The DOGE Boys sound off, or should I say Mouth off...

 Soon after the election Trump came up with the idea of an outside entity led by two billionaire entrepreneurs, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to assist in monitoring and advising on efforts to reduce and eliminate inefficiencies and wasteful spending in government. In effect, advisors to the president. They would have no authority to enact policy or legislation, in fact their department is not a government entity at all, it is strictly an outside advisor to the president. And a splendid idea it is. Root out wasteful spending and government inefficiency and propose solutions. Someone should have thought of this a long time ago. To even the most casual observer, the government has a poor record of monitoring itself and practicing continuous improvement. The private sector has a motivation for such to prosper, grow and even for survival itself. The government doesn't, simply due to the fact that they have a cash cow in the form of the American taxpayer. Customers have a choice, taxpayers dont. 

As far as the two chaps selected to lead this effort, great choices. They are successful entrepreneurs and extremely bright, creative minds. More importantly, in this role, they are not beholden to satisfying third party interests, including stockholders. It was a brilliant idea and two brilliant fellows selected to lead it. But here's the thing when dealing with bright, creative independent thinkers. Each of them got to where they are by developing enterprises that are highly successful due to their ability to create organizations that function efficiently and deliver a good or service, under their own leadership. They have been asked to step into a role that leverages their immense talent, but ultimately they are not at the top of this particular hierarchy. They are now advisors, not CEO's. That's a big transition. There are going to be 'bumps in the road'. 

Trump isn't even in office yet and we've already hit the first bump. This brouhaha was kicked off with criticism of Trump's recent pick of Sriram Krishnan as an advisor on AI policy. It was suggested that Krishnan would have influence on The Trump administration's immigration policy. Krishnan has in the past advocated for raising country caps on green cards. This criticism prompted some dubious commentary from Musk and Vivek. Dubious, controversial and inflammatory commentary. Musk has claimed "I will go to war on this." Ravaswamy has claimed "American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence." 

Let me offer a little history and some facts. Elon Musk began working in the U.S. illegally. He was born in South Africa and obtained Canadian citizenship through his mother. He violated the terms of his initial J-1 visa. He is now a naturalized American citizen. Ramaswamy was born in Cincinnati to immigrant parents. He graduated from Harvard University and earned a law degree from Yale Law School. In may 2023 Ramaswamy paid an editor to alter his Wikipedia biography before announcing his candidacy. The edits removed references to Ramaswamy's postgraduate fellowship from the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans as well as his involvement with the Ohio Covid-19 Response Team. Paul and Daisy Soros are the elder brother and sister-in-law to George Soros. 

On to commentary and implications of their comments. These two proclaimed geniuses would be well-served to think before they mouth off their opinions. They were not asked or tasked with engineering immigration policy. They both obviously have strong opinions about H-1B visas and allowing unlimited access to such by foreign workers with technical and engineering backgrounds. It's not hard to make the connection between their opinions and the need for these workers in their own private enterprises. Conflict of interest typically is grounds for exclusion and removal from certain positions of influence. Their claims of dire shortages of qualified technical resources in tech industries is a neon contrast to the layoffs of tens of thousands of tech workers over the past several years. It's not a shortage of qualified people, Elon, it's a shortage of qualified management and market demands. And as far as disagreement evoking your comment taken from a movie "Take a step back and fuck yourself in the face," listen Elon, I'm talking to you. Such dribble coming from your pie-hole isn't going to help your cause in any way. In fact, it could lead to the elimination of any need for your help. You were not asked to help with immigration policy. You are not the boss. Thanks for the input, now shut the f*** up and do what you were asked to do. And Vivek, if American culture treasures mediocrity over excellence, why are you here? Are you here to save us from ourselves? Like George and Paul and Daisy Soros? Apparently they're not saving anyone. And neither will you...

Happy Holidays!

 I want to take a moment to thank all of my readers all over the world for letting me share my thoughts and ideas with you. I enjoy writing this blog and I truly enjoying sharing it with all of you. In the coming year we will delve into some new and exciting topics that I hope you will find interesting. Any thoughts or comments you may have are always welcome. 

