The Witness Chronicles September 20, 2023
Planned chaos in DC, Biden’s age, the Doomster movement, and the stupidity of Kevin McCarthy
I’m breaking with my usual routine here and publishing four pieces from the last week, rather than the usual three. To me, these stories are interconnected and generally reflect the purposeful division of Americans by the right.
They have given up on any semblance of governing or even a shred of respect for the rule of law. All lines lead back to an intentional campaign of orchestrated chaos by the former President. I did not write about Sunday’s Meet the Press interview with Trump in which he once again trampled over a polite interviewer. They have to stop covering this man as though he is a typical politician.
He is a dangerous animal who must be reigned in and Kristen Welker, Caitlin Collins, and others have let him run over them, spewing lies all the way. They need to wake up.
As I assemble this issue a thunderstorm has blown through, my favorite weather for writing and editing. I hope you find something of value in my work, and if you do, please consider a paid upgrade.
Political Chaos Has Taken Over DC and it is Intentional
All of it points back to an organized campaign of mayhem
Do you think politics has been nuts this year? You ain’t seen nothing yet.
This week Ron DeSantis announced he would fire missiles at Mexico because, actually I’m not sure, but he also said he would authorize deadly force against border drug smugglers who he described as men with backpacks.
Yes, men with backpacks are fair game. Apparently, all men with backpacks.
Meanwhile in Congress, House Speaker McCarthy started impeachment proceedings against President Biden after nine months of fishing expeditions that have produced no evidence at all of any wrongdoing.
It is speculated that he did this to mollify his right wing critics. So Rep Matt Gaetz checked his hair and announced that McCarthy was basically screwed and he personally would do the screwing.
News media are now referring to him as Speaker Gaetz, which we know hurts Mr. McCarthy, who worked hard destroying his future to get that title.
Special Counsel Jack Smith once again asked the courts to shut Trump up as Trump started making threatening noises about future jurors in his federal court cases.
As a reminder in case you live under a rock, Trump is a former President now accused of crimes bordering on treason who still has time to threaten American citizens who get tapped to do their duty as American citizens.
This is all pretty crazy, right?
Well, hold onto your seats because the crazy has not even started. As I write this on Saturday September 16, 2023, there are ten working days before the government goes into default and stops paying its bills including the salaries of hundreds of thousands of government workers.
Oh, and the military gets defunded too.
This won’t be hard to fix. It only requires the House to pass 12 bills before the deadline. Two problems. They have only passed one bill related to this in the past several months and a group of Reps called The Freedom Caucus says they will shut it down because they really don’t care and they think they can.
There’s more but that will do for now. So, what is causing this crescendo of chaos in our government? It turns out there is one man pulling strings and making his puppets dance and it is, surprise, Donald Trump, that guy facing serious crimes all over the place.
Trump has always relied on lies and distractions whenever anyone got close to revealing his scams for what they are. And it has served him very well. So, why stop now? After all, he built up a battalion of loyalists in government that he can call and ‘suggest’ they do his bidding. Like suggesting Biden’s impeachment, egging McCarthy on to kiss ass, and convincing those Caucus folks they can be just like him.
When you see chaos you should look for the source and this one is easy. Every line leads straight back to the ex-president who is desperately trying to not be the disgraced ex-president.
We know his narcissistic monster ego cannot allow that to happen, ever.
There’s an interesting lesson most of us have learned about Trump. He demands loyalty without ever offering it himself and without ever remembering it later. He would stab his mother in the back, say she was a lovely person, and then remind you how wonderful he is and that the law doesn’t apply to him.
It’s really pretty simple. If he is going down he is taking everything down with him.
This is a man we elected to be the most powerful human on earth, and he is a monster.
Maybe we got what we deserved. His cult of followers certainly agree.
Former presidential candidate and US Senator Mitt Romney, a lone voice of Republican reason, gave up this week and announced he will not seek another term. He cited the security of his family and the families of his staff and fellow Republicans who have questioned Trump.
He is rich, so he could afford to pay $5000/day for security. $5000/day. Wonder why he has to do this?
Yup, straight back to the guy at Mar a Lago, you know who.
It seems to me that I remember a day when openly inciting violence against anyone was a crime we associated with organized crime. By the way, Trump is being charged in Georgia with racketeering using a law designed to go after…organized crime.
Joe Biden’s Age is a Problem
I’ve struggled with this but the issue is real
If there ever was a political opinion piece I did not want to write, this is it. But the election clock is ticking and time is running out for the Democratic Party to make a choice, and there should be a choice. There are two really important issues that are changing my mind.
First, Donald Trump and the Republican Party must be stopped at all costs. They no longer acknowledge the Constitution of the United States or the rule of law that states that no one, regardless of station in society, is above the law.
These two legal guidelines constitute the core of American Democracy. To walk away from them is to invite chaos and this is what Trump and his party want. It is alarming beyond words.
