A baseball movie. About a player dying and about how a team comes together when the players realize that one of their own is terminally ill.

Perhaps this is where we find ourselves as a country. A team of diverse individuals with a goal of coming together  to both support a dying friend and learning something about ourselves in the process. Of course, it’s just a movie…a sad one to be sure. The dying teammate is not intellectually gifted nor especially gifted as a player. Just a  human being who management decides is expendable and decides to trade him. A valuable team member decides to take up the dying man’s cause and declares, “if he goes, I go.”  That is loyalty. That is a higher purpose. That is what we are losing. It seems that we despise each other more than we care about the team. And that is a losing strategy no matter what game you play.

It seems that few things move us anymore. Game of Thrones ending got more of a gut reaction than any of the mass shootings have evoked across the population. If you prefer biblical reference, this could be Armageddon.

Around the globe, our adversaries believe we have it coming. They are tired of our smug bullshit democracy and what they view as our meddling. We do have a history of meddling to be sure, and more often than not it was in our self interest rather than for the good of another. We as a country felt no pain in removing Indians from their lands and effectively setting out upon genocide. We as a country felt no pain in enslaving dark skinned people. We as a country felt no pain at the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.  We increasingly are becoming numb to death and despair unless it directly affects our lives individually.

Even post 911, we are incapable of holding out a hand, of feeling compassion for people enslaved or hungry or homeless or sick. We are so consumed with the noise and vitriol we do not hear our own cries for help. And it seems that a certain wing nut element in our society thinks, “we have it coming”. Increasingly the wing nuts look incredibly normal. But looks as we know can be deceiving.

As the 12 steppers might say, we have yet to hit bottom. Sometimes, the bottom is six feet deep.

“It is common for the operator to take advantage of a lack of investor knowledge or competence, or sometimes claim to use a proprietary, secret investment strategy to avoid giving information about the scheme”…Wikipedia

So, this sounds familiar. Trump has variously claimed to have strategies for dealing with China, North Korea, Russia, but he can’t divulge the plans. Shhhh..this only works if you aren’t paying attention. But you will pay. Sounds like a perfect Vegas scam, but truth is, Vegas doesn’t play this game. Honor among thieves applies to the current administration. Remember, Trump bankrupted his casinos but somehow convinced investors he was worthy of their trust and dollars.

Vegas doesn’t cheat. The covenant here is the guarantee that you will get a fair chance while remembering the house will always have the statistical edge. Lives can be changed here whether for good or ill. We vigorously advertise the big wins in order to entice others to try their luck. It’s what we do. The rules are clear and constant. Not so with Trump’s schemes. Ponzi would be proud. The American people are invested in the scheme whether willing or not. The mechanisms are falling into place to keep us paying and playing while his supporters cheer and lap up the kool aid. The promise is that everyone will have a chance to win big…but the reality is the only winners are already ahead of the game. Advantage players. You have to be in on the scheme and that knowledge is by invitation only. Trump has sold to his minions that they’re in on the sting.  And that is the lure. It’s the implied promise of success if you just invest a little more and trust me.

Think on Trump’s push of tariffs on China. Remember how much pain this inflicts on America’s farmers. And now recall Trump’s response, “a little pain now, but a big payoff later.” Trust me.

Bernie Madoff? Light weight.

Drama queen. Here we thought Trump wants to be king. He just wants to be a star…maybe a porn star or reality star.  Oh yeah, done that.

So he pads around the big house with little Don in his hand while he strokes out his Twitter twitch. I mention this only in the interest of national security. Many a state secret has been exposed during the throes of passion. And for dear leader, it’s all about stoking passions. The reptilian brain is so in charge I swear the outer skin will slough off to reveal the scaly reality.

Trump does have a hard on for (insert your preferred minority here), but not content to harbor his own resentments he reels in his devoted audiences and enlists their emotional responses to his deviant purposes. Anger is an especially useful emotion. It is impossible to retain rational, critical thought when angry. And he keeps his minions pissed off. He by the way is not above all this. He is just as susceptible to ‘roid rage and he lets it spill out in what would normally be considered embarrassing fashion, but instead only serves to further inure him to his crowd.

