During Covid, I took an online Master Class about Writing with Dan Brown, the author of the DaVinci Code.
He accentuated that your novel must have a good beginning to grab the reader and pull them into the story.
That’s why stories no longer begin with “Once upon a time.” They have to cut to the chase, immediately.
“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.”
I used this technique in two of my screenplays. If your novel has a slow beginning, Dan said, you might want to consider starting where the action starts, or even at the ending. That class about great beginnings reminded me of long ago when I took an Acting Class in the Adult Education program of the local high school.
My project was a scene played by Jack Nicholson in the movie “Five Easy Pieces.” For research, I watched the movie. I liked it, but I was a little disappointed that there weren’t five great sex scenes. Instead, it was about a kid who played the piano. His family hoped that he would become a great concert pianist, but he ran away from home and drifted around the country. Now, when he returned home because he heard that his father had a stroke, his family asked him to play the piano, and basically all that he could remember were five easy musical pieces.
My scene wasn’t the most memorable in the movie. That would be the diner scene where he tried to order plain toast, but the cranky waitress kept insisting that there were no substitutions.
I didn’t have that scene, but I had a good one. The father is in a wheelchair, unable to speak and Jack is getting ready to run away from home again. He wants to have a talk with his father before he does, though. So he wheels the father a few hundred yards from the house and he bends down to talk with him.
Are you cold?
I don’t know if you’d be particularly interested in hearing anything about me…
My life.
Most of it doesn’t add up to much that I could relay as a way of life that you’d approve of.
I move around a lot.
Not because I’m looking for anything really, but ‘cause I’m getting away from things that get bad if I stay.
Auspicious beginnings. You know what I mean?
I’m trying to imagine your half of the conversation.
My feeling is, I don’t know, that if you could talk, we wouldn’t be talking.
It’s pretty much the way that it got to be before I left.
Are you all right?
I don’t know what to say.
Tita suggested that we try to…I don’t know.
I think that she feels…I think that she feels that we’ve got some understanding to reach.
She totally denies the fact that we were never that comfortable with one another to begin with.
The best that I can do is apologize.
We both know that I was never that good at it anyway.
I’m sorry it didn’t work out.
I would practice my lines constantly while I was at work, and drive everyone crazy. Every time I said, “I don’t know if you’d be particularly interested in hearing anything about me,” everyone who was within earshot would shout “We’re not. Shut up.”
Now I have 3 screenplays that never made it to the screen, because I never sold them to anyone who makes movies. I’m 75 years old, and I’d hate to go to the great beyond without passing the stories around a little bit. Usually, books are made into screenplays, but I’ve decided to reverse engineer my screenplays into books. I can’t do it by myself, but I’m hoping to use Claude A.I. to do the conversion. I don’t know how Claude will work out, but it’s a start, and I need to get off to a good start.
Then to insure that I had the proper level of creativity flowing through my system, I used my brand new Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Patient card today to make my first visit to the Marijuana Dispensary near the bus depot. Since, my medical claim was for chronic pain, the Maripharmacist suggested an Indica strain of Marijuana which is used to control pain.
No. I can handle the pain, I told him. Give me the Sativa strain, something that gets me high, makes me laugh, makes me creative, doesn’t put me to sleep, and goes well with white wine.
He knew just what I wanted. I walked out with two vials of THC oil. One was called White Lotus, and the other one was called Carbon Fiber. Plus, I got a 20% discount for being a senior citizen and a Navy veteran.
Back in 1991, I worked for The NYU School of Medicine, and one of the employee benefits was free college at the NYU School of Continuing Education. I took classes in Marketing, Computing, Sociology, Mathematics, Critical Thinking, and Creative Writing. I recently found some essays I wrote for the Creative Writing course. One was called From Rope to Dope to Hope, and it was about the medical reasons for legalizing marijuana. In the war on drugs, I’ve been a foot soldier on the side of drugs since 1969.
In the past decade, many states have legalized medical marijuana. Some have even legalized recreational use. It’s still illegal at the Federal level, so we haven’t won the war yet, but we have won most of the battles, and it was time for me to take the next step. I asked my doctor if there was any way that he could prescribe marijuana for my hip pain. He looked at me and shook his head. Then, instead of laughing at me, he calmly explained how he worked for the Veteran’s Administration and the V.A. is part of the Federal government, and therefore subject to the Federal Laws of the United States. In other words, NO, a HARD NO. I could tell that he wanted to ask me if I was high when I even asked him that question.
Recently, I was conversing with a neighbor, and since he’s an old man too, the conversation got around to comparing aches and pains. I said that I couldn’t get medical marijuana because my doctor worked for the Federal Government. Then, instead of laughing at me, he calmly pulled out his wallet, showed me his marijuana license and explained that all I had to do was pick up the phone. He, too, wondered if I must be high, because I didn’t know that.
