Trump, Going Lower Than Ever, But Getting "His"

DONALD TRUMP, with every tic toc of the clock, becomes a more execrable pile of human garbage, scarcely fit to inhale clean air. The same is true of his execrable supporters, who surround and gently encase him, snuggling in the trumpster dumpster. Here's why. Just the other day, at one of his utterly irrelevant seemingly weekly campaign rallies of the sort he has seemingly been spewing for interminable decades, this one in the late great right wing state of Texas, Trump spewed more of his verbal vomit to the effect that, in some psychopatheic potential future, with him reeleted to the presidency, he would consider issuing pardons to the criminals convicted of federal crimes in the assault on the nation's capitol building which his supporters engaged in on his behalf on that infamous day, January 6, 2021. Something this reprehensible a plan this vile, would be unthinkable, had it not come from Trump, the great American criminal. Equally vile is that his MAGA cult followers screeched their support and approval, unsurprisingly, but vile. Bu,t for Trumpers, here's the rub, as Shakespeare might say, and for the rest of us, the decent and the sane, here's the good news; when the two thousand and twenty four Republican presidential primaries begin, as they inevitably will, Donald Trump will be among the candidates, and so will at least fifteen other solidly far right wing Republicans, people such as Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, et al. They will all want the G.O.P. presidential nomination, badly. To that end they will all talk down, attack, accuse each other, Trump in his usial vicious dishonest insane fashion, the rest of them, well...tit for tat. Ted Cruz will remember the number of times Trump called him "lyin' Ted", and the manner in which Trump insulted Mrs. Cruz, by basically calling her ugly. One might recall how Trump essentially badmouthed and denigrated every other of the sixteen Republican candidates against whom he ran in twenty sixteen...In 2024, Trump's G.O.P. opponents will attack him like a pack of hyenas going after a gracefull gazelle on the plains of central Africa. Trump's Republican primaries opponents will act like Democrats in their assault on Trump's record as president for one term, and they will have plenty of ammunition from which to choose. You can almost hear Ted Cruz now, reminding Republican voters of Trump's two impeachment trials, of his bungled mismanagement of the Covid 19 pandemic, which has killed nearly one million Americans, and of Trump's insurrection and refusal to accept defeat in his reelection defeat. Suddenly, the G.O.P. presidential candidates will agree with Democrats that Trump's refusal to concede defeat to Biden and his attempt to overthrow the government was, after all, a terrible thing...they have so much ammo to choose from, to throw at Trump, and they will use it all.....of this, there can be no doubt. So, the best advice is: buy a bigger popcorn popper, fast, no matter the size of the one you have now, and sit back, and wait for and enjoy the "eat Trump alive" show....because, folks, its gonna happen, just as surely as the year twenty twenty four is going to get here...soon.

Hating On the HIgh Court

THE SUPREME COURT in recent years has become an even more despicable institution than it has historically been. Historically, the so called "high court" has gone low, sanctioning slavery and racial segregation, among other evils. In all fairness, the problem is not always that the court misinterprets the United States constitution; often the problem is that the United States constitution is a poorly written document, badly in need of improvement and updating, sanctioning evils, like slavery. Arguably, it is redundant and foolish for the manufacture, sale, and consumption of alcoholic beverages to be prohibited, then legalized again, all in the same document, for instance. Then too, for purposes of representation in the House of Representatives, a darkly pigmented person ought arguably to be considered five fifthe of a human being, rather than the original constitutional three fifths. And so forth, and so on. The second amendment is a masterpiece of vague and confusing words, with too few words conveying too little precise, specific meaning. Hence we have spent centuries trying to decide whether or not one must be a member of a well regulated militia, whatever that is, in order to possess and/or carry and/or bear a firearm, and whether said firearm must be a muzzle loading musket, as per the founder's intent, or can inclule AR- 15 assault rifles. And so forth. Currently on the high court there are two probable sexual predators, and six people total who firmly believe that the United States government, and or the various state governments should have control over all women's reproductive processes, limiting their freedom and choices. This is especially ironic, since these conservative justices embrace an ideology which in all other cases insists that the less government involvement in people's lives the better. The fact that the court as currently and historically constituted consistently renders highly questionable, indeed incorrect decisions is evidenced by the sheer frequency with which it reverses them later. Supreme Court justices receive lifetime appointments in order to render it impervious to political intrigue. Obviously, this method does not work well. The court has always been politicized, from the time of George Washington to today, and remains so today, becoming ever more so. Justices are elevated to the high court because rather than in spite of their personal political biases, or, better yet, despite having any discernible political biases at all. There are remedies, remedies requiring fundamental change. Term limits would break up the monopoly of nine, and provide justice from a wider segment of the people, we the people. Thousands of people are well qualified for the Supreme Court. Its not rocket science, but rather, understanding of the law combined with simple reason. Perhaps an expansion of the court with mandated ideological balance would improve its ability to render justice undre law, something which, in its current state, it does only when its gets lucky.

Surviving Trump Part IV

DESPITE TRUMP, despite the strength of his morally and intellectually bankrupt support base, there is hope, hope for repairing the damage they have done. It will take time, maybe years, for the American people to regain trust in our vaunted electoral process, including our common shared belief that voters, and not demagogues or corporations or courts of law, can and should determine who are chosen as our political leaders. The need for some basic reforms is now obvious. All candidates for high political office should by law be required to provide a full disclosure of not only tax returns, but financial dealings of all kinds. Assets of the Vice President and President should be by law placed in a blind trust, to prevent conflicts of interest at the highest levels of government. Citizens United, under which the Supreme Court ruled that vast amounts of unaccounted for corporate money can legally be injected into political campaigns, must be overturned. Congress has the power to do this. Jouralist David Cay Johnsotn, author of "The Big Cheat", suggest this. Another excellent source book is "Corruption In America: From Benjamin Franklin's snuff Box to Citizen's United". The codification of specific impeachable offenses would be of great value in making the impeachment process a legal as well as a merely political process. The list would include financial fraud, bribery, extortion, and perjury, among others. Nepotism, such as when JFK appointed his brother as Atttorney General would be clearly defined regarding which offices were off limits. Whistleblower laws, protecting those who reveal corruption, should be strengthened. Unspent campaign contribuions should by law be returned to the donors, rather than pocketed, as is the case now, by the recipients. When Trump established his "legal defense fund", and asked people to donate money to his insane attempt to overthrow the election results in the courts, small donors, merely by failing to put a checkmark in a small box, unwittingly allowed the Trump campaign to keep drawig money out of workkng class people's bank accoutns without their express permission. This outright theft was not widely reported. Under our current sytem, candidates may pass on unspent donations to other candidates, further corrupting the campaign financing process. The bottom line is; political campaigns should be publicly financed, and closely regulated to reverse our current system in which high political offices are bought and paid for. All these reforms would have preveneted Donald Trump from ever running for president, much less serving as president and committing multiple crimes while in office, resulting in his being impeached twice and numerous ongoing lawsuits, yet to be settled. And this alone, if for no other reason, would have made all these changes to our system more than worthwhile.

Surviving Trump Part III

DONALD TRUMP has repeatedly cheated America, and continues to do so, a fact about which his followers, entranced, mesmerized in their cult, are oblivious, or unconcerned. He cheated Amerian during the 2016 campaign by working "hand in glove" with Russian operatives in investing foreign money in his winning election campaign, an election he won illegally. He cheated us by restricting the investigation of Rober Mueller, covering up the Russian assistance to his campaign. Attorney General Wm. Barr served as Trump's cover man, aiding Trump in his cover ups. Trump cheated his supporters most of all, by promising to help them overcome decades of economic stagnation by giving them tax cuts and reducing the control over them by Wall Street billionaires and corporations. Instead, he cut taxes on the billionaires and their corporations, leaving the working folks high and dry. Under Trump, ninety percent of the American people experienced relatively lower wages. The Democrats need to convince the American people that they have the answers and means to defeat Trumpism by revealing it as the scam that it is. Thus far, they have failed to do this. Trump promised American workers tremendous economic growth, but under Trump, growth was far less than it had been under Obama. When Trump left office, the United States had one hundred and fifty thousand fewer manufacturing jobs than when he took office, because Trump presided over corporate outsourcing of jobs to foreign countries. Trump cheated America out of justice by pardoning criminals Paul Manafort, General Michael Flynm, Roger Stone, Steve Bannon, among many others. Trump bowed to foreign dictators like the dictator of North Korea and Vladimer Putin, and gave praise to murderous autocrats, shaming America and abandoning basic human rights. The stain to America's honor may be eternal. Trump's flagrant racism emboldened millions of right wing extremists, white supremacists and racists. He called some of them "very fine people". Far right terrorists defended their actions in court by claiming that they were inspired by Trump. Trump cheated us out of the integrity normally associated with high office by turning the presidency into a personal money making scheme, for himself and for his family, hitting up taxpayers for paying for his lavish lifestyle, and raking in two hundred and fifty million dollars from naive donors for his "legal defense fund", in order to file frivolous lawsuits in his insane attempt to use the court system to steal the election from Joe Biden. He spent about nine million of the money on laywers, and pocketed the rest. He let it be known that to gain access to the oval office, it would be necessary to do business with his many businesses and business interests, such as his hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue, a few blocks from the White House. Even the most devout members of Trump's cult of personalilty should by now realize that he has sold them a bill of goods, and contiues to do so. Meanwhile, Trump offered no infrastructure improvement plan, no replacement for or improvement upon Obamacare, both of which he promised when elected. Meanwhile, the Republican party has become, and remains, Trump's cult, utterly under his control, a party bereft of moral or intellectual integrity. But, incredibly enogh, all this damage can be repaired. It will require, however, strong measures, and funadmanetal changes to our political system.