As a Christian, we celebrate Christmas here. But whatever your faith may be I wish you blessings and happiness and may the New Year bring you good fortune. 

All the Best to You!

Artificial Intelligence; What's the Real Threat?...

 Artificial Intelligence, or 'AI' as it is so often referred to. It's a much talked about topic these days and for good reason. It represents a quantum leap in technology advancement. Its capabilities are remarkable, its potential is practically limitless. It's also very controversial. Bill Gates says it has the potential to solve global problems, can have a tremendous impaction the workforce, yet we must be vigilant about it's development. Neil deGrasse Tyson has warned that AI could destabilize the world and bring about the end of civilization. He has also discussed how AI could revolutionize science.  Tyson has also discussed how AI could be used to spread misinformation and the importance of preventing this. One of the greatest scientific minds ever, Stephen Hawking was a prominent voice in the debate about AI and its potential impact on humanity. He warned that AI could either be the best or worst thing to happen to humanity, and the it could spell the end of the human race. So, amongst some of the great minds of our time we have prognostications ranging from being able to solve global problems to causing the end of the human race. That's a range with proportions on a scale of the distance to the sun and back. 

Let's try and break it down a little bit. First, what exactly is AI? If you were to interview ten random people on the street and ask them 'What is artificial intelligence,' you would undoubtedly get ten different answers. If you were to get two or more of the same answer I'm willing to bet that that answer would be 'I dont know'. It's obviously a very new, incipient field of technology, very sophisticated. A world leader in the field of computer technology and has been for a long time is IBM. IBM says artificial intelligence is 'technology that enables computers to simulate human learning, comprehension, problem solving, decision making, creativity and autonomy.' One might condense that sentence into 'simulate BEING a human'. A key word in the description is 'simulate'. We'll come back to that later. Let's drill down a little further. Computers are machines. They've developed immensely in a short period of time. They will continue to be the embodiment (for lack of a better word) of AI. AI will operate on computers along with a host of technological accessories. By that, I mean sensors (temperature, pressure, velocity, visual, et al.) and of course, databases. The absolute core of artificial intelligence will be the accumulation, assimilation and dissemination of data. Basically the same process we as humans do except we dont refer to it as data, we usually call it experience. We gain knowledge from our experiences and refer to that experience and knowledge to make decisions. This process takes place in our brains, in the case of computers it will take place electronically. In spite of all the technological advancements we as humans have brought into being, computers have, and will for the foreseeable future be limited to requiring 'code' to operate. Meaning, of course, they will require electronic instructions to be able to execute any task. Including artificial intelligence tasks such as decision making, problem solving, creativity, etc.. Perhaps one day computers will be capable of generating code for themselves but for now only humans can develop the operating instructions for computers. Even to take sensory input and take a course of action based on such input will require coded instructions. 

AI is a broad and complex subject that we are currently in a learning stage. What it is, what it will become is still a vast set of unknown parameters. To think that it has the capacity to cause the end of the human race can only occur based on one massive assumption. That we, as humans allow such to happen. Conceptually, it's comparable to nuclear weapons. No living being doubts that weapons of mass destruction are capable of wiping out the human race, or at the least the vast majority of it. In spite of their existence for about 80 years now, such hasn't happened. Will nuclear weapons mark the end of civilization? Will AI? Or maybe something else that we dont even know about yet? But if it is the fate of artificial intelligent to cause such a tragedy, it can only be our own fault. The end of civilization can only be brought about by one source, the inhabitants of civilization itself. What ever tool we may use to facilitate it remains to be seen. 

The Shame of a President...

 Most of us grow up with a sense of reverence for the president. As young people he is a person to look up to, after all, he is the leader of the entire country. We often hear him called the leader of the free world. He is the leader of all leaders. As we age though and learn to think for ourselves we become aware of things that are said and done by the president that give us pause. We begin to look at this person more critically and even question statements they make and their behavior. In spite of carrying unimaginable responsibility they are still human and prone to make mistakes. We expect this and allow for it, within reason. 

