I’m back!  I took a couple of days off because I had visitors but I’m back at the keyboard today.

In a post a few days ago, I talked about how there is really no good scenario for the nation if Trump runs in 2024.  If he wins, it will be the start of the ‘Trump revenge’ administration, increasing nationalism and a purge of the US Government of anyone who does not swear fealty to Trump – and if he loses, there will another attempt to steal the election.   I sometimes think I am alone in my paranoia but then I read an article yesterday in which a member of the GOP who had the audacity to vote to impeach Trump, voiced a very similar opinion.¹ 

I have often speculated how someone like Trump rises to power.  He has no experience in government at all.  He is a failed businessman many times over, despite the myth.  It’s just hard to fathom why people find this man so appealing.

I decided to look back in history at another individual who had an unlikely rise to power that ultimately led to massive destruction and death around the world – Adolf Hitler.  I’m sure that shocks many people and many would think that is hyperbole.  Just indulge me for a few paragraphs and if you think I’m crazy, I’ll accept that.  I found the parallels extremely frightening.  The following is an excerpt from an article on Hitler’s rise to power.² The truly scary thing is, that by just changing a few words, this excerpt could describe Trump’s rise to power.  My adaptation follows the original.

“By 1932, it had become the largest party with 37 percent votes Hitler was a powerful speaker. His passion and his words moved people. He promised to build a strong nation, undo the injustice of the Versailles Treaty and restore the dignity of the German people.

He promised employment for those looking for work, and a secure future for the youth. He promised to weed out all foreign influences and resist all foreign ‘conspiracies’ against Germany. Hitler devised a new style of politics. He understood the significance of rituals and spectacle in mass mobilization.

Nazis held massive rallies and public meetings to demonstrate their support for Hitler and instill a sense of unity among the people. The Red banners with the Swastika, the Nazi salute, and the ritualized rounds of applause after the speeches were all part of this spectacle of power Nazi propaganda skillfully projected Hitler as a messiah, a savior, as someone who had arrived to deliver people from their distress.

It is an image that captured the imagination of a people whose sense of dignity and pride had been shattered, and who were living in a time of acute economic and political crises.”²

And now the Trump version

Trump was a powerful speaker.  His passion and his words moved people.  He promised to build a strong nation, undo the injustice of the NATO alliance, the Iran nuclear agreement, and the Paris Accords.

He promised employment for those looking for work, and a secure future for the youth.  He promised to weed out all foreign influences and foreign ‘conspiracies against the United States.  Trump designed a new style of politics.  He understood the significance of rituals and spectacle in mass mobilization.

Trump loyalists held massive rallies and public meetings to demonstrate their support for Trump and instill a sense of unity among the people.  The red ‘Make America Great Again’ caps and the ritualized rounds of applause after the speeches were all part of this spectacle of power propaganda skillfully projected Trump as a messiah, a savior, as someone who had arrived to deliver the people from their distress.

It is an image that captured the imagination of a people whose sense of dignity and pride had been shattered, and who were living in a time of acute economic and political crises.

It was very little effort to take this article written about Hitler and tweak it only slightly to where it is perfectly apropos for Trump.  I thought maybe this was just a fluke to I checked a couple more articles.  I came away with the same feeling.  With just the tweak of a few words, an article discussing Hitler and his rise to power can easily be changed to describe Trump.  Another example follows:

“Hitler’s success was due to the susceptibility of postwar Germany to his unique talents as a national leader. His rise to power was not inevitable; yet there was no one who equaled his ability to exploit and shape events to his own ends. The power that he wielded was unprecedented, both in its scope and in the technical resources at its command. His ideas and purposes were accepted in whole or in part by millions of people, especially in Germany but also elsewhere. “³

 My Trump version.

Trump’s success was due to the susceptibility of those whites concerned with becoming a minority and those pro-lifers wanting to overturn Roe v. Wade to his unique talents as a national leader.  His rise to power was not inevitable; yet there was no one who equaled his ability to exploit and shape events to his own ends.  The power that he wielded was unprecedented, both in its scope and in the technical resources at his command.  His ideas and purposes were accepted in whole or in part by millions of people, especially in the United States but also elsewhere.

