The Final Pitch Meeting...

This is a political post. 

Open on a cold but clear Washington DC morning. You can feel the excitement in the air, something was about to happen.

Then there, in the sky. It is a man, a single man hurtling to earth. All eyes turned skyward, enthralled by his daring. Who would be so bold, so daring as to interrupt the swearing in of Joe Biden? Less than five hundred feet from the earth his parachute opens, a grand American Flag with a soaring eagle superimposed upon it. Cut to outside the gates guarding the Capitol Building forlorn supporters of the outgoing President who had prayed for a miracle suddenly feel their hearts leap with joy. Cheering wildly. The shots from across the nation all channels, the entire internet, suddenly switch to a live feed from the capitol.

He lands firmly at the top of the steps leading to the dais. His golden mane is perfect, shirtless his perfectly sculpted pecs and eight pack abs glisten with sweat and dignity. He is the embodiment of all good and true in America, the living embodiment of the perfect man. He is so amazing. He storms, no, almost Fred Astaire like, he dances down the steps. You see the crowd is in shock so nobody moves. As he starts the dancing down, the women are swooning at his rampant masculinity, the men cowed by the same. You can see the fear on their faces. At the bottom of the steps a hapless Obama tries to intervene but he is easily disposed of, almost casually, knocked aside as though he were an errant piece of paper. The golden one pushes a frail, stammering Biden aside, lays his hand across the offered Bible and growls at the quivering Chief Justice John Roberts, who we show has wet his pants. And he says, get this, he says "Swear me back in, I'm not going anywhere!"

Outside the fence the crowd ejaculates in joy, grown real men weeping tears of happiness that the truth had finally been revealed. The soldiers look at each other and immediately realize their beaten, you can see it on their faces. And then....

What? No good? I think the Q-Anon crowd will eat it up. My audience will love it! This could work, I'm telling you...

That's how I pictured Cheato trying to convince the Network to renew his contract for the President gig. Him and Guli at one side of the table, him huffing and puffing his way through the scenario, Guli doing hyping him up and doing sound effects. He's the master of the deal, I mean, he just needs another season.

And with that, this cycle of President comes to a long overdue close.

The reunion show is scheduled for a Federal Pen near you!

December 35th, 2020

This is a political post.

Is this just a holdover fate couldn't get on the schedule last year, or is 2021 gonna try to one-up 2020?

Following most election years, the final certification of the incoming president is usually a quiet affair. The previously announced and counted electoral college votes are brought forth in ceremonial boxes, re-counted in front of everyone and affirmed. I mean, we already watched the states cast them, can do math, so we know the outcome so there is little set piece. There is the occasional objection (democrats did object in the last election), but the ceremony proceeds with such regularity that most of us were not even aware of the requirement until this year.

That's them.

But after losing the election that seemed to take forever to count, refusing to concede, and getting 99% of his challenges for non-existent fraud thrown out (note that not a single lawyer when standing in front of judge argued fraud) and then getting caught on tape trying to Godfather a state officer to do him a solid, well, long story short let's just say this hasn't been a normal election. And since the Veep kindly informed el Cheato that he didn't have the power to pick which electoral college votes got counted, and declined to even try, things have gone even less well. So of course the orange one upped the ante and held a rally on the Ellipse to tell his rabid, and apparently constitutionally ignorant, followers to go down the lawn Capitol Building where the ballots were being counted and do something. And so they did.

It took a while but that old so-and-so from Carolina was exactly right. Under Cheato the Republicans have lost the Presidency, the House and as of this afternoon, the Senate. But instead of simply brushing themselves off and learning from their defeat they're...checks notes...storming the Capitol Building during session and making America look like a banana republic or backwater dictatorship to a worldwide audience. Yeah, sounds about right.

If this happened somewhere else we'd already be looking for a reason to invade. This is America, we're supposed to be the tsk-tsking as those less constitutionally created countries have things like this happen to them. This is supposed to happen over there, wherever there is. But that was then and this is now.

In the chamber of the House of Representatives furniture barricaded the door as security drew weapons and Congressmen put on gas masks. In the Senate the Veep was rushed out as protesters screamed through the doors. Senators were evacuated and somebody smartly grabbed the actual ballot certificates before rushing out. Broken windows, American flags thrown from the roof, protesters scuffling with police and later cavorting on the floor of the House screaming at the wind. Which is amazing because the Capitol building is a secure structure. Or it was supposed to be, except for the video of security opening gates and taking selfies with the rioters.

 

Yes. Rioters. Or Terrorists. Because the instant they broke through the security barricades in an attempt to incite terror in the hearts and minds of our elected officials they became the definition. Domestic, but still the definition. Yes, it's just that simple.

Curious I turned to Newsmax and OANN to see their coverage. As expected it took them less than a minute to pretend this was just a peaceful protest and respectful of the history despite images of people battling with the Capitol Police or hanging from the gallery in the House chamber. And they tried hard to compare it a hypothetical "Antifa" attack that they quickly assumed would have involved apocalyptic damage. Then as if taking a cue, on social media the type of people who watch these channels swore that the protests had be infiltrated by agents wishing to make them look bad. They asked that we ignore there t-shirts trumpeting revolution with the date just below, or the rioters screaming about how they were taking the building or intended to occupy it all night.

 

Because reasons. 

 

The saddest part is that no one will be held accountable for this. Well, in a stunning move Twitter did suspend Cheato's account for twelve hours, which has no doubt lead to a teeth gnashing rage that we'll all be spared from. That will be the long and the short of it. Despite the law, including ones that Cheato himself approved of, and despite there being hundreds of photos and by now hours of video, there is little likelihood of real punishment. That most of these terrorists are going to walk away from this free and clear is a different kind of appalling.

 

And you KNOW why.

And that's part of the problem. If we're going to be a country of law and order, it can't be law and order for just some people. The greatest country in the world can't be great for just a few. This day, along with the elections that turned Georgia blue was supposed to be the dawning of a new America. This would have been dawn, the inauguration more like fresh coffee or that first good stretch. But instead, because as it was so aptly pointed out this morning at the rally this is no longer the republicans versus democrats or conservative versus liberals, with all the machinations, footwashing and fawing by McConnell and the boys it's become Followers of Cheato versus Everybody who is not. Maybe karma will get them. Because I'm not even going to mention that I didn't see many Covid masks at all. But then the election is over. We weren't supposed to ever hear about it again. Remember?

This level of ridiculousness can't continue if we wish to remain America. Prosecution needs to happen. A lot of prosecution. If only to demonstrate we follow the law here. At all levels. And it's got to start with Cheato.

A Very Dark Comedy - First Intermission

 This is a political post. 