Surviving Trump Part II

MY GOOD CONSERVATIVE FREIND who bet me a case of imported beer last July that Donald Trump would be back in office by the end of the year, last year, offered to pay up, and allowed as how he had made what he called, "an emotional wager". I could have told him that the monment he made it. I could tell him now that the wager was not the only thing he is reacting to on a purely emotional level, devoid of critical thinking. Seventy percent of America's conservative Republicans still insist that the election was stolen. So much for the late Rush Limbaugh's assertion that liberals think on an emotional level, conservatives with logic and reason. Trump is currently under investigation in New York for financial fraud, in Washington D.C. for trying to overthrow the government, and in Georgia for trying to coerce that state's attorney general into stealing that state's election from Biden, for Trump. Karma, as they say, is a bitch, and, as John Lennon said, is often instant. With my friend I tried out my new argument: that he, and most Trump supporters, are far too good to support a criminal and pathological liar; that they deserve better. My friend educated me by pointing out that Trump supporters don't care about any of that; what they care about is the direction Trump was taking the country. That the direction was towards authoritarianism, chaos, isolationism, and corporate capitalistic hegemony is apparently what they want. None of that benefits the working or middle class, as Trump promised, a promise he quickly abandoned after being elected. With regard to Trump the astute business man who would run the country like a business, the purpsoe of a business is to destroy all competition and create profits for the few by exploiting labor and markets; that aint no way to run a country, a country in which labor, the working class, needs the governnment to have its back, as we say. But back to Trump, the allegedly astute business person. Shorty after his father died, leaving young Trump with hundreds if not thousands of apartment rental units on Long Island, Trump sold them all, to a single buyer, without bothering to take bids or involve more than one potential buyer. He got far less for the property than he could have, had he conducted the transactions patiently, properly, shrewdly. He wanted ready cash for investment in the high rolling world of resorts and casinos. But had Trump simply kept the numerous rental properties he inherited, he would have guaranteed himself a steady, reliable ever increasing, huge income, for the rest of his life. Income he could have used for collateral for future loans, and to finance any project of his dreams. Instead, he borrowed money repeatedly from people he tricked into making risky investments, investments which often resulted in his investors losing their money, but Trump keeping his, and spent it profligately, and used the bailout bankruptcy process no less than four times, burdening us, the taxpayers, for his business acumen, aka idiocy. In fact, Trump's entire business career has been a slow motion train wreck, as detailed clearly in the new monograph "The Big Cheat", by David Cay Johnston. Oh, and by the way, when you lose an election, the proper way to respond is by congratulating the winner, and offering support. To Trump and his malign supporters, this is unthinkalbe, evidently. Because of these reprobates, every election in this country will for now on be subject to question and accusations of fraud, no matter how effeciently and honestly they are conducted. The sacred American electoral process is forever tainted, by a pothological liar and his dishonest, self deluded supporters. For the first time in American history, a president was unwilling to leave office peacefully in a peaceful transition of power. They have reduced the United States to the level of an authoritarian, unstable third world dictatorship. When will the next Trump-like damagogue emerge, and try another overthrow of the government?

Surviving Trump Part I

DEMONSTRABLY, DONALD TRUP'S PRESIDENCY did great damage to the United States. The mere fact that such an unqualified person of such low morality and intellectual ability got elected to the presidency, much less the dog catchery, should alram all Americans, and motivate them to put in place safeguards to ensure that such a national disaster never happens again. The constitution, including the electoral college, was designed to provide such safeguards. Obviously, they proved inadequate. The damage Turmp did did not end with his removal from office. It endures, but can be repaired. Donald Trump effecitvely turned the Republican party into a criminal organization, a cult following which even the few Republicans who possess any integrity refuse, in their cowardice and lust for power, to openly oppose. Trump to this day encourages and enables blatant liars, outrageous conspiracy theorists, racists, and thugs. Trump promised an active, competent administration willing and able to bypass Washington's traditional culture, to "drain the swamp" and directly improve the lives of ordinary working Americans. Long forgotten American men and woman would take back their ountry unhder his leadership, create a booming economy with lower taxes for all American working class folks, and force American corporations to bring back jobs that they had outsourced to other countries. He told us that he would, through his economic and tax policies, lift up nearly all Americans at his own personal expense; he would personally sacrifice, that others might prosper. He promised, often: "I will be your champion, and I won't be playing golf". He ended p playing golf three times a week, at taxpayer expense, costing us millions of dollars in secret service protection and amenities. He promised to "make America gerat again", as if somehow our country had lost its greatness, and could only regain it through his leadership, a preposterous notion on its face. Preposterous, narcissistic, and unpatriotic, even traitorous. Instead, Trump became the first president since Herbert Hoover to leave office with an economy in which the average American was less proeperous than when he took office. Instead of bypassing Wall Street elites and the Washington political establishment in a great crusade to upfift and empower millions of ordinary, powerless Americans, he did the exact opposite: he filled the swamp, his administration, with Wall Street billionaire types, while eliminating or ignoring regulations which could contain the economically predatory behavior of those wealthy elites. We the American people got from the Trump administration a criminal corruption machine inundated with profiteering, self-dealing, and conflicts of interest, pupulated by incompetent, unqualified, billionaire cabinet secretaries and agency heads, people who, once in power, did their very best to destory the departments which they were entrusted to oversee, working to achieve exactly the opposite of their responsibilities. Trump did nothing to improve our infrastructure (Biden already has), put more trust in foreign dictators than in his own intelligence gathering agencies and law enforcement communities. Trump got elected by knowlingly, willingly, happily accepting massive campaign assistance from Russia, a crime for which he should hve been impeached, removed, convicted, and incarcerated. He so completely mismanaged the pandemic by denying its severity and sprading ridiculously false information about it that it cost hundreds of thousands of American lives. And that is just the "tip of the iceberg", as we like to say. Most alarming of all is that Trump is still very much out and about, on the scene, wanting to regain power by whatever means, legal or not, works, and his followers continue to ignore moral decency and reality in their support of their pathologically criminal cult leader.

Desegregating, Classically

CONNOISSEURS OF CLASSICAL MUSIC, consisting of only a small segment of the American people, tend, like connoisseurs of all kinds of music and other artforms, to have their personal favorite creators, and to stick pretty close to home. What distinguishes classical music lovers is that they focus not on the performers so much as the writers. People who are not interested in classical music have generally heard of four composers: Bach, Brahams, Beethoven, and Mozart, among the thousands, living and dead, who have contributed to the genre. Sometimes Tchaikovsky sneaks in the back foor, usually not. Like everyting else, liking classical music is largely a matter of being exposed to it sufficiently, at a young enough age. Its hard to get people to listen to it. One problem is that most classical compositions are more than two minutes long, and in a culture devoted to the song form, longer attention spans are at a premium. Most classical composers actually wrote in the song form, usually as a departure from their preoccupation with longer formats. Songs written in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by classical composers are much different in sound than our modern, familiar forms in country, pop, and rock. The melodies are more subtle, and lack the "catchy" quality of the modern American songbook. They are best sung by operatic voices; Bob Dylan and Taylor Swift need not apply. Its hard to get people unfamiliar with classical music to actual listen to it. To properly appreciate, it is necessary to actually focus on it, preferably while sitting comfortably and focusing on it, without any distractions. That, of course, is a problem in a culture in which some high tech device is constantly screaming in our pockets. People answer their phones, or look at them, or get up and get to work cleaning house, assuming that they can hear the music while moving around, relegating the music to background noise. That, as they say, don't feed the bulldog. People always seem surprised when I tell them that the sheer amount of classical music in the world in immense, hundreds of times greater than the amount of rock, pop, or country, because classical music has been around for more than four centuries, and the rest, but a few decades. People also often seem surprised to learn that classical music is alive and well, that there are many, many classical composers alive today, writing and publishing prolifically, adding to the enormous extant opus. Its almost as if folks just assume that all classical music was written over a hundred years ago, and that the artform somwhow went extinct, and was replaced by our modern music. That's the time to throw some Philip Glass in their ears. Or maybe some Alan Hovhaness. There are hundreds, many still living and composing, from which to choose, all good. Like every other aspect of human culture, tehe classical music community is beset with racism, and, like every other aspect of human culture, more so in the United States of Asininity than anywhere else. Of these composers, of whom have you heard? (Be honest): Florence Price, William Dawson, William Grant Still. These are all African-American composers, composers of the highest quality, comparable in quality, all kidding asie, to Mozart and beethoven. Florence Price was born in Arkansas in the late nineteenth century, and, an obvious musical genius, was allowd to play the piano in the mansion of a wealthy white Little Rock family while her parents cleaned the house. He obvious natural talent led to her getting a good education musically, and in the eighteen nineties she studied music in New York. Her favorite composer was the great Czech composer Anton Dvorak, who spent two years in New York as director of the New York music conservatory. Price's symphonies are remindful of Dvorak, and they are surpassingly beautiful. Like all African-American composers, in her music can be heard echoes of negro spirituals, and jazz, which of course was invented by African-American culture. One need only listen to anything any of them wrote, which one can easily do online, to appreciate their extraordinary music. William Dawson wrote one and only one sypmphnoy, which he named the "Negro Folk Symphony". It debuted in 1939, and was well receeived - then, forgotten. It is a work of superb quality, easily equal in quality to any composition by any composer who ever lived. Only recently has this masterpiece begun to be played, recorded, and appreciated. All three of these composers would be as famous as, say, Aaron Copeland, or certainly Rex Harris, both fine American compsoers, were they but white. Florence Price suffered, and still suffers the obstacle of having been not only black, but female as well. William Dawson never wrote another symphony. He was given no support, no encouragement, no respect, no appreciation...so...why bother? Racism harms culture, and society. Our saving grace is that we still possess the creativity of African-Americans, past and present. So, we have a scond chance, whether or not we deserve it. We need only take advantage of it. Its up to us.