The fact that it is so easy to take almost any article about the rise of Adolf Hitler, tweak a few words and have it perfectly describe what is going on with Trump, should cause everyone to pause and think.  The fact is, it can happen here.  We came perilously close on January 6^th.  The threat will continue until such time as the Republican party is willing and able to reclaim their party from the cult of Trump.  As long as Trump and Trumpism are part of the politics in America, the threat to democracy is very, very real.

1. Retiring GOP lawmaker warns Trump will try to steal the next election – CNNPolitics
2. Hitler’s Rise to Power: Nazism and The Rise Of Hitler – Class 9 (studynlearn.com)
3. Adolf Hitler – Rise to power | Britannica

A year ago, we were all suffering from post-election-day hangovers.   The presidential campaign had been exhausting for the nation, and probably the world.  In the end, Biden was declared the winner by a margin of 7 million votes in the popular vote count and by a margin of 306 to 232 in the Electoral College vote.  It was a clear victory for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.   Under normal circumstances, it would have been the beginning of the transition to the Biden administration.  However, as we all know, nothing associated with Trump is normal so we entered into a several week period of embarrassing chaos which culminated in the insurrection attempt on January 6^th which fortunately failed.

We can all remember the conspicuous absence of Trump from the inauguration ceremony marking the first time in decades when a sitting president refused to attend the inauguration of his successor.  Instead, Trump picked up his remaining toys in the White House and retreated to his sand box at Mar a Lago to sulk and plot his revenge.  That last word is why most Americans should be very concerned about 2024.

Most people, accept those who are unwilling to look at facts and data objectively, know by now that Trump is not interested in governing, in the traditional sense of the word.  There is no altruism in Trump.  There is no desire for public service.  He did, after all, get a doctor to ‘manufacture’ bone spurs so he could escape the draft.  No, he is not interested in ‘Making America Great Again,’ in spite of the catchy slogan.

There are only two reasons why Trump wants to regain the presidency.  The first is that he needs the protective legal shield it provides him and those around him.  He and many of those close to him are currently facing multiple legal problems.  Those problems would all either disappear or be put on hold indefinitely if he can, in Captain Kirk fashion, “raise the shields” of the presidency.

The second and more disturbing reason that Trump is hell bent to return to the White House is revenge.  It is well known and documented that Trump loves to exact revenge upon anyone who crosses him, questions him, or ridicules him.  Even now that he is relatively powerless, he continues to use every means at his disposal to exact revenge.  Just look at what he is trying to do to people like Liz Cheney who had the audacity to vote to impeach him and called him out for his part (still being investigated) in the events of January 6^th.

Can you imagine what will happen if Trump is re-elected in 2024?  It is a given that he will try to undo everything done under the Biden administration including pulling out of newly negotiated climate agreements, any future treaties with Iran regarding their nuclear capability, etc.  However, the more daunting and dangerous thing will be his attempt to use the Department of Justice as his own personal cudgel to exact revenge upon everyone he believes is a RINO and any and all members of the Democratic leadership.  He already tried to do this in his last administration and that is likely to look like an amateurish blooper reel compared to what we can expect the next time. 

Everything that happened in the failed January 6^th insurrection, the failed attempt to place only Trump loyalists in the top positions at the DOJ and the half-hearted and half-successful effort to plant only Trump loyalists throughout the government bureaucracy were merely dress rehearsals for 2024. 

Given Trump’s success in pushing the ‘big lie’, if he does run and lose in 2024, we can expect even more lies and likely more violence.  Polls suggest that something like 30% of Republicans agree that ‘violence may be required to save the country.’  Think about that.  That should scare the hell out of everyone.  Based upon what happened in 2020, does anyone really think that Trump will just ride quietly into the sunset in 2024 if he runs and loses?  Odds are, it will be even worse.

If he wins, then perhaps a violent coup can be avoided but the era of the ‘Trump revenge’ will commence.  It won’t be pretty.  Unfortunately, as long as Trump is in control of the Republican party and the leadership of the Republican party is afraid of Trump, if he is the Republican nominee in 2024, there are no good scenarios.  If he loses, we are in for another insurrection – perhaps worse – because he will claim fraud.  If he wins, he will operate with impunity regardless of the Constitution, the law and public opinion.

There is a well-documented trail of destruction left in Trump’s wake.  Let’s hope that the United States of America doesn’t get added to the list.  Unfortunately, that is not hyperbole, it is reality, and unless more Americans wake up to this reality and refuse to accept Trumpism (authoritarianism) as a way to govern, the ‘shining light on the hill’ that was once a symbol of American democracy will be snuffed out – possibly forever. 

