Donald J. Trump and the Kakistocracy!

Seems There’s a Perfect Word Everything!

As an obsessive ancient history buff, it becomes obvious that language is a “living” process; words change in meaning over time; words have been morphing, entering and exiting the lexicon of humans since the advent of speech. Some words however never really change; their meaning is somehow thoroughly on-the-mark, dead-on, balls-accurate, throughout the ages. Such is this new, very appropriate word which came to be known to me by some very good friends, and, as it turns out, is the perfect description of the current administration.

Of course, we’ve heard the term “Banana Republic” thrown around an awful lot, especially since the Fat Felon with the fake tan and horribly executed hair plugs returned to decimate the parts of the government he couldn’t get to the first time. And it is a pretty good representation of our government now, since all the Christian fundamentalists, evangelicals and conservative “Guardians Of Pedophiles” have now come out of the closet, proudly boasting their loyalty to the new Fat Orange Jesus and their hatred of everyone else. But here’s even better term, one that fits the current administration to a “T”: Kakistocracy…….

Kakistocracy, from Gk kákistos (“worst”) and krátos (“rule”), defines a government run by the most unprincipled, unqualified, or incompetent citizens. Coined in the 17th century, it describes a system where knaves exploit fools, leading to systemic corruption, incompetence, policy failures, and severe wealth inequality.

Ringing any bells? This is a real, bona fide word, you can find in a dictionary online and it’s been a part of the Western European family of languages since the SIXTEEN HUNDREDS and I cannot think of a better term for the United States under the current criminal regime. Some of the key characteristics of a kakistocracy:

Incompetence and Disqualification: Leaders lack experience, skills, or aptitude for governance. CHECK!

Corruption and Nepotism: Public trust is violated for private gain; friends or unqualified loyalists are appointed to key positions. CHECK!

Disregard for Truth: Governance is driven by propaganda, cynical manipulation, and tribal emotions. CHECK!

“Rule by the Worst”: The most unscrupulous citizens, rather than the most meritorious, hold power. CHECK!

A New Word to Add to Your Lexicon

T-R-U-M-P-E-R-Y: You Not Going to Believe This!

I think of myself as having a fairly good vocabulary, not Christopher Hitchens level, but I would say better than average, at least. I do a lot of reading, and I am always at the ready with my “Oxford Dictionary of English” (with Thesaurus, of course) when I inevitably come across words that are either new to me or that I have already looked up, perhaps a long time ago, and have forgotten their meaning. As I age, I find this happens much more frequently. “Hooray” for aging! Just another perk of getting older.

Occasionally, I do run into a new word, one I’ve never heard before and have no idea of its’ meaning. And recently some very close friends of mine introduced me to a new word, although I’m not sure where they heard it or read it, but they are both pretty smart and extremely well read so I thought I’ll roll with it. I must admit, I thought it was a joke until I looked it up in my trusty OED, and found this:

T R U M P E R Y (archaic)

Noun:

Attractive articles of little value or use.
Practices or beliefs that are superficially or visually appealing but have little real value or worth

Adjective:

Showy but worthless: trumpery jewelry.
Delusive or shallow: that trumpery hope which lets us dupe ourselves.

Ringing any bells? The obvious application was just too much to overlook. I understand the “A rose by any other name”but I thought this to be nothing less than a message from the Universe! What could possibly describe the felonious, useless, empty-suit, currently occupying the White House better than his own name and what are the chances of such a coincidence? Consider that “Trump” was the name chosen by his grandfather when their actual name, “Drumpf”, evoked severe anti-German sentiment before and during WWI. Interestingly, the Fat Felon’s grandfather emigrated to the United States specifically to avoid mandatory compulsory service in the German military. I guess draft dodging runs in the family. In conclusion, you can expect to hear or read this word much more frequently from this point forwards. Some things are just meant to be, I guess.

SCOTUS: The Real Enemies of the American People & Democracy

The Roberts “Court” has done more damage to our democracy than Trump & Project 2025 could ever imagine!

Take a look at these miscreant dirtbags. This is the most corrupt “court” in the history of the United States of America. Yes, they’re supposed to be judges but they are not; they are nothing more than well-placed political operatives very specifically placed in their roles – after lying in their confirmation hearings about various laws, the status of Roe v Wadeas settled law not the least among them – to do exactly what they are doing: reversing every remaining law that grants some semblance of equality to Americans of color. And this time, with the gutting of the Voting Rights Act – or, should I say, with the gutting of the remainder of the Voting Rights Act – they’ve truly exposed themselves as the partisan, political hacks that they really are. Just like the damage they did to our campaign finance laws with Citizens v United, we now have every red state prioritizing the redistricting of all persons of color right out of their congressional districts and right in the middle of a campaign season! Roberts and his band of dirtbags shove their thumbs, plural, on the scales of justice once again, granting the most egregious criminal administration in our history a paved-over path to further chaos and criminality, all while these scumbags sit and make believe they aren’t responsible for any of the damage or consequence that ensues.

