Sonnet of Vlademort

06 Sunday Mar 2022

Posted by petersironwood in Uncategorized

Tags

Democracy, poem, poetry, politics, Putin, sonnet, Ukraine

I lie! I cheat! And then, I win! Makes ME
The best and baddest Putin-tate of all!
I kill my people who tell truth, you see,
I have to do it or I’ll seem so small.

I’m such a chicken and a rat,

I cannot fight myself, of course, so then

I send young men to kill and die and that?

It makes me feel most powerful! And, when

The blood of babies, moms, and elderly

Flows through the streets that are not mine.

My heart leaps up in joyous revelry.

It is my substitute for having spine.

I steal the wealth of Russians in my thrall.
That’s not enough for me! I want it all!

————————-

Absolute is not just a vodka (poem about dictatorship)

Overheard Conversations of Fiction (Between Putin & TFG)

Voter Suppression is Life Suppression (Essay showing why this is so)

Essays on America: Wednesday (How we can “paint ourselves into a corner” psychologically).

The Stopping Rule (The *lack* of stopping rule for Dictators is a problem; for any procedure, algorithm, or machine, there needs to be a stopping rule).

The Update Problem (Essay about how when things change, we don’t always update all the relevant attitudes & beliefs we have).

The Ailing King of Agitate (Poem about whomever comes to mind at the Title).

The Truth Train (Poem about TFG’s disastrous misleadership on COVID)

The Pandemic Anti-academic (Poem about how anti-intellectualism aided the COVID virus).

Poppa Goes the Weasel (Thoughts about Vlademort).

Life will Find a Way (More hopeful reflection on how life will find a way.)

Cancer always Loses in the End (Essay about how cancer is absurdly stupid. It kills wantonly and ensures its own death. Hmm. Sounds like someone in the news lately.)

At Least he’s Our Monster (Story illustrating the absurdity of people who think if they just kow-tow low enough to people like TFG & Vlademort, that they will show them loyalty back.)

Captain Donny Boy Steers the Titanic (Story with a pretty self-explanetory title).

The Con-Con-Man’s Special Friend (Reflections on the irony that while TFG uses people and never has true loyalty, he has apparently convinced himself that Putin who also uses people and never had true loyalty *does* have loyalty to TFG! That is a symptom of the disease of narcissistic personality disorder.)

Small Steps (So, in the midst of all the types of chaos that we face, what can we do? Here are some things).

Stoned Soup (A story that riffs on the folk story of Stone Soup — a community works together to make a wonderful soup through cooperation).

The Orange Man (Part of the lore of the Veritas, this tale shows how greed and lying together may result in disaster for many).

The Three Blind Mice (Another tale from the Veritas. This is a parable about how the powerful and greedy divide the people so as to stay in power).

All for One and None for Most (Poem with a self-explanatory title — what happens in dictatorships).

Lying to Your Kids (Why would you ever do that? And, yet people may be trying to trick you into that very thing)

My Cousin Bobby (My cousin Bobby conned me when we were young. More than once! How can we minimize the chances of being conned?)

Happy Talk Lies (This essay explores how people can continue to believe the incredible panoply of lies told by TFG over the past decade. He’s lied about virtually everything; yet some believe only him. It’s an addition, basically).

Where does your loyalty lie? (A good question to ask yourself. Here’s some of my reflection.)

Come back to the Light Side (It’s never too late to help our civilization survive and thrive).

Dick-Taters

05 Saturday Mar 2022

Posted by petersironwood in Uncategorized

≈ 83 Comments

Tags

Democracy, Dictatorship, politics, Putin, Ukraine, USA, Vote, war

Putting a dick-tater* [see below*] in charge of things has always been a very very bad idea.

But in today’s world, this bad idea is worse than ever!

There is still the problem that such a position appeals mainly to cruel and cowardly people. That results in the person who is in that position surrounding themselves, not with the best experts in the country, nor the most diverse range of opinions, but with people they can cow.

Hence, you end up with someone predisposed to greed, cruelty, and cowardliness surrounding themselves with others who are cruel, greedy, and cowardly. The entire government decision making process ends up narrow, uncreative, and stupid. It was that way in ancient times and in the Middle Ages.

In those days, however, the whole of accurate human knowledge was much more limited than it is today. Today, even an actual genius (not a self-declared one) will know only a small fraction of the knowledge relevant to a given problem. That’s a bit of an issue for democratically elected leaders as well, but at least there is some chance that elected leaders will listen to a range of experts and make a decent decision. But in a dick-tater-$hit**, that almost never happens.

Although a dick-tater is supposed to have infinite power, it’s actually just a public fiction. Of course, the people as a whole are way more powerful than the dick-tater. But the dick-tater tries to put everyone in fear of each other. They divide in order to conquer. If the people would all stop obeying stupid orders, the dick-tater-$hit would crumble. But it takes a lot of bravery to be the first one to disobey their orders. The first one will be killed.

It takes even more bravery to be the second one. Because the second one to defy the Putintate (or whatever it’s called) has already seen the effects of radiation poisoning (or whatever other cowardly action was taken to silence the first). And, perhaps it takes even more courage to be the third person to work for the people rather than just please the dictator.

I enjoy playing chess myself. But it’s not that fun to simply stare at an empty chessboard. (I have actually done that to see how I can allocate my attention to various squares in the matrix, but that’s the subject of a different essay.) It gets old though. It’s certainly more fun to play chess. If you have no pieces however, it’s basically a boring game. It only works because you have pieces to move. If the pieces move on their own and express their basic nature as separate human beings, it’s disconcerting. But it’s even more disconcerting if there are no pieces whatsoever because you’ve murdered them all.

NOTES:
* I use the term “dick-tater” because I think it shows a better derivation. Latin for “Say often or prescribe” is where “dictator” comes from. And although some dictators and would-be dictators are mouthy or whiney, they don’t really *say* things at all in the way most of us do. Most people, most of the time, say things so as to better communicate and to coordinate our work for the community. The purpose of a dick-tater is to control, not to share truths. So, I don’t like relating what a dick-tater does with words like “diction” or “predict.”

When we think about toxic masculinity, however, we often refer to someone who only has his own interests at heart with the answer to this question: “What do you call it when a needle when stabs into your skin?” Or, we sometimes use a person’s name — one that rhymes with “ick”. And the use of this word “dick” in that way is not at all inclusive of the many characteristics of male anatomy. When we say someone is a “dick”, we’re not saying he’s shaped like one, or that he changes size a lot, or that he’s used for urination. We refer quite specifically to someone being a dick as acting, perceiving, and actually being a certain way. It doesn’t really even have anything to do with sex, per se, although certainly a “dick” is likely to approach sex, like everything else in a selfish, dickish way. He might be prone to “grab women by the pu$$y” or rape them or pay for sex. But that has nothing to do with, e.g., the actual miniscuality of the mushroom in question. True, microsize might be part of the motivation for someone to “become a dick” (since they don’t really have much of one), but it need not go that way.

