America as cash cow. This, apparently, is how the one-percenters view the world. They may pay lip service on rare occasions to the more abstract, ethereal qualities of life. But they’re pretty much locked in to acquiring wealth and power. Capitalism is their god, the religion that sustains them.

Working the system, taking advantage, making money hand over fist. Saying “I dare you” to taxation and obligations to anybody but shareholders and their own bottom lines. It’s a well-rehearsed spiel.

They’ll claim a grand vision, that their gigantic projects will unleash local productivity, provide employment, pretty much be a godsend in numerous ways—all in exchange for low or non-existent taxation. They’ll claim they need the revenue to put back into the operation, for expansion, etc. They may even provide funding for paving local roads, build a bike path that hardly ever gets maintained, or make a contribution to a local food bank—anything that keeps the skeptics at bay and polishes their image. It smacks a bit too much of bribery.

It’s difficult not to be skeptical of motives and philosophies where, when most everything is peeled away, all that’s left is strategy in the pursuit of liquidity and profit. Almost like a never-ending game, or an addiction.

In any event, shiny and new often enough turns to dull and rusty, and the players take the money and run.

As much press as the No Kings gatherings have received, as often as the non-Fox networks have regaled us with the size and spirit and extent of participation throughout all 50 states, I can’t help but think that even more is needed. Seven million out of 340 million? Doesn’t sound all that impressive. The pressure needs to be sustained, even ramped up. Trump of course is hoping that people just give up, but this is unlikely to happen.

Come to think of it, Trump may be wishing for an ugly turn, where violence breaks out and he has a convenient excuse for sending in the Jan. 6 hoodlums fueled by their $50K bonuses, along with a few National Guard troops from some select red state.

What a rat. Even diehard MAGA should be holding their heads in their hands by now.

Come on, Mike—swear in the congresswoman from AZ so we can get on with the Epstein saga. What’s the big deal, what are you afraid of, and what’s yet in the works in the way of distractions? I bet they get increasingly insane and consequential.

Ooh, maybe there are plans to redesign the Washington Monument! How about just tearing it down and replacing it with some sort of marble and gold leaf monstrosity, another ostentatious pile of excrement by which Donald seeks to mark his territory and compensate for something.

Really. How does he keep getting away with this? How can Congress let him run the show by himself? Such capitulation the world has rarely seen.

Stand up, dammit. Or does the fear run too deep anymore? It looks like the courage train has long left the station, and now it’s all about riding the coattails for as long as you can hold on. Or for as long as you can keep your consciences in a vault while ignoring the key in your pocket.

How did you let him finagle so much power? He’s still a weak little baby man underneath all that hair and makeup and false bravado, but you’ve insisted on feeding him, encouraging him. There must be something in it for you, but what can it be besides your own job security and power? Kind of sad when all that’s left to you is a compromise of your principles. Principles do matter, you know.

And all your precious Republican “values”? You’ll find them in the shitter.

What’s it like, Mike—to be the mouthpiece for an infantile tyrant, to have to stand in front of the press and lie your ass off and feign outrage and put lipstick on a pig, day after day?

What’s it like to have to spew the party line on a regular basis, even if deep inside you might be wondering if what you’re doing is pleasing your God, or pissing Him off? It must be stressful for you, must get confusing every now and then.

Here’s what many of us want to know: Why do you keep doing it? Do you ever feel like you’re being played, or that you were chosen because you could play the role of Yes Man so well?

Do you really love your God, Mike? Do you have a conscience? If you do, it must be taxed constantly by the weight of the ignominious position you’ve put yourself in. How do you think this ends, Mike?

Does it end well for anybody?

The No Kings rallies across the country were a sign of life, but I have to wonder if they even register on Trump’s radar. Nothing appears to rattle him, ultimately. He may get hot under the collar, say or do something infantile, find people to add to his enemies list, but the bigger picture still includes an intentionality and momentum that can’t be quashed by much of anything. He seems to be able to use any potential attack or criticism as some sort of fuel.

The rallies themselves looked to be jovial and upbeat, not quite parties in the streets, displays of conscience and creativity, anger and wit with regard to sign creation. I do believe there was and is an undercurrent of seriousness, and efforts that reflect an understanding that these gatherings move beyond just something to do on a Saturday afternoon.

I can’t help but think, though, that these demonstrations are one incident away from turning into something way more somber and costly, that the rubber may soon meet the road when it comes to confronting the menace that is Trump and the rest of the players around him.

The sad fact is that, in the worst way, Trump wants to stay where he is. He sees challenges coming to his power in the 2026 midterms, so steps are already being taken to minimize that damage. And who doesn’t think he won’t find some lame excuse or tenuous loophole to warrant a run for a third term in 2028?

The demonstrations can’t stop, and people need to realize that they aren’t always going to be just big, fun gatherings of sign wavers and cheap shots and people dressed in inflatable costumes.

Did you happen to see the quick interview on Air Force One the other day when Trump was asked about the No Kings rallies? He dismissed them, and said, in a snide sort of way, that he was no king—in a manner and tone of voice that could be taken less as assurance and more as a thinly-veiled threat: he views himself as someone much more sinister, and much less benevolent, than a king.