It didn't have to be this way.

We now know that the White House knew as early as January, very likely even sooner, that something wicked this way comes.  There were carefully thought out plans available to deal with a pandemic, but apparently they ended up in the circular file.  Why, we're not sure.  Maybe because Obama was in charge of crafting those plans.  Maybe because Trump didn't want to spook Wall Street.  Probably both.  Pretty sure when he said he didn't want to cause panic, he wasn't talking about We the People.  We were left in the dark while he publicly insisted that it was cool, just the flu, don't worry, be happy.

But look what happened.  Three months in, the bad news finally got out.  Without guidance from the federal government which had access to all the information and the agencies in place to get right on it, cities and states panicked and shut down cold.  People panicked and hoarded essential supplies.  The economy (Trump's only valid brag going into this election year) panicked and tanked.  And it's lasted almost the entire year!  Oh yeah, and way too many people died.

It didn't have to be like this.  We could have implemented those guidelines right away and minimized both the scope and the duration of the damage.  I don't know what was in Obama's plans, but common sense gives us an idea.

Wash hands.

Extra surface cleaning.

Social distancing.

Avoid large crowds, especially in enclosed spaces.

Masks and distancing when groups are unavoidable.

Temporarily close down non-essential gatherings where people are crammed together, such as bars, etc.

Adjust school and church activies, and travel, to follow guidelines.

Work from home if possible.

Quarantine if you're sick or test positive.

If we had done all those things immediately, we might be easing back into a more normal life instead of seeing cases and deaths keep going up while Trump rants about everything except what we should be doing.

It didn't have to be this way, and it's never going to go completely back to normal.  That old normal is gone.

tnt

They know not what they do.

There's been a lot of memery in my Facebook feed lately.  Political crap and religious stuff.  I really try to stay out of it.  I've eliminated most political shit from my feed by simply unliking pages or snoozing them.  That includes news sites.  I keep a couple from Michigan for nostalgia, but otherwise not even my local news appears in my feed anymore.  It's just too easy to get sucked into a black hole in the comments.  I get disgusted and almost nauseous when I see the idol worship from Cult 45.  It's all I can do to keep from commenting.  But sometimes I do which of course fires up the cult even more.

I don't know the bible that well, but I do know a little.  Well-known words from scripture occurred to me.  Paraphrased because I don't feel like looking it up.

~ Forgive them, they know not what they do. ~

This could have been applied at the end of the 2016 Republican primary.  Just think if they had had any brains, Republicans would have realized what an incompetent clusterfuck Trump would be.  Any other candidate on that stage would have been a better president.  Yeah, even (ugh) Ted Cruz.  It was a given...A GIVEN... the election would go to a Republican.  Cycle of life.  After eight years of a black president, the basest of the base was fired up.  And yes, the GOP and RNC could have stopped his rise to the nomination.  They aren't above doing that.  But they didn't.  They knew he was a snake and they still let him in.  The Republican party sold its soul to the Serpent.

Just think.  There wouldn't have been a Mueller Report or impeachment or any of the other legal, ethical and moral incompetence.  There wouldn't have been a president so astoundingly rude and ignorant that we are no long considered the shining beacon in the world.  We'd just be arguing about the usual politics and policy.  We wouldn't have a president so self-absorbed that he spends more time bragging about his TV ratings and what a great job he's done than actually doing anything.  We wouldn't have a president who promotes (runs) his business from the White House, and embezzles our tax dollars into the Trump Org bank accounts.   Who spends more time golfing and restocking "The Swamp" with a different flavor of alligator shit.  So busy watching TV and tweeting about TV and being on TV that he ignored all the early warning signs and advice in regards to the growing pandemic until it was out of control.  So busy thinking about himself and promoting himself that he can't even offer the least condolences to Americans who have lost loved ones.

And I wouldn't hate the president.  I hate how much I hate him.

tnt

OK, Boomer

Yeah, I'm a Boomer.  I'm gonna talk about music.  Boomer music.  My music.