I apologize but I am brain dead today. However, I did read some letters to the editor this morning, all of which I agree with, so I thought I would share them. (I also love the cartoon!) Sometimes, I feel like I am behind enemy lines here in Montana because this state has turned so bright red. Bozeman, along with Missoula, are two political islands within the state that tend to vote Democratic, at least in presidential elections. When I see letters such as those published this morning, it at least gives me some solace I am not alone in this Trump-leaning wilderness. It’s likely not enough to persuade me to stay here long term but it is nice to see there are a few ideological allies here. Hopefully my brain will re-engage tomorrow.

I recently posted a blog talking about the ongoing assault on school boards across the country.  This morning I read a column concerning that very same issue.¹ School boards have become cultural battlegrounds where Conservatives are using the guise of ‘parental rights’ to push their agenda – anti-mask, anti-vaccine, anti-Critical Race Theory.  I think it’s only a matter of time before these groups start demanding the resumption of school prayers, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance as the children face the American flag alongside a large picture of Donald Trump and, perhaps they’ll add the Conservative Credo as well – “I pledge not to engage in critical thinking of any kind.”

I’ve been trying to figure out why Critical Race Theory has become such a big deal being stirred up by the Conservatives.  It’s not even being taught in K-12 grades and yet school board meetings have become battlegrounds over this issue – which again, I would argue most people cannot accurately define. I suppose these people would prefer that we teach ‘Uncritical Race Theory’.   I think that means that no one should question anything about race – ever.  We should just blindly accept the idea pushed by the right that there is no systemic racism in America – even though that is provably false.  We should just accept that Columbus discovered America and that was the beginning of ‘civilizing’ the ‘savages’ who already lived here.  We should just accept that slavery was a ‘normal’ part of early American life and life is so much better now for all people of color that everyone should just keep quiet about anything race related.  I guess that is the view of ‘Uncritical Race Theory.’  All things ‘white’ are good and are not to be questioned.

I think what the Conservatives and the Right-Wing talking heads really object to is ‘critical thinking’ – period.  They are uncomfortable, and sometimes get downright violent, when people question them – on anything.  Just think about their ‘fearless’ leader, Donald Trump.  He cannot stand it when anyone questions anything he says.  In Trump world, anything he says is to be taken as fact.  There is no room for any type of critical thinking in Trump world.  Trump’s wake is replete with individuals who have dared to question or criticize him and, as a consequence of that behavior, have been publicly pilloried, ridiculed and, in some cases, been the target of physical harm, death threats or (Trump’s favorite) lawsuits.

There are various definitions of ‘critical thinking’ but they tend to coalesce around the idea of being able to objectively look at facts, data and whatever information is available to be able to make an informed, rational decision. One of the key words in all of these definitions is ‘objective.’  The definition of ‘objective’ is: “not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts. Contrasted with subjective”.  Misinformation and propaganda are the enemies of critical thinking.  Since the Trump wing of the Republican party (which now means almost all of them) and the talking heads on Fox News, OAN and Newsmax deal primarily in lies, deception and misinformation, one can understand why they don’t want people to be able to think critically.  They prefer teachers would teach ‘Subjective Race Theory,’ which is not based upon facts and data but upon one’s feeling or personal thoughts about an issue.

This explains why, in addition to objecting to Critical Race Theory, they are also trying to deny climate change, the necessity for public health measures in the face of a pandemic, and lastly, are still trying to push the falsehoods about the election.  The only way to get people to believe any of these things is to ensure that people cannot or will not think critically.  This is so ‘1984’ it is truly sobering.  Once you take away people’s ability or willingness to use ‘critical thinking’, it is much easier to control them and herd them, which is exactly the ultimate goal of the rightwing media and Trump land.  The Trump diehards would certainly dispute that point but the fact that Tucker Carlson is launching a one-week, full fledged assault geared towards rewriting the history of events surrounding Jan. 6^th is just proof that the Trump machine is more interested in brain washing than critical thinking.

Science, whether its physical science, medical science or social science moves forward because people are constantly questioning theories, data and experiments.  It moves forward because people ask lots of hard questions.  The sad fact is, the assault on school boards around the country is just symptomatic of this backlash against critical thinking of any kind.  If the next generation are not taught and rewarded to think critically and ask lots of tough, uncomfortable questions to people in authority, the country is doomed. 