The essence of the term refers only to the psychology behind what is being done. What is behind every perception, action, and decision is being an absolute coward. This is basically why the dick-tater seeks absolute power. He or she is too chicken to face a fair contest of any kind. They might lose. That is also why they are prone to pay for sex or sexually assault or molest someone younger. In all cases, they don’t have to face whether or not they will be accepted by their desired partner. It’s too scary for them. They might be rejected. But not if they can be bullied or forced or paid off. The slime invades every aspect of the dick-tater’s life.

No-one really knows exactly what causes people to be extremely (or sightly) sociopathic. It seems correlated with a lack of unconditional love given on the part of the parents. Criminality does tend to run in families but it’s unclear how much of that is due to which sorts of factors. In some ways, maybe it’s a lot like learning any other family business. This family tends to have good cooks. That family tends to have good crooks. In each case, the people in the family learn from each. Within this family there is an innately determined ability to imagine the result of combining tastes, while in that family people seem to have the natural talent to cause great wastes.

Let’s move on to the “tater” part. When I think of a “tater” I think of “tater tot” and that too seems wildly appropriate. The “tater tot” is very appealing. And, it’s also very bad for you compared with most other foods; it’s high in fat, in calories, and in fast-absorbing carbs. And, typically, it comes with added heart-unhealthy sodium. So, in terms of what it means for a society, few things could be more appropriate metaphors. It looks attractive and yummy but what it really does it tend to kill you while it makes you feel good for a moment. But your kids and grandkids and great-grandkids won’t feel that moment that you’ll relish. All they’ll feel is endless frustration and despair of the situation you put them in. And utter hate.

Can you really blame them?

The word “tater-tot” also has within in the two words, “tater” and “tot” and again both of these seem appropriate. A “tater” is a slang word for “potato” — a food which is something we can almost all relate to. I can’t think of anyone I know who doesn’t really like potatoes. Some only like French Fries while other prefer a Baked Potato. I like potatoes every way made that I’ve ever had: Baked, Fried, Scalloped, Potato Salad, German Potato Salad, boiled, mashed. The only “problem” with potatoes is that they don’t really solve the hunger problem very permanently. They are high calorie and the energy is quickly absorbed. This means your pancreas secretes insulin to drive your blood sugar level back down. And, since our biochemistry mainly evolved before French Fries, our pancreas thinks we are having a huge meal and sends way more than enough insulin. And, that drops your blood sugar level again.
So fifteen minutes after eating the French Fries with salt & ketchup (Yes, of course, I love them!) You feel wonderful! Yum! But an hour and a half after eating them you may feel hungrier than you did before you started!

That seems totally appropriate as a metaphor.

At last, we come to “tot.” It’s almost too easy and obvious, isn’t it? Many of us go through a phase as a toddler where we try this “I am the dictator of the world” and everyone must cater to me.” It doesn’t happen to everyone, but to far more than actually become dicks. It takes time and experience to understand how to be kind to people in all its complexity, but the basics are pretty easy, actually. So, most kids are “nice” to others most of the time. But there are a few who are not. And, then almost everyone has a bad day now and again. Now, personally, I was much more of a dick at age 13 than I was at 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11. Hormones? I don’t know. I just know it was so. Your mileage may differ. But, I think generally speaking, we would agree that dick-titorial behavior is childish behavior. It’s childish to be so self-centered that you care more about your own ego than about the fact that you’re killing women and children who have done nothing to hurt you. Nothing.

So, where were we? Ah, yes, a dick-tater-$hit is a balancing act. Everyone around the dick-tater is afraid of that dick-tater. But at the same time, the dick-tater is scared of everyone around them! This means, among other things, that the dick-tater is always looking for external enemies in order to keep his inner ring from turning their gaze toward him and thinking how much better a job of it they could do. To avoid internal division, the dick-tater is always fomenting discord to outside enemies or to the “undesirables” within their own society.

Good luck with that one! Because there is absolutely no way anyone can tell with certainty who or what is going to be called a deadly evil in a dictatorship ten years down the line. Just because a dictatorship begins by forbidding gay marriage in year one doesn’t mean they won’t require it next decade. “No, they couldn’t. They wouldn’t.” Well, don’t be so sure. TFG, would-be tater-tot, was a liberal (gasp!) On many issues such as abortion, before getting into politics. Of course, he needs the support of his fans in order to gain absolute power, but not to keep it. Once the machinery of a dictatorship is well in place, it is very easy to target different groups at different times. If someone thinks they’re safe because the current dick-tater pretends to be a lot like them, they’re simply fooling themselves. First of all, they’re a lot less like the dick-tater than he would have you believe. Second, even if he were your identical twin, he’s out to steal from the people and if he can do that better by throwing you under the bus, he would sacrifice that twin brother. That’s what it means to be a dick-tater: No-one else really matters; you sizzle them with flashy illusion but there’s nothing lasting or substantive; you appeal to the selfish child that lives in everyone. That child was formed before you learned about logic and evidence and facts versus opinions. Why appeal to the rational mind who might (in fact, likely would) see right through your web of lies? Instead, promise them something wonderful and undefined. Whenever you need a bump in popularity, tell them you’ve achieved one of those wonderful things.

You don’t actually have to achieve anything. You simply have to direct newspapers and social media what to say about your wonderful achievement. Oh, and let’s not forget to jail or poison any journalist who reports on the truth. Eventually, people will begin to catch on despite the dick-tater’s insistence on the web of lies. Eventually, everyone knows the emperor has no clothes. But he simply makes it known that anyone who mentions it will be decapitated which is ironic in that it’s actually the state that needs to be decapitated.

[Notes: (cont.) ** The suffix “$hit” is appended dick-tater in order to form the word for the type of government. I find the suffix: “ship” leaves me adrift. Maybe running a country is like running a ship? I think the most we can say about “ship” is that it is used to make a collective out of individuals. Partners form a partnership. Towns form a township. But…? Dick-taters make a dick-tater-ship? I guess to some extent that is true. The people closes to the Dick-Tater also have to be pretty cowardly. And so on. The further away you get from the dick-tater, the braver people tend to be. They almost have to because they have far less power. The dick-tater rules because he has power. But what is that power? He doesn’t physically have control over very many.

