Friday, September 27, 2019

See how your excuses for treason stack up against the masters

Judas kissing Christ surrounded by soldiers (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
     Five columns—plus two days off to immerse myself in the glory of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. More than two weeks since I last uttered the obscene T-word in the column. 
     I’m astounded. And proud. Nowadays, any relief, any space you can tear your horrified gaze away from No. 45 is a personal triumph. Otherwise, the Orange Enormity grows more huge, day by day, almost hour by hour, like those radioactive blobs in 1950s monster movies, threatening to engulf everything.
     This week, we can’t look away. Nancy Pelosi pulled the trigger on impeachment Tuesday. Good. I happened to be surfing live television and caught the announcement live. Pelosi offered up perspective that might have been lost in the glare of events.
     ”On the final day of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, when our Constitution was adopted, Americans gathered on the steps of Independence Hall to await the news of a government our founders had crafted,” Pelosi said. “They asked Benjamin Franklin, ‘What do we have, a republic or a monarchy?’ Franklin replied, ‘A republic, if you can keep it.’ Our responsibility is to keep it.”
     Good use of the historical, Madam Speaker. Americans wrested their freedom from tyranny, at the start and must do so periodically ever since. Only the form of tyranny changes, from a British king, to a immoral slave system, to capitalism run amok, to fascism overrunning the globe, to our our latest, and strangest challenge: a cruel and egomaniacal buffoon whose attempts to enrich and aggrandize himself trample our democratic values and institutions.


To continue reading, click here.

9 comments:

  1. It has been apparent since early in this presidential term that Russian entities attacked our electoral process. Even Senate Republicans held abbreviated hearings and arrived at that conclusion. And still this President has failed to initiate any measures to prevent a repeat performance by Putins minions. This is not surprising to those of us who know that the Republican party does not believe in Democracy. As long as it keeps them in power they are willing to go along and they question our patriotism as their smokescreen. Trump's inaction is the treason, his Original Sin. That it took this weeks revelation to officially move us to action is evidence of a broken system. Most of us could still be shocked by the Nixon tapes despite our knowledge of the most reported ones. I believe the Trump phone records hidden under fake security clearances will make Nixon's machinations seem like childs play compared to those of the Cowardly Liar.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've always loathed the notion that political figures are impelled at least in part by their legacies (the good angel on their shoulders), but we have now with Donald Trump and his political enablers folk who ignore history, who live in the moment, the moment in which their political and monetary gain consumes all their efforts, and if they think of legacies at all, it is about the disparagement, if not destruction, of the legacies of their foes.

    john

    ReplyDelete
  3. I understand your reluctance to use the T-word. It's uncomfortable to read, too. Is there another label we could use for him? President Pussygrabber actually seems old hat these days. Seemed a bit shocking long ago.

    My suggestions:
    Traitor Trump
    Rump
    Fearless Leader
    The Great Dictator
    Old Psycho Asshole

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've been calling him Dumbass Donald for about four years.

      Delete
  4. I've been a WWII buff since my early teens. The crew members in "Mister Roberts" called their captain "Stupid"...which works. And those in "The Caine Mutiny" called their captain "Old Yellowstain"...which works even better (pee tapes, anyone?). Since this nightmare began, I've been using Agent Orange, Orangy Boy, Rump, Rumpty Dumpty, Dolt 45, and more. I'll probably think of a few others before this shitshow is finally over.

    Go to a march or a rally and try to copy down all the really funny signs, and you'll have too many names for him to count. I went to one of the women's marches and I spent 45 minutes scribbling furiously before I ran out of paper. Try it. People everywhere have come up with some amazing zingers. Then...start using them as often as possible. Everywhere! Anywhere!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, there are a lot of good ones out there. I guess that's part of the problem. He's fucked up in so many different ways that it's hard to concentrate on just one.

      The Trump/Limbaugh bully boy tactic is to pick one simple insult and say it over and over. For years.

      "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it." - Joseph Goebbels

      Delete
  5. I can't help but wish you picked a different, other political crook. Rosty did keep a ghost payroll, but he also brought so many great projects to Chicago during his tenure. He was an unabashed old school wheeler and dealer who never pretended otherwise. I miss pork belly legislation - it was at least more honest than the way bills are written today where they slide in lobbyists' wishes (drilling in Alaska in a tax bill, why sure!). Plus more legislation got passed that way.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why? I'm not sure your point here. I knew Dan Rostenkowski and liked him. He did much good. That his career blew up over something trivial doesn't negate that.

      Delete
  6. I adore the final two paragraphs of this column. It explains why I can no longer enjoy my time with my brother-in-law. The 2016 election shone a bright light on all of our souls and what we saw was often ugly but decisive.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are vetted and posted at the discretion of the proprietor.