Politics Plus

Recently President [sic] Trump said something terrifying: “He who saves his country does not violate any law.” It is a variation of a quote that has been attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte.

First, Mr. Tangerine Traitor, you didn’t save this country, and you have zero intention of doing so. Second, nobody is above the law. Nobody. Period.

As if that is not enough, he recently signed an Executive Order that brings formerly independent agencies under the direct control of the White House. It means that agencies such as the SEC and FTC must submit draft regulations to the President for review instead of green-lighting those regulations themselves. The Office of Management and Budget is required to ensure that all tax dollars are spent “wisely.” Yeah, right. “Wisely,” no doubt, means whatever pleases the President’s whims.

The EO further states that the POTUS and the Attorney General – the latter subject to the President’s direction – will interpret the law for the executive branch. It declares that all officials and employees in the executive branch are under the President’s direct supervision.

At least the Orange Oaf is living up to one of his campaign promises – to be a dictator. However, he’s gone way beyond Day One. No surprise there – give him a centimeter, and he’ll take an entire kilometer.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

His supporters voted for him on the basis of the price of eggs (OK, there were plenty of other factors as well.). Has the price of eggs come down? No. Well, you vote for the Leopards Eating Your Face Party, you have no business howling when a leopard actually does eat your face.

Donald Trump is not only out of his cranium, he is out-and-out evil. Period. No ifs, ands, buts, riders, addenda or postscripts. Your mileage will not vary. He has abandoned Ukraine, kissed up to Vladimir Putin, and fired thousands of necessary federal workers. His Cabinet nominees – several of whom, sadly, have been approved by the spineless, jonquil-bellied, marshmallow-livered twits in Congress – are utterly unqualified for their positions. Is it coincidence that one of the worst air tragedies in US history  took place not long after his orange arse re-occupied the Oval Office?

Fortunately, the Resistance has begun, and begun strong. The 50501 Movement (50 states, 50 protests, 1 day) has proven successful in getting people to demonstrate outside their state capitols. Even on short notice, these actions attracted impressive crowds. A lot of people were off work on 17 February, Presidents’ Day, and they took good advantage of their free time.

Protests are great, and the media love them; however, these are a beginning, not an ending. Protests provide great opportunities to network so organizations and individuals can pool their power and resources. Even when institutions have different goals or causes, there is considerable intersectionality these days since tRump 2.0 is attacking so many segments of society, as well as the environment. Even many of his supporters are now turning against him.

Meanwhile, there are plenty of little, subtle ways that we can fight back:

• • Buy banned books from an independent book store
  • Put banned books in Little Free Libraries
  • Support local, mom-n-pop type businesses
  • Join a co-op

Now is the time to start planning for the midterm elections in 2026. The Working Families Party for years has been backing candidates, that support progressive programs and ideals. The League of Women Voters publishes candidates’ responses to important questions. Organizations that do not endorse candidates in order to retain their 501c3 status may provide lists of candidates and their scores on various issues so you can find out which candidates are friendliest to civil rights, the environment, families, and so on.

Already articles of impeachment have been filed against tRump. Let us hope that the third time is the charm. With Republicans dominating both houses of Congress, it may seem as though the chances of victory are slim; however, many Republicans are turning against tRump, and some Republican Senators who are up for election in 2026 just might put political expediency ahead of party loyalty. If we lean on our Reps, and those Senators whose current terms end in 2027, if we focus all our effort on the appropriate pressure points, maybe we’ll have the first successful Presidential impeachment ever.

Of course, the bad news is then we’ll get President J. D. Vance, which could be out of the frying pan and into the fire.

The recent slaying of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has other bigwigs running scared. Meanwhile, his alleged killer, Luigi Mangione, has become a folk hero.

Granted, what Mangione did was wrong. Violence is never a good way to make a point. However, considering how many people have died, how many families have been bankrupted, because greedy health insurance companies repeatedly denied perfectly legitimate claims, it may have been only a matter of time before somebody snapped and took such a drastic measure. I could go on and on and on and on how our health “care” system is totally broken, but that would be a whole other essay.

