If Wishes and Butts Were Clusters of Nuts...

 “It’s not like he’s plotting how to prevent Joe Biden from taking power on Jan. 20. He’s tweeting about filing some lawsuits, those lawsuits will fail, then he’ll tweet some more about how the election was stolen, and then he’ll leave.”  - a “senior Republican official” to WaPo

Wish fulfillment is a funny thing: maybe a sort of corollary to the five stages of grief, some weird combination of denial and bargaining. That is, if what is happening right now will have been part of Trump's final act as putative democratically elected politician: a coup. I mean, why wouldn't this go his way, as all else horrible and terrible before it has?

I come to this post-election-called-for-Biden-but-pre-consession moment with great trepidation and just a sliver of hope--the media is, after all, consistently calling Joe Biden the president-elect. All that's left to fret about, I suppose, is, will the Secret Service do their job, if it comes to that, and physically drag him out of the White House come 01/20/2021? Or will the military not go along with orders to stop Biden's inauguration and thereby keep the Orange Menace installed? 

The legal/constitutional avenue is all but blocked, and with that comes the question of how hard and with what tools does he flail.

Or does it end with a sizzle, a no-show at the Inauguration, a fleeing out of the country of the smallest man in world history. Add another asterisk to our Great And Powerful History as the World's Greatest Nation. It was always a myth.

In Which We Are Attacked By Us(A) - a.k.a. I Can't Breathe, a.k.a. Can Biden Save US(a)?

So many crises, so little time. Will Fortress D.C. morph into troops on every corner? Trump's bible stunt showed cowardice if anything, yet it was still brazen. Bizarre. Yet all autocracies are marked by the bizarre, as Chris Hedges points out.

We look to Biden for our electoral salvation. It's all we have left. Once again, some of the old guard come out publicly for the Dem (presumptive) nominee. And none of the actual elected thug-lick-cans do a damn thing to stop the orange blob.

The question will be how much this makes a difference. Plenty of mainstream Rs voted for Hillary but where did that go? I'm not going to be cynical here - Biden is NOT Clinton, and every election is different for obvious reasons. It's just that the old guard of the 'GOP' is a vanishingly small number of people who've been completely sidelined and whose credibility is shot to hell. Not unlike many old guard Dems, who seem to feel that not being Trump is enough to win. How'd that work out for us? No, if Biden's going to win it won't be because George Will, et. al. voted for him, it'll be because he managed to run a competent campaign that speaks to the actual things that ail us. Yes, and because Trump goes out of his way to be just such a monster, and that that speeding train has just started brakelessly down a steep hill with oil-slicked rails.

CoronAmerica (aka A Certain Kind Of Hell)

Day 52 of NYC lockdown.

Curve has flattened.
Curve's a-red.
How shallow the downslope?
How long until zed?
Math.

No Scruff.
No sex.
Self-imposed hand jobs will do.
Internet news rabbit holes
Take the place of glory holes.
What is a penis to do?

Of Tribes and Tribalism

We are humans and therefore we are tribal. There's no getting around that fact. All this pearl-clutching around tribalism in politics is just sad--so what? Nation-states are an aberration of humanity, and the idea that some type of salvation will come from being a "united" whole of 330 million people is pure fantasy. The ghosts of the slaughtered Cree, Iroquois, Shawnee, et. al. tell us this eternal truth. We were never meant to be a united states of anything, just a collection of tribes striving to keep peace between warring factions. That's it, man. So all you racist, royalist, death-embracing Republicans can go fuck the fuck off, and anyone who has a problem with me for saying that can do the same.

Thots:
T***p's toxic tin taking truculent, trash-talking trolls to terrible tornadoes - terrific!

Otty ins, anee mor thots?
Oh? Too busy sucking on the slithering Orange Teat to talk? Trying times are these.

Who are these people...In black treacle? -Thom Yorke 

At What Cost?

