Greenland as a US territory and possibly start a war with a NATO country, Denmark. He stated he may send, “more US troops to Greenland.”

A few expressions come to mind. Off his rocker. A few sandwiches short of a picnic. Not playing with a full deck. A few bricks short of a load. Lost his marbles. A few fries short of a happy meal. Not the sharpest tool in the shed. His antenna doesn't get many stations. The cheese has slid off the cracker. A village somewhere is missing their idiot. Non compos mentis. Round the bend. Mad as a march hare. Cuckoo for cocoa puffs. The wheel is turning but the hamster's dead. Nutty as a fruitcake. Cray cray. A few clowns short of a circus. A few peas short of a casserole. Away with the fairies. Not the brightest crayon in the box. The elevator doesn't go all the way to the top. The gates are down and the lights are flashing, but the train isn't coming.

At this point I think we are beyond impeachment. I believe that those who love him should have him “involuntarily committed.” He needs to be detained in a psychiatric hospital for his own good and welfare. I think if such an option were to be put to a ballot today, it would be a resounding YES for commitment.

Commitments normally start with a brief emergency psychiatric evaluation, followed by potential inpatient treatment, and possibly assisted outpatient treatment after discharge, with a 72-hour hold being a common initial step. We need to act fast, when the tariffs kick in, we may not be able to afford the aluminum foil hats.

Have Some Cake

Qu'ils mangent de la brioche, loosely translates from the French as “Let them eat cake.” While questionably attributed to Marie Antoinette, the time-honored meaning is that it is a callous and insensitive response from a wealthy person discussing the plight of the poor. It highlights the disconnect between privilege and poverty. Between King Trump and his peons.

Most recently, the billionaire Trump-appointed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick responded to questions about the financial setbacks and losses in the economy and a possible recession, and he assured the interviewer that, “It is worth it.” This parallels billionaire president Donald Trump’s claim that we are in a “period of transition,… that is very big,” and that some economic pain will be worth the possibility of some long-term future gain.

Professional economists have long decried tariffs as nothing more than a regressive tax that does more harm than good. Tariffs are considered a regressive tax because they disproportionately burden lower-income individuals and households because they represent a larger percentage of their income compared to higher-income earners. Shifting the tax burdon away from the wealthy has long been a goal..., of the wealthy.

So, when it comes to the fine tuning of an economy that was very healthy on January 20, 2025, who better than a man who has overseen six bankruptcies, to kill the goose laying the golden eggs? Our Man Trump. Yes, Trump Entertainment Resorts filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy four times. How you bankrupt a casino is a mystery to most, but Trump managed it three times. The wrecking ball has physically taken down all of Trump’s casinos. He has since moved on and set his sights on the greatest gambling venture of all time, America.

Yes, America and its experiment with democracy was always a gamble. With Trump at the helm, can the wrecking ball be far behind?

Postscript: The folk tale “The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs” tells of a farmer who finds his goose lays a golden egg daily. This makes him rich, but his greed leads him to kill the goose, hoping for a large hoard of gold that must be inside the goose, only to find nothing and lose his source of income. Our goose is not yet cooked, but Farmer Trump has hired a madman with a chainsaw and the price of eggs is on the rise. Aesop told this tale in the year 6 BCE.

Corruption Committed In The Light Of Day, Is Still Corruption

Treating the position of President of the United States of America as just another business, might be the view of its current occupant but it was not what was ever laid out in the founding documents. In fact, the US Constitution went to great lengths to create a balance of power that would keep America from ever being ruled again by a king or any single despot. The fact that this businessman has experience running a string of corrupt businesses should not mean that this was what voters envisioned when they hoped for “Great Again.”

This presidency is the most corrupt in American history. Our 47th president, however, is not a student of history. In fact, he thinks the Gettysburg Address is where Lincoln lived. For decades, the man who knows no bounds, has sold the illusion of his own personal wealth at a price. He has licensed his name and likeness to be placed on buildings, watches, Non-Fungible Tokens, tour shirts, scented candles, calendars, books, phone cases, vitamins, water, cologne, sneakers, ball caps, wrapping paper, sweaters, drinkware, robes, linens, wine, whiskey, skincare products, luggage, ornaments, gold coins, silver coins, Bibles, and trading cards to name but a few.

