Year Three of the Trump Presidency

Future History - In Search of the
 Trump Presidency [MeanMesa]

Fire Up the Short Current Essays

"Future History" Machine!

It's not at all too early in the 2016 campaign

 season to juice things up a bit with a very

 tasteful little episode of MeanMesa fiction...

Granted, given the already stark lack of any particular details concerning the Trump Campaign, it is actually quite difficult to visualize what conditions might prevail in the nation should the reality show host ever get close to the Oval Office. Yet, in hopes of being prepared for all eventualities, MeanMesa has, once again, "fired up the Short Current Essays 'Future History' machine" so we all might have a glimpse of exactly what this would look like.

Well, as the extremely wise Mullah Nassr Edin might have once said "every fiction needs at the very least a token, flimsy, literary foundation," and an ambitious effort such as this one is certainly no exception! Consequently, we'll have to "just throw together something or other" to ground this modest little blog fiction with some sort of plausible setting to allow visitors to "suspend disbelief" long enough to enjoy it, so here it comes.

MeanMesa promises. It will be just as entertaining as...uh...television.

MeanMesa's Interview With the

 Speaker of the House of Representatives

Julian Paul Buttford, Capital Hill Correspondent

August 22, 2020, Washington, D.C.

[Excerpts of the live interview available on MeanMesa network streaming podcast.]

Naturally, everyone at Galactic Headquarters was quite excited when we received the invitation to interview Speaker Farber McMurkly in his office at the Capital. There had been the usual blather about "increased transparency" when McMurkly was elected Speaker by the new Democratic House majority in the 2018 election Congressional Session, and since then a series of in depth interview "media availabilities" had become a regular part of the Speaker's weekly schedule.

When, during this newly adopted House policy, it became MeanMesa's turn to interview Speaker McMurkly, we immediately dispatched MeanMesa's young Washington Bureau correspondent, Julian P. Buttford, to meet with the Speaker in his Capital Hill office. Buttford filed this full transcript for immediate release to Short Current Essay affiliates nationwide via the MeanMesa Network's standard AP download.

Speaker McMurkly: "Welcome to Capital Hill. The House Democratic Caucus is always anxious for the opportunity to keep voters informed about what's going on in Washington."

Correspondent Buttford: "Thank you Mr. Speaker. Everyone at MeanMesa is very grateful for this chance to speak with you about our government. I brought along a few questions, so let's get started."

Let's begin with an update about Congressional efforts to re-establish diplomatic relations with Mexico and Canada -- and, now, also with Cuba. Has there been any progress with Congressional attempts to influence the State Department toward a more conciliatory tone?"

Speaker McMurkly: "Well, we have had a little success in some areas, but the continuing resolutions passed while President Trump and the Republicans still controlled the House and Senate before last year's election continue to present major obstacles. Even after I took the Speaker's chair, the remnants of the tea party faction of the Republican caucus continued to act as if they were 'calling all the shots.'

"The constant threats that they were going to 'unleash the billionaires' on Democratic House members in primary campaigns are quieting down now that public polling has begun to straighten out the perception that they were speaking for some sort of conservative majority. Most of them are still relying on FOX for all their news, so it's not surprising that they are still clinging to that network's 'explanations' about why they lost the election.

"All those, frankly, hateful comments about our national neighbors made right after the President was inaugurated have cut deeply into the possibilities for starting good relations again -- especially with Mexico. We could definitely use a few friends in Europe and the UN, but we'll just have to wait and see.

Correspondent Buttford: Speaking of international relations, I realize that the 'Trump Doctrine" with respect to ISIL turned out to be disappointing, but is there any talk in the House about sending military aid to Iran and Turkey?  Now that the 'caliphate' has taken control of Iraq and most of Syria, Iran and Turkey represent the main effort to keep them out of Europe.

Speaker McMurkly:"Well, I'm sure you know that after what President Trump ordered the military to do in Syria and Iraq, most of the other NATO members and a large majority in the UN General Assembly made it clear in no uncertain terms that US involvement was not welcome in the region. You probably heard the "trigger happy lunatic" crack. That attitude has penetrated deeper than just NATO --  clearly into most of the EU, now.

Correspondent Buttford: "On a domestic note, has anyone in the Congress come up with any ideas for a solution to the Supreme Court problem?

Speaker McMurkly: "Not really. The five Justices who remain on the Court are still making rulings on cases, but it's clear that the Court, itself, is beginning to lose the confidence of the citizens. 