The death of Brian Thompson has other top dogs extremely nervous. “Wanted” signs featuring health CEOs are popping up all around New York City. Corporate websites are removing the names of their top managers, and senior executives are being urged to remove their digital footprints as much as they can – including details about where their children attend school. They are contacting security companies and hiring more guards. That, of course, is the wrong reaction.

A far better response would be to amend their policies and approve more claims, especially for life-saving medicines and procedures. When insurance companies are raking in money hand over fist and their senior executives are living like emperors, there is no excuse for treating patients as human cash cows, rather than as people who need medical attention.

Every civilized country on this planet has universal health care. It may not be free – and everybody supports it with taxes – but at least people don’t have to worry about drowning in medical bills and having to contemplate personal bankruptcy. Every year well over 500,000 US residents go bankrupt thanks to medical costs; I would not be at all surprised, thought I would certainly be downhearted, if some people took, shall we say, a more drastic way out.

During the 1920s, the Republican administrations of Harding, Coolidge and Hoover shifted the focus of government away from supporting the Little Guy (and Gal) to sucking up for the obscenely wealthy. All three aforementioned Republican presidents progressively deregulated our financial system. It all came to a head in October 1929, when the Great Depression began and GOP deregulation caused banks to fail across the nation, causing enormous economic hardship for millions. As a result, the bankers were viewed as rapacious hogs, while bank robbers were regarded as new Robin Hoods rather than violent villains.

The torches and pitchforks are starting to come out. Working class Americans are struggling to pay the bills and put meals on the table. We are sick and tired of being ignored, of politicians breaking their promises, of our voices being drowned out by the jingle-jingle-jingle of the filthy lucre from ultra-rich donors. Mangione just might have fired the next “shot heard round the world” – or at least across the United States.

So, who is the worse killer – Mangione, or Thompson? Mangione (allegedly) killed only one person. Thompson has a lot more blood on his hands; his killings may be indirect, but the blame still falls ultimately on him, just as blame for the Holocaust ultimately falls on Hitler.

Attention 1%-ers: Be afraid. Be very afraid.

We voted. We stumped for Kamala Harris. We encouraged everybody we knew to vote. Some of us drove people to the polls. Some of us text or phone banked, some of us knocked on doors, some of us wrote and mailed postcards and/or letters. We hoped, and some of us prayed. But, sadly, the 2024 U.S. Presidential election was a triumph of evil over good. Millions of US voters who think of themselves as patriots betrayed this country by voting for an incompetent jerk who is a convicted felon. Do these people wipe their bottoms with copies of the Constitution?

Rump’s re-election is the worst disaster in US history. Hurricane Katrina, the 9/11 attacks, the 2011 tornado super-outbreak – those were scraps in a Kindergarten sand box compared to what awaits us beginning in January. He will not be our 47th President, he will be our first dictator; and in his foul wake comes Christian [sic] Nationalism. The Tangerine Troglodyte probably doesn’t have a Christian bone in his body, but millions of so-called Christians adore him and will gladly destroy everything the United States of America is supposed to represent and pervert this country into a religious dictatorship.

A lot of us, upon hearing the appalling news, thought “Oh noes, the USA is f—-ed!” However, hope is not lost. Plan A didn’t work, so it’s time for Plan B: Resist. Contrary to what the Borg in Star Trek: The Next Generation say, resistance is not futile. Nor does it have to be violent. Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. both demonstrated that passive, non-violent resistance works.

Many are already making plans to flee to Canada, or elsewhere. However, emigration is not nearly as easy as you think. A couple years ago I wrote and published a Sound Off! about how simply leaving this country can be a tall order, as well as expensive. Yes, there are certain segments of the population that will be in dire peril; however, it may be better if we stay and fight back in any way we can.

