NOT SO FUNNY

     I hope you all got the belly laughs I did this weekend as I watched SNL and then a tape of a Full Frontal. Trump was skewered from every end one could think of, but after laughing, reality sets in. What the hell are we going to do about this seriously demented man who has the power of the atom at his fingertips and the ability to destroy the world, in one big blast or in smaller increments.
     The other day a young man told me that he was seriously considering leaving this country, a young man who has much to contribute to this country. When asked why, he said it in one word - Trump - and then explained his fears that by the time this man was finished he will have turned our democracy into a dictatorship run by a madman. When I said it would never happen because there would be civil war first, he said ,"That is even worse!" And he is correct. So what are we, the older generation doing about this for we have allowed this to happen. Yes, it is funny when the man stumbles from one crisis to another, when he bumbles just about everything, but it is not so funny when the funding disappears from major departments, when the opioid epidemic runs rampant and there is no money for any programs as the budget for it is slashed. It is not so funny when there is a decision not to go after the fake 'universities' that are stealing the money and the hope from people and gee, I wonder why! Ha!!
     It is not so funny when he has ceded our position, our importance, and our values, given them over to the crazy, the hateful, the darker sides of humanity. On Saturday pictures of the march led by that extremist bigot, Spenser,  complete with lit torches, should have been enough to send chills down the spines of all. What the hell are we doing? What have we unleashed?
     So we send a marriage breaker who is oh so religious to the Vatican as our ambassador and incidentally, gets Newt out of the way of Trump. We have a statement that the Senate GOP is "less afraid" of Trump so perhaps we should pin our hopes on that. But why the hell were they afraid in the first place. Yes, he is nuts, but what could he essentially do? Nothing, if Congress and its inhabitants actually exercised their souls and their courage and shut him down. But they did not so now maybe they will. I hope so. I certainly do.
     Today there are rumors that there is going to be a big dustup in the West Wing, a wholesale night of the long knives. Gee, no more Spicer to laugh at, no more Bannon to hate, no more Priebus to question. Huh! Wonder who is next and why they would even agree to become part and parcel of this three ring circus, replete with clowns masquerading as statesmen.
      For the cherry on top, we have Clapper telling us that Trump is attacking our democracy and our government from the inside as he works on his Executive orders, as he fires Comey in the middle of an ongoing investigation that has far reaching import, as he talks of tapes. Now if those tapes do not exist, the man is an outright liar. NO!! Never knew that!! And if they do exist, then they are to be presented, handed over. This is not up for debate; it is the law, but, does Trump obey the law? Not in his prior life and certainly not here.
    So what is to be done? Will Pence be any better with his political viewpoints or will he be a sane fascist? How far will he push this rabid conservative program and how far is he willing to go for it? What is to be done? We are in a quandary but I still say - if Trump was elected due to the Russian interference and it is indeed so proved, then he is not the president and Clinton is. And no, not lock her up, but lock Trump up and all his crew that allowed this, that set it up, that colluded with an enemy of the country, that gave over the reins of the country to others, that suborned and committed treason. And where is Pence in all this? Is he the duped one or the one who allowed it to go through as he thought ahead?
     These are questions that must be answered, but priorities must be made and the first one coming up today is the Ninth Court decision on the travel ban, the first attack on our democratic backbone. My fingers are crossed. What are yours doing?