The second factor in questioning whether Biden should run, beyond age, which I will get to, is simple: He has a powerful message about the economy, foreign relations, equality, and the future, but he is failing to deliver it effectively.
Or, at all.
I’m 68, a white male, and lifelong Democrat. You would think I would champion someone like myself who has been extremely successful, far beyond any hopes in his first term. Possibly the most effective President in my lifetime, a big statement.
But his achievements are things that take time and history to be seen for what they are. Infrastructure development. Returning high tech manufacturing to the US. Rebuilding NATO and standing up to murderous dictators. Treating semi-conductors and intellectual property as national security issues that must be protected at all costs. Acknowledging that we face environmental Armageddon. And spending money to fight it.
It’s an incredible list. The Republicans, or whatever they are these days, have nothing that remotely compares. They have taken the road of unrelenting negativity about everything. Historically that does not hold up with the American people. We like to think of ourselves as optimists, as doers, as innovators.
Because we are. But a positive message like that will not work for Trump and his supporters because they are not doers, they are complainers.
Seems like an unbeatable setup for Democrats, and it should be. But Joe has taken the quiet road, the steady path, the reasonable approach. I respect all of these qualities. We need them. But they are not cutting through the storm of bullshit the right is raining down on all of us every day.
Joe Biden will be 82 on the day he is inaugurated for a second term. He seems pretty fit for his age, does not have dementia despite the constant implications of media on the right, and, in spite of a childhood speech issue, is articulate and sharp.
But he is not cutting through. And we are running out of time.
We are at an existential crossroads in this country right now. We literally face the possibility of a dictatorship replacing our democracy after 247 years and endless challenges to that democracy.
We should be proud of what we have done. We should be showing that the Republicans want to take it all down and undo our democracy, take away rights, and funnel money into the wealthiest citizens while others starve homeless in the streets and are seen as subhuman.
Joe cannot tell this story effectively and forcefully and messaging is everything at this point in our history. The Republicans are running a pit bull. We need a border collie, a savvy operator who can run circles around their clumsy ‘leadership’.
There is another factor here in this age debate. The Republicans are very close to revealing what they have become as they shut down the government in the name of anarchy. They will be extremely vulnerable and the time to hit them hard with reality is right now.
Not in six months, not while waiting for Trump’s trials to start, not until the time is right. Now. And they need to be hit hard because they have left themselves wide open.
There is a lot of talent in the Democratic Party right now. Gavin Newsom, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Koblach. Maybe Michele Obama. Kidding, but that would rile things up. I’ve left out Kamala Harris because after four years to build a base, she has not made a dent. I’m not sure that’s fair but fair doesn’t mean much in politics.
But not Joe Biden.
The numbers cut it too close and we can’t just be close, we have to crush these people across the board, locally, nationally, with every minority group, in Congress, and in the courts.
It’s what they are trying to do to us and the country. We can’t bring a knife to a gunfight and this is a gunfight.
And like gunfights, this is to the death, the death of our democracy. We have to put our best foot forward, a warrior.
Sorry Joe. History will be good to you but there has to be history for that to happen.
What Are Climate Doomsters?
This is a new one for me and I’m thinking about it
This morning I read a piece here about something called doomsters, a movement where younger people basically give up on reversing climate change and learn to live with it. At least I think that was what it was about.
I’m not going to link to the article for one reason, not entirely logical, but one that bugs me. In the article all the perceived bad guys were capitalized, as in Elites, Power Brokers, etc. This basic editing choice shoves these amorphous groups into the category of a great organized conspiracy to destroy the world, or something like that.
Of course there is a conspiracy, one that is not very well hidden, but it is not about destroying the world, it is about making as much money as possible as quickly as possible. This conspiracy is driven by the fact that a resource, oil, is limited and must be exploited as quickly as possible for those alive today.
It’s hardly a conspiracy anymore. It’s actually right out in the open as oil companies limit access, jack prices, rake in huge profits, and pass the blame onto inflation fears.
The one place we really see inflation is at the gas pump. Except it is not inflation, it is price gouging. Everyone in power knows this but for some reason (wink, wink) we don’t pay much attention to it.
But this doesn’t seem to be a huge concern for the doomster movement, or should I say Doomster Movement? For them it’s done and we just have to live with it, or something like that.
As a climate observer and commentator, I wonder if I am one of these people, the giver-uppers? And the answer is, on some levels I am. Pragmatism says that once the storms of violent change are ignited they become self-sufficient and a fact of life that must be dealt with.
We let this thing get out of control and now we must choose to deal with it or play the blame game. I am guilty of trying to have it both ways, to remind the world that fossil fuel businesses and consortiums did in fact conspire to hide the gravity of what they were doing to make money. But also to consider our choices now that it is a reality.
