Science fiction, fantasy, mystery and what-not
It’s a snow day. We could do with a little snow in Ashlandia but no, why do a little when there’s a lot available?
It’s Munda, Feb. 3, 2025. Thick snow is falling and accumulating, dissing visibility. We have a few inches around our house. But the temperature is hovering right at 32 F here. ‘They’ tell us it will climb to 39 F. What will that do to the snow? Well the traffic cameras tell the story. The storm is coming from the south and east. West and north, there’s less impact. We have variable conditions all around us and it’ll stay like that until tonight, when freezing temperatures take over. Everyone who deals with snow, rain, and freezing overnight temperatures know that outcome.
As for sunshine — what sunshine? Clouds? They’re not visible for the snow. As far as we know, the sky is falling in as small white flakes.
The cats have taken well to the snow. Tucker (pronounced Tuck-ah) has little interest in going out unless the sun is bright, full, and warm. And he’s grown accustomed to this season not being so. Papi, though, always challenges us about being let out. We let him out twice. Second time found him sitting on the porch, watching the snow. He was back in after three minutes. Both then retired to the living room, where the fireplace is going and the blower is kicking warm air across the room.
On to the big news. Beyoncé wins album of the year Grammy. Okay, it was a country album, but still, big accomplishment, right? Big news to fill the weekend gulf when Musk, acting on Trump’s orders, illegally took over computer systems with unvetted people without security clearances or actual positions with the government.
Why, that ol’ Trump. He sure knows how to give the people what they want! They didn’t want all that AID stuff. NO! If they’d wanted that, they would have elected people to Congress to represent them. Then, those people in Congress would have passed an act creating and funding that function.
Which all did happen. The U.S. Agency for International Development was formed in 1961. Congress directs it what to do and provides its funding. As part of the Executive branch the agency then does that. That’s how it’s supposed to work. It’s all part of the checks and balances built into our government’s processes and functions. One man cannot simply say stop.
But he did because Trump gives less than a morning bowel movement about laws and Congress. The GOP is already in his pocket. The Supreme Court ruled that anything he does as POTUS is legal. Or that’s how Trump takes it.
He should be impeached. We know that won’t happen with the GOP in charge. We’ve been down this road before. Few of them have the spine to stand up to Trump. But, hey, the people elected them, too, right?
And this is how the system breaks. This is the fallout of the system coming apart.
I mentioned the Grammy Award because my wife was spitting out curses like a drunken sailor this weekend as she looked at the news. “Look at this news coverage,” I will summarize her as saying, “no wonder this country is going to shit.” Yes, as many of us have noticed, we have infotainment more than news these days. Here’s thirty seconds about Trump, Musk, and the government, and twenty minutes on the Grammies, and a minute on the weather, and five minutes on the NFL Pro Bowl. Now on to sports!
Today, The Neurons have installed “Drive” by R.E.M. in my morning mental music stream. The 1991 song came up because as I thought about all the crap Trump and his minions did this weekend, The Neurons said, “Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.”
Because essentially, the clock is running on inflation, the stock market, the U.S. and economy, after Trump’s moves. And we have judges ruling on his freeze order. And…yes, it’s a list, a list of crimes and transgressions. A list of activity against history, law, and common sense. So…tick. Tock. As the ride commences, we wait for the fallout.
The snow still falls. I’m off to do my writing and then off to a medical appointment. Be safe, and be strong, wherever you are, and whatever you’re doing. Cheers
Last night, a group of us met to have ‘a beer’ and talk.
Politics came up. They always do. One of my friends was very excited about an idea he had: what if Liz Cheny was nominated to be House Speaker?
This is in reference to the Republican mess now going in the US House of Representatives. Rep. McCarthy, an R from California, was voted into the office in January of this year. It took fifteen rounds of voting and many promises from him to win the office. Less than ten months into the year, another Republian, Matt Gaetz of Florida, decided that McCarthy should be removed.
I’m simplifying. The GOP is a fractured party these days. I read that there are now six factions. One faction isn’t interested in governing; they just want to make life difficult for everyone until Donald Trump is POTUS again.
The latest fracas which brought down McCarthy was the battle to fund the government and avoid a shutdown. McCarthy ended up making a deal with Democrats to pass the legislation. That angered Gaetz and others. Thus Gaetz made his move.
Former representative Liz Cheney, R out of Wyoming, daughter of career politician Dick Cheney, was voted out of office for her stand on President Trump. A Republican, Trump won the election to be POTUS in 2016 as a bombastic outsider. He’s a polarizing person. He’s been documented to be a serial liar. History has shown him to cheat contractors. He’s constantly in court, suing, and counter-suing people and businesses. Trump made promises that he didn’t keep. He’s been married three times and has been known to have several affairs. All in all, his character, as seen by the public, is less than shiny. Yet, he manages to keep a base of supporters who will do anything for him.
Democrats decided to start impeachment proceedings — twice. The second was initiated after Trump escalated declarations that he hadn’t lost the election to remain POTUS, but had it stolen from him. He made speeches to that effect and claimed there was overwhelming evidence. That ‘evidence’ was presented to courts sixty-one times. No court agreed with him. The SCOTUS refused to hear any cases about it. Yet, Trump persisted. The riot in the Capital on Jan. 6, 2021, was the breaking point for many when Trump refused to take action to mitigate the escalating violence.
Liz Cheney was one of the few Republicans who thought Trump may have broken the law and violated his presidential duties. She agreed that it was incumbent on the House, as a body of government used as part of the checks and balances on executive power, should investigate the facts. Most of the rest of the GOP didn’t agree and Cheney ended up outed from office.
My buddy’s idea is interesting. Everyone agreed that Cheney is ethical and would probably be effective as Speaker.
But could she ever be voted in in the first place? Doubtful that Republicans would; they made little to save her from being voted out of office before. She was derided as a RINO – Republian in name only.
And it’s unlikely that Cheney would pick up votes from Democrats. While she’s considered ethical by most, she still had many positions which Democrats won’t accept. When in office, she voted for and supported Trump’s policies and positions. She was, in effect, a Trump enabler, which is what led to this mess.
Why would Democrats want to restore such an enabler to a position of power? I don’t.
So I told my friend last night.
Michael Seidel, writer 