Replican of Lincoln's One Room Cabin
aka to DJT as his Gettysburg Address

These items have all added to his financial wealth, the size of which is a closely guarded secret. He did, however, save the most important prize for the highest bidder. For Sale: One Presidency.

The winning bid, Elon Musk. To sweeten the deal for Musk, Trump recently turned the White House into a car dealership for Tesla Motors. He brought in a fleet of Tesla vehicles to the White House and read directly from an advertising script to promote the sales of Tesla products. Within hours of the event, Musk then put up $100M to endorse Trump with a donation to the Trump political operation through MAGA super-PACs. The world’s richest man has bought a presidency.

Buyer’s Remorse; Tariffs, Social Security, and Beyond

 Buyer’s Remorse; Tariffs, Social Security, and Beyond

I wonder how many Trump supporters are having buyer’s remorse. It’s hard to admit your mistakes. It takes a person who is totally honest with themselves to make such an admission. I’m sure many of them had things Trump supported that were important to them. They thought Trump would change “things” to make their lives better. Trump’s appeal is his “everyman” approach. You have to admit, it takes an excellent con man to convince the average citizen that a wealthy sociopath has their best interests at heart.

Some must have thought that, if he has all this money, he certainly doesn’t need more. He must be doing this because he has a pure heart. What they didn’t realize was that, he is a different breed of person. His type is normally found as the villain in a Bond movie intent on destroying the world for their own gain. You don’t run across people like Donald Trump every day. Just be thankful for that.

Both low-information and educated voters supported the Republican businessman, hoping for a better financial future. Assumptions were made regardless of their backgrounds. If current events align with your voting expectations, either your views are consistent with them, or you have not experienced any adverse impacts.

Trump couldn't care less about many issues on which he has publicly taken a wobbly stand, but tariffs are something in which he seems committed. As a general rule, tariffs are bad, especially the shotgun across-the-board variety. Very specific tariffs to correct a targeted inequity might be of some value when done with careful thought, but wild, on-again-off-again decisions make matters worse. The economy doesn’t like uncertainty.

So far, the Trump tariffs have been indecisive and disruptive and have had a negative impact. To use a phrase even Trump might understand regarding his tariff policy, he shanked his shot from the first tee into the rough. Trump tried to call a mulligan. The stock market penalized him a stroke. He has now hit the tariff pause button. America will have to wait to see if he just takes to the podium and announces a hole-in-one, or if he drives our financial golf cart into the nearest water hazard. He might do both.

So far, Trump’s entire second term has been a series of mulligans, shank shots, hooks, and slices. He hasn’t kept much of anything on the fairway. His random firings of federal employees have immediately impacted those agencies and their employees. People served by those federal offices are just beginning to feel the pain.

Next on the agenda is the “reform” of Social Security. Even though Social Security deductions are capped at the first $176,100, to the wealthy, SS represents a gateway drug into other “socialistic” areas.

“The government shouldn't restrict pollution, as it affects profits. Worker safety is irrelevant if replacements are available and I don’t have to pay for their insurance. High interest rates generate significant profits, and monopolies eliminate competition. Consumer protection is unnecessary; buyers should beware.”

Billionaires and the morbidly rich have long sought to privatize Social Security to the disadvantage of an aging population. The threat of raising or even eliminating that $176,100 income cap to solve the looming solvency problem gives them nightmares. “How dare they allow this socialistic scheme to impact my extravagant lifestyle?”

Upcoming changes may also involve reductions to Medicare, which will be aligned with cuts to Medicaid. Following the Great Recession and the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in the numbers of people relying on government-funded health care. Addressing this issue is not a priority for the extremely wealthy. For them to benefit from an extension of the 2017 tax cuts, they need to find another $880B of cuts to Medicaid. “Sure, rural health clinics may need to close and half of all American children may have to do without health care, but what is that compared to my tax cut.”

