Coup, Coup Summer

Sown in the fires of Armageddon, or some such nonsense. Can’t even with these guys…

So.

So… sigh…

About the coup that General (retired) Flynn, Sydney Powell, Mike Lindell, Donald Trump, and pretty much all of Qanon is calling/praying/screaming for.

Ain’t gonna happen. At least not the way the way the Qer’s think it’s going to happen.

The military is not going to arrest Joe Biden, round all the mean ‘ol Democrats, and re-install Donny as president. In fact, I’m betting the leaders of the military were relived when Trump lost so decidedly. While Trump pretended to ‘respect’ for the military, he really has respect only for those named ‘Donald J. Trump’, or those at the heads of other countries who wield ‘ultimate’ power (murderous dictators). This is why he sucked up to Putin, to Kim, to MBS and Saudi Arabia, to China, (until his advisors told him to knock it off during covid), he likes those who strut and those who kill. Who kill reporters and protesters, that is. He’s just mad he can only strut. No, he has no respect those he can’t understand, those who seem to be sacrificing for others with nothing in it for themselves. If the answer to the question ‘what’s in it for me?’ is ‘honor and duty to country’, that’s a hard pass.

So, no, I really don’t fear the military rising up to help a man who insulted them as “losers” and “suckers”, no I fear the followers. The army of the deluded dead-enders, the ones still holding boat parades, still plotting on Parler and Telegram, the people who have been going on a four-year gun buying spree to arm themselves for the day when their particular ‘skills’ would be needed. Call it ‘boogaloo’, ‘race war’, ‘Armageddon’, or just ‘Civil War’, they’re down will alllll that. They desperately miss their guidance from Donald and especially from ‘Q’, and have been wandering around, seething and straining, fighting any battle they can (masks, vaccines) waiting for the bat-signal that will allow them to descend on America and ‘take back their country’. They’ve been waiting for a long time.

Trump, Flynn, Powell, Lindell (the Three Stooges and a spare), are giving it too them. They’ve giving them a date, a month at least; August. Don’t worry, Trump will be back in August, now please give us money. The Qanoners believe this stuff, like they believe Tom Hanks kills babies to drink their adrenaline. They think the military and Trump are actually running the country and that Joe Biden is either a clone, a doddering old man who has no idea where he is while Kamala Harris runs things, or was illegally installed and will be forced out. Or all of it, or bits of it. They’re nuts, what can I say?

Many Trump supporters are waiting, wanting, eager, and trembling to be part of a violent act in his name. Encouraged by Trump they have already committed violence in his name and are ready to do it again. It wouldn’t take much to do it again. Powell and Lindell, two people loved and respected in the cult, say Trump can be re-instated in August, Trump (the God of the Cult) repeats the August date, Flynn endorses a military style coup. If the military won’t step up to do its duty, the ‘anoners are very excited to do it for them.

 They are already plotting now. They haven’t really stopped in four years.

Trump gave them a month, they can figure out a day, a place and a time. He thinks with his announced rallies, his constant firing at them with fundraising emails, the constant repeating of the Big Lie and telling them he’ll be re-instated only if they ‘fight’ (you know that is coming) that his followers will bring about ‘the Storm’ (TM) (see video below), he’ll be back in power (and safe from prosecution) and they can round up all the ‘pedos’ together. They’ll all be the shining heroes they always knew they were. Jesus might even come back.

All they have to do is fight.

“Fight For Trump!”

Oh good, another summer made interesting for all the wrong reasons.

Crazy Qanon video below, shown at their conference last week where Flynn made his coup endorsement.

Four Days of Fear and Hate

Of course, Donny opens for himself. This is 2016, but ya gets the idea. Photo: Meg Vogel

In 1969, the small upstate New York town of Woodstock saw a music festival that had branded itself as ‘Three Days of Peace and Love’. Well, it turned into three days of mud and failed organization, but at least there was some of that peace and love going around. And some good dope.

Now, we have another hastily thrown together festival starting this week. Instead of a grassy field upstate, it’ll be held in rooms and cyberspace. It also has people (acts) who dropped out (where are Bush and Cheney? Mitt Romney?), and instead of hitting the stage during a rainstorm, it’s playing during a global pandemic. It’s four days instead of three, and it’s not about ‘peace and love’, but focuses, like the people throwing it, on ‘fear and hate’.

The Republican National Convention has begun.

The Democrats focused on inclusion, diversity, and a vision for what to do after Trump was gone. The Trump Party (as that is what it is) is focused on blaming someone (China, Democrats, Biden) for the wreck their own polices, and the lack of them, have made of America. If you look at the speakers, for every one of them slightly this side of sane, they have a pile of bomb throwers, cranks, grifters and grievance peddlers. And Trumps. Every night at least a couple of the Trump Crime family (and extended Crime Family) will be speaking. And Trump himself.

Every night.

That can’t go wrong, can it?

