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

FEET TO THE FIRE – A Trump-Tells-All Fantasy

The great thing about fantasy is that it doesn’t have to be realistic. If it were, one wouldn’t have to dream about it; one could act on it.

Here’s a fantasy about the most incompetent, most divisive, most deceitful, hateful president the USA has ever had to endure. Someone’s got to hold this pathological liar’s plump little feet to the fire. But that’s not going to happen… at least not in the real world. But it can and it does in my fantasy.

LAY OF THE LAND
Donald Trump was born and raised to “win” at all costs. He has succeeded—as long as you define success as the illusion of wealth, and never, ever, having to be responsible for your words or actions. The man has achieved nothing without cheating, lying or suing. He’s an absolute master of every tool in the irresponsibility toolbox: obfuscation, scapegoating, denial…even temper tantrums.

So picture this: a trial of Trump; the charges: multiple amoral, unethical and criminal acts—from adultery to bribery, swindle to treason. The judges, both a trusted panel and (admittedly something that might only happen in a fantasy) the entire population of planet earth—anyone, that is, with access to the Internet or cell phone service.

First off, all those people who normally shield Trump from responsibility—spokespersons, lawyers, Secret Service, and all those political apologists—are given a much needed vacation. Then he’s arrested and brought by force into a huge bomb-proof vault, where seats are neatly arranged to accommodate a large audience. (There’s no COVID 19 in this fantasy.)

     It becomes the most widely-viewed event
     in history, surpassing World Cup soccer, 
     coronations and even 9/11.

The defendant’s strapped into a hard, straight-back chair at the front of the room, his shoes and socks removed, and electrodes taped to of the soles of his feet.

Then the reporters come in. There are hundreds, from every corner of the world. From legitimate, even-handed news organizations like Reuters and NPR, as well as a few from Trump’s virtually state-run media outlets like Fox News, the National Inquirer and Breitbart.

The person grilling the pretend president is not Lester Holt, Judy Woodruff, nor even a reincarnated Walter Cronkite. It’s the brilliant, acerbic comedian and former talk-show host, Jon Stewart.

On the table just in front of Stewart sits a small black console topped with a big red button.

The event is broadcast live, worldwide, on radio, TV and every imaginable streaming outlet. It is extremely well publicized; it becomes the most widely-viewed event in history, surpassing World Cup soccer, coronations and even 9/11. Everyone, anywhere with access to any media is watching or at least listening. Viewers are asked to call, text or enter their verdicts online—free of charge. Guilty or not guilty.

There are no talking heads commenting on or interpreting the proceedings; Stewart’s questions and Trump’s answers are left to speak for themselves.

       Flecks of spittle fly from his kissy-lips
       mouth and settle on the polished table
       in bubbly little spots.

A panel of nine journalists, again representing the gamut of political persuasions, is there to consider and rule on the veracity of Trump’s answers. All have taken a sworn oath to prepare, not by parroting rumors or unsubstantiated claims to feed ratings, but by delving deeply into both the witness’s tweeted and recorded comments and publicly available records. They’ve also interviewed hundreds of people who have actually known and interacted with the defendant at various stages of his life.

(This background work has been carried out in secret, denying Trump and his people—and the reporters' own employers—any opportunity to influence, intimidate or buy them off.)

Working with the journalists panel is a team of three psychologists, specialists, respectively, in paranoia, pseudologia fantastica (pathological lying) and narcissistic personality disorder, to help steer panelists in their prodding.

Finally, there’s the panel of 17 judges. Not jurists from the government’s politically-tainted judiciary, but women and men from throughout world history who've proven themselves to be, above all, genuine, thinking, feeling, fair-minded human beings. Folks celebrated for their integrity, representing a range of fields including both liberal- and conservative-leaning politicians, many from eras before politics became the toxically divisive, win-at-all-costs culture that spawned a creature like Trump.

They are: Marcus Aurelius, Cincinnatus, Mahatma Ghandi, Marie Curie, Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Václav Havel, Rosalyn Carter, Pope Francis, Michelle Obama, David Attenborough, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, the Dalai Lama, Malala Yousafzai,Yo-Yo Ma and Greta Thunberg.

The judges panel’s vote will account for one-half of the verdict, the other half to be decided by the worldwide popular vote.

THE TRUTH WILL OUT
Before Stewart can even begin his questioning, Trump launches the expected tirade of threats. His airbrushed-orange face turns a color quite close to purple. The veins in his neck swell, and flecks of spittle fly from his kissy-lips mouth and settle on the polished table in bubbly little spots.

Calmly, Stewart reaches out and taps the big red button for the first time, sending a jolt of excruciating pain into the witness’s feet. The president grimaces, but continues his hissy fit. “That’s fine,” cautions Stewart, “we have all day,” as he now presses and holds the button down.