What more proof of a sham ideology does one need than in that of the Republican Party? The naked lies go unchallenged, the blatant corruption and lawbreaking unquestioned by these loathsome sycophants to power. But why? Simple logic would tell us that their ideology of unfettered capitalism and predatory neo-liberalism just doesn't hold up to the smell test when such reprehensible behavior is not just tolerated but strongly defended (fuck you, Lindsey Graham and Moscow Mitch McConnell) so that Dear Leader can be propped up to sign their odious, economic royalist bills into law.

So, then, Trump-support can then be seen as evidence of how truly indefensible their ideology is, when the cost of it is ending the Republic, no?

They have NO ONE after Trump. Absolutely no one. God save us all.

Kings of Kind

When I reflect on what it is I'm afraid of, where my vulnerabilities lie, what holds me back on life--all of it, I think, stems from fear of getting hurt. I strive now to be kind, always, but in the past that kind of thing got me burned on not a few occasions.

Watching Game of Thrones is teaching me the power of being kind to, well, just be kind. Of what love really is and entails. All my verbal barbs, my awkward attempts to be funny that end up sending arrows of unintended micro-aggressions into good people, are why I don't say a lot around a dinner table among family, among friends, among co-workers, lovers, strangers.

I see now the power of kindness for kindness' sake. Danaerys seeks not to be a queen of ashes, but a uniter of free and moral men. I want so desperately to be liked that in the process I miss that I'm loved and hence I miss out on life.

Next year's election could very well kill me if I'm not mindful of what it is we really should be seeking as a free society. Elections do not really change things, I know that. The "U.S." constitution was really written to protect property-owning white men's interests--property, slaves, patriarchy. It does not mete out law equitably nor has it really ever.

My hope for this year, 2019, is to be not just kind for kindness' sake but to engage in life more--in people, in my work to further my career, in love, relationships, even family.

I want to get beyond needing to be liked so that I miss being loved and loving.

Westeros and Essos may be unsaveable (we shall see!) but the attempt is awesome. Master Aemon, Samwell Tarley, Gilly, Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister, Varys--in an imperfect sense, all kings of kindness. They strive for a better life for the most people despite being flawed humans themselves. I need to attempt something similar in my life.

I go on facebook to try and learn who people are that I have to meet and know--not to stalk. But it feels like stalking nonetheless. Fuck. I got to match everyone's face with a name this time on the Vermont retreat, and that's huge for me. I got to be vulnerable, even for a hot New York-Vermont minute! Then I retreated to binge-watch Game of Thrones. Why am I having this revelation now?

Feels good not to obsess about the news, at least.

On Horror

Not gonna pretend this post isn't inspired by my viewing of the just-released 'Suspiria' remake.

I've been thinking about what is meant by horror as such. It doesn't have to be that which scares us. Maybe it is just the realization of life how it actually is, and that's what scares us. Of the idea that death is inevitable and there ain't nothing we can do about it, babe. Of the contrast between what we'd like our lives to be and what is.

I wonder about why so many of my dreams haunt me. Why some are so damn vivid, and lead me to no clear--solutions? closure?--I don't know. I just know I wake up feeling relieved it was a dream, and somehow move on. But then I am left to wonder what my mind is telling me, or trying to tell me, that I'm not getting. Is getting even the point?

We're now in this limbo period of waiting to see what a Democratic House will do to stop the madness going on all around. Maybe it's a pointless exercise, this waiting. Maybe that's horror enough, the waiting. With T***p we are primed for the 'I see there's a problem here, how can I make it worse?' response to everything. And his FUCKING rallies.

White Supremacy is a horror. I've come to realize how so many things fall under its umbrella, and how insidiously it can reside in Those Who Are Not White (see West, Kanye). It manifests itself in racism, patriarchy, machismo, entitlement, and so, so much more, kids! See Sarah Huckabee Sanders over there lying daily. Oh, and there's plie-performing, microphone-grabbing White House intern woman claiming victimhood over there. Oh yeah, and over here is Kanye West dismissing the indignity of slavery and hugging the White Supremacist-in-Chief in one of the most grotesque photo ops you will ever see.