Now that Republican congresspersons are being booed at town hall meetings things are getting dicey. The recommended solution from Republican leadership is simple, don’t do town hall meetings and you won’t have to answer embarrassing questions. Meanwhile, Republican voices are beginning to sound like Chicken Little of folk tale fame and, “the sky is falling” may be more than just rocket debris from a failed SpaceX flight.

Donald's Coat of Many Colors

 Donald’s Coat of Many Colors

Octopuses have exceptional camouflage capabilities. They can change color, texture, and shape to blend into their surroundings. They have specialized skin cells called chromatophores, pigment filled sacs that expand and contract to change colors and create patterns. Their skin can be smooth one second and bumpy the next. They have iridophores to create iridescence and leucophores to reflect light. The mimic octopus can shape shift to pretend to be other creatures like flatfish or sea snakes.

So too can Donald Trump adapt to his surroundings. One minute he is a Bible holding evangelical praying with the self-appointed faithful and moments later he is groping an unwilling female. He can stand tall and be forgiving of Nazis in full costume carrying torches and then turn to sympathize with the plight of Israel. He will vehemently attack undocumented immigrants while quietly hiring them as cheap labor for his properties. He can feign outrage at law breakers in Detroit and Chicago, yet free those arrested for violent crimes committed at his bequest.

One of his greatest strengths is to unashamedly take simultaneous positions on different sides of issues and let people hear what they want. Is he serious, was he joking, is he being facetious, or is he just negotiating to get the upper hand? Just say it all and take credit for whatever seems to work in the moment. He can be shown a video of himself and, with a straight face say, “Did I say that? I can’t believe I would say that.”

Perhaps most telling about Donald Trump’s past was his fascination with WWE and professional wrestling. This “sport” is where wrestlers play characters with clear motivations. Matches tell a story of triumph, failure, or redemption. The emotional roller coaster keeps fans excited and entertained. It is this excitement that draws the fans. The wrestlers are more artists than athletes. They create characters that resonate with the audience.

So too, The Donald struts about the political ring like Gorgeous George, that professional wrestler from the First Golden Age of wrestling of the 40s and 50s. George had long blonde hair adorned with gold-plated bobby pins he called, Georgie Pins. He strolled into the ring to the sounds of Pomp and Circumstance wearing a sequined robe followed by his valet. George played the villain and he would cheat at every opportunity. The crowds ate it up.

Trump’s audience appeal is not to be underestimated. Like Gorgeous George, he is an entertainer first, entrepreneur second, and president as an afterthought. That list of priorities is so that, while entertaining his audience, they don’t realize his entrepreneurial motivations. He is in this for the money which is how he keeps score for his ego. Gorgeous George was the cowardly victim. His credo was, “win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat.” Trump has modified that creed to be, “Win at all costs, cheat if it works in your favor, if you lose, lie and just say that you won.”

Barring some blunder that even the blind faithful can see and not forgive, Democrats will need to counter with their own charismatic champion. I don’t say to copy Trump’s shenanigans, just come up with something equally entertaining that gets back to governing the nation and not tearing it down.

Who could that be? Well, if Democrats want to seriously win back the White House, it would be helpful if they don’t try to force feed the nation with anything that even smacks of far left. I love Pete Buttigieg and think he would make a wonderful president, but he could never win a national election. Gavin Newsome might have a chance if he can finish his California governorship without incident and manage to steer his campaign in a more centrist direction.

Whatever happens, we will have to keep an eye on the shape shifting octopus now in the Oval Office. He is using his eight suction cupped arms to add to his own coffers at an astounding rate. Will there still be a country to hold an election in 2028, or will a Trump family dynasty be our future? I, for one, hope that he just squirts out some ink and disappears somewhere into the deep recesses of the Gulf of Mexico.

Hard-A-Starboard

 

As Democrats and Republicans alike suffer the rock salt stings fired from the blunderbuss of Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and assorted staffers, the world continues to turn. The Democrats are out of options, not so the Republicans. All they have to do to stop the carnage is to reach across the aisle.

But that won’t happen until the Democrats provide a safe way to do this. It certainly won’t be anywhere near those on the far left who would give no quarter to those who don’t hold with all their values. No, this will require a course correction away from the Trump iceberg destined to sink the USS America. The hard-a-starboard order was given long ago but it may be too late for the hard-a-port correction to be successful.

