I really am tired of writing about Trump. However, as I allow myself to pay attention to SOME of what’s “coming down the pike,” the thoughts keep swirling through my head and this is where I release them. Just as I said the other day, Trump’s doing what I called “flooding the zone” (with executive orders) in order to get people’s attention to parts of his absurd agenda in a way which allows some of the “stuff” which is the most outrageous (and, their actual targeted “stuff”) to “get through.” For example, Trump pardoned those INSURRECTIONISTS who viciously attacked Capitol and Metropolitan Police Officers. Why would he do this? “We the people” are so outraged we’re already chasing out tails.

So, what are “we” missing? Well, to me I was a bit taken aback by Elon Musk, while speaking at a rally following Trump’s inauguration flashing the Heig Seil salute – if you don’t know you’re history, that’s the NAZI salute. Republicans are suggesting it was an “accident.” Yikes! He did it TWICE! To me, this should be a headline and something run by EVERY member of Congress every time they’re in public to find out if they approve of overt NAZI conduct. It should be a part of EVERY news cast going forward until Musk gets what is coming to him. I suppose I should say that as what SHOULD be coming to him. More on that later.

I’ve been giving the parallels between Trump’s overt conduct and WORDS in relation to that of Adolf Hitler back in the 1930’s for years now. Like, when speaking about “immigrants,” (I have to add we’re ALL immigrants) “They’re poisoning the blood.” (Straight out of Mein Kampf.) Calling your opponents “vermin” – once again, right out of the words spoken by Hitler. So, now we’ve got our unelected co-president actually flashing the hand signal of the NAZI’s. I can guarantee you those NAZI’s interspersed around our country – including some of those pardoned by Trump on “day 1,” know EXACTLY what Musk was doing and welcome it. (“welcome” might not be a strong enough term)

That’s one thing which seems to be flying under the radar (which I would submit is significant) due to so many absurd executive orders designed, and succeeding at, getting “we the people” chasing our tails. Here’s another. During the campaign Trump claimed he had no idea what “Project 2025” is, hadn’t read it, and had no interest in it. Well, like with all the other words coming out of his mouth, he was LYING. I mean, do you really think it was Trump who authored the 200 executive orders he had ready for “day 1?” Of course not. I can virtually guarantee you it was his associates who put together Project 2025 who wrote those orders. Including an arrogant attempt to actually change the constitution regarding “birthright citizenship.” (Will the SCOTUS succumb to this challenge just as they did with “absolute immunity?”)

But, as usual, there’s always more. Russel Vought – one of the key authors of Project 2025 – has been nominated to be director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). He will be the one who will be making decisions, the laws be damned, about the money which is appropriated by Congress and where that money goes. Mr. Vought has publicly stated that he can ignore the “Federal Budget and Impoundment Control Act” which says if Congress appropriates funds, the executive must spend the money as directed – for example, like trump did after his “perfect” call with Ukraine President Zelensky when he held up something like $400 MILLION in desperately needed military assistance – in an attempt to extort Zelensky into initiating a bogus “investigation” of Joe Biden. Trump is a serially corrupt person who operates like a mob boss. It’s a blight on America he was elected once again – we SHOULD have figured this out the first time. (Actually, there shouldn’t have been a “first time” – but for Vladimir Putin’s war on the West – and the gullibility of much of America’s voting public)

The abuses are going to be coming “hot and heavy” and, one thing we know, the republicans in Congress live in fear of a mean “tweet” from Trump and are willing to put up with stuff that, simply put, they’re COWARDS. (History will treat them badly) If you’re not part of the cult, this stuff is outrageous. I mean, Trump has already repealed an executive order written by Lyndon Johnson requiring the Federal Government to adhere to practices which do not discriminate against Americans no matter who they are – PERIOD! Apparently, we’re headed back to Jim Crow days!

Trump’s racist self is coming out in one executive order after another – so that it should be no secret – even to his cult members – any more. I mean one of the violent INSURRECTIONISTS was seen on camera flashing the “white power” sign – like the one Stephen Miller flashed during Trump’s first term when doing the “Sunday shows” – and, if you watched the INSURRECTION, you saw the confederate flag in the Capitol building (for the first time) and INSURRECTIONISTS wearing clothing which celebrated their racism. One of his pardoned “J6 hostages” was arrested the next day on Federal gun charges. The dude has a long history of violent FELONIES! Apparently, to Trump, that makes him part of the cohort.

So, why should we be concerned – I know several “democrats” (and, I’ve NEVER been either a democrat or republican) who have simply decided to tune politics out – joining the half of America who know less about OUR politics than people in Europe. This is exactly how fascist dictators take control of democracies. America could end up being the “tip of the spear” if “we the people” don’t demostrate the kind of courage we saw in 2014 in Ukraine. (It’s obvious how Putin feels about democracy – especially right “next door”). I mentioned Musk above flashing the Seig Heil salute (without the “Sieg Heil”) and the reality is Musk is supporting (threatening to use his wealth in the process) the German political party AfD (“Alternative for Germany – Deutschland) which is a far right group considered by many to be a neo-Nazi party. If Musk would flash the Seig Heil Salute in Germany he’d be arrested.

