Splitsville

 On the topic of Marjorie Taylor Greene: So what?

For me, this lives in a realm of those who chose to laud Liz Cheney for finally standing up for the country which she took an oath to defend and preserve. A screeching horde of MAGAts with malicious intent, fueled by a a cowardly tangerine's rhetoric, attempted to sieze control of the United States Congress. They even threatened to hang the sitting Vice President. The fact that Liz hit her breaking point with the First Trumpreich at that moment is nothing more than a civil servant coming to grips with the responsibilities of the job for which she was elected. 

Marge's moment of clarity, notable because it came during a government shutdown about health care, was directly connected to her realization that her own adult children were being affected by the potential loss of Affordable Care Act subsidies. Suddenly, after years of being the darling of the red baseball cap herd, she was on the outside looking in. When her former gang's boss turned on her in his nasty, antisocial media way, she figured it was time to pack her things and go. In his usual rambling and vindictive stlyle, the convicted felon made a very public breakup with the woman he now refers to as "Wacky Marjorie" because according to him all she can do is "COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN!" He could not possibly, without any awareness of irony, understand just how ridiculous that assertion is.

Meanwhile, the government has reopened, and Marge is preparing for her not too hasty exit. First she'll need to make sure her pension is vested before she sets out on a brand new adventure. Opening a gym somewhere, maybe? Working tirelessly to keep the Affordable Care Act intact? Or perhaps simply bidding her time until the eventual collapse of all that is Trumpian and she can jump back into a vortex called The Republican Party which will see her as "a breath of fresh air."

Let me see if I can sum my feelings for that in a word: Ew.

Ignore Alien Orders

Let's see if I am getting this right: There is a kerfuffle going on about members of the "intelligence community" and the military following unlawful orders. Killing someone without due process or cause would seem to be part of that batch, at least from where I am sitting. That just happens to be with easy access to the Costitution of the United States as well as the Uniform Code of Military Justice.  Always thinking ahead, our nation's leaders chose to put these documents where people like you and me can access them, just in case there was any questions about how the Law should be meted out. 

Some Schoolhouse Rock for you all: The Three Branches of Government. Not perhaps as memorable or tuneful as "I'm Just A Bill," this little ditty reminds us that those three branches are there to keep an eye on one another with a little system we call "checks and balances." It would be easy to forget that in a nation that is currently dominated by a bunch of MAGAts controlling the highest offices in our land that there is a judicial system that extends out beyond the so-called Supreme Court. To that end, I point you toward U.S. District Judge James Boasberg who ruled that the current administration identify the officials involved in authorizing an unprecedented deportation operation in March that sent the men to a prison known for abusive treatment.

Up pops the name of Kristi "Puppy Terminator" Noem, who chose to defy the court's order to stop sending one hundred Venezualans to El Salvador's CECOT, euphemistically labeled a "terrorist confinement center." Anyone who ignores the judge's orders is breaking the law, which puts a whole lot of folks in line for being good at following orders, except these were not legal. 

There are plenty of other examples of this kind of chicanery, a great deal of it having to do with Krist's passion for generating photo-ops that would make John Bunell blush. There is no current law of the books for egregious showboating by a government official, but I offer the ICE Queen up as America's Most Wanted, right along with the rest of the Clown Car the convicted Felon refers to as his cabinet. 

That is what retired astronaut and former US Naval officer Mark Kelly was talking about. Alas, there is no Schoolhouse Rock ditty that covers this foolishness. 

Anticipatory

 In the wiggly world of blog posting, this comes to you from the distant past. Before the parade. Before the football. Before the pushing away from the table with the promise of never eating another bite.

Until dessert. 

Now it's Friday, and I suppose I could say that the sales have commenced but that feels more than a little disingenuous since the economy will continue to chug along aided and abetted by "Pre-Black Friday Sales" and the illusory promise of a two thousand dollar check coming to us from Dear Leader. This is primarily a payoff, a kind of bribe to get us all to take him at his word that trillions of dollars are flowing into our coffers. Go out and spend, spend, spend. 

If you were able to finance your Thanksgiving dinner, that is. 

Now it's the big turnaround into a mild return to "normal," in which we will all get up and go about our days in anticipation of yet another break from the monotony of our non-holiday existence. After all these years, I still have not become fully accustomed to the three weeks of vacation offered to me as a public school teacher. It is not without a touch of irony that I face this time with the mild notion of trying not to stimulate the economy, but all that empty time begs to be filled up with commerce. 

"You've got a few empty days, why not buy stuff?" whispers the supply-side demon on my shoulder. "Why not take the family out to dinner?"

I cast you out, foul demon! With the possible exception of keeping my eye out for a deal on a new electric toothbrush. I mean, ours still works and all, but it has a new disconcerting beep after the second brushing on one charge. 

From vantage point still two days away from the mother of all sales since the last one, I tell myself that I can control this urge. Just like I can stay away from that last slice of pie. 

We Gather Together

 I am thankful that Robert F Kennedy Junior is not having dinner with me this Thanksgiving. 

I am thankful that no one has seen fit to take a wrecking ball to the east side of my home. 

I am thankful that I didn't fall for that "endless pasta bowl" ruse from Olive Garden. 

I am thankful for fantasy football, where dreams can still come true. 

I am thankful for a place to sit down when I need to tie my shoes.

I am thankful for our robot overlord who seems to be content vacuuming our rugs. 

I am thankful that as an a adult I have almost mastered being able to refold a roadmap. 

I am thankful that solitaire is not, in fact, the only game in town. 

I am thankful that I will probably never meet the telemarketers whose time I wasted face to face. 