He is the sexy man the way Ted Bundy was charismatic. Predatory, demanding, angry, domineering, with just a smidge of feminine self doubt. No wonder his admirers can’t resist him…all that macho bull shit. Those in possession of political power cleave to him not because they feel a kindred spirit, but because they realize they are of the same species. And rather than resist they rationalize and project their idealized selves onto him. It’s a field day for the weak.

Since we’re talking sexy, the move is on with renewed vigor to challenge Roe v. Wade. Impregnate: sure. Terminate: check with your lawyer. The man obsession with womb control is never ending. Barefoot and pregnant is the new old law of the land along with the idea that women are the property of their husbands and any woman raped had it coming.

If you like your autocrats fat and sassy,Trump is your guy. And if you like Trump and his minions up in your business, stock up on wire hangers. Because no woman has the right to presume she has moral superiority over another woman who has to make a decision about reproduction not in harmony with their views. And certainly no man has the right to dictate a woman’s right to choose. In case you haven’t been paying attention, the Trump move from day one has been to appease the evangelical right by stacking the judicial deck with conservative judges. If you still have viable eggs, keep your legs crossed or your medicine cabinet stocked, because increasingly you will have no option to terminate legally. Talk to Gloria Steinem. Or any current or past leader of Planned Parenthood. Wake up.

Not only is democracy in decline, but tolerance and acceptance is in decline. And that is death to anyone who falls outside the rigid epistemology of the fringe right wing nuts.

Stay strong my friends.

Beautifully crafted this democratic grand experiment. It depends for legitimacy and efficacy on the populace exercising the right to vote. Like balance in the media, the theory goes that the fringe elements will be held in check by the majority in the middle. Not in terms of politics, but in terms of those who agree that what is good for the country is by extension good for its people.

The people must agree that what is important is our system of laws, our system of government, and our agreement that the constitution is the foundation. Over time politics and power corrupted has altered the landscape through gerrymandering. Stacking the deck is an old Vegas tradition now run wild. And both parties are guilty of this. It’s not illegal, but it’s dirty. Much the way Trump ran his campaign and now the country.

Based on the sentiments running through our political and cultural dialogue currently, it is clear that America and American democracy is in decline. It is not a byproduct of rampant and uncontrolled immigration as Trump claims. It is the triumph of the fringe. There has always been an element of those unhappy and disenfranchised, always searching for a cause celeb to rally around to both embolden them and strengthen their resolve.

With the help of Trump, they have gained a platform and a legitimacy never before afforded them. More than white supremacy, more than evangelical intractability, it’s a coalescence of wing nuttery. The bogeyman has taken many forms: illegal, rampant, uncontrolled immigration; socialist Democrats; trade inequities, Obamacare, guns. But more than anything, they are convinced that nothing short of anarchy and a complete overthrow of government is not only justified, but a moral imperative. This from the fringe, spurned by conventional wisdom and prevailing mores and norms, bolstered by a maverick in the White House, by evangelicals with a different but no less destructive agenda, this fringe that has taken hold and will not relinquish this newfound power without vile and apocalyptic consequences.

Unless…we intervene. We rise up. We vote. And we never give up. And beware the steaming divots.

Michael Cohen went to prison today. A rather bucolic, benign version of the American penitentiary, but a prison nonetheless.

Cohen offered up a tease on his way to the big house ala the Trump reality TV formula: cliffhanger. More to tell. Really? Suddenly the bullshit meter is ringing off the hook. Cohen was believable in Senate testimony while keeping in mind that he has a great propensity for goombah bravado.

A story of urban legend proportions comes to mind. Remember that this is a story with legs, one of those Vegas stories with scant corroboration but lots of comment. Here’s the scoop: Binions Horseshoe, a world famous gambling spot was most famous for two things 1) owner Benny Binion and 2) Benny would book ANY bet. Benny has 3 offspring Jack, Becky and Ted. It was a family business.

One fateful evening, a customer of the casino committed an offense for which Teddy would not allow to go unpunished.  As the fellow took his leave out the front exit and down Fremont Street, Teddy took pursuit with security in tow. When the fellow was intercepted, Teddy unceremoniously blew his brains out and then retreated to the casino leaving the body lying in full public view. Realizing that he was in some legal jeopardy, Teddy developed a plan. Considering the jaunt back to the casino was brief, it is entirely possible that this scheme had been contemplated prior. A young pit boss, Walt Rozanski, was in charge of the casino at this late hour. Teddy approached him with an offer he couldn’t refuse: take the rap for me and you and your family will be taken care of.

