It’s like they’re playing with Monopoly money. They’re like kids playing dress up.

Not every Trump appointee is off the wall, but many of them are. And what are the chances that they’ll be able to punch above their weight?

It’s hard to watch, because they can’t be taken seriously, yet this is all very serious. It’s like they’re there only to break things, not to govern. No thoughtful policies, minimal to no expertise, just loyalists who won’t know what all the buttons and switches are for.

It’s difficult to imagine a smooth confirmation process for hardly any of them, unless Trump gets to make a bunch of recess appointments.

I’ve been told by a person whose opinion I value that I’m a miserable person who’s let Donald Trump take up residence in my head. It’d be easy to blame my admittedly un-rosy disposition on Trump, but of course he’s just one ingredient—though one at the beginning of the list—in the witch’s brew of items that have pecked away at my attitudes and world view.

Between Trump and my drifting away from the Christian faith that had offered at least something of an anchor for most of my life, I’ll admit to feeling more than a bit angry and lost. There are other things, too, but those are more personal and not things that belong in a public space like this, at least not in this entry.

I’ve written ad nauseam about Trump because he is such an unwelcome anomaly in our collective life. The suggestion of not letting him live rent free in my head is easier said than done. It’s not like he stayed on TV and hosted his contrived show, which was much easier to dismiss and ignore. No, he decided to get into politics and bludgeon his way into the national conversation, inject his ugly persona and polluted thinking and twisted aspirations that passed for policy and know-how and were embraced by millions who still think he’s something akin to the Second Coming of Christ.

I will not—cannot—stop commenting on Trump, mostly because it’s been his decision to enter an arena which invites and requires a reaction, and pushback. It’s not easy to just ignore him and try to live my life as if he doesn’t exist– he will soon be President of the United States again! He’s invited himself into the arena of public discourse and opinion and scrutiny. Because of who and what he is and represents, I feel driven to offer a dissenting voice.

On occasion, I may take the next step and write a letter for publication in the Op-Ed section of the local paper. But until then, this blog is where I practice, where I refine my prose and style, and hone my use of words that, hopefully, some day, find their mark.  

So, this is where we’re at now. A 50-year-old husband and father of two gets gunned down on a Manhattan street, and, among many others, internet sleuths who normally jump into action are sitting on their hands and saying “absolutely not,” when asked if they’re going to help look for leads. And it’s because the victim was CEO of United Health Care, apparently the face of Big Health, some sort of ogre, a target, a symptom of… what?

It’s no secret that America’s health care system is in serious need of not only a makeover but some sort of total revamping, restructuring, refocusing, and a bunch of other words. So, some angry yet quite methodical Robin Hood(?) decides to take matters into his (are we sure it’s guy?) own hands, and the general public is suddenly indifferent to a violent, cold-blooded killer.

He shot the guy in the back from close range. In one of the most highly surveilled places on earth. With a silencer.

To many, apparently, he’s become some sort of hero. To many, this will not be troubling. In this nation of itchy trigger fingers and short tempers and outsized grievance and a growing list of “things that aren’t working for me”, no big surprise.

Welcome to Dodge City.

Less moping, less sitting around, less doom scrolling (swearing off the newsfeeds didn’t last long), less talking and more doing.

We refuse to evolve. Or maybe it’s that we can’t? The tails have gone away, but self-interest appears to be a tougher appendage to lose.

Maybe we never leave that behind. Self-preservation is hardwired. We’re just evolved hominids with the capacity to verbalize and give voice to ideals we have no intention of, or little stomach for reaching.

We’re no different than the rest of the animal kingdom. It’s looking like survival of the fittest is ultimately our lot in life, too. Which might seem ironic, given that we have the brain power to envision alternatives.

If Yuval Harari is right, we have it in us to create myths that become standards and rules, but only because enough people get on board and are willing to abide by them. Look at any system of governance, or, dare I say, religion. Yes, much is codified, bureaucratized, but what are the underpinnings, what is the foundation? It’s not stone or cinder block. Basically, it’s enough people who are willing to give it a whirl, kick the tires, take it for a spin.

And trust each other.

It’s too bad taxes are such a thorny issue. Can’t there be agreement that taxation is a necessity, and then the people we elect work out some fair and equitable tax structure so there is money in the coffers to fix roads and improve infrastructure, take care of people who need help, and encourage research?

Where’s the money gonna come from otherwise, or do certain government services just go away because Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have been given an assignment to “cut waste”? Because there’s no funding anymore, and because the rich are the ones getting the tax breaks while the rest of us end up shouldering the resulting burdens or going without?

Is this just pure power play and selfishness manifesting themselves, or is there something we’re missing here?

Trump tapped into the frustration of the working class, but only as a campaign pitch. In reality, he looks to do little, if anything, to help them. So, somehow, Democrats have to hold the line and keep Trump and the misfits around him from blowing everything up and turning the country into a playground for the rich and morally bereft.

Yes. Deer, mostly, but on occasion a fox or an eagle, maybe a possum, a rare black squirrel, or some species of hawk. My wife saw a bear once, but I’m still waiting to see one of those. I know we have skunks that frequent our yard looking for grubs. I haven’t seen one, but the evidence is unmistakable– the lawn looks like a scene from Caddyshack after it gets done foraging for its grubby meal.