The effort to stifle critical thinking is an all-out assault on democracy itself. Critical thinking is vital to democracy and lack of tolerance for critical thinking is the birth of authoritarianism.

1. School boards are under siege. It’s going to get worse. – CNNPolitics

Happy Halloween!  Unless of course you suffer from samhainophobia, which is the official name given to the fear of Halloween.  If you suffer from this malady, then crawl back under the covers and hope that the sheets and blankets will protect you from the ghosts, ghouls and monsters under your bed!

It turns out that Samhain (pronounced ‘sow-in’) is an ancient Celtic festival which most scholars believe was the origin of Halloween.¹ The Celts lived primarily in what is now Ireland, the UK and northern France and celebrated their New Years on November 1^st.  “Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth”.¹

Halloween has evolved like so many other things over the years.  After the Romans conquered the Celts, they added their own twists by incorporating traditions from two of their festivals, Feralia and the day honoring Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees.  Subsequent to that, when Christianity spread to the Celtic lands, they eventually introduced All Saints Day, meant to honor the dead, on November 2^nd.

When the colonies were first settled in America, Halloween was not widely celebrated given the strict belief systems in the Protestant communities.   It was somewhat more common in Maryland (very interesting) and in the southern colonies.  Halloween continued to evolve as more cultures meshed together in the New World, but took a big leap forward with the huge influx of Irish immigrants. “In the second half of the 19th century, America was flooded with new immigrants. These new immigrants, especially the millions of Irish fleeing the Irish Potato Famine, helped to popularize the celebration of Halloween nationally.”¹

“Between 1920 and 1950, the centuries-old practice of trick-or-treating was also revived. Trick-or-treating was a relatively inexpensive way for an entire community to share the Halloween celebration. In theory, families could also prevent tricks being played on them by providing the neighborhood children with small treats.

Thus, a new American tradition was born, and it has continued to grow. Today, Americans spend an estimated $6 billion annually on Halloween, making it the country’s second largest commercial holiday after Christmas.”¹ That last figure is pretty staggering – $6 billion spent on Halloween. 

It turns out the America is not the only country that celebrates Halloween although each country that does celebrate Halloween has their own twist on it.   Some of the countries that do celebrate Halloween are:  Austria, Canada, Belgium, China, Czechoslovakia, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, and, of course, Ireland.

I was most surprised to see China on this list.  In China, Halloween is known as Teng Chieh.   “Chinese people celebrate Halloween by placing the water and food in front of photographs of their dead friends and family members. They believe that the holy spirits travel on the earth on the Halloween night.”²

In France, it turns out that Halloween wasn’t even celebrated until 1996 and is known as an American holiday rather than a time to honor dead and martyred people.  In Germany, they put away the knives on Halloween because they don’t want harm to come to the returning spirits!

I’m sure there are many, if not most Americans, who believe that Halloween is an American holiday.  However, if it weren’t for ancient non-Christian people and a constant flow of immigrants into this country, there would be no Halloween.  And that just goes to show the depth and richness of the cultural buffet on this planet.  If only more people were willing to take advantage of it and embrace it instead of trying to force everyone to just eat angel food cake and vanilla ice cream!

I sincerely hope you don’t suffer from samhainophobia and have a truly exceptional Halloween!  May all of the monsters under your bed be friendly!  Happy Halloween.

1. Halloween: Origins, Meaning & Traditions – HISTORY
2. What Countries Celebrate Halloween Around the World – The Countries Of

In a famous scene in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Paul Newman was facing a much larger opponent in a knife fight that he was sure to lose, if he fought fairly. As the fight was about to commence, Paul Newman, stops everything and says to his opponent, we need to discuss the rules.  His opponent lets his guard down and says, “There are no rules.”  Paul Newman walks up to him in his unguarded state and proceeds to kick him in the balls.  Winning the fight for Newman was a piece of cake after that.

I thought of this when I read an opinion piece entitled, “Democrats, if you want to win, get tough” by Joe Lockhart.¹ I thought he made an excellent point.  He argues that political messaging, in general, takes two forms – hope and fear.  When Joe Biden won the last election (and he did win!), it was primarily because of a message of hope that he campaigned on.  Although there was some talk about fear for the country if Trump won again, the primary message from the Biden campaign was one of hope.  And, it worked.