There are agreements throughout the society that enforce the power. On any given day, everyone could wake up and simply stop enforcing them. After all, they might ask themselves, “Why should the dick-tater be the only one in the country allowed to break his promises? Anyway, I promised I would protect Mother Russia from attack, not that I would attack my neighbors who pose no threat to me.” Those are uncomfortable questions for a dick-tater to answer. So he won’t. To survive in a dick-tater-$hit you need to bribe people. Hence, the dollar sign. Because the rule of law means nothing and the truth means nothing and fair play means nothing and raw power means everything, you and me and everyone we care about will be in something and believe me that thing we will be in is not a ship.

Destroying the idea of democracy is like trying to chain a cloud, Vlademort. Give it up.

Absolute is not just a vodka

The Siren Song

Poppa Goes the Weasel

All for One & None for Most

The Orange Man

Con-Con Man’s Special Friend

Thrumperdome

Stoned Soup

The Three Blind Mice

Essays on America: The Game

Donnie Plays Bull Dazzle Man

Donnie Plays Doctor Man

Donnie Learns Golf

Donnie Plays Soldier Man

Donnie Visits Granny

Donnie Gets a Hamster

Donnie Takes a Blue Ribbon for Spelilng

Donnie Gets his Name on a Tennis Trophy

Donnie Lets his Brother Take the Fall

Donnie Watches a Veterans Day Parade

Ramming Your Head into a Brick Wall does not Make you a Hero

“There is always light if only we are brave enough to be it.” — Amanda Gorman

All for One; and None for Most

21 Monday Feb 2022

Posted by petersironwood in Uncategorized

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

Democracy, Dictatorship, poem, poetry, politics, Putin, USA

His balls aren’t made of solid brass;

He’s nothing but a pompous ass.

He crows as though he’s made of gold.

His con is simple and it’s old:

Divide the people so the few

Can rule the many just like you.

The game is old; the outcome cold.

The dice are loaded ere they’re rolled.

The wealthy own the megaphones;

The poor must chew on meatless bones.

It would not work except for lies.

The end result is corpse and flies.

“It isn’t an apocalypse!”

He lies with sickly pouty lips.

“It’s all for me; that much is true.

But if you’re nice, there’s some for you!

If you’re not happy as my slave,

You don’t accept my crazy rave!”

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

“It’s all your fault for having thought.

My bald-faced lies you should’ve bought!”

The King who now owns everything,

He wants to teach the mass to sing:

“Oh, let me serve you all my life;

Please take my house, my soul, my wife.”

And for a time, the rich survive,

And steal from all as they connive.

Of course, at last, with poor too sick

To work the fields; to lay a brick;

It all falls down as shredded dreams.

Dictatorship is what it seems:

It’s All for One and None for Most.

Small scraps for you while king gets roast.

This land of brown’s a fitting crown.

Above his bloody toothless frown.

The hate he feels for all of life

Now manifests as war and strife.

The trees are gone; the crops have failed.

The books are burned; the good are jailed.

It seems as though a land of lies

Becomes a land of death and flies.

When we look back it seems so clear.

Embrace a lie — you’ll lose what’s dear.

The world indeed has gone to seed.

Dictatorship fills no-one’s need.

The watery gruel; the rules are cruel.

The victim’s blamed for losing the duel.

Unfair, one-sided, though it may be.

The zombies dance the jubilee!

They dance around; they love the sound!

Of flaming witches burned to ground!

It matters not their crimes aren’t real.

Cold cruelty to others is part of the deal!

But Life is Love made manifest.

A hate that kills will kill the best.

A hate that grows as everyone knows

Will lead to carcass-gnawing crows.

And in return — the sole bright spot:

Apotheosis for a snot.

As other cultures waxed and waned.

So too will this one once de-brained.

And if this vision seems absurd

Then try your best to spread the word.

Dictators always sue for war.

It’s never enough; they want still more.

It’s death and dying that’s supplied

When steered by frauds who’ve always lied.

It’s All for One and None for Most.

Dictators live on lies and boast.

They slither into caverns deep.

And there, they dream that all will weep.

At last, of course, they die alone.

To choose to kill; embrace the moan

Of death that’s dealt to innocence

Makes not a single ounce of sense.

This Life sees nothing more obscene

Than one who kills to steal the scene.

Betraying all the lives before,

So he can die with a higher “score.”

————

Author Page on Amazon

Plans for US; some GRUesome

Absolute is not just a vodka

Short stories to show how the mind of sociopath works: Link to the first

The Ailing King of Agitate

Try the Truth

Why Dictators almost always choose war Link

For those who seek cooperation rather than violence, these attempts to capture “best practices” in collaboration and teamwork might be useful. Here’s a link to the index.

Here’s a link to the first of two essays about creative negotiation.

These stories (with a link here) explore leadership and empathy.

“There is always light if only we are brave enough to see it; if only we are brave enough to be it.”

— Amanda Gorman

While not being naive about the real dangers of dictatorship, one way to push against that is actually to be more loving and kind and accepting than you already are. Think on that. And have a wonderful day.

— John

Lying to your Kids

13 Sunday Feb 2022

Posted by petersironwood in Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Democracy, essay, fiction, politics, Resistance, story, truth, USA

Lying to your Children: Lie for me

The squealing brakes startled Josh awake. He screamed. Only for a moment. Because he felt as much as heard, that something was wrong. Beside him, in the driver’s seat, Josh’s dad, Ron, cursed incoherently, though remarkably loudly & quickly. After a few moments of this, Ron turned to Josh like Jack Nicholson in The Shining. Josh had no idea what he had done wrong, but he anticipated the usual slap. Only harder. He closed his eyes.

No slap came. Instead, Ron grabbed him by both shoulders and shook him while screaming: “Listen to me! Open your eyes! Look at me! Nothing happened! Got it? Nothing happened! Say it! Tell me nothing happened!”

Josh was more than fully awake now. He was used to going from sleep to panic in one thunderous heartbeat ever since Mom had run off with that Jared guy. But what nothing was dad talking about…? Suddenly, Josh remembered … there was a heavy THUD! Someone had screamed. They must have hit someone. Now, Dad’s trying to cover it up.

Running through the entire list of strategies in his communications playbook, Ron decided that if his son didn’t understand, it was now necessary to repeat what was said before but more loudly and with stronger shaking of the shoulders and with an even more menacing look. So, that’s what he did.

But this time Josh had worked it out. He knew what was required.
“Daddy! Nothing happened!”

Ron’s face melted back into one that looked vaguely human as he said, “That’s right! That’s right! And, now listen here! This is important! If anyone else asks you, you just say you don’t know nothing and nothing happened. You got that?”

Josh nodded solemnly, pretending to be completely in awe of and compliant for Ron — something he had learned long ago as a survival strategy.

The police interview went something like this:

Police Officer: “So Josh. Tell me about where you were and what you did last evening.”

Josh: “Sure, Officer. Nothing happened. I mean I went with my dad to see that new movie, The Raiders of the Lost Arc. It was great! And, then, nothing happened. I don’t remember. My dad drove home and I fell asleep. Nothing happened. I don’t remember. Any other questions?”

