Tag Archives: #2020

Wag the Dog 2 Released for the New Year 2020!

Happy New Year!

If only I’d had a New Year’s post ready on December 31st. Oh well.

Before we get to MY recap and 2020 goals, a few words from our “sponsor”—America’s someday soon former President:

Forget Nasty Nancy and her fake impeachment. There’ll be no Benghazi while I’m Commander-in-Chief. Our great military just killed an evil Iranian general that was plotting against us.

Israel, other allies and other presidents could have taken out Soleimani at any time over the last 20 years. They didn’t want to deal with foreseeable (and unforeseeable) consequences. Trump, the Idiot-in-Chief, could have directed the hit at any time during his first three years in office.

It MUST be just a coincidence that the strike comes now.  With the impeachment trial coming soon to Moscow Mitch’s Senate.

Take this as a clue to what more may be in store for America in 2020, during and after the interregnum in the Senate. Be afraid, be very afraid.

BUT—America will survive. Our democracy will Triumph over Trump—whatever he does. So long as we have faith and work together to make it happen.

He WILL be gone sooner or later–by January 20, 2021. Karmic retribution is coming soon to a White House near you.

  • Trump may have a stroke, a heart attack or some other acute medical incident.
  • He might resign (unlikely).
  • He could be removed (unlikely—except, more whistleblowers or more leaks of worse deeds may come out).
  • Failing all else, he will lose in November.
  • We just have to keep from the worst from happening. Perhaps including Trump running naked down Pennsylvania Avenue shooting people. William Barr and Trump’s other legal flunky failures says Trump couldn’t be arrested or investigated—much less charged for his offenses.

Back to our regularly scheduled post.

Once again, Happy New Year.

Highlights of happenings—goals met in 2019. Plans forestalled. The past year didn’t surpass 2018.

We’re not defeated, just a little wiser and more determined for 2020—and beyond.

The short story collection didn’t happen—too many intervening events (see the post on John’s Writing). But a great Eagle Peak Annual did.

A wonderful four days in Puerto Vallarta began the year the end of February. Another four days in Florida ended the year–a Many Treasures Conference (for Buddhist practitioners aged 65 and up).

The mental and physical fatigue is gone, thanks to cutting back on Allopurinol (maybe I don’t have gout after all) which apparently produced that side effect.

Three friends of 35-40 plus years passed away in 2019. The last one just after our return from Florida. That prompted finally getting to work on that will—and an advance health care directive, durable power of attorney for finances, etc. Complicated, tedious, challenging. But the alternative is chaos for survivors.

So, 2020 will see another annual. It will also see a modified schedule for writing—that won’t include bold pronouncements of when what will be coming. At least not until we are sure when something is really coming.

2020 will also see our longest and most expensive vacation ever. Twenty-five days. We deserve it for our 40th anniversary. That, by the way, also occupied some major planning time last fall, six months ahead.

Go ahead, make some resolutions, goals or determinations for the New Year. Just be flexible. Adapt to unexpected obstacles. Don’t be too ambitious, but don’t give up too easily at the first sign of the natural resistance to forward progress. Stuff happens. Get past it.

Hyperdrive–Wish I Could Write at That Speed

15 stories. 25,000 more words in 8 weeks.

Works in Progress–in the Eagle Peak Annual

Will I get it done?  Not looking good, but I’m forging ahead!

There’s distractions. There’s always distractions. 

1966–ready for college. Lots of English courses. Become a writer. Then I got drafted. Then I went to Vietnam. Then my innocence was lost and my illusions shattered.

College became a quest for a new purpose. Restore America’s integrity amidst the backdrop of Vietnam, Nixon and Watergate. Classes interrupted for antiwar rallies and protests. Leading local Vietnam Vets Against the War.

I still graduated summa cum laude. I still got a JD from Georgetown University Law Center (a top  ranked law school,  14th this year but it’s been higher). 

Nixon couldn’t distract me–completely. He just annoyed the hell out of me. I cheered when he resigned rather than be impeached.

All those evils turned to good when the quest put me on the path to enlightenment, of course. See the book cover on the right panel. Waiting for Westmoreland,

Trump won’t distract me either–not any more.

He’s way more corrupt than Nixon. Way dumber than Nixon–perhaps the stupidest man ever to be in the White House. The cruelest president. The most incompetent

Trump hires incompetent people. He has crackerjack lawyers–that is, who may have degrees from boxes of crackerjacks. OK, Jay Sekulow graduated from a law school tied for 138 in this year’s US News and World Report. But consider the arguments that his attorneys make–the ones that judges laugh at and dismiss out of hand.

Hardly ironic, after all his misdeeds, Trump may well be removed from office through his own words–that call to the president of Ukraine. 

Trump or one of his cronies came up with  “Trump Derangement Syndrome”–ostensibly a malady that his critics suffer from–obsessing over his foul mouth, his ignorance, his misspelled tweets, etc.

More apt than applying the term to critics would describing those GOP defenders who have lost their collective minds. First the  “No Collusion” mantra. Now the “No Quid Pro Quo,” when it’s as plain as the orange face on Trump’s head.

Steve Scalise, treated respectfully and sympathetically by Democrats after his being shot and wounded on that Alexandria ballfield, didn’t hesitate to be among crass crazies crashing the deposition today in the impeachment hearing. 

That’s nearly as much time as I can waste maligning a man who needs no maligning–every time he speaks or tweets he auto-deprecates himself. 

A final thought. My political prognoses have been a bit off lately. Nonetheless, I will hazard a guess (scientific or not) that Trump will not be on the ballot in 2020. Not only that, but the Democrats will take control of the Senate and perhaps gain more in the House. You heard it here.