Whenever a golden oldie comes on, I'm reminded of a thing.  Even if I haven't heard the song in a really really long time, I still know it.  I can sing along, and I do sing along because I remember the words and can't help myself.  My music is classic rock.  Really classic.  Like Paul Revere and the Raiders classic.  Herman's Hermits classic.  Monkees classic.  Janis Joplin classic.  And yes, Beatles classic.  60's and 70's classic.  Pretty much anything from those decades, I will know it.  I remember the words, I can sing along, I can't help myself.  Simpler lyrics.  Simpler times.  And I like that.

I'm not sure future generations will be able to do that.  At least not on the broad scale we had.  I'm pretty sure rap or hip hop music won't be remembered word for word.  I don't think it's a stretch to say that most people can't commit rap lyrics to memory.  It's just too rapid fire and unrepeated.  Or most pop music.  These days, songs are trying so hard to convey a topical message that the lyrics are lost in the message.  Pop music (what we used to call Pop 40's) like Lady Gaga or Katie Perry or Taylor Swift might stand the test of time, mostly because the lyrics are simpler, less topical, easier to connect with and remember.  But most won't.

Sometimes simpler lyrics and simpler times are worth remembering and revisiting.  Never lose your music.  The music you sing along with.

tnt

Unhappy musing

Where to start.  I have so many thoughts.  I can't even call it musing.  It's too intense for that.  Too unhappy.

It was a given that he would be "acquitted".  The GOP is in his pocket.  We knew that but we're not sure why that is.  He was not exonerated the same way OJ was not exonerated,  Our only hope, this country's only hope, is that the free press keeps up the pressure.  Almost everything we've learned came from skilled investigative journalists, and I hope they keep digging.  There is more to be learned.  We know that.

The GOP likes to pin the last several months, or years, on the Democrats.  This scandal, this "hoax", all the scandals, all their fault.  How dare they put the country through this.  But this is all on the GOP.  They could have stopped it.  It was a given that a Republican was going to be president.  I repeat.  IT WAS A GIVEN THAT A REPUBLIAN WAS GOING TO BE PRESIDENT.  They had it in the bag.  The cycle of political life.  They could have promoted a more palatable candidate (except Ted Cruz), and they still would have won.  And we would not be where we are now.  They could have their guns and judges and religious extremism and money and power, and we'd be debating policy instead of the president's fitness or corruption.  For whatever reason, the GOP completely trashed (and still do) their "values" in submission to someone that they knew was a snake.

I hate being ripped off.  I and all Americans, even Trumpers, are being ripped off every fucking day he's in office.  Our tax money is padding his bank account as well as funding his new network of global connections directly attached to the White House.  I firmly believe that his "Executive Time" is spent doing Trump Org business.  He's working his business at his properties, and he's lining up his ventures for after the White House.  There's actually a report of his being in talks for a TV network or show or something.  His entire presidency is based on promoting the Trump brand.  And we have a government that is run like the Real Housewives of Bum Fuck.  A really shitty reality show.

We don't even know what conservative values are anymore.  Certainly not what we thought they were.  I actually agree with some conservative ideas, or at least what I thought they were.  Smaller government, states' rights, fiscal responsibility, respect for the Constitution.  None of those are in play anymore.

Conservative moral values?  We now know there is no such thing.  It's OK to cheat on all your wives.  It's OK to assault sexually.  It's OK to employ undocumented workers until you get caught.  It's OK to use vulgar language in public unless you're not a Republican.  It's OK to shoot up a school or church because you have the right to own a military grade weapon of mass destruction.  It's OK to separate children from their parents.  It's OK that a woman is impregnated by a rapist.  It's OK that a religion (run by men) can force a young girl into marriage before she's old enough to understand what that means.  It's OK to subjugate and demean women and minorities.  It's OK that 1/3 of the population decides what's best for the other 2/3s.  It's OK that the wealthiest few get all the breaks and perks while the majority gets the scraps.  It's OK that the fucking President of the United States of America attacks fellow Americans in mean tweets and goddamn fucking public appearances.