Two more fucking years.

#JuneSimmonsLivesOn

(W)Reckoning

That elusive national crisis will one day come. Whether it shatters illusions in the right places is key, however, one need only look at the events of 2005 and 2008 to see that it can happen.

The racist misanthropic orange shitbaby lovers--and at this point that's all the Republican Regime have left as 'constituents' other than their wealthy corporate overlords--will one day tire of the spectacle, if only because it is so relentlessly banal (where's the payout?). Rallies in nowheretown, USA, can only go so far.

But what then? Cancel elections? The right isn't doing their darnedest to set up America as Gilead, or even Shock Doctrine Chile for that matter.

I'm getting better and better with patience each passing day.

Just try coming for me, motherfuckers. You wouldn't know what to do with me.

#MyNameIsJuneOsborne

And I am free.

bRidge & TUnnel Motherfucking Punks

The Axis of Evil in 2018 is becoming clearer and clearer by the day: Republican Party----Trump----Putin----Russian Government. Why even waste time talking about other window dressing? Naomi Klein is spot on. The Shock Doctrine is alive and well with the orange shit-stained Re-Trumplican Party. True power rests in the economic sphere and they are symbols of the hording of that power. And their motherfucking racist, xenophobic, misogynistic, homophobic supporters eat this shit up daily.

First & Second Amendment Redos

The US needs to seriously consider amending the First Amendment so that hate speech is banned. If it can work in a liberal democracy such as Germany then it can work here. Clearly the intent of these marches is to stoke fear and hatred and NOT a civil debate -- why should good, civil communities have to allow them to begin with? There needs to be an investigation into how and why the city of Charlottesville ever even allowed these thugs to march with torches and guns to begin with.

The US must also reconsider the Second Amendment in light of the fact that so many of the right-wing groups were armed to the teeth because Virginia, like too many states, allows open carry of weapons for ages 18+. The intent of 2A was never to allow the private ownership of arms, but a "well regulated militia". Tell me where any regulation is these days, let alone well-regulated militias "necessary for the security of free States". The model for this type of society could be Australia where all firearms have to be registered and levels of violent crime are much lower.

Unfortunately the US is an armed, violent, and racist society where in too many states "free speech" is basically an excuse to incite riots. And now a woman is dead. And the Trump-supporting white supremacists are emboldened.

What kind of society do we want?

Amerikkka, 2017, aka I Hate Donna Joan Trump

Hate is a word I don't use lightly. It's ugly. It has a tendency to be overused. But it's necessary now.

I hate Donald Trump. Every molecule of me hates him. But I hate him humanely, such that my only prescription for ridding the world of him is for him to go away and never be seen or heard from again. Call it Twitter bizarro wold, some place where he has no access to any media whatsoever and never will. I hate him singularly, and with a ferocity I've never felt for any other American politician. No, his menace is such that hating him is the responsible--nay--patriotic thing to do.

He is the epitome of modern-day fascism now handed over the highest office in the land. He is a usurper of power with no idea what he is doing or talking about, an agent of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, and a traitor. He is a rapist and a racist, a fire-breathing sociopath who cares nothing for anyone but himself, a coward who would sell his own family off if it got in his way. He is Sodom in Christian mythology, a demon sent from hell to turn whatever he touches to shit.

I hate Donald Trump because I love. Because I cherish all that is good in the world and want to keep it that way.

Resist with all you can and when you can, Trump's racism, misogyny, religious bigotry, and outright plunder. Only sustained protest will drive the beast out.

The Big Fuckhead That Is Thomas Friedman

His quote to Charlie Rose, NEVER to be forgotten by historians of Horrible Rotten People:

"There was what I would call the terrorism bubble... And what we needed to do was go over to that part of the world, I'm afraid, and burst that bubble. We needed to go over there basically, um, and, um, uh, take out a very big stick, um right in the heart of, of that world, and, um, and burst that bubble. And there was only one way to do it... And what they needed to see was American boys and girls going house to house from Basra to Baghdad, um and basically saying, which part of this sentence don't you understand? You don't think, you know we care, uh, about our open society, you think this bubble fantasy we're just gonna let it grow? Well, suck on this. Ok. That, Charlie, was what this war was about."