There are times, as we have learned in the past few administrations that a president can be short-sighted, highly partisan, selfish, damaging, fatalistic, and yes, unreasonable. We have had a good number of presidents throughout history that have set a high bar for courage and solid leadership and civility. And the consequences of these great leaders is evident in so many ways long after they're gone. For some leaders of the past we have to look long and hard to find their legacy fruits. Our constitution provides for changes in leadership to protect us. And each time there is a change in leadership we are accustomed to seeing it done with respect and civility. As for the transition in power that we are currently seeing, well, it's embarrassing. 

Without going into much detail as it has been hashed in the news so much recently, Biden has reneged on his promise not to pardon his son. Hunter Biden who has multiple felony convictions related to firearms, drugs and taxes has been pardoned not only for those crimes but any others he may have committed over the last ten years. So have a lot of other criminals, over 1,500. A couple of examples; a former Pennsylvania judge who used his private jail system to incarcerate juveniles, while pocketing the profits. The Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro even condemned the pardon saying Biden got it 'absolutely wrong' in what was called the "kids for cash" scandal. Biden also pardoned Rita Crundwell, the former comptroller of Dixon, Illinois. Crundwell was convicted in 2013 and sentenced to 20 years for stealing over a 20 year period over $54 million from the town of 15,000 people. Crundwell admitted to embezzling from the city and using the money to live an extravagant lifestyle. Officials were only able to recover $40 million of the stolen money from court settlements and the recovery of illegitimate assets. 

Biden and his band of flunky bandits have been holding a fire sale on materials leftover from the prior Trump administration for building the southern border wall. The materials were paid for with taxpayer money. And, of course, there are the drones. The drones that have been seen over New York and New Jersey for the past several weeks. Some have even been spotted over California and Nevada. The Biden admin claims they know nothing about them except that they are not from U.S. adversaries and pose no threat to public safety. If they know nothing about them, how do they know they are not from U.S. adversaries and are not a threat to public safety? And given the state of Biden's mental capacity and the administration's proclivity for lying, why should we believe that or anything else they say?... We don't believe them nor do they care...

Joe Biden campaigned on claims of honesty and integrity and respect for the rule of law. Are we supposed to pardon him since he no longer has the ability to remember anything he said four years ago, or even four weeks ago? If I remember correctly, the words "No one is above the law" came out of his pie-hole at some point of pontification in the past. We have had three presidents impeached by Congress in the past, though none were convicted. We've had presidents who performed poorly, most in the years leading up to the civil war. And we've had only one who resigned from office. None of those in the above categories ever displayed the depraved behavior we are now seeing in Joe Biden. Is it because of broken mental faculties? Due to the reason of insanity? It doesnt matter. There are those responsible for preventing and/or stopping this from happening. Those responsible parties not only knew it was happening, they allowed it to continue to happen and lied to the American people about it. Joe Biden may be insane but they are evil. And they share in the shame of a president. 

Alternative News Sources worked here in America, but in Romania, not so much...

 I recently posted about how alternative news sources in the US had assumed a bigger role as primary news providers in the US. Our legacy media has been in a downward spiral for years and their behavior in the recent presidential election all but erased any credibility they may have had. Their refusal and reluctance to provide honest, objective reporting has contributed to their self-inflicted ride on the road to ruin. They are an established institution and as such can't be expected to go away with expedience. Just give them time, they'll get the job done. And it seems, they have they'll have ProPublica's help in getting it done.

ProPublica was about to publish an article "revealing' that Pete Hegseth's claim to have been offered admission to West Point was false. Upon investigation (their own) West Point told them (twice) there was no record of Pete Hegseth ever being offered admission to or attending West Point. Such a revelation would no doubt derail any chance of Senate approval of Hegseth for the Department of Defense cabinet position. An obvious win for progressives... 

Poor liberals/progressives, they cant seem to score a win no matter how hard they try. As a saving grace, if such is possible, ProPublica came to Hegseth's representatives for comment and he produced the evidence on the spot, his acceptance letter from West Point. I mean come on, who keeps their college acceptance letters?... Pete Hegseth does. West Point responded, Oh yes, as it turns out we were wrong... He was accepted after all. 