We are no longer the shining beacon of democracy in the world.  We're no longer the leader of the free world.  Despite what Trumplethinskin says, we are not respected by the world, and they are laughing at us.  It's not unimaginable that the world will someday soon see America as a symbol of corruption and dictatorship if we continue on this path.

I'm in the twilight of my years.  I'm thinking that's probably OK.  I don't think I want to see what happens if he wins another term.  Or lives long enough to usurp the Constitution again by making himself and his family a monarchy.  They say only the good die young.  The opposite of that is that the bad live too long.

tnt

Doctor Who

I mentioned the Doctor Who marathon in my last post.  I have thoughts.

The new Doctor is female, played by Jodie Whitaker.  I'm still a bit confused about which number she is.  13, I think is the official one, but the introduction of the Doctor of War back in 11's time, and the meta-Doctor in 10's time makes that debatable.  Anyways.  There was much excitement and anticipation about the first female regeneration of the Doctor.  As always, sometimes it takes time for a new Doctor to grow on you.  You became attached to the last one.  Most fans seem to have accepted her right off the bat just because she's female.  I'm a little more reserved.

13's season wrapped up (annoyingly short!) with the New Year's Day episode.  This is the first time there wasn't a Christmas Day season finale.  I like Jodie Whitaker's Doctor, but I haven't been on board with all the episodes.  The first one was good.  The Doctor is always disorientated after regeneration, and this was no different.  Always fun to watch the Doctor find herself again.  She had also lost the TARDIS due to her explosive regeneration.  The second episode, she found it.  That was a good one, too, as the TARDIS had become a sort of mythological object, and she found it via a grueling race on a hostile planet.  The rest of the episodes were kind of meh for me.  The New Year's Day finale was the best, and more like the Doctor Who we've come to love (Daleks!).  The new Doctor is growing on me.

Here's the problem as I see it.  The Companions.  There's too many, and I feel like they're all there for the sake of diversity.  Doctor Who has always been diverse so there's no need to pander to it.  Besides the white female Doctor, there's a middle aged white guy, a young black guy, and a young Middle Eastern woman.  Three companions is just too many.  There's no chemistry with the Doctor or each other, something that has always been immediately evident with each new companion.  The white guy lost his wife to the first monster when he met the Doctor, and as a result, has an innate anger towards aliens.  The young black fella is his wife's son, and has a chip on his shoulder.  The young woman was a rookie cop, and has the least baggage of the three.  If I had to choose one, it would probably be her.  She's kind, smart and level headed, just what the Doctor usually needs.  I'm ambivalent about the other two so I couldn't choose one to stay or go.  I just don't think it's possible to develop any real chemistry with that many elements.

According to reports there won't be any new episodes until at least fall.  Or later!  I forget exactly what was reported.  I really hope they figure it out by then.  Jodie Whitaker deserves the chance to grow on us.

By the way.  If you're in the mood to get lost in a deep dive into the Time Vortex, The TARDIS Data Core - Doctor Who Wiki is the most comprehensive site I've found for all things Doctor Who going all the way back to the beginning, and including non-television fiction and graphic novels to fill in the blanks.

tnt

Year End Random Musings

Happy New Year 2019 almost.

First, let me say.  I got sucked into the week-long Doctor Who Marathon, so I can't say I've accomplished much this past week or so.  My DVR allowed me to pause long enough to get some things done, but mostly I was hooked for the duration.

But I had random musings, and so in no particular order....