Thomas Friedman: one of world history's biggest fuckheads. Know this as he goes all out #NeverTrump and uses it as a shield from which to hide his grotesque worldview.

When Prosecutors Act Like Defense Attorneys (aka "I Can't Breathe!")

No matter how many times I demonize Daniel Pantaleo, there will be more like him to come in the NYPD and in police forces across Amerikkka, if nothing is done. This asshole motherfucker of a cop just got away with killing a man for selling loose fucking cigarettes on the street. Yes, cop is white, victim is black, yet again.

The fact that a "Grand Jury" can act like this is most disturbing if not completely incomprehensible. The fact that the "prosecutor" basically orchestrated it all so that this human scum can escape with no trial is just breathtaking - yeah, I couldn't breathe either after hearing the awful news. I wanted to punch/pummel/obliterate the screen on which I read that there will be no charges brought against a homicidal sociopath caught -- ON CAMERA! -- killing an unarmed, non-threatening human being in cold blood.

This is Amerikkka, folks - we've arrived. Congrats to the racist sociopath motherfuckers we call our police forces that "protect" us. This is their "duty," after all. Protect the white wealthy 1% and no one else. They can kill without impunity now.

No moar wurdz.

Scum Zombies

The House Republican-Teapublican alliance is at it again. They are just about the lowest form of deformed human you can get, and they don't care a rat's ass about good ol' USA. They claim they represent their "districts" although their districts are nothing more than gerrymandered geographical long-fingered hydra-shaped messes containing more human scum. These proto-fascist zombies have managed to bring the world economy to its knees, and there's nothing anyone can do about it.

The Conundrum of Sochi

I can't quit the feeling that the Sochi Olympics happening as planned is just such an impossibility. There he is, Vladimir Putin, presiding over the Opening Ceremonies, all smug, that cold, soul-less look in his eyes that makes Dick Cheney seem warm -- all this happening while Russia's gay citizens are being rounded up, Nazi-style, Putin's own "Pink Ghetto" realized in our time.

And nothing happens? No acts of protest, not a single rainbow flag, even a pin? Just business as usual, Bob Costas commenting on some peculiar factoid of country X.

Too many gay voices arguing against a boycott (namely Johnny Weir, but soon to be followed by many more) would seem to doom that possibility, although world events should sort that out (I still say unlikely to happen).

Moving the Olympics to another venue seems a pipe dream, for many reasons. George Takei has taken up this mantle, along with MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell. Takei says it is still "possible". Rhetoric like that usually means pipe dream.

So that leaves Sochi 2014 Winter Games, fill in the blank. I can't fathom a total IOC-censored event, given the European representation.

And -- Figure Frickin' Skating! Johnny Weir! The IOC may warn athletes against openly political symbols during the OCs, but that doesn't prevent the commentators, friends and former athletes from showing up and displaying same. And exactly where does Bob Costas stand on this?

This is such a big deal, the huge, gigantic Elephant in the Stadium that can't be ignored. Tilda Swinton said it all in that rainbow flag-waving act of defiance in Red Square.

An ego-maniacal madman such as Putin couldn't stand the embarrassment that's about to descend on him, could he? Will All Of It be whitewashed? Or will all these laws just magically go away -- never happened, just a typo, sorry for the confusion?

Because somehow or other there will be a showdown on gay rights for all the world to see. And gay people in lots of countries are indeed persecuted, jailed, tortured and killed. And frankly Putin can't afford the unavoidable embarrassment resulting from the havoc his laws would wreak upon hundreds of influential foreigners. Putin is nothing but a pathetic Joseph Stalin-wannabe coward. He doesn't have the guts to stand this down, nor frankly the religious conviction of, say, an Ayatollah. He will be forced to squirm like the 12-year-old bully he is.

