McCamy Taylor
McCamy Taylor's JournalGOP Atrocities: What Are They Doing While Trump Distracts us with his Media War Circus?
So, what is the GOP getting up to while Trump provides a media circus distraction? They are making mortgage's more expensive for middle class home buyers, they are gutting consumer safety rules, they are taking away your health insurance ---and even if you do not use ACA, you may lose your local doctor or hospital if the number of uninsured in your area suddenly rises. Anything I have missed? We really need to keep a running tally/list of everything that they are doing to make life more miserable for Americans.
The New Newspeak: When Trump and Co. Lie, It is "Alternative Facts."
Hold on to your heads, gentle readers. Otherwise, they might explode and you'll find yourself cleaning bits of brain matter out of the carpet.
Yesterday, Trump and his spokespeople "falsely stated" or "misrepresented" (traditional Newspeak for a presidential falsehood aka "lie" when the rest of us do it) facts about the number of people who showed up for the inauguration, the weather, his relationship with the intelligence community. "With False Claims, Trump Attacks Media on Turnout and Intelligence Rift" writes the New York Times, showing that it is still a gentile newspaper that would never accuse the POTUS of "lying". "On his first full day in office, Trump visited the CIA for a stream-of-consciousness airing of grievances — including against journalists — that included the false claim that the crowd for his swearing-in stretched from the Capitol down the Mall to the Washington Monument," reports the Washington Post. "Sean Spicer didn’t take questions at a news conference — or tell the whole truth" declares a headline further down the WaPo's front page.
All very proper. The mainstream media may criticize the president, but it never, ever accuses him or his surrogates of telling a lie. The POTUS may "claim falsely," he can "misstate". There are rules which govern these things----
Not so fast, says Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway (from the MSNBC web age):
Did you get that? The amended edition of the official "Newspeak" manual will be in the mail as soon as Trump and Co. get through with dismantling the federal government and rewriting the Constitution. But in the meantime, never ever accuse Trump of "falsely stating". When the POTUS lies, he does so because the "facts" in the alternative reality in which he lives are different from the "facts" in our world. Where does Trump live? In the pages of George Orwell's 1984.
Next up from Trumpland: the New New Math or why one Trump supporter equals ten Obama supporters.
Healthcare Smoke and Mirrors: Good Prez, Bad Congress
Do not be fooled. When Congress promises to take away everyone's healthcare, they are pandering to their base. Their base wants everyone except themselves to lose their healthcare.
Do not be fooled. When Trump promises healthcare for everyone, he is pandering to his base. His (business) base wants to continue to be able to make a profit from the U.S. Medical Industrial Complex--currently valued at 15% of the GNP! It can't do that if no one has insurance.
Here is how this one will play out. Congress will proudly announced that they have killed Obamacare. 
Their base will be delighted at how quickly the new Congress has attacked Obama's legacy---and then will ask "What about my health insurance?"
Trump will quickly step in with a veto. "Not so fast!" he'll say (much to the relief of the loyal base that wants to keep its own health insurance while everyone else does without). "Congress, do your job! I promised everyone insurance!"
What happens next? This involves some tea leaf reading, but I will take a stab at it:
1. Tax Credits for Insurance Premiums---because the GOP can call this a tax cut and stick it on their total of taxes cut! Those who are currently getting money to help pay premiums will instead be given a tax credit--which is great for those who make enough money to pay a lot of taxes, but not so good as your income goes down.
2. Medicaid will expand in all 50 states---because red states love federal handouts, they just did not want to accept one to which they had attached the named Obama. They will be more than happy to accept money to which they attach the name "Trump." Some extremely minor and inconsequential tweaking of the federal/state ratios of spending will suddenly make the Medicaid expansion palatable to GOP state legislators.
3. Private insurers will be able to deny you a policy or charge you higher rates for pre-existing conditions. This allows the GOP to get rid of the individual mandate. It will also make insurance companies extremely happy. What's that you say? Trump has promised that no one will be denied insurance due to pre-existing conditions? See number 4.