Appraising Damnably, With Facts

A VERITABLE TORRENT OF BOOKS about Donald Trump have been published withn the last five years, unsurprisingly. There will, of course, be many more. Those in the future will have the advantage of greater perspective. Historically, as the decades and centuries pass, biographies become better, with the assistance of hindight, prior research, and perspective. So far, all books about Trump are unflattering in their assessment of the high roller wheeler dealer turned politician, and many of them were written by people who know Trump well; family members and close associates. The most recent one is the best, in terms of thoroughness of research and veracity of verified facts. It was written by neither a close associate nor familly member, but rather, David Cay Jonston, a Pulitzer prize winning journalist who has worked for the New York Times, which contrary to conservative opinion remains the nation's most reliable, best newspaper. "The Big Cheat: How donald Trump Fleeced America and Enriched HImself and his Family" makes no pretense at being complimentary in any way, it purports only to be objective and accurate, bearing in mind that objectivity and accuracy do not necessarily mean "fair and balanced", but can mean "fair and damning". Johnsoton is widely considered to be among America's most important, highest quality journalists. About him, Donald Trump said: "I know the reporter is a weird dude who's been folliwing me for twenty five years, so obviously he hasn't done well. He's been following me in a negative fashion for twenty five years, always a hit. And I'm president, so he hasn't done a very good job." Well known is that when Donald Trump disparages someone, journalist, political leader, or anyone else, the person being disparaged is usually someone of the highest quality and integrity, accomplished, intelligent, and honest. Consider Senator John McCain, for instance, among many others. Johnson begins his preface with : "Donald Trump turned the White House into a money making enterprise for himself, his family, and his friends." This ia a reference to Trump's numerous violations of the constitution's "emolument clause", which forbids an American president from profiting from his position of power because of his position of power. Trump signaled his intentions by stopping in front of his Pennsylvania Avenue hotel during his inauguration parade, and being photographed there. Since then, anyone who wants access to Trump understands that, when in Washington, stay at the Trump hotel. Ivanka started profiting from contacts in China, and her husband Jared Kushner did the same in the Middle East, both because Trump preferred nepotism to actual diplomacy conducted by professionals. When Trump was defeated for reelection and began repeating his "big lie" about the eection having been stolen from him, he solicited more than two hundred and fifty million dollars in donations for a "Stop the Steal" legal fund. Only a small protion of the money went to fund his many frivoous lawsuits, all of which were summarily thrown out of court. Most of the money went straight into Trump's pockets. And that, as they say, is only the tip of the iceberg.

Enumerating lies

ON FACEBOOK somebody posted: "Name a Trump lie". Whether this was intended to be an extremely easy test, like "name an english word which begins with the letter 'B'", or an opportunity for Trump supporters to confromt reality, was uncertain. I found the offer irrrestible. Trump lie wise, we all have our favorites. Here's my personal favorite: "During the Revolutionary War Geogre Washington's army captured every airport in the colonies." Yes, he actually said that. As Casey Stengal used to say: "you could look it up". Then there's the one he uttered, in front of camera, God, and world, while standing next to the president of Italy in the oval office: "Friendship between the United States and Italy goes all the way back to the reign of Julius caesar". Sometimes, often, you have to wonder. The best theory is that people like Trump don't bother to think before they speak, because, afflicted with extreme narcissiam, they assume a priori that no matter what they say, it must be true, because they are the one saying it. That might explain the one in which Trump notified the nation and the world that windmills cause cancer, or that "they say they do". In fact, nobody ever said anything that stupid, other than Trump. Nobody ever even broached the possibility, until Trump. By talking to, "picking the brain" of a friend of mine who supports Trump, I am begining, maybe, to understand a little how they think. My friend told me in no uncertain terms that Trump supporters simply do not care anything about what Trump says, about his lies, insults, vicious slanders, and so forth. They overlook all that, because they like the direction in which he takes the country, or rather, was taking it, until his alleged landslide election victory was stolen from him by, according to my friend, the Democratic party. My friend at least identified the guilty party, no pun intended. All the other election fraud frauds are much more vague about such vital questions, including the method used for the alledged steal. My friend was equally vague about methodology, but he mumbled something about tampered voting machines from the Dominion company. Dominion has now sued enything that moves over this slanderous atttack upon its integrity; if justice prevails, they will win every case. Trump supporters find it easy to overlook Trump's constant, pathological lying, because they like the direction in which he was taking the country, and will doutless take it again, if he is restored to the presidency upon proving that he actually won reelection. They dismiss his lies as "stretching a truth a bit". We'll be back to ingesting hydroxychloroquine and dismissing all scientific expertise as "fraudulent", if by some twisted miracle of devilish divine intervention Trump is restored to the presidency and Biden removed from it. Last July 29 my friend bet me a case of imported beer that before year's end, Donald Trump would be back in power. Just the other day, he admitted that he made what he called "an emotional wager", and offered to pay up. I declined the offer, having gotten far more than I expected. If only he were fully aware of the extraordinary number of "emotional eagers" he makes daily, and has been making for years. My newest strategy is telling Trump supporters that they personally are far too good as human beings to support such an obvious reprobate, no matter how closely the reprobate's policies conform to expectations. Its a strategy doomed to failure, like most strategies to get people to conquer drug addiction, but its a noble one, because, in every case, no matter the extent of a Trump supporter's dereliction, which is often great, the person is, demonstrably, good enough to deserve a decent person to support poitically, even if that isn't saying much.

Defending Our Secular Democracy

IT IS DISTRESSING, to people who understand and embrace the founding principles of the United States, that such a harmful, malignant movement as "Christian nationalism" stains the public discourse and the body politic, if only peripherally, thus far. It is comforting that the movement is as yet a small stain, easily removed, god willing, and if the rest of us maintain our senses and the Christian nationalists come to theirs. A little time and informational sunlight should achieve that disinfection. For "Christian nationalism" substitute the expression "patriotic diversity", or "American religious freedom", with a secular democratic government, the people at large deciding on their religious destiny. We do not want to live in a country governed by barbaric biblical law. Democracy, literally, is the mob rule of the majority, which the founders carefully avoided, but which, over the centuries, has become increasingly possible, increasingly desirable. If we must be governed, as we must be to at least some extent due to the need for social organization and cooperative endeavors of various sorts, then rule by the majority is the best answer in today's world, - why not govern ourselves ? - preferrable to oligarchy, plutocracy, authoritarianism, or anarchy. We are moving towards democracy, despite the Trump bump in the road, despite the extreme concentration of wealth in America which prevents true democracy from manifesting. In terms of self governance, of creating an actual democracy, we have steadily moved away from the restrictive popular sovereignty, representative intentions of the founders. With regard to religious establishement, we should, according to decency and reason, stidk close to the intentions of the founders; a sceular governent with tolerance of religious diversity, tolerance of the thousands of religions extant in contemporary America, tolerance and acceptance of the more than thirteen hundred organized, registered religions in the country. Christian nationalism, in some twisted form or another, has always been extant in American culture; fortunately, it has never gained a sufficient foothhold nor sufficient popularity to pose a real threat to the wisdom concerning religion embodied in the constitution of 1787, arguablly among the few basic tenets of the constitution which needn't be or shouldn't be upgraded or more clearly defined. If anything, religious influence in the political system and government will decrease onver the next few years, as the percentage of the population which identifies as "Christian" continues to decline, and "nationalsm" is superceded by the necessity of international cooperation in areas such as climate change, pandemics, and the global economy. As with every other issue of public concern, the American Christian conservative community is relentless in its refusal to accept this obvious reality, but will eventually be forced to against its fondest desires, for it will be surrounded by, inundated with, and eonfronted with an overwhelming body of evidence and public opinion.