I am thankful for the time lag between digital photos and my awkward teenage years. 

I am thankful that I am probably finished dealing with other's disappointment that I never saw the Dead:Live.

I am thankful for the somewhat elusive idea of Peace On Earth.

I am thankful that the Sound of Music was sung by Julie Andrews and not Ethel Merman.

I am thankful that still, after all these years, I believe that a man can fly. 

I am thankful for those around me and those whose spirit continues to hang around. 

I am thankful that I get an opportunity to see how this all turns out. 

A Very LIttle Advice

 The message we are getting from (checks notes) a Julius Domingus Vance is this: "The thing that I'd ask for the American people is a little bit of patience."

The VP (Vice Piggy) was suggesting is that we, as a country, have been less than patient with the Second Trumpreich. Somehow their assurances that this cabal would "immediately bring prices down, starting on Day One" has not led to any sort of savings for the average consumer. As a matter of fact, Jeff "I Sent My Wife To Space And All I Got Was This T-Shirt" Bezos said recently, “If you're an individual considering purchasing a big-screen TV, you might want to wait, hold onto your money, and see what transpires. The same is true with a new automobile, refrigerator, or whatever else. Just remove some risk from the equation.”

Well kids, I checked with some of the folks to whom I send monthly checks and that "patience" thing doesn't really fly with them. As for Mister Bezos, It seems as though the endearing story about how he was still driving a 1996 Honda to the office might be a little stale. This was a tale best told when his estimated worth was "around ten billion dollars." The estimate of the stored wealth of that Amazon Guy is now more than two hundred billion dollars. 

Be patient? With a guy who owns a super yacht called the Koru, with its "support vessel" Abeona? 

When do you suppose these idjits last visited their local Safeway? Did they happen to notice the price for a loaf of bread hovers around seven dollars, and that most of us are in fact "waiting patiently" before we buy our next major appliance? 

There was some wild talk a couple weeks ago about sending American consumers some sort of tariff rebate check. Everyone was supposed to get "about two thousand dollars." That check would cover about twenty-two percent of the expenses for a family of four living here in Oakland. 

Maybe that's not the solution you were hoping for?

Just be patient. 

Frankly

 Hey, I don't want to crowd into your holiday reverie with more news about the malevolent yam that has taken over our government, but I feel not commenting might lead to some sort of condition that could interfere with my needed rest and relaxation. 

I know. Selfish, aren't I?

But here goes: Last week contained a few instances of what we have come to expect from the convicted felon and "alleged" pedophile. Most everyone caught the "Quiet, Piggy!" incident in which the "president" became annoyed with a female reporter asking questions about the Trumpstein files and rather than simply going on, or sighing or anything that might have constituted adult behavior, he chose to point a finger at ABC News' White House Correpsondent Mary Bruce and let fly with what must have been a case of mistaken identity. After all, ABC's parent company Disney owns The Muppets as well and the doddering old fool must have believed he was talking to a hunk of felt and foam. Certainly no adult would resort to such childish behavior. Or perhaps you prefer his press minion's explanation: “The president is very frank and honest with everyone in the room."  According to a woman whose lips have been referred to as being like "a machine gun" by her boss his “frankness” is “one of the many reasons that the American people reelected this president.” And still she persisted, “He gets frustrated with reporters when you lie about him, when you spread fake news about him and his administration, but he also is the most transparent president in history.”

Okay.

How about another instance of this "frankness?" A week ago, a group of six Democratic lawmakers', all of whom served in the military or intelligence service, put out a video in which they told members of the United States armed forces that it was their duty to "refuse illegal orders." The convicted felon's response was to type out his social media response: “It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL. Their words cannot be allowed to stand — We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET.” And of course, he went on: “It’s called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL. Their words cannot be allowed to stand — We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET.” And on:  "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!"

So, as you can see, calling a woman reporter "piggy" is actually quite tame compared to the tirade unleashed on a group of veterans of our military. 

Or maybe it's just how a seventy-nine year old convicted felon has been allowed to behave all his life. 

Now if we can just figure out a way to spin this into my annual "what I'm thankful for" speech at the table.

Portable Feast

 I take some good-natured ribbing from my wife about sharing food. 

"Would you like a bite of mine?" she asks me sweetly.

At which point I tend to respond in the way that I have for all of these years, long before I was in any sort of committed relationship: "Thank you, no. I ordered the thing on the menu that appealed to me. It is currently sitting in front of me and I intend to enjoy it to the fullest. I am pretty sure that if I had wanted to try what you're having I would have ordered that instead." 

This makes me a cad, I know. Or worse. 

I have made peace with that. And, what's more, it seems that my wife has as well. 

When we order Chinese food, the suggestion of "family style" is lost on me. I'll have the sweet and sour pork thank you very much. The vegetable surprise will have to remain an unknown treasure for me until that is the only thing on the menu. 

This comes from years of searching out the cheeseburger in restaurants across the globe. Only in the second half of my life have I opened myself up to the idea of expanding my palate. It also didn't help that I grew up with a crew of friends who made eating pizza a race. It was important to eat with one hand while the other was poised to grab the next slice. Having two brothers made dinner time a contest to be sure that we each got our fair share. Just keep your hands and feet away from their mouths. As an adult among my friends I was anointed with "The Thresher." 

Share my food? Who knows when I will eat again? This is about survival, baby. 

Which makes things like potlucks a sum zero equation. "Would you like to sample some of my casserole?" 

No. I'll have the hamburgers I brought and grilled myself. Thank you. 

Immature? 

You bet. 

But I don't go hungry.