If you watched Trump’s inauguration (I didn’t – but, I’ve seen the photos of it) you saw America’s leading BILLIONAIRES – about $1.2 TRILLION worth of wealth (more than the wealth of something like 90 countries around the world) standing in the first two rows. Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos – the three wealthiest (if you don’t count Putin) in the world standing side by side with their spouses/dates along with Sam Altman (of Open AI), Tim Cook (Apple CEO), Sundar Pichai CEO of Google, (interestingly) Shou Zi Chew CEO of TikTok, Rupert Mudoch (of course), Bernard Arnault (French Billionaire – several luxury brands), Miriam Adelson (widow of Sheldon Adelson), and several others – many from “around the globe.”

The first thing I thought of was – standing behind Trump with big grins on their faces were the purveyors of MOST of the information MOST Americans digest. Is it any wonder people like me are aghast that, for example, the “mainstream media” doesn’t seem too interested in our “co-president” flashing a Nazi salute to Trump’s supporters. I mean, we’re nearly one week in and Trump’s Press Secretary hasn’t even given one Press report from the White House briefing room. Have you heard members of the press complaining about this? Maybe you have, but I haven’t.

Not only are these BILLIONAIRES who are supporting Trump holding a stranglehold on the information MOST Americans receive, but Trump appears to be partnering with Altman (Open AI and ChatGPT) to build huge facilities to put a “charge” into the development of Aritficial Intelligence – which we know was used nefariously in the 2024 election – on Trump’s behalf. This “advancement” in technology is happening rapidly and I don’t think most people (including myself) have any understanding of the potential for misuse by bad actors. My mind isn’t creative enough to figure out all the possibilities, but some of them are clear.

It seems as if now, almost every time you make a phone call to a business (which actually takes phone calls) the phone is answered via artificial intelligence and if you can actually find your way to a PERSON it takes a lot of time and frustration. Often, at least for me, it proves impossible. Or, have you resorted to a “live chat” recently to communicate with an entity on the internet? I find the “Ariticially Intelligent” chat bots to be rather ignorant – or, at least unable to answer whatever my question is. Expect more of this in the future – America’s corporations are doing whatever they can to eliminate jobs. The other option, for example, if you actually get a person, that person is likely in the Philippines – I’ve asked several times and the customer service people (who are very nice) tell me where they’re from. (Do they count as undocumented immigrants?)

So brace yourself for a flood of BILLIONAIRE funded propaganda encouraging “we the people” to be happy with the fascists who are moving in on our government like a bad case of dry rot on a building in a rainy climate. It’s going to be hard to “fix” this. Is there anything we can do? Well, I can’t quit social media because I don’t frequent it (occasionally I get directed to YouTube when trying to find music I’m trying to learn on my guitar) but, you might be able to, for example, move from Xwitter to BlueSky. You could get yourself (and your private information) off of the META applications (i.e. Facebook, Instagram, What’s App, Threads) – if enough people would do that it MIGHT make a dent in their bottom line (That’s what Zuckerberg cares about – he’s trying to be like Musk)

And, speaking of Musk – who I believe is largely responsible for all this – He dropped something like $277 MILLION into Trump’s campaign in the closing months and targeted his 200 MILLION followers with some Putin like misinformation in order to help Trump “win” – boosting his “net worth” by about a HUNDRED billion dollars in just a few weeks. Here’s one way Musk could be sent a clear message. DON’T buy a Tesla if you’re thinking of going “E.V.” (Full disclosure, I’ve been “E.V.” for over 10 years, I’ve never owned a Tesla, and I highly recommend it – if you have a spot for a home charging station)

I am presently driving a Polestar (from Sweden – spinoff from Volvo) and it’s a great car – by far, the best and safest car I’ve ever driven in my 61 tears if driving. I tell people who ask “My Polestar is like a Tesla without the Musk.” And, the new models of the Polestar, which I personally can’t afford, the Polestar 3 and 4 are SUV’s which are simply amazing automobiles. If you’ve looking for an SUV and you’re tired of spending time and money at gas stations I recommend you give it a look. Stay tuned! (It’s going to get a LOT worse before it gets better – and, if too many “progressives” do as my acquaintances who’ve succumbed to apathy, we’re all in trouble. Except of course the fascists)

Final Thought: I keep trying to find information about the wildfires in Southern California and just get rare snippets of the news. However, it appears one of the blazes has picked up “steam” and is threatening more homes and businesses – all the while Trump is laying the groundwork to disband FEMA. Trump really doesn’t want to send Federal aid to California (knowing Gavin Newsome is a prime candidate for the democratic nomination in 2028 – sound familiar?) and,if he somehow manages to end FEMA he’ll, of course, over the long haul, be affecting supporters in the so-called “red states” by far the most – will the American people stand for this?

Trump wants to put conditions on any aid sent to California where well over 1000 people and MANY businesses have lost EVERYTHING. This was one of the “planks” in the 900 or so pages of Project 2025 – get rid of FEMA. And, as stated above, with one of the prime authors of Project 2025 heading up OMB and claiming Trump can order funds authorized by Congress to be impounded despite that clearly being against the law, will he approve funds for North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida for hurricane damage but withhold funds for California – because it’s a “blue state?” To be clear – NOTHING Trump does surprises me anymore. (He’s already grifting BILLIONS and he’s only been in office four days!) Yikes!!!