Category: Trumplandia

‘Sucker Punch’

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

There is only one way that Blues might actually start a civil war (really a revolution, given their collective temperament,) and that is if it was clear Trump had stolen the 2024 election.

I have grown to believe this is the least likely of the various possible scenarios because Trump is so dumb and lazy that he’s more likely to either win outright or lose outright and THEN start a civil war. Either by losing and demanding a National Divorce or by WINNING, then being such a tyrant that he is deposed somehow then Red States leave the Union.

But, yeah, I suppose if he steals the 2024 election that Blues might, rather than “leave the Union” simply deny that he’s POTUS in the first place and things start to go crazy when there’s, like, some sort of General Strike but because the U.S. Military doesn’t know what to do…wow…just wow.

All of my existing thoughts about such a scenario stand, though. What California does would be key — they would be the arsenal of American Democracy in any civil war / revolution because of their population and economy.

I have to say, in any fair fight between Blue and Red, the forces of American Democracy (Blues) definitely SEEM like they could kick the asses of tyrannical fascists MAGA Reds. That doesn’t mean, of course, that any such civil war/ revolution wouldn’t draaaaaaaaaaaaaag out for years, leaving America looking like Afghanistan by the time everything go sorted out.

I’ve written about all of this — and changed my mind some of the years — a great deal over the last four or five years. And, in general, I think first of all, it won’t happen and second of all if it does it will suck. There will be no narrative and the whole thing will be value free.

‘Inherent Contempt’

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Not that I want this to happen, but House Republicans if they are sooooo upset over Hunter Biden, do have an option: inherent contempt. This is, as I understand it, the ability for Congress to actually get the its Sargent at Arms to physically arrest someone and put them in the Capitol brig.

Hunter Biden

I can’t figure out if they’re cowards or if they’re so dumb that they don’t realize that they could finally see Hunter Biden in jail if they did that. Now, the political ramifications would be enormous — he would instantly be a center-Left martyr, even more than he already is.

But given that they just don’t care about anything but “ruling” rather than “governing” it seems like it’s a gimmie for them to invoke inherent contempt. But….I dunno, it’s all very odd.

Trump Isn’t Hitler. He’s Pol Pot

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

While it’s easy to compare Trump to Hitler — and the two men do share a lot in common — I would suggest someone else to compare him to: Pol Pot. The reason why I say this is, if the worst happens, I could totally see Trump demanding the cities be emptied for some sort of American Killing Fields.

Pol Pot

Or maybe it wouldn’t be Trump but someone vaguly acting in his name would would do it.

But the point remains — Pol Pot hated a lot of the same types of people that Trump and his movement hates.

If things get really, really bad in the USA as it transitions to Trumplandia…oh boy.

America Is So Fucked Up Right Now

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I don’t know what to tell you — America is seriously fucked up at the moment. And it’s only going to get worse. There is a chance, of course, that some Black Swan event will allow us to take an off ramp — like what happened in 2020 — and all our structural problems will be punted down the road another four years.

The issue is that the Republican Party is so radical now — and so resistant to changing its policies — that, by definition, the next Republican president we have will be a fascist autocrat. The only question, at this point, is how his or her specific personality will influence policy.

It will be very curious to see how, exactly, that works out. There are severe structural problems in the American political system so someone like Trump can bubble up to the surface.

No, America Isn’t ‘Too Big’

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

After Trump won in 2016, I saw a — I think — New York Magazine article that was one big liberal “cope” in which they proposed America was “too big.” This was one way of them slyly suggesting what we would now call a “National Divorce.”

To this date, the idea of a National Divorce or anything suggesting the USA should split up REALLY MAKES ME ANGRY. I will admit that in the past, I have toyed, in the abstract, with the idea of Blue States leaving the Union. But when I realized that is just not what Blues would do — if anything like that is going to happen, it’s going to be more of a revolution than a National Divorce — I stopped even thinking such a dumb idea might have merit.

Which brings up the idea of why Red States might be willing to leave the Union.

Well, I live in the South and there is a pretty potent race memory among white Southerners when it comes to the Confederate States of America. To the point that at least one well-educated conservative I know pretty much at this point supports a National Divorce — if it comes to that — because of “vibes.”

And, really, that is what is eating away at the foundation of the United States at the moment — vibes, especially from the Right. The Right gets soooo worked up about how bad COVID lockdown protocols were, then they rest their entire indictment of the Biden Administration on…you guessed it…vibes.

As I’ve written before, there are two ways we have an actual civil war. One is Trump loses and states, starting with Texas, leave the Union to “protect” him from going to jail. Second way is Trump wins, he goes “full tyrant” and things get so absolutely bad that a number of Red States leave the Union because they love that idiotic, malignant ding-dong so much.

Well, When It Comes To This Novel I’m Assuming Nothing TOO Bad Will Happen In Late 2024, Early 2025 In America

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

So. If all goes according to plan, I’m going to start to query my novel in some capacity in late 2024, and MAYBE as late as early 2025. As such, I’m working on the assumption that the country will be stable enough for that to be a viable option.