Diverging From Expectations

I'VE NEVER BEEN very good at conforming. I became a Yankee (the baseball team) fan in first grade because, and only because, everyone else in my life, for some reason, despised them, and I felt sorry for them. Like my hero Davy Crockett wrote, or had someone write for him, in the preface of his best selling autobiography: "Fashion is a thing I care mighty little about, except when it happesn to run just exactly according to my own notion". In high school I listened to classical music in an era of rock n roll supremacy. Granted, I listened to rock and pop when in the company of my friends, but that was their choice, not mine. I would have gladly broken out the Beethoven. My noncomformist ways often got me in trouble during my surprisingly long, turbulent teaching career. It began in my mmid twenties, when I taught freshman level history courses at a university while studying for a doctorate. On spring days I took my classes outside and lectured in an open air ampitheatre which was within easy walking distance. I never got hauled into the dean's office for reproach, but fully expected to. I recall the first day I ever taught a class, anywhere. It was a ninety eight degree day in late August, and the building in which my class was located was not air conditioned. I exchewed the traditional academic suit and tie, and strode into the room waering short shorts, blue jean cutoffs. I still can't believe I had the audacity to do that; honestly, I don't know what I was thinking, except maybe about comfort over style. Nobody reprimanded me for it, and I spent my entire tenure teaching college dressed exactly how I wished. Teaching high school was a different matter. I developed a habit of strumming a guitar in the student lobby before school. Nobody tried to stop me from doing that, partly because I was able to play well enough to make passable noise, soft, gentle chords which invited relaxation. The students, passing through on their way to lockers and then to class, seemed to enjoy it. They started to think of me as that "cool teacher". The trouble started when seniors began asking favors, such as: "Why don't yout let me slide out the back door, hop in my car, and go grab some donuts. Nobody'll ever know?" And, well..I let 'em. I got away with it, incredibly. During the years I spent as a substitute teacher, I became the most popular, and most requested sub in the district, especially amog gthe high schoolers. Amazing to think that the students I had back then now have their own children, in high school. I once got called into the principal's office, and the big man asked me: "Why are you teaching your classes that Thomas Jefferson waS an athiest?" "Why don't you take a wild guess?", was my response. that oNE nearly got me fired. I was gone the next year. Actually, Jefferson didn't call himself an "atheist", although his political enemies did. he called himself a "primitive Christian", by whICh HE meaNT that he accepted tHE teachings of the Christian faith in general, but disavowed all claims to the miraculous, including the resurrection, which unto itself was enough to disqualify Jefferson from inclusion in the community of "believers". Fondly I recall the time I was strolling down the hall during lunch break, and came upon a group of about five girls, attractive upperclasspeople, standing in a circle, having a group conversation. I joined the circle, at which time they all fell silent, and looked troubled, at first. Nobody else would have done that, but I did. As I explained to them, cultural inclusion is paramount. From first grade until my retirement, I never got along well with administrators, and tended to avoid them. The primary job of administrators is the protection of their well paid positions, and for that reason they tend to be intolerant of any creativit or behavior divergent from the normal, the conformist. At least I can proudly and truthfully say that I only helped a high school student buy beer, once.

Reversing Racism

ON THREE OCCASIONS I have been "victimized" by what might by some be called "racism", or perhaps more accurately, "reverse racism", seeing as how I am European-American, and my arguable discriminators were African-American. All three occured well into my adulthood, and left no permanent emotional scars, since I was by then a "big boy" as we say. The first happened in my hometown, in which I was born and raised, a mid sized blue collar midwestern city in which the African-American population was segregated, and lived, literally, across the tracks. The segregation had probably been mandatory in the town's rough and tumble late nineteenth century early days, and had endured as a matter of habit, voluntary segregation. I had a good friend who lived in the black section, a black man ten years my senior, who had played college football at our local college on a national championship team. He would often join ne and my other white friends for poker games. He was a delightful man, and we all loved him. Well, one night we honkies were cruisin', and decided to drop in on him, at his girlfriend's house. We knocked, he answered the door, and behind him a party was obviously in progress; an all black party. He did not invite us in, and hurridly got back to the party, barely opening the door, as if wanting to conceal from his black friends that some white guys had had the audacity to even knock. We left wondering why, or pretending to wonder why. Our black friend had his black friends, and his white friends, and never the twain did meet. Later, I had moved to a university town to pursue graduate studies, and lived in an apartment complex. My neighbor was a young beautiful African-American lady, and always pleasant to me. One night I needed a postage stamp, and for some reason could not wait. I knocked on her door, she opened it, furtively and barely, and obviously there was a party going on, all black. She quickly told me that she had nary a stamp, and closed the door, rapidly, as if wanting to conceal from her guests that a white man had come to her door. Less than an hour later, her party still hapnin', she knocked on my door, quickly handed me a stamp, and vamoosed lickety split, as if not wanting her guests to know that she has slipped out and given aid to me. A few years later, my teaching career underway, I had a job working for a state agency, teaching living skills to disabled children. Many of my fellow employees were African-American. On one occasion I was at the home of one of them, a good fiend of mine, and there were several other men present, all large, athletic, African-American men. They were having an animated conversation about sports, of the sort American men often do. They kept calling each other "nigger". Each time, I cringed. By the time it had happened about fifty times, I became somewhat inured to it, but never enough to stop the cringing. They were utterly unconcerned about my presence. I remained quiet during the group discussion, keeping my opinions about sports to my white self. I can still recall how much I later wanted to speak to my good friend, and try to expalin to him how awkward and uncomfortable the repeated "N word" had made me feel, that among most white people the word "nigger" is the most taboo word in the English language, so taboo that we always call it "The 'N' word", being wholly unable to even speak it aloud. But I never had the conversation. I didn't think it would have helped, and still doubt that it would have. He probably would have shrugged it off, and explained that for them to call each other that horrible word was perfectly acceptabe, which I already knew, and meant only as a gentle insult and actual term of endearment. He would probably have chided me for my over-sensitivity. I doubt he would have apologized, or that he would have thought he had anything for which to apologize, which, in truth he really didn't, although I wished he had. Whether the three above incidents had anything to do with racism is questionable. Doubtless not, at least overtly. All three were, arguably, predicated merely upon social exigencies and circumstances. I myself have often argued - a questionable argument - that it is impossible for black people to be "racist", because their objections to white people have nothing to do with skin color, but instead are entirely based on the treatment of black people by white people, past, present, and likely future. I actually treasure the situations I described as cherished memories, with humorous overtones, and for the benefit of having experienced, directly and personally, the emotional sting of being treated differently, because of my skin color. Empathy enhances people, of all colors.

Aspiring To Democracy, Dealing With a Dying Party

THE UNITED STATES was never intended to be a democracy. In fact, until the twentieth century, the word "democracy" carried a negative cannotation, akin to mob rule. Brainwashing by the powerful elite few. The founders enshrined in the constitution of 1787 a an oligarchial, plutocratic system of republican rule, governance by the wealthy, educated elite, the "better sort", as Madison put it, who would govern and represent the interests of the remaining ninety nine percent, the "lesser sort", the poorly educated rabble whom Madison and other founders considered unqualified and unable to govern themselves. Within five years of the constitution's installment, Madison regretted it; it had become obvious by 1792 that the better sort had no intention of representing the interests and well being of the lesser sort, but instead, only their own. And so it remains today, despite women's suffrage and the abolition of slavery and land requirements for voting. A plutocratic republic. Rule by the corporate elite, who have supplanted the landed elite, who choose our political candidates and fund their election. Hence, our political, economic, and legal systems favoring the wealthy at the expense of us, the modern lesser sort. Neither did the founders intend for political parties to exist, which they saw as divisive, but within the presidency of George Washington political parties had come into existence, consisting of those who supported Washington's vison of a powerful central government, and those who preferred a more decentralized system. With two political parties, when they are roughly equal in power and popularity, the government enjoys a reasonable level of stability, unless the two parties are either too similar, in which case they are meaningless and represent no one, or too ideologically divergent, in which case lurks the constant possibility of internal national conflict. Two widely divergent parties with unequal strength, in which one of them is in decline, presents a dangerous situation. It should not be surprising in that event that the party in decline will seek to strengthen and perpetuate itself by any means necessary, including voter suppression and subversion of democarcy, resorting to authoritarian government to keep itself in power in minority rule. That is exactly what is happening now in the United States. Hillary Clinton got three million more votes than Donald Trump, and Joe Biden beat Trump by more than seven million votes. In seven of the last eight pesidential elections, Democrats have won the popular vote. Republican governores, state legislatures, and national congress, Senate and House members represent forty five million fewer constituents than do Democrats, currently. Ninety percent of registered Republicans are white, in a country in which only sixty percnt of the population is white. Ninety percent of Republicans are Christian. In the nation as a whole, barely more than fifty percent identify as Christian. White Christian conservatives, as a percentage of the general pupulation, is a minority, and declining. Republicans on average are much older than Democrats. The millennial generation and those younger are mainly non religious and progressive. The Republican party is a shrinking party of angry old white men, seventy percent of whom falsely claim that the election of 2020 was stolen from Trump, and seventy percent of whom believe that Trump's Capitol insurrection was justified, a valiant attempt to right a great wrong. A dying party, crying out in despair, trying to steal power, passing laws in Republican controlled states making it harder to vote, in what will be a failed attempt to prevent the rise of ethnic minority power and the interests of the Democratic party. Conservative, white, Christian America resents the gaining of equaliy of minorities, and the loss of the traditional patriarcal society. They resent the encroachment of ethnic minorities and religious diversity into American society. And they reesnt their own impending political death, and are not finished trying to fight back and destory those who are facilitating their political demise.