4. The return of high risk insurance pools. Eeks! Scary. 
Anyone who ever spent $25k a year paying for high risk insurance with a $10k per person deductible for two family members with (mild)asthma and (controlled)diabetes knows how horrible high risk insurance is. And how un-affordable. Meaning that many people who really ought to be insured go naked instead---and hospitals are forced to write off their care. So, how can Trump keep his promise to health care providers that they will not be stuck with unpaid bills for care rendered to patients with health conditions? Here is where the GOP is gonna have to get creative. See number 5.
5. First some background. We have two parallel health care systems in the U.S. One (the private) is for people who are not sick and do not need health care. The other (government funded) is for people who are sick and need health care in order to survive. The second exists to keep people from dying on the streets in front of little Trixie which might scar little Trixie for life. Trump has promised he won't let people die in the streets in front of little Trixie and even the most hard hearted Republican does not think that little Trixie should see something like that. It might make her start asking uncomfortable questions. How do we keep people from dying on the streets? Anyone who applied for and was denied a private insurance policy due to pre-existing conditions will be offered a bare bones Medicare Part A that will cover inpatient services including surgery but which will provide no outpatient coverage at all. This will have hospital administrators and surgeons singing Trump's praises---and will allow people to die of their preventable diseases in the hospital rather than on the streets.
So, in summary, look for a switch from government subsidies to tax credits, Medicaid expansion in all 50 states (because Walmart can not do business if its minimum wage employees are too sick to work), the return of "pre-existing conditions", the return of "high risk insurance pools" for those who actually want to treat their re-existing conditions and Medicare Part A Lite for those who would rather just die with dignity in a hospital from their pre-exiting conditions than spend half their disposable income paying for insurance.
If this all goes through, as I expect it will, look for our rate of preventable disease to climb, total health care spending in this country to climb, and life expectancy to decline under Trump and the GOP. Because the GOP does not care about the health of U.S. citizens. They care about the financial health of the insurance and provider industries. And if anyone complains "Where is the preventive care?" Trumps self styled outlaw base will shout back "Preventive health care is for pussies!"
Heroin Industry's Future Looks Rosy Under Trump!
One industry is especially enthusiastic about President Select Donald Trump's plan to "Make America Great Again!"
In recent years, the heroin industry has had to deal with a glut of high quality, low priced product in the U.S. combined with unfair competition from legal pharmaceuticals---opiate pain medications prescribed by doctors. But all that is about to end. Under Trump, millions of Americans will lose their access to health care as they lose their ACA insurance. Fortunately for them, the heroin market will be there to satisfy their need for relatively cheap, effective pain relief that Congress can not take away with a stroke of the pen. And when the VA is privatized and the veterans, many of whom suffer from chronic pain and mental illness related to their military service are forced to seek care in the private sector, they will discover that there are few non VA associated doctors who are willing to treat chronic pain in those who also have mental illness. So, the veterans will become regular customers of the heroin industry. Last but not least, there are GOP plans afoot to stop Medicaid payments for opiate pain medication. Meaning that people who live in medical poverty due to debilitating chronic illness will also be forced to look to their local drug dealer for relief.
And Trump's foreign master, Vladimir Putin has big plans for Afghanistan, source of much of the world's opium. Putin is said to be courting the Taliban, who grow the poppies that keep the heroin industry going.
Russian officials have denied they provide aid to the insurgents, who are contesting large swathes of territory and inflicting heavy casualties, and say their limited contacts are aimed at bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table.
(snip)
But a series of recent meetings they say has taken place in Moscow and Tajikistan has made Afghan intelligence and defense officials nervous about more direct support including weapons or funding.
http://www.newsweek.com/putin-russia-taliban-afghanistan-obama-trump-united-states-oil-529461
The Russia mob (that controls Putin who controls Trump) has good reason to want closer ties with the Taliban. Heroin is big business in Russia.