What an unexpected turn of events these Olympics have spawned. And it's about time.

Showdown in Sochi

Vladimir Putin has won the prize for Biggest Bully in the World. Now it is time for the World to strike back.

Vlad, your days of glory and self-declared greatness are about to come to a screeching halt, you sad, sad motherfucker. One way or another, the good citizens of the world will defeat your hate, will defeat your hyper-machismo posturing, will defeat you.

And I will be there to watch you squirm.

Come Opening Ceremonies, be they in Sochi, Europa or Vancouver, your world of sycophantic sheep and jack-booted thugs rounding up an oppressed minority will crumble like a house built of wet toilet paper.

It'll just take one athlete holding up that Rainbow Flag you deem "propaganda" worthy of jail time. Go ahead, motherfucker, arrest Johnny Weir, and watch the spectacle as others follow and are arrested while the world watches in horror. How will you like your splendid little country then?

We are coming for you, gay haters around the world. Yes, that means you, Jamaica. And you, Uganda. Yes even you, Singapore.

A thousand rainbow flags waved proudly while two billion people watch. Hey Vlad, you won't be able to do a thing about it. Go check out the dustbin of history and you'll see what I mean.

Go check it out!

Oops -- didn't mean to push ya!

Murder and Hate In My Back Yard

Mark Carson's death is a wake-up call for all of us. We need a ban on all hand guns, and I don't  give a flying fuck whether you think this will stop criminals from killing, the fact is it will, asshole. I don't want a stupid gun. This murdering hate-mongering piece of filth a.k.a. Elliot Morales should never see the light of day, but I'm not angling for his torture in solitary confinement in our abysmal prison system.

The U.S. to a great extent harbors and nourishes a culture of death like no other in the Western world. America is a nation that arms itself to the teeth with increasingly lethal and military-style firearm, yet nary a firearm death is reported as an act of self-defense. Add to that our utterly stupid political class that fetishizes the notion of a Wild West -- the myth of carrying around AR-15s in the farcical hope they will protect against intruders is indeed a deadly one -- statistics tell us that more deaths arise in households with guns than those without them.

I really hate our culture, and I no longer feel safe here. I'm finding myself longing for a safer place to live in Europe, maybe even Canada, a place where sane gun laws and gun control do indeed result in orders of magnitude fewer deaths by guns.

I hate guns. Period, now. I don't give a fuck about the Second Amendment. It is our death sentence.

Liza Minnelli Tries To Turn Off a Lamp

[New York City, 1982 in a swanky Manhattan apartment]

Agent:  Sugar, babe, it’s the opening night of Cats and the curtain goes up in fifteen minutes we gotta scoot, Liza!

Liza:  Oh, sure, I’d be delighted! Just let me turn off some of these lamps [raises leg vertically while lying on couch].

Announcer:  And now: Liza Minnelli Tries to Turn Off a Lamp

Liza  [getting up and moseying over to lamp to jazz beat]:  Just let me check it out over here. [finding lamp] Oh, I see it, here’s the scoundrel – here’s the trouble-maker right here! Time to turn this doodad off, OH!! [raising arms, posing suggestively]

Agent:  Want me to help ya, Liza?

Liza:  Oh no, darlin’ – you just relax. I just need to find the clicker, or the switch that turns this whole cuckoo thing down! Is there a little knob on here that you turn and everything goes black?

Agent:  I don’t know, Liza, it’s probably pretty simple.

Liza:  You tell that to Debbie Reynolds! [does jazz hands.]

Agent:  What?

Liza:  [doing jazz hands] Ok, there’s…gotta be a turner, or like a ball, on the end of a chain, remember that?

Agent:  Remember what, Liza?

Liza:  [turning belt around stripper-tease style] Chain, ball - ka-CHING remember that? Oh! [collapsing on couch] Atlantic City! I choked on a shrimp! [putting legs in the air]

Agent:  I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about—Liza! Forget the light, we gotta GO!