Can I do it online?
Sure.
How?
Just type in “Legal Marijuana.”
Really?
Yeah.
Damn. I knew we won the war on drugs, but I didn’t realize that everyone else was already at the victory party. But, then again, in my defense, I was stoned most of the time. I went on my computer and typed in “Legal Marijuana.” The floodgates opened. The party wasn’t just going on. It was going strongly.
I chose one of the thousands of websites. They outlined the process and gave me online forms to fill out. They encouraged me to be truthful. Don’t worry, they said. They weren’t looking for ways to disqualify me. They were as pro-marijuana as I am. They just wanted to help me join the party. They even included a medical checklist of about a hundred different medical conditions that would qualify me. It reminded me of my essay for the Creative Writing course, but I started to panic when I didn’t see anything I had. How could that be? I take a handful of prescription drugs every day for my various ailments, but I couldn’t find anything until I got to Chronic Pain. Ah! My hip, my lovely aching hip. I checked the box for Chronic Pain.
Then I gave my credit card information and paid the $99 fee. There were just two steps to go. I had to make a doctor’s appointment and apply to Pennsylvania for an Adult Marijuana Patient certification, which costs $50.
I was disappointed. This wasn’t as simple as I thought. I had to make a doctor’s appointment, go to the doctor’s office, blah blah blah…and then the screen changed. My disappointment disappeared as an appointment appeared. PICK AN APPOINTMENT TIME. There were checkboxes for 15-minute online sessions starting with one that began in just a few minutes. I checked that one, and a zoom-style window opened up. “Dr. Atik will be with you soon.” A few minutes later the doctor came on. We had video problems, but we could hear each other. Four questions and five minutes later, the screen changed. YOU’RE APPROVED. Now, I just needed to get my State Certificate, and I clicked that link.
I filled out the online form, and then they asked me if I qualified for a discount, and they listed all the conditions that would qualify me for a discount. I saw the food stamp program, which I started this year, and I clicked that one. The screen changed.
YOU’RE APPROVED AND THE $50 FEE IS WAIVED.
Does it get any better than this? Nice country, we live in.
I e-mailed my Certification # back to the original company, and they told me that my Medical Marijuana Certification would be mailed to me. So, my next step was to locate a dispensary. The Google map made it look like there were as many marijuana dispensaries in Pennsylvania as there were trees in the rainforest. Within seconds, I found two dispensaries within a block of the bus station.
I served my time fighting against the War against drugs, and soon I’ll join the victory party. I’m just waiting for the mailman.
I’m currently working on a stage play about President Buchanan called Buchanan: A Rock Between Two Hard Places. It takes place at Wheatland, his former mansion, but now a tourist location in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The situation shifts back and forth from 1863, when the Southern Army is in Gettysburg, Pa, just across the river from Lancaster, Pa. to the present day when a group of tourists are taking a guided tour of the house. They go from room to room and the modern group tells the story of the Buchanan administration, while in 1863, ex-President Buchanan is trying desperately to convince his niece, Harriet Lane, that she should evacuate Lancaster for a place further away from the war.
The tour group debates the issues of the Buchanan administration and his standing in history. Most either don’t know much about Buchanan or have a low opinion of him (based partly on the short video they watched prior to starting the tour), but one Franklin & Marshall student taking the tour is a big fan of Buchanan.
That’s what I entered into Bing Copilot, Microsoft’s entry into the AI market.
This is what I got back:
Copilot:
Your stage play, “Buchanan: A Rock Between Two Hard Places,” sounds intriguing! The juxtaposition of historical events and the present-day tourist experience at Wheatland creates a captivating narrative. Let’s delve into the layers of your play:
Setting and Structure:
Wheatland, once President Buchanan’s mansion, now serves as a tourist attraction in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
The play oscillates between two critical time periods:
1863: The Southern Army looms near Gettysburg, just across the river from Lancaster. Ex-President Buchanan grapples with convincing his niece, Harriet Lane, to evacuate to a safer location.
Present Day: Tourists explore Wheatland, moving from room to room. Their discussions weave the story of the Buchanan administration.
Tourist Debates:
The modern-day tour group engages in lively debates about Buchanan’s legacy. Their opinions are shaped by a short video they watched before the tour.
Most visitors either lack knowledge about Buchanan or hold a dim view of his presidency.
The Buchanan Enthusiast:
Amidst the skeptics, a Franklin & Marshall student stands out—a staunch Buchanan supporter. Their admiration for the ex-President adds an interesting dynamic to the play.