It's estimated that the group claims upwards of 9,000 members, and that it's bread and butter is the drug trade and human trafficking. Russian organized crime in general is heavily involved in the heroin trade that originates in Afghanistan: it's estimated that Russia consumes about 12% of the world's heroin, while it contains just 0.5% of the world's population.
http://fortune.com/2014/09/14/biggest-organized-crime-groups-in-the-world/
With the ruble currently weak, Russians are struggling to pay for their much needed heroin. However, once Trump and Putin have raised oil prices and stabilized Russia's oil dependent economy, Russian addicts will find it easier to make their payments. And supply side does not work if the folks who buy your product can not afford it.
Across the ocean, the border wall between Mexico and the United States should allow Trump/Putin/ the Russian Mob to limit how much heroin gets across the border. This will help them control prices for their product in the U.S, which should see a huge increase in demand for the reasons I describe above.
Our new Attorney General Jeff Sessions can be counted upon to do his part. He has indicated that he wants to prosecute those who use medical marijuana in states that have made it legal. These sitting ducks (many of them are literally sitting in wheelchairs) will take up all the DEA's time, giving the heroin industry some much needed breathing space in which to grow. Plus, all those folks who have been treating their pain with legal weed will also join the ranks of potential heroin addicts.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/12/jeff-sessions-coming-war-on-legal-marijuana-214501
Economic factors also affect people's drug use. If folks are desperate with no hope for the future they are more likely to turn to alcohol and drugs. So, take away their Social Security and Medicare. Tell them they will have to work in their grueling, dead end low wage jobs until they drop dead. Many of them will look for solace in a bottle or from a syringe.
If your heroin franchise has not been as profitable and you had hoped, don't close up shop yet. Heroin's fortunes are about to rise again as Trump makes America Great (for Drug Dealers) Again!
Here is How John Lewis ACTS (While Trump Was Evading National Service)
It takes a lot to make me mad. But never underestimate the ability of our President select to cross the line in search of attention.
Here is how real leaders like Rep. John Lewis act to defend the Constitution and preserve our liberty.
With Hosea Williams of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) leading the demonstration, and John Lewis, Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), at his side, the marchers were stopped as they were leaving Selma, at the end of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, by some 150 Alabama state troopers, sheriff ’s deputies, and possemen, who ordered the demonstrators to disperse.
One minute and five seconds after a two-minute warning was announced, the troops advanced, wielding clubs, bullwhips, and tear gas. John Lewis, who suffered a skull fracture, was one of fifty-eight people treated for injuries at the local hospital. The day is remembered in history as “Bloody Sunday.” Less than one week later, Lewis recounted the attack on the marchers during a Federal hearing at which the demonstrators sought protection for a full-scale march to Montgomery. A transcript of his testimony is presented in the following pages.
https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/eyewitness/html.php?section=2
How did Donald Trump act to serve his country in the 1960s? He received a series of draft deferments while in college--no shame in that---and then he got himself classified as unable to serve because of bone spurs in his heels.
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/02/us/politics/donald-trump-draft-record.html
One man, Rep. Lewis is a political leader because he stood up for what he believed in and risked his life to defend his fellow citizens. The other, President Select Trump is a political leader because he took money from Russia and now he has to pay them back. I know why Donald Trump wants to do away with the Veterans Administration. When he sees all those men and women who risked their lives and sacrificed their health to defend their country, he is probably reminded of what a silver spoon in mouth loser he really is--and man so consumed by greed and fear and vanity that he will put his country at risk for personal gain. Any one of the men and women who gather at the VA in the mornings to see their doctors or just to share coffee with fellow veterans would make a better president than Trump. And Rep. John Lewis would make a helluva better president than Trump.
No one should be president of the United States because he wants the power that comes with that office. The number one requirement for that office should be a fierce desire to serve the country and its people.
Rep. John Lewis has been to the mountaintop. Trump wants to strip mine the mountaintop.