Police Officer: “Josh, did your daddy tell you to say that nothing happened? Did he make you promise?”

Josh: “I don’t remember! Nothing happened!”

Police Officer: “Okay, Josh. I think we get the picture. Thank you for your help.

Josh went out and saw his dad about to be taken into an interrogation room. As he passed by, Josh used a stage whisper to his dad: “I did just like you told me, Dad.”

Dad was put away for a good long time.

Sadly, although Josh came out ahead in this particular snippet of his life, learning to become a more clever liar is not really a good long-term strategy. Josh discovered this for himself, on the way down. Oddly, people said, he was killed by the fall. Of course, in truth, very few people die from falls, per se. It is the landing that kills.

Moral of the Story: Telling a lie to your kids is like giving them a poison.

Sometimes, it’s fast acting poison.

Sometimes, it’s slow acting poison.

But it’s always poison.

And, here’s the real magic of it. It’s poison for the lie teller as well! Yes, indeed! It is a double-edged sword extraordinaire because it cuts the sword wielder as well as the sword shielder.

Photo by Oliver Sju00f6stru00f6m on Pexels.com

Can you ever imagine that you would intentionally tell your kid the wrong way to perform a skill so that they would get fewer hits, or throw more errors, or serve more double faults, or hurt themselves with tools? Of course not! If they were about to go into a road race, would you cut their brake lines? Of course not! But propagating a lie is exactly like that — handicapping one’s own children in their coming attempts to survive in this world.

Propagating a lie is a big deal. And propagating a Big Lie is an even bigger deal. Whatever the reason, it’s something whose harm is more like a plague or a cancer than a punch. The poison spreads often well beyond the liar and the original target of the lie. When more people lie in the society, there is less trust. When there is less trust, there is more need for regulation and coordination. That inevitably results in friction. So long as all parties play by the rules and tell the truth, it will eventually be resolved and there will be an increase in trust. However, if one side cheats and lies, no matter who wins, there will be a ripple of distrust all through society.

Which is kind of the point, you see?

Josh’s dad Ron may not have known how his actions would undermine his own life as well as his son’s. But the people trying to destroy American Democracy? They know exactly why they’re spreading lies and what it will mean. They are spreading the cancer of distrust and division intentionally. Why? Because dividing is how the few conquer the many. It’s a playbook that has been run over and over and over in human history.

Think about it.

How can a relatively small group of criminals take over a country? They can do it by distracting everyone else into thinking the enemy is not the crime gang but the other victims of the theft of a nation. They cannot possibly do it by telling the truth. The truth is that only the ruling crime family will necessarily benefit by a dictatorship. Nor can the Crime Family take over by force. There are far too few of them. And, they are cowards to boot. They could co-opt the military. They tried that but it didn’t work.

Telling poisonous lies is their major remaining option.

It’s evil, but it’s understandable, given that all they care about is power.

But ordinary people lying to their own children?

There’s something deeply disturbing about that, most especially when the lie isn’t even for the benefit of anyone involved.

The parent won’t benefit.

The child won’t benefit.

No-one who overhears the lie will benefit.

The only person who benefits is the would-be Diktator of AmeriKKKa (let’s use “Dik” for short) because the lying parent is practicing giving away their own agency and putting it in the hands of the Dik. It’s no accident that some of the lies put their own life at risk along with the lives of their family & friends. They are being trained to put the Dik above the life and welfare of what they previously loved most dearly in the world.

—————————

Essays on America: Labelism

Essays on America: The Game

Identity Theft

Absolute is not just a vodka

A Lot is not a little

Stories of a fictional child sociopath

Stoned Soup

Three Blind Mice

Author Page on Amazon

The Winning Weekend Warrior – Sports psychology book aimed to help you win more — whatever that means for you.

Turing’s Nightmares — SciFi scenarios about the possible future impacts of AI on our lives, our families, our society.

Fit in Bits — How to stay more fit by working more variety & fun into daily activities.

Tales from an American Childhood — A partial autobiography that examines incidents from the 1950’s and relates them to contemporary issues.

P is for Politics

08 Tuesday Feb 2022

Posted by petersironwood in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Democracy, peace, poem, poetry, politics, Resistance, USA

Politics starts with P

Often politics stars with P

Political Posturing has twice as much P

The former Pee-Resident really put the Pee in Politics

Thank his Pal who got him Putin office.

Pride begins with P

Prejudice begins with P

Petulance and Pestilence

And Putrid and Pathetic

Did I mention Putin and Putin’s Puppet?

Perhaps, we the People ought to ban the letter P.

Phase out Paranoia and

Purge Pathetic Pain and Pelf.

Purloin the letter P.

Proscribe it from the alphabet!

It seems the perfect plan!

But can we stand to ban the plum?

Dare we deign to eat no peach?

Would we desire a pleasureless life?

Would endless strife surpass our Peace?

But then a thought occurs to me:

What if banning letter P

Doesn’t even impact what is real?

It’s just a game to make us squeal.

Photo by Charlie Solorzano on Pexels.com

Imagine folks who lie

And ban the naming of that lie.

Imagine folks who beat

And steal your winter wheat.

To get away with crime,

More than just one at a time.

Easier just to break all law.

Do it once & hide the flaw.

Now your gang can really go to town!

Turn it all — all upside down!

And if you are blind enough to think

Capitol attack is peachy pink.

Could never come your way

Well, guess again, I say.

There will be so many deaths

It will take away your breath

The label’s not the thing

Wherein we’ll catch the king.

What happens in our life

Determines peace or strife.

Here’s the path to paradise:

Garden, love and plant a pine.

Be sort of nice; not blind of mind;

Being kind works many a time.

We will paradize our place.
And love our human race.

—————————-

Essay on America: Labelism

Identity Theft

Where does your loyalty lie?

My Cousin Bobby

The Ailing King of Agitate

Guernica

The only “them” that matters is all of us

Con-Con Man’s Special Friend

Siren Song

The Mud Pit

We’re all in this together

Fire and Ice

The All for me Bee

Life Will Find a Way

Author Page on Amazon

“It is in our very nature

To improve our very nature.”

Trickle Down Your Spine

03 Thursday Feb 2022

Posted by petersironwood in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

America, politics, USA

The myth that the “trickle down economy” works is constructed specifically for the purpose of garnering support, especially among those negatively impacted by the “trickle down” policies. And, it works! Via careful marketing, millions of non-rich people actually believe that economic policies that favor the rich, will ultimately favor them as well — though that is definitely not what the data show and, with rare exceptions, completely contrary to the “believer’s” personal experience.

Or is it?