Photo and Highlighting from Politco

In the last 10 days. There was Cheato's $750 tax scandal. Then his debate shenanigans which he spiced up with a shout-out for a white supremacist group. His former campaign manager is wrestled to the ground after a standoff with police. And then his first (most likely of many) October surprise - Cheato announces that he's tested positive for the 'Rona.

I for one am a little worried about the season finale for 2020. The writing is on the far side of ridiculous and picking up speed.

First, for the record, let me state that Cheato cannot die, not now. I don't mean that in that he's the undead or anything like that, but it's just that if that were to happen, in this year, this close to the election, the nation's conspiracy complex would explode like a supernova. Deep State and Q-Anon would dissipate in the sheer political heat of the that happening like the the idea that Saddam Hussein had a Stargate. Now, as it may be evident from past posts that I'm not a fan of the president, I'd vote for ANYBODY against him, but he needs to live so we can see this election through. Seriously. We don't need that headache. But he's in a high risk group due to age so there is a great deal of concern. And there should be, I think.  

Because the million dollar question is: Does he actually have it, or is this really a political stunt?

From the moment he claimed the audience for his inauguration was bigger than Obama's he's been telling tall tales to beat the band. He's got a major credibility problem as time after time things he's said or claimed have been easily dis-proven if all you do is look in a direction other than the one he's pointing. I mean remember his people took offense when someone pointed out Cheato's head had been photo-shopped onto an image of Sylvester Stallone's body from 40 years ago, as if to imply that was an accurate photo. And the members of his party left the first 'Rona briefing and immediately adjusted their stock portfolios, then told the rest of us it was all good. They're not much better. So now, with the very real possibility of actual consequences, we find ourselves in doubt as to his and their veracity. Is he the old orange man who cried wolf?

I saw the tweet in the middle of last month which espoused the theory that exactly what is happening would happen: Cheato would announce he had the virus in October. His would be a mild case and he'd emerge touting hydroy-magic-whatever as the cure. But for the two weeks he was fighting it the media would push everything else to the side - social justice in streets and in sports, fires in California, bad economic numbers, the expeditious nature of the Supreme Court confirmation, etc, - and it would be Cheato all day, everyday. In the end he'd emerge having dominated the news cycle for two weeks as both victim and victor of fate, a powerful image on the eve of an election.

As I said, the writing for 2020 is getting funny. And the leaks are terrible.

Now that the president claims he has the virus, the propaganda channel...um, Faux News, sorry, has decried those who are taking light of the situation by pointing out the cruelty of being mean to man in the midst of health crisis. Reinforcing the victim narrative. Forgetting completely that the man in question mocked those who took strenuous precautions to avoid getting infected, let's see,...um, checks notes.... on stage at the First Presidential Debate less than 48 hours before his own diagnosis. It's kinda like the guy who complained that he was paying taxes for the fire department and so the city let him opt out of paying, and then got upset when his house caught on fire and the fire department just stood and watched it burn. You kinda feel sorry for the guy, but then you kinda think he pretty much set himself up for this.

For now he's been moved to Walter Reed and put on an experimental drug that had some promising clinical trials. This lends itself the possibility he may actually have it. Although I would check to see who has recently bought stock in the company producing it.

Who had Super-Spreader event at the White House on their Bingo Card? You get a bonus prize I think. Two extra masks and a box of gloves. 

But as I said, I hope he pulls through. Because we don't need the headache right now.

A Very Dark Comedy - Act 1

This is a political post.

"That was a hot mess inside a dumpster fire inside a train wreck" ~ Jake Tapper

"I'm just gonna say it like it is. That was a shitshow." ~ Dana Bash

That was the real media immediately following what we all saw. My understanding is that for a few hours Fox news pretended the whole thing was a fever dream until they got their excuses straight. For all the people wondering, the world doesn't respect us right now. Right now, that look you're seeing for other countries is pity and giggling, after all, we got ourselves into this mess. If this type of shit happens again, it's gonna be nervous laughter. Because also after all, we have nukes. 

And Cheato is crowing today about how great the number were. Substance be damned, as long as everybody watched. Yes, it's pity. 

I don't have any real deep commentary. I mean damn, if you can't see what he's becoming, if you don't believe your eyes and ears but only what he says, then you have been fully indoctrinated and I can't do nothing for you man. 

This week on "President"...

This is a political post.

Is President still hiding in the Bunker? Does it have num-nums? Is the VP in like a mini-bunker, or is it like a closet in President's bunker? Did President reveal he was the evil twin? (like seriously, that's like from two seasons ago! Do we know yet?)  Is it true puppets Silk and Diamond are getting recast with models from the Ms. America pageant? How is President getting his fast food fix in all this chaos? Will they ever arrest the other three officers? And how the hell did Covid-19 blow a 28-3 lead over racism?

Okay, I must have missed something. While I'll admit I'm not an avid watcher, what I've seen so far is that this season looked like they were trying to pack absolutely possible everything in. I know it's a renewal year but it's just too much like Empire at this point - too much, too fast. And sadly, the whole thing is still as badly written as the first season. Back then they at least had the Mueller Investigation arc to hang everything on, but now it seems like they riff from one tangent to another, no attention to continuity or anything. I mean, the whole "This is a hoax, then I knew it was a pandemic all the time" twist, who did they expect to buy that? Maybe their hardcore audience, but everyone else is looking at the channel guide wondering if they can find an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives or maybe a Hotel Impossible rerun. I think this incarnation of President has single-handed ruined the anti-hero genre.

Again, I'm not an avid watcher. Because apparently impeachment, a pandemic with 100K dead, and murder hornets were just not moving the ratings dial enough. Special note - whoever decided to fire up the old Racism 1865 needs to get fired. I know the adage is "go with what you know," but this is a trope that should have been benched by the network decades ago. Because of this, I can tell you now is season is not going to get a "fresh" rating. The theme of shooting looters is 1960's material, and even with fan groups like Fox "News" or those new guys, um, OAN or whoever, throwing up tons of fan-fiction isn't going to save it. We've seen this material before and it wasn't good the first time, or the eighth time or sixty seventh time. I wasn't okay in black and white and damn sure isn't okay in 4K. It's just bad writing.    

Wait. Are the old writers of Game of Thrones on staff? This looks like their work. If so, we're still short a hurricane, a zombies invasion and two other howlingly inconsistent plot twists.

Okay, honesty here...I'm not really feeling the lead on President. Never did. Just a bad vibe, from shitty hair and makeup to the awful styling. Is it just me? I personally would have looked into seeing if we could get the previous guy back, for like one more run at it, but something about Guild Rules or whatever. He was good. I liked him. Or that woman who they were looking at four years ago would have been good too. She wasn't my favorite but I think she would have worked it. But the guy on there now? He has no nuance, no subtext at all. Seriously, he just wasn't ready for the role. I mean, he does terrible reads, it's obvious they're dumbing down the script for him and does anyone know how Golf is getting such prominent product placement? I mean could see this guy appear on an episode of Law and Order, or as like a secondary villain in say, a Sharknado film or something like that. But he just doesn't work as a lead in something as big as show like President. I'll say it. Terrible casting. I'm not even going to mention the supporting characters who are uniformly just as bad.