Once the witness quiets down, Stewart tries again. Now, he knows not to ask the questions in ways Trump can evade or answer vaguely. So they’re well crafted, very specific:

• Mr. Trump, how many women have you sexually abused?
• What did you or your father have to do to “facilitate” your admission to the New York Military Academy, Fordham and Penn/Wharton?
• What were your approximate grade point averages at each of those schools?
• What percentage is your real net worth of the $10 billion you claim?
• What are you hiding in your tax returns? (Follow-up: No, not just how financially unsuccessful you’ve been, but the bribes and hush money you’ve paid, and the payments you’ve received from foreign governments. And the actual amounts you’ve donated to legitimate charitable organizations.)
• What novels have you read in the past few months? Ever?
• Who are your heroes?
• Which do you hate more: Immigrants, Blacks or Jews?
• Name any three countries in Africa.
• What would you consider just punishment for someone who, by his willful ignorance, poor judgement, reckless behavior and utter incompetence has cost—or will end up costing—millions and millions of human beings their lives?
• What is the root cause of your sexual inadequacy?

Just for fun, there are also a few trick questions, designed to utterly baffle the buffoon, like “Have you cancelled the contract stipulating that Melania remain with you and keep silent?”

   The judges agree on a merciful punishment...
   just denial of the tools and weapons the 
   defendant employed in his commission of 
   the crimes.

EXCRUCIATING MERCY
During the interrogation, it’s assumed Trump will lie. So, after each of his initial replies, Steward just automatically zaps his feet for a second. The questions are repeated. This time, after each reply, the answer is quickly reviewed by the reporters panel, which then rules on its truthfulness.

Each answer deemed false, even partially, is met with a three-second shock to the butterball’s tender feet. The question’s repeated, and if not truthfully answered, triggers another shock, this time for five seconds. Then ten, fifteen, and so on until the truth—the real truth as determined by the panel—comes out.

The grilling continues for nearly two hours. When it’s over Trump is confined to a small room with no windows, and no electronic devices, denying him the opportunity to see or react in any way to the worldwide airing of his answers and the deluge of votes coming in from around the world.

The verdict by both the in-house panel and the people of the world is decisive: guilty on all charges. The news travels in seconds, and celebrations break out in cities, towns and villages around the globe. Even the print media makes the outcome their lead stories, topped with banner headlines: Trump Guilty!, Trump Shamed, Trump’s Lies Catch Up to Him.

Finally, there’s the sentencing. As with any criminal, it’s not enough to simply extract the truth and convict. There’s also the matter of an appropriate penalty.

In the case of Donald S. Trump versus humanity, the panel of judges agrees on a merciful punishment. No jail time. No fine. No public shaming—beyond the global celebrations of his exposure. Just denial of the tools and weapons the defendant employed in his commission of the crimes. No iPhone, no laptop, no microphone, not even pen and paper. For the rest of his miserable little life.

Oh, and the permanent attachment of an ankle device, with camera, to monitor his every activity 24/7 and ensure his adherence to the communications ban.

Ah-h-h fantasy. How sweet it is!

#LeverageYourVote  #VoteFwd

THIS GUY'S THE LIMIT – Drawing the Line On Tyranny

 

To any Trump-supporter who feels his/her opinions can withstand a bit of critical thinking:

If you fit the mold of the reality-show president’s base, it seems you have no trouble at all drawing a  line in the sand on what’s acceptable behavior from people you don’t know — political rivals, folks with different beliefs and lifestyles, immigrants, educated people, uppity women…

And I assume that, because you value authority so highly, you let your kids and others in your own families know where their line is. Right?

So where do you draw the line on the behavior of the man you helped put in charge of the sacred trust that is our democracy? In whose hands rest the integrity of our precious democratic institutions; our reputation as a (mostly) honorable, generous, visionary world leader; accountability by corporations for the safety and reliability of things we consume; the habitability of our natural environment for generations to come; and the aspirations of a generation of young people hungry for decent, positive role models?

You are witnessing…no, you are condoning…this man’s systematic desecration and dismantling of one democratic institution, one piece of the moral bedrock of our country, after another. Blatant nepotism and cronyism, self-enrichment, elections tampering, abuse of power, obstruction of justice, benign acceptance of interference by our nation’s adversaries…not to mention adolescent judgement, petty vindictiveness, pathological lying…and other daily — sometimes hourly — offenses of both commission and omission. All to compensate for his wild insecurity and feed an insatiable ego.

