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January 6

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I found this meme on my timeline this morning, posted by one of my conservative "friends," wishing me a "Happy January 6."  There was little violence this time around as Democrats didn't make any attempt to block the certification of the electoral college.  Kamala Harris duly confirmed Trump as the winner, and so the MAGA movement has their president again.  Only a few peeps from former Congresspersons like Adam Kinzinger, who no longer identifies himself with today's Republican Party, calling it RINO.  I well imagine many past Republican presidents would feel the same way if they saw what their Grand Old Party had devolved into.

Hard to believe this was once the Party of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt or even Ronald Reagan.  As Kinzinger stated, it is a party driven by hate, making it even harder to understand how Trump managed to win 77 million votes.  Has our society become so filled with anger that it would give this contemptible man the most votes of any president save Joe Biden in 2020?  Sadly, it seems so.  It leaves me with an empty feeling as a New Year begins, no longer able to identify with this "America."

What makes it worse is that the surprise victory is inspiring anti-incumbent feelings across the globe.  Next door in Canada, Justin Trudeau stepped down as Prime Minister, allowing his successor a chance to make a case for the Liberal Party in the upcoming elections in October.  The Liberal Party currently trails badly in the polls and Trump has been trolling Trudeau since he won the election.  Most recently he commented, "what a great nation it would be" if Canada merged with the US.  Canadians wouldn't have to pay any tariffs or taxes (sic).

Trump's been trolling just about everyone over the past few weeks.  He once again made a pitch for Greenland, much to the chagrin of the Danish PM, who had to assert yet again that Greenland isn't for sale.  Maybe Trump was just egging on Greenland PM Egede's bid for independence?  Donnie Jr. actually traveled to Greenland to make the case.

At the other end of the globe in South Korea, a defiant impeached president refuses to leave his barricaded residence, with his "human wall" of supporters voicing pro-Trump sentiments.  He seems to be hoping that Donald will rescue him from this madness.

Meanwhile, his buddy "Leon" has similarly been provoking foreign leaders, including those sympathetic to Trump.  His row with Nigel Farage over jailed far-right UK extremist Tommy Robinson makes no sense, but here were Nigel and Leon locking horns on social media.  It seems the only aim is to create more uncertainty and chaos over the course of the year, especially with some big parliamentary elections coming up, including one in Germany, in which Musk has been actively campaigning for the far-right AfD.

The AfD, like MAGA, is vehemently anti-immigrant, which makes you wonder what Musk's game?  A few days ago Leon was chastising MAGA spokeswoman Laura Loomer for being a racist in her bid to do away with H1-B visas, and got an earful back from the MAGA handmaid.  It would seem that Musk is nothing more than an agent provocateur, hoping to send the whole world into "KAOS," like a supervillain out of the old "Get Smart" series.  This is what happens when you elect a reality show president.

Unfortunately, most Republicans seem fine with this nonsense as long as they have Trump's signature on the bills they plan to push through Congress next session.  Susan Collins seemed engaged in a friendly chat with J.D. Vance and Bill Cassidy during the electoral college confirmation vote yesterday.  Old Guard Republicans still think they can tame the beast in Donald and get him to do their bidding, but they are in for a rude awakening, just like most Americans, come January 20.

I'm sure Donald will deliver on his promise to pardon the remaining insurrectionists behind bars.  The MAGA faithful see these roughly 1500 persons, many of whom are still pending trial, as "freedom fighters."  They never accepted the election results of 2020.  Democrats' effort to take the high ground will seem quaint in the wake of this blanket amnesty.  One can well imagine the Republican House launching investigations of its own into that election, as 147 Republican members refused to accept the results themselves.

So, where are we?  It's like 2020 never happened and rather than a potential eight years of Trump, we will end up with 12, as the Biden years will quickly be forgotten.  It's truly a sad statement on our "democracy."  One that was so easily circumvented by pushing a steady stream of lies on social media so that most Americans refused to face facts and instead allowed a petulant man-child to become president again.  

Even those who knew better supported him, either out of some misplaced party allegiance or the belief that Kamala Harris would usher in an era of unbridled socialism.  I suppose that's the way many Germans felt in 1932.  I just hope we don't go down the same road.

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