inthetrunkroom

  • THE SHIP OF STATE

    In 2024, ninety million voters did not think voting was important any longer. Seventy million others would rather elect a known grifter, pathological liar and convicted felon to the  oval office than elect a highly educated, highly skilled woman, let alone a black woman.

    As a direct result, we have installed a singularly unqualified imposter in the Oval Office –  a convicted felon, confirmed bigot, pathological liar , malignant narcissist and one who clearly suffers from narcissistic personality disorder. In addition, he has brought a cadre of unqualified, far right loyalist types along to dismantle our government agency structure, utilizing the infamous Project 2025 as his playbook. His allies and enablers in the senate have passed through and confirmed a chronic drunk to head Defense, an addict to head Health and Human Services, a WFTP to head Justice, a far right conspiracy devotee to head FBI, and a Russian Asset to be DNI, just to cite a few of the more notable.

    His personal agenda, formulated and promulgated by a Russian dictator , was to further that dictator’s agenda of destroying democracies around the world by destroying our democracy from within and we have seen the clear evidence of this agenda .The key strategy here was to create a plutocracy where the top ten percent rule, are above the law and will bring to an end any and all public involvement in the betterment of our society

    In order to accomplish this, a CULT, known as MAGA was, over time , orchestrated and developed by capitalizing on wide spread outlandish xenophobic fears  and the pervasive political ignorance  of a significant portion of the voting population . This process ,  aided by the complete and blatant failure of congress and particularly the senate , as well as the colossal failure of the DOJ and the then Attorney General, to do what should have been done, puts us now where we find ourselves, in a perilous circumstance . 

    The agenda was to completely take over and then virtually eliminate our constitutional republic form of government and replace it with an authoritarian dictatorship while completely restructuring the existing world order. It will happen quickly and with no regard for the damage wrought. It is a lesson we should have learned from the 1930s in Berlin.

     Sadly, all those who could have the power to , if not stop this insanity, at  least call it in to question and slow down the damaging before both the congress and the courts, having been reluctant to step up to the task –  and that is being polite – wake up to the reality that is right before them.The Ship of State is in turbulent waters and is, indeed, in peril of sinking.  While we may disagree – in fact we may vehemently disagree – on the vote choice in the past election , we should and must agree as to what we all are seeing and what is happening inside the beltway and that it is a dangerous and  critical cause to the detriment of our very form of government. Our democracy, while it has its flaws, remains the best choice for people across the board and it is worth fighting to preserve.

    _________________________________________________

    The above discussion was written a month or so ago while the outcomes of that ill fated election were still in the formative stages, so to speak and we  were as yet, in a  wait and see  frame of mind. However, in frighteningly short order, we have been witness to the near collapse of our democracy and the evidence is clear that the global agenda of the Russian dictator has become the agenda for the world’s newest fascist dictator right here inside the Washington beltway.We have a dictator in the oval office who is seriously out of touch with reality surrounded by a cadre of die hard loyalists who will lie about everything in order as long as it supports that dictator as  they join in the quest to dissemble the government and any institution which dares to countermand its cult manifesto. 

    We are seeing the posture of scoff law taken to the extreme .                

    Universities, the arena where free thinking and honest debate  historically are conducted, are  being attacked for who they are, whom they hire, what they teach and what  social issues they research. The regime is likewise targeting individuals who dare speak truth to power, especially law firms, educational institutions and non profit organizations. 

    At least one top research scientist at he National Institutes of Health ( N I H ) has left because of hard line censorship levied against his research findings, reportedly because they do not conform to the Secretary’s warped ideas about foods and processing  – this being the Secretary cited above.

    Included also is, by virtue of the whim of a brainless billionaire who has no concept of government and how it works, the wholesale firing of federal employees with the goal of  saving funds in order to pay for the expected exorbitant tax cuts benefitting the upper ten percent of the wealth spectrum.  And let us not forget the blatant attack on Social Security, and SSI with its millions and millions of beneficiaries. Millions of senior citizens, millions of children and millions of survivors will suffer under the now fascist agenda, bringing to a possible end the quest of the GOP since 1936.

    And outside the beltway, persons here either legally or illegally are being rounded up and deported, without any semblance of due process, to a foreign prison with no hope of rescue. We will not even discuss the threat by this dictator of actually arresting citizens off the street or in their homes whom he might think are engaged in criminal activity, a.k.a. protesting against his agenda.

    All the firewalls are down and the oval office has become the center of a fascist regime. This is what over seventy million people voted for and make no mistake,  for whatever reason or whatever twisted rationale, it is exactly for what they voted. Now they may awaken and see the reality of authoritarianism in action and perhaps come to understand that what they got is what they wanted but what they wanted, uninformed and misinformed as it is, is unfortunate, mostly illegal, certainly unconstitutional and downright  unAmerican.

    Again, the war . and it is a war . is on and what is at stake is nothing less than the existence of the republic.