- 23 and Me / Ancestry.com -
Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I do not trust this or any organization with my DNA.  I read and watch too much Sci-Fi to not imagine how such a database could be used against us.  Not only that, but if I'm not mistaken, 23 and Me is owned/operated by Ancestry.com which is owned/operated by the Mormon Church.  Organized religion in possession of this data is a big problem.  I know all I need to know about my genetic history from oral and researched history.

What is that history that I know?  My maternal grandmother was 1/2 Native American.  I don't know her exact history or tribe as her records were lost in a house fire.  I was told she was born in Canada.  My maternal grandfather (her husband) was off-the-boat Norwegian.  On the paternal side, Caucasian European, probably German and Dutch.  I don't need a dubious DNA testing (for profit) outfit to tell me what I'm made of.

- Trump -
My favorite card game is Euchre.  The main theme of the game is the concept of trump - the dominant suit.  Trump has become a foul word, and hard to say in even the most benign of instances.  Right wingers call us libtards because we are, in their view, unpatriotic because we loathe Trump.  They don't understand that we don't loathe him because he's Republican or conservative or not Clinton.  It's because of who and what he is.  Most of us would be just fine with a Republican president.  It was their turn to fuck things up, I guess.  The Republicans had a herd of candidates, some perfectly acceptable, but this is what they chose.  We could be disagreeing about policy instead of the corruption and degradation of the highest office in the land.  We might be trusting foreign policy to someone who was not beholden to a foreign power.  We might have a leader who really cared more about the people than himself.  We might not be living in a fucking reality TV show.

- The Media -
Can't talk about Trump without talking about the media.  I get most of my national and political news from Twitter.  Yeah yeah, I know.  I try to be discriminating about where I get that news.  I only follow accounts I believe to be unbiased or mostly so.  If an account is just spewing opinion rather than facts, I don't usually bother following.  If an account is retweeting a lot of stuff from less reputable accounts, I don't bother with them.  I wait to see if a "breaking" report is confirmed by multiple outlets before I consider its validity.  I try to use my head.

I'm not the only one who has tired of how the media covers the Liar-In-Chief.  Every stupid "presidential" tweet is put into the echo chamber.  The outlets condense it to an eye catching headline that doesn't emphasize the bullshit.  Instead of starting with the truth, they repeat his lies,  Guess what is then out there.  The lies, not the truth.  The saddest, and most evil, result is that is exactly what Trump wants them to do.  Spread his bullshit.  He rails against the "fake news", but he revels in it.  Everybody is talking about him 24/7.  That's what he wants.  That's why he ran for president.

I could go on and on but let's move on to something else.

- Muscle Cramps -
How's that for completely random?  I've been plagued by cramps most of my life.  I wake up in the middle of the night with leg cramps.  I get muscle spasms in other parts of my body during the day.  I've heard dehydration might be responsible.  I do try to drink enough water.  Potassium deficiency might be another cause.  Bananas didn't help.  I had read many years ago that quinine helped.  At the time, I didn't know where to get it.  I thought I read somewhere that it was restricted or banned or something,  I recently discovered tonic water with quinine, available at any grocery store.  It has pretty high potassium, and quinine is one of the sources.  I do believe it helps.  If I'm having a crampy day, it seems to alleviate the spasms.  On another note, screwdriver (vodka and OJ) was my favorite mixed drink.  I now prefer vodka and tonic.  Two birds, one stone.

- Wee Dark Hours -
Don't know if I ever explained the origin of the title of this blog.  I'm usually up stupid early.  Way before the sun.  The hours between midnight and sunrise are sometimes referred to as the wee small hours.  They're also dark.  I used to write most of my musings in the wee dark hours.  Sooo….

However, tonight, after a few vodka tonics, I felt like writing.