However, things have changed.  The Democrats are trying to negotiate their way through the swamp of hope that they have created with the ‘Build Back Better’ plan and given their track record to date, running a campaign based upon hope is going to be a losing proposition.  Even if the Democrats are able to pass part of the ‘Build Back Better’ plan and the infrastructure plan, they will have fallen short on some of the campaign promises they made.  Further, given the wheels of government bureaucracy grind so slowly, it is unlikely that there will be a lot of tangible benefits for a wide segment of the population by the time the next elections roll around.  So, during the runup to the next elections when the Democrats are talking about ‘hope’, many people will just hear ‘blah, blah, blah!’ 

That is exactly why Joe Lockhart argues, and I agree, that the Democrats must make the campaigns in both 2022 and 2024 about Trump.  They need to create fear of another Trump presidency and another Republican controlled Congress.  The ammunition and the facts are there, they just need to choose to engage.  I know that Michelle Obama always said, “When they go low, we go high.”  That sounds wonderful but it will not win the next set of elections.

Right now, there are a majority of senior Republicans who are trying to essentially coverup what happened on January 6^th.  Tucker Carlson, of Fox News fame, is launching a series that will spew false information about January 6^th to millions of Americans.  And many of those people will believe it.  Trump is continuing to try to overturn the 2020 election and takes every chance he gets to talk about voter fraud and how the election was stolen.  He is his own worst enemy.  And, the Democrats need to help him!  Trump is digging his own hole and the Democrats need to jump in with as many shovels they can find.  If the Democrats start making the next two elections about Trump, his chaotic administration, the plethora of criminal indictments brought against his cronies not to mention all of the ongoing investigations into Trump and the Trump organization, the fact that he was impeached twice but an impotent, cowardly Republican-controlled Congress failed to convict him, not to mention his movement toward authoritarian policies, perhaps it will scare the crap out of people.  And that is what needs to happen.  Fear needs to replace hope among the voting public.

Hope is a good thing and the Democrats should not totally abandon talking about their vision for the future.  After all, the Republicans rarely talk about their policy initiatives these days.  They spend their political capital pushing falsehoods and blocking any attempt to enact laws that will actually benefit a large segment of the population.  We Americans deserve hope.  We deserve leadership with a vision.  But hope and a vision for the future will only blossom if elections are won so the Democrats retain control of Congress and the White House.  Otherwise, they are just words.

The fact is, if the Democrats make the next two elections about Donald J. Trump, Trump will do everything in his power to help.  He can’t help himself.  The more they go after him, the more vocal and outrageous he will become.  I believe that going after Trump and Trump allies will just cause Trump to get more and more riled up.  His craziness will be on full display and, hopefully, people will remember how bad it was.  We don’t want people to forget.  It is no secret that most voters have short term memories.  It would be a mistake to think that people will remember how outrageous Trump was.  They need to be reminded.

It’s time to stop being genteel and classy.  This is a knife fight for America and there are no rules in a knife fight!  It’s time to walk up and kick Trump and his toadies in the balls!

Democrats, if you want to win, get tough (opinion) – CNN

This democratic squabbling over Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’ plan and the bipartisan infrastructure plan has far greater consequences than whatever ends up in the bill, if, in fact, they are even able to pass the bill.  The ‘progressives’ and the ‘moderates’ are locked into a battle that could ultimately sink the whole mess and we end up with nothing.  There would be no greater way to ensure that the Republicans regain both the House and the Senate than to end up being unable to pass anything.

The Republicans will have a heyday talking up the fact that the Democrats were in charge of both houses of Congress and the presidency and were unable to get anything done.  If the democrats cannot see past their short term ‘must haves’, they might as well just hand the keys to Congress and the White House over to Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarty and Donald Trump.  Midterm elections usually favor the party that is not in power so it is going to be an uphill battle in any case to win the elections.  What the democrats are engaged in now is just going to make it even harder.

Most of us in the country just want to see a functioning government.  A government that can get things done – at least something done!  Most Americans got worn out and tired because of all of the chaos in the previous administration.  Yes, it would be nice to have free community college.  Yes, it would be nice to vigorously tackle climate change.  Yes, it would be nice to get everything on my Christmas wish list too!  But right now, most of us just want to see the government get something done that will benefit some segment of the population that does not have an eight figure and higher net worth. American billionaires saw their collective fortunes rise by 70% during the pandemic.¹ This is a group of about 700 people and when the Democrats wanted to tax them to help pay for these programs, a group of moderate Democrats resisted. 

