Job One......"DEFEAT TRUMP"

                                                             EPHESIANS 5:5

“For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”
                                                                           

                                          First Corinthians 15:33

                     “Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

              These are the "prioritized human issues" of our time

1. Planetary Risk Management  Unless Elon Musk can get us to Mars, either we deal with this issues or all the other issues are moot.  Is there a moral concern regarding prioritizing short term economic benefit over long term ecology?  Do you really think Trump believes that Global Warming is a hoax!  I don't even believe that his emoting base believe this.  And I sure as hell don't think Hannity believes it.

2.  Preserving Liberty  At the most primal level we all generally agree that we want to be free.  We may not yet know the origin or nature of our own consciousness and we may argue about "free will", but we all want to act in accord with our inner voice.  The species history is uninterrupted in the conflict between predator and victim and most of us fear victimhood such that we refrain from predator...at least sorta!  As such defense of civility is always at hand, subordinate only to "existential risk" management.  It is beyond obvious that "offense masked as defense" is predatory.  Setting "defense boundaries" is complicated and best suited to reasoned management, not fear or bravado.  Remember that all of the frontier towns that hired a palatine force to "save the day", either were vanquish or lived to regret it.  Whose your paladin?

3  Optimizing Human Health  The Constitution is based on Enlightenment values which derive from Judeo-Christian values.  It does not say we are all entitled to"liberty, happiness and the pursuit of life.  Indeed it is obvious that the collective cannot expect to guarantee happiness, but only the liberty to pursue same.  As to life, it is either a human right or it isn't.  Presumably the 3 trillion dollars that Trump spends on Defense to buy/secure our Liberty is equally beneficial  to all.  Is it not obvious that  constraining "healthcare services" is immoral except as rationally mandated by the priorities of species survival and political liberty.

4.  Nationalism & Immigration  We all generally agree that individual freedom is fundamental and the natural conflicts arising from "I am me and you are not" must be dealt with civilly.  As such the commons maintain "boundary conditions "...for individuals we use laws, and as to groups we respect sovereign nations.  For better or worse the "others" are now not across the river, but across the world.  We can't have both technology and cultural separation, and as such it seems indisputable that we are all in the together ...worldwide.  Do we need to prioritize resources available to the system subsets (nations) that have the greater capacity to manage the full set (planet)?  Yes, but not in a "self/other" mode  When any living body is in peril, the wisdom of nature allocates blood and breathe motivated to save the body, not just to save a high order organ.  To do otherwise defiles the above hierarchy of values we all share.  

5.  Economic Stimulus    The "economy" is just the description of how energized a group is in pursuit of "life, liberty, and happiness".  It is a measurement, not an objective.  However to stimulate or suppress a group's energy to enhance their own happiness is an objective, indeed an objective about which American leadership is obsessed.  It seems hard for present humanity to remember that output must serve sustained survival, health, and freedom.....not hegemony and shallow hedonism.  Who be your avatar?

                                                    In Summary
                                              Fuck Trump

Iran Escalatory Spiral In Progress

Hot response...maybe!

Update on Saturday, January 11, 2020 at 01:35PM by An Unnamed Baldnobber

Guess Not!  Game & Set to the Deplorable One

Picture This!

Premonition Trump

followed by

Political Tsunami

followed by

Pervasive Thermal 

 followed by

Providence Teleos

Probably Not!

     "Do the right thing, the right way, for the right reasons. Not everyone will notice or care, but enough will to matter." 

     This was the final line in a recent Ian Welsh essay critical of Democrats for their restraint in not impeaching Trump for being a "Level 1 Sociopath", but then jumping in full throttle when "Old Joe" was attacked.  My sense is that Ian is right about doing the "right thing for the right reason",  seeking to rise above partisan politics....but I doubt that he really believes that it would "matter", regardless of how it went down.  If you read Ian's semi-raw take on reality, it is pretty clear that he knows that none except the political elite even notice, while the rest of us neither notice nor care.  It just doesn't matter! We don't give a shit about anything except tomorrow's "eat, sleep, mate, and defend".

Just Two More Steps Down

     Although, to me, America's enchantment with "democracy" is problematic... it is our glue, certainly more so than Facebook, the Dollar, or Jesus.  If you ask a conservative if they "feel" that Trumpism has violated the historical freedom tenets of democracy, they do a little "ends justify the means" stick, pandering to "protecting democracy".  In fairness, if you ask a liberal if they "think" social justice obsession undermines the historical freedom tenets of democracy, they do a little "ends justify the means" stick, pandering to "protecting democracy".

     The "false equivalent" question is, of course, whether "Trumpism" is just as insidious as "social justice overkill" or is it much, much more threatening to democracy.  Toward the answer to this question, there are some things that we just know. First, Executive always defeats Congress, except for Judicial defense, save Impeachment.  It's obvious..."What are you gonna do about it, sue me".  Second, Impeachment is impossible unless the Executive/House/Senate are party aligned, and even if successful there would be no party change.  Third, post twitter/facebook/pac's it's damn near certain that  Executive will hold majority in Senate. There are only 30 some contests every two years and Executive only needs to prevail in half.  All they have to do is overwhelm small markets...(think NFL without salary caps).  Fourth, Executive controls Judiciary by appointing lower level to elongate constraining litigation. Further, senior judiciary increasingly partisan, thereby dissuading appeal potential.

    So therefore...if you think Trump is "protecting democracy" your pretty much set for more of the same.  If you think Trump is the criminal king purposely or unintentionally destroying the world and you either like overt social justice or are willing to tolerate it to vanquish Trump, well your future is in the hands of the Judiciary.  Further, your "reality check" is likely to come about pretty soon. 

     Trump either has to win the election, or maneuver around losing the election without losing power. Obviously the first would be easier. Toward that objective he needs the courts to support his thwarting  Ukraine testimony by key players who might turn, and further he needs to insure that the courts don't let his tax returns get to MSNBC.  If he can succeed at these two shut-downs then he may well win the 2020 with or without help from international players.  If he succeeds it will be evidence of his virtual blanket control of Judiciary and make obvious that if he were to lose the 2020 he could likely preempt his loss of power by whatever litigation premise seemed defendable to Cavanaugh.  

     In summary there are only two more reveal steps.  If the courts support Trump's defense in the pending tax returns and Ukraine testimony suits, it's Game Trump, either as a vote win or an election loss contested in the courts till death do us part.  If the courts do not, he either wins the 2020 and it's Game Trump, or he actually loses the 2020 (without a clear precedent Judicial support, knowing that the military will yield to the courts, he will likely surrender) and it will be Game Pelosi/Schiff.