Liza:  [writing on couch] Oh…oh I’m thinking it might be in the box of a middle of a chord or a thin plastic clicker wheel in the middle—you kick it ONCE! [kicks with cymbal crash] You kick it twice! [two cymbal crashes] You kick it three times. [throws hips with three slow cymbal or gong crashes] And the light goes on and the party starts! [turns head around dramatically]

Agent:  Baby, we’re gonna miss the SHOW! Don’t make those little kitties wait, we’re gonna miss Caaats.

Liza:  Oh, then I better turn off this skinny lady [tussling hair, moving back toward lamp]. Is it a foot-tapper? ONCE! [three quick congo drum hits] TWICE! [three quick congo drum hits w/ hi-hat cymbal at end] Three? [three quick congo drum hits w/ hi-hat cymbal at end] Will a Fosse-neck do it? [jutting out neck, Egyptian-style]

Agent: Nooooooo!

Liza:  Hey, remember this? [covering face with fingers spread apart]

Agent:  Just turn the lamp off – I’m floggin’ for Chris and Pete, the car’s waitin’ downstairs…

Liza:  Oh, that’s right, the lamp, that little rascal. Oh, wait—here it is. I found the chord! [grabbing chord, putting it over shoulder] I just have to pull it out of the wall [tussling hair] Aaaaoooh! Look…how long this chord is—Ben Vereen it’s long! I’m not getting anywhere with it, it’s like Tommy Tune!

Agent:  ‘Cuz you’re walkin’ in plaaaace!

Liza:  Am I? I just gotta find the clicker that dims the whole shebang. [sticks out butt and arms]

Agent:  Once again, not my house, not my lamp!

Liza: [holding lamp] Oh – here it is, it’s just a button. What’s all the neck but – you don’t push it, you gotta give it a little turn. [twirling around, turns off lamp] I did it! [jazz hands]

Agent:  Good job, Liza baby, good job.

Liza:  Pow! [jazz hands]

Agent:  And, we missed the show.

Liza:  The heck with Cats, let’s dance!

[Agent gets up to dance with Liza]

Announcer:  This has been Liza Minnelli Tries to Turn Off a Lamp.

Shameless, Cowardly Demons

This just makes me numb. The gun lobby knows their arguments are shit. Self-defense against a tyrannical government? Don't make me laugh - where are your M2 Brownings, your B-2 bombers, your tanks, your drones, your Blackhawks, your nukes, sir? Oh, don't have that? You're only equipped with a few measly AR-15s equipped with multiple 30-round magazines? How cute. Aw, what's that? Got a case of the boo-hoo-hoos on account of the fact that you know this won't stop the full force and fury of the U.S. military machine?

The parade of lies from the likes of baby-killer and terrorist Wayne LaPierre (he of the terrorist organization known as the "National Rifle Association") have stunningly worked again in our cowed Congress, even after Newtown. Twenty six- and seven-year-olds gunned down can't convince these 45 cold, soulless cowardly demons to even have a fucking debate on a measure to expand background checks so that criminally-minded and insane people can't buy semi-automatic human killing machines. This goes beyond shame. I'm glad I don't have kids, because I'd have to every day fear for their safety. Newtown could happen anywhere folks, and it likely will happen again, thanks to these 45 demons in the United States Senate.

Let's call each and every one these motherfuckers out. I don't care whether there's an R or a D next to your name, you evil fuck - you will be hearing from us, the sane 90%, soon (Harry Reid doesn't get a mention as his NO vote will make it possible to bring this up again):

