Unicorns and a Bernie Sanders Presidency

When I watch ridiculous sci-fi movies with hubs, he always reminds me about "Suspension of Disbelief" being required in order to enjoy the movie. So today, dear readers, I will ask the same of you. We'll journey to the land of make believe where unicorns exist and fairies sprinkle pixie dust over magical dreams to make them come true.

OK, are you there with me? I'll give you a moment...

Now that we're soaring on the back of a winged unicorn under a cloud of pixie dust, let's just imagine that Bernie Sanders actually wins the democratic nomination. I know, I know, continue when you're done laughing. Let's imagine that all those superdelegates that the Berns insulted by calling them "Democratic Whores" could actually be swayed by Bernie's 'popularity'. (yes, I know that Clinton has well more than 2.5 million MORE votes than the Berns but remember, we're on a unicorn here) Now imagine what would happen if the Berns had to run against the GOP candidate and let's just hypothetically say that's Donald Trump, since all the GOP candidates are equally frightening in different ways. Bernie has been crying and whining that the Hillary camp has been mean to him or has been 'cheating' him, or that elections are rigged against him. Of course this is just a smokescreen to cover his own  failures and personal smears on Hillary, but we'll take another pass under the pixie dust to pretend that he's really been demeaned and cheated. Bernie is fond of saying that current national polls put him farther out in front of Trump than Hillary and this is proof of the cheating and smears. Let's take a closer look.

The reality, even in our pixie dust, unicorn world, is that no one in the GOP has yet to take a shot at the Berns. In fact rightwing Karl Rove's super PAC, American Crossroads, has aired TV ads against Hillary in states where there were democratic primaries. So Bernie has actually gotten help from the very folks who will take aim at him come November in our imaginary Bernie-winning-nomination land. The tone of the campaigns this season has been incredibly acerbic, from Bernie's camp calling Hillary a 'democratic whore' and his supporters throwing dollar bills at her motorcade as you would a stripper; to Trump's racist comments and blatant name calling, I have to think that this would not end well for Bernie. In reality, the GOP can't wait to sink their teeth into Sanders' soft underbelly in a general election.

At issue will be Bernie's own lack of a track record and unsustainable promises. In all his years in Washington he's managed to sponsor 3 bills which passed; two of which were to rename post office buildings. Not exactly as earth shattering as his socialist rhetoric proclaims him to be. And that's just the easy stuff, his campaign promises to grant free college education and 'break up the banks' (just don't ask him how) are reliant upon a pixie dust coated projection of a record breaking sustained economic growth, unprecedented in the history of the US. It's hard for me to imagine, even whilst riding a winged unicorn, that breaking up banks and risking 700,000 US jobs, demonizing corporations who provide many of "the good jobs" his supporters are demanding, combined with draconian trade policies that will drive companies out of the US while dramatically increasing the cost of consumer goods in America, will lead to any expansion of economy. In fact even through rose colored lenses it has the potential to plunge the US into the worst recession in history.

Now this is not to say that some of Sanders' goals aren't good ones, it's his priorities and general paranoid cynicism that I rail against. You can't change a nation by tilting at windmills to convince its citizens that they have no hope, all the cards are stacked against them, so why bother trying on your own. It may help you get into office as a unicorn flying demagogue but what then? People who think they've been defeated before they even make an attempt are far less likely to work hard to overcome obstacles. It's far easier to plop on one's ass and blame everyone else for your own lack of success.

Do we need to even the playing field so that people have a greater chance of success - yes, I think we have a responsibility to do so but to me, that's helping those who really need it, not some college kid who racked up 50k in consumer debt on a credit card. I feel badly for them, but I'm not inclined to call them underprivileged. Do we need to solve education issues? Surely, but my priority would be for basic education in underserved communities where kids truly don't have a fighting chance. No one is handing kids in south side Chicago or west Atlanta, credit cards to have lattes with their pals. How about we make progress toward improving education there and eliminating guns so that kids can actually make it to school without being shot dead in the street? The people whining about free college are the people who've already had a great deal of advantage in their lives, they just can't seem to see past their own struggles to see the bigger picture. And of course, if you try to knock them off of their unicorns to see the world from more realistic vantage point, they write you off as being part of the establishment.

Perhaps I am part of the establishment, but isn't that what they are screaming for an opportunity to be? They are shouting that they paid for school and can't get the 'good jobs'. I'm sure there is truth in that, since the economy is still recovering after the devastation what was George Bush, but 'good jobs' aren't handed out on a silver platter either, never have been. I tried paying for a good education by driving a taxi and waiting tables in Philadelphia in the early 80s. It was no picnic, let me tell you. So I joined the USAF  one of 3 women in my whole unit,  and when I got out, I was able to earn a whopping 8 bucks an hour in a male dominated field. So I worked my ass off, twice as hard as any of my male peers until after 15 years; I had 'the good job' pulling down 6 figures. And you know what? I was able to make changes, hire women, run after work seminars for them to teach them the ropes in the hopes that their struggles would hit less glass ceilings and allow them faster progression.

