Have a Merry Christmas if you can manage it

Top photo of the Crystal Pier in San Diego by Tim Forkes

The Return of Reality

On Dec.11 the U.S. Supreme Court delivered on what President Donald Trump called “Then Big One.” You know, the lawsuit brought by the state of Texas against the battle ground states that certified their election results for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, not Donald Trump. I say just Trump because in his little universe he is the only person who counts. The rest of the Trump Cult just needs to bow down in  supplication and send Trump more money. Apparently the self-proclaimed billionaire is broke.

The short message from the court said the state of Texas, “… has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another State conducts its elections.” In other words, the states and individuals signed on to the crazy petition have no standing. In Americanese, “Get the fuck outa here with this stupid shit!”

Justice Alito added a short adjoining opinion, which was also signed by Justice Thomas, that told the petitioners he would, “… grant the motion to file the bill of complaint but would not grant other relief, and I express no view on any other issue.” So, Alito and Thomas thought that since this was a dispute between states the court had an obligation to allow the petition, but that they would not grant any relief if it did.

One of the memes that went viral on social media had a picture Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump with the statement, “And just like that the Supreme Court was part of the Deep State.”

Republicans and Democrats  across the country applauded the court’s decision, except the 126 Trump Cult members of Congress that signed on to the ridiculous law suit and their co-conspirators, the secretaries of state and governors. Like their Fuhrer, Donald J. Trump, most of them vowed to fight on! “Damn reality! We will wrest the next presidential administration away from the legally and democratically elected Democrats and hold it for our Dear Leader!”

Remember the Mel Brooks classic film, Blazing Saddles? Whenever the name of Randolph Scott was mentioned, the townspeople would hush, rise to their feet, remove their hats and say his name in reverence. I just imagine members of the Trump Cult getting together and the appointed facilitator of the little meaning says the name, “Donald Trump,” the other cult members rise to their feet and place their hands over the hearts and repeat his name.
Group facilitator: “You’d do it for Donald Trump.”
Cult members: “Donald Trump!”

So on Monday, December 14, the Electoral College of the United States did their duty and voted for Joe Biden, confirming — once again — the former Vice President and Senator from Delaware will be the 46th President of the United States, with 306 Electoral votes — the same number that gave Trump the presidency in 2016. The Dear Leader called it a landslide.

On December 19 Trump’s core constituency, the racist xenophobic, misogynist, ignorant conspiracy theory nut bar fringe that is his Trump Cult, marched on Washington, D.C. to demand! — Demand, I say — the leaders of the Trump Cult in Congress stop this madness of letting Joe Biden and Kamala Harris claim the election they so rightfully won. By now we know the insanity the Trump Cult believes. They were marching with signs that had catchy phrases like “Stop the steal!” or just the plain “TRUMP” flag. It was real eye catching.

Women cult member wishing Trump would come out of the White House and grab their pussies, men cult members wishing Trump would come out and tell them to kill someone. Top conspiracy theory nut bar Alex Jones was there with a megaphone telling the Trump Cult, “Joe Biden is a globalist! Joe Biden will be removed, one way to another!”

Makes me wonder two things: is “globalist” an actual word and if it is does Jones — and the Trump Cult — know what it means? Turns out “Globalism” is an actual word that means “the attitude or policy of placing the interests of the entire world above those of individual nations.” — Dictionary.com

So, if the word “Globalism” exists then one can be a globalist. I, apparently, am a globalist. Saving the planet from global warming is my top priority, after stopping the COVID-19 pandemic, and any policies for stopping it must include all nations, especially the United States and China. 

It isn’t clear Joe Biden is so committed to the plan. He says he is, but Biden runs away from the Green New Deal. He has incorporated many of the Green New Deal policy ideas into his platform, but he’s afraid of using the term “Green New Deal” because he thinks it will cost him some support. The election is over Joe, time to step up your game. But let’s hold off on that until Biden and Harris are sworn in.

Anyway, It isn’t likely the Trump Cult know what the word “globalist” means, including Alex Jones. The Trump Cult is extremely ignorant and delirious in their devotion to their Dear Leader.They are still giving the fat cretin money. 

On Twitter, the Hoarse Whisperer posted this: “Ya ever stop to think that maybe the reason he is so insistent Biden must have cheated is because Trump actually *did* cheat and can’t believe he still lost?”

That’s actually a common sentiment going around Trump’s favorite platform. 

And here we are on the day of Christmas Eve, with Trump and his cult vowing to disrupt the official joint session of Congress when the results of the Electoral College are certified by the joint session of Congress, presided over by the Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence. The traitors in the House of Representatives, are planning to reject the results, but the majority of the house will certify, as will a majority of the U.S. Senate. 