Here's to hoping we can get a reboot this fall.

So we took...a pause.

This is a political post. 

If you're like me, you've been home taking in the Cheato Chronicles, um sorry, the daily Corona virus briefings, watching old movies, semi-exercising, reading, pretend writing (maybe that's just me), cleaning up your house (or maybe that's just you), Facetime drinking, gaming and trading memes with friends. I personally try to keep the news to a minimum, lest I run my blood pressure up watching supposedly grown people find every excuse not to listen to the people who know things. No Karen, the failed casino operator's medical opinion is NOT on par with the person who has an actual medical degree. And as of late, I've been parsing through the spirited discourse about the growing desperate need to restart the economy and to just get things back to normal.

Proper Social Distancing...

Just so you're aware, I'm of the opinion that this "back to normal" at this point is a really bad idea. Aside from the lessons of history and it being far too soon considering the still rising rate of infection that a lot of close contact businesses like barbers and gyms are being allowed to restart is highly suspect. The plain simple truth is that we don't have anywhere near enough testing to actually be able to determine who has the virus and who doesn't. This despite the promise of our duly elected officials that everyone would be tested. People seem to forget the two week lag and that it hasn't even hit the less populated states hard yet. Even after all that, there is one other glaring fact nobody in power wants to admit: Normal doesn't work. At least not anymore.

This desire to return to the old normal is however, understandable.

Most people like things they're familiar with. A lot of people who want the old normal to come back is because they desperately need a haircut, or just want to go out to eat again, or just want to spend time AWAY from their family. Their reasoning is just that simple and I can't really blame them. I can't tell you how eagerly I await the phrase "Can I start you guys off with some drinks and appetizers?" I might make them say it four or five times. *SIGH* But the insistent people, particularly those with a few coins, want the old normal back because with the old normal they know what the rules are and, more importantly, how to game those same rules and make the system work for them. For example, the SUV craze about a decade ago?  This was because as a small business one could write off an SUV as a business expense up to a certain amount, so lot of  "small businesses" were started in suburbia. They had one business act - buying an SUV.  The more you know.

No, a new more equitable system would be a radical shift too far, like taking away the loaded dice those people have been playing with all this time. All this talk about basic income or raising wages, equal treatment and universal healthcare is scaring them. They prefer the Animal Farm sentiment that "some are more equal than others." and an non-existent version of capitalism that is fair but keeps the spirit hungry. It let's them sleep on $15,000 Swedish beds at night. And those people are fully cognizant that the longer it takes to get back to "normal" the less likely it will be the normal they are familiar with.   

But for a lot of people the old normal was pretty bad. It involves working too hard for too little money. It involves an institutional lack of opportunity depending on factors outside of our own control, like race or sexual orientation. It involves sending kids to schools strapped for cash because a voucher system is letting rich parents drain the system dry. It involves health insurance tied to their employment, incidentally of which a lot of people no longer have. It involves a slow erosion of rights that protect masses while trumpeting it's championing of a small set of rights that aren't evenly applied. And it's getting worse.

And because of shenanigans, the people in charge are not listening to the people who actually know things so the realization that we technically don't even know everything about the disease or how it's spread doesn't appear to be a reality for a large number of our country's decision makers. That the governor of a state in the United States said that he didn't realize that the virus was transmissible by people with no symptoms a solid month after it became common knowledge is just plain embarrassing. And more alarming news comes forth daily. There is now evidence that it causes strokes and heart attacks in people under 30. Even as we rush to open the doors of business across the nation the numbers of people dying are still rising, and the much hoped for herd immunity may not occur as in China people are becoming re-infected. This rush to get back to "normal" and avoid those terrible 100k, 500K and 1M milestones hinge on too many things going right when our obsession with short term gains and our rights trumping the public good have already shown that we as a group are intentionally going to do things wrong. Because nobody tells us what to do. (For the religiously oriented, this would be the part where 'pride goeth before a fall.') 

To be clear, the cure is NOT worse the disease.

It may feel like it to some, but here it is - the dreaded cure is sheltering in place and limiting exposure while severely limiting economic activity to the essentials. The disease is thousands and thousands more dead people. One is a temporarily financially inconvenient period that can be mitigated for the citizens of this country and is already going to happen based upon where we are now. The other is permanent.

The cure however would demonstrate that the system as we know it, is what it is -- a creation that can be changed.

And that is beyond dangerous to the wrong people.

The Breaking News is breaking us

This is a political post. 

How bad is it?

It's so bad that the Dayton shooting barely registered with me as I was still processing the El Paso incident. Two mass shootings in 24 hours? What are we doing?

I often wonder why some people seem to want to return to the days of the OK Corral, or rather what they imagine those days must have been like. In reality in most western townships and settlements the sheriff had folks turn in their guns when they got to town.  The people actually in the old west were well aware that guns were lethal and actually took steps to mitigate the issue, something we seem to have recently forgotten. And in this modern age rife with political demonization, personal overreaction and a complete lack of accountability this apparently deep seated need to add guns to the mix is just terrifying. But there it is. So here we are.

Again.

Again and again. Damn.

Just to be clear, Texas is an open carry state, and the people in Walmart at the time actually had their loaded weapons on them. There are multiple stories where an average citizen took their gun out in the face of danger. Still, the shooter in was able to kill 20 people and wound many others. I say many others because it is believed a number of people who were wounded simply left, fearful of their immigration status coming to light, which is a whole other conversation. But 20 people are dead in what clinically speaking was a perfect case scenario for the Good Guy with a Gun Theory for a safer America. And yet it failed. So could someone explain to me how it's supposed to work again? 

And the gunman in Dayton managed to kill nine people and wound almost thirty more even though the police responded less than a minute after the first shots were fired. That's faster than it happens in the movies. That's action hero timing. The only way a faster response would be possible is if the officers were standing right next to the guy. And yet nine lives were lost and nearly thirty injured. And had the response not been quite so quick, or ineffective due to the body armor of the assailant, the man had a hundred round clip loaded. What could have been is a terrible thought.

We've started the usual routine: incident, thoughts and prayers followed by the insistence that now is not the time to talk about it (I'd like for the record, what the appropriate amount of time is). And if anyone cares, I will be directing my thoughts and prayers to our legislature, in hopes they come to their senses. Please note, that as El Paso police sifted through the carnage and while people in El Paso were lined up to donate blood, our great leader took the opportunity to crash another wedding. So we're not exactly getting shining leadership here. But the rest of them, the what we assume should be semi-reasonable ones need to wake up and realize that the blame lies not with video games or mental illness, but with our current political and economic climate along with our lax gun laws. I doubt, no I'm pretty sure that this rising to the moment won't happen. We live in an age of un-accountability. 