Things like moving to higher, wetter (more fresh water) ground, minimizing our material footprint so we can be more mobile, and gradually (because there is no other way) working to get away from the causes of our troubles.
Meanwhile I read a piece about the snack industry that stated that 50% of Americans eat three or more processed snacks daily. I’ll be honest, I don’t know those people but I do see their shopping carts when I’m in the cheap grocery store looking for deals.
A factoid like that might push me into full fledged doomsterhood. But I’m not ready, and neither are most of us. But if that 50% figure is anywhere close to accurate then the problem of choosing doom and gloom is far outweighed by a majority who simply don’t give a shit, or can’t deal with it.
So, these doomsters, and I see little evidence they exist outside of people who lump their demons into capitalized groups, are far outweighed by the snackers.
It’s kind of like antifa, those mythical demons of the right whose only reason for existence is to create havoc. In my city we had demonstrations during the George Floyd/BLM movement that degraded into mini riots where some police cars were set on fire. But the antifa perpetrators turned out to just be a couple of jerks (being polite) who wanted to burn stuff.
They ran away and got caught, by the way.
Antifa has no organization, unlike its right wing counterparts. And I wonder if maybe the writer of the doomster article really meant it as a manifesto, a call to action for those who have given up on doing anything about climate change except reacting to save themselves.
I’m not exaggerating when I say this is a personal quandary, this choice to simply move on into a new chaotic world and go into survival mode or to believe we can still do something.
I’ve been observing and writing about climate change for over thirty years so I think I have a notion about how far it has come and how drastic the effects will be for many lives to come. But the role of observer is a passive one, especially in the face of change as monumental and overwhelming as this.
At some point you are faced with taking action. In my case, as a writer, it is writing about this history as it unfolds and how we might respond to it. But maybe these doomsters are onto something. Maybe their choice to simply find ways to live with it is a legitimate choice.
I don’t know to be honest, but I’m personally not there yet. Not quite ready to say we lost and big oil won because I don’t think they realize what winning means.
But that’s another angle for another time.
How Stupid is Kevin McCarthy?
And how did he ever get near power?
I actually have to put this aside after writing that title because the man is an idiot, a real moron. This isn’t just opportunism, it’s political suicide.
Today he called on the Republican House to start impeachment proceedings against President Biden, despite having no evidence of crimes alleged to have been committed or having enough support among members of his own party to sustain an impeachment.
Apparently the man can’t count. And he has whips who tell him, in real time, how many votes he can muster at any given time.
Despite these facts and realities he is going ahead with this farce, and in the process tying up our government in a time of crisis. For something really dumb that no one wants and they can’t prove.
No one except those in the Freedom Caucus who bamboozled him into giving them the right to kick him out with one vote.
They want their impeachment show because their guy, a four time indicted likely criminal, was impeached twice during his term. Payback in other words.
The problem is that impeachment requires solid evidence of a serious crime and after nine months of meaningless investigations, they have none.
Zero, Nada.
I don’t really care if they put on their show. And I don’t really care if Mr. McCarthy ends up in a Capitol dumpster. What angers me is we elected these bums to do a job, to run a huge government that keeps the wheels turning in our economy, keeps us out of wars when possible, and protects those who need help.
The Republican Party needs to be given clear notice that we, all American voters, want them to do the jobs we hired them to do and wasting millions while nothing real gets done is not why they were elected.
Please note the ‘all’ in that sentence. It’s not just us Democrats, it’s your guys too.
I know that Fox, the Freedom Caucus, DeSantis, and Ramaswamy and the MAGA crowd may be crying for this, but that’s only because it is red meat for morons. But most of the voting public are not morons.
McCarthy can’t seem to get this basic fact into his head and there is a reason why, a really stupid reason.
The man’s goal in life was a title, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress.
It’s a worthy goal, when it is earned through service to the country, not backroom deals with extremists, desperate backroom deals. But he made them, got his title, and now they are holding an ax to his neck, an ax he sharpened and gave to them.
And he is desperately trying to save his precious title. His Precious.
Yes, he is a small man, not in stature, in action.
And this small man, with his small ideas, is wasting our time, yours and mine, regardless of political preference.
I don’t know about you but that makes me mad.
A lot of words this week, not just here but with The Grasshopper and a new project I did not see coming. I had a major life change in the last month and I’ve been documenting that because I feel like it may have value for others who may have experienced similar life situations.
It might be an actual book, one I could not imagine writing even a few weeks ago. Sometimes, as a writer, the need to document things just takes over. I think this is something important, certainly for me, but hopefully for other readers.
So, a lot going on. The state of the country and the world strikes me as far worse than I’ve seen in my life, but personal growth and change continue. As a writer I’m seeking balance between this outer life and my inner one. I suspect I am not alone.
By the way, my personal changes are all very good though I might have chosen a different way to get there. So it goes.
Did you write today?
Martin
3338 words (yikes)
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