On December 23 former U.S. Attorney and Mueller Special Council investigator Andrew Weissmann told Rachel Maddow “This is what you get when you give the pardon power to a mob boss.” They were talking about all the pardons Trump has been doling out to his criminal friends and acquaintances, including the four Black Water Security contractors convicted of killing over a dozen Iraqi civilians in 2007. Convicted murderers. Along with Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort ( who served about two years in prison), his long time advisor Roger Stone and his son-in-law’s father, Charles Kushner. The latter was put away by former New Jersey state attorney general (and former governor) Chris Christie. Over 50 people pardoned so far and more are expected. That will be the only work Trump gets done while he spends the holidays at his Florida club, Mar-a-Lago.

And this as we are losing 300-plus people per day to COVID-19, and having 300,000-plus per day get infected. Politico published about 80 pages of emails obtained by a House watch dog group, that detailed the White House plan (if you can call it that) for the coronavirus. “Science” advisor Paul Alexander wrote in one email, “There is no other way, we need to establish herd, and it only comes about allowing the non-high risk groups expose themselves to the virus. PERIOD.” Alexander added, “Infants, kids, teens, young people, young adults, middle aged with no conditions etc. have zero to little risk … so we use them to develop herd … we want them infected …”

The plan being to let hundreds of millions of people get infected so that magically, the disease is wiped out somehow. Just like it didn’t work in Sweden. That country, by the way, said it had made a mistake with that idea and has now joined the rest of Europe combatting the coronavirus with stay-at-home rules and other public health restrictions.

We have close to 20 million people in this country infected with COVID-19 and as of now about 300,000-plus Americans dead from the coronavirus. President-Elect Joe Biden gave an address on December 23 telling us the darkest days of this pandemic are ahead of us. Surely they are as millions of people travel around the country, in spite of the warnings about spreading the disease. 

Many of us will stay home for small gatherings, some will be alone, rather than travel, even to see friends across town. This is Christmas 2020.

Donald J. Trump is golfing in Florida while millions of people struggle in this holiday season. Rather than sign the coronavirus relief bill signed by both houses of Congress — and then demanding a supplemental bill for the $2,000 relief checks, Trump is demanding the current bill be amended to have the $2,000. He wants to be center stage for this shit show, on Christmas, and look like the Great White Hope for America. 

For the past two months as Congress was roughing out this bill, with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin — when Mnuchin and the GOP didn’t want any direct relief checks — Trump could have weighed in and told the Democrats, Republicans and his own representative (Mnuchin) he wanted the relief check to be $2,000. Instead he waited until the process was finished, when senators and congressmen and women headed home for the holidays, to make his announcement. On the day he was headed to Florida for yet another golfing vacation.

The government is going to shut down December 26, because the COVID relief bill was attached to the spending bill and along with all of that cruel, needless chaos, he vetoed the defense spending bill. That stops the troops from receiving much needed raises and much needed increases in veteran benefits. 

Just to clear something up here: In May the House of Representatives, led by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, passed a COVID relief bill. Senate Majority Leader Moscow Mitch McConnell refused to act on it in the Senate and only under pressure from his own caucus, took it up in late October. Their bill had absolutely no relief checks for anyone, and very little relief for the millions losing their homes, apartments, jobs and businesses, but it had a provision to protect big corporations from liability for forcing their employees back to work during the pandemic.

Nancy Pelosi was saying “No” to that bill and holding out for relief provisions for the tens of millions who are suffering and struggling right now. So yes, Nancy said “No,” but she was holding out for at least some relief for the working people of America. No one thinks a one-time payment of $600 is nearly enough, so Pelosi is ready to put another bill on the floor for $2.000. No, there isn’t any equivalency between the two major political parties. Follow the news and read the details.

So, for Christmas 2020 Lame Duck President Trump delivered a big “FUCK YOU!” to the American people.

I guess most of us can be thankful we survived 2020, that we are not one of the nearly 20 million infected with COVID-19, nor family members of the 300,000-plus who have died from the disease. Maybe we might know someone who is recovering from it, either at home or in a medical facility, but for most of, as of this moment, we are safe from the coronavirus. As part of my Christmas good cheer I’ve decided not to troll all the Trump Cult pages on Facebook and Parler. Just for today. Come Boxing Day and it will be business as usual.

Stay at home, don’t join in large multi-family gatherings, and look forward to next Christmas when most of us will be vaccinated and immune to the virus. Think of the brighter days ahead and have a Merry Christmas.