TRAUMATIZED, ELDER ABUSE, GROUNDSWELL

Anthony David writing on Substack, asks, “A persistent question continues to baffle us: How can roughly a third of the American electorate, representing more that 50 million voters, maintain approval for Donald Trump, despite record gas prices, the high cost of living, the war in Iran, the desecration of public buildings, the illegal abductions, the mass detention and racist deportations, measles and anti-vax policies…oh, and the slow motion collapse of democracy and the nation as a trusted ally in the world? Who exactly are the 33% or 34%s of Americans who think this lazy tyrant, this dollar store dictator, this narcoleptic nincompoop is doing a decent job? Critics often resort to sweeping generalizations, dismissing this demographic as uniform in thought, uneducated, or driven purely by prejudice. However, dismissing millions of people under a single label obscures the complex psychological, ideological, and socioeconomic drivers behind their loyalty.”

And we might question how those in the Congress manage to keep a straight, serious face as they continue to defend their nincompoop, even as they continue to get bombarded by constituents? Take for instance, South Carolina’s Senator Tim Scott who recently told Fox News that President Trump had “made an unprecedented move by following ethical standards,” despite the daily reports that the president is adding to his personal wealth, estimated to be over $2 billion just in his second term in office. HuffPost correspondent S.V. Dáte asks, “Is he new to our planet?” Former Arizona Representative Adam Kinzinger posted, “The lies are beyond ridiculous now. He of course exempts himself.” And, Rabbi Jill Zimmerman, with over 50,000 followers on Bluesky responded simply, “Wait, what?” Time to drag out that old Molly Ivins chestnut when she quoted Texas State Senator Carl Parker, who said, “If you took all the fools out of the legislature, it would no longer be a representative body.”

Thom Hartmann refers to Robert Reich’s post on Raw Story where he says that America is officially traumatized, and the diagnosis is in. Reich highlights what every therapist, primary care physician, and exhausted spouse already knows: we are a nation with full-blown PTSD. The American Psychological Association now reports that 76% of Americans cite the future of the country as their leading source of stress, outpacing the economy, work and money. As Reich notes, “anxiety has moved from being a psychological disorder to becoming part of a seemingly natural order.” Hartmann says, “After 45 years of Reaganomics gutting job security, shredding the safety net, and concentrating wealth at the top — followed by a decade of Trumpism’s daily firehose of cruelty, corruption, and constitutional vandalism — the American nervous system has simply checked out. Marriages are postponed, births are falling, and pharmacy shelves groan under the weight of antidepressants and stomach pills. The Founders wrote in the Preamble that the goal of the rule of law outlined in the Constitution is there to ‘ensure domestic tranquility.’ That bargain has been broken by a strongman who promised to fix the anxiety and instead became its single largest source.”

In his essay in The New Republic, Michael Tomasky writes, “It was a surreal week, bursting with surreal news generated by the surreal idiot who sits in the White House, but maybe the most surreal headline of all was the one I saw Thursday morning telling me that Costco was rationing motor oil. The limit they’ve set is very likely more than your average motorist needs, but still. Rationing!” He sarcastically asks if this is England in the 1950s, with the motor oil price doubling? Tomasky points out that diesel fuel has nearly doubled in price and that some previous sources’ stocks are now undependable, with global commerce bearing the brunt of shortages. That $3.00 bag of mixed greens or baby spinach will be about $4.50 in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas. “For years, we’ve wondered whether American democracy would survive Donald Trump. But now, we need to fret that capitalism may not survive Trump, and that between now and January 2029, assuming the GOP doesn’t go Twenty-Fifth Amendment on him, he’ll single-handedly bring not only the American but the global economy other its knees,” Tomasky cautions. Trump’s tariffs are hated by all — from Main Street to Wall Street, from consumers to farmers, from markets to bond traders — and even the toadies of the Supreme Court hate them. The Iran War [excursion?] has been a top-to-bottom disaster, with the Strait of Hormuz being effectively closed — on a recent day only four ships made passage compared to a prewar count of 120 or so.

