What's It All About?
And what it certainly IS NOT.
Lodovico Manin, the last Doge of Venice, 1797, by Bernardino Castelli - [https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12041366]. A Doge was the head of the oligarchs who ran Venice, elected by the council of oligarchs. If you did not know the term “Doge” in its reality, for all its other superadded and recent “cute” uses, now you understand. You’re being laughed at by the billionaire jokers who bought the USA in the last election.
[I wrote this as a response to a friend of political leanings that differ from my own. It was a social media post, so lacking in anything except straightforward talk stripped of skill. One has no time or use, after a day and week of work, to exercise much in the way of craft to respond on a social media platform, especially knowing what one writes will likely be ignored. It will even more likely be ignored here — but this Substack is merely a notebook where I bear witness to reality and mutter foolishness.]
I. “But, Trump just lies and exaggerates like all politicians!”
Unfortunately, I expect the President of the United States to not lie constantly. Trump lied his way into the office1 - again - and continues to lie with every breath -- it's *unacceptable.* No, "they do not ALL do it." Not in this way and at this scale. Part of the requirement of the job of president is truthfulness, honesty, at key moments.
The president, a mere public servant, owes the electorate the truth in all matters national security allows or demands so we can make accurate decisions and predictions. That bastard works for me and you, not the other way around. He didn't make the usual exaggerated promises in the campaign -- he flatly lied and continues to lie about what he will do, has done, and even can do; that his voters believe him is unbelievably sad. It damn well may be the end of this republic.
Human beings live off truth and truthfulness -- authoritarians live off manipulation and lies. This republic was not created to be an authoritarian lie machine, whether of the right or left. It's intolerable, as in: NOT TO BE TOLERATED. I refuse to pretend it's "business as usual" and "just another politician exaggerating during an election." That is NOT what is going on at this point. People are being threatened for telling the TRUTH if truth contradicts the official LIES.
II. Manipulative fictions are not acceptable substitutions for truth. Quite the opposite.
The moment years ago this jerk's advisor came up with the term "alternative facts,"2 every thinking human in this country understood we crossed into the minefield of limitless executive power, power without responsibility to reality exercised solely for the executive and his circle of cronies and those whom he owes money and favors. We now live in a world where the Leader and his Musk make up fictional stories within which the rest of us are forced to lie low and simply exist without drawing attention to ourselves. Law cannot function in such a situation: rights become meaningless because law cannot protect rights; in the end, everything everyone has or loses is at the whim of the Leader and what story he decides to create in the place of truth about reality.
You agree with the official story, no matter how damn absurd - or at least you don't contradict it: or else. You bow to the Leader and his ridiculous stories that cover over crimes, abuse of power, hateful treatment of human beings, the eradication of human beings' rights... which are now seen as privileges handed out as party favors in return for obedience or, at least, silent acquiescence, turning a blind eye when terrible things are going on in hopes it will all pass soon enough.
Example: The Associated Press - the AP - is now not allowed to attend White House press conferences. This because they will not call the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America,'“ because it isn’t the damned Gulf of America and the president’s job isn’t to rewrite geography.
That this “will all pass” is a hope for which there is no basis except in secret terror and cowardice. Bow to The Leader, get it over with, keep moving. Pretend all this is just another politician speaking in terms of unrealistic aspirations and hyperbole. Ignore the fact two houses of Congress are treating him as if he is some magical Golden Calf not to be crossed even when people in his own party disagree. Pretend billionaires like Bezos and Zuckerberg are not on their knees in front of that damned Golden Calf, obsequiously foolish in the hope of either receiving favors or keeping their businesses unmolested by government and illegitimate, vindictive uses of power.
Such idolatry is an abomination — the perceived need for it is evil. An Un-American abomination, not "business as usual." This is as abnormal as abnormal gets. From here forward, it is simply a matter of whether the punishment for dissent is simply economic or also to be doled out in terms of violence.
”We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed….”3
from The Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson, et alii [bold accent mine]
How, people, are we to give consent to power, to government, if we, reasonable humans, cannot tell lie from truth or are punished for speaking or reporting what seems true or real, or for merely asking questions? What if we lose our jobs and livelihoods for not openly conforming to lies and hatred? The Trumpists run the Federal Government and many state and local governments at this point, down to school administrations and local governmental offices… and they function out of a terrible combination of loyalty and terror for what happens to them if they do not ask “How high?” when the power structure commands them to “Jump.”
Government, in our system, is to “secure the rights of the governed,” our rights, not the privileges of the governors. At this moment, the situation is upside-down.
9 March 2025
Gershom
aka
Richard Van Ingram
Donald J. “Impeached Twice, Convicted of 34 Felonies” Trump, promised innumerable things would happen on Day One of his presidency, including “grocery prices will fall,” the economy will be better, &c. The day I wrote this, because of tariffs, the Stock Market dropped over 650+ points and counting - affecting 401K Plans - and grocery prices are worse and worsening. In return, I asked of my friends the semi-sarcastic question, “Are you better off now than you were 6 weeks ago?”
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https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
Excellent work, Rich. As always you state your views with the appropriate amount of eloquence and outrage.
By the way, the original definition of DOGE is new to me. Thanks for the education!