Happy New Year

P.S.  I don't usually make resolutions.  Why bother.  But I am going to try to deTrump my life.  Managed it for a short period earlier this year, and it was good.  That means less political news, less of the piece of shit on the White House toilet.  Twitter once a day, and my favorite late night comedy shows should be enough to keep up on the state of the union.  We'll see how it goes.  Things might get even more interesting this year, and blow up that resolution.

tnt

Once again, long time, no write

So here I am.  What have I been doing if not writing here?  Well.  I was getting most of my news via Facebook.  I had several news sources in my feed.  Against my better judgement, I would get sucked into commenting on a news story.  Then the trolls became more than I could stand.  These are the "people" who make a point of interjecting themselves into conversations about a story for the purpose of triggering responses.  Often offering nothing more than meaningless memes.  I admit the adulation of Trump rubbed me the wrong way.  I try to see the other side's point, I really do.  I can even agree with some of it.  But blind deification of Trump, I can't.  Just can't.

So I cut back on news in Facebook.  Unliked all but a few of what I consider reputable news sources.  Resisted the urge to comment on stories.  I would look at comments and see the same old same old, and made the wise decision to just not go there.  I cut more news outlets out of my feed.  Now I'm down to just a couple local and national news sites.

I began to use Twitter more for news.  It's immediate, and easier to filter out the trolls.  Maybe a little narrow-minded way to consume news, but I do try to filter for reputable sources.  This is working for me for now.  I can occasionally vent my thoughts without a lot of backlash.  I think that's what a lot of us need is a way to safely vent our frustration or outrage or anxiety.  Then there's the blog.  A way to get it all out in more than 140 characters.  Don't know if anyone's reading, but it can be cathartic.

Now that all that's out of the way, let me get to the meat of this particular blog entry.

First.  I have to get this out.  I loath Trump.  Not because he's a Republican or conservative, or because he's not Clinton.  No, I loathe Trump because of who he is.  A narcissistic, egotistical, small minded, bigoted man, and I use the word man loosely.  His every action has proven that his only goal is to make Trump great again, and he's doing it on the backs of American taxpayers.  His flaunting of his use of the office of President for his personal pleasure is sickening.  His constantly pushing the limits of the Constitutional Oath he swore to uphold is alarming to every true patriot.

Would I rather have Clinton as President?  Well, of course I would.  Was she the best alternative?  Obviously not.  Apparently, America wanted a change, and that's ok.  It was the Republicans turn at the wheel.  But Trump?  That was the best they could do?

There's a lot of wishful dreaming of impeachment.  Unless indisputable evidence of Russian collusion is found, I fear it's just that...wishful dreaming.  The best we can hope for is that there's enough evidence to condemn Trump politically.  He is so toxic that even Congress is trying to distance themselves from him.  They really don't need him to advance their agenda.  They have the majority to do what they want.  His only purpose is to sign whatever they come up with, and he will sign whatever they put in front of him.  The Democrats and Independents, they should focus on getting people of integrity into Congress to even the odds.  Then find candidates for 2020 that can successfully take on the Trump regime.  And really, I would like Republicans to do the same.  Restore sanity, dignity, and integrity to our country.  That's what we need.  It will be a hard and expensive road to recovery from 4 years of Trump, let alone 8.

Our only other hope is that he resigns.  That could happen, but only if Trump becomes really unhappy.  Making his time miserable and unproductive is the best way to get there.  A lot of people wish he'd quit tweeting and rallying, but I think that's the best way to attack him.  He will always show his true self that way.  Beat him over the head with it.  It will make him very unhappy, and I really really like when Trump is unhappy.

Enough about that.  What's else?

One of the things I wanted to talk about in this entry is the issue of Confederate statues.  Here's my thoughts about this.  It's a very sensitive subject right now, and with good reason.  I've learned more about statues in the last few weeks than I thought I wanted to know.  It comes down to what the statues represent.  On the surface, statues are art, and art should never be destroyed.  But these Confederate statues represent different things to different people.  For some, it's their heritage.  For others, they represent the most heinous time in American history.  It comes down to what the statue in that particular location represents.  In some cases, it is truly a depiction of history, perhaps commemorating an important battle or event.  In many others, it was not doing that.  It was erected to establish superiority.  So a way to decide which statues or monuments stay is to establish what they represent.  Was it a battle or some event in that location at that time?  Or was it simple erected to flaunt Confederate white superiority?  Many of these monuments were erected during periods of racial unrest in locations that had nothing to do with the Civil War.  That's not heritage.  That's intimidation.  The statues that are removed should be placed in a museum or other non-public space.  Don't destroy art, put it in its proper place.

tnt

Ok, never mind....

