03JAN2023 – Observations on Happenings in Washington

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The House Republicans are busy beclowning themselves but I’m happy at least there’s something of a pretense being made of demanding accountability from the leadership.  Making McCarthy sweat a little before he’s coronated Speaker of the House is healthy.  I don’t believe he’ll enact that rule change to allow the Speaker to be voted out based on a single rep motioning for it.  After all, after he’s Speaker he’s untouchable.  Why would he honor a promise he made while he was still just a mere mortal?  I guess the only reason would be because it would be such a clear proof to the electorate of his dishonesty.  But then again, they’ve already embarrassed him.  Maybe all bets are already off.  We’ll see.

My view is that the Republican House should use their majority to hold the line on everything.  They should produce a budget.  If the Senate doesn’t want to bargain then say too bad.  No continuing resolution, no nothing.  Shut down the government and let the Democrats sweat.  It’s their Senate and President.  Let them vilify the House but it’ll be two years before there will be any way to change the power structure.  Even if the American public sweeps them out of office for turning off the endless flow of entitlements the Republican House majority will have done what they were supposed to do, legislate and create a budget for this runaway bureaucracy.  What happens in 2024 is just another page in this fake script we’re trapped in.  At least they will have shown some honesty, which is in very, very short supply.  Let the Democrats have the whole federal government and let them bring this whole charade crashing down around their ears.

Without a brake on the actions of Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries we’ll be looking at hyperinflation and double-digit unemployment very soon.  And that’s what the American people voted for last year.  Or at least that’s what the poll results that we saw indicated.  It’s important that they get every last drop of the result they chose.  It should be clear as day what was selected; sky high energy and transportation costs, unreliable infrastructure and dead-end jobs for most of the population.  If that truly is what people want, it’s better for those of us who don’t share that vision to get it through our thick skulls that that is the future.  That way we can look for something better.

And as we head down that road, we’ll be able to at least enjoy the comedy that’s on full display from our elected officials.  An hilarious cavalcade of grifters, congenital idiots and just plain criminals who are busy selling off chunks of their country to the highest bidder.  And it just goes to show that individual honest men are completely defenseless against a government that has transformed itself into an organized crime syndicate.  It’s our version of the Baath Party with a revolving door full of Saddam Husseins switching out every four or eight years.  And who knows maybe even that charade will be dispensed with soon.

But while it holds out, I intend to savor every bit of the bathos and buffoonery.  Let’s hope Dementia Joe gets to finish out his term in January 2029.  By then both he and the country should be about the same; a gelatinous puddle of goo.  How could I ask for more than that?

Who Calls the Shots?

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When you consider the freak show that makes up the elected leadership of the federal government you may wonder how it’s possible that they have successfully gained permanent control of the United States of America.  I’ve wondered about it myself.  From what I’ve read people like Joe Biden are just placeholders for the powers behind the scenes.  Apparently, the corporate lobbyists are the ones who decide what will be in these omnibus bills that shovel billions of dollars into the coffers of defense contractors, social media companies, big banks and boondoggles like the “green” industries.  In concert with the bureaucrats at the Pentagon, the Intel agencies, the Department of Energy and various other groups, policy is decided upon by these shot callers behind the scenes and then when everything is decided they hand a script to actors like Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnel and Dementia Joe to tell us poor schlubs that we’ll just have to wait for the bills to be approved before we can find out what’s in them.

The actors make sure they get their cut too but in reality, they are a miniscule part of the puzzle.  Nancy Pelosi will have some number of millions of dollars but a Raytheon will pocket many billions of dollars.  Now granted they actually produce things like missiles and other weapons systems but the sheer scale of the contracts is stunning.  And what exactly does Goldman Sachs produce?  For that matter what has Pfizer done to earn the billions that the government shoveled at them?  Produced medicines that don’t prevent COVID but give young people heart attacks?  Any way you slice it, the government is run by a partnership between the bureaucrats and government contractors who have a gravy train going that they’ll never let stop.

So how does this end?  I guess the only way it ends is badly.  The people who run things have bought off and faked enough votes to keep themselves permanently in office.  The only thing that can stop them is the collapse of the United States.  In other words, things have to fall apart so badly that the average man on the street fears what’s happening in his life more than he fears the US military shooting him in the street.  That’s a state of anarchy.