We are A) the only country where this sort of thing seems to happen with regularity and B) refuse to to bring ourselves to do something about it. We seemed to be striving to the be the wild wild west of the Western world. We no longer live in the age of balance, only extremes. There is no nuance, only fevered outrage. Where are the calm voices and measured thinking? Our national question has become when will it be extreme enough to trigger a response from the willfully blind? Shooting up a church, an elementary school or a whole country music festival wasn't sufficient. So one has to wonder what will? And if nothing will, who are these people and what do we do with these fanatics?  

I still of the opinion we just do what they did in California. When the Black Panthers started openly brandishing machine guns, guess what the Republican governor (one Ray Gun Ronnie Reagan) immediately decided need to be banned?

So what happens after? After what? After you miss...

This is a political post.

The hot new trend in liberal circles is that Nancy Pelosi is a punk because she won't start immediately start impeachment proceedings, like yesterday. Or that the white Democratic establishment has turned it's back on it's non-white voters because they a) don't have the heart to go get it b) aren't affected as much by the current state of affairs as the rest of us c) may all secretly be Republicans d) may secretly be lizard people or d) all of the above. The twitter pundits and other self determined experts rail against Cheato's every golf outing, tariff proposal, unprofessional interjection into events and twitter rants, swearing and praying that the start of the process for impeachment will be the beginning of the end for this failed exercise in government.

Um...

First, just so we're clear, I'm all for exercising the appropriate tools for the removal of this political con-artist and a return to government of the people, by the people and for the people, to a much better state. There is the concept of attempted in modern law, such as attempted murder or attempted robbery. It carries a penalty too, maybe not as if you'd actually successful, but you don't get to walk away screaming "no harm, no foul." In my opinion even taking the meeting in to see if they had dirt on their opponent should have amounted to attempted conspiracy. But apparently I'm not in charge of anything. Honestly, I wake up and check my Twitter feed daily hoping for news that he's finally embarrassed himself falling down or maybe filling his diaper and he's just said "I quit" and scurried back to NY. I really cannot wait to get to the next chapter in America. We dun goofed.

But I digress.

Impeachment, much to Cheato's misunderstanding, is a political process, not a judicial one. And because it is political technically the Republican congress could have impeached Obama for that tan suit. Yes, it can be that petty. I don't know how it would have qualified as a high crime or misdemeanor, but I'm sure Fox News would have told us. Putting aside that reality, that impeachment can be for anything you want it to be, according to the actual members of the House and not SuperMadLiberals.com the Democrats of House Pelosi don't actually have enough votes to pull off an impeachment. This whole thing isn't as cut and dried as we want it to be. There are plenty of purple districts out there. I know that evidence can be found and presented, investigations to fully expose and properly detail the infractions can be undertaken and that opinions will change. Slowly. I think when the hearings started on Nixon that less than 40% thought impeachment was the right process. By the end, well, old Tricky Dick didn't wait that long. So that part, the impeachment process can be done.

It's the Removal part that's the issue.

While the House votes on Impeachment, the Senate votes on Removal, and old Turtle McConnell ain't about to let the Senate find Cheato guilty of anything. Turtle didn't give the last president his proper Supreme Court appointment under the law with leeway he invented. So do you think in this process with actual real leeway McConnell is going to actually remove the head of own party? Not even a long-shot likely. Think of this like those cases where you have video and a clear understanding of the law and everyone can see what happened and the prosecutor goes well, I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt. Think of that outrage. That will be this. But this time on a national and international scale. We can forget to old Louisiana "dead woman or live boy" logic, the Senate as it sits now WILL NOT REMOVE HIM.

My question to all those "Impeach Now" zealots, when it the removal fails...and it will fail...what then?

Unfortunately this isn't like a failed vote to repeal Obamacare. You generally don't get to have three impeachments votes a week. We're breaking precedent left and right here, but this is a one-shot deal. So excuse my french but are you seriously like fuck Pelosi because she's decided she ain't gonna miss?

No, while those common internet and twitter pundits just want Cheato out of office, Nancy Pelosi wants his soul.

There are more ways to fight than one. And although the dramatic is satisfying, it's not always successful. Here the idea of impeachment, of actually throwing the want to be dictator out of office is enticing. Hell, I love it. But we need to admit right now it's just not viable. The end of this administration will have to be a slow, deliberate, brick by brick destruction. It has to be well conceived and properly executed or we all lose. And none of these pundits have any contingency plan. What happens if you can't remove him? And he claims exoneration. And that's pumped up by his own personal news/cheering section?

I'm all for impeachment, don't get me wrong. A long drawn out eight or ten month putting people in jail for not cooperating with the investigation style impeachment. That kicks off right around January or Feburary of next year. Right around when people get to running for President good. You know. When people are good and focused on politics. 


There is an old saying about two bulls on a hill overlooking a pasture of cows. Nancy is suggesting we walk.

The Mueller Report -- or -- How to Look Shady as Hell Without Trying

This is a political post. 

After two long years of waiting, the weekend that March Madness started and Duke nearly got knocked out before the sweet sixteen, the investigation into if the sitting President of the United States colluded with foreign agents was completed. The conclusion? We don't know yet. We don't know because the Justice Department won't release the completed document. The newly appointed Attorney General has produced a four page summary of the three hundred page report suspiciously fast, and said report in his opinion indicates there was no collusion. Honestly, 99.9% of us still don't know what the report actually says.

Now, a number of indignant conservative pundits and legislators want to believe we do, although at this point we have what at best might be considered the Cliffs Notes version, more likely a Wikipedia stub entry or at worst a confederate version of the history of the war between the states. That the Attorney General then indicated that the person who was the object of the investigation will get to see it - and edit it - before any of the rest of us just keeps making the whole thing look less and less legitimate.

And the powers that be, those powers that we are investigating, just don't care what we think. 

The law, for those who don't know, is a funny thing. Open to vast interpretation. You know what I mean. Think about how you can watch on video an officer clearly be seen doing X or Y action that obviously shows that they broke the law, but that same video when viewed by a friendly prosecutor the action somehow fails to rise to the level of prosecutable offense. This is one of those moments, only on a national scale. We have all sat here, listened and learned of meetings with foreign agents not reported and then lied about, clear and convincing conflicts of interest, and of business dealings with foreign agents not disclosed. Yet we're supposed to believe the report yields nothing even of intrinsic value? The police have investigated themselves and found they did nothing wrong, and no you can't see the evidence. Here we just substitute the word 'government' for 'police.'

