Worth a Thousand Words

                                         Big Brother and the Moment of Hate.

This picture says it all.  (from today's NY Times)
The following paragraph from a NY Times comment back in July sketches a brief factual history worth heeding when considering HOW on earth such a bunch of dumbkoffs ended up holding congress and the nation hostage for more than two decades now, then had the effrontery to offer the voting public the Orwellian Trump for President in 2016. With a calculated, publicly and repeatedly declared (was everyone deaf as well?) plan to dismantle ("shrink the size of") the US Government. How was this not treasonous? How did the People and their Representatives get so dumb? Here's how.

CongressWonk

Washington, DC 1 day ago

Another noteworthy angle on GOP anti intellectualism is how they systematically lobotomized Congress from 1995 onward. Just a few years after the end of the Cold War, and on the cusp of the Internet revolution, they eliminated Congress' science forecasting agency (the Office of Technology Assessment) Seeing public sector infrastructure as competition, they then wiped out the shared issue caucus staff--who performed much of the continuing education on complex policy for members of both chambers and both parties. Keep in mind, these global public interests don't have strong domestic constituencies, so they can't compete with private or lucrative advocacy tactics.  The only entities who survived inside Congress were ideologically aligned "think tanks"who took over policy tasks and K Street lobbyists who doubled down. Finally, the Republicans "reorganized" the Congressional Research Service to severely restrict specialized experts and consolidated the committees, diminishing the institutional memory by getting rid of staff. These actions eliminated hundreds of deeply knowledgeable individuals who were dedicated to Congress. This is truly tragic. Today Congress bitterly scorns the White House for consolidating power, yet our first branch of government did this to itself! Our current disrepair and incompetence is not an accident, its an outcome. I would even say it was a purposeful GOP strategy. 

And, speaking of treason, what  about Donald's security clearance?

Below is from the US State dept. website. Would he qualify?

THE SECURITY CLEARANCE
Eligibility for access to classified information, commonly known as a security clearance, is granted only to those for whom an appropriate personnel security background investigation has been completed. It must be determined that the individual’s personal and professional history indicates loyalty to the United States, strength of character, trustworthiness, honesty, reliability, discretion, and sound judgment, as well as freedom from conflicting allegiances and potential for coercion, and a willingness and ability to abide by regulations governing the use, handling, and protection of classified information.

For a more complete chronology of how the GOP dumbed the nation down to the point of Trump, read Max Boot's column from last July. The history of the GOP effort begins way back in 1964 with none other than Raygun. 

And of course, thank you, W, for paving the way for Trump as well:
 At a Yale commencement: “To those of you who received honors, awards and distinctions, I say, well done. And to the C students I say, you, too, can be president of the United States.”