The maneuver described above is called “porting about” and uses old sailing tiller movements. In 1912, First Officer Murdoch gave those instructions to turn the Titanic’s bow first away from the iceberg and then to turn back in the opposite direction to swing the stern away and clear. Those orders came too late, and we know the outcome.

Right now, Trump’s standing order is full speed ahead and the iceberg is fast approaching. Will some Republican see the danger and grab the helm soon enough to avoid the fate of the Titanic, or will it be too late? A serious course correction is needed, and we can’t wait for climate change to melt all the icebergs.

The best this country can hope for would be a mid-term election shift or enough Republicans to stop dragging their knuckles and begin to walk upright. Either scenario or some combination could delay things to allow for the course correction toward the center. As we have now seen, neither the extreme left nor the extreme right are good for the country.

Our future world after Trump, needs a centrist leader and at this point I don’t care if he/she calls themselves a Republican or a Democrat. All this “porting about” isn’t getting us anywhere, we are seriously taking on water, and we run the risk of sinking the whole damn ship.

-----------------

Postscript: Tiller movements can be confusing. When the tiller is moved to the left (port) the ship steers right (starboard), and vice versa. Hard-a-starboard would steer us to port.

What's In A Word

A book opens with the poem,

“Oh, fatal day—oh, day of sorrow,

It was no trouble she could borrow;

But in the future she could see

The clouds of infelicity.”

It goes on with other passages:

“He is the bird of ill omen. How harsh his midnight cry! It seems to shriek, in mournful sounds, Death! Death!”

“The Prince of the Air certainly causes them [destructive cyclones], since he has control of our atmosphere. They are displays of his wrath, Oh! eternal woes! Deliver us from the "Prince of Darkness." Deliver us from his fiery embraces. Rather fear Him that is able to destroy both soul and body.”

"In calling me by the strange name of 'Enola,' I wonder if my dear departed parents received a glimpse of the future life of their child in a camera, speaking to them of her life of loneliness," mused Enola, "for truly I am alone..."

[“Enola” is an ananym and becomes “alone” when spelled backwards.]

That poem and the selected passages were from a book titled: Enola; or, Her fatal mistake. It was written in 1886, by Mary Young Ridenbaugh. A man read this book in 1890 while his wife was pregnant and chose the name Enola for his fifth child. She would be Enola Gay Haggard, the future mother of Paul Warfield Tibbets Jr., the man best known as the captain who flew a B29 Superfortress to drop the first atomic bomb used in warfare. That bomb destroyed Hiroshima, Japan. He named his plane after his mother, Enola Gay.

This is all just background leading us to the latest blunder to befall our lazy, ham-handed Commander-in-Chief. He is the same person I jokingly said had made Remedial English the official language of America. Apparently, I was not far from the mark.

You see, Donald John Trump is seemingly unaware that homonyms exist. Perhaps this is because the word homonym has the initial syllable, “homo” that means “man” or “human being,” but is also an offensive slang abbreviation for “homosexual.”

For our purposes the offending homonym is the word, “gay.” That word can mean lighthearted and carefree as in the popular Christmas song, Deck the Halls, where they say, “Don we now our gay apparel.” But, as that term and usage is a bit outdated, the more recent assumption is that it references people sexually or romantically attracted to people of one’s own sex.

So, with reckless abandon our President and his assigned wrecking crew, set out to purge all official records of words that offend them. Those nasty DEI words. Included in the terms that offended them was the word “gay.” It would be purged with great haste during a word search for this patently offensive subject.

Is it any wonder that war heroes and the “gay plane,” the Enola Gay would be flagged for removal in the Pentagon’s DEI purge. In addition to photos of the Enola Gay, service members with the surname “Gay” were also among the items set for deletion.

All references to a World War II Medal of Honor recipient, the Enola Gay aircraft that dropped an atomic bomb on Japan, and the first women to pass Marine infantry training are among the 26,000 photos and online posts marked for deletion by the DOD. This purge could end up deleting over 100,000 such images and references in the rush to comply with Trump appointed genius, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Wednesday deadline.