Lamar Alexander (R, TN)
Kelly Ayotte (R, NH)
John Barrasso (R, WY)
Max Baucus (D, MT)
Mark Begich (D, AK)
Roy Blunt (R, MO)
John Boozman (R, AR)
Richard M. Burr (R, NC)
Saxby Chambliss (R, GA)
Daniel Coats (R, IN)
Tom Coburn (R, OK)
Thad Cochran (R, MS)
Bob Corker (R, TN)
John Cornyn (R, TX)
Michael D. Crapo (R, ID)
Ted Cruz (R, TX)
Michael B. Enzi (R, WY)
Deb Fischer (R, NE)
Jeff Flake (R, AZ)
Lindsey Graham (R, SC)
Charles E. Grassley (R, IA)
Orrin G. Hatch (R, UT)
Heidi Heitkamp (D, ND)
Dean Heller (R, NV)
John Hoeven (R, ND)
James M. Inhofe (R, OK)
Johnny Isakson (R, GA)
Mike Johanns (R, NE)
Ron Johnson (R, WI)
Mike Lee (R, UT)
Mitch McConnell (R, KY)
Jerry Moran (R, KS)
Lisa Murkowski (R, AK)
Rand Paul (R, KY)
Rob Portman (R, OH)
Mark Pryor (D, AR)
Jim Risch (R, ID)
Pat Roberts (R, KS)
Marco Rubio (R, FL)
Tim Scott (R, SC)
Jeff Sessions (R, AL)
Richard C. Shelby (R, AL)
John Thune (R, SD)
David Vitter (R, LA)
Roger Wicker (R, MS)

Why is it that gun fanatics, gun fetishists, always come from rural districts and states? Most gun deaths happen in cities. But yet people in cites don't generally have this paranoid feeling about the federal government, and they don't think having semi-automatic weapons will "protect" them. How many times do I have to repeat this: statistics show that the more guns one is have in one's home, the more likely one will be killed by said guns. Statistics DON'T say that having a gun in your home makes you safer, and typically one doesn't have enough time to go get said gun and "protect" oneself should another gunperson break in with the intent to shoot and kill. Got it?

Zero. Arguments. Left.

The Coming Shitstorm

For a while now (1+ years) I’ve not posted to this blog. Chalk it up to perceived obsolescence of the form, apathy, despondence, whatever. My husband has inspired me to start writing again. And I don’t mean posting angry (yet justified) missives on Facebook and Twitter. Sometimes the long form is best.

Any day (month?) now a Republican pol (or corporate hack - what’s the difference?) will declare her candidacy for President of the United States of America. It seems a lot is at stake, but unlike 2004 there is no pretense at sanity among the elite of the Great Other Party. Fortunately this time sanity - the real kind - will likely win out in the end, but much damage will have been done in the meantime.

The Tea-Party-controlled U.S. House of Representatives has gone on a full-scale attack against working people, with no let-up in sight.
Sadly Obama seems to be going along with an alarmingly large portion of their extremist agenda. Tax cuts for the rich, for whom income tax rates are at their lowest since before FDR, do not strike a single member of the GOP majority as an obstacle to fiscal health - it’s as if there is a full-scale denial of reality here. There’s a deficit problem for the federal government? Well, then, everyone must pray to [what Paul Krugman terms] the “Confidence Fairy,” since through austerity measures like spending cuts to crucial programs and projects, corporate America will suddenly create millions of new high-paying, high-skilled jobs! Everyone knows how well that has played out in Britain! Complete delusion.

No, the Republican Party of today is so through the looking glass that if Ronald Reagan were to come back from the dead and run for a House seat in a district in California, say, or for a Senate seat in Illinois (his home state) - he would be drubbed out of the primaries by the tea-bagging fringe of (that now controls) his party. On almost every issue facing the country today a lie is concocted to justify their mean-spirited side.

Fascism takes root in environments such as 2011 Wisconsin, or 2011 Ohio, or 2011 Indiana, and can easily spread east and west from there. If Scott Walker gets to sign the union-busting bill into law in Wisconsin - it would only take ONE Democratic state senator re-entering the state, by the way - the damage done will be huge. Add this on top of the widely expected passage into law of an even more draconian bill in Ohio, and you have quite the shitstorm of plutocracy and fascism.

Wake up, Obama, and smell the “tea.” You can stand up to the bullies or you can appease them. Guess who and what will lose if you appease them.