Am I a hero? Nope. I'm a pragmatist. There are many more women in my field now and in much higher positions, including CEOs and senior government positions. This wouldn't have happened had all of us, faced with challenges, sat on our collective asses blaming the system and demanding that someone else change it. We worked hard, we continue to work to assure that change, at times slower than we like, is inevitable as death and taxes. So when these younger folks find out that change starts from within, not from screaming and shouting at someone else to change it they will undoubtedly succeed. Will the younger generation condemn them for their hard work? Quite possibly, so I suggest that they tend those unicorns well so that they can be passed to the next 'revolutionaries'.

Long live the unicorns.

The Drumpf or the King?

I don't usually write about politicians here because, well, they're pretty much all liars. But one person has gone way too far. For a while I'd just assumed that Donald J Drumf was a big Poe having a laugh at all the idiots who hang on his every hateful word. After watching how far it's gone and how utterly absurd the Republican race for the white house has become, it's clear he's not joking, though he certainly has the world laughing...at Americans.

I've seen people draw parallels between Hitler and "The Donald" but I don't see that connection. Hitler, while an evil man, was driven by singular goals and was in fact a self-made man. Drumpf, on the other hand, was handed millions after being born and raised with a silver spoon. The Drumpf has never known what it's like to live as the people who rabidly cling to him as their candidate. Instead, he truly reminds me of King Henry VIII. Let's explore why.

Henry was born into royalty - he never knew a day of hunger, his education was provided for him and had a profound sense of entitlement to all of it.  When Henry VIII ascended the throne, he had a massive surplus in the national treasury - thanks to his father. But  the junior Henry didn't have a vision for the country, its alliances or a strategy. Henry VIII cared only about Henry VIII. His driving forces were greed, ego and lust just like the Donald.

Henry is largely credited with religious reformation in England but it wasn't due to deep introspection or firmly held religious views. He just wanted a new wife. So he made himself the supreme head of the church and annulled his marriage despite the fact that he had a child from that marriage. As an added bonus, he was able to fill his coffers with all the holdings of the monasteries (since they were now his not the pope's), who had significant lands and often operated as the centers of communities and fed the hungry - but hey, it was just business. To quell an uprising over these drastic moves, he promised the rebels amnesty and then executed most of them. Seems you couldn't trust his word - sound familiar? But after that, Henry blew through wives like kleenex, executing two of them, deciding that one would become his sister and on the path to executing a third when he died. What this illustrates about Henry VIII is that he would stop at nothing to get his own way because he felt he was entitled to it. Women were mere vessels for his children or eye candy to drape on his arm and prove his waning vitality. Use them up and throw them away. Interestingly, all of them except his first, were significantly younger than he was.

Trump, of course, is on his third wife and numerous self-professed extramarital affairs. He lied and cheated in business, defrauded investors as well as those who are currently suing him over his failed Trump University fiasco. He thinks nothing of these things because hey, that's just business. After all, he needs to rake in the big bucks to pay for the latest million dollar wedding. Yes, he spent more on one wedding than many of his admirers will make in their lifetime.

Henry VII was also very divisive - his policies changed from day to day and he frequently pitted his closest advisors against one another to test their strengths and loyalties. Kinda like a royal version of the apprentice except instead of losing their jobs, they lost their heads on the block. His friends and allies never knew quite when Henry would turn on them and send them to the tower (cause Henry had a tower too) for a bit of torture until they testified against themselves. This flip-flopping and extreme paranoia led to some costly wars both from the standpoint of lives and depletion of the treasury, after which Henry, quite literally, was taxing his own people to death.

Trump, too is very divisive. He pits people against one another on a reality TV show because that's how he operates in business as well. He's famously turned on the Clintons who he once claimed were good friends, Univision, who took umbrage at his racist comments, NBC, Macy's and even Samuel L Jackson in a twitter feud. His history is littered with those he's used and cast away when they displeased him. He also advocated torture and killing the families of those he suspects to be terrorists with no due process. He promises to 'take over the oil fields' of another nation, simply because he thinks he can. All this he thinks he can do as president - order illegal activities and people will simply 'do it' because 'he's a leader'.

The risk of a greedy egomaniac in power is real. Things Trump is told that he can't do on his own - citing the balance of power of the US granted by the constitution - he claims he'd just issue edicts instead in the form of executive orders. The reality is that Trump is not likely to deliver on any of his twisted promises because our constitution will prevent. However, he will continue to spread the type of hatred that he's created and alienate the global community against all things American, quite possibly sending our economy into a tailspin that could take years to climb out of. That the public conversation has become so ugly amongst those that are vying to be the one of the world's most powerful men is not only disgusting, it's dangerous for this generation and for generations to come.

That's All Folks.

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