“If presidents can’t do it to their wives, they do it to their country.” Mel Brooks
I am not sure exactly when it started, that surreal feeling regarding our country. Frankly, it is seriously unbelievable. The story, without any embellishment, could easily be a Mel Brooks film. Sometimes, reality, such as it is, is as unimaginable as any work of fiction. I thought about recounting the story of Donald, our “hero” in the film. However, I am not nearly as talented as Mr. Brooks and so much isn’t really funny, because it is not make believe, it is happening to us.
He was born in Queens, NY in the late 40’s. His father, Fred, was in the real estate business. He owned a huge number of residential apartments throughout the Bronx and Queens. He was taken to court many times for refusing to rent to African Americans. He taught young Donald a very important lesson about navigating the court system, Deny and Delay were the keys. When you are sued, you counter sue. You don’t always have to pay people, who do work for you. What are they going to do, take you to court?
He began his career with “a small loan of a million dollars” from his father and that he had to pay it back with interest. The truth is, he borrowed at least $60 million from him and did not repay the loans, and received around another $400 million from his father’s company.
According to a review of state and federal court files conducted by USA Today in 2018, Trump and his businesses had been involved in more than 4,000 state and federal legal actions. Thank you, Fred.
People in the NYC area got used to seeing him. He was viewed as a pompous clown. He loved his personality and his ego was completely oversized. He never missed an opportunity to be in the spotlight, any spotlight. He was vulgar and sexist. You know, when you have a lot of money and an extraordinarily, high opinion of yourself, life is a game to you. He traded on his persona in all his business dealings and sadly, he got away with it, most of the time.
In the late 80’s, The Art of the Deal was published, a study in self-aggrandizement. The person he “co-authored” it with, later said Trump didn’t write a single word, which I believe. The reason why I do is because he is functionally illiterate, with the attention span of a https://news.yahoo.com/news/heres-people-saying-donald-trumps-194620038.html. In fact, that same co-author said the book should have been retitled “The Art of the Sociopath.”
He is the quintessential bully, with a healthy dose of ADHD. In many ways, he was so outrageous and unhinged, challenging him was and still is useless, because the only person he listened to and cared about was/is himself. He is a wannabe King, viewing everyone around him as his subjects. There were never any business failures, only excuses. Trump Shuttle comes to mind, an airline with connections in the northeast corridor and in business for around three years. Several casinos in Atlantic City, including the Taj Mahal, bit the dust. How could we forget Trump University, which it wasn’t. You could become just like him, but you’d be taken advantage of. It was around for five years and then shuttered by lawsuits.
He hosted The Apprentice for fourteen years. He relished demeaning contestants and throwing them off the show. He was the star of the show and he loved it. It was his springboard, solidifying his national reputation as a free wheeling, deal maker. As early as the late 80’s, he began talking about running for President, but was not taken seriously. In 1988, he asked to be put into consideration to be Bush’s running mate. “W” found the request “strange and unbelievable”
Questioning Barak Obama’s birthright was Trump’s meal ticket. Conspirators began spreading rumors he was born in Kenya. I don’t know if it was the birth of “fake news”, but it was certainly symptomatic. His rationale to mainstream media: “I do it to discredit you all and demean you all so when you write negative stories about me, no one will believe you.” This green lighted all the insane shit his minions follow, including the pizza pedophiles all over D.C. FOX News became his mouthpiece.
This country has always been a dance between the People and the Power, a political pendulum swinging to the left and to the right through out our history. Wealth and politics have been in bed forever, a supposed tribute to our independence, as long as the rich get richer. Whenever they felt threatened, their politicians protected them. Well, subtlety has now gone by the wayside folks.
This character’s first term was a tribute to what happens when you put a petulant child in a position of extraordinary power, with unlimited toys at his disposal. There was no hiding his blatant conflicts of interest, enriching himself personally, while sitting in the White House, a playpen for his greed. He continued to profit from his businesses, knowing he could easily funnel monies into them from those wanting to curry favor. It wasn’t so much a matter of what he did, it was what he had undone. “Making America Great Again” was a blatant crock of shit, pablum for the pizza, pedophile believers. He is a bridge burner, leaving chaos in his wake. His approval rating when he left office was 34%. Man, memories are short.
Now, we can get to 2020, when the shit goes off the rails big time. After years of breastfeeding lies to his followers, it made sense that the election was stolen and he actually won. After so many years, people were brainwashed by his bullshit. Then, came January 6, 2021. While watching it unfold, the only thing I could think of was 9/11, in terms of the complete shock at what I was seeing.
He spent the next four years sowing the seeds of his ultimate coronation and that is where we are today. On his first day, he pardoned around 1,500 people involved in that blatant insurrection. Imagine the name of a group called, “Proud Boys”? Now, he has only been on the throne three weeks and each day delivers a series of electric shocks to anyone with a semblance of sanity.
This lunatic is a study in impulsivity to the max. He has introduced the concept of “command stuttering”, issuing orders and taking them back. Fake news is on steroids in the White House, making stuff up to suit his needs at the moment, while firing up his minions. One example is blaming DEI for the tragic plane crash in Washington. What the fuck? The opposite of DEI is KIW, Keep It White.
Shrinking government has always been the mantra of the Far Right. I’ve got a great idea! Let’s bring in the richest man in the world, an unelected lunatic and a study in compassionless behavior. He is doing exactly what happens when a business is taken over by another. You throw people out of work, supposedly eliminating waste. He loves power even more than Trump, if you can believe that. What right does this motherfucker have to be running rough shod over institutions the world counts on, not to mention all of us, who rely on this imperfect system for life saving necessities? Both of these assholes love firing people, but this ain’t The Apprentice!
I am reminded of The Producers, an idea that was so crazy, it was guaranteed to fail, making money in the most underhanded way imaginable for a select few. The Mein Kampf libretto has been replaced by Project 2025, only the name is different, but not the substance. Just like Max Bialystock, we will all be surprised at how it ends.
I see Mel Brooks thinking how he would stage the US taking over Gaza and making it The Riviera of the Desert. How about defiling the White House with a $100 million ballroom? No worries, Mein Fuhrer will pay for it! So much about this is absurd and great fodder for political satire. However, it is actually happening and that sucks the laughter right out from under us. This “movie” has been done before in Germany, except it was real.
Beginnings and ending rarely match and I’ll bet you money that will be the case here. There are some people, who know no limits and they push and push until they fall down hard. Let us pray for bullets and a bunker. Roll credits!
THIS JUST IN. “I will be signing an Executive Order next week ending the ridiculous Biden push for Paper Straws,, which won’t work. BACK TO PLASTIC!”
ANYONE SEEN MEL BROOKS?
MY EXECUTIVE ORDER: Keep loving yourself and all those you hold dear. There is no greater power!
LISTEN TO IT HERE:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/admin/1292459/episodes/16583861-where-are-you-mel-brooks
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