Acknowledging MLK, Conservatively

JUST FOR FUN, next year on MLk day, since its too late to try the experiment this year, pay attention to conservatives talking about the iconic civil rights leader. Really, any regular old day will do, but there is something special about discussing MLK on MLK day, when the enthusiaism for him is at its one day per year fever pitch. Invariably, conservatives will cite as King's best attribute his alleged emphasis on a "color blind" society; a term which to conservatives really means a "failure to acknowledge the rampant institutional racism with which the United States is afflicted", and a preference for believing that rampant racism ended in american culture when slavery was abolished, and that Martin Luther King's primary achievement and purpose was a sort of "mop up" operation, in eliminating the last, lingering vestige of racism by replacing it with ubiquitous color blindness. What you will never hear a tried and true right winger acknowledge is King's radicalism, that his anti-racist crusade wass not onlly based on the Christian religion in his capacity as a minister, and that by the standards of his times, the nineteen fifties and sixties, he was as radical and controverisal as they come, which is why he was murdered, and why he knew he would be murdered well in advance. King's tolerance and embrace of unconditional love is of course what all Christians should embrace, but which racists, al of which are conservative, since racim is a traditional, core American value, do not. King also, late in life, realized that without economic equality there could never be racial equality, and so he openly espoused socialism, a fact which conservatives can scarcely bring themeslves to accept. In the nineteeen sixties conservatives were still universally racist, as many of them still are today. The difference is, in those days they were unabashed, and today they seem somewhat ashamed of it, and tend to conceal it. Today's conservatives, racist? The white supremacy movement, which has a substantial following, is growing, and is to a person made up of christians and political conservatives. And that's just the tip of the right wing racist iceberg. There isn't a screeching liberal nor black lives matter member to be found among the lot. Color blindness, a noble sounding aspiration, simply doesn't work, for the simple reason that people are not color blind, can easily discern skin pigmentation, and also, because color blindness is merely another means of allowing the free market of values and attitudes to reign unfettered; meaning that one can be as color blind as one wants, but be covertly, if not overtly racist. It is easy for a problem to exist when one simply chooses not to see the problem. A more realsitic approach is mandated by logic. It is this: educate the general population to understand that every living human being has a unique skin color, and that skin color, like most other human traits, is a continuum, a spectrum, along which we all can be placed, ranging from extremely light to extremely dark. Race, in other words, is an arbitrary categorization. Humanity is not divided into three or four races and skin colors, but rather, into an infinite variety of unique individuals. When we discard our categorical thinking and categories, which we create for the sake of convenience, we enter a realm of a much more complicated, confusing world. But if accepting reality for the complexity of unique forms that it is allows us to be more tolerant of everyone and aids us in elimianting an idiotic attitude like racism, then having a better understanding of the universe is not the only benefit we gain from forcing oursleves to do a better job of thinking.

Sundering the Faith, Again

THERE IS A SCHISM within the holy kingdom of God, trouble in paradise. Or rather, there is a schism within one of God's apparently many diverse kingdoms. Since there are thousands of religions on Earth as it perhaps is in heaven, and roughly four thousand Christian denominations, including about thirteen hundred and fifty organized religions registered with the federal government for pusposes of tax evasion, one must conclude one or more of the following: 1) there are thousands of different Gods in, out of, or thoughout the universe. 2) God has many separate religions, and either desires to be worshipped in many diverse ways, or is discontent with all but one, whichever one that might possibly be. Everyone has an opinon, like rectums; yours is a good as any, but no better. Now, consider a venn diagram, one representing the Christian community, the other Donald Trump's conservative base of support. The two intersect, deeply. The intersection section is the Christian conservative Trump movement, comprising about eighty percent of evangelical Christians in America. It includes tens of millions of Americans. Politically far right fundamentalist evangelical Christians, Trump's people. Perhaps not too suprisingly, there is a growing number of them beholding belatedly a wolf in sheep's clothing, a big elephant in the room, as it were, almost as if, like Saul of Tarsus experiencing an epiphamy, the blatant contradiction between Trump's life and behavior, and the teachings of Jesus Christ. Welcome to the club. What took y'all so long to get here remains inexplicable, but, hey, there are many pathways to the mountain top, they say. In truth, the Christian religion has been one "hot mess", as folks say nowadays, of divisions since its very, inception, since the disciples walked away from the master's convuluted, arcane, metaphorical parables utterly confused, disagreeing about their possible meaning. When they became apostles, they scattered in every direction, to all four courners of their flat Earth, teaching diverse doctrines, founding diverse varieties of the church of "the truth", as they all called what much later became widely known as "Christianity". A veritable hodge podge of small local churches emerged, precipitating the frustrated but newly devout Reoman Emporer Constantine to summon everybody together, to bring everybody together, to get everyone "on the same page" as we like to say today, into one...true..religion....as only emporers can do. Problem is, it didn't work, at least not for long. Within a few short centuries we had the Roman church, the Eastern Orthodox church in Constantinople, and then..more and more. At one point there were three different Popes ruling simultaneously, one of whom ruled from Avignon, France, of all places. All this, even before Martin Luther's Lutheran revolt in 1517, which of course eventually resulted in the thousands of denominations we have today. In the United States, over the past two hundred years or so, dozens of "made in America" denominations have been invented: Mormons, Christian Scientists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and on and on, many of them familair to all, and quite popular. There is no end in sight. Stay tuned. More will follow. As Goethe said: "When I realized that everyone invents his own religion, I decided to invent mine." Now we have "Christian natioanlism", a mixed denominational marriage of fervant American patriotism and conservative Christianity, a mix which has been with us since, really, the country's founding, but has become expecially virulent in the age of Trump. The shining city on the hill, the greatst nation on Earth, and the one true faith, joined at the hip. This is a toxic mix, made in hell. Why? Because of what it embraces. A majority of the conservative christian Trump community denies climate change, a disastrious attitude, embraces neo-liberal economics, contray to the teachings of Christ and common sense, and cares not a whit about curtainling fossil fuel use. This toxic mix, with a few other malignancies thrown in, is a recipe for societal collapse, about whcih they care nothing, since they anticipate being reptured into heaven within their lifetimes, as the world ends, according to prophcey. Never mind that the founders, including Madison and Jefferson, spoke of and wrote into the constitution what they called "an impermeable wall" between church and state. The founders actually created a nation of religious freedom and tolerance within a secular governmental framework, but..never mind that. Never mind that about half of today's living American have no religious affiliation. Onward march the Christian soldiers, with Trump their temporal leader, ordained by Christ, lies, extra-marital affairs, big election lie, Capitol insurrection, and all. And yes, they believe Trump's big election lie, and they consider the violent mobsters who stormed the Capitol to be patriots, all presumably sanctioned by our lord Jesus Christ. In a word, these people are fervant, deluded, crazy, violent, and they believe all the rest of us, especially Biden and the Democrats, are evil. They have it backwards. Hell, they have everything backwards. Our one hope, considering their current political strength, might be that they are all raptured into heaven poste haste, leaving the rest of us to muddle in a suffering world, though content, if only becuase of their sudden absence. With regard to the schism endengered by their newly sane expatriots, more power to them, and, if they don't win the battle, maybe the two sides will consume each other in the great schismatic struggle to come. One can only hope.

Talking Interminably

THE TERM "FILIBUSTER" is a derivation of a French word, a Spanish word, or both, meaning, "to talk one's fool head off" In truth, the technique of talking interminably until one is blue in the face, drops dead, or the cows come home as a technique in a legislative body to avoid the undesirable, the inevitable, or both, is a demonstration of desperation as old as the United states constitution itself. Older, maybe. In recent times it has gained greatly in popularity, beginning about sixty years ago, and even more so in the past thirty. One might even argue that delaying through loquacious verbosity is a method inherent to human nature, to high school students, for example, wanting parents to forget all about report card day, going all the back to god. God was ambivalent about human existence from the get go, and he (she, it?) said so. He talked us into existance, and talked about everything she did before and after doing it. But among American humans, the talkathon really got going in the late nineteen fifties, when southern conservative Senators of both parties, horrified by the very thought that African-Americans might by law be elevated to the exulted status of five fifths equality rather then the constitutionally mandated three fifths, magnanimously concluded that if they could keep talking until the second coming, then christ would rapture them, the conservative Christian saved, straight up into heaven, where they the elect could finally stop talking, start listening for once, and for once be rid of those inferior irksome racial and religious minorities, forever. In today's perfectly polarized everything, all bills which come before the deliberative higher legislative body (the U.S. Senate) are filibusted by their opponents. Filibustering, in a word, is out of control. Staunch constitutional "origilalists" seem unconcerned with the reality that none of the nation's founders was in favor of it. The bottom line, as we say, is this: the filibuster should be banned, and is about as harmful, useless, and outdated and anachronistic as the following" the electoral college, extreme racial, social, and economic inequality, the American constitution itself, primitive, barbaric organized religions of all makes and models, political, social, and economic conservatism, and the Republican party. Tragic but true is that we are stuck with all of the above until such time as saner heads prevail, our society becomes civilized, and Joe biden is able to cajole, persuade, or coerce a certain two Democrats - In - Name - Only United states Senators into behaving decently, reahter than like Republicans.