Barr's interpretation of the evidence and if it rises to the level of collusion is plainly suspect. And now that we know the summary he produced now looks more like a 30 second synopsis of a 26 hour Ken Burns documentary only raises more questions. And if the pool of people who can see the raw evidence is limited to those who feel that the investigation was a waste of time, this begins to look like even more collusion. That Cheeto was okay with releasing it, but his hand picked people want it edited first gives rise to the idea that the truth only those pages may get more than a few more folks locked up. And the inane assertion that Congress can't see the raw evidence when there are sitting members of Congress with top secret clearance is pure 'shuck and jive.' A government of checks and balances under this administration is no more.

We need to do better. The treatment of this investigation is part of, and maybe the culmination of a continuing degradation of the truth via the assertion that opinion outweighs facts, a theme that began day one when Cheeto swore his inaugural audience was the largest ever and has gone on to become this administration's stock and trade. That they expect half the country to believe whatever they say despite their long track record of half truths, deception, deflection and out right falsehoods is laughable. That the other half this country is happy to go along with this farce as long as that they get to impose their beliefs on the first half is just frightening. 

This is why voting is important, and why everyday the Democratic establishment appears to pin it's hopes on reason and common sense winning out seems more and more like a pipe dream.

We live interesting times. I really wish we did not.

This week on "President..."

This is a political post. 

I haven't been watching this season. What happened?

Is Congress out of the coma yet? Did the VP admit he thought about another woman? Did President reveal he's really the evil twin? What dangerous game are Jared and Ivanka playing? Will Melina's terrible secret finally be revealed?

Wait, what really happened? At the summit in Helsinki when asked about foreign meddling in the 2016 elections, President took the word of what is essentially our enemy over his own intelligence groups on the grounds that those intelligence groups don't like him. No seriously, that's the basis. This is a character who thinks the press is lying, Obama is lying, Mueller is lying, Hillary is lyaing, all the intelligence agencies are lying, all his accusers are lying, but good ole boy Putin speaks the truth? Really? Is he the evil twin?  No, wait after the break he's saying he misspoke although the words he said that he misspoke repeatedly aren't really the kind you mess up. Damn writers. 

Wow.

One of the funniest parts of watching a trashy TV show like "President" isn't actually the show itself. The show itself is kinda cringy, with weak half-written characters, unfinished story arcs, and a meandering theme that seems like it's half improv. No, like a any other great series that's half off it's rocker and reached the point where it's just fucking with the audience, it's built up a terribly rabid fan base that practically drools whenever it comes on. And like devotees of Real Housewives, Cop Rock and Heil honey, I'm home before it, they practically turn themselves inside out, throwing facts to the wind, contradicting themselves and telling you green is purple trying to make sense of it all. They're ready to  cut a deal with the devil (or Jeff Bezos, or whatever he's calling himself these days) to get you to believe this show is fantastic. No, the fun of watching a show like this is those fans try to explain why each loopy turn is somehow sheer genius.

One of President's ardent fans said he was strong, and another quipped that obviously Mexico had meddled more in our election than the Russians. Meanwhile the Soviet version voice over of President has a laugh track. I was really waiting for one of them to say that "we dont' get the nuances of Cheeto's performance, because what he's doing is subverting your expectations and deconstructing the presidency." People say things like that when they want to sound smarter than you and don't want you to understand they said that. But then we're talking about President's fans, not exactly a crowd given to nuance.

I keep hoping it's all the work of some shameless writer locked in a hotel room somewhere, drunk on Glenfiddich, Adderall and heart worm medicine. I really do. How does this keep getting renewed?   

I'd like to remind "the network" that sometimes there is value in slow, well directed, subtle drama. If I wanted this kind of foolishness we could have just let Cookie and Lucious be Co-Presidents. I least we'd have gotten a few songs out of it.

Have I got a bargain for you!

This a political post. 

"I may be wrong, I mean I may stand before you in six months and say, 'Hey I was wrong.' I don't know that I'll ever admit that, but I'll find some kind of an excuse."
~ Cheeto

Are we sure that Cheeto was even on television? I mean, the production of a television show is usually a long process, involving an enormous numbers of steps: multiple meetings, pitches, development, staging, revisions and rewrites, editing, etc. Does he know that? Are we sure Cheeto ever did an actual business deal? Usually a large business deal, especially one that involves millions of dollars, involves enormous numbers of steps: multiple meetings, evaluations and reports, negotiations, legalities, etc,  before anything can be squared away. Or did Cheeto just watch a lot of television? Because on television redoing the floors in you living room and kitchen take thirty minutes and you can fire the board and take control of the company simply by yelling it angrily in dramatic lighting. In real life, redoing the floors takes days and you can't even do the second. And on television, sure you can defang a brutal dictator of a repressive state armed with nuclear threat in one meeting if you can scrounge up three pounds of fresh crab meat, a two way mirror, fifty feet of fishing line, some dry ice and one of those Mission Impossible face masks.

Cheeto wants us to believe that he's solved the North Korea issue that has lasted 60 years in ONE meeting. They're no longer a threat he announces. This from a meeting which produced a "comprehensive agreement" that is all of ONE page that entitles the parties to a free ice cream, no, wait...um, to meet again? That's it? The man who paid someone to write the Art of the Deal sat down with a kid and got no guarantees of nuclear disarmament, no process to get there or even a framework, no timetable on the non existent process, no agreement to how an agreement if one is reached would be verified, no concessions, essentially nothing. And in return... is easing off the military pressure by blindsiding an ally and then talking about lifting sanctions. For a promise from a country that practically specializes in deception. Cheeto likes Kim. Thinks he's a fine fellow. Did I characterize that right? I did.

In television terms he wants us to believe turned what should be...and will be...a three season arc or perhaps a whole series by itself into a B-plot of 30 minute episode. I don't even want to bring into that he did this on heels of asking for his boss, um, I mean, asking that Putin's Russia be readmitted to the G-7 before he shot our allies the deuces and broke out early. Then had the audacity to tell us everything was copacetic while the countries who stood with us against communism since World War II gave him the global side-eye. If the fate of the world wasn't at stake I'd think this was a remake of that James Franco/Seth Rogan picture, the one that set off the North Korean cyber-attacks. Wait, did they even discuss cyber-attacks at this meeting?

And now like a used car salesman he's telling you what a great a deal you got, that you don't need a warranty, and he's throwing in the floor mats for free. Damn his manager. This is fishy as hell. 

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that Cheeto gets along great with dictators and tyrants and continually pisses off our allies? If you voted for Cheeto, was THIS, all of THIS, what you wanted? Really?  

Shut it down, Shut it all down! No, just kidding.

This is a political post. 

 

Let's see. The Airline was shutdown. The Vodka, the University, and the Steak line all shutdown. Didn't he have a cologne in there at one point that no longer exists? I don't really remember. Even the signature Casinos shutdown, and that's basically a place where people go and throw money at you. So, looking at the track record, logically a government shutdown was pretty much inveitable. Seriously, who didn't see this coming. Art of the Deal my ass. Even on easy mode wanna-be Banana Repup-likkan Furher Cheeto still can't figure out how to make it work. 

