Taking Action

My first political job was stuffing and licking envelopes for mass mailings supporting our candidate. I hated it. The glue tasted bad and I wasn't allowed to use a sponge for some obscure reason; the room was too hot and the chair too hard and the music too loud.

But it felt good. I was working to affect the electoral process, to make a difference in society, to help elect a candidate we believed would put America on a sensible course away from war.

When I went to the storefront headquarters to volunteer, I was actually hoping for something more active and interesting. I saw myself carrying a sign in a demonstration, or standing with a like-minded crowd shouting slogans.

When I finally did get to the streetfighting part I discovered I would much rather be back in that stuffy office licking envelopes.

That said, if I were reasonably close to any of the cities the Occupier-in-Chief has mentioned as targets* I would throw caution and sanity to the winds, grab my hardhat and gas mask and head once more unto the breach.

Or not. I detest tear gas, to say nothing of being manhandled by thugs in body armor.

The point is, we can all take some kind of action against the unpresident, his administration, and his campaign.

If you have the wherewithal to join a protest, by all means, go. Such actions are the most visible and compelling means we have to draw attention to the public's disgust with the Great Pretender and his actions. Just be careful.

Alternatively, be a documenter. Stay out of the fray but get into the area of the protest carrying your best weapon: your phone, or camera if you have one, and be sure to take a charger. If you have a clip or a holster find a way to tether it to your body. Stay close to the action but try not to get sucked in, and watch for any activity that looks even vaguely sinister. Make photos, videos, audio recordings, whatever you can manage, but never let go of your device. If you see thugs coming for you, turn slowly and walk away. Do not run.

There is absolutely no shame in not taking direct action. Believe me when I tell you it's not for everybody. Do what you can; no action is wasted.

If you're able to be out, volunteer at your local Democratic headquarters. If you're staying at home, write frequently to your Congressional representatives and your state legislators, regardless of party. Focus on one issue and be very clear about your concerns. Be sure to include Speaker Nancy Pelosi in your correspondence--she's a potent force.

If you feel comfortable with it, go public. Contribute to an anti-Trump Facebook site or start one of your own. Develop a blog. You never know who you might reach if you spread it widely enough. You might change one mind; you might change one vote; that is a victory.

Above all, never think that one person makes no difference. A nuclear chain reaction starts with the fission of a single atom.


--- Diogenes, 7/24/2020


* Albuquerque, Baltimore, Detroit, Milwaukee, New York, Oakland, and Philadelphia have been mentioned as targets. Chicago, Kansas City, and Portland are already under siege. All these cities are "run by liberal Democrats," according to Trump, which makes all this a political issue.    

Casus Belli

The Great Pretender needs a war.

He knows this because he had a dream.

In this dream a figure of indeterminate gender wearing a white robe showed him pictures of other white men he vaguely recognized. The figure said they were former U. S. presidents who Americans thought were great because they had won a war. Did he want to be thought great, too? The Dreamer-in-Chief had trouble believing his vision. Had there really been that many wars?

Undeterred by doubt, the apparition went on to say the Faker-in-Chief could have his very own war if he wanted it, but there would be no one left to applaud him if he chose that option.   

Alternatively, he could choose to refight a historical war, appointing his own generals, applying his own strategies, and shaping the outcome any way he wished. This option, however, came with a caveat: The chosen war could be fought only in his dream world. Nothing would change in the real world, either past or present.

Hearing that, the Sleeper-in-Chief nearly awoke. "Buh," he half muttered, "who'll say I' great?" His nocturnal interlocuter assured him that if he wanted all the demons of Hell to rise up and cheer him on, he could do so while dreaming. "Uh," he snortled, "Hi'ler 'n' Stal'n too?"

"Just so," affirmed the vision. "Your choice?"

The Civil War of course; the only all-American war.

• He wouldn't have to deal with foreigners;
• He would set things right with the CSA (they'd let him build his wall, by God!);
• He could own slaves who would always call him "Massa;"
• He could talk to everybody because both sides spoke English;
• He could be both Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, conflating them into his heroic personality;
• He could rewrite history, claiming the Yankees invaded the South to steal all the slaves and relocate them to Canada;
• Better yet, he could claim there were never any slaves. The Yankees invaded because they were jealous of the Southern aristocratic lifestyle; 
• No. Negroes were happy servants, singing, dancing, and eating watermelon when off duty;
• He could finally have the America he so desperately wants: 100% Americans, 100% white, 100% native English speakers, 100% Protestant, 100% adoring him;
• He could be President for Life, like his mentor Vlad.

Donald Abraham John Jefferson Trump awoke refreshed and inspired. Picking up his private cell phone he made a few calls, then went to the sitting room where he relaxed, sometimes humming "Dixie" to himself.

After about an hour he was informed he had a delivery being sent up. He received it from the agent on duty, locked the door, and carried it into the bedroom. Changing into his best pajamas, he sat on the bed and opened the box from Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, pulling out a month's supply of his favorite sleep aid.

He set the box on the bedside table, swallowed three Lunesta tablets, lay back, carefully cradling his favorite stuffed animal with his left arm, and closed his eyes, smiling.


--- Diogenes, 7/23/2020

Your Comments Are Requested And Welcomed

Please let us all know, anonymously if you wish, how you think the plague on our nation (i.e. DJTrump) should be handled or removed.

The floor is open. Anyone may add a comment.

Thank you.


--- Diogenes, 7/21/2020

Invariant, Unteachable, Incapable

Preview:

In 1944 John R. Pierce wrote "Invariant," a science fiction short story about a man whose mind was incapable of change.

A scientist, one Dr. Homer Green, believed he had created a rejuvenation formula that could make people immortal. He tested it on himself and found that it worked. Wounds healed almost immediately and no disease could touch him.

But as Pierce notes, "There is only one catch. Even his brain tissue is invariant - exactly the way it was before he treated himself! He cannot get any more memories or otherwise adapt to environment, because his mind always repairs itself to the state just before the treatment!!"¹

So Dr. Green lives forever, but always in the same ever-repeating and never-remembered day. Groundhog Day forever.

Life imitates art:

Dr. Jonathan Reiner, after watching a Fox News interview in which the unpresident contradicted himself about mask use at least twice and cited outdated information: "He's unteachable, and I can't understand it. His failure to understand this simple public health measure, his reluctance to accept the advice of all his public health experts, makes me wonder whether he really is qualified . . . the fact that the president of the United States can't get this straight raises serious doubts about his competence now."²

Dr. Mary Trump, the Child-in-Chief's niece, and a clinical psychologist:

"Donald today is much as he was at three years old: incapable of growing, learning, or evolving, unable to regulate his emotions, moderate his responses, or take in and synthesize information."³

Well--what else might one say? Here are two medical opinions, one from a psychologist who is a member of the Trump family. Both echo countless other observations and anecdotal evidence that the Great Pretender is delusional, incapable of governing, and a pawn of forces that are inimical to the United States.

I say again, he must be removed from office by any means necessary, before he plunges this nation into war, either civil or international.


--- Diogenes, 7/20/2020



¹ Astounding Science Fiction, April, 1944.
² https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/watch/hes-unteachable-doctor-blasts-trumps-latest-mask-remarks/vp-BB16UvCz
³ Trump, Mary L. Too Much and Never Enough, p. 197.