What the hell is wrong with this picture?  I would expect Republicans to resist taxing the wealthy.  They’re the ones who pushed through the tax cuts that primarily benefitted the wealthy.  But now we have ‘moderate’ Democrats like Joe Manchin, bought and paid for by the fossil fuel industry, resisting these taxes on the wealthy.  You think Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos can’t afford a little more tax?  I’m not sure how many billions someone needs to live comfortably but my guess is not very many.   I’m doing OK and don’t have anywhere near even one billion dollars in my bank account.

I keep hoping that the word ‘compromise’ will re-enter the political dialogue one of these days but sometimes it seems as if the word has been purged from the English language – at least American English.  Whereas most people once revered statesmen (and women) who could reach across the aisle and work within their own parties to actually accomplish things, many now seem to rally behind people whose strongest traits are loud voices, intransigence and the ability to generate sound bites for TV.

The unfortunate thing is, that while many of our politicians are acting like spoiled children in a sand box, the rest of the world is moving forward.  China is making strides by leaps and bounds not only in their military capabilities but in space, transportation infrastructure, and world reach.² In many respects, the United States has become so internally focused, that we are losing sight of the big, global picture. 

The Democrats need to understand that their very first priority is to prevent the Republicans from taking back the House and Senate in 2022 and to prevent Trump (or a clone) from taking back the White House in 2024.  That’s it!  Every other discussion and accomplishment will be rendered moot if that happens.  The best way to make sure that doesn’t happen is to get something done that will begin to benefit a wide spectrum of Americans by the time the 2022 elections roll around. 

I’m sure there are some Democrats currently engaged in this game of political brinksmanship who are thinking that ‘this is our one and only chance to get this done so we absolutely have to have this now.’  That mindset is kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy for failure.   Unfortunately, if some Democrats are thinking they are only going to be in power for the first two years of the Biden administration, that means they’ve pretty much already thrown in the towel.  That does not bode well for the rest of us.

It seems to me the strategic thing to do would be to focus on getting something – anything – done now, in hopes of showing the voting public that there is a functioning government in Washington.  Success breeds success so once the Democrats are able to demonstrate that they can get things done, even in small steps, it will likely increase voter support and thereby increase the chances that they can retain control over both houses of Congress.   If they are able to retain control of Congress, then they can keep chipping away at the ‘want to have’ list. 

Unfortunately, the short term, ‘all or nothing’, mentality that seems to be an epidemic in Congress these days will virtually guarantee that Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy will regain their gavels and the country will descend further into the pit of hyper wealth disparity, polarization and authoritarianism.

1. Billionaire wealth tax: Why Democrats wanted to tax the super-rich – CNNPolitics
2. Senior US general warns China’s military progress is ‘stunning’ as US is hampered by ‘brutal’ bureaucracy – CNNPolitics

I recently started watching the series, The Handmaid’s Tale, based upon the book by Margaret Atwood.  I’m a bit behind the times as this series was first aired in 2017.   I really had no idea what it was about when I started watching.  I knew that it had gotten a lot of critical acclaim and so when I was surfing through what was available on HULU, I landed on The Handmaid’s Tale and decided to give it a try.  That was both a good and bad decision.  It was good because the show is very engaging and I am hooked.  It is bad because, given the current political climate and what is going on in this country, it is hitting very close to home.

I’m sure there are those who might think that is just another piece of hyperbole.  However, I have come across a couple of articles recently that make me think that the premise behind The Handmaid’s Tale is not so farfetched, particularly if we are not paying attention.

It is no secret that there has been an increase in hate groups in this country over the last few years.  According to the Southern Poverty Law Center White Nationalist hate groups increased during the Trump years.¹ In a more recent study, the Southern Poverty Law Center ranked the states by the number of hate groups per capita.  And guess who came out on top?  Montana!!² We should applaud our leadership for doing such a good job in Montana.  We have one of the highest drunk driving fatality rates in the country.  We have one of the highest suicide rates in the country.  Right now, we have one of the highest COVID case rates in the country.  And, on a per capita basis, Montana has more hate groups than any other state!!  We’re number one!  Why the hell would I want to move?