President Obama, Please appoint a Special Prosecutor to Investigate Trump and Russia.
How can we have Watergate 2017 without a Saturday Night Massacre? Make it someone impeccable. A jurist without a political affiliation. Someone Trump will be afraid to fire----but will end up having to fire anyway. Someone so clean he squeaks---and that goes double for his family---can't have Russia blackmailing him (or her).
Any suggestions for the perfect Archibald Cox 2017?
Take a Walk--and Try Not to Die---on the Supply Side of Health Care
For years, the right has been harping on the idea of improving the supply side of health care in America. How do we achieve that?
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/363410/obamacare-driven-supply-side-problems-veronique-de-rugy
In other words, if folks want snake oil, then the FDA should allow the market to supply snake oil and insurers should cover snake oil—and snake oil suppliers should not have to worry about pesky lawsuits. If folks want legal amphetamines and legal downers and legal euphoric agents, then the market should be free to provide them. If the market wants thicker hair and longer lasting erections, then that is where we should focus our health care spending.
What? You thought Idiocracy was a cautionary tale? A dystopian future? Silly health care consumer. It was a How to Manual for Supply Side Success.
“Reasonable risk.” What exactly is a reasonable risk? Depends upon whom you ask. The erectile dysfunction market supports the slaughter of African rhinos in its never ending quest for a longer lasting erection. Therefore, the erectile dysfunction market is likely to say that no risk is too great to get what it wants. That’s because consumers value a long lasting erection.
The diet market will go to any lengths to fit into a size zero. As a chronic dieter once said “I wouldn’t mind getting cancer if it meant I could die thin.” The diet market will accept any risk to get what it wants. Because consumers value being able to count each rib without actually having to live in a famine stricken country.
What do American consumers value? They want youth and beauty---and therefore a lot of people in Hollywood are on Human Growth Hormone and they periodically have to shave their Abe Lincoln chins. They want to live forever---but they also want to drink to excess, eat to excess, consume a combination of legal and illegal drugs to excess, brandish firearms without a clue about how to use a gun safely. And therefore, they want replacement hearts, lungs, hips, knees, ankles, livers for when the ones nature gave them crap out.
One supply side health care advocate insisted that health care costs would go down if the health care industry would only model itself after iPhone. To which I feel compelled to ask---is designed obsolescence something you are looking for when you get your hip replaced? Do you choose your new heart knowing that it does not quite fulfill all your needs but that’s ok, because next year surgeons will have the 2.0 version available?
If supply side health care was all about giving consumers what they need, it would be sensible health care. But too often, people---health care consumers---want something they do not need. And too often, health care providers want to make consumers want something they really do not need---because it makes the providers more money in the short run.
What makes health care supply side providers lots of money in the short run? Surgery. Patent medication. More surgery. More patent medications.
What does not make health care supply side providers lots of money in the short run? Diet counseling. Exercise counseling. As we gradually wean ourselves from our addiction to alcohol, we are killing ourselves with obesity. But there is no money in preventing obesity---and lots of money in treating it. Surgery and patent medications. And artificial hips and knees with the promise that if the person suffering from obesity can just get out there and exercise again, the pounds will melt away magically---never mind that the artificial hip is even less reliable than the natural one that got shot to hell from decades of carrying too much weight.
If your back hurts, you can easily find a surgeon who will take you to the operating room for a procedure that is just as likely to leave you will something called “Failed back syndrome” as fix you. What? You don’t believe me? Here’s the ICD 10 code for Post laminectomy syndrome. M96.1
Welcome to the Supply Side of Health Care. Enjoy your stay. If you are lucky, maybe you will still be able to walk once you get everything that the industry tells you that you want.