    These are indeed the times that try men’s souls and it is likewise thee time that we, the people, must take whatever steps we can to stem the tide of this extreme lunacy and bring some level of sanity back to inside the beltway.

  • WONDER WHY

    WONDER WHY

    In the not too distant past, a colleague was taken to the Emergency Room at a local hospital. It was all about a kidney stone. Painful indeed but not life threatening. While sitting in the waiting area after check in and initial triage, he observed an interesting phenomenon – one not unusual by any means – of people coming in to the ER with what seemed to be rather NOT ER conditions. Mostly they were young couples with a very young child who was being bothered by some malady or simple injury. Of course, one of the first questions asked in the process was about their insurance status and many of them had no insurance  coverage at all and, while an ER is obliged to accept patients who come to them for treatment, one had to wonder why come  there rather than an area Urgent Care or even a Family physician. The answer was simple. They could not afford medical insurance.

    About that time, my colleague was called for treatment and was ushered back to another part of the ER and his treatment began. Now, to clarify here – he did have insurance – general coverage as well as emergency medical coverage so there was no concern here. At least, not at that point.Treatment completed, pain eased, follow up suggested. Hours later, time to exit and go home.

    And then the proverbial you know what hit the fan. Sifting through the mail, my colleague found an invoice from a  specialty medical group of some sort. Not recognizing it, but noting that it was a medical invoice, he opened it and found an invoice for over nine thousand dollars – yes, that’s $9,000. It was for medical services rendered at the Emergency Room at the hospital where he was treated a while back. Must be  a mistake, he mused and then contacted his insurance carrier. What came out of that discussion was  concerning. The insurance carrier acknowledged the invoice but reported that, while they had  a contract with the hospital, they did not have a contract with the Emergency Room – a fact which revealed that Emergency Rooms are not necessarily part of the hospital in which they operate. Makes one wonder just how all this impacts on most people. Hospitals, Urgent Care and Emergency rooms are the site of usually serious medical situations.  Costs for treatments are most often covered by insurance policies, though, as we have seen, not always. There are issues around networks and contracts with providers  and geographical locations and the like. 

    Accessing medical care here in the United States is not quite as readily available as one might think . Considering the United States is one of the wealthiest nations in the world, one would think access to medical care and coverage for its costs would be high on the national agenda. Unfortunately, this is simply not the case. While the passage of the Affordable Care Act did relieve some of this issue, it was incomplete from the start, thanks to the GOP blocking significant elements in the Act. It still functions to this day but it is a constant fight with the far right MAGA republicans as they chip away at the ACA provisions , their agenda for that being the topic for another time.

    What is the more underlying question remains being why this, as one of the wealthiest nations in the world, does not have a more universal coverage mode of health care. In fact, the cost of health care to the consumer in the U S is one of the highest in the world, averaging over $13,000 per person. By comparison, the average cost in most other wealthy countries is less than half of that.

    In the U S, the well off can afford medical coverage. Those below a certain income level also have opportunities through Medicaid. It is the millions of people in the middle that have to contend with those high costs. Many people do have coverage through their employer but it is not free and a chunk of their wage is deducted in order to participate in those plans. It is the part time wage earner that gets hit the hardest and , again, as the ACA does help many, there are still major costs associated with medical coverage.

    Here is where it gets interesting. Most of the  industrialized countries around the globe have what we title Universal Medical Coverage provided “ free ”. OK, it is paid for in various modes, usually through taxes and government contributions, but consider the alternative.  Clear thinking people would much rather pay a higher tax level than have to pay high medical costs, especially costs for  catastrophic medical events which would certainly exceed their tax burden for coverage.

    So, the question remains, why or better still, WHY, or better, WHY NOT. 

    Sadly, while there are several factors working here, there are, we submit two stand out. One is the failure of congress and legislatures on the state level to take requisite action to make it happen. The overwhelming reason there is the highly successful lobbying efforts conducted by, for example, the pharmaceutical companies. The other  is the concept of profit margins being more of  a priority than the health of the nation’s people It is time to rein in corporate America and bring it around to adjusting their business  strategies.

    It is time for  working partnerships between government and corporate interests. Now I know that to some this may sound like socialized medicine and a case may be made for that. However, while one can still be alright with capitalism and still move toward this goal. It is the unfettered capitalism  at the expense of the populace that is destructive and needs to be checked.

    It is time to take aggressive legislative action and implement what every other industrialized nation has already done. In taking a serious look at tax code revisions, cost analysis and other factors and come to realize that the insane amount of the cost of health care in this country must be brought under control and in such a way that all benefit with access to quality health care across the board.