In their experience, as is true for most people, more effort means more success. If you work hard on something and work smart on something and do it for a long time, you’ll have a much better success than if you just dabble at it. Let’s say you made a cradle for your first granddaughter and you put a lot of time and effort into it. The cradle was beautiful! (Great job, you).

Another project of yours didn’t work out quite so well. You made a doghouse, but you were in a hurry because of other things and you were going to use old scraps of wood anyway to save money. It looks as it does: sad, unprofessional, ugly. Those you remember, and indeed, there’s no doubt at all that, generally speaking, results are correlated with effort. Results are also correlated with talent. Better golfers and tennis players win more and make more money. Same with many entertainers. More talented entertainers garner more fame and money.

The propaganda part comes in to convince those millions of true believers that what is true of their own efforts and what is true of competitive fields, is exactly what’s in play when one person has a salary of 50,000 a year and someone else has a salary of 50,000,000 a year. And, why would we want to mess with that success, right? No, as it turns out, exorbitant CEO salaries are not required to get good talent. But perpetuating the myth yields dividends: the wealthy gain support for a con that they pull on their supporters!

But there’s a second and more insidious reason for perpetuating the myths of a “level playing field” and a “trickle down economy.” If the wealthy are the source of wealth, then, you’d better be damned nice to them! Say, you have a middle class client who has given you solid business for a decade and then someone truly wealthy comes along and asks you to please just put them at the top of the list, because they’re very busy and who knows how big their next job for you might me. What would you do?

But there’s a third and even more insidious reason for perpetuating the myth. It doesn’t just make it possible to institute policies that screw most of the population. It does that, and it invites people to give special treatment to the wealthy so that they have an even more uneven playing field to play on. The third thing that the myth perpetuates is an intra-psychic mind helix (I really want to use a more apt word but we’ll keep it PG-13) of truly soul-crushing proportions. The ultra-wealthy have convinced nearly everyone in society that there are worthy and unworthy people. Further, to be worthy means that you make a lot of money, or, if you’re unable to that (because of lack of talent or hard work, obviously) at least have the dignity of knowing that you have contributed to society — by which is very clearly meant, have a good paying job (working for the very wealthy).

Your worth as a human being is not dependent on working. It is worthwhile to contribute to society. You could do that in thousands of ways that would bring you zero income. According to what most people really feel, it would be fine to do that. You would be taken care of by your community. But large segments of our society have been made to feel unworthy. And what happens when someone feels unworthy? They are hugely handicapped in getting a job. In some cases, this kind of pattern starts in school. A person is made to feel unworthy because it takes them twice as long to learn something.

There are good solutions for that. For example, you could be very selective in what you decide to learn. You can take twice as long to learn if it takes twice as long to learn. That works. You can use external stimuli to help you remember things. Although this is a worthwhile strategy for the real world, it is expressly forbidden in most school settings. What, exactly, is a student being prepared for?

They are being prepared for failure. They are made to feel unworthy and that’s great, because those who feel unworthy are much easier prey for the tactics of fear-mongering and hate-mongering. The “Trickle-Down Wealth = Worthiness” theory works at three levels: first, the policy level; second, the interpersonal level; third, at the intra-psychic level.

Just as the wealthy hire people to make you feel that the key to your happiness is drinking coke, eating chips, & chewing Tumms, they turn to those same people to make you feel like policies that make rich people richer are “practical” and “good for the economy.” They hire these same folks to make you think wealthy people are just plain better, regardless of what else they do, whatever laws they break, whatever evil they wreak in the world. They hire that same crew to make you believe that if you are not wealthy, you are unworthy. And —-

(Drum roll please). If you feel unworthy, it’s not that you are really unworthy. Oh, no! You are worthy but you have been cheated out of your wealth! Yeah, but not by wealthy people! Oh, no! Shame on you! How could you ever think that? You nasty person! Why just last week, the billionaire gave a million dollars to a scholarship fund! Of course, it wasn’t wealthy people who cheated you! You’ve been cheated out of your wealth because of other poor people or others in the middle class. Yeah, it’s their fault — but not the people just like you! No, no, you’re just fine. But it’s the poor people who are: (Pick whatever items you want): {gay, trans, black, brown, yellow, red, old, young, immigrant, rural, urban, left-handed, right-handed, Asian, Native American, handicapped….} They’re the ones who’ve kept you from being a “worthy person.”

Don’t get me wrong. People would be plenty upset and the Arcturans even if all the Arcturrans did was just take their money. But it isn’t just about money. Because people have been brainwashed from birth that if they are not able to achieve great wealth, they are unworthy!

Except, guess what? A savior comes to show them that they are not unworthy at all because they have simply been cheated out of the great wealth (and worthiness) that they so richly deserve. It is no surprise that many graven images of TFG are literally made to appear Christ-like or God-like even though, in substance, he’s the least Christ-like of any President in history! But in terms of the psychological function he serves in some people’s lives, it’s the same. He convinces them that their soul can be saved! They will be made whole again. They are worthwhile and all it takes is for someone like TFG to be in charge with absolute power, and he will make sure they have the kind of wealth they deserve. He will wreak revenge on the heads of your enemies!

Of course, it’s absolute rot, as it always is when dictators brag about how great it’s going to be. If someone wants to hear a particular message badly enough, they will hear it and ignore the sound of the truth all around them.

At one level, it’s hilarious to see a bunch of mainly rich old white guys complain and whinge and whine about how much they’ve been cheated. That this cadre of whiners and wingers about how unfairly life has treated them is led by a rich old white guy who was born rich, lost a fortune, begged daddy for more money and then still couldn’t make an honest go of it, only adds to the richness of the irony. But however hilarious and absurd it is, it is also deadly serious. And by “deadly” I mean “deadly” — literally. People will die. And people have died because of the “Big Lie” and the thousands of others.

The catechism of “Wealth is Worthiness and the Wealthy Deserve a Special Break” has been enhanced to include: “And My Voice is the Only Voice you can Trust! Ignore that I’ve spent my entire adult life being a con mad and that I’ve cheated in all my relationships with other human beings. So what? Believe me and your enemies will be killed and you’ll be rich and righteous just as you deserve to be.”

Dictators divide in order to gain power. Once they are in power, they can and do steal from everyone. They can and do cheat everyone. They can kill anyone. Read the history of dictators. They’ll kill journalists. They’ll kill business partners who become too successful. They’ll kill political competitors. They’ll even kill co-rapists if that person might provide damning evidence.

Draw a diagram.

Read history.

Think.

———————-

Absolute is not just a vodka

Essays on America: The Game

The Ailing King of Agitate

Stoned Soup

Con Con Man’s Special Friend

The Three Blind Mice

Myths of the Veritas: The Orange Man

Listen to my Siren Song

Where does your Loyalty Lie?