That might sound like an exaggeration.  But if you think back to the George Floyd riots American citizens stood back and watched as the United States government tacitly allowed riot and arson to go on in the largest cities in this country.  There were almost no examples of people fighting back.  The one famous example, that kid Kyle Rittenhouse, is notable because he was arrested and charged with murder by the authorities.

I have to assume things are going to have to get much, much worse than that before the citizenry of this country takes matters into its own hands.  So don’t be fooled by the pathetic losers who play at being leaders on television as they occupy the supposed seats of power in Washington.  The real shot callers are quite a bit smarter and infinitely more invested in the decisions that are made.  They’re powerful, well-organized and they have every branch of the United States government supporting them.  And I think they’ll be around for a good long time while our country continues its descent into banana republic status.

That statement about there being “a lot of ruin in a nation” is especially true of a place like America.  We will stand helplessly by while the feds strip away our rights and then come for our material possessions.  It’s the frog in the pot.  Bring it slowly to a boil and it’ll just sit there and be cooked.

In fact, the only thing I can think of that would end the whole arrangement would be the crash of the US dollar.  After all, this is all about money.  If the dollar were no longer worth the paper it was printed on, all those corporations would have to go elsewhere to pay for their luxurious lifestyles.  And they’ll gladly go.  Money is money.  And maybe that’s the best thing that could happen to us.  But what a pathetic statement that makes about us as a “free” people.

New Year Day 2023 – My Resolutions

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Last night Camera Girl and I rang in the New Year in our traditional manner by going to sleep at about 11 pm.  That’s right.  We missed Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest and a host of musical nobodies and cultural degenerates.  Interestingly it was 11:58 pm when we were awakened by what I assumed was a thermonuclear detonation but turned out to be what I assume were some sticks of dynamite being tossed around by one of my more excitable neighbors here in Dunwich.  After assuring myself that the house was still on its foundations, we wished each other Happy New Year and turned back over to sleep.

I hope everyone enjoyed their night last night, whether by celebrating with friends or singing along as Miley Cyrus tele-visually twerked to Auld Lange Syne.  And now we find ourselves in 2023 and like everyone else we look back on 2022 and make some course corrections to help us achieve our goals in the New Year.

And I have.  I looked at my poor performance at finishing up my story and realized that I needed a better daily schedule.  Or rather weekly schedule.  And so, I’ve blocked out my time to write fiction, write for the blog, work, remind Camera Girl that I still live here and take care of all the things that need doing around this place.

So, this morning I woke up, almost on time, and followed my plan, mostly.  And by golly it definitely helped.  I accomplished more in one morning than I’ve gotten done in the last three weeks.  Now granted the holidays are generally the worst time of the year for getting work done but I can see that following a schedule will significantly increase my productivity.  And probably getting that writing done in the morning was the best choice.  So here I am, a paragon of virtue on day one of the new world order and somewhat smarmy with self-regard.

I’ve also managed to get the web site test bed up and running on my computer and I will shortly be testing out some changes I’m thinking about.  And doing it this way I’m less likely to blow up the site by accident.  So, once again, paragon of virtue.

So, who’s better than me?  I ask you!

Of course, my track record on maintaining resolutions past New Year’s Day has not previously been stellar.  So, we will have to see how things pan out.  But I am brimming with optimism, good intentions and fat-soluble vitamins so let’s give me the benefit of the doubt.

And in line with my new regimen, I will be careful to prevent any unbridled enthusiasm over current events from erupting into overblown optimism about political saviors putting our political house in order.  From now on I’ll applaud attempts at improving things by well-intentioned individuals but I will refrain from declaring anything an outright victory until it’s confirmed by the regime.  Let’s say a declaration of defeat by the New York Times or the Washington Post.

And this is fine.  There will still be occasion to laugh when a Fredo or someone of that ilk is cast into the abyss by his own handlers or when Dopey Joe rolls down the ramp from Air Force One.  I’ll just make sure I don’t read more into these things than they deserve.  Moderation in all things.

So here we go.  “O brave new world that has such people in it.”  Let the games begin.