If WE, the American people, truly wish to preserve our democracy, our freedom, our very lives, then our highest priority must be to get these imposters off the court. Whether it is by impeachment, indictment, or by sheer force of public pressure on them as well as our “representatives” in Congress, they must be removed from the court at any cost. Roberts recently made some comical comments to the effect that they are not a political body, which is to say, that is exactly what this “court” is; (I cannot even write it without quotes, just to reinforce what a joke their so-called jurisprudence will be considered in history. It will be nothing more than the farcical charade we know it to be! We will make certain of it!) They are nothing more than a cabal of legal automatons programmed and placed upon the court by stealth and slight-of-hand responses to confirmation questions given them by other anti-democratic dirtbags like Leonard Leo and the Federalist Society and the like. This “court” is nothing more than a group of partisan political hacks disguised as upstanding, responsible advocates of law and order. In fact, they are quite something other than that; in fact, they are the exact opposite of law & order advocates.

Even the token Oreo on the “court”, Clarence the Corrupt Clown; the deceitful, double-dealing, friend of billionaires, grab-the-money-and-run doesn’t seem to mind that he set all other black and brown Americans back 100 years to the post-Civil War Reconstruction period where Jim Crow reigned supreme. In an era where even the “president” (i.e., the current delinquent wretch turning the Oval Office into a whore house) openly and frequently makes his loathing of minorities as obvious as his revulsion of women, this “court” will decide that there really isn’t any racism in America anymore, it’s all been eradicated, just a figment of our collective imaginations. Without a care in the world the Guardians Of Pedophiles & the convicted felon at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue have stripped our people of their healthcare rights, subsidies for poor women and children for healthcare, SNAP meals, and much more, all while flexing their imaginary Christianity and their supposed moral superiority.

Gutting the Voting Rights Act as if there are no implications to our elections and democracy is as crooked and corrupt a decision as the way in which they destroyed fairness in our campaign finance laws by allowing dark money, foreignmoney even, PACS, etc., into the election system as if they weren’t aware of the destruction it would do to open and fair elections. I remember Sam the Sham Alito, another dirtbag on the take, remonstrating President Obama at the State of the Union speech when Obama commented about the damage the ruling would do to our campaign finance laws and elections. Except that Roberts, Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, and Cavanaugh and the other scumbags aren’t making judicialdecisions, they are making political decisions they have been directed to make or were already known to have been in favor of by a cabal of conservative political power brokers that put them in power for exactly these reasons: to alter our political campaigns and elections in favor of their conservative criminal candidates. We, the American people, that have been saddled with the detritus of these imposters and the incredible damage they have done to our political processes and democracy, have no greater task ahead of us then to get these cretins off the court by any means necessary and, preferably, disbarred for their egregious violations of truth and justice.

If, and I do mean IF, the Democrats manage not to screw up the mid-terms, which granted, is a lot to ask when it is as a direct result of their incredible ineptitude and incompetence that we now have the 34-time convicted, adjudicated sexual predator and felon presently reporting directly to Vladimir Putin and Bebe Netanyahu for further instructions on how to destroy our country, we may just have a shot at saving this republic. If not, and the most stultifyingly stupid among us – AKA MAGA MORONS – and the phony Christian evangelicals and fundamentalists prevail, then it may just be time for this dream to end. It is entirely in the hands of the people. We will either act with the alacrity these times call for and rise to the challenge this “court” poses to our freedoms and civil liberties, or we will let democracy die.

It is that simple. No one is coming to rescue us; it is up to every individual American to act.

Dougalass’ Words: Just As Pertinent As Ever Today

“[The Church] esteems sacrifice above mercy; psalm-singing above right doing; solemn meetings above practical righteousness. A worship that can be conducted by persons who refuse to give shelter to the houseless, to give bread to the hungry, clothing to the naked, and who enjoin obedience to a law forbidding these acts of mercy, is a curse, not a blessing to mankind.”

“What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade, and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy — a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States, at this very hour.”

Frederick Douglass

Thoughts? Anyone?