Buchanan’s Dilemma:
In 1863, Buchanan faces the weighty decision of ensuring Harriet Lane’s safety during the war. His desperation to convince her to leave Lancaster underscores the urgency of the situation.
Historical Context:
Buchanan’s presidency was marked by challenges, including the impending Civil War. His actions during this critical period continue to shape his reputation.
Title Symbolism:
The title, “A Rock Between Two Hard Places,” aptly captures Buchanan’s predicament—caught between historical forces and personal relationships.
As you craft your play, consider exploring Buchanan’s complexities, the impact of war, and the enduring questions about leadership and legacy. 🎭📜
I did a double-take. Or more like a triple-take. Did Bing Copilot just use as its 3rd reference an article I wrote myself on my own blog. It sure did. I’ve become the “go-to guy” on the subject of James Buchanan.
Here’s that original blog, in case you’re curious.
Usually when historians are asked to rate the U.S. Presidents, they put James Buchanan at the bottom. I think this is very unfair. He was a very good President, who just happened to be elected at the very worst time in U.S. history.
The country was on the verge of Civil War when he was elected in 1856. Abolitionists in the North desperately wanted to crush slavery and the South along with it. Secessionists in the South were afraid of the dire consequences they would have to face if slavery, which had legally existed in America for 200 years, was outlawed and 4 million negroes were suddenly free to take merciless revenge on their masters. Buchanan had to use everything he learned during his forty plus years of public service to keep the powder keg from exploding, and he managed to do so. Then the election of Abraham Lincoln lit the fuse, and all Hell broke loose.
Rather than acknowledging Buchanan’s peace keeping efforts, both sides immediately blamed him for the war. Though Buchanan had strong sympathies for the South, he was also a strong Unionist and, for the sake of the preservation of the Union, he had to endure the lies that were spread about him by both sides. He didn’t want to further incite the South, so he couldn’t level blame on them for seceding, and he didn’t want to cast aspersions on the new President during wartime by blaming Republicans and Abolitionists for driving the South to secede. He was literally a rock between two hard places, and for the sake of the Union had to take the abuse that was heaped on him without defending himself. His silence only caused both sides to increase their level of abuse until his reputation was utterly destroyed.
He did not wish to stand idly by, though, and he wrote his memoirs to correct all the lies that were being spoken and printed about him. He loved his country so much, though, that he refused to publish his defense until the War was over. Then the Civil War dragged on and on for years and by the time he published his memoirs in 1866 it was already too late to save his reputation. History had already painted him as the villain, and he knew that a century would have to go by before his name could ever hope to be cleared. Unfortunately, a century and a half has gone by, and historians still fail to give him a fair trial. I’m sure they feel that removing blame for the Civil War from Buchanan would force them to place some of the blame on Abolitionists and Lincoln, and that just ain’t gonna happen. Lincoln had already been made into a god. After all, Lincoln freed the slaves, and he was the victim of an assassination. He’s one of the four Presidents on Mount Rushmore. His place in history was literally and perpetually carved in stone. So, Buchanan has to continue suffering “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” Maybe, it will be another century before James Buchanan can get a fair hearing with historians and escape the bottom ranking…unless, of course, if Donald Trump continues the way he’s going.
Our representatives are chosen in free elections. The best way to get good representatives in government is for the people to study the issues, study the candidates, and be sure to vote. Tomorrow is Election Day. Vote wisely.
AI continued to use articles I wrote as reference material. I was both flattered and impressed. I decided to keep going with the AI, just to see how much more it could help me. James Buchanan became the President in 1857, the same year that the S S Central America sank in a hurricane leaving 450 men dead and 21 tons of California gold rush gold lying at the bottom of the ocean. I read all about it in a book called, The Ship of Gold at the Bottom of the Deep Blue Sea. Captain Herndon was the captain of the S S Central America. When he knew that the ship would eventually sink, he got all the men on board busy bailing out the incoming water while he transferred lifeboat after lifeboat of the women and children to the nearest ship to them, the Marine, captained by Captain Johnsen. Captain Johnsen rescued 100 passengers. Some 50 passengers who were floating on flotsam and jetsam from the ship were later rescued by a Norwegian ship, Ellen, which was passing through the area.
I asked AI about the incident.
Among other things, AI told me that President Buchanan gave a gold chronometer to Captain Herndon in recognition of his heroism during the disaster.
Wait a minute. Captain Herndon was swimming in Davy Jones locker, and certainly not available for any medals ceremony in Washington, D.C.
AI lied to me, and I knew it. Dead men get medals, but they don’t appear at medal ceremonies. I also knew from reading the book that President Buchanan actually issued the golden Chronometer to Captain Johnsen, the live captain of the rescue ship, Marine.