Tomasky maintains, “If a human being with normal cognitive development was presiding over this mess, we could reasonably hope that he’d recognize what has gone wrong and change. But Trump is not a normally developed human being. When he does bother to turn his attention to the economy, he says that it’s the best in the history of the country and that gas prices will come down as soon as ‘x’ happens, which never happens. So far, though, the guardrails of democracy have more or less held. But what about the guardrails of the economic system? They are: a Congress that conducts real oversight and demands accountability; a class of corporate and financial leaders who actually put the good of the country ahead of the next tax cut or earnings statement; a well-regulated market system that is set up to punish short-term excess and wealth creation for the few and reward efforts to produce shared prosperity. Right now, we have none of those things.”

Several weeks ago, Rick Wilson posted on Substack, ‘Trump is Dying,’ mentioning the president’s declining health, and the White House concealment of the reality through a coordinated cover-up. He compared the situation to that of President Wilson’s 1919 deception when his wife, Edith Wilson, forged her husband’s signature on many documents, while citing ‘claims of excellent health.’ Rick Wilson has noted Trump’s appearance, his swollen extremities, and bruises, posting, “This is no third act. There is only the long, undignified, make-up smeared decline of a man and a movement whose moment has passed, narrating itself even more loudly into an ever emptier hall, a frowzy barfly of a man, replaying past glories that never happened and hoping you won’t notice the bad wig.” Last week the Lincoln Project raised the twin specters: “He has the nuclear codes. He controls the world’s most powerful military. And now, the 80-year-old president is spending his days posting A.I.-generated images of himself launching a nuclear war from outer space, commanding an army of robots with the caption ‘give them nightmares,’ smashing Iran with a comically oversized hammer, and body-checking Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in hockey gear. This was the President of the United States. Now people from across the political spectrum are openly calling for the 25th Amendment. Not as a talking point. As a serious question: what is it actually for, if not this? Donald Trump is not fit. He hasn’t been for a long time. He’s slipping. And the longer we let him hang around, the worse it’s going to get.”

Trump’s new pre-occupation with space has inspired him to design the new uniforms of the Space Force, the newly-formed space branch of the US Armed Forces, and admittedly taking inspiration from the film, ‘Starship Troopers.’ Of the new garb he explained, “…inspired by the dignity and functionality of the Starship Trooper uniform,” being completely in the dark that the 1997 movie took its influence from the uniforms of the Nazi movement, with many satirical Nazi references to boot. Director Paul Verhoeven said, “I don’t know if this president is aware that the movie says these [characters] are fascists, without knowing that they’re fascists. That’s the point.” Nevertheless, the administration is blitzkrieging ahead with the design, Trump being fixated on aesthetic remodels and rebrands. Daily Kos posts that since Trump took office, there have been plenty of similarities pointed out between Nazi Germany and the sitting administration, from the attacks on higher education to the attacks on immigrants.

Kos says, “Deaths inside ICE detention facilities have reached record numbers while lawsuits claiming inhumane and egregious living conditions are still ongoing. But it’s the dehumanization and even the gamification of these men, women, and children that has rung true when it comes to comparing the Trump administration to Nazi Germany. It definitely doesn’t help the administration — and many GOP leaders — have been linked to the cause. Then again, it’s unclear if the White House realized it was feeding into this ongoing comparison when they chose the stark new uniforms — or if they just really, really missed the plot.”

And is Air Force Secretary Troy Meink stepping out of his lane by revealing that the US has launched into orbit “space-control weapons“? In a speech at an Air & Space Forces Association conference in Maryland he said, “Today, we continue to ensure we remain ready to meet the challenges of evolving threats wherever they exits. This is why the United States now has, on-orbit, space-control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action.” Chief director of space security and stability, Victoria Samson, of Secure World Foundation commented, “Well, that’s huge, because I don’t think any US government official has ever said that before. The US now has to accept the Chinese and Russians doing/saying the same. I don’t think that this is going to be in the interest of US national security.” Samson speculates that Meink is referring to space-based jammers or electronic warfare, rather than kinetic space-control weaponry. Jessica Corbett of Common Dreams, writes that the US is limited by the Outer Space Treaty, which was signed by other founding parties, including China and Russia, nearly six decades ago, which states that governments agree not to “place nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit or on celestial bodies or station them in outer space in any other manner.” It has been suggested that if indeed this treaty has been violated that Trump be outfitted in a new Space Force uniform, and be sent to personally retrieve any erroneously launched hardware — his uncle-genes should serve him well.

