2020 Continues it's Rick Rolling of America
Prepare to be surprised...
Aloha friends,
It was a glorious feeling last weekend as I realized I was wrong and Joe Biden had won the election and would be elected President of the United States. It felt like a four year burden of shit had been lifted from my shoulders. I watched people dancing in the streets and banging pots and pans in joy. It felt really good….
But…
The more I look at Trump’s reaction and resistance and the more I see the repugnant Republican Party lining up behind him and the feckless Democrats doing nothing about it- the more I realize that the celebrations may have been premature. I wanted to be wrong about Donald Trump cheating his way to another 4-year term and then never giving up the presidency - I was really happy to be wrong….
But…
I’m starting to feel like maybe I was right. I don’t like it a bit. Not even a little bit. The republicans were maneuvering before to control the electoral delegations - the delegates in the electoral system aren’t bound to vote the way their state’s voted. It’s just convention. The Trump appointed GSA secretary hasn’t certified Biden’s win and won’t involve the government in the transition.
Mike Pence told the senate yesterday that he plans on continuing to lead them, the Secretary of State said there will be a smooth transition to a 2nd Trump administration, and so far five top pentagon leaders have been fired and replaced with Trump loyalists. None of this is looking good. Attorney General Barr has also said he expects Trump to win and has opened the door to DOJ investigations. At the same time stories have surfaced of postal workers being told to backdate ballots which arrived late - from Republican held districts. None of this is looking good. In fact, it is looking more and more like a coup d'état.
A coup or coup d'état French: [ku deta], literally "blow of state"; also known simply as an ousting, overthrow, takeover, or putsch) is the removal of an existing government from power, usually through violent means. Typically, it is an illegal, unconstitutional seizure of power by a political faction, the military, or a dictator.
Trump himself has become less visible and less affable (if that’s possible) and is reminding me of a troubled teenager withdrawing from the world and getting ready to go on a school shooting spree. He is cooking something up and all the feelings of hope and joy I had a few days ago have been replaced by an impending sense of doom. All of this is happening and nothing much seems to be being done about it.
Frankly, it raised another question in my mind: Did anyone think to give Ruth Bader Ginsberg an autopsy to see if she was poisoned? Yes, she was sick for years, but she got a clean and positive prognosis in July - and the timing - conspiracy-ish? Definitely…but have you looked at what happened in the US government today?
I want to be wrong, but I don’t think I am.
I really don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade - but we’ve all seen that movie where the good guy manages to defeat the bad guy and everyone is celebrating and then the bad guy who wasn’t dead after all, rises up and kills the good guy.
Mind you, I’m not saying Joe Biden is a hero that will fix everything. He’s a Neo-liberal politician who will probably continue the long held Neo-liberal practice of benefitting the rich at the cost of the poor - but he’s a far less horrible alternative than Trump. In particular he’s far worse than a Trump who has nothing to lose, has visibly stolen the election, and has installed himself as the dictator of the world’s most powerful nation. That’s a fucking nightmare - and hopefully I’m wrong, but it feels like it is still coming.
Pay attention and consider what you may need to do to keep it from happening…or to protect your friends and family if it does. To be clear, I’m not talking about anything that hurts anyone - I’m talking about financial precautions and being mentally prepared for the worst case eventuality - which is starting to look more and more possible.
However…let’s move on.
Here is one of the most important speeches of this century so far. Take the time to listen to it. The theatre is empty but the speech is full….
I’m not feeling confident in the American system - but as usual…I hope that I am wrong. And if any of you are wondering what a rick roll is - here you go.
My best to all of you,
Vagobond
p.s. If all of that is a little too serious for you - enjoy this moment of Alex Trebeck who passed away this week - I promise it will make you laugh.
Some of what I’m reading this week:
San Francisco Voters Vote to Tax CEOs to Reduce the Wealth Gap
Bookshop - the Indie Bookshop Platform Competing with Amazon
Burning Iron as a Clean and Renewable Fuel - Great article about a surprisingly cheap and clean fuel source and this one has an accompanying video: