Some folks have all the luck. America’s Orange Jesus has been (or will be) offered a Boeing 747 to use in place of the two presidential B747s which had developed an annoying rattle and had to be taken out of service. They are presently parked at Oskar’s Jet Shop and Grill somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. In sympathy to this niggling inconvenience to #47, an old man, the royal family of Qatar has generously stepped forward and offered a super luxury B747 for the Great One for his weekly trips to his many resorts. The B747 will transfer to #47’s Presidential Library foundation where it will remain. Some are saying that it will cost a gigabuck to upgrade it as necessary.

Keeping a third B747 ready to fly at any given moment will be expensive as are the 2 presidential jets now in the shop. In the new B747, the lavatories will have to be reduced in size for the media’s discomfort. Vending machines will be added for feeding the media but will be limited to exact change only. The machines will also offer #47’s trading cards which will include a 5 % discount coupon for his golden sneakers. As always, payment can be made with #47’s cryptocurrency plus a $50 service charge.

As the authoritarian regime of #47 continues to take hold, an increasing number of governments will express fealty and line up to offer something special, which #47 will gladly take and keep, the emoluments clause notwithstanding, found in Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the U.S. Constitution. It has already begun to turn stomachs worldwide but others will be attracted to the new ‘democratic dictatorship’ ramrodded by the GOP and led by the Orange Jesus himself. Many people around the world tolerate authoritarian leaders or see them as admirable strongmen. Kick ass and take names, some say. But too often the names aren’t taken or made available to anyone. There is just the ass kicking and transfer to a holding facility. Habeas Corpus? Gone! Evidence of a crime? Nah. Filing an appeal? What, are you being serious?

To the many readers outside the USA, know that a very large number of US citizens are horrified and in serious opposition to #47 and his MAGA movement. However, it seems that the Founders of this country failed to anticipate a situation where a single party rules both houses of Congress, the White House, the Supreme Court, and the governors and legislative bodies of many states. The Founders assumed that the checks and balances between the three co-equal branches of government and built into the government they designed would protect the democratic republic and keep essential government services working. They could not anticipate a simmering populist movement amplified by instantaneous social media. Whereas in times before the internet and smart phones, a large number of disaffected and under-educated citizens in America now have access to media of all kinds and can gravitate towards whatever populism that appeals to them. There seems to be little in the way of concern about truthfulness.

The single party dominance of MAGA in US government means that enforcement of federal laws or procedure will be ignored. The Department of Justice has been slow to enforce checks and balances or just ignore it altogether. MAGA GOP politicians know that endorsement by #47 ensures that they will get votes from MAGA block and assure their political careers.

Roughly 30 % of the voting population will support #47 until their dying day, regardless of his behavior. Resistant to the lessons of history and logic, they are essentially lost to modern times. They are angry from seeing and hearing the hype surrounding modernity and the corrosive conspiracy theories involved. Not having a college education, they missed out on opportunities that open up by living in a college environment. All of the job descriptions and opportunities requiring college education aren’t necessarily posted off-campus and are therefore missed.

Until I entered the university, I was completely unaware of a host of career choices available. I grew up in a rural midwestern blue collar environment and was completely unaware of the various futures available. Many have glorified our rural culture, but I found it quite boring in my years from birth to 14 years. Sure, there are wide open spaces and nature. But the fifth time you wander out into a large pasture you begin to realize that solitude is nice but quite boring.

I was introduced to science and technology by watching the progress of the Apollo moon mission in the 1960s. It was thrilling but there was no one around who could hold a decent conversation about it with me. Basically, if you were a kid into science at that time in my state, you were alone. Just knowing about sciency topics wasn’t enough. It is nice and necessary to have discussions to explore ideas and ask better questions. To share in the wonder and majesty of the universe. That’s not too much to ask, isn’t it?