Acting According to Form

The weekend is usually a time in politics when not much of note happens – often nothing of note.  But the incoming Trump administration still keeps making headlines from its Cabinet nominations, internal-fighting, ethics violations, dysfunction and more, as the MAGOP party drives its bulldozer towards democracy.  So many stories – even from just over what should be a quiet weekend – that it felt like whack-a-mole simply reading about them all.  Writing about any or all of them was another matter entirely.  Just head-banging lunatic, since individually none of the stories were necessarily “major" (discord already over "JD Vance" failing in dealing with the Senate, MT Greene feeling so lunatically empowered to suggest she wants to work with Elon Musk to cut funding for toilets in Africa -- really!, a report that Trump wants to kick transgenders out of the military, a Democratic Congressman accusing Trump of breaking federal law by not signing the legally-required agreement on background checks for Cabinet nominees, a story on dark money raised by the Trump transition team, and more...) but none of them were the sort of thing you really want to see from a new administration coming into run the White House – but all of them together more like confessional at an AA meeting.

(Metaphorically, of course.  Though sort of literally, too, since one of the stories was about that Matt Gaetz, the man Trump wanted to be Attorney General and head the Department of Justice, turns out to have been arrested once for speeding, drunk driving and refusing to take a breathalyzer test.  Not to mention having had his law license suspended for failing to pay his fees.  And more.)  

Actually, the only place that enjoys reading about this disasters is in Vladimir Putin's office at the Kremlin.  It’s gotten to the point where someone wrote on social media that there are more sexual predators entering the Trump administration than women’s bathrooms.
 
So, to protect my health and good spirits – not just for this weekend, but through the mid-terms up to the next four years, diving into the latest muck and figuring what to write about at each new travesty --  I thought it would a much better idea to just write a generic form article which I could then use through whenever the occasions arise! ​
 
As they will.  Maybe daily.
 
Life and my time management will be so much easier now. 

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                                          Oops, He Did It Again

Just when you thought Trump couldn’t reach a new low – well, okay, at this point, I’m not sure if there are many rational people anymore who actually think Trump can’t reach a new low – it’s nonetheless amazing and repugnant that he [FILL IN EXPLANATION].
 
And yes, this is not just reprehensible and pathetic, but for those on the extreme right who don’t like it when others call Trump and the MAGOP party “fascists,” this is just one more reason why.  After all, his actions, and those of the party officials, fit some of of the core tenets of fascism because [FILL IN EXPLANATION].  Which ones?  It's a grab bag.  Pick and choose those that fit.
 
Democrats in Congress have expressed their outrage, explaining that [FILL IN EXPLANATION] and are looking into ways to address this – whether than means getting some MAGOPS to cross the aisle in support or looking into if the 25th Amendment applies.
 
After all, Trump has dementia, and it’s degenerative.  As psychologist Dr. Jack Gartner, who taught at Johns Hopkins, has said, “I tell people to look at Trump now, because it’s the best he is ever going to be.”
 
Of course, the MAGOP base doesn’t really care how fascist or delusional or vindictive he attempts to me.  They have shown they’re absolutely fine with him having been convicted of 34 felonies, been found liable of rape, found guilty of fraud, said he wants to be a dictator and said he wants to terminate the U.S. Constitution.  So, why would the MAGOP base be even remotely bothered by Trump [FILL IN EXPLANATION], since this – contemptible as it is – pales in comparison.
 
But in the end, this isn’t really about Trump.  We know who he is.  It was hard to miss him refusing to answering questions at a Town Hall and instead sway to music and dance for 39 minutes.  And just as hard to miss him at a campaign rally talk about Arnold Palmer’s genitalia for 10 minutes.  And also extremely hard to miss [FILL IN EXPLANATION].  No, this is about MAGOP officials in Congress and the party base who enable him.
 
The hope is that with Trump being a lame duck, and other officials in the party quietly lining up support to take his place as MAGOP leader in 2028, looking for any crack in his actions and failures to justify taking small steps against him either in criticism or votes in Congress – something the party can ill afford with such tiny majorities in the House and Senate – as well as looking for any weaknesses (political, physical or mental) like when [FILL IN EXPLANATION], this will help split the already dysfunctional party.
 
All of which might strip away the thin support Trump and MAGOPs got in the 2024 election from Independents, undecideds, moderates balancing on the rational edge of their party, and those who crawled out to vote specifically for Trump (who will no longer be on a ballot) because they now feel lied to and fooled and disgusted as a result of non-stop incompetence, fascist policies, over-reaching hubris from thinking they have a “landslide mandate” rather than a 1.5% razor-thin win, and un-American actions that put the country and national security at risk for things like [FILL IN EXPLANATION] – and so the mid-term elections in 2026 are just one more piece that stand as a path to weakening MAGOP control of Congress and the grip of Trump.