Essays on America: The Stopping Rule

Essays on America: The Update Problem

Essays on America: Happy Talk Lies

Guernica

Author page on Amazon

Con-Con Man’s Special Friend

29 Saturday Jan 2022

Posted by petersironwood in Uncategorized

≈ 23 Comments

Tags

Conman, politics, satire, story

The Con-Con Man didn’t think of himself as a “Con-Con Man.” Nor, for that matter, did he even think of himself as a “Con Man.” It was more like this: He thought of himself as the “Only Man.” Or at least, the only one that mattered. The other people who appeared and disappeared out of his tiny circle of consciousness were tools. And what the Con-Con Man enjoyed was conning the people who appeared in that tiny circle so that they didn’t even realize he was using them as tools.

One day, an Educated Man met the Con-Con Man and said, “If only we could help educate more people.” And the Con-Con Man said, “What a wonderful idea! Let’s do it! I will start a University with the sole purpose of educating more people!” Of course, the Con-Con Man did no such thing and instead started a “University” with the sole purpose of stealing other people’s money.

One day, a Compassionate Woman met the Con-Con Man and said, “If only we could help those in need. What’s really sad is when kids get cancer. If only we could help those kids.”
And the Con-Con Man said, “What a wonderful idea! Let’s do it!”

The Compassionate Woman said, “Educated Man” says I shouldn’t trust you.”

Con-Con Man looked shocked. “What? Why?! You know why? I’ll tell you why. Educated man is not compassionate! He didn’t really want to help students at all! He just wanted to get jobs for his snooty professor friends. I saw right through him. You, on the other hand are a Compassionate Woman and you and I will make hundreds of lives better! I will start a Charity with the sole purpose of helping kids with cancer!” Of course, the Con-Con Man did no such thing and instead started a “Charity” with the sole purpose of stealing other people’s money.

One day, A Politician met the Con-Con Man and said, “If only we could find the right man, we could win the Presidency for the benefit of the very wealthiest people on the planet!” The Con-Con Man said, “What a wonderful idea! Let’s do it!! I know just the guy. Me.”

“Really?” Replied the Politician. “Your father would be so proud of you. He may have been a great Con Man but you are a Con Man’s Con Man; A Con Man Don. You con as easily as most people breathe. But you must understand one thing, of course. We call the shots. We’re not even vaguely interested in the liberal opinions you’ve spouted over the years. You will toe the line. The policies you put in place will serve to keep us — and you — in power and to keep people as ignorant, ill-fed, fearful, and hate-filled as possible. This obviously makes them easier to control. You think you can do that?”

“Can I do that?” The Con-Con Man laughed. “I can do that better than anyone!”

“Good. There’s just one more thing. You are great at being a Con Man, no doubt about it. But we are good at being politicians. We will be choosing candidates and messaging and so on. You understand. Of course, we’d welcome your input.”

“Naturally,” said The Con-Con Man. “You’re the experts when it comes to politics. No problem! Let me take care of conning people.”

And, the Con-Con Man did con people just as he had promised.
And, the Con-Con Man did not leave choosing candidates to “The Oligarchs.”

Of course, the Con-Con Man choose only candidates who would give their power to him. I could say give their power and wealth but that would be redundant. Once he had power over them, their wealth is essentially his already. The only question is how much hassle is worth actually taking physical possession.

And a Fan Man of the Con-Con Man came to see him at his “hacienda” in Mar-A-Lardo. The Fan Man said, “Wouldn’t it be great if everyone thought just like I do and made love just like I do and talked just like I do and believed just what I believe and looks just like I look?” And, the Con-Con Man said, “What a wonderful idea! I shall make it so! And, not only that, you can help make that happen! Write me a check now, but make sure your friends who are just like you send me a check too! You can always back out of the monthly thing later if you really want to — you know — leave the entire country in ruins and run by — you know — them! Those folks who are not at all like you. Those folks hate you and so it’s right that we hate them right back and that we stay in power so they are always in their place!”

And Fan Man said, “I really want to Mr. Con-Con Man. But, you know. I hate to bring it up, but Educated Man said you conned him. And Compassionate Woman said you conned her. And, your wives — well, you conned all of them. So, we just want to make sure you’re not trying to con us as well.”

Mr. Con-Con Man smiled. Well, not really. I mean if you actually know how to read a face — like if you or I had been there, we would have seen that it was not a genuine smile at all. He wasn’t “smiling” as a friend working together on solving a puzzle might smile. He was “grinning” the grin of someone seeing yet another con unfold before him. He was “grinning” the grin of an angler fish who feels the anticipatory joy of some small fish coming toward his “bait” — the anticipatory joy that makes the angler fish’s joy all the sweeter in cutting it short and destroying the life of another.

But Fan Man did not see that it was a fake smile; a smile that said: “I’m am so going to screw you over and so going to enjoy it! And, you are so stupid you deserve it.” Of course, Con-Con Man didn’t say that part out loud. What he said out loud was this:

“Oh, Fan Man, don’t you worry. Educated man? Of course, I conned him! He deserved it! He just wanted to educate people to make them Communists! And, don’t even get me started on Compassionate Woman! You know as well as I do that she’s a fraud and a cheat and would be in jail right now except for corrupt people in places. Of course, I conned her and good riddance. Now, what was your other question? Something about my daughter? She’s hot, right? Everyone wants to. It’s okay. But the point is, you can trust me because I’m not trying to con you. No, you are the very reason I have power. You are the people I most love because just like you, I had to work my butt off for every penny. And now, people want to take things I have rightfully earned. So, we’re the same. I’m not going to con you. No way!! I am going to fight for you every step of the way! I’ll get you jobs! I’ll keep you safe!”

But of course, conning Fan Man was, in many ways, the sweetest con of all. It reminded Con-Con Man of that great time when he had forced himself on a 13-year old. And, then threatened her life and that of her parents if she pursued justice. Wonderful times. But all those adventures with Jeffrey were basically just forcing themselves on one woman at a time! This con allowed him to screw millions! This time, a genuine smile did mushroom onto his face.

One day, Mr. Putin Man came a-calling. He whispered soothing things to Con-Con Man such as: “Oh, Mr. President, I have no idea how you put up with your free press. What pesky little pricks they are, am I right? Yes. Of course, you’re a brilliant man even as you yourself say, so you know I’m right. Sure. You know without me telling you that you’d be much better off if you had no free press. And, I can help you! I have no free press. I can show you how to do it! No problem.”

And: “Oh, Mr. President. Isn’t a little insane how everyone wants to vote in your elections? Wouldn’t it be better for the whole country if a small group of hand-picked sycophants decided whether elections are fair? Then, if any states don’t vote for you, they are overturned! And possibly jailed! Easy as pie.”