So, my point is that AI is an incredible tool that can help just about everyone with just about everything, but it won’t hesitate to stretch the truth a bit for the sake of a good story. It’s my kind of ap.
By the way, Captain Herndon was recognized for his heroism with a 21-foot-tall Granite Monument at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Every year the first-year students celebrate the end of their first year at Annapolis by climbing to the top of the monument. And every year the senior class puts about 50 lb. of grease on the monument to make it a lot more interesting. The story of the Herndon Climb is another thing I learned from AI, and, of course, I fact-checked it. Maybe on James Buchanan’s birthday, April 23rd, I’ll see if I can get some Franklin & Marshall students to grease Buchanan’s statue in Buchanan Park and we’ll see if anyone can climb it.
The two-party system has been a dominant feature of U.S. politics, almost from the beginning. George Washington, our first President, did not run for President on a Party ticket. George Washington was not elected by a popular vote in the way modern presidents are chosen. Instead, he was unanimously elected by the Electoral College. He is the only President who ever won with a unanimous vote of the electorate. Later, when different political parties formed, he was considered a member of the Federalist Party. The Federalist Party was one of the country’s first political parties. It was led by figures such as Alexander Hamilton and John Adams. The party favored a strong federal government and was supportive of the Constitution. The Federalists declined after the War of 1812 and eventually dissolved.
For as far back as I can remember, the major political parties have been the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. However, there have been third-party candidates representing other political viewpoints. In 2020, the Libertarian Party nominee for President was Jo Jorgensen. The Green Party candidate was Howie Hawkins. Don Blankenship was the candidate for the Constitution Party. None of these third-party candidates garnered any electoral votes, and they knew ahead of time that they wouldn’t, but they wanted to have a platform to express their views, and they did.
Many different political parties have come and gone over the years. The Whig Party emerged in the 1830s as an opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson. The party attracted a coalition of anti-Jackson forces, including former National Republicans and Anti-Masonic Party members. The Whigs were active in the mid-19th century but collapsed due to internal divisions over issues such as slavery.
The Know Nothing Party, also known as the American Party, gained prominence in the 1850s. It was characterized by nativism, anti-immigrant sentiment, and opposition to Catholicism. The Know Nothings were influential for a brief period but faded away due to the national focus shifting to the issue of slavery.
The Progressive Party (Bull Moose Party) formed by former President Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, was a short-lived third party. Roosevelt ran as its presidential candidate after losing the Republican nomination. The party advocated for progressive reforms, but it ultimately declined after the 1912 election.
The Dixiecrats (States’ Rights Democratic Party) formed in 1948 as a faction of Southern Democrats dissatisfied with the Democratic Party’s civil rights platform. Led by Strom Thurmond, the party opposed desegregation. While not a long-lasting party, it reflected regional discontent within the Democratic Party.
These parties played significant roles during their respective times but either disbanded or declined due to changing political landscapes, internal conflicts, or shifts in public opinion. The two major parties in the U.S., the Democrats and Republicans, have remained the dominant political forces for many years. Both parties have evolved over time, adapting to changes in the political and social landscape. The Democratic Party has a longer history, while the Republican Party emerged as a response to the sectional conflicts of the mid-19th century.
The Democratic Party is one of the oldest political parties in the world and has its roots in the Democratic-Republican Party formed in the 1790s in opposition to the Federalist Party. The Democratic-Republican Party, led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, advocated for states’ rights, agrarian interests, and strict interpretation of the Constitution. It eventually split into factions, with the followers of Andrew Jackson forming the Democratic Party. That party embraced the idea of popular democracy and expanded suffrage to a broader segment of the population. Jackson’s election in 1828 marked a turning point in the party’s history.
The Republican Party was founded in the mid-19th century in response to the contentious issues of the time and the expansion of the United States westward. Opposition to the spread of slavery into new territories was a key factor that led to the formation of the Republican Party. Activists, former Whigs, and anti-slavery Democrats came together to form a new political force. The Free Soil Party, active in the 1848 and 1852 elections, opposed the extension of slavery into the newly acquired territories, and many Free Soilers later joined the Republican Party. The Republican Party was officially founded on March 20, 1854, in Ripon, Wisconsin. The party’s first platform focused on opposition to the expansion of slavery and promoting industrialization.
The election of Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate, further solidified the Republican Party as a major political force. The election played a role in the secession of Southern states and the onset of the Civil War.
