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Browsing Bloviation

The Bitter End

Lincoln is crying for our democracy.What has seemed inevitable to me for a while now, that the 45th president of this nation would never accept an electoral defeat quietly, has occurred. The spectacle of so-called “patriots” storming the U.S. Capitol in an incompetent attempt to stop the certification of the presidental election was a sad, sad thing. Five people died during the course of the bizarre attack on our democracy. An attack encouraged by a cowardly man who promised, multiple times, during his incendiary speech minutes before it began, to “be right there with” them.

Of course he wasn’t. He spent the time watching it on TV, reportedly “cheering it on” from his bunker, the White House. His promises were lies. Lies have been the secret to his “success” his entire four-year term, and really, his entire public life.

The sooner he is relegated to the stinking trash heap of history, the better. Though wasting time and energy on his removal days before the inauguration is a fool’s errand. (God knows we have enough fools for the job.) We the people can only hope that his ability to cause more damage will be limited, perhaps by the mythical “adults in the room.” Gulp. He is a coward who desperately wants to save his own skin, so if there are no adults still at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue we will have to rely on his me-first preservation instinct.

Personally devastated

I don’t want keep talking about our worst president ever, certainly not like some—including a character from my unprescient period piece, Henry IX, Ned Noodle—still rail about the supposed crimes of Obama and Hillary (QAnon avers that they and others are lizard-like space aliens bent on world domination). No, I never want to revisit this baleful time again. The way is forward. But so many have moved to the steady drumbeat of the petty despot’s lies for so long, that we can’t expect that they will hear a different beat anytime soon.

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Today I woke up knowing we will have a man as President that I did not vote for that will put into place policies that go against scripture in many ways and will undermine family, God’s design for marriage, unborn life and will make us slaves to the government but do you know what else I woke up with? My salvation, my love, my joy, my peace, my kindness, my patience, my goodness, my faithfulness, my gentleness and my self control. Why? God is still sovereign and the Holy Spirit still lives in me and every Christian.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” — John 14:37

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. — Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)

I get that opposition to abortion is the primary reason so many evangelical Christians have embraced this man who embodies so many of the traits of what they might otherwise consider the “fruits of the Prince of Darkness” (and make no mistake about it, they believe in a literal, living, fallen angel named “Lucifer"—or Satan, the enemy—for whom they believe I am working right now). In my (satanic?) opinion, many conservative Christians have sold their souls for the pyrrhic victory of three seats on the Supreme Court.

In addition to believing that Joe Biden, a life-long faithful, church-attending Christian, will “will go against scripture in so many ways,” this fantasy post, masquerading as hopeful piety, claims that he “will make us slaves to the government.” Is this what you believe I support, friend?

“Jesus wept.” — John 11:35 (KJV)

Kristallnacht in America

To refer to what happened Wednesday morning in our capital city as our “Kristallnacht” is to trivialize a much more tragic series of events that over two days and terror-filled nights caused the deaths and dislocation of so many Jews in November of 1938. Events that presaged the deaths of 6,000,000 Jews in the most horrible period of recent history—maybe of all of human history.

Wednesday five people died. One Capitol policeman, as a result of being bludgeoned by a “patriot” with a fire extinguisher, and four “revolutionaries.” At least two of the traitors (no quotation marks needed there) died of heart attacks or strokes. One rioter was shot by police, and another was reportedly—I am not making this up—trampled by the “patriotic mob.” In what is almost certainly an apocryphal account, she was said to be wearing a “Don’t Tread On Me” tee-shirt.

We can at least hope that this “Revolt of the Idiocracy” doesn’t spread.

I never thought I would post a video of the former GOP California “Guvernator” here, but now I have. It’s this video that gives the section a title. I don’t know now whether or not he directly refers to “45” in it, but his reflections—very personal ones—of growing up in a devastated post-fascism Austria are well-worth hearing.

I truly hope that I never feel compelled to think or write anything about our American Fascism again. I definitely don’t want it to be the subject of the final chapter in the personal memoir I am writing. Hopes and wants—only time will tell.