What is the alternative? A cradle to grave single payer program that emphasizes disease prevention . How does Western Europe achieve longer life expectancy and better outcomes at half the cost to consumers? A cradle to grave single payer program that emphasizes disease prevention. But disease prevention does not allow an investment banker to buy the patent on a crucial medication and mark the price up a 1000 times. Disease prevention reduces the market for that marked up drug. Disease prevention does not fill operating rooms. It does not sell artificial joints. It does not allow a medical school graduate to quickly pay off his loans and amass a fortune so that he can retire early---not the way that joint-replacement surgery does.
And speaking of joint replacement surgery, who has Trump selected to guide health care in this country for the next four years? A fierce advocate of supply side.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/28/us/politics/tom-price-secretary-health-and-human-services.html
For those who have not (yet) priced a knee or hip replacement, they can set you or your insurer back $20 K to $60k depending upon where you have the surgery done.
That is 5 to 15 times the total annual per capita health care spending of Canada. Meaning if you just snagged a new knee , congratulations! You have just used up 15 years worth of health care! You truly are a successful consumer in the world of supply side health care. Now, don’t forget the other knee and both hips. There is no reason you should not use up 60 years worth of health care! Stimulate the economy! Make America great again for your orthopedic surgeon and your local specialty hospital and the company that makes your artificial joints. But if the new knee fails, buyer beware---supply side health care only works if you are willing to assume all the risks associated with your risky surgery. That means, do not go crying to a plaintiffs attorney if your knee breaks leaving you in a wheelchair----
And that is why health care cannot be compared to iPhones. If your iPhone is not the latest model, you can survive—no matter what your teenagers may claim. But if your heart or liver or knee is not working, you will suffer. Suffer horribly, in pain, perhaps in to the point of death. Your family will lose its provider and will plunge into poverty. Health is not optional. It is not a consumer choice. It is essential to life, like air and water---two other things which supply side providers will no doubt try to sell us in the future, for a profit.
Take a walk on the supply side? Dude, once the supply side is through with you, you will be lucky if you can crawl.
Trumps Political Strengths and Weaknesses: The Abridged Version
As I have pointed out in some much longer posts, Trump got where he is thanks to a lot of self styled American "outlaws" who see him as their Robin Hood---their Bandit King. Their votes got him close enough to Clinton so that the election could be hacked. And now they have his back. This bat-shit crazy GOP demographic is extremely vocal and heavily armed, and therefore the GOP is helpless to do anything about Trump, as much as they might want to dump him for Pence.
To key to unseating Trump is to drive a wedge between him and his outlaw base. You do this by accusing him of violating the Outlaw Code. That means stories about Trump as Rapist, Trump as Cheapskate, Trump Abusing His Power to Take Down Little People, Trump as Coward , Trump in Bed With the KGB, Trump is a Snitch and Trump Has Given in to Blackmail.
Any journalist or politico who wants to hurt Trump where he lives will focus on one of these areas. For example,
The story about how the Trump foundation is stealing money from cancer kids is perfect! It gets an A Plus. Bandit Kings never ever steal from the poor to give to themselves.
The story about how he parties with mobsters is a snoozer that is probably intended to distract. C Minus. No make that a D. It only makes him look more glamorous to the outlaw wannabes. And scares the crap out of Republicans.
Deconstructing Trump Made Easy
Almost called this one Deconstructing Trump for Dummies, but we know who calls us dummies. Even though we have actually been known to crack a book from time to time. I just read Bandits, Eric Hobsbawn’s book about social outlaws, and it was a gold mine for any political strategist trying to separate Trump from his Loyal Base---make that Would- Make- a -Screaming Fan-Girl-Throwing-Panties-Look-Mature-and-Rational-in-Comparison-Loyal Base. The self-styled mostly rural and working class “outlaws” who adore Trump because they are convinced that he is one of them. Sad, I know. Delusional. But they have been shat upon so many times in recent years that they are desperate for a savior.
But first, to set the mood. Some (Noble Prize Winning Author) Bob Dylan lyrics from his greatest album, John Wesley Harding.
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bobdylan/johnwesleyharding.html
Was a friend to the poor
He trav'led with a gun in ev'ry hand
All along this countryside
He opened a many a door
But he was never known
To hurt a honest man….