Not only has there been an increase in hate groups, but the rhetoric of some of these rightwing groups is truly scary.  At a rightwing event in Idaho, some wingnut actually asked activist Charlie Kirk, “We’re living under a corporate and medical fascism.  This is tyranny.  When do we get to use the guns?…. How many elections are they going to steal before we kill these people?”³ Words matter and this is what happens when the talking heads on Fox News, OAN and NewsMax and Republican politicians spew lies and conspiracy theories.  Anyone who believes the January 6^th insurrection was a one-off occurrence has not been paying attention.  I view it as more of a dress rehearsal for the next time.

In addition to the appalling and dangerous rhetoric, the rightwing conservatives (are there any other kind these days?) are actually idolizing and courting right wing authoritarians who are dismantling their own democracies.  The Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) will be holding their 2022 conference in Budapest, Hungary.  Hungary is currently under the control of Viktor Orban who has made great strides at dismantling Hungary’s democratic institutions.  The fact that the CPAC is choosing to have their conference there is no accident.  Tucker Carlson, after all, is a big fan of Orban’s and recently did some broadcasts from Hungary.

“After winning the election in 2010, Orban began efforts to control the media. Specifically, he established a commission fining journalists for vague attacks on “human dignity.” He put Fidesz loyalists in charge of state-supported media outlets, and imposed regulations on media outlets critical of the government, while giving special rights to those that were supportive.  

Orban did not stop there. In 2012, he pushed a new constitution through parliament. He reworked the electoral system with creative gerrymandering. He also overhauled the judicial system, among other things, establishing a National Judicial Office so Orban could put in place judges loyal to him and Fidesz.”⁴

When you start to connect the dots of everything that is going on today, it doesn’t paint a very pretty picture.  Dystopian future? Most of us would very much like to think that something like The Handmaid’s Tale could never happen in the United States.  A few years ago, we wouldn’t have given it a second thought and would have just commended Margaret Atwood on writing a compelling, imaginative novel.  Of course, most of us could never have imagined that the US capital would be attacked by US citizens, politicians in some of the highest offices in the country would willingly spread lies, and hate groups could operate with seeming impunity.   We were wrong.  I hope we are not all wrong again.  I hope in a few years, we look back on The Handmaid’s Tale as just a good book and not a harbinger of things to come.

Sometimes I think that I am alone in my paranoia about what is going on in this country, but just before I was ready to post this, I read the latest blog from Heather Cox Richardson.  It turns out I am not alone.  The real question is, will enough Americans wake up to prevent a Viktor Orban, ‘Christian’ type of government from taking over in this country.  “Blessed be the fruit.” [If you don’t know what that means, I suggest you watch/read The Handmaid’s Tale]

“This morning, the conservative magazine The Bulwark and the liberal magazine the New Republic jointly published “An Open Letter in Defense of Democracy.” Written by Todd Gitlin, Jeffrey C. Isaac, and Kristol, and signed by writers, scholars, and pundits from all political backgrounds, the letter deplores the efforts of the Trumpers to take control of our government and calls for Congress to pass voting rights legislation, by adjusting the filibuster if necessary. 

The letter was a wake-up call. “[W]e urge all responsible citizens who care about democracy—public officials, journalists, educators, activists, ordinary citizens—to make the defense of democracy an urgent priority now.”

“Now is the time for leaders in all walks of life—for citizens of all political backgrounds and persuasions—to come to the aid of the Republic.””⁵

1. White nationalist hate groups have grown 55% in Trump era, report finds | The far right | The Guardian
2. https://247wallst.com/special-report/2021/10/25/this-is-the-state-with-the-most-hate-groups-2/
3. ‘When do we get to use the guns?’: Attendee shut down at right-wing event (cnn.com)
4. It can’t happen here? Viktor Orban’s Hungary shows how democracy dies | TheHill
5. October 27, 2021 – by Heather Cox Richardson – Letters from an American (substack.com)
   
   
   

Yesterday I read a most interesting article about what Austria is doing to combat climate change.  For $3.50 you can buy a ticket that is good for ANY public transportation available in Austria on a given day.  As an example, they showed how one could spend 8 hours crossing Austria using public transportation – bus, rail, tram and metro services – all for $3.50!  That is pretty remarkable.  An annual pass costs just over $1,200.  Think about that.  For about the daily cost of a latte at Starbucks, you could travel almost anywhere you needed to go in Austria, sans automobile. 