  • WHISKEY TANGO…

    Whiskey Tango

    Over the decades, and actually centuries, we have marked the demise of certain persons who have had significant impact in one way or another on the world in which we live. There was Socrates in 399 BC , Edgar Allan Poe in 1849, John F Kennedy in 1963, Mark Twain in 1910, Bertrand Russell in 1970, Albert Einstein in 1955 and Carl Sagan in 1996. And now, we will mark 2024 as the year that perhaps marks one of the most significant deaths – the death of democracy in the United States. While this may be a bit premature, the seeds have been sown and the proverbial die has been cast.

    Sometime back in about 1974, there was an article in the American Educator written by the esteemed scholar and statesman, Daniel Patrick Moynihan. The article was titled  “ Defining Deviancy Down”. Based on several theories in the world of criminology, the article lays out how, after a point, with so much criminal behavior swirling about, the behavior becomes tolerable, even for some, the norm. Can you understand how this is relevant to today and how certain elements of the fringe now have what can be described as permission for their conduct.

    Moving forward, Moynihan’s observations continue to be relevant and are picked up by Yale professor, Timothy Snyder who warns, in no uncertain terms, about how movements like the Third Reich took over a country through first manipulation of and then controlling of the messaging throughout the country, all the while stifling any and all resistance to its singular way of thinking. Paired with scapegoating a specific ethnic group for all the country’s ills, the movement grew and grew and, well, the rest is history and the question remains, have we still not learned from it all . In fact, we are facing much the same scenario .

    Professor Snyder updates the warnings, particularly regarding the messaging flow, by pointing out the dangers of our wholesale surrendering to social media, whether  the content is based in fact or not.

    But, while the eminent Yale professor in plain talk, has presented a warning for us all regarding our politics fate, there is one whose commentary on the politics and governance of this country and its fate, is not only as compelling but reiterates a warning that many have been laying out there for decades, yes, decades. Which segues in to what’s to be, in our opinion, a discussion of what is a primary causal factor contributing to how ew ended top in this ever intensifying state of chaos.

    Twelve years ago, retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter was interviewed by Margaret Warner of the PBS News Hour, the focus of the  discussion being his observations on the fate of our democracy. The interview was held at the Capital Center for the Arts in Concord, New Hampshire. The discussion went per usual but then Ms Warner, based on  comments earlier in the discussion, probably asked the Justice what keeps him awake at night. His reply was irrefutable in its compelling scope. He quoted Benjamin Franklin’s admonition about democracy struggling to survive “ too much ignorance” and then proceeded. 

    To paraphrase, Justice Souter laid it out. I don’t worry about losing the republic to a foreign invasion, nor to a military coup. He continued .. and I quote here – “ What I worry about is that when problems are not addressed, people will not know who is responsible. And when the problems get bad enough….some one person will come forward and say “ give me total power and I will solve this problem”.  This show the Roman republic fell. This is the way democracy dies and if something is not done to improve the level of civic knowledge, that is what you should worry about at night.

    Clearly, the honorable Justice was stating what many have said over the decades. Fear and ignorance will win nearly every election and will precipitate the collapse of the nation.

    The MAGA cult has been given its permission slip. That one person has been put in the most powerful position in the world and  the list of possible cohorts to be joined in that power is frightening indeed . As the New York Times post election analysis noted in a two sentence paragraph that summarizes it all,  this was a conquering of a nation not by force but with a permission slip. Now America stands on the precipice of an authoritarian style of governance never before seen in its 248 year history. ( Lisa Lerner, NYT 11/06/2024 ).

    A virtual crime family has secured power by capitalizing  on the widespread , mostly unfounded and baseless fears and the likewise  wide spread civic ignorance of the voting body politic.  It has happened,  as it is  and now we, assuming the citizenry will awaken to realize  the value of a democracy, must engage in a war of recovery before the inevitable damage becomes irreparable.

  • A  DISMAL FAILURE – A SHORT ITEM BUT MUST BE SAID

    A  DISMAL FAILURE – A SHORT ITEM BUT MUST BE SAID

    Among all the magnificent buildings in our nation’s capital of Washington D.C., there is one that stands out not only for its past history but for it being the center of our present day political unrest. It is, of course, the Capitol.Close by, only a block away, is yet another of those buildings which, likewise, stands out not only for its past history but also as it is central to not just the political unrest but also for its place in the state of unrest and chaos in the arena of  law. It is the location of the United States Supreme Court. SCOTUS, if you will, and it is the linchpin of chaos the likes of which we have not seen in the history of jurisprudence. Of late, the conduct surrounding SCOTUS has been, shall we say, less than reputable and without consequence, has bordered on the criminal. At least, that is the opinion of legal scholars – moderates, centrist and conservative alike – across the board.

    Decisions such as Citizens United, Shelby County vs Holder and most recently Dobbs vs Jackson Womens Health all point to what can only be described as the politicizing  of the Court. In Shelby County, the Chief Justice stated that he felt there was no more need to monitor voting procedures in the states. Then looked what happened. Immediately numerous states began a frightening process of making voting considerably more difficult and nearly impossible for many.n We won’t even delve in to the crushing of precedent for the Dobbs decision or the frightening implications of the ruling on presidential immunity which clearly showed a bias for the petitioner. But whatever  the implications of  SCOTUS may be, it is not just at that level that we find decisions and rulings that not only call in to question the fate of the Rule of Law but also the role of the court system in the political agenda of a candidate or a party.

