As usual, the ruling class always wins

After watching every Jan. 6 Committee hearing, one thing is clear: Donald Trump is a traitor to the country -- though one of the clumsiest and most grotesque in history -- and the entire Republican Party must answer for his actions, his refusal to follow societal norms, and his contempt for Americans.

Traitors in history were often executed, with the reasoning being that there are few crimes against a nation that can rival this one. I am not advocating for execution of Trump. I just want him shamed and removed from the national stage. I know that merely issuing a subpoena for him to testify to the House committee will likely produce more violence among the more unhinged in the Angry White People Party, and that the chances are vanishingly small that Trump will ever appear in a committee hearing or even a court of law.

Let's face it: when you consider the obscenely rich there are few examples of those oligarchs facing justice beyond fines and public shaming. And those last two don't happen often, either. The world is run by the wealthy and it doesn't matter much the type of government the wealthy will tolerate. 

The poor and ignorant will continue to be used by the wealthy of all political positions, and that will continue to frustrate me and cause some despair. But it's always been that way and is not going to change without some sort of economic revolution that produces much more equity among people throughout the world. In other words, Star Trek stuff, including replicators and the end of wealth by acquisition and exclusion of others. I'm not holding my breath.

Mass media has failed in attempting to maintain some semblance of "reliance on facts," and perhaps the realization by so many bad actors that there are absolutely no downsides to cheating, lying, and stealing makes that failure inevitable. 

We don't know how to deal with the flood of hypocrisy, the blatant deep fakes and shallow lies. 

And yet... I look forward to the coming midterm elections and the opportunities for Americans to use their votes to support their views, their prejudices, and their hopes. Some will vote against their own interests out of a sense of outrage or despair. The elections will not budge the wealthy class that runs us all, but it's nice to have even the illusion of popular power.

I read a provocative story today that pointed out that the anti-abortion movement is anti-democratic at its heart. Those who consider abortion the ultimate test of humanity will never accept a popular vote. After all, for them this is a morality test and human devices like voting and majority rule have nothing to do with being "right." 

For such zealots, democracy is irrelevant. They just demand winning, and total annihilation of their opponents.

I realize that this post is a bit unhinged and overly angry, but it's tough not to be constantly angry for a modern American who pays any attention to current events.

I will try to focus on sentence construction tomorrow.