Oddly included in this list was photos of an engineering project in California because an engineer in the picture had the last name Gay. Also flagged for deletion was a photo of Army Corps biologists, none of whom were named Gay, but because it was mentioned that they were recording data about fish that included their weight, size, hatchery, and GENDER. Oh no, not gender. Also on the list were some photos of BLACK military pilots in the segregated WWII unit, the Tuskegee Airmen. Another item included in the removal carnage was a photo of an “Engineering pioneer remembered during Black History Month.” Oh, the horror, Black History, get out the wooden stake.

How many of the over 26,000 references and photos were deleted before complying with federal archival laws is unclear. The Wednesday deadline is fast-approaching. Will our country be able to sleep more soundly now that DEI has been flushed from our military archives? The Trump Clown Car certainly has our national safety as its highest priority. The Attack of the Homonyms is almost over.

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I leave you with two additional passages from the book Enola; or, Her fatal mistake, which seem ominous in the context of the connection with the atom bomb.

“We have been discussing the "clouds of sorrow" that have obscured a bright and beautiful life, that afforded food for meditation. How many clouds have darkened the horizon of other valuable lives. There are clouds too real, not figurative, that we will now contemplate. ... The funnel-shaped cloud deals death and destruction to all that come within its whirling, deadly grasp. When seeing the approach of such a cloud, it sends an agonizing thrill of horror into the heart of the beholder...”

"...the vital question at issue now is, how to remedy the great evil that is about to engulf our moral law and prosperous government.

... I feel, that something should be speedily done to stem the tide of extravagance, threatening to ruin every civilized country on the face of the globe," said Mrs. [Enola] Dale.

Six Flags Washington

Welcome to Six Flags Washington where the new roller coaster is more exciting than El Toro, Nitro, The Riddler’s Revenge, or Superman: Ultimate Flight. Climb aboard Trump Tariff II, where the thrills and spills are part of the experience. It’s a bumpy ride and it will cost you.

Six Flags Washington, Trump Tariff II

Some see Donald Trump as clever. Others see him as a buffoon. I see him as a clever buffoon. His cleverness is in his unpredictability and his buffoonery is also in his unpredictability. The cleverness of unpredictability is that it keeps your enemies off-guard not knowing which way you’ll jump next. It is also the Theatre of the Absurd, a nostalgic look back at that theatrical movement of the 1950s that explored the idea that life is meaningless, and humans are powerless to control their fate.

Some say Trump is predictable because he follows through on his promises. That observation is made unimportant when you realize that he has done what he said, and its exact opposite, often within days, sometimes within hours. He told us that tariffs would make America great again.

Trump loves President McKinley who was known as the “Napoléon of Protection.” If Donald Trump studied history, he might rethink the McKinley tariff approach. The 1890 Tariff Act, aka The McKinley Tariff, raised import duties to nearly 50% to protect American industries but resulted in higher consumer prices, retaliatory tariffs, and a Democratic win in the 1890 midterm elections.

William McKinley, 25th President of United States
“Napoléon of Protection”

Americans might not understand the intricacies of economic theory, but higher prices on consumer goods they do understand. That’s when they realize that all that talk about protecting American industry with simple tariffs, was nothing more than a shift of the tax burden from the wealthy to middle and lower-income Americans. Tariffs sort of take the GREAT out of MAGA.

Trump signed his order, tariff dates were set, tariffs were put in place, the stock market dropped, there was an outcry from the Big Three automakers, a newscaster stood in front of a Dodge Ram truck stating that this $80,000 vehicle would now cost $100,000, consumers were confused, and then Trump reversed himself and put a pause on some goods until April 2nd. I guess pausing until April 1st, April Fool’s Day, would have been too much to ask.

So, climb aboard the Trump Tariff II thrill ride. Make sure your safety-harness is securely in place, your affairs are in order, keep your arms and hands inside the car, and don’t get too upset when everything comes off the rails. This ride was thoroughly inspected by the same team who launched the massive SpaceX Starship. That was the largest rocket ever created. The fact that it spun out of control shortly after launch and rained fiery debris over island nations in the Caribbean should be of little concern.