So, while it is difficult for us nowadays to picture any political parties other than the Democrats and the Republicans, there have been many many groups that have formed over the years, and now it seems that there is yet another one forming, the MAGA Party, led by Donald Trump. He has steadily siphoned off almost half of the Republican party, forming his new party, a party that wants to suspend the Constitution and give the President more power, similar to the authoritarian powers of Vladimir Putin in Russia, Kim Jong Un in North Korea, and Viktor Orban in Hungary. These powers would also include immunity from prosecution for any and all crimes committed by the President, including the assassination of his political rivals.
Is this the end of the Republican Party? Not likely. The current party leaders lack the guts to stand up to the Trump mob, and even Nikki Haley, who is running against him in the Republican primaries, has stated publicly that she will support him if he is the Republican Party’s nominee for President. Eventually, new, more courageous leaders will emerge, though, who will take back the ideals of the Grand Old Party, but that will first require a crushing defeat of the MAGA Party in the November election.
We need two strong political parties in this country. I feel that the liberal Democratic Party is the gas pedal that propels the country forward, and the conservative Republican Party is the brake pedal that keeps us from skidding out of control and running off the road. One, without the other, is not good for the country. So, I call upon all Democrats to help save the Grand Old Republican Party from the MAGA cancer that is killing it from within. Help restore sanity in government by solidly crushing the MAGA Party in November.
It must have been about 65 years ago that Brother X and I put on a play for our Cub Scout troop. Off-stage, our Dad read the Robert W. Service poem The Cremation of Sam McGee, while we acted it out on stage. It was a story about a man who died hunting for gold during the Klondike Gold Rush.
Well, Brother X is still acting it out, as he chose to spend a portion of his Golden Years visiting Iceland this month to finally see the famed Northern Lights.
The poem is one of my favorites, and many of its lines are still quoted by family members today. My Mom’s favorite line was, “A promise made is a debt unpaid.” I promise that if you click on the link below, you will see why the poem is an American classic.
It’s a brand spanking new year, and another chance to “get it right.” I started the year by toasting it with a tall glass of Moscato Sangria. Oops, there goes “Dry January.” No problem, that wasn’t one of my resolutions, anyway. So, this still may be the first year that I don’t break all my New Year Resolutions in the first month. The odds are actually very good this year, because, for the first time that I can remember, I didn’t make any resolutions.
I did not resolve to lose 20 pounds this year. That’s a resolution I’ve made every year for decades, and my weight continued to hover just south of 250 lb. every year. The resolution never worked in the past, so it seems pointless to continue making it. I do have a plan to burn off a whole lot of calories eventually though. When I die, I want to be cremated. That’ll be a sure end to all my weight problems, but I’m more than willing to wait for it.
I did not resolve to learn a new language in 2024. I’ve been trying to learn Spanish for decades, but the little German I learned while in the service still inhabits almost all the brain cells dedicated to learning a foreign language. My new neighborhood is largely Spanish, so I thought that would finally be the jumpstart my brain needed. My first week here I learned how to ask for a pound of turkey, “una libra de pavo, por favor,” but when the counterperson handed me my package, I still reflexively said, “Danke Schoen.” Most of the Spanish people in the neighborhood speak English, so I did not resolve to learn Spanish this year.
I did not resolve to save more money this year. In the Book of Isaiah in the Bible, it states: “Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we shall die.” I’m 75 years old, seriously overweight with a heart condition. So, my plan for the future is to eat, drink, be merry and hope that The Bible was just as wrong about tomorrow as it was about a bunch of other things.
I did not resolve to make new friends in the new year. Quite the opposite, I just learned how to “Unfriend” people on Facebook, and I plan to remove all the so-called “friends” there who I do not actually know and who I wonder why I ever confirmed their Friend Request in the first place.
I will get more sleep in 2024, but that’s not a resolution. That’s just that my body insisting on taking more naps.
I did not make any resolutions to visit new places or explore new things. If I can’t get there via YouTube or Google, I’m not going there.
Every year I resolve to declutter my apartment, and every year it just gets more cluttered. So, this year I will not resolve to declutter my apartment. I will just try not to add more clutter, but that’s not a resolution, that’s just wishful thinking.
I did not make any resolutions to learn a new musical instrument. I’m just hoping that I will find one of the old musical instruments that I haven’t yet unpacked since I moved in here.
I will reduce my carbon footprint in 2024. That’s not a resolution, though. That’ll just be the result of me reducing all my footprints in 2024, by plopping my butt in a comfortable chair and sitting there as much as possible.
If you make any resolutions in 2024, I wish you good luck with them. I’m just hoping that I’m still around next year to repeat my lack of resolutions.