Yes, I know. Utter bullshit. Hardin was a mean sonofabitch who shot a man for snoring. But Dylan was making a point. We don’t write folk ballads about real outlaws. We craft myths about heroic figures who battle injustice and aid the weak.
Hobsbawn’s book is a great read and I recommend it highly for anyone who wants to understand why so many Americans think the sun shines out of Donald Trump’s pasty white ass. But, in case you are pressed for time, here is the Cliff Notes Version: rural and agrarian people around the world adapt to times of economic hardship by spawning “outlaws” whose economic function is to keep the family/farm/village from starving and give them hope that brighter days are ahead so they don’t all drink the grape Kool-Aid together. Think Robin Hood.
Yes, I know Trump is no Robin Hood. Robin Hood was no Robin Hood. Robin Hood is a myth. Myths do not make sense, but that doesn’t make them any less real. They serve a purpose. Unfortunately for the self-styled outlaw Americans who voted for Trump, Trump’s purpose is not that of the social outlaw he pretends to be.
Ok, ok. Enough verbiage. Here is the promised How To Deconstruct Trump Guide (Made REAL Simple):
Part 1. When writing something aimed at the Trump “Outlaw” Base Do NOT attack Trump for:
Nepotism ----the outlaws call that taking care of family
Hacking the Election----Social Outlaws maintain their power by using magic, according to Hobsbawn. That’s how they perform their near miraculous feats in the face of almost overwhelming odds, like hiding out for years even though all the kings horses and men are after them. To you and me, a hack is a crime. To members of the outlaw base, it is a kind of magic that they will never understand, but they wish they could do it, too.
Recklessness/Impulsivity---to an outlaw, that is just fearlessness
Being Spiteful----outlaws live for revenge. They will tolerate almost any kind of evilness if they think it was done to “get even”.
Lavish Spending ----that equals trickle down “generosity” if you are a self-styled just barely getting by working class “outlaw” in the U.S.
Crimes—make that most crimes (see below for Rape). These are “outlaws” forchrissake! They don’t give a rat’s fart if their social outlaw savior breaks the law. Listing Trumps crimes for them is a waste of ink and/or electrons.
Lies---The Germans have a phrase for it. They call it (in German, of course) bandit romanticism. The outlaw base does not expect Trump to tell the truth. They want him to stick to the script. See Recklessness/Impulsivity above. That’s the kind of honesty the outlaw base wants.
Promiscuity---social outlaws are famous for their virility and insatiable appetite for women. They like to brag about it. Maybe because they spend so much time up in the mountains with a bunch of other young men and they don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea. Bragging about loving the “pussy” is what real men do. The self-styled outlaws would be more worried by some guy who did not brag in front of other guys. But that’s all it must be. Talk. (See Rape below)
Putin as Russian President--- The tricky part about outlaw wannabes----they dream about the good old days when everything was easy and a white man was treated with respect and God watched over us all, Amen. They are perfectly capable of loving some far away king or president if they think he represents good old fashioned values---and if he is too far away to have actually gotten up their ass, the way that the local bank has gotten up their ass. Indeed, Robin Hood was always loyal to king and God, even as he fought the Sheriff of Nottingham. One of the social bandit’s jobs is to clear out the “bad” local law so that the light of the distant “good” law can shine once again on the peasants (mostly but not exclusively white and male) upturned faces. Cue the rousing music. Roll credits.
Vulgarity---can you say “man of the people”? I knew you could.
Poaching public lands----poaching is not even a crime to a peasant. God put all that wild game---and all those beautiful black mountains there for people to exploit. It’s a sin to just leave it lying there. If no one is using it to make money, then the outlaw base will applaud when Trump appropriates it for strip mining or for a new casino or for a pipeline.