Had Pete hegseth not kept his college acceptance letter to West Point his nomination as Secretary of Defense would have crash-landed. The media would have successfully destroyed it. Erroneously. What they were attempting to prove, was that he was lying about being accepted to West Point. He was not lying. Had this gone to press as it almost did, Hegseth would be experiencing similar shame that Georgie Stephanopolis and ABC are currently. The only difference being that ABC and Georgie are actually guilty of lying, Pete Hegseth is not. Does the media once again have egg on their face? Yes, in fact their faces smell like rotten eggs.

The U.S. apparently isn't alone in suffering the irresponsibility and ignorance of the media. On November 24 the first round of presidential elections was held in Romania. A presumably, free election. The citizens of Romania voted overwhelmingly against the establishment party in power, a somewhat obscure candidate named Calin Georgiescu came from the shadows and secured a majority of 23% of the electorate. At that point Romania's high court stepped in and annulled the results. The second round of voting was cancelled and ordered the government to simply restart the voting process, but not until next year. Romania's government gave the excuse, "A Russian disinformation campaign on TikTok inappropriately directed voters to vote for Georgescu." The current administration believed that Georgescu's politics were amenable to Russian interests. And because the Russians spent time on TikTok coordinating messages in support of him, they saw fit to deem the entire election invalid. 

I'm not sure TikTok is the culprit here as their content does not come from journalists and they've never purported such. Though arguably, neither does that of ABC either... But I digress. One can't help but wonder just what kind of administration does Romania have? To give that much credence to something they saw on TikTok, of all places. At least Hillary paid someone to conjure up a somewhat realistic looking document to promote the Democrats' lies. Perhaps Romania should learn from our lesson, don't believe everything you see in the media. Or TikTok... Especially TikTok.

No Respect for Georgie Stephanopolis.

 Just yesterday, ABC News announced a shockingly large settlement of $15m for defamation of Donald Trump. The terms of the settlement include payment to the Donald Trump  Library, so the diminutive Georgie and ABC have established themselves as the grandest of donors to the Trump Library. Thank you very much. 

Stephanopolis is not a journalist. He is employed by ABC as a commentator, though subsequent to this judgment they want to reconsider that relationship. In an interview with SC Representative Nancy Mace in March 2023 Stephonopolis repeated ten times that Trump had been found liable for rape when in fact he had not. Georgie asked Rep Mace "How do you square your support for Trump with this finding?" Mace was respulsed at being asked the question as she was a once victim of rape herself. Nevertheless, Stephanopolis pressed on with the question. 

The court found Stephanopolis and ABC liable for defamation and ordered them to pay $15M to the Trump Library Fund. And Georgie had the colossal gall to say that he wasn't even aware that ABC was being sued by Trump for the garbage that had emanated from his own pie-hole. Shameless and without a conscience, as is often the case for knucklehead liberals. It is no less than a travesty of human decency for the likes of Georgie Stephanopolis to appear on legacy media as an arbiter of fair questioning. Kudos to Representative Mace for not lowering herself to the depraved level of responding to his despicable and sophomoric slander, based on lies. 

Yet the malignant dwarf continues to put on his little necktie and pretend to be an informed informer. My bet is the ABC executives aren't so impressed anymore. In fact, they're probably considering with holding the $15M from his paycheck. A little advice for you ABC honchos, cut him loose. He's not the brightest bulb on the tree...

The internet is wonderful, and it is vile...

 So much has changed in our society and in our culture in the recent past. Not only in America but all over the world. Invariably, somewhere in the timeline of these changes one will find the internet as a catalyst, be it good or bad. Arguably, it has been claimed that Donald Trump's election victory hinged on alternative sources of news as compared to the 2016 election. It's unfortunate, but there are masses of people who no longer depend on mainstream media as a reliable source of news. I can't speak for other countries, though I suspect they may have the same problem, but in America major television networks and major news publications are no longer reliable or reputable. They have allowed their bias and narrow-minded political bents to corrupt  their responsibility for reporting the news. And they refuse to recognize and accept the clear and distinct signals coming from the American people. Evidently, economic sustainability is not an issue for them. Interestingly, the alternative news sources that are replacing them and have become  reliable sources for so many would have been considered 'crazy' a mere ten years ago. Podcasts and social media. 