So, I may write a lot about The End Times for the USA, but in a practical sense, I’m totally ignoring that possibility. I am doing this because, as I keep saying, all my “hysterical doom shit” is simply me trying to make my abstract fears concrete.

I just don’t know if The Fourth Turning is really going to happen. In fact, I generally don’t think it will. I do think that Trump is probably — at this point at least — win the 2024 election and 2025 could be mass chaos. And, yet, if enough smug Twitter liberals leave the country on their second passport…meh. Maybe that will mean people will be more interesting in read a novel that is part of a six novel project that is pretty much just one long screed against extremism (using subtext.)

Or not. Who knows. All I know is I’m pressing forward with this novel, even though there is definitely a part of me that is….concerned…about the next 18 months and beyond.

Should I Be Worried?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I’m extremely harmless. I sometimes get drunk and worked up about MAGA and write some…provocative things…but I always calm down and move on to the next thing. I have a novel to finish.

And, yet, I occasionally get pings to this Website from people who are from the base of the ATF in West Virginia and that makes me EXTREMELY NERVOUS. I don’t mean any harm to anyone, I just have some very strong opinions. I understand why the AFT or FBI might be interested in me because I do rant a lot, but if they read this blog on a regular basis, it would also be clear that it’s just me letting off steam.

I hate violence. I hate guns — I really, really hate guns.

I just get worked up because I want to live in a traditional liberal democracy and it definitely seems at times that that thing — my American birthright — is at risk at the moment and I just don’t know what to do about it.

Anyway, please FBI and AFT, believe me when I say I’m a harmless nobody. No one listens to me and usually when they do they get mad. But I will note that when people DO listen to me — cool shit happens.

A 2024 Black Swan: What Am I Missing?

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

If 2020 proved anything, it’s that I just can’t predict the future. As such, I keep searching my mind to think up what I could possibly be missing about late 2024, early 2025 that would somehow give us an offramp from all my “hysterical doom shit.”

At the moment, I got squat.

It seems we’re going to lurch into a very dark and turbulent fate starting around November 2024 and things could be pretty rough for a number of years after that.

Or not. I just don’t know.

The most obvious thing that might throw everything up in the air is some sort of “health incident” that one or both of the old codgers who are running for president might experience. As for Trump, I don’t wish physical ill on him for no other reason than if ANYTHING happened to that fucker, the country might collapse into severe political violence not seen since the death of Martian Luther King Jr — only this time it would be red necks burning things to the ground because they believe the “deep state” did in their false prophet.

I suppose maybe a war — DPRK, I’m looking at you — might throw things up in the air. Then Biden would be a War President and he MIGHT be able to unite the country just long enough to defeat Trump.

If — God forbid — Something Happened and Biden was no longer the nominee, that would REALLY scramble things a great deal and things could go in directions no one — least of all me — could predict.

As an aside, I will note that it definitely seems as though Republicans may lose the House this year, which would que up Trump being impeached sooner rather than later if he went “full tyrant” on us. Throw in an actual effective General Strike and it’s at least possible THAT would be how we got rid of that malignant ding-dong.

But all of that is VERY speculative.

I have no idea what is going to happen. I just want to live in a peaceful, prosperous America that has a functioning democracy. That should not be too much to ask.

It’s Too Late

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I fear it’s just too late. There’s simply nothing that can be done — barring something I can’t predict — to prevent political catastrophe starting in late 2024, early 2025.

I mean, when headlines like this:

…do nothing to stop Trump from being 60,000 votes in five swing states away from being POTUS again….we got a problem.

As such, I think all I can ask of my Traditionalist relatives — whom I love dearly — at this point is that they will give me material support should the country collapse and we find ourselves on opposite ends of the sudden very real political divide in a country torn asunder.

That’s it. That’s all I got.

The Fire Next Time: ‘Implosion’

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

The issue with Trump going full tyrant should he be re-elected is there is a real chance that the whole political infection that is MAGA is the risk it might go septic, that it might cause a real fucking catastrophe.

So, let’s think about how that might play out. We’re going to go most likely to least likely when it comes to people MAGA might try to put in Trump-branded camps.

Undocumented People
This is the gimmie. This is the thing that Trump will use as cover to build out the infrastructure for all the OTHER bad things to happen. But, remember, Trump is dumb and lazy so there will be a window of opportunity between the time he says he’s going to round everyone up and when he actually does it.

Gay People
If you just follow the current trends of the Gay Scare that the US is undergoing, it seems logical that gay and transgender people will eventually, inevitably, be rounded up and put in the camps that were originally built for undocumented people.

Various Other People
I think, in the end, because of Trump’s personal prejudices, that MAGA will soon enough come after the mentally ill, alcoholics and the handicapped. It’s all a matter of time.

The big question of course, is what the reaction by Blues will be to such tyrannical behavior. That, I’m afraid, I can’t answer at the moment.