In my last rant, I mentioned a few dates that will live in infamy. Today, I want to talk about another day that we don’t hardly remember, but it should be a National Holiday, December 15, 1791. The “Founding Fathers” signed The Constitution of the United States on September 17, 1987. Almost immediately, 12 Amendments to their original Constitution were proposed. These matters were so important to the brand-new citizens of the United States of America, that the necessary mandate of 3/4ths of the States quickly voted to accept 10 of those Amendments. Those 10 Amendments became known as the Bill of Rights and took effect on December 15, 1791.
As of that day, the Constitution guaranteed the American people freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, the right to peacefully assemble, the right to petition the government, the right to keep and bear arms, and the protection from quartering troops in private homes without consent. We also were guaranteed protection from unreasonable searches and seizures, protection against self-incrimination, and the right to due process of law, and all those rights were given in just the first 5 amendments. The other 5 Amendments in the Bill of Rights guaranteed Americans the right to a fair trial and protection from cruel and unusual punishment, among other things.
Recently, the Constitution in General and the first two Amendments specifically have been the subject of much debate. Language has evolved over the past 232 years, and interpreting both the intent of the Founding Fathers, and the spirit of the Amendments has now become a political football. What is and what isn’t protected by free speech? Does freedom of religion include freedom from religion? Does “Fake News” have the same freedom as real news, and what is real and what is fake? Can every citizen own a basement full of assault weapons?
Now, thanks to the State of Colorado, another Amendment has jumped into the spotlight, the 14th Amendment, an old Civil-War era Amendment written with the intent on keeping Confederates, a.k.a. insurrectionists, out of office in the United States. It is just one small section of the 14th Amendment that has caused all this fuss. It is known as Section 3 – Disqualification from Public Office. It states:
“No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
Using this Amendment, the State of Colorado has stricken Donald Trump’s name from the primary election ballot there. Did Donald Trump engage in insurrection or rebellion against the Constitution of the United States? That’s something for a court to decide. Did Donald Trump give “aid or comfort to the enemies thereof”? Well, he promised to pardon all those convicted of insurrection and other charges resulting from their activities in the Capital on January 6,2021. I’d say that offering pardons to convicted insurrectionists most definitely qualifies as giving aid or comfort to the enemies of the Constitution. Basically, he said, “Vote for me, and I’ll set you free.” Now, where have I heard that before? Oh yeah, it was in a song by the Temptations called Ball of Confusion.
Now, some Trump supporters think that we shouldn’t use an old Amendment against their “Orange Jesus.” They claim that the 14th Amendment is out of date because it was ratified way back in 1868. Well, despite being old, it’s still the law of the land, and, for that matter, the Amendment that permits Trump supporters and everyone else to voice their dissenting opinion dates back even earlier to 1791. Their 2nd Amendment right to bear arms is also 77 years older than the 14th Amendment, as it dates back to 1791, also. If you want to talk about updating and rewriting old Constitutional Amendments, I think that the weekly mass murders committed in The United States dictate that the language and intent of the 2nd Amendment should be resolved first.
Thanks for listening to my rant. I’ll repay your time by including a link to a video of Ball of Confusion that shows all the lyrics. I went on YouTube to listen to it and played it over and over. The song came out in 1970, but I was totally amazed at how good it still was and how it easily brought back memories from more than 50 years ago. I was also saddened, though, because, unfortunately, 53 years later, it is still an accurate description of the world of today, a ball of confusion.
Today is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, December 7, 1941, a day that will live in infamy.
I watched a replay of the Republican Debate on YouTube last night. Thankfully, I was able to play it at 1.5 speed, which saved me about 40 minutes. As a Democrat, I don’t normally enjoy watching Republican Debates, but this one was different. Instead of attacking Democrats, they were attacking each other. They are all trailing Donald Trump in the polls by massive numbers, but instead of taking him on, they fought with each other. They should have made Donald Trump regret skipping the debate by using the entire time just to bash him. Chris Christie did use much of his allotted time to point this out, while he also mentioned that Donald Trump will probably be a convicted felon by Election Day. He was heavily booed for his truthfulness by the Republicans in the audience.
Surprisingly, Ron DeSantis had, what I thought, was the best answer to the GOP Trump dilemma, though. He said that Republicans should not just be thinking of the next election but the one after it, and that instead of pushing for Trump now, they should work to elect a President who could serve two terms.
I hope Joe Biden was watching. It probably wouldn’t be a bad idea for the Democrats to also consider running someone who could serve two terms. If Joe Biden drops out of the race, we might be able to elect someone who would occupy the oval office for the next 8 years, instead of having to renew the fight in 4 years with a new candidate. This would be a great time for Joe to both “take one for the team” and retire with honor. He answered the call in 2020 when his country needed him, and now, like John F. Kennedy said, “It is time to pass the torch to a new generation of Americans.”