By the way, the outgoing White House phone message during the weekend was the very definition of petty. 

This very brief shutdown was both funny and troubling, and not just because it means half the country believes in a party that even when in total control of the country somehow can't keep the car out of the ditch. The actually personally troubling part is, because it affects me, is that the ranch where I currently hang my hat depends heavily on the ole' gubmint because we clear a lot of stuff through them. Gubmint type stuff only the gubmint can do. Plus like other reasons. The funny part is the fix is only to move the deadline back two weeks. Man that ditch is deep.    

I heard at one point the argument was either CHIP or Immigration. Wait, Health Insurance vs the DREAMERS? For those who don't know CHIP is the Children's Health Insurance Program, a national healthcare program for poor children which weirdly has been unfunded for four months now. A CHIP deal could have been brought up for a "clean" vote that would have passed with the kind of bi-partisan support that has become so rare these days. It should have been a bridge to a better understanding of putting the country and it's people before party.  Instead, the powers that be - i.e., the party in charge of the Senate - basically decided to keep it unfunded and use it as a political tool to make the other side look bad. See, they don't want to save the children, they're terrible, we're the good guys! Pay no attention to the last four months. Now, they're trying to turn it into an issue of the needs of children versus the needs, well, the other children. But one set is like, American children.  

This guy...

But now, it seems that ole' Chuck Schumer (D) has gotten CHIP off the table, with a 6 year extension to the program just to get the government restarted. Which is actually pretty slick. He also got some rather shady assurances that the Immigration matter would make it to the table fairly soon. And in the process set up Cheeto for the okey-doke, but I'll explain that later.  

Another by the way, has anyone see the rest of the Democratic Party? I mean, not just the Senators and Congressmen, but the party leaders who were supposed to be turning things around after what happened last election? I realize the Republicans have been stumbling on their own for the most part, but a nice political shove to get them flat on their faces wouldn't be the worst thing. But I digress. 

Now, let me explain what I think (and hope) is about to happen: Because the funding scheme that the deal they worked out is so short, what this means is that when, er, I mean if, ole' Timmy Turtle (R) tries bounce Immigration off the agenda like he did the ACA promise he made last year, Schumer has the leverage to come right back to this same spot in little over two weeks. Meanwhile, between now and then Cheeto gets to make his first State of the Union. Who wants to put money down he makes himself look like the conquering hero? Nobody? Damn. Anyway, after his certain boasting about how he stared down the Democrats at this moment of uncertainty, exactly how would it look if the government shuts down again.... a week later? 

 

Cheeto has backed McConnell, er, Turtle, into a corner by spurning the earlier agreement. Timmy puts immigration on the docket, he looks weak. He doesn't, he embarrasses the Cheeto. The government shuts down, Schumer is the guy who stood ALL the way up to Cheeto, which gives the Democratic party hope. The Republicans invoke the "nuclear option," they're pretty much handing the keys to the castle to the Democrats if the expected Blue Tsunami hits this fall in light of the recent tax bill.  

 

A number of people, including Pelosi, were upset about this "capitulation" feeling they'd given up the upper hand here instead of going for the jugular now. But Schumer isn't playing poker, he's playing chess. And right now he's got a longer play in mind. If he can actually pull it off is the question.

But it's not...

This is a political post. 

Sometimes I envy those whose who work in meme. They're quick jabs of statement that get a point across. Quick jab, jab. Because of their brevity, they rarely do they possess nuance, but when they do, they are one hell of a statement.

I can't settle of how I would mine to look just yet, maybe caricatures of Cheeto and Spicer doing a convoluted "Whose on First" routine using the term "travel ban." Or maybe Spicer as a bad ventriloquist dummy. All I know is that I would not want to be a lawyer for this thing, as the courts have already indicated they're going to use what are considered contemporary statements to determine the intent behind this retread legislation. And Cheeto put them out there again Monday morning. He did not mince words.

The really weird part? He wants those listening to think the Department of Justice is undermining him, when what they're working with is the LEGISLATION HE SIGNED. After his first couple of tries got kicked back. 

And while the White House Communications office would have you believe he's just talking here (a NY concept), the idea that that what Cheeto tweets and what he means are two different things as an explanation is laughable. People have gotten fired for tweets. On more than one occasion. These contemporary statements  mean that while the actual legislation may be neutral on its face, the intent is discriminatory. And it it is, or it's execution is discriminatory, then the legislation is  unconstitutional, just as the lower courts have already determined. And let's be clear, no man - no administration - no President, is above the law.

Letting this legislation happen is us laughing in the faces of the founding fathers we supposedly revere and lays the groundwork for a return to monarchy.

If you guys could like, hurry up...

This a political post.

This presidency is just too much. From the start to now it's just keeps getting more bizarre, more fraught with questionable ideas being forth, more clearly the beginnings of a dystopian future being put together by people who don't know what dystopian means.

From the sitting President indicating he didn't think healthcare would be this hard, to the save a penny spend hundred dollars budget logic, to the weird and slightly perverted obsession with women's reproductive health, there is just so much going on that you almost can't concentrate on one thing. Which brings us to this administration's attempt to curry favor with African-American voters going forward. With some planned executive order on Historically Black Colleges and Universities swiftly approaching. a photo op was born. Invite them all up, show them the splendor that is Washington and the White House. See! See what I'm doing! With all the subtlety and charm a seventy year old New Yorker who got sued by the government for not renting to African Americans can muster.

Then this.

I remember Regan saying that he didn't feel right in the Oval Office without a jacket on. And I realize that every President has a moment of casualness in the Oval Office. From Kennedy to Johnson to Carter to Reagan to Clinton to Obama. A moment where feet are up, people are relaxed, after all, they're only human. But this is an official event. For the HBCUs. So why does Kellyanne Conway look like the the girlfriend waiting for everyone else to leave?

(Extra: Someone explain Jim Crow to DeVos. Like drag her into a classroom and teach her this by the scruff of her neck. No, HBCUs are not a great example of choice, they are an example of excellence against all odds.) 

This irritates me a base level. All of it.

I'm just gonna be over here.

In the Age of Trump

This is a political-ish post. 

I don't want to make this blog completely political. There are many other sites that can devote the research necessary on a daily basis for better reporting than I can with a few spare hours here and there. Although I do will occasionally want to make a point or clarify something that I don't think the general media is framing well, an all politics format is just too much of an energy expenditure right this moment.

Not that the idea isn't tempting.

I think the proper phrasing to describe the current situation for a writer like myself would use the term "goldmine," or might would include the allusion to "fish in barrel." The degree of snark alone could be measured on truck scales. The jokes practically write themselves. He told judges that he'd "see them in court." They're making up terror attacks and telling the women to dress sexy. Who is this guy?

