Ha, what a difference a couple of weeks make. Way back then, I would have mocked this essay for being hyperbolic and paranoid, especially in the wielding of a term like 'coup' in its original context. Now, nine days into the Trump era, I'm mocking this essay for not only stating the very obvious, but even pulling punches by using a term like 'trial balloon'.
Of course it's a fucking coup. It's exactly what Trump promised, and exactly what his voters wanted. 'Draining the swamp', 'bull in a china shop', 'running the country like a business'. Guess what folks, a privately-held business (like Trump's) is essentially a dictatorship, and this is pretty much how he's now running the federal government. Besides the crafty machinations described in this essay look all the coup elements out in plain sight- the ceding of authority by the leaders of the legislative branch (thank you Paul 'Hindenburg' Ryan), the compete denial of truth and facts, and most disturbingly- the open hostility and dismissal of the independent press. At least so far open dissent is being allowed (though, like the press, casually dismissed), let's see how that goes, assuming the 'protest fatigue' suggested here doesn't actually set in.

We weren't even suppose to talk about him remember? Warning people that letting Trump into the oval office was a nightmare was being a neo-liberal or some sort of traitor to the progressive cause.

I had better stop there before I say something personal... I think I will take my I told you so now and let it go.

++++EDIT++++

On second thought I think I will say it one last time.

In 2016 it has come down to three choices.

Vote for the Republican...vote for the Democrat..... or waste your vote on a silly protest vote or not to vote at all.

2016 is all about the courts if you can find no other reason to vote for Clinton the SCOTUS should be enough...the 100 other federal judgeship and the ones that will arise in the next few years should scare the hell out of you.


OK I'm done.

Fuck. Maybe I should just stay over here for the next four years- though if the shit hits the fan it will be sooner than that. We were looking to move to Norfolk VA next, but I don't think I want to be that close to the naval base.

Finally, I want to highlight a story that many people haven’t noticed. On Wednesday, Reuters reported (in great detail) how 19.5% of Rosneft, Russia’s state oil company, has been sold to parties unknown. This was done through a dizzying array of shell companies, so that the most that can be said with certainty now is that the money “paying” for it was originally loaned out to the shell layers by VTB (the government’s official bank), even though it’s highly unclear who, if anyone, would be paying that loan back; and the recipients have been traced as far as some Cayman Islands shell companies.

Why is this interesting? Because the much-maligned Steele Dossier (the one with the golden showers in it) included the statement that Putin had offered Trump 19% of Rosneft if he became president and removed sanctions. The reason this is so interesting is that the dossier said this in July, and the sale didn’t happen until early December. And 19.5% sounds an awful lot like “19% plus a brokerage commission.”

Although people say that the 19% figure was floating around for quite some time.

It Took Donald Trump 8 Days To Bring The U.S. To The Brink Of A Constitutional Crisis

Saturday’s ruling does not undercut the president’s executive order,” a senior White House official told NBC News midday Sunday in reference to the Brooklyn judge’s decision. “All stopped visas will remain stopped. All halted admissions will remain halted. All restricted travel will remain prohibited.”

Huh. This really made it click for me. I always said if he was elected neither side would really work with him. Well that's the point. Obstructionism unless bribed. The entirety of the executive branch is for sale, and he's not going to give any of it away for free. Except for the stunts intended to get Trump fawning adoration from idiots, this administration will actually prevent everything, unless there's a healthy, president sized bribe.

Honestly? This article scared the shit out of me. I found myself reading this just before posting it, and I could feel my panic level rising. I posted it and sat numbly on my couch until almost 3 am.

I try not to say much about the things I post. I don't like stating my opinion before folks form their own.

I posted this in the hopes that it would sound hyperbolic to someone else and that they would tell me this was an overreaction and why. I wanted to be told that I was wrong to worry. The replies to this post are, to say the least, not comforting.