Caring Much About Medicare

I CONSIDER IT a great honor, privilege, and benefit to live in a country which maintains such enlightened, beneficial, socialistic programs as Social Security and Medicare. Anyone who argues that these programs are anything other than socialism is mistaken. Certainly, they are not capitalistic. Goods and services may be produced and distributed by privately owned (non governmental) businesses in a free market, competitively, for profit, or cooperatively by the government, at taxpayer expense. The former is capitalism, the latter, socialism. In a general sense, capitalism is competitive economics, socialism is cooperative economics. Both can be beneficial to society, both can be abused and harmful. Both may exist within an authoritarian form of government, or within a democratic political system. They can coexist within a single economic framework, as they do in the United States and Europe. Conservatives are always gung ho about programs like Social Security and Medicare, until I point out that they are socialism personified. Then, they either try to argue that somehow they are not socialism....maybe not capitalism...but, umm..somehow or other..not somiclaism...or they change the subject, bemused. Those who asknowledge that they are indeed socialiam often advocate for their termination, like some plague, trying to argue that they are unsuccessful, or inefficient, a claim clearly belied by historical reality and current society. Throughout my life I had never been especially anxious to reach the age of sixty five, but was instead content to be young. When I was seventeen I considered twenty one old. When I was twenty one I considered thirty old. Now I like to think that sixty six is not terribly old, though it is, and eighty seems old. Obviously, its all relative. If age is indeed "only a number", as we like to say, then we must agree that, if nothing else, it is a rather significant number. When I turned sixty five not only the government congratulated me, but so did many corporations, people, and, admittedly, I congratulated myself. To be automatically enrolled in Medicare upon turning sixty five is a great benefit from a great government in a great country. To people who have not yet reached the age of Medicare and Social Security I always say: "You're gonna love Mecidare and Social Security". Medicare supplemental plans are available to people of low income, people who rely exclusively on Social Security. I am one such person, and I take full advantage of all opportunities. My Medicare coverage comes with so many benefits, benefits such as membership in fitness facilities through the "Silver Sneakers" program, benefits which include dental, hearing, and vision insurance, monthly food allotments, among others, that I can scarcely keep track of all the benefits I receive. All I know is that I am sincerely grateful for every benefit, notwithstanding the fact that I worked my entire adult life and contributed to the programs from which I am now benefitting. My mother was born in 1920, and Social Security came into existence when she was fifteen. She and her parents were all good Republicans with a profitable dairy farm: they hated Roosevelt, and they all were convinced that they would never receive the full beneifts from all the money they paid into Social Security. Once I asked her whether she voted for Roosevelt, and she gave me two answers' "No!", and "Hell No!". Damned if anybody in my ancestral family was gonna vote for any damned socialist... Mother worked as a nurse until she retired at sixty five, and she lived to ninety three. Late in life she acknowledged that she had indeed gotten back all her money paid into the system, and then some. Now we are told that by the year twenty forty one, or something like that, the system will go bankrupt. I don't think it will. Even my modest understanding of mathematics tells me that a few simple, modest adjustments to the system, involving changes to full retirement age and benefits paid, will suffice to permanently repair the currently broken system. And its true; some people work their entire life paying into the system, then die before they retire, or soon after retiring, and thus never receive what they are owed. These people are the unfortunate victims of life's inevtitable vicissitudes and unfairness. We must be content with the knowledge that every good citizen who works and pays into the Social Security system contributes to someone's retirement, if not their own. When the system was started, there were thirty three workers for every recipient. Now, the ratio is less than three to one. So, obviously, adjustments will be necessary. For more than eighty years Social Security has kept almost all older Americans out of poverty, and for that reason alone, despite any shortcomings, Social Security is well worth the effort it has taken to maintain socialism in concert with a free market capitalist economy. I am constantly receivng phone calls from companies who offer to carefully examine my current Medicare benefits package, and, perhaps to add more benefits to it. I alwasy respond that I am quite content with my current enrollment, and can hardly imagine getting more than I already do. I express appreciation for what I have, for my country, and for the phone call. Rarely does this discourage the caller, who insists that she or he can give me more benefits, if only I change my enrollment to what she is offering. My older sister says that she doesn't trust the phone calls, and always hangs up on them. What does she think is going to happen to her, that whe will be bored to death?

Succeeding Without Racism

THERE IS A LADY in Virginia who came from another country, is black, (according to our simplified somewhat arbitrary racial categories), well educated, and has become quite successful professionally and politically through hard work. She is a Republican. She asknowledges that race can be a barrier to social advancement, and that life is full of barriers, but believes that it does no good to dwell on racism as a determining factor in American society, that it is time to "move on", achieve according to one's abilities, and avoid becoming a victim. All well and good. Arguably, she is stating the obvious. After all, American society is replete with example of African-Americans who succeeded in spite of their skin color; we know it can be done. Part of her philosophy is that by dwelling on America's enslaved and racist past, we are giving ourselves an excuse not to succeed, and failing to recognize the abundant opportunites manifest in the land of freedom and opportunity. Her mistake is her presumption that one must do one or the other; that one must either dwell on the past, or overcome it by reducing its importance and influence on our lives today. The obvious question is: can we not do both? Can we not at once accept the realities of our flawed society, and our ability to transcend the limitations they impose on everyone? Lord Acton's maxim "Those who do not learn the lessons of history are condemned to repeat them" does not contradict the belief in the ability of the individual to succeed regardless of external, societal circumstances. To ignore or forget history, or any other academic discipline, only serves to perpetuate ignorance at the expense of knowledge and education. If we study history, and study America's history of slavery, segregation, and racism, we need not "dwell" on it, merely because we are aware of it. To be unaware of it is not an acceptable option for people desirous of being well educated. Nor is it acceptable to be willfully unaware of the reality that the KKK still exists, as do many white supremacist groups, and racism, depsite our preference that it had long been elimiated, persists in America. Racism is pervasive in America in the year of our lord twenty twenty two, all research clearly shows, and any cursory examination of contemporary American society and culture plainly reveals this unfortunate fact. Arrest records and court records, all of which are public knowledge, cannot be whitewashed; African-Americans within and throughout the criminal justice system are treated less leniently, more severly than their "white" fellow citizens", an indisputable fact. It does nothing to eliminate any disease by pretending that the illness, personal or societal, does not exist, or to ignore it. One can acknowledge and live in reality as a citizen of any color, gender, or sexual ortientation, fully aware of the obstacles presented by social bias, without succumbing to any urge to constantly feel victimized, or unable to achieve due to the nonsensical biases of other people. Congratulations to the lady in Virginia and her success. Congratulations fo people like Lebron James. Talent and persistence usually result in success. But in no way does this give us good reason to pretend that social evils do not exist, widely, or that they are not impactful, and that it is our responsiblity as good citizens to accept this reality, and to at least try do something about it.

Knowing and Reading the Right (left) People

THERE ARE SEVERAL ESTEEMED PEOPLE WITH WHOM ALL AMERICANS should be familiar. Among them are: Noam Chomsky, Joesph Stiglitz, Chris Hedges, Gore Vidal. Obviously there are many others, but these four are a good beginning. Of them, only Vidal is no longer living. His best works are his nonfiction books and essays on politics in America and on American society generally. Although Vidal became successful as a novelist at a very young age, his non fiction comprises his most incisive contribution to the sacred spirit of truth.... Noam chomsky became a professor at M.I.T. the same year I was born, 1955. He is still active academically, although he transferred to Arizona state a few years ago, presumably to get away from the Bostom climate. At ninety two, Chomksy is proof that the key to avoiding dementia and remaining mentally sharp is at least partly embodied in continuing, ceaseless intellectual activity. Chomsky has written more than a hundred books, a prodigious number of academic papers and essays, and is widely regarded outside the United States as America's most accomplished intellectual. The fact that he is not especially well known among ordinary Americans nor featured prominently in the mainstream conservative corporate media is evidence of and precipitated by his radicalism socially, economically, politically. His primary field is linguistics, a science which he has revolutionized in much the same way that Einstein revolutionized physics. It is accurate to say that Chomksy is the father of modern linguistical theory. His passion otherwise is political activism. Among his more controversial beliefs and assertions is that every American president since World War Two was and is a demonstrable war criminal, and that the United States is owned and operated by an elite corporate oligarchy which ignores the will of the people. In this, of course he is hardly alone. Most intelligent people, meaning progressives, have long been aware of this. Gore Vidal also expoused this theme. Becasue of his age, Noam Chomsky will not be among us much longer. The day he dies is the day America loses one of its brightest, most illuminating forces of reason and truth.... Chris Hedges has lived one of the most interesting lives imaginable. He obtained a doctorate in divinity studies from Harvard, impressive in its own right, but went on to pursue a career in jourmalism. He has not failed to throw himself into journalistic research completely, having embedded himself in every major conflict in the world for purposes of reporting: the midle east, Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Latin America, among others. All his books are fascinating and illuminating. One of his most recent, "Unspeakable", focuses on controversial topics that are avoided or ignored by most writers and most Americans. That is the essence of Chris Hedges: he deliberately seeks out an directly addresses the most controversial, least desirable aspects of American society and addresses them head on. He, like Chomksy and Vidal, is considered "radical", but only because he tells the truth in a world filled with obfuscation, conservatism, and misinformation.... Of the four scholars, Joseph Stigliaz is by far the least controversial. He has taught at Columbia long, and was the chairman of President Clinton's council of economic advisors. He has also served as an advisor to the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. Stigliz is a progressive economist who warns against the concentration of wealth in America, and its destructive impact. The greater the concentration of wealth, the less demand for consumer goods across the broad economy, and the less supply, production, distribution, and prosperity. Capitalism itself greatly benefits from an equal distribution of wealth among workers and owners. Stiglitz, like the other three, makes perfect sense, which is probably why he is eschewed among conservatives.

Resisting the Party of Misinformation

NINETEEN STATES AND COUNTING have enacted laws making it more difficult to vote. More will probably follow. They have one thing in common; they are controlled, legislatively, by the Republican party. It all began with Trump's big lie that the election was stolen from him, a lie embraced to this day by three fourths of registered Republicans. So much for the credibility of the conservative Republican party; Trump's credibility took flight within hours of his birth. To a person, Republicans claim that by reducing the number of ballot drop boxes in cities, shortening voting hours, reducing the number of polling places, making it illegal to give a cold cup of water to a voter waiting in line for hours on a ninety degree day, they are somehow eliminating fraud from the American electoral process. This argument is rendered fatuous by the verified fact that fraud hardly exists at all in American elections, by the fact that making it more difficult to vote will have no impact on what vanishingly little fraud there is, and, finally, that the real reason the Republicans are so hell bound on making it harder to vote is that basic demographic and election research and statistics reveal that it is the minorities in America, the poor, the black, and brown, who will be most adversely affected by the movement the movement to suppress the vote. The fewer the voters, the less likely Democrats win elections, decades of analysis clearly reveal. Conservative Republican dishonesty does not end there. On several occasions Dr Fauci has testified in Congress. Every time, the Republican committee members try to insult him, inpugn his integrity, and tell lies about the nature of Covid 19, the Biden administration's response to it, and about Dr. Fauci's advice and guidance. Dr. Fauci responds in kind. Having abandoned all hope of reasoning with unreasonable people, Dr. Fauci the other day called Rand Paul, himself a docter, "liar". Any inteligent person who compares the comments made by Rand Paul and Anthony Fauci cannot other than conclude that the former is a maniac, a seriously misguided ideologue, and the later an intelligent, well trained doctor and scientist. America's conservative community, represented by the Repbulican party, is hostile to science, and ignorant of it. They much prefer the superstition of religion, and the false narratives given by conspiracy theories. To this day a majority of conservatives deny the reality of climate change, although they can all see it happening in their own back yards. They fear that by accepting it, they will be forced to conclude that progressive policies to fight climate change must be pursued. In this they are quite correct. We recall that conservative America elected a president who called climate change a "hoax", and whose energy policy consisted of "bring back coal", even though coal is being priced out of the free market, and must be abandoned, to save the world from future (and current) disaster. Interview any conservative Christian supporter of Donald Trump and you will most likely find a person who denies human evolution by natural selection, refuses to embrace cooperatvie economics of sharing of the sort preached by Jesus, and who is willfully ignorant of the massive damage already done to the United Atates by Trump, his lies about election fraud, his attempt to overthrow the government violently, and so much more. Conservatism in America is the probem. The antidote is reason, intelligence, and progressive policies.