Trump's son Barron, suggested to his father that he should engage with the likes of Joe Rogan, Dan Bongino, Sean Hannity, Brian Kilmeade, Lex Fridman, Charlemagne, and others who invited him to interview on their podcast. Barron knew the audiences for these media sources. They were likely unfamiliar to the elder Trump as they likely are to most of the Boomer generation. But 'the Donald' heeded the advice and the payoff was resounding victory. Massive numbers of younger generations tune in to podcasts and various other social media outlets for their news sources. In all honesty, with some serious reflection, it's difficult to find fault with this logic. We Boomers (yes, admittedly, I'm a Boomer...) grew up reading a newspaper or news magazine soaking up some journalists' interpretation of an interview or public statements made by a politician. On a podcast interview you can hear the question from the host and the answer from the interviewee. The horse's mouth, well, the donkey or the elephant as the case may be. Nothing lost in the interpretation. Plus, it also exhibits the authenticity of the interviewee. If they have the Kahunas to get on the air and publicly state what they think or how they feel or that they will do, it's more convincing. You, the listener heard it from them. No paraphrasing by a journalist. No disrespect to any respectable and honest journalist from those times and there were some very good ones. I've no doubt that they feel dismayed by the disreputable, lying bastards getting so much attention in recent times, letting their political bents get in the way of good judgment and honest reporting. 

Did these alternative news sources make a difference in the outcome? Well, Trump is the president-elect, right?... You tell me. However, every topic seems to have a big 'but', right? Perhaps alternative news sources did facilitate the prevalence of the will of the majority in the case of the presidential election. But they also have the power to make known the mindset of the twisted and uninformed and radical minds. Luigi Mangione recently murdered in cold blood Brian Thompson, the CEO of United Healthcare on the streets of Manhattan. Reportedly, based on a manifesto in his possession his transgression was a result of his grievance related to the actions of the health insurance industry. So, his demented little mind decided that the 'parasites' had it coming. They needed to be stopped. This was a scion of a wealthy family, not a poor person who had a close relative die as a result of the denial of a claim that would have saved a life. The Internet and social media in this case has exposed a dark side of American society. And they are not few in number. Many, and I use the term loosely, have sounded off that Luigi is a credible spokesman for those aggrieved by the insurance industry. A hero who took action. That according to some twisted worldview did what needed to be done. And those adorers are not limited to the unknown masses. A Massachusetts senator, Elizabeth Warren alluded in a public statement that "the public can only be pushed so far...". As if there were some justification to Luigi's heinous actions. There are many more, known and unknown. 

The American constitution and I know there are many other cultures around the world whose societies are based on the value of life and liberty that will always  condone the senseless and unlawful taking of human life, political ideologies be damned. But this wonderful widget of modern life known as the World Wide Web makes it possible for those who do not value human life or who disagree with a corporation's behavior to conduct their self-sanctioned executions to right a perceived wrong and to publish their thoughts. Evidently, the rule of law and human decency haven't met the internet, yet...

Daniel Penney is not guilty...

 The jury reached a verdict in the case of a former Marine restraining a drug-addled mentally afflicted man who mortally threatened subway passengers on a Manhattan subway. He was found not guilty. This verdict came on a lesser charge after the more serious charge of manslaughter resulted in a hung jury. This begs the question, what went on in the jury room, the hung jury obviously means that were jurors who voted for a guilty verdict. The acquittal was a result of a unanimous vote of not guilty. Some of the jurors who initially voted for a guilty verdict on a charge that was dismissed by the judge at the suggestion of the DA changed their minds and subsequently chose to vote not guilty. Was that a corollary to hearing more evidence? No. No further evidence was introduced. The judge in this case, a Judge Wiley, contradicted himself and changed his instructions to the jury. He told the jury, "You can only consider the culpability on the second charge of negligent homicide if you acquit on the first charge of manslaughter. However, since there was a hung jury on the first charge, DA Alvin Bragg suggested that the first charge be dropped and the jury deliberate on the second charge of negligent homicide. And the judge agreed. A mistrial was requested by the defense and summarily denied. 

