The piano’s been drinking. The telephone’s out of cigarettes, and the barstools are on fire. Folks, we shouldn’t have laughed so hard when Barack made those jokes at the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner. For three years now, we’ve looked through a spiritually expensive window into the madness of Not America.

When I was little I envied Nana coming of age in the Roaring 20s. I didn’t know the 60s were coming for me. 2019:  Republicans cheat and steal and lie about it saying it’s a good thing. This ‘let the dumbest people on the planet run everything’ experiment isn’t working. “I like Vodka. Do you like Vodka? What kind of unpatriotic Russia hater are you? Vlad will make America great again.” They’re a heavy load and not very brotherly. And we must carry their dead weight into the future with us. Without these Trumpnazis, the better part of society would probably be lunching on the moon.

Most of Trump’s original Administration is gone. Those remaining share two traits: complicity and nepotism. These makeups/ shakeups are typical of autocracies. Lackeys fired create a vacuum the family fills. The autocrat becomes more insular and kin ties dominate. Where Trump differs from other autocrats is his complete deference to foreigners. He doesn’t care about America. It’s just something to sell. Strip it down and sell it for parts.

Chantrix destroyed Ray’s urge to smoke. Mueller and Pelosi and the Dem House are America’s Chantrix. They have opened a satellite office directly under Donald’s skin. There are some new sheriffs in town. Adam Schiff, you get a gavel. Elijah Cummings, you get a gavel. Jerry Nadler and Auntie Maxine you get gavels. They will pursue any and all lines of inquiry their Republican colleagues buried. Democrats are teed up to make Trump’s life hell and there is nothing he can do about it. He can’t even figure out how to close an umbrella.

The piano’s been drinking and the bouncer’s an artisanal assassin. Pelosi is meticulously laying out her weapons, reassuring herself of the devastating weight of the cudgels, so she won’t miss. January 3 House Democrats took an oath to protect the country against all enemies foreign and domestic. Fetch the smelling salts cultists, their first target sits in the White House. Nancy said heck yes, you can indict a sitting president.  It looks like the Groundhog of Justice saw his shadow, and we’re getting six more months of Mueller, because there are just so darn many crimes to investigate.

Sunday I watched The Deer Hunter. Remember the final scene? After Nick’s funeral, his friends go to John’s Diner for breakfast and booze. John’s in the kitchen making eggs, and to stop crying, he begins humming a tune. In the dining room, the whole group, one by one, quietly tentatively join in singing “God Bless America”. Yes.

Jody Hurrish
Stevens Point