While most of the Republican debate time was spent yelling at one another, the moderators did occasionally bring up a few issues, one of which was the conflict between Israel and Hamas. We learned days earlier that Israeli Intelligence was warned ahead of time that Hamas would strike Israel on October 7th, Putin’s birthday. The warning was ignored as being preposterous. Reminds me of when our intelligence agencies were informed in 2001 that some Arabs were taking flying lessons, but were not interested in learning how to take off or land. We did not act on the warnings and that led to September 11, 2001, another day that will live in Infamy.
When asked recently in a town hall interview with Sean Hannity if he intended to be a Dictator, Trump “joked” that he would only be a dictator “on day one.” His words resonated with his GOP challengers. I didn’t really get much more out of the debate, but I did hear those three little words, over and over again, and it frightened me. The four hopefuls on stage didn’t go as far as Trump, but the GOP Presidential hopefuls all made bold statements on the sweeping changes to Democracy that they would make “On Day One” if they became President.
When I was a kid, the town siren went off at noon every day. It was the same air-raid siren that they would use to make everyone aware of an enemy attack. As kids, we always worried that our town, and plenty of other towns in America would be vulnerable if the Russians ever attacked us at noon. I don’t hear the noon siren go off anymore, so that no longer worries me. I am now afraid, instead, that our people, our country, and our Democracy will suffer a massive attack from within “on day one” if any of these GOP Presidential candidates captures The Whitehouse in 2024. If that should happen, Tuesday, November 5th, 2024, Election Day, should be added to America’s list of days that will live in infamy. Please don’t ignore the warning signs this time and be sure to vote against those who are hell-bent to destroy Democracy. The Country you save just might be your own.
Why is Donald Trump involved in so many legal cases? I grew up in New York, so I first heard the name Donald Trump a long time ago. He was always in the newspaper where they always had a photo of him at a high-class club with a high-class model. He, himself, though, wasn’t very high class. He fancied himself as a rich tycoon playboy. He also acted like he had the Midas touch, turning every business deal into a fortune all by himself. As I grew up, I learned that much of his wealth was inherited from his father, and his business deals weren’t always successful. Many of his companies were forced to declare bankruptcy. Rumors also abounded that he had used discriminatory practices in his real estate business. Nobody in authority went after him though, because people didn’t take him seriously. He was just a clown who could always be found on Page Six of the Post.
He used his fame to increase the value of his real-estate holdings, merely by putting his name on the buildings. Eventually, he spread into other areas – Trump steaks, Trump University, Trump Vodka, Trump Casinos, Trump Shuttle, and Trump Magazine. His business ventures weren’t always profitable, but they all added to his name recognition, and that was enough to keep him in the limelight. He wound up starring in his own reality TV show, The Apprentice. His big catchphrase during the show’s long run was “You’re fired.” People loved hearing him say that, and he had millions of adoring fans. He then used his growing fame and name recognition to become the 45th President of the United States, and that’s where his storybook life started unraveling. He had bitten off more than he could chew. When one of his companies was in financial trouble, he could simply declare the company bankrupt. You can’t do that with the National Debt, though. You can’t make trillions of dollars in National Debt go away by declaring bankruptcy. This was a financial problem he couldn’t solve in the courtroom. Then, his problems became even worse. Covid hit.
The top scientists in the world weren’t sure how to handle the epidemic. Neither did he, but he assured everyone that it would all go away when the weather warmed up. The weather did warm up, but so did Covid. It killed more than a million Americans and cost him the election in 2020. Then, he crossed the line. He fired up his base and got them to believe that the election had been stolen. He fanned the flames until a full-scale insurrection took place at the Capital Building, where his followers attacked Capital Police to try to prevent the counting of the electoral votes for Joe Biden. He became the first President in U.S. history to fail to concede the election gracefully. There were other contested elections in American history, and in 1876, the supporters of Samuel Tilden declared that he was robbed of the Presidency and demanded “Tilden or blood.” Samuel Tilden put an end to that by conceding the election and telling his followers to accept Rutherford B. Hayes as the President. Al Gore took his fight to the Supreme Court, which ended his non-violent protest by declaring George Bush the winner in Florida and the winner overall. Al Gore then conceded the election and rode off into the political sunset.