Bigotry—another thing to understand about the outlaw base. They long for the good old days when whites lorded over blacks and men lorded over women and kids kept their mouths shut. They think the parts in the Constitutional about “All men are created equal” apply only to straight, heterosexual Christian men. To keep the Baptists from lording it over the Anglicans or vice versa. And that is about as much tolerance as they expect from their president. All Christians (except maybe Quakers) are more or less equal in the eyes of the law, even if God is going send most of them to hell for choosing wrong.
Part 2. When writing something aimed at the Trump “Outlaw” Base DO attack Trump for:
So, what is left to write about Trump if we want to show his outlaw base that he is not on their side and he is not an outlaw, he is just as bad as every other corporate shill that has ever been President of this country? Lots. Social bandits have to follow rules---and Trump has not been following the rules, not by a long shot.
Rape—the social bandit loves women but he never ever rapes them. Why do you think that Ken Starr and company were so eager to prove that Bill Clinton was guilty of rape as well as infidelity? The outlaws love a virile man, but they despise a man who victimizes women. James Comey threw himself on his sword with all that bullshit about the warrant in the last weeks of the campaign, because Trump’s “pussy grabbing” and “underage booty ogling” was about to alienate the outlaws. They had to cook up a distraction real quick. Now, Team Putin/Trump hope that the press will drop the subject, as they tend to do after an election (“The voters selected him anyway, even knowing about his sexual assaults, so they must not care”). Don’t drop it. This needs to be topics number one, two and three. And women---like the million women who will descend upon DC soon---are the ones to spread the message. Trump is a groper, an ogler, maybe even a rapist. And no self-respecting social bandit ever rapes a woman.
Cowardice---how many draft exemptions did Trump get?
Cheapskate---every time he does not pay his bills, he violates the social bandit code which is to let money flow like water through his fingers to help out his friends and neighbors. Because to a social bandit friendship trumps wealth (sorry about the pun). And this is where the real money is (sorry about the second pun). All rich people are cheapskates, Scrooges. If they weren’t, they would not amass such obscene piles of money. Look around Trump’s closet and you will find an endless parade of hard working Joes and Juanitas whom he stiffed. They all deserve their day in the sun. Let’s hear what they have to say. At the very least, getting paid for their stories will offset their economic loss at the hands of a man who never met a child whose candy he wouldn’t steal.
Banking----Who is the “man” to outlaws? Not the DEA. Not the Sheriff. It’s the local bank. Trump is loading his cabinet with banking industry insiders. The outlaw base is in denial. They think Trump is just playing ball with the establishment and that he will keep the greedy sons-of-bitches in check. Boy, are they gonna be disillusioned when a second round of foreclosures begins. Because the predators who are backing Trump will not set their sights on the well to do city folks of California and New York who voted for Clinton. Those people have lawyers. They will target the same underinsured, underemployed desperate Americans who looked to Trump to be their hope, their savior.
Putin as Former KGB----Manchurian Candidate. Do I need to spell it out to you? There are still some folks in this country who think “red” is an insult. And they voted for Trump.
Injustice----social bandits are fair. If Trump uses the power of the federal government to smite every little cartoonist or journalist who cracks a joke at his expense, he will soon look like a great big bully rather than a rebel. And we all know that no matter how hard he tries, he will not be able to resist the urge to abuse his authority.
Snitch---I smell a rat. Trump has done business with way too many mobsters and snitches not to have snitched himself. The person who can prove that Trump sold out an ally in order to protect his own skin will drive a great big wedge between Trump and his outlaw base.
Blackmail---another rat we have all sniffed. Is Trump being blackmailed by Russia? It would explain so much. And it would absolutely horrify and alienate the outlaw base more than anything short of video of him raping an underage girl. Because a social bandit does not give in to blackmail!
The last two call for some investigative journalism. Have fun, investigative journalists! Remember Woodward and Bernstein!
Oh, and remember, context--and audience---counts. The "don'ts" above are all "does" when you are writing for Democratic audiences. But if you only ever write for a Democratic/liberal base do not be surprised if none of the outlaw base listens.
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