"Speaking of this, I have no problem with the Senate's refusal to approve any of the five Trump Administration's nominations sent to Capital Hill so far. Two of them hadn't even ever gone to law school, and no one was ready for a self-proclaimed Klansman in a lifetime judicial appointment, either. The other two were some Wall Street characters that the President owed favors for some reason.

"Going ahead with the five that are left on the Court is probably better than the alternative.

Correspondent Buttford: "The President doesn't seem to particularly mind the 27 VETO overrides that have come from the Congress so far.

Speaker McMurkly: "Actually, this is getting worse, not better. There is absolutely no communication between the President and the House and Senate majorities. I've heard that he's still talking to the tea party reactionaries and a few 'deep South' Senators and convincing them to keep proposing one weird bill after another. The Congressional majorities work on this legislation, and we try to change it so that it might pass. But pretty much everything not coming directly -- word for word -- from this bunch gets VETOed by him, and then the VETO gets overridden when it comes back up here.

"There are just enough of these reactionaries still surviving in the Congress to keep this up, repeating the same process time after time. Everyone knows that the whole works is standing still.

Correspondent Buttford: "But hasn't the President gotten the message, yet? Surely there must be something that the White House and the Congress could agree on and get passed into law. Have you noticed any improvement in the quality of legislative proposals from the White House? Are Administration sponsored bills growing any more palatable or changing tone in ways making it so that some of them are more likely to be able to withstand these VETO overrides?

Speaker McMurkly: "These VETO override votes are not just coming from Democrats. The President's bills are so bad that these VETO overrides have been getting a majority of Republican votes here in the House, too. I think he might be even more out of touch now than what we saw during the campaign.

"I'd like to be passing some legislation, but we simply can't pass this stuff. At this point I have no idea what his agenda might be.

Correspondent Buttford: "Have White House relations with the Pentagon improved any now that some time has passed after he fired all those Generals? 

Speaker McMurkly: "Well, theoretically it was Secretary of Defense Rubio who actually did the firing, but you can be sure that the word originally came from the Oval Office. I was relieved when the Chiefs of Staff refused the attack orders and walked out on him. Again, not even many of the Senate Republicans would vote in favor of the nominees he was sending, let alone support his war making binge.

"I think that this actually scared him a little. Since then, the White House rhetoric has calmed down a bit. This may have been a result of Secretary of State Cruz simply telling him to 'tone it down.'

Correspondent Buttford: "Was this a result of the Chinese reaction to the proposed 30% import tariff?

Speaker McMurkly: "I think so, but there were a number of other factors as well. Still, the Chinese were 'quite upset' when the President proposed this. Their economy started to tank the next day, and after they pulled every loose investment out of here, of course, our economy took a hit, too. That hurt us because no one else was interested in having any assets here. Most of them didn't even want US dollars.

When the world reserve currency officially changed to the yuan, it was clear that the US was in for a hard time. Still, how could anyone blame them? The diplomatic impact hit the Western Hemisphere hard, too.

Remember, by this time most of his Ambassador appointments to South and Central America had already been sent home. It's not surprising that Putin is more respected down there than he is now. Cuba put an open war crimes indictment on Cruz after what happened in the Middle East.

"I've heard that no one in the EU is even taking his calls any more. US exports are at the lowest level since Treasury began keeping records. Most of the world doesn't seem to want anything to do with us. These days, our largest export markets are Israel and England.

Correspondent Buttford: "Speaking of the economy, does the CBO have any idea how bad the economy got hit during those first years of the Trump Administration"

Liquidating America - Losers have
 to be liquid to trickle down. [image source]

Speaker McMurkly: "Of course no one in the Congress has access to the economic data being held by the Executive branch. The President isn't releasing much of that at all. However, we do know that the National Debt went up by around $3 Tn during those first couple of years. When Trump was campaigning, no one even imagined how obsessed he was going to be with the old 'trickle down' model, but now that we can see the impact, it's pretty clear that he has been hollowing out the General Fund and handing the take over to the 'job creators.'

Correspondent Buttford: "That sounds more like George W. Bush.

Speaker McMurkly: "Actually it looks even worse, but no one can stop him.

Correspondent Buttford: "Is there talk of impeachment?

Speaker McMurkly: "Of course there is, but the man hasn't really committed any high crimes or misdemeanors that anyone knows about. There would be enough votes to do that if the case could be made.

Correspondent Buttford: "Before we finish, I'd like to ask you about race relations and all the riots.