Donald Trump didn’t concede. He plotted to find a way to hold onto power. January 6th was his Rubicon, and he crossed it. He still looked like a clown with his orange face and ridiculous comb-over, but he was now taken seriously. He violated his oath to the Constitution and posed a clear and present danger to Democracy itself. That opened the floodgates against him. Prosecutors, who had in the past looked the other way, when his circus came to town, now knew that they finally had to take a stand. When the U.S. Senate refused to find him guilty of acts for which the House of Representatives had impeached him, local prosecutors picked up the fallen torch and took up the challenge. They ripped the band-aids off old wounds and dug up the graves where his violations had been buried for years. They attacked him in New York, Florida, Georgia, and eventually in Washington, D.C. For 76 years he had been the Teflon Don, but now he had gone too far. He was no longer a mere con man fleecing suckers to build an empire. He was now a crazed narcissist who was willing to tear down an entire country to establish his own empire in the ashes.
That’s when Americans went from laughing at Donald Trump to worrying if he would unleash his base to commit unspeakable atrocities to keep him in power or at least out of jail. Nobody laughs when his circus comes to town anymore. He is a wannabe dictator, who calls his political foes “vermin,” just like Hitler did in his rise to power. It’s not a laughing matter anymore. He must be stopped, but to keep Democracy alive, he has to be stopped legally. He and his thugs have hinted at “2nd Amendment solutions” for their own problems, but we have to take the higher ground to end his reign of terror. Our weapons must be the courts and the ballot box. So, we will have to endure months, and maybe even years of court cases before he is finally stopped, but he will be stopped, because he crossed the line, and the majority of Americans know it. He will still have his neo-nazi cult members who follow his orders, but we’ve dealt with Nazis in the past, and we are plenty strong enough to trounce them again. It’s time for the American people to let Donald Trump know that his days as ringleader are over, his circus is not wanted, and he’s fired. He probably deserves an actual firing squad, but putting him in jail will have to suffice.
My heart goes out to the Trump family. Those poor people. The subject of numerous Witch hunts, Indictments falling like autumn leaves around them, political opponents wanting to lock them up, former cronies plea bargaining to testify against them, and rude fat men in gaudy clothes trampling on their dear departed mother’s grave in golf spikes, screaming “Fore” instead of “Four more years.” How much more does this family have to endure?
Now the mean old New York Attorney General, Letitia James, wants to put Donald’s children on the stand to testify against him. Donald Jr, the eldest at 540 months old, will be expected to know Generally Accepted Accounting Practices, a subject that was never brought up in the Trump household. Cooking the Books was the job of incredibly well-paid fully trusted accountants, who didn’t realize that they were expendable and would be thrown under the bus at the first sign of trouble. Ivanka, the baby of the group, at just 468 months old, is immune from prosecution due to the statute of limitations running out, but she will still have to somehow explain to her husband Jared that he is going to have to babysit their baby mama children while she goes to New York for the trial. Eric, the 516-month middle child will be tested to see if he can walk and chew gum at the same time. Otherwise, Judge Engoron may remove him to a foster home.
At the same time, Georgia District Attorney Fanni Willis wants to put The Bronze Bomber in jail for tinkering with the Presidential election there. “Is it a crime to go looking for 11,780 votes in a closet somewhere in Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger’s office?” said Trump. “I’ve got way better stuff I keep in boxes in the bathroom at Mar a Lago.” “I’m willing to trade nuclear secrets for 11,780 votes. I asked Rudy Guiliani to help me on that one, but he had a melt down – literally.”
Then to make matters worse, poor Donald wound up with Jack Smith as a Special Prosecutor in his Insurrection trial. This particular Mr. Smith didn’t leave his job prosecuting war criminals to go to Washington to just talk, talk, talk. He’s not too fond of Trump talking either, and he keeps requesting gag orders against the Strawberry-blond bombshell.
Then Trump lost a rape case to Jean Carroll, and porn queen Stormy Daniels is defying a non-disclosure agreement to tell everyone that the Donald’s penis looks like a tiny little mushroom. Now, political cartoonists draw his hands even smaller than they used to. At least the Donald still has Melania right there at his side, just a few thousand miles away. She says that she will stay loyal to her husband, because she doesn’t want to end up buried in a sand trap on a golf course like Ivana.
The Donald doesn’t have much going for him legally these days, but he is making a fortune on merchandise. Red MAGA hats were his big sellers, but now Mug Shot Mania has taken over and Mug Shot shot glasses are lined up in right-wing bars across the Red States. Unfortunately, the Conservative Evangelicals who support him are not allowed to be caught drinking in public, but they do have the collectors item glasses in their home bars hidden in the basement.
One glimmer of hope remains for our poor tortured hero. The Republicans in the House of Representatives elected Mike Johnson as speaker. He wants to replace the Constitution with the Bible, and there’s nothing in the Bible about punishing a man for just looking for 11,780 votes or cheating on his taxes, as long as he’s not a homosexual, a drag queen, or providing Johnson’s son Jack with porn.
earlthepearl137 