The Orange Ogre’s return to the oval office will alienate the USA from much of the world. We may face sanctions and embargoes that will cripple our economy. Also, the tariffs he promised will cause a lot of prices to increase sharply, perhaps even skyrocket, which will tick off consumers. People vote their pocketbooks as a rule, and a President who aids and abets inflation will encourage a political bloodbath in the midterms.

The tRump chumps can howl and cackle in their evil delight all they like. They have won a major battle, but not the war. We can make sure their victory is Pyrrhic in the extreme by causing what the late Representative John Lewis called “good trouble.” Besides, let’s see how wide their smirks are when Project 2025 bites them in their bottoms.

Now is the time to support organizations that defend freedom and protect human rights. Now is the time to start vetting candidates for the 2025 and especially the 2026 elections. Don’t give up hope – we may still be able to have elections. And we will, if we put our agony and grief aside and prepare how to counterpunch.

We have a lot of work to do, so get out your marching shoes. We can take this country back and return it to the path of progress. With any luck, we can do so without shedding a drop of blood. Our opponents will react violently, and there will be punched noses and smashed-in heads, so the temptation to bash back will be strong. However, we can still win in the end if we keep our cool. Let us hope that we can still win using peaceful means, just as the Suffragettes and freedom marchers did.

Meanwhile, my X-Wing is on order.

Once again, a school shooting has shocked us all. In Winder, GA, a 14-year-old killed two students and two teachers and wounded nine others. Last Wednesday’s incident was just another one in a long series of mass shootings at U.S. schools. It may not have been a bloodbath like Virginia Tech, Uvalde or Sandy Hook, but it was still a heartbreaker – and a reminder of not just how lax our gun laws are but also how deeply ingrained into our society the gun cult is.

How many more of these tragedies must take place? How many more shootings, how many more deaths, how many more funerals, how many more tears, how many more flowers and candles left as memorials? All of those who died had plans for their lives. All of the students had futures that will never be realized. One of them could have eventually headed a research team that would find a cure for muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, Lou Gehrig’s Disease, or some other currently incurable malady. One of them could have helped develop a vaccine against HIV. One of them could have written the Great American Novel, or composed music that would stand the test of time. One of them could have won a Nobel Prize, or a Pulitzer, or a Hugo, or an Oscar.

Our marshmallow-livered, jelly-spined, chicken-hearted elected leaders could do something. They could do a lot. They should have done something substantial after Columbine, or Luby’s, or the Edmond Post Office, or any other mass shooting. But instead they cravenly kowtow to the gun lobby. The jingle-jingle of the NRA’s blood money rings loudly enough in their ears to drown out the wails of the wounded and the bereaved, and the angry demands of gun control advocates. Funny that Congresspeople fiercely defend the Second Amendment, while violating many of the others.

It is easy to forget that the US Constitution was originally written when most rifles were muzzle-loading muskets, which required a complex procedure to reload; breech-loading firearms were new, and could fire only one shot at a time. The Founding Fathers could never have foreseen modern bullets and guns – science fiction wasn’t a thing back then. Also, gun nuts howl about the “right to keep and bear arms” while entirely forgetting the opening phrase in the Second Amendment: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State…” OK, what part of “well regulated militia” don’t y’all understand? Goof bags running around with AR-15s and Confederate flags are not well-regulated militias, just well-armed goof bags.

One thing I would like to know is how gun-defenders will feel when their own children become the victims of a school mass shooting. Will they still have JD Vance’s attitude that such massacres are a “fact of life,” or will they start to sing a different tune? People with children attending Columbine, Robb Elementary, West Nickel Mines School, Virginia Tech, Red Lake Senior High, Douglas High School or Apalachee High never thought it would happen to them.

You may have read the fable of the oak and the willow. The oak stood strong against every storm, and mocked the willow for bending. However, eventually a really powerful storm came along and blew the oak down. The willow survived because it was flexible. Someday we will get that storm that is powerful enough, overwhelming enough, to knock over the NRA’s oak. Someday.