First, I have in a previous post labeled Alvin Bragg as a pig. I stand by that assessment. Bragg is a morally bankrupt, intellectually challenged slob. Somehow he has reached an elevated, elected position of law enforcement that implies an assumption of equality under the law for all. He's obviously incapable of doing that. Instead of a fair-minded arbiter of the law he is a political, racist thug. And, up to this point, unchecked. We are all still acutely aware of his behavior and antics in the case against Donald Trump. Bragg is an attorney, presumably trained in law. His job is to see that the law is applied fairly and equitably to all. Instead, he seems to see fit to apply it such that those who align with his ideologies are favored. To date he has succeeded in doing just that. 

Daniel Penny has served his country as a U.S. Marine, has no record of breaking any laws. That day on the subway he saw a clear and present danger. An unstable person threatened innocent passengers with death in his presence. He chose to take action and neutralize the threat. His intention was clearly not to murder but to neutralize the threat. The threatening person died and the exact cause of death was arguable and mostly depended on the political perspective of the accusing party. However, it was proved that the threatening person was under the effects of drugs and suffered mental illness at the time. Did he deserve to die for his aggressions, of course not. Was Daniel Penney's intent to kill him, no. His intent was to protect innocent bystanders from injury or death. 

This is America. We are afforded life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness by our constitution. If any of the aforementioned are threatened we have the right of defense. Daniel Penney was merely practicing his right of self defense and the defense of others whose life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness are being threatened. And he did...

I'm tired of politics, how about you?

 Since probably sometime this summer I've been posting about politics, the campaigns, the elections and the post-election analysis. It's interesting stuff to a lot of us and it certainly has a profound impact on our lives. I like reading about it and I like talking about it. But it wears on you. At some point it feels like beating a dead horse. For this post we're going to let the poor horse rest in peace and talk about something else. 

I had a doctor's appointment today, nothing special, just a routine annual check-up with my neurologist. Of course, being a writer my mind took off on a wild what-if journey after the appointment that I thought I should share with you. You know, to give you an idea of how writers think and how some of our wild, crazy stories are born. I think you might find it entertaining, I did...

South Texas is really not that far from being a tropical climate. We've had record setting warm temperatures for a few months now, here we are in December and it's still warm. Today, however, the temps turned a bit cooler, we had high temps in the 50's with a northerly breeze, which is cold, relatively speaking for southeast Texas. All I had on my calendar for the day was a doctor appointment with my neurologist. It was an annual check-up, I've had these for several years now and for the life of me I cant remember how or why this annual succession of visits began. I think about that every time I go because, there's nothing wrong with me, neurologically. I think my family doc suggested it for some forgotten reason years ago. At the end of every visit he says, "everything looks good, we'll see you next year." I keep coming back, thrilled to hear the good news that everything is ok. I'm guessing that when you reach seventy years old you're supposed to do things like this. I've no doubt that these prosaic visits are costing a fortune, but considering I paid into Medicare for fifty years that doesn't cause me to lose any sleep, whatever... If something were actually wrong I'm assuming he would tell me and we would take the appropriate proactive measures. That's the best case scenario, worst case scenario would be he would tell me something like "You've got one month to live." In a desperate attempt to recover from the shock, I would ask "what's wrong with me?" For the next few minutes he would elaborate in a language I don't understand about some neurological malady for which there is no known cure. I've always been hesitant to argue with people much smarter than myself, so I stare blankly at him for a few moments and all I can say is, "Damn. Just like that? Is there anything else you can tell me? " "No, that's pretty much it," he says. "I'm sorry."

I'm speechless. It like my mind has been torpedoed and there's nothing left to conjure up any thoughts. Just a general feeling of impending demise and personal armageddon. The end. What in the hell am I to do for the next month? My last month. Take an extended trip to paradise? Max out all credit cards? I can't just sit at home and just watch TV. 