Speaker McMurkly: "I'm sorry, there's a floor vote in a few minutes. Maybe we can discuss that next time.

One thing is for sure, though. Donald Trump has accomplished something that no one else seemed able to accomplish. He changed the political atmosphere in the country and especially the level of voter turnout. 81% of eligible voters cast ballots in the last election.

Handling Michigan - A MeanMesa Solution

Helping Out National Socialism in Michigan

The tea bag rampage in the state of Michigan roared into action hours after the election results were announced.  All the normal indignities imposed by pseudo-Republican criminal looting squads began to unfold. 

Pseudo-Republican Looter, Rick Snyder (image source)

In no time, millions of scarce dollars from the ailing state's general fund were being funneled to campaign donors -- the billionaires and corporatist cronies one would expect to be "involved" in his election.  Even FOX News found these early moves a bit premature for one of the network's favorite carrion eating ideologues.

However, amid the corporate tax cuts rolling out of the State Capitol, another, even more adolescent vestige of the tea bag agenda, was delightfully buried in the mess.

Appointing Community Viceroys

Michigan Governor Gets Mixed Reviews on Plan to Cut Corporate Taxes, but Tax Pensions

Published March 25, 2011| FoxNews.com

Michigan's new Republican governor is earning enemies and friends with his sweeping budget proposal, a plan that would slash corporate tax bills by applying a limited flat tax while making up the difference with new taxes on seniors and other groups. 

AARP Michigan has been one of the most vocal critics of Gov. Rick Snyder's plan, calling it "the biggest tax increase in the history of our state." The group held a rally last week under the banner, "It's Not Fair." 

Unions and Democratic officials have also come out against it, while business types claim the plan will spur growth. 

Snyder's budget gambit, which came after a bill that would give him the power to intervene in local government affairs during a fiscal emergency and cancel union obligations, is setting up another Midwestern battle in the same vein as the showdown in Wisconsin over union rights.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/03/25/michigan-guv-earns-mixed-reviews-plan-cut-corporate-burden-tax-pensions/#ixzz1HfTQ4tnx

The tea bag gang bang gang had gleefully added a little stinker to their highly selective "austerity program."  The Governor's scheme included a provision 

1.) to rather arbitrarily determine whether or not a Michigan municipality was conveniently in a "fiscal emergency," 

2.)  to then appoint an unelected State Government administrator -- think of it as a "viceroy" in the "Bremer/Iraq/pallets full of hundreds" fiasco -- whose decisions would legally supercede any made by the elected offices in the community, and, 

3.) to empower the "emergency administrator" to simply cancel or abandon all previously existing collective bargaining contracts in the town.

Clearly a brilliant plan to, uh,  "spur business."   Right.

Now, having made these comments on the little crook's plan, MeanMesa could launch out into a tedious litany of Governor Snyder's other outrages and criminal mischief, or, MeanMesa could fire up the "philosophical lament" factory and go hyperbolic with all sorts of frothy cracks about how unfair things have gotten.  However, being a mature, imminently staid and preposterously dignified little blog, we'll do neither.

Into Action!  The MeanMesa Solution

So, if we're not going to waste our breath complaining about this insult to democracy, what, exactly, can we do?

The following idea comes "billowing" up from the very depths of MeanMesa's old "street theatre" fundamentals.

Apply for a job as one of Michigan's new, unelected community bosses.

Park it at the old work processor and start at it.  A few dozen MeanMesa visitors each write a throbbingly sincere letter to the Michigan State autocrat -- especially if the letters come from a variety of places all across the country -- to apply for one of the new "cushy" jobs Snyder has created for his new gang of unelected, union busting community overlords.

Now, it isn't likely that there will actually be any of these great jobs left after the Governor has taken care of every nephew, weird uncle and lost daughter in the families of his campaign donators, but, sometimes, it's the thought that counts.

The following sample job application may give you a few helpful clues.

Sample Job Application Letter

Dear Governor Snyder:

I am a true mindless neo-con who thinks that your plan to punish the children and elderly is a great idea.  It embodies the features of a "True American" which have become lost in the liberal "tax and spend" economy which has  not only delivered us to this tragic state but also gravely injured those in the markets by frightening them with new taxes.

Although I have little experience in government service, I feel that my out-of-control control issues, my vindictive attitude and my total loyalty to "True Americans" such as yourself qualify me for the position of "viceroy."  Perhaps, I could start out with a small, easily managed little town somewhere.