Take the rap for me.

I want to believe that Cohen has had an epiphany. And I will believe it when he gives us the secret. What’s the antidote. If you are totally free of the Trump trance, how did you do it. And is it replicable. Do we need samples of your blood mixed with the virus to create the antidote. And is the cure complete or do we need to fear reinfection. Are you the guinea pig or the goat.

Or are you just a rat.

John Kennedy, President of the United States uttered these words, “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” That was a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away. We seem uncertain now as a nation, with a democratic system of government, of the people, by the people, for the people, as to who we are at this moment.

One thing is certain. Another leader uttered these words long ago, “Russia will defeat you without firing a shot,” as he slammed his shoe down on the table at the UN. Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the unfree state/nation USSR spawned that theory. And the sentiment remains unabated. This is not about nuclear confrontation. Those who support Trump seem to think that the possibility of war with Russia or China or even North Korea is not just remote but a left wing propaganda and political ploy. But they are looking in the wrong direction like the rube conned by a magician with a talent for sleight of hand. The danger is as Khrushchev framed it all those decades ago, that our enemies will never be deterred from taking our place as the most powerful nation on earth away from us. And that that system of democracy we tout so much will disappear like a feather in the wind.

Our foes no longer need military intervention to take control of our country. Trump is handing it to them. And to what end. Trump gets to be president for life? Luckily he is old enough that our enduring his life sentence won’t be that long. But, and this is critical, he has already set in motion the seeds of our destruction in a remarkably rapid fashion. Even the last year of his current term may lead to irreversible damage.

So who is on board with this. This immovable base of support that follows him to his rallies, who adore and idolize him, who wear the MAGA hats for him, who clap at his witty turn of phrase, and jeer when he mentions the press, judiciary or Clinton or any political opponent, besides them, who is on board with this. The gap between wealth and poverty widens as the money flows to one percent of the population. It is increasingly difficult for anyone in the 99% to be comfortable, to be without anxiety over money. It seems that the problem must stem from government and those rotten, dirty scoundrels who we unwittingly voted into office to represent us. It seems that the new best way to fix Washington is to put into power a guy who is not a politician, but a savvy business guy, who takes no prisoners, who takes no guff, who grabs  pussy, who stiffs anyone in his business orbit, who lusts after Russian prostitutes, porn stars and the fruit of his loins, yeah, that guy. Government does take too much. Let us keep a little more, let us breathe a little easier. And take some more from that elite one percent, many of whom did nothing other than be born into it, who never sacrificed anything for it, or took a chance for it, but just had it handed to them. You know, like Trump is handing us to Putin. So yes, government and by extension, those of us who vote, are to blame for this turn of events.

If we cannot alter the overriding desire of those governing to subordinate themselves to wealthy influence in order to maintain power, we will see the end to this grand experiment. And I wonder what the desired outcome will look like, because I wonder if any of those clamoring for overthrow have envisioned the afterlife. Perhaps they are certain of a Rapture. Perhaps they are certain of nothing. Like Trump owning a casino: he liked the idea of owning a casino better than he liked running one. And he ran them into the ground.

Place your bets.

One thing is eminently clear: Trump likes to play to the home field crowd. And he has passed this particular bias on to his minions. Barr appears before a friendly Senate but declines to appear before a hostile House. Unless they can stack the deck, they are not interested in playing.

Worse than Watergate? No comparison. Today’s conversation between Trump and Putin should be a sirens call…don’t go there. But, and this is crucial, his followers do not give a damn about the country…they want it dismantled. Trump is the catalyst for our destruction.

And so, once again, like the nuclear winter, no one has yet seen it but it should scare the hell out of you. If you like your government hot, spicy, and unpredictable, Trump is your guy. If you prefer your autocrat fat and sassy, Trump is your guy. But most importantly, if you prefer the president of the United States to be a useful idiot, then Trump is not only your guy, he may be your last guy.