And why is Austria doing this?  Two simple words – climate change.  “Public transport is already popular in Austria. Its combination of reliable, high-quality, integrated services, simple ticketing and attractive pricing have long made it a winner for commuters and leisure travelers.

Yet even though Austrians travel more kilometers by train every year than everyone in Europe except the Swiss, according to official government figures only 16% of journeys in 2018 were made by public transport.”¹ The ticket is even named the ‘Klimaticket’.

One of the things that is so innovative is that you just have to buy one ticket that can be used on ANY public transportation.  The other thing that stood out in this article is the investment the government made and is making to support this initiative.

No less than $278 million (€240 million) of federal government funding has been agreed to support the new initiative. Ongoing costs are expected to be around $175 million (€150 million) a year. Despite this, the ticket is regarded as central to Austria’s ambition to become climate neutral by 2040 — backed by the European Union’s post-Covid “Green Deal.”

The Austrian government’s 2030 Mobility Master Plan aims to reduce private car use from 70% of total annual kilometers traveled to 54% by 2040, at the same time increasing public transport’s share from 27% to 40% and doubling active travel (walking and cycling) from 3% to 6% of the total.¹

Initiatives like this do provide some hope that there are at least some governments that are taking climate change seriously.  Here in this country, we have been trying to pass Biden’s infrastructure plan for how many weeks now?  And one of the big sticking points for Senator Joe Manchin (D – West Virginia) in Biden’s spending plan was the accelerated change to alternative energy sources.  Of course, Manchin is from a big coal producing state and received a lot of money from the fossil fuel industry.  That is exactly why the US is so far behind the emission goals originally set in the Paris climate agreement.  Unfortunately, we are not alone in not meeting our targets.² 

Although Austria is much smaller than the United States, what they are doing with public transportation just shows that some of these problems are solvable if countries can just muster the political will.  In this country, short term greed tends to win over long-term strategic thinking and problem solving.

I’ve had the privilege of riding high speed trains in Europe and Japan.  They have built and are operating high speed rail lines in China.  Where are ours?  I’ve had the ‘privilege’ of riding the New York City subway system.  It is, in fact, a marvel of engineering but it is old and decrepit.  It is not uncommon to see rats scurrying along the track bed when waiting for trains to come.  Contrast that with some of the clean and modern subway systems seen all over the world and the word “pathetic” comes to mind. 

Unfortunately for the United States, short term greed, corporate profits and political prostitution will be the biggest barriers to climate change innovation and execution – until it’s a crisis.  I mean a worse crisis.   After all, some of our politicians have much more pressing things to worry about – restricting abortions, restricting voting, restricting what is taught in classrooms, restricting immigration, restricting investigations into abuses of power and insurrections, and lastly, prostituting themselves with wealthy patrons, corporations and lobbyists to facilitate their continued presence at the trough of government largesse. 

After all, why worry about tomorrow’s problems today?  In the famous words of Doris Day, “Que sera sera” – what will be will be! 

P.S. I have included the link to Heather Cox Richardson’s blog because today she presents a very cogent and frightening argument showing just how close we are to losing our democracy³. 

1. Austria’s $3.50 go-anywhere Klimaticket aims to fight climate change | CNN Travel
2. Emissions gap report: The world is failing to keep its climate promises – CNN
3. Heather Cox Richardson on Substack

I was wondering what to write about today when I opened the paper and saw a letter I recently wrote to the editor concerning our infamous governor, Greg Gianforte.  I’m hoping that the Bozeman Chronicle keeps my address and phone number confidential.  Given that the Montana Attorney General recently dispatched a Montana State trooper to intervene in a private dispute at a hospital between a patient who wanted to be treated with Ivermectin and the attending physicians who refused, I can only imagine what might happen now that I’ve taken on the Governor!  I guess if I see a Montana State trooper’s vehicle outside my house, I can assume they are not there because of the bear that is wandering the neighborhood, but rather because Governor Gianforte has issued a mandate against being criticized.   Perhaps Gianforte believes his mandates supersede science, public opinion and the First Amendment.  Welcome to the Kingdom of Montana where the only good mandate is a Gianforte mandate!