Coffee, quiet, and the opportunity to write.

These are the things I treasure about my morning routine. After all the years of doing this, I still think it’s the allure of caffeine that gets me out of bed in the morning, though the chance to express myself runs a close second.

What I write means little to anyone but me, but it feels good to move thoughts from brain to keyboard. I wish, though, that my command of the English language was showing signs of…  signs of what?!  

The process of brain to keyboard seems to be getting interrupted more than it used to.

Trump and his enablers should be reviled, not respected, and certainly not encouraged. How could we muster anything more than disparagement when his reason for being is simply to take revenge and create chaos?

How could so many be so deceived for so long?

Trump doesn’t want to fix anything. His only vision is one of self-enrichment. He doesn’t want to help anyone but himself. He might be sly as a fox, but I wouldn’t give him even that much “credit.”

He’s draining us and he doesn’t care. He’s willing to tear down what Hamilton and Jefferson and Franklin and the rest created and equipped at great risk. Trump is oblivious to where we’ve come from or where we’re headed. He doesn’t know a thing about true courage or risking one’s life for something honorable.

He’s a shitpouch, a twit, a distraction, and we have to endure his cluelessness and vanity and incompetence until early 2029, if he lasts that long.

Congrats, MAGA Nation. You’ve outdone yourself. 

The fossil fuel industry must be happier than a hog in excrement right now. They’ve got their man coming back to the White house, so they can look forward to favorable treatment for the next four years, while many of the rest of us can look on as we fight uphill and go ever further down the path of ruin with decreasing chances of turning things around.

Accelerated global warming is the challenge of our time, and Trump still thinks it’s a hoax.

He and his fossil fuel gravy train buddies will have blood on their hands unless this slow-rolling excuse factory suddenly has a change of heart and can be convinced that it’s in their best interest to shift gears and get behind renewables or some other yet-unharnessed and less harmful sources of energy.

Exxon and the rest are the replacement villains for R.J. Reynolds and their partners in crime. The main difference would be one of scale: a sick planet with billions instead of millions of ruined lives, directly attributable to hubris, stubbornness, deception, and spectacular greed.   

There has to be discernment when it comes to “shaking things up” and needed change. There has to be discernment when it comes to nominating people for leadership roles in a President’s cabinet and other high-profile assignments.

The current batch of Trump nominees makes it appear that this responsibility is not being taken seriously, that there is no discernment or sober judgment involved here, just flippancy.

It’s simply, as many keep saying, loyalty. All that matters is loyalty.

When loyalty is Trait #1, we get Elon Musk and Kristi Noem and Matt Gaetz and RFK, Jr. and a former Fox News Weekend host—fish out of water, every single one. In over their heads, and any other relevant metaphors and similes one can think of.

But they’re all willing to toe the line when it comes to praising Donald Trump, along with sharing his penchant for vengeance and aimless wandering.

It’s still very difficult to take Donald Trump seriously, yet we must.

I was reading an article from USA Today, written by an offended Republican who took exception to the rhetoric of the left and the “elites” who constantly badmouth Trump voters for being, basically, stupid and short-sighted. This person was truly merciless in their critique, unleashing a cathartic tongue lashing and pretty much saying that 75 million people can’t be wrong, or can’t all be stupid, and we liberal crybabies need to come to terms with the fact that Republicans have control of all three branches of government for a reason, that reason being that good ol’ conservatism—fiscal, moral, religious—is the only way to go.

The trouble with that argument, besides being presumptuous and unduly cocky, is that he or she targets the many millions who voted for Harris as all liberal elitists who make it their mission in life to look down their noses at anyone who voted for Trump and holds conservative views. Agreed, the critique from Democratic officials and late-night TV hosts and MSNBC pundits could be perceived as insensitive and demeaning, but there’s enough of those things to go around, and it’s too fruitless to try and discern who started it… as if we don’t have a pretty good idea.

Anyway, I read most of the article and became cognizant of a growing pit in my stomach because this person’s language and reasoning were beginning to grate on me. The argument started sounding familiar, and I began wondering why it bothered me so much.

While I consider myself to be closely aligned to the late-night hosts and MSNBC pundits and Democratic officials, I don’t necessarily find their cheap shots and what might be perceived as an air of superiority to be a helpful strategy when it comes to countering the looming nightmare of Trumpism. But I also find the thin-skinned indignance of this USA Today contributor to be exactly why I never put much stock in his or her or anyone else’s similar arguments.

