GUILTY! But Not Gone

I told myself if this slimy bastard got tried and convicted of multiple felonies, I'd mix up a batch of my famous mango margaritas and go dance in the street.

And today, Thursday, May 30, 2024, the jury in the Orange Turd's New York hush money trial handed down its verdict: guilty on every single one of the 34 charges in the indictment. As CBS anchor Norah O'Donnell slowly read off the verdict on on each count, I felt a chill of relief and, dare I say, delight.

This slam-dunk outcome shines a glint of hope in a world that seems to be seriously considering if fascism might be the way forward. Hope that there's still a cross-section of people in this country who can think for themselves and actually believe thoroughly documented, damning evidence, even against the conman of our generation.

But that's really all it is, a glint. For we all know this creep. He's a cockroach, and cockroaches are really tough to catch and squash.

                      Each and every decent American…
                      must make a solemn commitment.

IT’S NOT OVER
Before the cretin even leaves the courthouse he's pulling out all his tattered cards. Poor me! Rigged. Conspiracy. Travesty. And, of course, he'll appeal…for as long as any court—some of their judges hand picked by him--will hear the case.

So yes, I'm enjoying my margaritas, but I'm not dancing in the street. Because this isn't over.
But a taste of justice, even if it's just on paper, should inspire us to start and continue the hard work of making sure this vile little man can no longer pretend to lead this great country toward the collapse of our Democracy—a way of life that’s the envy of the world, and which millions of our countrymen and women have fought and died to defend.

Each and every decent American—those of us who believe our president should defend and bolster Democracy, not sabotage it; those of us who think it’s about hope and helping people, not fear and controlling them—must make a solemn commitment.

                 During the last campaign we mailed some
                 6,000,000 letters…with a phenomenal success
                 rate ranging from 1% to 3%.

TAKE THE PLEDGE

We must pledge not just to vote come November; that’s the easy part. We must also find ways to encourage others to vote, especially those who might otherwise be unlikely to do so. Maybe they don't believe their one vote can make a difference. Maybe they find both candidates lacking. Could be they're just worn out by the vitriol that Donald Trump has stirred up in our politics.

I've taken that pledge. I looked for a way to turn my outrage into action, a hands-on way of turning out potential progressive voters who might need a little encouragement to speak up for Democracy. It had to be something I knew I could stick with and that would bear results.

What I discovered was VOTE FORWARD, a 501(c)(4) non-profit that empowers grassroots volunteers to send handwritten letters encouraging fellow Americans in key districts to vote. During the last presidential campaign we mailed some 6,000,000 letters—600 of them were mine—with a phenomenal success rate ranging from 1% to 3%.*

This time, we’re aiming for 10,000,000.

PIECE OF CAKE
It's easy. I craft my own (non-partisan) message. I can write letters just about anywhere and in my own time. And it risks none of the face-to-face, slamming-door rejection one encounters with that old reliable get-out-the-vote go-to: door knocking.

Let’s make sure this charlatan, this proxy hoodlum for a generation of bloated billionaires and bitter Billy-Bobs, never again controls anything more than his own miserable, fools-gold life and those of his NDA-muzzled spawn.

¡Salud!

* Vote Forward impact

FOOL YOU ONCE…

I really thought Pop This Boil would be winding down by now, after the inept, chaotic first term of the worst president in U.S. history mercifully came to an end. That the guy would run out of obnoxious stunts, fade from the headlines and disappear into the trash can of irrelevance.

Alas, Donald Trump—the only person ever to ascend to the presidency of the United States of America with not one redeeming quality—is running again. Incredibly, even after deeply embarrassing intelligent Americans and even inciting insurrection, he continues to command the blind allegiance of a significant minority of my countrymen.

Whether from an intentional ignorance of history, a warped sense of entitlement, a need to vindicate some dystopian vision, or out of sheer spite, these fools somehow still see this utterly unimaginative little man as the answer to their prayers. As giving voice to the thoughts they so staunchly believe have been stifled by those fucking liberal elites—thoughts that reflect their worst instincts.

What these poor folks don’t realize is exactly how badly they’re being conned.

OUR BULLY
It’s like the old adage: What do you get when you marry a man who cheats on his wife? In this case, what do you get when you elect a man who’s spent every waking hour since he was ten cheating, lying and bullying?

But that’s okay, they must figure; at least he’s our cheating, lying bully.

But do they really think, after the Brat Man demolishes all the hard-won laws enacted to protect the rest of us from tyrants like him and the insatiable tycoons who fund and flatter him—and that restrain Joe Sixpack from four-wheeling through nature preserves and beating the missus—that he’ll stop there?

Do they believe this Putin groupy who’s touting the ruin of democratic institutions will keep acting that out on their behalf? That his aggressions will target just those they fear or hate? That’s where my  Shame on Trump turns to Shame on you, MAGAts!

     …he’ll turn on you like the self-
     obsessed, loyalty-or-death Kim Jong
     Un wannabe he is.

HOPE YOU’RE HAPPY
What he’ll really do—he’s as much as promised it—is establish himself as a virtual dictator. And then, as every such autocrat in history has done, he’ll turn from controlling those you fear to controlling you. Eventually, he’ll ask something of you you don’t want to give. And then he’ll turn on you like the self-obsessed, loyalty-or-death Kim Jong Un wannabe he is.

And there you are, knowing you threw our precious Democracy away, trashing the sacrifice, soiling the honor, of all our courageous countrymen and women who’ve fought and died defending it. And all for your little “pick me or I’ll steal the ball” tantrum. Hope you’re happy.

OUTRAGE TO ACTION
If you want, as I do, to turn your outrage with this traitor into action, please consider volunteering with VOTE FORWARD. Vote Forward is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit empowering grassroots volunteers to send handwritten letters encouraging fellow Americans to vote.

Vote Forward’s considerable, evidence-based success hinges on their brilliant mailing list, which targets people deemed unlikely to vote, but who, if they were to vote, might tend to vote blue.

It’s the perfect opportunity for introverts like me to avoid that ol’ reliable get-out-the-vote effort, the door-knocker, and still make a difference. It’s easy; there’s zero risk of face-to-face rejection; and we can do it where and when we like, even in pajamas.

For more information and to download your first list of recipients, visit VOTE FORWARD. And, if you like it, tell your friends.

        “Democracy means not ‘I am as good as you are,’
          but ‘You are as good as I am.’”
              REV. THEODORE PARKER