...I will write about this crap.

Give him a chance, they said.  Hey, he's not giving us much to work with here.  So far, his cabinet is looking very anti-diverse, anti-tolerant, and anti-any color other than white.  Some ultra conservative religious right guys, an anti-semantic nationalist.  And by the way, who the hell does that nationalist Bannon guy remind me of?  Driving me crazy.  It's an actor or character of some scruffy sort that I can't put my finger on.

I said in the last post that we would be less shell-shocked if we had seen the sedate reasonable guy in the victory speech all through the campaign.  Then I watched the 60 Minutes interview.  It's probably the last time I'll watch him speak publicly again because I'll never respect or believe what he says.  I know I'll see more of that smug smirk of a pig face more than I want, just because the nasty that is Trump isn't going away.  He'll make sure of that.  Anyways.  In that interview, he was asked point blank if he had any regrets.  The interviewer gave him the opportunity to appeal to us, to give us a reason to respect him and give him a chance, and he had no remorse.  He could have apologized to everyone he hurt and insulted and threatened, for causing the extreme division, and that could have been a step toward healing, but no.  He flat out said no...no regrets for anything, and he wouldn't do it differently.  I'm not sure what he means by making the country great again, but as long as we are so divided and feeling so betrayed by our own countrymen, and this deplorable man, this country will not be great.  It's going to be a long unhappy 4 years.  Or longer.

The other thing that caught my ear in that interview was his odd interpretation of the Constitution.  When asked if he'd repeal Roe v. Wade (abortion rights), he said he was pro-life and would support federal repeal, and allow states to decide.  If a woman wanted an abortion, she might have to go to another state. When asked about marriage equality, he said "It's in the Constitution, it's done".  Wait.  Isn't Roe v. Wade in the Constitution?  So what...he's going to cherry-pick the Constitution, the same way christians cherry-pick the bible to suit their bigotries?

He reportedly wants to go on a victory tour of the states that won him the election.  What a Trumpian thing to do!  It's like he realized that from now on, his contact with the public will mostly be via camera where he can't hear and feel the adulation of his Trumpers.  He needs those rallies to pump his enormous ego.  Twitter won't be enough for him since there are so many anti-Trump tweeters.  He brags about his millions of followers thinking that means they all love him.  Hey, I'm following him, but not because I love him.  Pretty sure I'm not the only one of that mindset.  That's how ignorant that dipstick is.  And besides, doesn't he have an awful lot to do between now and inauguration?  He doesn't have time for a frivolous tour.

Now there's this feud with the cast of the musical Hamilton.  If you haven't heard, Mike Pence VP-elect, attended a performance, and was booed by the audience when he was recognized.  After the final bows, the cast addressed him personally, appealing for tolerance and respect for the diversity of America, which caused him to slink out of the theater.  Trump took to Twitter to blast the cast for its action.  Once again showing us a very frightening image of a world leader with a paper-thin skin, and no respect for the Constitutional right to freedom of speech.  And later, Pense said he wasn't offended by the Hamilton thing.

And Mrs. Trump.  Awww, bless her heart.  She's taking on internet bullying as her First Lady Cause when she's married to a world class bully, and maybe even bullied herself.  In that interview, they tried to give us the impression she has some say in that marriage, but that would be very hard to believe.  Their dynamic looked so fake to me.  Unless she has something on him.