It’s a shallow argument at best, because conservative pundits, this one included, seem incapable of ever moving beyond their own tendency to make assumptions and label people, along with a stubborn defensiveness and unwavering opinion that the Trump brand of conservatism—or whatever he’s peddling—is the only way to go, the only way to think and operate in the world.

One person’s “elitism” and far left liberalism is another’s understanding that humans and human societies are complex beings and entities.

Not only that, but when it comes to legislation and Supreme Court rulings, the Bible cannot hold as prominent a place as conservatives believe it should. This, to me, seems what’s always humming in the background—conservatism inseparable from religious conservatism, which is permeating our culture and unduly influencing the decision-making process for Republicans, or whatever the party of Trump has become.

There’s a part of me that’s still thinking, “Maybe things won’t be as bad as we think. Maybe Trump will surprise us and the next four years won’t be as bad as his previous four.” I still dare to hold out for that possibility, even as I see the caliber of Cabinet picks and that the House and Senate are now both red…

Who am I kidding?

This is gonna be a slog, folks. It’s gonna get noisy and ugly, because Trump is getting older and all he wants is to tend to his grievances and work on his enemies list. He’s a patsy, he’s a child, he’s putty in The Heritage Foundation’s hands, among others, and unless a bunch of people find ways to stand up to this machine, America is going to be rendered unrecognizable. We’ve gone and given permission to a guy whose overriding goal in life is to get even.

Oh, and that stock market bump will be a short-lived phenomenon.

Kudos, America.

“Are you better off today than you were four years ago?”

Keep in mind that four years ago we were in the teeth of a planetary health crisis, made worse by Trump’s handling of it. But Trump made that a legitimate question, and people with selective memories answered in the negative.

If all Trump plans on doing is to repeal popular laws and withdraw from strategic global agreements and consolidate power into the Executive Branch, then why is he back? Why did people choose four more years of him if all he’s going to do is exact revenge and undo things that are already done? Seems, at a bare minimum, a waste of our time.

Matt Gaetz as AG. Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy in charge of something called The Department of Government Efficiency. Sounds Third Reich-ish to me.

Project 2025 must be going swimmingly. And we have ourselves a waking nightmare.

I’m sure Trump’s picks for various cabinet posts and other critical positions are top notch brains, knowledgable and insightful experts all. But I have to believe that many are looking at Kristi Noem and Elon Musk and the immigration guy, among others, and thinking …

Hell, I don’t know what they’re thinking. But I’m sure the choices are both predictable and unsavory, unsurprising and disappointing.

Oh, who am I kidding? They’re all fish out of water, ridiculous and frightening. A Who’s Who of Trump lackeys and sycophants and loudmouths and pretty faces who get to play “Governing” for a while, who were probably long ago plucked by the people involved in the creation of Project 2025. And we all get to watch it unfold without recourse, unless there is somehow resistance in the confirmation hearings.

But to hear Rachel Maddow tell it, Trump is already priming the Supreme Leader pumps by demanding that Congress be in recess while all his nominees are seated… with only his approval?

What are we in for, as if we didn’t know? He’s not gonna improve most peoples’ financial bottom line. He doesn’t give a rat’s ass about needing to put food on a table or pay the bills or bring some relief to those who have to decide between paying for food or medicine and not both. He doesn’t care about those things and they were being told that all along. They were being fed something, though– the pocketbook was an issue because they were told it was an issue.

Kitchen table issues, my ass.

They voted for him by the millions. They somehow dismissed the Project 2025 cloud and voted for the guy because they still think he’s a good businessman and God-ordained and he’s gonna change things for the better.

Too late now. Trump’s not the only one who’s delusional. It’s a character trait in MAGA Nation.

Stellar job, America. A+.

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz—footnotes, already, in this schizoid melodrama that just keeps on running. It already feels like it never really happened, even though for a time many thought Ms. Harris might just break through, like that was an actual possibility.

Enter Joe Biden, who got greedy and threw a wrench in the works of a normal nomination process. The Dems, as it turns out, were handicapped and doomed.

Nice goin’, Joe.

I hesitate to peruse the latest headlines, because I know that the scuzball recently elected will be making news with his appointments to various high-level positions.

I think maybe a lot of people will decide to check out, when it comes to being news junkies. They’re gonna give up the habit and rid themselves of at least that source of angst. Or I will, anyway.

I’ll get my news from Colbert and Stewart and the rest, until they’re carted off to the gulag.

Which is not the least bit funny– the canaries in the coal mine being thought of in the same derisive way that many of us look at Fox “News,” with the added feature of being on a fucking Enemies List.

Super job, America.