I realize that every new administration has its moments where it is still finding it's feet, but a president more obsessed with the idea that everyone like him and less concerned with doing the doing the job we voted him into is scary.  It's like watching a train wreck that YOU ARE IN happen in slow motion. The sad part is the guy behind him is not only worse, he knows how to play the game.

If they would just stop pitching them right over the plate.

Let me hear it one last time..

"We Out. Hey Joe, I know this spot got fish fresh off the grease..."

"My President is black, my Lambo is blue..."

It is a sad day.

As Sporty said, don't forget to set your clock back 350 years tonight.

It's always hard going back after a long vacation. You'd gotten used to silly things, things like a movement towards justice, concern about the environment, healthcare and human rights. Then back comes the UGH. In one fell swoop, it's like the world just went gray after you've gotten used to sunshine and hope and compassion. True it wasn't all great, there was always that undercurrent of problems you'd thought you'd left behind - of bad rhetoric and opposition, but you were on vacation. It didn't seem to matter as much. You even dreamed that the vacation might get extended. That you could potentially move and be on vacation forever.

But alas no. The UGH is back, and it seems like everything you left on your desk is still there, but now with all the stuff you missed while you were away. And it even seems like more stuff since they now realize you take vacations. The UGH. You'd almost thought it was going to be a distant memory.

That just means we need to start planning for our next vacation.

Thank you, President Barack Hussein Obama.

This is the part where somebody screams "TAKE ME WITH YOU"      

Well, that happened.

This is a political post. 

I'm stunned. Still. In one swoop of apathy and lack of scope, this happened. Well, damn.
  

First, if you are a pundit, please turn in your press credentials, your notepad and your crystal ball. We thank you for your time and your service but you know nothing. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Because up until last night the conventional wisdom was an openly racist billionaire with multiple bankruptcies and a pending rape case who openly called for violence against his opponents and employed no ground team and no ad buys couldn't win a national election. But this election has proved that conventional wisdom is utter rubbish. Apparently the world is always in flux and all that any of us were ever doing is guessing. 

Eight months ago the big story was the disarray the Republican Party was in, and how it was soon going to be impossible for them to win nationally. In reality, the story should have been the Democratic party and it's less than democratic anointing of a chosen candidate. So pundits, we're done with you. It was a nice run, but we have no more need for this type of "filter bubble" reporting. Here's a lovely gold Casio watch and coupon for extra sprinkles at Dunkin Dounts. 

Because I was actively not paying attention it was only within the past few days, after reading an article I can't find right now, that I realized what central theory Clinton's campaign was organized around. Looking at my own scribblings from just 24 hours ago I can see that I apparently bought into it as well:  "You need surgery. Who do you trust more: A doctor with a malpractice suit against them, or the Manager of your favorite fast food place?" And what strikes me as odd is that it type thinking appears to based on an discredited theory of Ayn Rand, just a tweak away from one formerly embraced by the Republican party elites. This alone should have made it suspect. 

Clinton's campaign, the thrust of it and the memes of it, were based in the idea of meritocracy, the idea that the one who is most meritorious, most educated, best equipped should be the one to lead.  It sounds great on paper, but it's essentially Rand's Rational Choice Theory but with a trail of bona fides as a supplemental. And Rand's theory was hokum because it discounted that emotional tendencies continually bleed through most of our decisions.  

In essence, Clinton felt because she had a fantastic resume, if her interview was just so-so it didn't matter: She was the most qualified candidate. Not the best, the most qualified.  By contrast her opponent had a terrible resume, but his interview was so good the interviewer took him out for a beer afterwards. There is more to leadership and getting elected than merit. Clinton had an inability to invoke deep seated feelings outside the cabal of Democratic elite, who essentially anointed her in 2008 and hung onto that choice into the now. Clinton just didn't excite people, she brought no energy, and much like in 2008 just assumed she was going to win. She presented as the inevitable. It turned out we weren't with her because we wanted to be, but because we had to be. And it showed at the polls. 

*Deep, sad sigh*

With all that said, let's do a quick rundown of where we'll stand in say, a year from now - 

√ The Affordable Healthcare Act will be overturned and replaced by...nothing? Or maybe block grants to the states which in turn won't squander the money because there is like no corruption at the state level. 

√ Corporate taxes are going to be cut to boost job creation and the economy, despite the theory failing to work in Wisconsin and Kentucky. 

√ The military budget is about get a boost. 

√ These will cause the deficit to explode because we'll be taking in less and spending lots more, but because suddenly deficits won't matter anymore, because the Republicans are in charge.

√ The Department of Justice will cease to investigate officer related shootings or even be interested in pursuing them. The SEC, already weak, is about to become completely toothless.

√ The Supreme Court will on it's way to being right-wing conservative to an extreme for the next 30 years or so. Such a lock they might even try to repeal Roe v. Wade.

√ More militarization of the local police. 

√ The Voting Rights act will be completely dismantled if not completely repealed, and emboldened by the success of their previous efforts the prospect of voter registration purges under the guise of protecting the integrity of the vote will become more commonplace. 

√ The Dream Act will be eviscerated 

√ Any type of Affirmative Action may be removed from all aspects of life. Damn a diversity hire.

√ The Post Office may close. All of them. Seriously. 

√ Regulations that protect us from ourselves are about to go the way of the dodo. Because it's not about us its about profit. Profit now rules. 

And finally, and most depressing, the Republican Party is about to go to work overtime to reduce Obama's legacy to that of a political footnote at best, and his memory to that of painting in a museum. The plaque might even just read "This black guy was in charge for a while. Nothing happened." It will be as if the last eight years were but a dream.

But hey, there is work in Arizona! We got a wall to build. 

Damn, damn, damn. 

Is it over? Tomorrow? See ya tomorrow then...

This is a political post. 

I'm not sure what will happen by tomorrow. If the Second Civil war has started, meet me at the spot we talked about that time, and bring some bait. If not, I think the only thing I'll be happy with that the damn ads are over. I was just so damn tired.

If you were hoping for scintillating commentary this time around, I'm sorry. I'm working on a certification,  the "ranch" where I'm working never seems to run out of cattle, and I like to do this little thing called sleep every now and then. And occasionally, from time to time, I even leave the house. But I digress.

This political circus for me was best summed up in one...tweet? Instagram? I don't remember, but it went something like this:

You need surgery. Who do you trust more: A doctor with a malpractice suit against them, or the Manager of your favorite fast food place?

Hillary isn't perfect, but who is? They've been after her for years and haven't been able to catch her, so if nothing else it speaks to her intelligence and craftiness. But her opponent is so unsophisticated and unprepared, that very thing he swears he's an expert at and will get going again, the economy and Wall Street, lurches in fear at the idea of him as the Commander-in-Chief. I know a lot of people think he's the answer, or at least a brick through the window of the people who got us here, but Trump isn't who they envision him to be. He's who he says he is. And who he says he is is a person not really ready to President.