I assure you that I COMPLETELY understand that both discipline and punishment will be required to get one of these back sliding little liberal bastions back on its feet financially.  I can also assure you that I KNOW HOW to manage violent union thugs which might foolishly show up after I get started with the correction program.

Firing elected mayors, fire chiefs and police superintendents won't bother me at all.  I know that these positions must ultimately be filled with appointees who have the personal credentials to gain your approval.  The liberal agenda must be ripped from the roots of these villages by any means necessary.

I also happen to be unemployed at the moment.

I can provide excellent references from some of my good friends at the American Legion bar here in my hometown.

Sincerely yours in American Liberty and Freedom,

Clancy "Hodown" McFester

Go ahead.  Shoot off a nice application letter of your own.  After all of our applications are rejected, we can sue Governor Snyder's Human Resources Department for discriminating against us.

Oh well, at least we'll all feel better.  Maybe not. 

Part Two: "Chatting" It Up With Baggers

Although this post is directed specifically at domestic MeanMesa visitors, perhaps our international readers may also be interested.  Our national "mid-term" elections will  be rolling in on us this November, and that means it is very likely that MeanMesa visitors will be engaged in pre-election discourse with our fellow citizens from the uninformed "hill billy and bigot" crowd.

Now, MeanMesa relishes such brutal little tete-tetes.  Each encounter is yet another opportunity to confront these throw backs on their own ground.  Such "matches" add a wonderfully fulfilling, interpersonal "condiment" to the vital spark of life.

However, although these conversations can be considered "good ole' boy fun," there may be a few suggestions which can make your "bigot baiting" even more successful.  So -- this posting will cover a few possibilities which could help you make your point.

Family Photos of Tea Baggers in Action - Courtesy of Huffington Post

1.  The Bagger will want to avoid any argument which is based on facts.

The neo-cons, already starving from the drivel they are fed by the likes of FOX "News," Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity are quite averse to ever discussing politics which has arisen from factual material.  We are not talking "secret conspiracy theories" or some kind of arcane, esoteric political philosophy here.

No, a referral to even the most pedestrian sort of information one might consider readily available to the "man on the street" will cause panic among the  Baggers.  Given this premise, you can expect absolutely no conversational bout the facts involved in any issue whatsoever.  Instead, your neo-con conversational partner can be expected to immediately dispute the source of the facts, never the facts themselves.

2.  Always present your own progressive position in the most immediate and personal basis possible.

Remember:  "Generalizations mean nothing to the Bagger."  The parents of the "bite and grab" crowd have taught their off spring that cash in the pocket "right now" means everything.  Possible future events  mean nothing.

The neo-cons have been listening to half-wits such as Sean Hannity trot out their famous "most people think..." or "it is widely accepted..." authentications for a relentless collection of  trailer park conversational gambits.  In fact, the sort of repartee you will encounter from this type will almost always include citing a specific case which is supposed to validate a much broader conclusion.

For example, "Mah neighbah gits them food stemps, and his kids gotta a damned cell phone."  Such an introduction will only be able to "grow legs" if it can be, somehow, associated with "Some people say..." or "Most Americans think..."

3.  Always ask the Bagger "reasonable" questions which are always based on your immediate personal positions and not facts. 

Any question which elicits an alternative to the Limbaugh/Hannity line instead of more bitching -- "Ah want mah liberty back!" -- will immediately confound the Bagger.

Here we can indulge in a few examples.

Bagger Premise:  I hate Obama.

Response:  "Who would you like to be President instead of Obama?"

Bagger Premise:  I hate Obama's policies.

Response:  "Exactly what policies do you think we should be following?"

Bagger Premise:  Obama's wrecking the economy with a giant deficit.

Response:  "I'm still walkin' bow legged after that butt ponding that last bunch of your friends gave me."

Response:  "George Bush borrowed every nickel anyone would loan us."

Response:  "George Bush borrowed money to make his cuts."

Response:  "George Bush borrowed money to pay for his Medicare Program."

Response:  "George Bush never included the expense of his wars on the budget.  Obama has."

Response:  "George Bush quadrupled the national debt in eight years.  The deficit was a $130 billion in the black at the end of the Clinton administration.  It was more than $4 trillion in the red after Bush Jr."

Bagger Premise:  I hate Obama's bank Bailouts.

Response:  "George W. Bush made the bailouts.  His Treasury Secretary used to be the CEO of Goldman Sachs."