    Case in point. In Florida, in a case in  Federal District, the judge there ruled clearly in favor of the defendant in a case involving stolen classified documents, pictures of which were available all over the internet. The judge was soundly overruled by the Eleventh Circuit court. However, in a like wise questionable ruling, that same District court judge dismissed the case, citing that the Special Counsel / prosecutor was improperly hired and compensated. A ruling so egregious, it will no doubt be overruled by the Eleventh Circuit and they may, in fact, move to dismiss the judge from the case, as many legal scholars are proposing as appropriate.

    On  lower court, one has to marvel at the enormous number of delays granted for at best, weak reasons, and at worst, rulings which demonstrate a notable bias in favor of a singular defendant. Take for example the case in  the criminal fraud case in New York where the defendant was convicted of thirty-four counts of fraud in the spring of 2024 and the judge set the sentencing date for July 11.  After filings and briefs, etc filed by the defendant, the judge moved the sentencing to November, after the election. One has to wonder about the rationale for that.

    In an unrelated case in Arizona, eighteen people were indicted on charges stemming from a conspiracy to defraud the government and the voters in a scheme of fake electors  after the 2020 election. Clearly this is an act of treason. For some unknown reason, the judge in that case has moved the trial date to 2026, a full six years after the offending conspiracy and two years after the formal indictment. Clearly, a ruling which benefits the defendants / election deniers.

    There used to be a rule somewhere in those law libraries that took note of the  defendant being entitled to speedy trial. So much for that, one supposes. However, one must ask the question. Is the court calendar overruled by the political calendar ?  There can be no doubt that the courts, fairly much from the top down, are significantly politicized and its decisions are becoming less and less about legal precedent and more about catering to the pressures from outside the forces of law . For example the notoriety and public status of the defendant appears, in a number of cases, to hold more sway on rulings than the actual point of law.

    One could go on with examples of both sides of the proverbial coin but nonetheless, that one side is with no question, falling quickly in to the abyss of politics and rule by ideology rather than by the rule of law. The implications for this radical shift are far reaching and frightening. Should the trend continue, we shall no doubt see a complete prostituting of SCOTUS, as well as the courts throughout the  judicial system.

    A this point, one then has to ask – is there a way to turn this all around ?  Possibly. It all comes down to the upcoming election if we are to see any reform movement at all . The reasoning here being that from start to finish, any movement toward reform of the system, particularly SCOTUS, can and must come from congress, specifically from the senate. The interpretation of the doctrine of the separation of powers may interfere with some effort at judicial reform at the SCOTUS level but, nonetheless, the effort must be made. 

    Certain reform measures should be on the agenda, not the least of which would be the expansion of the court to mirror the federal district court system. A second and equally pressing measure should be the development and enacting of a code judicial ethics rule, similar to that which applies to all judges on lower courts but it must be clearly  enforceable. A third measure should be the enacting of term limits. Lifetime appointments must cease to exist. It all seems to be quite complicated but these reforms must be enacted in order to restore a level of confidence in the courts that has been seriously damaged during this period of politicization plaguing SCOTUS and,  in the opinion of many legal scholars,  the entire federal court system. To quote from the far past, in his Satires, Juvenal asks the question – Sed quid custodiat ipsos custodes – But who is to guard the guards themselves.

  • HAS TO BE SAID – A RANT

    For those who have traveled , as they say, in my orbit over the years, it should be evident that I have been engaged in, closely followed , observed and offered observations and commentary on the politics of our surroundings. There have been involvements in  the politics of local jurisdictions, state level legislatures and, of course the goings on inside the beltway and its tributaries into the states.  We won’t even talk about the private sector and its own brand of politics, especially those organizations associated with a church. Over nearly four decades, as an advocate for those vulnerable populations who had a voice that often was  ignored, interaction with legislatures, legislative committees and politicians of  all stripes was the order of the day. It never ceased to amaze me how on the one side, matters of concern seemed all so plain and simple and on the other side of that same coin, they became so very very complicated. Dealing with so many   “ forked tongue “ people had a way of causing major migraines . You could listen as a key note speaker at a right wing group convention lists all those alleged christian principles swearing they are his guiding principle and soon thereafter be indicted for fraud or of being a sexual predator.

