Notes From Underground

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Cryptic note to those readers in the know goes here.

The predictions of the Cassandras of the Left before the 2024 election have been proven right in every respect. Trump has almost completely taken over the government. Clearly, he thinks that he is immune to prosecution and believes that he holds virtually unlimited power to harass and imprison those Americans he doesn’t like. His authority is God-like in foreign affairs according to his interpretation of the Constitution, so he feels free to open fire on vessels traveling in international waters without warning with the intent to blow them up and kill all the passengers, with only 17 known dead so far (all executed without trial or warning). Meanwhile, he has intimated that he has plans to attack sites within Venezuela without a declaration of war or Congressional approval.

The worst of all these things is his attitude towards global warming. His speech at the UN exemplifies his position– somehow, the worsening of the climate for the past 85 years (since the industrial boom after WW II) is all a scam, a hoax. The collective jaws of the climate scientists of the world dropped to the floor. According to Trump, the yearly increase of carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere is somehow a fake illusion perpetrated by scam artists.

It is obvious that Trump is in thrall to the oil and automobile (over 90% internal combustion engines) industries– after all, they have a $16 trillion combined yearly take, and money is his God. Remember that he offered the oil companies total loyalty for a $1 billion campaign contribution. He is parroting their line that global warming is not a serious nor an immediate problem. With typical Trumpian oversimplification of everything, this works out to Michael Mann being a scam artist and the whole thing being faked.

This deliberate destruction of US renewable energy, especially windmills, will delay reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, worsen global warming, and hurt our economy badly. Who knows how much worse things will be in ten years because of his actions– all we know is it’s big, and it’s bad.

Trump’s power and influence clearly peaked after January 20, but those who acted in anticipation of his victory in a clearly illegal way (for example, by accepting a cash bribe of $50,000 with action promised should Trump be elected) have already been exonerated by the fully suborned Justice Department. His pardons for the January 6, 2021 insurrectionists, delivered on his first day in office, were a deliberate shock to the system of law and order. When there wasn’t rioting in the streets over these pardons, he knew he had a clear road to taking over.

Since he has taken over the government and has full control of both houses of Congress along with a Supreme Court that has already pardoned him for any corrupt activity he should engage in as President– and since he has the presumptive support of 77 million voters (32 percent of those eligible to vote)– the only way to stop him now is for the other roughly 150 million eligible voters to actually come out and vote against him and his sycophants. We should start by protesting, as often and as loudly as we can– while scrupulously adhering to the letter of the law– and supporting comedy shows that skewer his administration and him personally.

At this point, it seems likely that he will lose control of the lower House of Congress in November 2026 and that he will be impeached come January 2027. That is a long time from now, and even if it happens, he is likely to be acquitted again unless a major scandal turns Senate Republicans against him. Perhaps if his link to Russia was proven, that might do it– or not.

I am concerned and disheartened by the recent statistics that show an upsurge in left-wing violence. While right-wing violent crime has constituted the largest proportion of political crime for years, just since the election left-wing incidents have surged to the point where they are now almost equal to right-wing incidents.

The shooting of Charlie Kirk appears to be a somewhat mixed incident. The reliably alleged shooter was romantically involved with a person who is said to be aspiring to be transgender. While the man apprehended was raised Mormon in a Republican household, it appears that he was “turned” by his involvement with this person. The “hate” to which he objected so strongly seems to have been directed precisely at the transgender person he was involved with. So, on balance, the motive for the shooting appears to be a personal one– he was directly threatened by Kirk’s statements about gays and transgender people. Who knows– the shooter may have agreed with Kirk on other issues.

To return to the point of this post, the only way to defeat Trump now is for the 2/3 of the people who didn’t vote for him in the first place to revolt peacefully against him. Our First Amendment right “peaceably to assemble and to petition for redress of grievances” is at stake.

I know a lot of people are desperate and willing to grab a rifle and go out and do something– but you’re sure to miss your target, and like the most recent shooting, hit an innocent bystander or three instead. Leave the violence to the professionals. Study the life of Gandhi– he was by no means perfect, but he was the most peaceable and accomplished man of his time (he was primarily responsible for the birth of modern India), and he was shot to death by a young political activist. Ironic.

The thing to do now is audibly complain and demonstrate at every opportunity. Make a noise. Remember when you speak to criticize the policies, not the people. It is especially tempting in the case of this administration to ridicule the incompetence and lampoon the absurdly arrogant pronunciations that this administration wallows in– for example, the cliche-ready person of the Secretary of War, who it was said had pledged not to touch a drop of liquor while he was Secretary (just the idea that he felt it was necessary to say this sent shivers down my spine). His opposition to women in the military, his misogyny and abuse of women (including his wife), his obsession with “war fighting”, and his thinly-disguised racism just round out his stereotypical personality.

In the long run, we will lose by adopting the same ethically-deficient behaviors that the MAGA crowd has adopted. We cannot allow ourselves to be outflanked by such tactics as hyper-gerrymandering– here we must fight fire with fire. But it is wrong to lie, cheat, and steal to stop an administration that lies, cheats, and steals. We must fight voter suppression with outreach and support– make sure that communities that don’t vote are registered and have their ID documents, and have a ride to the polls (we will win big by supporting ALL voters, regardless of their partisan position).

Bottom line– do what you do best: protest peaceably. Leave the violence to the professionals.

(photo courtesy of pixabay.com)