And: “Oh, Mr. President. Yes, what an excellent idea to build mutual trust! Here, I’ll hand over our nuclear codes and you hand me yours at the same time. One. Two. Three. Go!”

Mr Con-Con Man wasn’t born yesterday. “Say! How do I know these are your real codes?”

Mr. Putin Man smiled ‘a more convincing than Con-Con’s’ but still insincere smile. “Mr. President, I would never try to con you! You’re too smart for me! You’re too smart for anyone! Of course they’re real! I just hope you never have to find out just how real they are. You know radiation on the scale of an atomic war would get around to everyone, right? So, we never want to start a nuclear war, right?”

Mr Con-Con Man said, “Huh? Sorry, I was thinking about Hillary. I don’t know why I can’t get the Secret Service to … “

Mr. Putin Man said, “Wait. Let me stop you right there. See, relying on Secret Service is a big mistake. You need your own security force of people you own. As the old Russian saying goes, ‘If you break a lot of dishes, expect to be cut more than once.’ Doesn’t really translate well. Here’s another: “A banker and his guard dog don’t agree on cuisine.” Get it? Never mind. Just take my word for it.

“Okay, Mr. Putin. But how can I be sure you’re not conning me?”

“Me try to con you? Hah! I may not be smart enough to con you, but I’m smart enough to know I can’t con you. Haha. Of course I’m not trying to con you! Why would I? What possible — I’ll tell you what. If I make the incredibly stupid move of trying to con you, I’ll let you know. Okay? So as long as I don’t tell you I’m conning you, you’re actually quite safe.”

Still no genuine smile but Putin Man tried. You have to give him credit for that.

And load of credit for not completely breaking down in hysterical laughter at the irony. Instead, he managed to keep a completely straight face all the way back to his hotel Suite where he spent hours doing vodka shots, laughing hysterically, and posing for himself in front of the mirror before calling a couple special “Ladies of the Night.” A gift of sorts, they showed up at Con-Con Man’s door around 10. “We’re from Vlad! We hope you’re glad!” they sang in unison.

Con-Con Man thought, God, it’s fun to be the smartest man on the planet.

———-

The Interview

The Truth Train

The Ailing King of Agitate

Absolute is not just a Vodka

The Oxymorons of the Mango Mussolini

Three Blind Mice

Stoned Soup

Where does your loyalty lie?

My Cousin Bobby

When do we break the Elder Wand?

17 Wednesday Nov 2021

Posted by petersironwood in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

America, politics, questions, thinking, unity, USA

Questions for the people.

Why do you suppose there is a right to free speech in the US Constitution?

What so you see as the benefits of free speech?

Is it OK to scream “FIRE!” At the top of your lungs in a crowded theater when you know there is no fire?

Why do we need a license to own a car? Why do we have to prove that we know both the rules of the road and how to drive?

Why does almost everyone drive on the “correct” side of the road almost all of the time? Sure, it saves many lives and crippling accidents, but doesn’t it impinge on our freedom of expression?

Is there a distinction between freedom of expression and freedom of action?

Do you think people should be free to do whatever they want whenever they want regardless of how much it hurts others?

When is it okay for government to restrict personal choices?

Who exactly would benefit from a Civil War in America?

If there were a Civil War in America and the “north” won again, how should they treat those in the “south”?

If dictatorships are such a wonderful form of government, why do so many people risk their lives in order to leave them? And, again, if they’re so wonderful, why do they try to prevent their citizens from leaving? Why do they suppress criticism?

If a person says, “I am not a crook!” Does that prove he’s not a crook? How about if he screams it really, really loudly?

When is it better to keep being conned by a con man and when is it better to admit you were conned?

Some of the media lean left and some of the media lean right.

But nearly all the media lean toward the reporting of division and violence over the reporting of unity and peace. It’s understandable. We attend far more to things that make us afraid or angry than things that just seem pleasant. That means the advertisers who largely fund the media will push networks and newspapers and magazines to carry stories about division and violence. Is there anything that can be done? How much would you be willing to pay for news sources that were only funded by subscription and not by advertisers?

At the end of the Harry Potter movies, when the major source of evil, Voldemort, is vanquished and Harry himself has the most powerful wand, what do you suppose he does with it? Why?

What would you be willing to change in your own life if it would mean your great-grandchildren would likely have a much cleaner, safer, and more beautiful world than if you change nothing? Would you be willing to pay higher taxes? Change your habits? Travel less? Elect politicians who care about the environment?

Most scientists agree that climate change is real, exacerbated by human activity and that there will be disastrous consequences. But some people say it is a giant hoax. How can you tell which is correct? Why do you suppose some people might be motivated to say it’s a hoax even though it isn’t?

Large International Corporations have a lot of power in determining policies in America (and in most other countries). They rely on and benefit from our roads, ports, broadband, educated workforce, electricity, police, fire departments. Many pay zero taxes. What they do pay is lots and lots of campaign dollars to politicians. Do you think this might influence politicians to do what’s best for those large corporations rather than what’s best for America as a whole? If not, what do you think prevents that from happening?

If the majority of people in a state vote for a candidate but the people’s choice is overturned by a partisan state legislature, what do you think that would do to the quality and ethics of the candidates in office? How do you think the majority will react?

Who would benefit from a Civil War in America?

What do you think would happen to a baseball game in which one side consistently refused to abide by the umpires call?

What do you think would happen to a basketball game in which one side consistently refused to admit that the opposing team had scored?

How could a dictatorial head of state benefit by instituting policies that would actually increase the number of citizens who sickened and died from a deadly pandemic?

How do you decide when it is the right time to break the Elder Wand?

My Cousin Bobby

Essays on America: The Update Problem

Essays on America: The Stopping Rule

The Myths of the Veritas: The Orange Man

The Myths of the Veritas: Stoned Soup

The Myths of the Veritas: Three Blind Mice

The Truth Train

The Loud Defense of Untenable Positions

Fascism Leads to Chaos

Author Page on Amazon

Drumbeat: Spoiled Feet Fill the Street

28 Thursday Oct 2021

Posted by petersironwood in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Democracy, Dictatorship, fascism, poem, poetry, politics, USA

Listen — noisy proud boys bleat

While parading down the street.

You can hear the drumming beat

Beast brutality of feet.

Stomping out, stamping out

With that military shout.

What’s it all about? I doubt

Anyone could match their lout.

So it matters not at all

If you take your eyes from ball.

Heed the ruthless animal!

Live an endless carnival!

You won’t have enough to eat.

You won’t have the cash for heat.

You won’t have a fair compete

You won’t have a chance to greet.

One will have a nice surprise.

One will eat up all the pies.

One will say who lives and dies.

Everything is wrapped in lies.

Love dick-taters made of poo?

Lordy, folk, just get a clue!