Jennifer Welch begins her ‘I’ve Had It’ blog with the line “America’s top domestic terrorist is back,” with a welcome to “today’s masterclass in elder abuse.” Welch announces that, “Mitch McConnell, his face frozen in a grinning death mask, has returned to the Senate.” She is disgusted that reporters were barred from recording a video of Mitch in the Senate chambers, with a reminder that “They don’t own the Senate — we do — and we deserve access to our representatives. But being caught on video, you can see why they’re trying to hide him from us. This man — who is clearly not functioning — is supposedly going to read legislation? Listen to debate? Cast votes that impact millions of people? By comparison he makes Trump look like the picture of vitality.” Welch goes on to say that Mitch’s first vote back was right in line with his long reign of terror, by voting ‘yea’ to advance the confirmation of Matthew R. Byrne as a US District Judge for the Southern District of Ohio, who brings a record of ruling against trans and reproductive rights — Mitch’s type of guy who is singlehandedly dedicated to increasing suffering.

“They oppose the things for us that they give to themselves,” said universal healthcare advocate Melanie D’Arrigo, as McConnell returns to Congress after three months of paid leave with taxpayer-subsidized healthcare. The 84-year-old Senator had not been seen in public since his hospitalization following a fall in mid-June, amid speculation over whether he was still alive, fueling calls for his resignation, or for the Kentucky governor to appoint a successor before Mitch finishes his term at the end of this congressional session.

Andy Borowitz used his The Borowitz Report to observe the return of the missing Senator: “The long-awaited return of Mitch McConnell to Congress on Monday marked the first time in months that the state of Kentucky has enjoyed the attendance of two brain-dead senators. In addition to his fellow Kentuckian, McConnell was applauded by other members of the Republican Party’s brain-dead caucus, including Ron Johnson and Tommy Tuberville. Although the caucus took a hit earlier this year with the departure of Markwayne Mullin, McConnell did receive a warm greeting from the newest insentient senator, Darline Graham of South Carolina. ‘From all indications, Mitch McConnell has no idea what’s going on around him,’ Senator Graham said. ‘He’s my role model.'”

Being bandied about with frequency is the word ‘gerontocracy‘, which dates from 1830, meaning a government run by old people — back when the average 20-year-old man didn’t live past his mid-40s. Those living in those days could not have imagined what we have now with the well-stocked US government populated by 70- and 80-year-olds, Donald Trump being the record-holder as oldest candidate to be elected president. We have 84-year-old Mitch McConnell, 80-year-old Senator Ed Markey running for reelection, and 93-year-old Senator Chuck Grassley who has filed for yet another term. So, shouldn’t we question ‘how old is too old when running for office?‘; and, ‘how do we deal with it?‘ Minimum age limits are set within the Constitution — 25 in the House, 30 in the Senate, and 35 for the White House — but do we need a maximum age limit as we see politicians serving well past the retirement age for the average American worker? With the gray-hairs multiplying and with their high-profile health issues, Americans are tending to call for instituting age caps according to all polling respondents, with even older Americans wishing to see younger office holders.

The rapid acceleration of technology is one factor in the push for younger decision makers. Those who have spent most of their lives without the current technologies view them differently, an example being that about half the senators seated at the start of the current Congress were 60 or older when ChatGPT debuted in November 2022. Data shows that older Americans are far less likely to use such tech, seeing it as a danger. A study by the Pew Research Center finds that 48% of Americans ages 18 to 29 have a negative view of Artificial Intelligence, while only 35% of Americans 65 or older share that same view. The study says that the older someone is, it’s more likely they will feel “unsure” of what the future holds, meaning an aging Congress would be less inclined to regulate emerging technologies, being less familiar with them.

This unfamiliarity is probably the reason for the 2012 failure of President Obama’s proposed ‘Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights‘ which was designed to give citizens some control over how companies handled their online data. The bill was doomed for several reasons — opposition by industry groups, a hostile Republican House of Representatives, and probably the general disinterest of an older Congress. To pass age limits would require amending the Constitution, a process unlikely to win enough bipartisan support in our fractured political scene, but some states have set examples by adopting legislation setting age caps on judges. Some argue that seasoned lawmakers are generally more effective at passing laws than greenhorns, and by booting out the older seat holders, Congress could become less effective. However, public support is becoming a groundswell, and the time is ripe for a change.