    One can view the caliber or the lack thereof  of legislative bodies and their committees and the character or lack thereof of its members. A cursory survey of such yields interesting and sometimes scary results. While this is not about a party specifically, it must be conceded that the current edition of the GOP, fallen completely into the MAGA cult, comes across as the worst offender. For instance, one member of congress believes that Italians commandeered the voting machines  and changed the results of the 2020 election. Other  members of congress  actually joined the rioters – yes, rioters – at the Capitol on January sixth, 2021.  Another less than esteemed member of congress can boast of several DUI convictions and had to be escorted out of a theater for public intoxication and indecent actions in public. Then there are  the numerous members of congress who actually voted to throw out the results of the 2020 election, voiding the choices of millions of voters who no doubt voted on both sides of the aisle.  And we won’t go in to the members of congress who still hold that the 2020 election was rigged and that the candidate who lost the popular vote by over seven million and the electoral vote by 306 to 232 actually won. That list is far too long.

    The list of such members of legislatures, on all levels,  is long, almost to the point of exhaustion. We all have been witness to such behaviors over and over, time and time again and locale is not an issue. It is pervasive. However, while this is disconcerting to say the least, what one has to look at is the underlying issue which is far more disconcerting. 

    Understanding that the office that legislators hold is gained by election and therefore subject to election and reelection, the more profound question which  requires some sort of answer is, while it is difficult to understand how many of these get elected, it remains to find an answer as to how do they keep getting reelected, term after term after term. The possible responses to this question are curious as well as numerous. However, when one looks across the spectrum of those responses, it seems to be clear.

    As Donnie Deutsch, television personality, commentator and marketing executive , in discussing the current GOP, notes – “ …. the problem is not with the Republican  party, It is the seventy-four million trump voters …”. The sum and substance is that the problem is with voters – the body politic, if you will and the overall mind set that drives them which is solely  and completely based in two buckets  – fear and ignorance. It all really comes down to those two and, while there are aspects of them that spread out a bit, the essential items are these two – that we have a major portion of the voting public who either are fearful of what they think will happen depending on who they elect , whether real or imagine, or they are pitifully ignorant of the reality that engulfs their  social and political environment.

    We have, as many observers of the political tide have concluded, one of the  most politically ignorant voting population in the free world. It is no wonder, considering the constant flood of disinformation spewing out from seriously questionable sources and an audience that the concept of fact checking is totally foreign. Now, I accept that most  people do not follow as closely or spend much in the  way of fact checking as  many writers do, or should. But that we do not teach civics and how government does or should work lends to this lack of knowledge. Nor do we teach even fundamental skills in the art of fact checking – an absolute necessity in this day and age. So, either voters do not know how to check the sources or they simply do not care. Both are unfortunate

    conditions. The ground is then fertile for the spread of misinformation, disinformation and outright lies.

    The current posture of of least one political party is that it is no longer a political party but more akin to a cult and the so called red states are more akin to Berlin in 1938 than  to the United States in 2024. Even at least one candidate for congress in a swing state is  identifying himself as an America First candidate without, one has to bet, having  any understanding as to where that phrase came from. Yes, it was the mantra of the American Nazi Party in the late thirties.

    So now, where are and the question at this point in time is really obvious. What do we do about it all, knowing full well that the very existence of that “ Great Experiment “ is at stake. 

    It is paramount that ALL voters spend far more time learning about not only voting process and procedures so they know the how of voting but also spend far more time delving in to the candidates themselves –  for those seeking reelection, what their voting record  is and, in this writer’s opinion, what their personal character is. We should not be electing felons, traitors, fake electors and the like. It is long overdue that we become an informed voting public. It is long overdue that vetting of candidates is now paramount and serious criteria must be imposed. It is time we stop surrendering to the lunatic fringe and work diligently toward a government that actually governs.

  • COUNTRY vs CULT

    CULT OR COUNTRY

    Over the past year or so, the public discussion has looked at what can only be described as, on the one side, a declining sense of the rational and on the other side, a striving to achieve a seemingly unachievable level of balance. It is no wonder, considering the continual state of upheaval both within and without the beltway that there is so much confusion and consternation. What has added to it all is that there is a lack of focus in much of the discussion surrounding it all. Perhaps one needs to contend with this panorama of insanity by distilling it down to a manageable subject.

    The politics of it all, and particularly as this is a presidential election year, appears to come down to choices. Now, one would claim that an election – any election –  is all about choices. However, this time it is more about more than just choices between candidates for public office, and specifically the office of President.

    It is,  in one school of thought, a philosophical choice this country has to make in the near, if not immediate future as to what does  it want to be – remain a democracy, with all its faults or opt to leave that structure behind and move toward a authoritarian or fascist form. For most critical thinkers, this is not much of  a choice but sadly for many it remains a dilemma.

    However, one might zoom in, as it were , and look at what might be the driving force behind the condition in which we find ourselves – that of the rise of a cult movement known as MAGA.

    By definition, a “CULT “ is that genre of group usually convened around some cause or another where criticism or questioning of the Leader is considered by that leader to be persecution, where anything the leader does is justified, regardless of how harmful it may be and that he, or she, the leader is the only source of truth. Followers must be blindly devoted to that leader and the idea of questioning of any sort is anathema.