Oligarchs don’t care for you!

Think! Dear Buckaroo and Think!

Cages for all ages. Think!

Blink your life away for fink?

Cover lies with screams and wink?

Every part of life would shrink.

Soulless, heartless, artless, ballyhoo;

Concrete, steel, mindless crew;

None will fairly earn their due.

Life in hues of black and blue.

Listen to the pound of boots!

In with Putin in cahoots!

We must see: ’Tis death at roots.

All it does: – It kills and loots.

Who would trade the dance of life?

March of war; and march of death;

March of hate; and march of strife?

We will fight as long as breath:

Cancer always loses in the end.

Light will let us cleave and mend.

Essays on America: Wednesday

The Invisibility Cloak of Habit

Essays on America: The Update Problem

Essays on America: The Stopping Rule

The Only Them that Counts is All of Us

Absolute is not just a vodka

What about the butter dish

Essays on America: My cousin Bobby

Where does your loyalty lie?

Essays on America: Happy Talk Lies

Fascism Leads to Chaos

Cancer Always Loses in the End

Inside Trump Tower

11 Monday Oct 2021

Posted by petersironwood in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

essay, politics, Resist, Resistance, treason, USA

It is a good thing to try to put oneself in someone else’s shoes. We shouldn’t fool ourselves about how well we can do that, but for some situations, we do a pretty good job. For example, if we watch a movie and someone gets attacked by a Great White Shark, we know we would feel pretty terrified and it’s a fairly good assumption that they are going to be terrified.

Let’s imagine how it feels inside the experience of a person who lies constantly and absurdly about how wonderful and great he is; how beloved he is by everyone; how he is the best at everything. Let’s say he declares himself to be a wobble-free genius. Can you imagine how empty he feels inside? He believes himself to be utterly incapable of anything which is why he insists he are successful at everything.

I saw the results of such a pathetic hypothetical person once up close and personal in real life. Trump took over a golf course that I was a member at. He made some nice improvements. At that point, I didn’t know him from Adam. But some people at the club did and they quit. Some of those people had been former club champions. So what does Trump do? He orders that the plaques be redone with his name as club champions for those years. He not only had not won those tournaments. He had not even played in them.

Just imagine how you would feel looking at a trophy with your name on it knowing full well that you had done nothing to deserve it. Would you feel proud or ashamed? My guess is that you would feel ashamed. This false “accomplishment” tarnishes every real accomplishment you ever had or that you ever will have. This is a normal response.

But Trump, for whatever reason, has such subterranean self-esteem that any semblance of praise, however false or ill-deserved, feels to him as a seeming life-saving desperate drop of moisture for the shriveled old soul that lives within the shriveled old body. If someone flatters him and he knows it’s flattery, he values that more than he would an honest complement. Because to him, opinions about his abilities or behaviors don’t interest him in the slightest. He’s not going to change because of feedback from this or that politician, family member, thinker, advisor, etc. But he just wants the shadow of true praise that is not based upon fact at all but upon power.

He failed as a businessman. He failed as a family member. He failed his own honor when he dodged the draft a half dozen times. He proved himself a racist by calling for the death penalty for four black youths — who it turned out were innocent. Trump didn’t really know anything about the case. He just wanted to take advantage of an opportunity to put his “hat in the ring” for being a racist candidate. Just in case anyone slept through Act 1 due to jet lag or too much wine or whatever, Act 2 was ranting and raving about Obama being an African. “I’ve got proof and I’ll show it the day after the day after the day after the day after….” And, let’s think about it. Here’s a guy — Trump — whose known as a golfer, a playboy and a real estate developer. He’s on record supporting many liberal policies like being pro-abortion. Why would he really care whether Obama was born in Africa? This guy who dodged the draft six times and is already cheating on his taxes suddenly becomes outraged at a particular part of the Constitution that says you must be born in America to be President. Seem plausible?

In case the fifteen foot high blinking neon-Nazi sign from Act 1 wasn’t bright enough, let’s put on the fifty foot high blinking neon-Nazi sign in Act 2. Oh, and if that doesn’t do it for you. I mean, if you were really really zonked on for Acts 1 and 2, don’t you worry! The message of this play is simple and if you didn’t notice the neon-Nazi signs before, now they flashing out a new warning on the subway walls: “Civil War! Then, make me dictator of AmeriKKKa!”

It’s evil and it’s horrible, but it’s also pathetic. Imagine how empty and worthless TFG must feel that he wants the support of people, like him, who derive their sense of worth from something like their supposed race (itself a fiction) or their gender or their inherited wealth — and not from anything they’ve ever accomplished.

At this point, an image occurs to me. A black hole, metaphorical but also quite literal, exist at the very center of TFG. In order to fill it, he is compelled to suck every shred of truth and goodness from everyone around him. More and more people get sucked into the vortex. Who knows? Maybe in some parallel universe, it all comes out as beautiful anti-matter. That may be nice for them. Over there. In that universe.

But for us, back here on the earth we’re familiar with, it’s just plain out — terrible. It exacerbates the emptiness disease that TFG has become. It corrupts all those around him. They all know they’re lying and they each know each of the others is lying. Just like the false championships, if anyone famous goes along with the big lie, that action tarnishes everything good these Senators and Representatives and Newscasters ever did. It outweighs everything from the day, 40 years ago, as a cub scout, they helped someone cross the street to the day that they helped craft significant legislation. All of that is gone. And, for what? Nothing. That’s the real hell of it for them. For nothing.

All of them realize that if there is a coup, none of them will ever be safe again. And, they’ve already pledged their allegiance to the dictator. So, they have no real power. They have to do whatever the oligarchs tell Trump to make them do. They were afraid they’d lose power if they acted ethically; so instead, they acted unethically and as a result lost every shred of power. It’s a great dramatic thread for a farce. Unfortunately, it’s embedded in a real tragedy. And that kind of takes the fun out of it, at least for me.

They could, theoretically, have a great awakening and decide as one to throw off the shackles of the oligarchs and rejoin the difficult game of government by democracy. They would have more power than they ever had before because they would be free to work creatively and solve actual problems with actual work. They would help build a better world for their children and for everyone’s children to live in. They would certainly feel cleaner. That would be something that they could be proud of; that they wouldn’t mind the history books touting; a legacy for grandchildren.

I wonder how the Nazis who were still alive in Germany after the war explained their role to their grandchildren.

———————————-

Trumpism is a new religion

The Ailing King of Agitate

Essays on America: The Stopping Rule

Essays on America: Wednesday

The Invisibility Cloak of Habit

What about the butter dish?

At Least he’s our monster

Cancer Always Loses in the End

Donnie Boy Gets his Name on a Tennis Trophy

Donnie Boy Takes a Blue Ribbon for Spelling