That's all I got this political season. Now I got stuff to do.

Hope the world is still here next week.  

Orlando.

This is a political post.

I waited a while to make comments on the tragic events in Orlando. I needed my thoughts to settle, to take some time and get some perspective. Because it's weird waking up in the morning to a world where if things continue on this path we may have to start placing the daily massacre reports like perverse sports scores with a ticker at the bottom of the screen. Far too commonplace. We are living in interesting times.

I'm not sure what it will take for some serious self reflection on our national love affair with guns, but I sincerely doubt we're going to get any new control laws, just so everyone's clear. I don't doubt some well crafted, well thought out and limited legislation will emerge around the country, they should, but with our current Congress I doubt they could get any traction. I mean, we'd barely begun to get in line to donate blood before the anti-gun control advocates started politicizing this horrible tragedy by claiming everyone who hated guns was going to politicize the tragedy. Despite common sense suggestions for something to be done by people as far right as Bill O'Reilly, we are a nation that loves the "lone gunmen against all evil" idea of security.

Now, onto larger issues. It has become clear that in our rush to explain things, to figure out why something happened, the general media concept is to assign blame as quickly as possible. Facts that change things may arrive later, but once that initial thought has been expressed we have a hard time letting it go. I think news organizations ARE be aware of this and the idea that they are not as much reporting the news but guiding the national conversation with their assumptions. I'm certain FOX news is, the rest I'm not so sure. I realize that ratings are important and more eyeballs equals more revenue, thus the faster the news organization in moments like these the better, but the profit motive may be ruining the idea of the impartial news report. NEWS needs to be above the fray. Right now it is not.

The shooter who killed so many people at the LBGT-centric nightclub was an American, of Arab descent. The President, as men in his position are wont to do, gave a empathetic and thoughtful response. Future former presidential candidate Trump renewed his call for a ban on Muslim immigration. This the same ban he claimed was merely a suggestion just last month as he appeared to be attempting to moderate his message for the general election. And then the story changed.

Our immediate assumption? ISIS. The gunman announced it and of course we gobbled it up, hungry for a demon that wasn't us to take responsibility for this horrific act. According to some, ISIS  is apparently responsible for everything bad in the world. Plane down? ISIS. People killed for vague purposes? ISIS. Get robbed? ISIS. Taxes too high? ISIS. Car got towed? It was them. They ran out of your favorite at Ye Old Ice Cream Shoppe? You already know. Damn those lactose hating jihadists!

Here we are days later, and what we were so sure of we're now not so sure of. It seemed odd to me that a terrorist organization would make a strike halfway around the world at some random gay bar, in a just off the radar part of the world. Now we find out that the killer was part of the safe space he attacked so viciously, a semi-regular who was known to the other patrons. Yes, he told the police ISIS was his motivation, but those he admired despised him, and would have executed him for his simple existence. That they want to now claim credit for his actions is....I don't even have a word for it.

And while he may have harbored the idea of ISIS and it's precepts as an ideal to strive for in effort to gain favor with his family, is it possible he was just a man frustrated by the stark contrast between who he was and the religion he followed? I'm not asking for sympathy for him for his actions are beyond the pale. But to get an understanding...that understanding we need so that we can process this and prevent this from re-occurring we can't take the easy solution because we don't want to deal with the complexity of the hard one. Suddenly, there is a lot to unpack here, multiple issues from personal acceptance up to and including our national gun policy. We can't, um, we shouldn't just blame some faceless demon and call it a day.

People died in a senseless tragedy. Are we mature enough in this country to at least have a conversation about it? All of it?

*Sigh* 

Sometimes Batman Only Works in the Shadows

This is a political post. 

I have avoided talking about the government shutdown because there was too much information, from too many angles, coming too fast. The wheels that turned Washington were spinning in every direction as the board continually shifted, the final prize transformed by the hour, the pieces and parts flew together at odd angles daily and new surprises kept popping up as you watched people who wouldn't acknowledge the audience's disgust put on plastic performance to a crowd only standing around to ogle the inevitable train wreck.

As I read through the posts from my "No, I'm a Libertarian" FB friend, who seems to only posts links from staunchly conservative sites, it became increasingly clear that the a large number of the people in this country really don't know how this country works. She just found out today that Boehner and the Republicans changed the House rules so that only Majority Leader Cantor could bring a vote to the floor to avoid a pure majority vote undermining the Republican position. My FB friend and her fellow "whatever they ares now" cries to not to raise the debt limit have echoed through the internet, as though raising the debt limit somehow issued the First Lady a fresh credit line at Macy's. Claims that it would be fiscally irresponsible considering how much debt we already have showed a disconnect, because it reasoned that somehow not paying those debts we have now is fiscally responsible. As I've pointed out before, the debt limit only authorizes borrowing for bills Congress has already told the President he has to pay. America, like most large corporations, operates on a credit line...not a cash basis. We're just expanding that line like any growing business does.

And further undermining the "don't raise it" argument from the other direction, all the people we actually owe money to - China, Wall Street, etc., - were giving Congress the stink-eye for even thinking about not raising it. You see, its not a well known fact, but pretty much all current financial markets around the world are built on the bedrock idea of US debt never defaulting. Troubled market? US Treasury bills please! Worldwide. A default would reverberate throughout the world markets, slowing further an already slow global recovery. So how would defaulting be a good thing? Why were the pundits with no finance background were so sure of what would happen when the people who did this everyday were terrified of the possibility?

Another reason I didn't really talk about the shutdown is the affects real people. Sporty works for the Federal government. Spanky is a contractor for a government contract. Other friends of mine as well.  The suggestions by Senators that they and their co-workers take out loans exposed the callousness of the those who scream for our "freedom." You need to go into debt so I can hold out to make sure you also can't afford health insurance! Yeah, real catchy.

Looking back, I keep wondering if this was all planned to some degree. I was pretty sure I knew how it would turn out, but since politics turned into a zero sum game in the past few years, someone still might have closed their eyes and jumped. In the trenches, Reid did a lot of the dirty work to get it all set up, the President in sync with him this time. I want to think maybe planned because here we are, roughly a year removed from the next midterms and the Batman President's quiet methods are systemically dismantling his opponents, this time outfoxing the Tea Party rebels by not negotiating with himself as they expected, a sort of political rope-a-dope if you will. While they danced in front of the cameras, outraged at the results of their own actions, he waited. While they demanded he lead, he waited at their destination. The Chicago came out. "You want to burn it down? Let me get you some gas and some matches. Oh, you've changed your mind? I thought you would."

Not a lot of press conferences. Few statements. Boom. 

Game. Set. Match.