    Now what we have at present is a distinct choice not only the obvious between democracy or fascism but also the choice between  “ regular order “, as per the late Senator John McCain, and the chaos brought about by what is clearly a movement which must now be tagged as a domestic terrorist cult. There can be no question about the nature of this movement. From the days following the 2020 Election culminating with the attack on the Capitol, to the current leaders vowing retribution and revenge, there can be no doubt of the terroristic nature of not only the Cult but the supporting republican party, which, over time, has ceased to be a political party and has morphed into a support mechanism for a terrorist movement. And this is true not only for the activities on Capital Hill but also throughout the down ballot positions in state and local politics. Election deniers, conspiracy theorists and participants in the attack on January 6th, 2021 are running for office, still maintaining that the 2020 election with rife with fraud and in their mind simply not legitimate in its outcome.

    So, here we stand. The voting public will need to decide and do so decisively as to the future. One the one side of the proverbial coin there  we find, with its faults and foibles, a representative republic under which platform we can live and let live to a fairly decent degree, come and go with relative freedom and even make ridiculous mistakes, allowing for a course correction in a reasonable time.

    On the other side, we find an authoritarian fascist platform where books are banned, peaceful protests are to be silenced by military action, basic rights are stripped, a free press will be terminated and freedom to express opinion, be it pro or con, ceases to exist. Cruelty against opposition will be the rule and loyalty to a single personality is an absolute.

    There can be no question whatsoever that this election will be far more than a choice between candidates. The voters must choose. Will it be country or cult. Will they choose between preserving our very existence as  a nation or  bring the end to the great experiment in democracy.

  • ABOUT THAT LAPSE

    ABOUT THAT LAPSE

    Friends, readers, followers

    There are many times in the course of time that things change and often those changes are out of ones control. Such was the case with my site “In the Trunk Room”. Perhaps you may have gone to see what was new and found the site without text. It did indeed happen to me.  The proverbial Reader’s Digest explanation for it all was a technical protocol to which WordPress      ( our site host ) subscribes – that being that themes of sites are time limited. It seems that after twelve years, the folks at WP made the assessment that our theme was obsolete and hence it was erased along with the text from the site. The problem was, aside from the obvious, that they neglected to inform the author – me. The state of anxiety was heightened by the fact that I had no idea how to remedy the condition. Finally, after weeks of panic and frustration, I was sent to the tech support/web builder team and then things began to one, make sense, and two show signs of being restored to function.

    The bottom line was that, with the assistance of several team members and their patience working with a non techy as myself, a new theme was selected and installed, the archive ,  the text – which was never actually lost, only not visible to the the public   – and likewise the contact information for readers were restored. There is also a Comment mechanism as before though I have not yet found the activation for it so direct emails will have to suffice.

    My thanks to the web building team, apologies to our readers and, while I contend that the old theme was far more to my liking, the current one is, though a bit stark, workable and we are, as they say, back on the rails again.  Here’s hoping writers block and the chaos  which is the current state of affairs these days will not continue to hinder publication.

  • A PROBLEM

    Over the years, we have avoided being flagrantly partisan, except where it was particularly compelling or germane. While near overwhelming chaos prevails making it difficult to focus let alone write, in this the year 2023, it is clear, compelling and germane to address an absolutely partisan issue.

     The first step in solving any problem is recognizing there is a problem. People, we absolutely  have a problem.Over the past eight years, we, as a body politic, have been witness to a most frightening turn of events. We have seen the near collapse of the Republic, barely surviving a widespread conspiracy to overturn a legitimate election along with an outright attack on the Capitol aimed at literally overthrowing the government. This conspiracy was led by a deranged, delusional, twice impeached, four times indicted ex president who continues to spread lies about the last election , lies which are still fully swallowed hook, line and sinker by his MAGA cult followers. The chaos and mayhem, however,  is not limited to  inside the beltway. As per the mid terms and rulings by the definitively politicized SCOTUS, the politics on a state level has become as draconian as ever.  With notable speed, laws curtailing the freedom of choice for  reproductive health services were passed in GOP controlled legislatures. Laws banning books – yes, banning books – were passed, spearheaded by one of the newer fascist groups –  Moms for Liberty – and not only banning books but actually replacing banned books with texts rewritten in such a way as to conform to their twisted sense of white nationalist history.And the key measure being taken by the right wing wave in states is the concerted effort to make voting significantly more difficult, indeed for some people, impossible.