As I head out the door for the parking lot, a cool stiff breeze and some sunshine prompts me to clear my head. The daydream ends. All that actually happened was he said, as he does every year, "Everything looks good, see you next year." Then the consult was over. Maybe I don't need to go back for next year's appointment. Since reaching the ripe old age of 70 I have taken notice that I spend a lot more time than I ever have in doctor's offices. But typically, it's when there's something wrong. Something hurts or a test indicated that we have to look into this. But to be seeing a neurologist and I don't even really know why... I dont have the shakes, I can walk without assistance, I feel fine, and there are no signs of dementia. Well, at least I don't think there are... Life's hard enough when we get old. All the things we used to do when we were younger that did't seem hard at all, now don't seem so easy. We need help doing a lot of things. We need doctors more often than we used to. But I think I'm going to scratch this appointment off my list. It's good to be proactive and practice preventative health. But sometimes the old axiom 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' still works just fine. I dont think I'd ever be able to figure out what to do if I only had one month left anyway...

Or perhaps, just perhaps, maybe the fact that I don't even remember why I'm seeing a neurologist might be a good reason to keep seeing him. 

Why? Just, why?...

 Sometimes it's hard to reason or even to rationalize politicians' behavior. Humans have a tendency to follow a leader. When there is the appearance of qualities and virtue in a leader, from small groups to masses, people tend to gravitate to leadership and to support it. There is the shared idealism or at least the perception of shared idealism that gives a movement momentum. Unfortunately, the perceived qualities and virtues in the leader don't always align with reality. You know, the old axiom, 'people see what they want to see.' The Democratic Party had a shared idealism and an identity. They had a revered leader in Joe Biden. They went into the election confidant that their ideals and identity would prevail. Then all of a sudden around July 2024 the wind died and the sailboat wasn't going anywhere. The stiff breeze that Kamala Harris was presumed to provide after the party decided Joe didn't know how to steer the boat anymore turned into an extended doldrum. Dead in the water while Trump cruised past them in a Destroyer class battleship. 

Is it the Republican's fault this happened? No. It was the arrogance, the  nihilistic behavior, the refusal to recognize a course of self-destruction the Dems had set themselves on. Let's take a look at some of the behavior that contributed to this outcome and is still taking place. 

The Biden administration went to court to defend its refusal to enforce immigration law. Yes, went to court. In August 2021 it abrogated the rights of property owners by halting evictions nationwide. They illegally attempted to transfer the debt burdens of student-loan borrowers to taxpayers. Democrats of the last decade have advocated for lawbreakers, rioters, illegal imigrants, loiters, vagrants and squatters all the while calling it "social justice". Calling it social justice  is merely a way of avoiding calling it what it actually is, an avoidance of actual justice. 

Now, back to the point of the post. Why? Not only did such behavior ultimately cause the implosion of the party (Dems lost control of the executive branch and both houses of Congress) but the party itself is in disarray. I cant think of the right word for it, but it's broken. Like a fine ceramic vase colliding with a tile floor. What happened to planning and strategic thinking? Sustainability? This was like 'let's shoot ourselves in the foot and if that doesn't hurt enough let's shoot ourselves in the head'. Why would any political party engage in such behavior? 

I've already offered the only plausible explanation I can conjure. Colossal arrogance. Which is still taking place. Biden has just pardoned his son from his convictions of the past year. Probably the greatest abuse of the presidential pardon in the history of the US. He has betrayed all those in the party that believed theirs was the party of rectitude and propriety. He subverted the very meaning of justice and yet again proved he really doesn't believe in the 'rule of law'. And never did... Governor J.B. Pritzker of Illinois has vowed "I am going to do everything that I can to protect our undocumented immigrants." Denver's mayor has suggested there'll be a 'Tiananmen Square moment' with the Denver police and the civilian population  confronting federal immigration authorities. He says he's willing to go to jail to oppose anything that is illegal or immoral or un-American. 

Why? What happened? Did their leadership fail them? Were their ideals misplaced to begin with? Was their identity based on the wrong values? Yes, yes, and yes. But don't take my word for it. Just take a look at the smoldering, self-inflicted ruins of the Democratic Party.