Getting the Flu No More

IN 1991 I HAD what I presumed to be the flu for the third time in my life. I was so miserable I resolved to never have it again. That, and no auto accidents,became my two rules of catastrophic avoidance. So far, so good, knock on wood, as we say. With advancing age, I add more rules to live by: no borken legs or sprained ankles on my own doorstep, things of that nature. No amount of booster shots can persuade me to go among the unvaccinated. I mask up, avoid Monday morning gospel singing till further notice, and stay home a lot. I have my cats, my books, and my treadmill. My masks I have upgraded to M95s, or whatever the designation is. Eagerly I await anti Covid shot number four, and beyond. Meanwhile, America's remaining forty million odd unvaccinated seem more determined than ever to risk spreading what is to them a harmless virus while contributing, nay, causing new forms of it to mutate, the new forms increasingly contagious. Anti-vaccination lunacy, like superstitious religious nonsense and lunatic conspiracy theories involving pedophiles in Pizza parlors, originate on both ends of the political spectrum, but are far, far more common, and proliferate far more freelly on the far fringe right. And this, far right lunatic thinking, is the true enemy, the only pervasive enemy, the source of most if not all our troubles and societal turmoil. The late great Carl Sagan wrote a book titled "Our Demon Haunted World", whose cntral thesis is that people go astray when good, solid, fact based thinking is supplanted by fantastical, unreasoning thinking for purposes of perceived personal gain. Well, duh. No harm in stating the obvious, I suppose, and even less harm in pinpointing the source of nonsense; the far right, aka, most American conservatism. History hath shown that most folks prefer to avoid reality by escaping it, escaping into fantasies of their own making, such as religion and support for liars like, say, Donald Trump. Reality is seldom as desirable as our fanciful self delusions. The election was stolen, and what not. Hence, our universal human addiction to drugs, which infects every culture save those which threaten death for drug use. In the early twenty first century, we humans know more about the true universe than ever, having accumulated a massive body of proof concerning its true nature. And yet, religious superstition of all kind persists, like a lingering illness, or crutch. And so it is with anti-vaccination nonsense. About one third of the American people openly embrace the fantasy that the cure is more harmful than the cause. Generally, the fantisizers who cling to their fantasy that the election was stolen from Trump are the same ones who most fervantly believe in amaginary gods and holy books, who deny science, and embrace anti-vaccination idiocy. Nearly one million Americans have died from covid 19; the purveryors of nonsense persist. Our only hope and comfort is that there yet remain people who prefer to think, speak, and act intelligently amid the morass of misinformation. In 1968, while in eighth grade, on Christmas eve, I was sick with the flu. I watched on my sick-couch as an Apollo spacecraft orbited the moon, six months before another one would land on it. It made me feel better. It began my recovery from teh flu. Christmas morning, as I began to open presents, I suddenly felt much, much better; I had magically recovered from the flu, by the divine intervention of my youthful materialistic greed. The mind is amenable to disparate external inflluences. Mind, as the Dhammapada begins, foreruns all conditions. Sometimes, the minds assists us in surviving harsh realilty. To maintain sense and sanity, the mind must discipline itself.

Rumbling With Russia

I CANNOT REMEMBER Vice President Richard M. Nixon showing off a modern American kitchen to the premier of Russia, and the premier sneeringly responding by allowing as how, yes, capitalism makes some people very prosperous, but generally causes civilization to descend into a materialistic amoral quagmire. When all that happened, I was but a wee lad, scarcely aware of plastic soldiers and tinker toys, let alone global geopolitical realities and the capers of "Trickie Dick". I do however, vaguely recall the same Russian premier banging his shoe on the table top at the United Nations, and wondering: "what the heck"? Is that how grown ups behave? Later I found out that indeed it is, sometimes, and often, they behave even worse. Khrushchev often behaved rudely, like the time he got up and walked out of a summit meetng in France, after interrupting a pompous but obligatory welcoming speech from the French, who welcomed everyone in the room to "France's ancient soil". Top hat and tails and all, Nikita was gone. But..."ah distinctlly I remember" as E. A Poe might say, ducking for conver beneath my wooden desk in third grade, 1963, gaining protection from Soviet nukes, which could come at any time. I wondered as a nine year old, and still wonder as a sixty six year old, what possible protection could have been gotten by buildings full of young baby boomers, cowering beneath wood and notebook paper, other than being saved from falling plaster, necessitating an after school shampoo. Still naive at thirty five, I recall how, in 1991, the break up of the old Soviet Union tricked me into believing that all that bad stuff was gone forever; that I would indeed not have to spend the rest of my life memorizing the location of every local bomb shelter, skaking my fists at make believe Russians as school - I played the part of the United States, two of my best friends pretended to be China and teh U.S.S.R. during spit ball fights in eigth grade social studies class, appropriately. But as they say, boy, was I ever wrong. Enter Vlad Putin, who believes that the disintegration of the old Soviet Union into its constituent parts was, and remains, the greatest global catastrophe since the Visigoths entered Rome, or something like that, and often says so. After having his sinister ass kissed by the deferential Donald J. Trump for four years, one can hardly blame the dictator for being a bit emboldened, now that a well intentioned but seventy nine year old good guy has replaced the obsequious devil himself in the White House. Khrushchev actually gave away the Crimean pennninsula to the Ukraine in a rare fit of generosity in the fifties, thinking he would have no further need for it. Putin wants it back, and wants back the rest of the former Soviet Union. And that, my fellow former nuclear bomb dodgers, is why roughly one hundred thousand Russian troops are presently massed at the Ukrainian border. No less an authority on the region than retired lt. Colonel A. Vindman, of Trump impeachement fame, estimates the chances that Putin will send 'em on across at eight in ten, and syas he hopes he's wrong. So do we all, except for the demonstrably insane, which incluldes many Republicans, appeasers and war mongers alike. One wayy or another, to quote Blondie, we'll find out soon; they must put up or shut up before spring, when swampy melting ice renders armor and artillary movement nigh impossible in western Russia and Eastern Ukraine. that vies us enough time to scope out any left over bomb shelters, but, mark me, I'll be damned if I'll go back to uselessly, theatrically hiding beneath a wooden desk, no matter what Putin throws at us.

Thinking Clearly

IN 1976, the Mariner space probe landed on Mars, took pictures, and showed what looked like the letters "BG2" etched into the desert-like Martian surface. Many people were abuzz. Out came the alternative cosmic paradigm crowd, including millions of alleged alien abductees. Intelligent life on Mars verified! A day or two later famed astronomer Carl Sagan made one of his frequent appearances on "The Tonight Show" with famed host Johnny Carson. Seated between Johnny and famed side kick Ed McMahon, Sagan, in response to Carson's question, asked: "How likely is it that an intelligent species on another planet, with no apparent prior exposure to human culture, would inscribe a message into another planet's soil using Arabic numerals and English letters"? A disappointed but content studio audience remained silent, as did probably millions of disappointd but newly aware American television viewers. Ed McMahon probaly guffawed, as he did at most anything, but memory has faded after forty five years. Or, maybe the Martains had been closely observing the English speaking world, and wanted to communicate effectivelly. But..why only two letters and a number? Why not a coherent sentence or two? And..where, otherwise, were they, the intelligent Martians? Invisible, on the already comprehensively photographed Martian surface, or lurking beneath? Or had they left the planet long ago, presumably long before the English alphabet and Arabic numbering system were invented, and leaving behind not a trace of their highly technologically developed civilization?... Five years later, in 1981, I once again encountered problematic thinking, this time from my older sister, a patriotic American supporter of Ronald Reagan with a military background. During one of our infrequent "intellectual" converstaions, she informed me, in response to a claim I made, that, no, the United States did not lose the Viet Nam war. Sensing a biased, hagiographic viewpoint, I camly, Sagan-like, inquired of her: "Then why has Saigon been renamed 'Ho Chi Minh city', and why does the communist government in Hanoi now govern the entire country of Viet Nam? In 1981 she had no answer; now she admits her inadequate interpretation of modern American history, and, god bless her, it only took forty years for her to evolve and accept our American defeat in Viet Nam. It could have been worse, I suppose. Like Sagan once said, there is no shortage of intelligence in America nor anywhere else; there is only inadequate eduction and inadequate teaching of critical thinking skills. Sagan also said: "Extraordinary claims of fact require extraordinary evidence". Now in the science fictiony year of 2022, education has expanded, but so has uncritical thinking. The list of examaples is long, too long. Anti-vaccination folks, stolen election sycophants, conspiracy theories of all make and model flood the internet and abound and multiply in the hearts and minds of the improperly educated, the uncritical thinkers. A high percantage of Americans refuse to believe in the obvious reality of human made climate change and human evolution by natural selection. Poor thinking runs the gamut. Our modern proliferation of false thinking is dangerous. Dangerous because it harms society. A single, powerful, influential person can do great harm. Twice, the reverend Wm. Miller disrupted the lives of thousands of Americans, in 1843 and again in 1844. His followers liquidated their assets and their lives and camped atop hilltops in anticipation of the second coming of Christ, which failed to happen not once, but twice. That they were fooled a second time discredits them, not him, as the Chinese maxim says. The most brazen diaboical example of bad mental processes is Hitler, who murdered millions with the power of his intellectual nonsense, conatined in his pompous idiotic book "Mein Kampf", publisned years before he made it come true, aided and abetted by poor thinking among millions, like a contagious disease. That weventy five million Americas tried to reelect Donald Trump, that one third of the American people still believe that his reelection was "stolen", and that his insurrection was justifiable speaks volumes, not only about putting political dogma and party before country, but also about the willingness of erstwhile intelligent human beings to abandon reason in the defense of malignant personal beliefs and agendas. The world needs more Carl Sagans, more Anthony Faucis, and far, far fewer shrill, bleating radio talk show hosts screeching right wing lies and hatred, and at least one fewer narcissistic, mentally ill demagogue.