    One could continue with example after example of how the “ coup “ is continuing but there still remains the question as to just why.   To quote a  giant of the news world, “ A nation of sheep will soon have a government of wolves ”  ( Edward R Murrow ). Perhaps this does not explain it fully but it certainly does shed some serious light on the subject. It is all about the seizing of and maintaining of power. And now, with the extremist faction of the body politic – that thirty – seven per cent – being given a pathway to the front of the line, it seems that an entirely different agenda is being formulated and fertilized. Paraphrasing a quote from an earlier post, it seems true that hell is empty and all the demons are here. Apparently true and, while the demons are identifiable both inside and outside the beltway, so is the leader. There can be no doubt that the former occupant of the Oval Office, the architect of the treasonous attack on the capitol is in the proverbial driver’s seat. Taking his playbook directly from Mein Kampf, he has intensified his campaign of fabrications, lies, hate and conspiracy theories, mingled with his constant persecution complex rants. 

     So, here we are and now we find ourselves on the verge of the collapse of the Republic and our way of governance which has stood for over two hundred and forty years. The problem is relatively clear. The GOP has abdicated its role as a governing party and it has assumed the role of an avenue for the rise and control of fascism. The question then is what do we do about it and how can we stem the tide of this insanity and provide a remedy, an antidote if you will for this disease.

    First and foremost, utilize information sites which are reputable and will convey facts rather than conspiracies. The persistent flow of disinformation must be countered with sources that rely on fact, not fiction. One must also understand there is a difference between the reporting of news and the presenting of opinion and treat each accordingly. Take some time to fact check and cross check when it comes to critical information. Find a way to convey facts to your circle of associates. Convey the disdain for this widespread corruption to your elected officials, even if they are part of it and most of all VOTE – vote for qualified candidates who are well vetted. It all comes down to the vote, friends, and we must clean house  or we will lose it all. We shall see if it all gets turned around and the Republic survives even this attack.

  • NEEDS TO BE SAID

    NEEDS  TO  BE  SAID

    Over the past decade, the articles posted here have been purposed to encourage discussion and perhaps to stimulate folks to look deeper in to the social / political matters of our time. We urged readers  not to settle for any one  single source but opt to take some time to consider varying sources in order to compare points of view. Our site has, for the most part, steered away from attacking or promoting any particular individual, though there have been some exceptions, being germane to the subject. However, the time is different right now and it is time most assuredly, to address where we are politically and who was the primary leading force behind it all.

    We don’t need to belabor the discussion of how one donald trump ( lower case intentional ) ascended to the White House. Through a whole series of conspiracies, international interference and influence, the engendering of a truly Jim Jones type cult following rooted in widespread fear, hate and ignorance,  all coupled with the down side factor of the mechanics of the Electoral College system, the prize was secured. We were then witness to the singularly most corrupt administration in our history. Continuing with the spewing of outright lies and conspiracy theories and engaging in seriously cruel and unethical, if not clearly illegal activities, there was no stopping the drive  for the “ deconstruction of the administrative state”. It was clear to intelligent and objective observers that it would be a dark period in the history of government and to understand it all, one was compelled to consult the DSM 5.

    During this same period in time, we were witness to the sharp rise  of hate groups, white supremacy groups, pseudo militia groups and a large number of conspiracy devotees. Now, these groups have been around for along time but now, it seems, they have, based on the current political climate , found a path to the forefront of the political discussion.  It was, as often described, the perfect storm.  Over the four year term, based on several  growing forces, it became evident that the political climate was turning to the extreme far right and it would come to a head at the time of the 2020  general election.

    For months during the campaign, the trump team pushed the idea that the only way he could lose the election would be if the election were rigged and the opposition fixed the vote.  The GOP indeed did lose the election – by nearly seven million of the popular votes and the Electoral College Vote of 306 to 232. And then it all exploded.

    In the post election months, a carefully orchestrated plan was hatched to overthrow the election, have the now certified results thrown out and have the losing candidate installed back in the White House. On January 6th, it all came to a violent attack the likes of which we had not seen since the Civil War. However, this was not an isolated incident. Rather it was a culmination of a carefully orchestrated scheme to overthrow the election results. It was also, part and parcel if you will, of a growing and intensifying movement toward the far, dare one say extreme right with an ideological framework that was pushing us back to very dark times.

    Witness now across the country what the trump era has wrought.  Hatred and bigotry have now found a place as being accepted behavior. Book banning is now normal practice in many states. Severely suppressing the right to vote, particularly in minority communities, is now multi state policy. Reproductive rights of women are being sacrificed on the altar of totally phony moral indignation.Talk of an impending civil war is increasing among far right  MAGA  devotees.The use of social media and questionable so called news outlets now have the license to promulgate scurrilous and defamatory lies with no repercussions. The enacting of insanely cruel measures at our Southern borders. The extreme right has free reign and the left does not seem to have an answer. If it does, we have not , to date, heard or seen it . We have often quoted the late scholar, Daniel Moynihan’s article titled  “ Defining Deviancy Down “ in which he discusses how deviant slowly becomes the norm. The evidence is clear that this is the point at which we find ourselves and, literally, the fate of the nation is at stake. As earlier, it was noted that we are at a critical crossroad and the choice to be made will be final in nature. Will the body politic choose a democracy,  even while needing regular refinement and improvement, or fascism where the few dictate the rules and no changes are permitted. 