There's a word I learned about during this campaign that I hadn't paid much attention to before now.  Evangelical.  I had to look it up.  Basically, it means the extreme right christians, the ones who insist the bible be followed literally, and laws of the land follow the law of the bible.  The hell-fire and brimstone christians.  It's become a foul word to me.  These are people who could influence this administration to threaten my freedoms.  This word is especially abhorrent because these are the most hypocritical christians.  They claim they voted Republican and therefore Trump for family values.  To them, family values means anti-gay, anti-abortion, and anti-non-christian.  But bigotry, sexism, sexual assault, pedophilia, liars, and cheats are okay.

Then there's the report that Trump wants to split his time between the White House and his New York penthouse.  Well, isn't that special.  We, the tax-paying people will pay for extra Secret Service detail so King Midas can sleep in his golden tower.

Each day, there are more new appointments to his cabinet.  There's much speculation based on who is admitted to the golden tower, and then a confirmed appointment that we didn't expect.  We're losing our SC governor to be U.N. ambassador.  I haven't been here long enough, or paid enough attention, so I don't know much about her, but she seemed like a level-headed woman who ran the state without a heavy hand.  We might miss her.  Her deputy governor will take over, and his titles/previous positions sound like he will not be a progressive head of state.

We're still waiting to hear all the cabinet appointments, but from what we've seen it looks like cronyism all around.  He had said during his campaign that he "would get the brightest and smartest, the best people" to help him.  Apparently, the brightest, smartest, best people are the ones that like him.  Or are desperate to kiss his ring to get their foot in the door to the golden tower.

Now there's the New York Times interview.  I read the transcript, and it was typical Trump.  Rambling, immature and limited language and grammar.  I learned an alarming new thing.  Apparently, the President has more power than I thought, and even less accountability.  Meaning he can rewrite rules as it suits him, and use the office to further his business goals.  With his authoritarian personality, having been a powerful boss all his adult life, he could turn himself into a fucking king!   How can anyone doubt this is not about America, this is about making Trump great?  How can anyone trust him to run this country with its people's best interests in mind?  Goddamnit.

King Midas, this country will never be united under you.

tnt

Ok, I lied.

I said I'd try not to write about that again.  But then there was this one thing.  I finally watched his acceptance speech this morning.  Couldn't bring myself to look until now.  He was surprisingly nice and articulate.  Why couldn't he have run his campaign like that?  We wouldn't be so stunned and hurt and divided right now if that was the man we had seen for the last year and a half.

Am I more optimistic now?  Ummm, not so much.  He's promising an awful lot of things that will cost a lot of money.  Hasn't said how he'll pay for all of that.  Promises to cut taxes, but where will the money come from?  I guarantee somebody, probably lots of somebodies, will lose something else to fund it.

Good luck, dear America.  We're gonna need it.

tnt

Wow

I...I am...just...wow.

Before I go any further, let me start with a disclaimer of sorts.  It's not that I was for Clinton.  It's that I was NOT for Trump.  I would have been ok with almost any other Republican president, but not THAT one.

I watched my favorite voices of reason this morning, hoping to at least get something to smile about.  Even there, all I saw was raw emotion.  They tried to make us laugh, they did, but even they had a hard time finding anything to joke about.  It's not funny anymore.  We are now a realty tv show, and not the fun kind.

I made a little post on Facebook.  Very little because we have to now be very careful what we say on social media.  You know he will go after anyone who says mean things about him.  I wonder how that will affect my comedy news teams.  They're my refuge from the real news.  I truly fear for many of our freedoms, and two of the most important are freedom of speech and freedom of press.

Facebook would only let me use one of those "feeling" things in that post, and I went back and forth through that list trying to find the one that covered what I'm feeling.  There were so many, how to choose.  I ended up with " feeling worried", but I'm also feeling scared, disappointed, sad, ashamed, disgusted, and yeah, a little bit angry.  The more I think about it, scared does seem to cover it the best.

Here's what I fear for the country.