Donald Trump has accomplished very little in his fools-gold lifetime without lying, cheating and intimidation. And you expected somehow he'd rise to the occasion to lead our country competently? Nope, he's done the only thing he knows how to do; he's dragged the office of the Presidency and our country down to his pathetic level.

And all you can do is put on your little red caps and shout for more of the same. What are you thinking? Or have you decided that somehow thinking about the behavior of a man who demands blind allegiance is now blasphemous?

(I’ve heard some of you say that, even if we abhor the man, we still must respect the office of the presidency. How utterly absurd. That’s like saying you’ll overlook your doctor’s incompetence because he’s a doctor.)

You are not president Trump’s children; you are not his subjects. In this democracy you are his constituents, the touchstone of his authority. In this democracy we elect representatives to oversee and maintain limits on that authority.

By not asserting this responsibility, you belittle both yourself and our country.

Nor is Donald Trump your goon, some hit man you hired to exact revenge on all your countrymen you complain have somehow discredited you. To protect you from all those thieving rapists swarming into our country just to impregnate your women, steal your stuff and use up all the resources you thought were yours alone to over-consume.

You, your fears and your sense of entitlement — yes, that’s exactly what it is — are what have opened the door to a despot’s plundering our country. You are what has kept him in power for three years, flaunting the boundaries the Constitution sets down for just such abuses, edging ever-closer to the status he knows better than to proclaim in so many words, but so desperately craves (Supreme Leader for Life).

If you can’t…or won’t…say where that line between right and wrong, integrity and corruption, democracy and oligarchy lies, you dishonor the very “American Values” and “Christian Values” you claim to be defending, and you spit in the faces all those soldiers and other brave defenders of freedom you claim so ardently to support.

TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES – The True Colors of a President Who Knows Neither

SILVER SPOONS AND RED HANDS
A reality TV star is running this great nation into the ground under the flag of narrow-mindedness. A spoiled-brat bully who grew up with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth. A textbook narcissist who's never had to face the consequences of his impulsive, egocentric decisions.

Taught from an early age that decency is a liability. (You don’t have to be nice as long as you win.) Has repeatedly bought, bribed or browbeaten himself out of any culpability—including for sexual assault—or responsibility—including for military service.

  His little tantrums on social media...seem to 
  hold the same perverse appeal to his fans as a 
  ransom note from a psychopathic kidnapper.

This emotional adolescent has always done exactly and only what benefits him and strokes his ego, no matter whom it hurts. Anyone who’s ever tried to hold him accountable for his misdeeds is subject, first, to his little tantrums on social media—which seem to hold the same perverse appeal to his fans as a ransom note from a psychopathic kidnapper.

If that doesn’t get him out the jam, he unleashes his high-powered lawyers on them. His mantra: when people call you out on your illegal, immoral behavior, double down. Crush them. Whatever it takes—lies, threats, countersuits… And in the rare case in which all of this fails, there’s always the big, secret payoff. Bribe them into submission.

      He’s acting out all those insecurities on 
      our country and every single one of its 
      citizens as if to punish us for our ignorance.

FOOLS GOLD AND BROWN NOSES
Compensating for deep-seated insecurities, this small, small man has left a swath of human carnage in his fool’s gold wake - personal relations, business associates, employees, marriage partners…anyone unwilling to enable him and his outsized ambition.

And now, cast in a role he sought only as a prank—and fully expected to dodge—he’s acting out all those insecurities on our country and every single one of its citizens as if to punish us for our ignorance.

As if this scourge weren’t reprehensible enough when he was just a rich, influential businessman and celebrity, he now holds what is arguably the most powerful position in the world. Through his outrageous decisions and behavior as US president, he’s now on track to hurt not just those stupid enough to do business with him, not just those aggrieved and fearful enough to vote for him, but untold millions of innocent people here and around the world—for generations into the future.
 

         It is our only reasonable hope for 
         exterminating this infestation gnawing 
         at the foundations of our decent, daring, 
         democratic nation.

This man and the shameless brown-nosers who do his bidding must be stopped. Fortunately, one institution of this great democracy that still survives, despite this junta’s—and its unlikely, clearly anti-American allies’—best efforts to throttle it, exists for just this purpose: free and fair elections.

SHOW YOUR COLORS
Whatever flaws America’s electoral-college voting system may have, it is, I’m afraid, our only reasonable hope for exterminating this infestation gnawing at the foundations of our decent, daring, democratic nation. Speak up. Get behind candidates—even at the local level—with the decency and courage to stand up to the reckless tyrant in our midst.

Support the Mueller Investigation’s freedom to uncover the facts about Russian assaults on democracy and the crimes committed by Americans involved in the Trump campaign to facilitate foreign influence.

Vote…and see if you can’t help someone who might not otherwise be able to get to the polls do so.