    Was Shakespeare right in his writings and does the line from the Tempest fit today ?  Is Hell  empty and are all the demons here ?

  • A SIMPLE EDITORIAL

    In the late 1930s, an American businessman was traveling in Europe , representing his company as their foreign markets buyer. Spending time in Germany, he began to take notice of events, especially in the cities. In addition, there were some curious broadcasts on the radio newscasts. He began to see things like young people in brown shirts going about yelling slogans against groups of people, especially jews. He witnessed the burning of piles of books in the squares while crowds cheered. He read about the rise of a political party named the national socialist worker party, or Nazi, led by a man named Adolf Hitler. He also heard reports on the radio which gave accounts of the end of World War I which, having had close relatives who fought in that war and told true accounts, seemed rather inaccurate, to say the very least. What was happening here, he often asked himself and posed those same questions in letters back to his home in the states. Once back home, he again raised those questions and, not too long after, the answers came to light. The new “ political party “ took over the country, the constant spewing of outright lies continued and the persecution and slaughter of millions of jewish people began, amidst the wave after wave of lies about who was to blame for all the ills besetting that country, particularly the financial demise.We can all recall, then, the eventual outcome of it all with the price paid on so many levels being enormous.

    Fast forward to the current time. While anyone who follows social movements was aware of the presence of fringe groups and even extreme fringe groups out there, we were content to watch them as long as they stayed out on the fringe. This turned out to be a mistake though there was little anyone or any counter movement could do about it all. Then came the election cycle of 2015. Beginning in 2012 with his birther conspiracy theories, a prime candidate for the White House rose to the front and announced his candidacy for the presidency with completely unhinged rants about immigrants from various countries and how he would protect us all from “ invasions “. The catering to those extreme fringe groups had begun and they now they had a pathway to the front of the political agenda. Throughout the campaign, the candidate spent his time spewing rants about all the ills in this country bought about by immigrants and the evils of the “ far left “ whose liberal antics were ruining this country. In spite of losing the popular vote by over three million votes and with the help of a key adversary nation, the campaign was successful, the adverse side of the Electoral College system became quite evident and we now had a known grifter and pathological liar and his family sitting in the Oval Office.

    Over the next four years, we saw not only an incredible sense of political paranoia about an imagined “deep state takeover” emanating from the White House but a likewise extreme right wing power grab in congress. The openly shift toward an authoritarian government, with the full support and, in fact, leadership from the Oval Office was in full gear. However, this wave of far right tactics was not limited to inside the Beltway. The outright lies continued with groups outside the beltway and on certain sympathetic so called news outlets. It spread to state legislatures as well and throughout the red state network, the power grabs and the far right legislative agenda surfaced with a vengeance. Strict and unreasonable anti-abortion laws were passed, having legislative mandates determining the outcome of women’s health issues. Blatant voter suppression laws were enacted, clearly designed to prevent large turn out particularly in minority communities. And then there was the banning of books which far right so called education committees deemed unfit for children and they were too “ woke”. One can well see the parallels to Berlin in the 1930s.
    The final straw, as it were, was after that authoritarian leaning party lost the next presidential election by over seven million votes, the party actually attempted to overthrow the election and hence, overthrow the government, installing the losing occupant of the Oval Office back to the Office permanently. Again, the parallels are obvious.
    The insurrection, while violent and deadly, was, in the end, unsuccessful and the rightfully elected president was inaugurated and took his place in the Oval Office. However, the trend toward authoritarianism not only continued but indeed intensified.
    And so, here we are. It is three years past the election but the violence and the lunacy continues. Indeed, it is intensifying. Across the board, a significant segment of the body politic yet believes that the 2020 election was somehow stolen from their party of choice and as such, from their candidate of choice. He continues, in spite of being under scrutiny for a number of criminal activities, to spout this election fraud lies and his demands to be reinstated to the White House.

    On a state level, the likewise extreme far right agenda is being pursued and, as more and more states are controlled by the party – the GOP – the more the outlandish actions continue. Wholesale gerrymandering as a way to curb minority voting, blatant discrimination against certain ethnic groups, inhumane laws against the LGBTQ community, controlling Boards of Education and furthering the banning of books. Sadly, to date, it all remains unchecked and the “ opposition party” seems incapable to address the multiple issues facing the public.

    Where are we headed ? That question has been asked and answered by many already. That road to authoritarianism has long been travelled and, as one has called it, the road to perdition has been this nation’s route for almost three decades. Can the tide be turned ? Will this nation choose fascism over the republic and its representative governing charter ? Indeed, it can. However, so much will have to change and it must begin in haste with making serious changes in the level of vetting for members of ruling bodies – legislative bodies. both federal and state. From there, well we shall see but that is, for certain, the sine qua non for any salvation.

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