We now have a very right-leaning Republican controlled government.  He says he's for all the people, but that can't be under this administration.  It just won't, because the Right isn't for all the people.  The people who elected him certainly aren't.  The Constitution is in great danger from this regime.

This is going to affect us for a long long time.  The turmoil, the unrest, the anger, the bigotry, the fear.  I saw a Trumper post somewhere that said something to the effect, "Make America great again because nobody likes us anymore".  Oh, you think the world is going to like us now?  We just proved that America is basically a country full of hateful, bigoted, sexist white people.  From what I've seen, the rest of the world is as anxious as we reasonable Americans are right now.  Oh sure, this will go down in history, but that doesn't mean a history to be proud of.

The economy?  He says he'll fix it because that's what he's good at.  We still don't know where his financial allegiances lie because he never released the documents that prove he isn't aligned with nefarious entities.  We also don't know his true business practices.  Again, no proof it's all on the up and up.  I'm pretty sure any economic "fixes" will benefit him and his legacy, and his cronies.  Not the middle and lower classes he claims he wants to help.  Oh and get ready for another major war.  I think you can bank on that.  No, wait, maybe you better bury your money in the backyard.

Foreign policy and economics?  He's told us what he wants to do with that.  Buckle in, kids, and start hoarding your goodies.  Look around at what you have, and imagine if you can still have that if global trade and economy breaks down.  That fancy smart gadget in your pocket?  Your electronic toys?  Pfft.  You'll be lucky if you can afford them.  We need to get along with the rest of the world.

He stated he would shred the Johnson Amendment giving the church the freedom to lobby in government politics.  The church is an extremely rich industry thanks to its tax exemptions, and corrupt nature.  Non-christians would lose their voices, and very likely their freedoms.  This very wealthy entity would have more than enough power to influence educational policy by insisting the bible be included in science and history curriculums.  We already rank way lower than we should when it comes to education in primary schools.  How sad and shameful to dumb down bright young minds even more.  My taxes could pay for something I neither support or get benefit from.  The exact opposite in fact, I could be forced to pay for destroying my own freedoms.

The other freedoms we've gained since women earned the right to vote?  Equal rights?  Marriage rights?  Respect for women?  Respect for anybody?  Say goodbye.  When we first heard "Stop and Frisk", little did we know that literally meant grab whoever/whatever you want.

So good job, Murica.  You get to keep your guns (which were never at risk), and own your bigotry.  Long live King Midas, and fuck the rest of us.

Here's what I fear for myself.

I depend on the health of the auto industry and Social Security for my livelihood and medical insurance.  The loss of either could put me out of my home.  So I have a great fear of this administration's unclear economic policies that I'm pretty sure won't have me in mind.

I'm a non.  Will I be forced to acknowledge a mythology as the law of the land?  Forced to swear legal oaths on a god and ancient adulterated text?  Forced to trust in a god I don't believe in, let alone trust?  Forced to put the word god on my car's license plate?  Forced to bow my head in meaningless and trivial prayer?  Forced to say Merry Christmas?  Will I be discriminated against, vilified, or burned at the stake for my lack of faith in a higher power.  Will I be forced to hide?

I'm feeling so much right now.  I'm having a hard time finding the words.  I don't want to write about this ever again.  It's done, and we have to figure out a way to live with it.  Don't know what happens next.  My pessimistic part says maybe it's a good thing I'm in the late afternoon of my years.  I'm not sure I'd want to be young right now.  The thought of a long uncertain and unsettled future would be even scarier than my less long one.

I will try not to write about this ever again.  At least until it does affect me personally.  But no guarantees.  I have buttons that can be pushed.  This will require much self-indulgence, libation, and total immersion in my fandoms and guilty pleasures to cleanse my palette.  Tall order, that.

P.S.  We will miss you, Mr. President and Mrs. Obama!  Sooo much!  There will never be a First Couple as cool as you!

tnt