Acknowledging An Anniversary, Dubiously

JANUARY 6 was a painful day for me, as it was for millions of good Americans. For millions of bad Americans, not so much. It was all over the media, of course, as it should have been. That fact alone made it more painful, "mixing memory and desire" as T.S. Eliot said, but, as Lord Acton said, paraphrased, "those who fail to learn the mistakes of history are condemed to repeat them". The media attention of itself was enough to bring out the bad Americans, led by Trump and followed by his followers, all of whom still beleive that we are making, as Shakespeare said, "much ado about nothing". People who think that are, of course, idiots and traitors. The date will, as FDR said, "live in infamy", along with Pearl Harbor Day, JFK asassination day, and a few others which should be equally or more infamous but are not, due to our unique American penchant for forgetting anything which happened more than ten minutes ago. My entire life I have acknowledged Pearl Harobr Day, althougH I wasn't born yet when it happened, and since I was nine years old have scknowledged JFK Day. "Insurrection Day" now joins the list, along with the day my mother died in 2014, January 8, and a few other personal ones. On every day of the calendar year something horrible has happend in the seemingly never ending saga of horrible human history; our negatively remembered dates thus become a purely personal matter. The trump insurrrection arguably has a special place of its own in the annals of the infamous. For the first and we hope only time in American history a president who was quite plainly and badly defeated for reelection refused to accept defeat, lied that he had actually won, and, without evidence, convinced seventy five million Americans that his lie was not a lie, simply because it suited their purposes ande egos to believe a lie rather than what was for them an unbearable reality. Failing to overturn the legitimate election result by lies or litigation, Trump resorted to violence. The mob, the attack on the Capitol, the deaths it caused, and the damage it did to American electoral democracy all belong to Donald Trump, and to those who enabled him. He will be rememberd as the worst president in American history, because he was, and his followers will enter the history books as the worst traitors, surpassing the loyalits who remained loyal to King George III in 1776 and beyond, equalling the confederates of 1861 who abandoned then attacked their former country and made war, all for the cause of perpetuating the evil but economically expedient institution of slavery. The confederates fought for "state's rights" to the extent that they fought for the right of states to enslave human beings. Trump and his traitorous supporters fought to overthrow the United States government, not as they claim, in order to right a great wrong of the election of 2020, but rather, to perpetuate tyranny. Their claim that the actual insurrection occurred with a stolen election remains, and shall forever remain, fatuous, and treasonous. Between one hundred thousand and two hundred thousands Americans who refused to support the revolutionay cause between 1776 and 1781 left the country on ships bound for sundry destinations. The confederates would have done a greater service ahd they done the same thing, leaving free African-Americans and a great deal of real estate behind. Trump and his insurrectionists know exactly where they can and should go.

Giving Birth, and Advice For Jesus

THE MOST EYE CATCHING if grotesque Facebook post I have yet encountered was a superbly painted portrait of a young woman giving birth while seated, legs apart. The red infant is ready to be caught, on its way to the ground. The caption said: "He became one of us". Since Facebook posts are fair game for comments, I typed: "Arguably, he exercised poor judgment". I haven't been back to read any responses to my irreverant comment, but as I always do, I stand by what I typed. I live in a liberal bubble, so perhaps they took it easy on me. If not, so what? Exquisite though the painting is in color and detail, depicting the sacred moment of childbirth, the sacred moment of the arrival of the Christ child, I scrolled on, and might never return. The painting is a bit too good for me. Maybe everyone should witness a childbirth in art or even in "real time", as we say, to gain greater appreciation of life, and its processes. The painting was more than enough for me. I already appreciate life, and I meant what I said about poor judgment .No one should ever question God's judgment, we are told, but I dare do, particularly the Christian version thereof. Occam's razor cuts both ways: the simplest explanation for problems is usually best, and the simplest solution to problems is usually best. If, for example, you're God, and you're going to enter the world as a human being to teach and offer salvation, why not do some good along the way, amid the confusion and conflict you so sow merely by being there, and by teaching by using confusing metaphorical anecdotes? First, drop the pretense of being illiterate. Write the New Testament yourself, with clarity, with witnesses. Spare us the strife, confusion and choas engendered by the couoncil of Nicea, and by coutntless rewritings and editings through the ensuing centuries. Although it is hard to think of a worse way to convey knowledge than with books, they are, after all, the best game in town, or were in ancient times, and what could be more definitive than "The Gospel According to Jesus Christ", first, and last edition. Basic literacy classes for the desicples would have greatly enhanced their credibility as apostles, for that matter. And this approach would certainly not have violated the prime directive any more than magically mass producing bread and fish out of thin air, and probably less so. Using literacy as a tool to spread the faith would not exactly have been like pulling a laptop out of one's robe in the first century A.D.. Every now and then some wayward inquisitive heretic ponders at the necessity of staging a purely theatrical tortorous death, subjecting the greatst man who ever lived to three days of nonexistance, instead of simply offering forgiveness to humanity without all the drama. The question is valid. How meaningful is it to pay a debt you owe yorself by putting part of yourself to death for three days as payment for the misbehavior of creatures of your own creation? Another valid question. The answer, of course, is that in human form, on Earth, Christ is at once God, the Son of God, both, and neither. That was decided at the Council of Nicea also, in 325 A.D., by popular vote, just as the clerics voted on the holy scripture, what to leave in, what to take out. What a pity, and much ado. Upon historical reflection, we could just as easily, much more easily, have gotten the word, and could still have it, straight from the Son of God, straight from the horses mouth, so to speak.

Waiting

"AGAINST STUPIDITY, the gods themseves contend in vain" (attributed to ancient Greek philosoher Agathon).."The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius is somewhat limited" (Einstein). Years before the 2020 election, Donald Trump warned that if he lost, it would only be because the election was stolen from him. Priming the pump, grooming America, preparing for the worst. When he indeed lost, he played his "trump" card (pun intended), lied his big election lie, parroted by tens of millions of his sycophantic adoring supporters. In every state, the votes have been counted and recounted ad nauseum, by Republicans, Democrats, indempendents, computers, and accounting companies. Biden wins every time. Yet, Trump and his legions of liars refuse to cencede the elecion a year later, substituting poor sportsmanship and traitorous behavior for honor, honesty, and decency. No appeal to reason and simple decency is sufficient to convince the self deluded election lie mongers of the truth, nor ever will be. Pressed for more than a year to provide even a shred of evidence of election fraud, nary an itoa has been, and the Trumpers are resorting to a new tactic, one form of desperate dishonesty. Some of them now claim, astonighingly, that there indeed exists strong evidence of election larceny, and that it is in their possession. They claim that it was obtained from detailed examination of ballots and voting machines in several states. Predictably, this astonishing information cannot be revealed to the rest of us at present, but soon will be, they promise. The reasons for the current secrecy and delay in divulging have not been given, unsurprisingly. Thus we the uninformed masses must be content to wait for the enlightened few to grace us with revealed truth, like Christians awaiting the second coming of Christ, which Christ himself promised would take place within a generation of his death. Proof of election fraud will not be provided in the near future, not within the next two thousand years, according to any reasonable analysis, for it does not exist, and those who claim that it does are merely continuing the pathological dishonesty startd by Trump, taking it to a new level of weirdness. Our wait will be endless, like that of the Christians. Precisely what the delusion Trump believer hope to accomplich other than the assuaging of emmotional pain and enhancement of self esteem remains murky. Everyone alive now will eventually die, with the election fraud promise intact, and they will have run out the clock, and handed the secret informatin to a new generation of Trumpers, who will doubtless protect it like the Ark of the covenant.It is no more possible to persuade the devout to give up the ghost of Trump's lie than to convince Christians that Christ is way late, and not likely to show up soon, or ever. The christian devout will keep waiting for their lord, and the unbelieving but open minded, patient Trump skeptics will keep waiting for evidence of election fraud. None of us will ever receive what we are waiting for. The only difference is that we will be neither surprised nor disappointed.