Response:   "Goldman Sachs is being sued by the Security Exchange Commission for fraud."

Response:  "Goldman Sachs' biggest competitor, Lehman, was sent to bankruptcy -- no bailout.  One year after the bail out, Goldman Sachs is making record profit."

Bagger Premise:  Obama is raising taxes.

Response:  "You, and 95% of all other Americans have had a tax break by Obama.  Your 2009 taxes would have been much higher under the Bush tax policy."

Bagger Premise:  Obama's a socialist.

Response: "George Bush allowed his Wall Street cronies to privatize their profits while  socializing their losses.  That means, they got to keep their 'profits' and we had to pay back their 'losses.'  That is socialism."

Bagger Premise:  Obama isn't doing enough to reverse unemployment.

Response:  "Job losses began seven months before the end of the Bush administration.  He did nothing.  Obama's policies are now showing the first job growth since then."

Bagger Premise:  The Obamacare entitlement will bankrupt the country.

Response:  "Not changing health care policy would have bankrupt the country in ten years.  When the Republicans were in charge, they did nothing."
Response:  "The entire cost of Obama's health care reform is on the budget.  It is deficit neutral.  He said that he would not sign a bill that increased the national debt.  He didn't."
Response:  "The word 'entitlement' is a neo-con talking point.  The Americans insured under the Obama policy will pay for their health care -- the same as now."


Bagger Premise:  Obama's health care policy is not free enterprise.

Response:  The existing health care is not free enterprise.  Americans wanted to buy what everyone else has.  It is not free enterprise when the government won't allow Americans to buy what they want."

Bagger Premise:  Obama is a Communist and a Fascist.  He is doing what Hitler did.

Response:  "According to the dictionary a Communist is the exact political opposite of a fascist.  Which one will you choose?"
Response:   "No one can be either a Communist or a Fascist just because someone said so.  What other reason do you have to think whatever you think?"

Bagger Premise:  Obama is spending our children's future.

Response:  "Obama has required the Congress to pay for all money they spend.  Your man Bush didn't.  Bush borrowed the money he spent and signed your name to the note.  Your children's future will be paying back Bush's loans."

Of course, MeanMesa urges all visitors to add their own gaseous, zany to the conversation.  Although the variety of topics available for chit-chats with these information starved citizens may seem limited at first blush, a bit of traditional American "stick-to-it-iveness" will, in time, fill out the "bouquet." 

Have fun, but be safe.  FOX "News" has made these Baggers unpredictable and violent.

Important Message From Dick Cheney!

Cheney calls investigation of CIA "ourageous political act"

August 29, 8:12 PM Columbia Independent Examiner Darren Pope

Newsmax is reporting that in an interview to be aired tomorrow on 'Fox News Sunday' former Vice-President Dick Cheney called the Justice Department's investigation into CIA interrogation techniques an "outageous political act."

Certainly the Obama administration's continued attacks on our nation's intelligence agencies could damage the nation's intelligence gathering capabilities and threaten our security. What nations will feel comfortable assisting the U.S. if they fear being dragged into future criminal investigations? If we continue to show terrorists that they will be coddled and have nothing to fear what deterrence do we have against possible future attacks? (Examiner.com, 29 August 2009)

http://www.examiner.com/x-20909-Columbia-Independent-Examiner~y2009m8d29-Cheney-calls-CIA-investigation-outrageous-political-act?cid=exrss-Columbia-Independent-Examiner

This story was, of course, carried by a large number of reactionary press sources. This particular direct source quotation from the Columbia Independent Examiner was chosen for this MeanMesa post because of its very interesting -- and very original -- spelling, both on the column's title line and in the Cheney quote in the body of the text. One more time for emphasis.

Newsmax is reporting that in an interview to be aired tomorrow on 'Fox News Sunday' former Vice-President Dick Cheney called the Justice Department's investigation into CIA interrogation techniques an "outageous [sic: 'outrageous'] political act."

Gosh. If an overweight, war-mongering, effeminent draft dodging crook says something like this, I guess we'd better pay attention -- regardless of the spelling!

So, Dick Baby. Apply for another one of your famous deferments and pack your undies and socks for the cardiac ward of the nearest Federal penitentiary. We'll keep listening to every word you say. Tell FOX NEWS, whatever that is, to put your face on the television A LOT and to broadcast all the important stuff you're saying OVER and OVER!

You Betcha!

Best regards,

your friends at MeanMesa