The RNC has become the Trump Show, that final season of the Apprentice he never got; all Trump all the time. In fact, producers of the Apprentice are helping to slap together this soggy bag of anger and hate into something ‘watchable’, like car wrecks are watchable, in the hopes that Americans will slow down and gawk.

Who’s speaking? All the Trump kids, their spouses, and Trump himself (every night, did I say that already?) Jim Jordan (still dogged by accusations he ignored the sexual assault of athletes when he was a coach) Matt Gaetz, liar in the service of Trump, who mocked the virus by wearing a gas mask in congress during a vote, as his constituents were dying of it back home, the idiot ‘gun couple’, Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who demonstrated incorrect gun handling by waving guns at protesters walking past their house, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was part of gassing peaceful protesters and has used his offices to protect Trump, Sen. Rand Paul, who has proven himself to be an idiot several times over, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, whose covid policies have been killing thousands in her state, along with her refusal to seek help after the derecho devastated counties and towns, Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez, representing a state whose policies have allowed the virus to rampage through nursing homes, beaches and bars, infecting and killing thousands. She should be home, working to make things right.

So, why double down on the hate and grievance?  

What else they got?

Trump can’t run on his record because, well, look around. Est 200,000 Americans dead, virus burning uncontrolled across the country, double digit unemployment, protesters in the streets… none of this is good. So, he tried tweeting ‘LAW & ORDER’ in all caps, because Trump, but seeing how he’s the shadiest President since Nixon (Nixon resigned before being impeached, btw) that hasn’t worked so well. Even his secret police only made things worse by being even more violent that the regular police. He’s got the lying thing down (Joe Biden is a radical leftist!) but he just lost his most effective liar as Kellyanne left, about to lose her family over her ugly job. He’s still showing pictures of burning cars and calling it ‘Biden’s America’, fooling nobody. Donny, it’s Your America.

Fear, hate, finger-pointing and grievance are what he’s got left. Point to immigrants, to Black Life Matters, to China, to Democrats to explain what can only be called a failed presidency. They are to blame! If only there was one of those forgotten caravans around to help! If you can’t inspire hope (and let’s face it, he can’t) then inspire fear.

We’ll see a lot of that the next four days.

It’s all brought to us by a party who has literally thrown out their GOP party platform (principles, hope, mercy…) to say the only thing they stand for is Trump. Where Goes Trump, There Go All. A cult-party of over 200,000 acceptable deaths (57% of Republicans think that, according to polling), ready to reward his performance with four more years.

And four more after that, as a spying/virus/economy crashing do-over.

And they’d give it to him.

Let the Four days of Fear and Hate… begin.

Where Goes Q, Goes the GOP

“Trust the Plan” they say, you know, when it looks to be insane bullshit. It’s not! Trust it!

The GOP has embraced a far-far right-wing conspiracy theory, or it has infected the Republican party enough that it has to embrace it or be swallowed. That theory, really a worldview and way of life, is called: Qanon.

What the hell is ‘Qanon?

Qanon is a bizarre, through-the-looking-glass movement, the new Tea Party, but crazier, stupider, and much, much more dangerous. The whole thing was started by an anonymous poster claiming to be a 'top level intelligence officer’ in the Trump administration. They posted on Reddit under the name ‘Q’ and started outlining their ‘insider knowledge’. After the initial drop, they would should back up and post what the increasing followers would call 'breadcrumbs' (and what one study claimed to be random keyboard hits) which true believers (now calling themselves Qanon, or just 'Q') would then 'interpret' as they saw fit. And boy did they see fit.

Essentially, the world is run by a cabal of Satan worshiping, pedophile cannibals, (this includes Hillary Clinton, Obama, and Tom Hanks. TOM HANKS!!!), and many many more, mostly Democratic politicians and Hollywood celebrities, anyone to the left of Satan. This ungodly cabal will, any day, be rounded up by Trump, who has been secretly working behind the scenes (with Robert Mueller, Yes, this is part of it!!) and then Trump will lead the nation back to the truth, the light, the church and Christ.

Trump. He's going to do all this.

Any day now.

We're all waiting.

Okay, I make fun, but.... there are several true believers running for seats in congress right now, and a couple that will probably make it in. What will they do, all the true 'Q' believers? What did the Millerites do when they waited all spring of 1843 for Jesus to show up to smite the non-believers, and he never arrived? They doubled down, and waited until spring 1844, really, really sure Jesus would show up this time. When Jesus still didn't show up (I assume they sent him an invitation) they tripled down, changed the name of the group to the Seventh Day Adventist Church, and continued on thinking they were smarter and better than anyone else.

Because they knew 'the truth'. Just like the Q-anon believers do, as the Trumpers do.

They will double down. And I'm afraid they will do so violently. They've been violent before, killing police, shooting up a DC pizza parlor to free the abused children in the basement (no kids, no basement). The FBI considers them a domestic terrorist threat, and they like to show up at rallies with far-right anti-government extremists and Nazis. They are looking for a fight.

“Where We Go One, We Go All" is their motto.

 And when the Chosen One is in danger, (like losing an election) they will be there, ready for that fight.