The Cheeto-in-Chief has now given us something we needed as much as anyone could possibly need an ice cream cone in the middle of a blizzard. He has shut down the government. And, I mean, we need a break from this Republican Clown-Horror Show in the worst way. But the government shutdown is positively the worst way.
The government is actively undermining everything of value to the common man in America. It is deconstructing American school systems from the top down, the EPA is now encouraging polluters and removing all regulations and barriers, taxes are reduced for everybody… who has immense wealth, and we are assigning debt to our children that will take centuries to pay off.
And the problem isn’t that the government is run by profiteering criminals, which it most certainly is, but that no matter what they say and do, no consequences are suffered for it. They can literally do anything to anybody and get away with it because Republicans now hold all the winning cards. Pundits say they are facing a blue wave of change in the 2018 midterms, but then again, probably not. They control the mechanisms of government. They can cheat to win and get away with it. If we disagree, we are looking at a Revolution in which the armed forces are all on the other side.
The government is shut down now because the President hates immigrants, even the legal ones. He unilaterally brought an end to the DACA Dreamers program, shutting the door on immigrant children who have only known life as an American. Everybody in both parties want the issue settled with heart, in favor of the Dreamers. They deserve to be here. But when the issue was almost settled with a compromise that would’ve allowed the government to move forward, suddenly the CHIPS, Children’s Health Program is subject to negotiation and being held hostage to the Republican desire to punish Americans just for needing the government to stay open and functioning.
My conservative friends in Iowa, Texas, and elsewhere continue to back Trump and his policies even when they themselves are hurt by them. They do this because he has appealed to their fears and hatreds. He promises to punish those they are afraid of, and he hates the same groups that they hate. One of the groups they hate are liberal Democrats like me, though none of them say they hate me personally. Fox News has taught them to think of the labels and the people who wear those labels as different things. Killing Muslims in Afghanistan doesn’t bother them because they are taught not to remember that the Mother of All Bombs was dropped on Muslim women and Muslim children too. I try to remember they are friends and family, and I still love and care about them, even though they support things I find unconscionable.
So, this weekend, Trump gave us an ice cream cone laced with propaganda sprinkles, some of which are made of pure horse poop. And he shoved it in an orifice where you least want to receive a cold ice cream cone… in mid winter. And I am willing to admit, maybe we need a little ice cream right now, a cold-but-loving treat of looking honestly at the current situation that has to be dealt with. But couldn’t we have ice cream without the poop sprinkles, the hate sprinkles, and mind-blowing sprinkles? Let’s take the radioactivity out of our confections for a change.
Of course, “Why should anyone believe me of all people?” is definitely the question. I am only a retired school teacher who spent a career finding and verifying information, followed by a simple and clearly-defined presentation of the information to be learned. I have revealed myself in this blog to have the letter “L” on my forehead for “liberal” which translate into Republicanese as “loser”. And that’s where we will stay if we don’t fight back.
3. Remember, the Enemy of My Enemy is My Best Friend
Catch a Falling Star 
Fools and Their Money
I spent yesterday with the court appointed trustee, under oath, successfully declaring bankruptcy without losing the house or any other protected assets. I have sworn to pay off the amount owed to banks without further interest. I will be aided by the court, protected from predators so that they don’t eat the corpse of my economic life.
Fools like me are soon parted from their money. After all, this country’s government and this country’s economy are run by con men. Cheats, criminals, grifters, thieves… they control the entire government now, and make the rules serve them and punish us.
And I suppose that’s the way it should be. If money is your only source of happiness, you are going to become one of them. A credit-manipulating predator and carrion-eater. I had to go through this bankruptcy proceeding because I lost Bank of America’s lawsuit against me. And if it weren’t for my bankruptcy case protecting me, they could come into my house and take whatever they wanted, including everything they wanted. They could garnish my wages up to 100% for however many months it took for my pension check to pay off my debt. Meanwhile my children would starve. I would have nothing to live on. It is within their rights to do it because they own the government and make the rules. Charles Dickens didn’t even have it so bad. At least in the debtor’s prison in Victorian London they fed you and kept you alive… mostly.
But I did learn some important lessons for the future. Let me share that hard-won wisdom with you now.
So, that’s the wisdom I gained from going bankrupt, for what it’s worth (and it isn’t worth much, or they would’ve confiscated it at the creditor’s meeting yesterday).
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