The Trump Files

Trump's brainwashed base won't buy that, which should surprise no one. On the other hand, there must be some sensible voters who will. So why not remind them repeatedly that one of the candidates is a convicted felon while the other is not. The worst they can do is accept Trump's argument that every accusation he has faced or will face is no more than a Joe Biden/Kamala Harris-inspired political witch hunt—which many of them no doubt will. But there are others who may see things in a different light, disavow Trump's claims of persecution and realize that neither Biden nor Harris has the power or the wish to "weaponize" our criminal justice system to serve their narrow political purpose.

One of the weaknesses in our basically sound Constitution is the fact that Trump's criminal history does not disqualify him from running for president or being elected to serve as the country's primary law enforcement officer and commander-in-chief of its armed forces. Even if convicted of every charge he faces (and there are many), he could still take his seat in the White House and govern roughly three hundred forty-five million people, many of whom are no doubt aware that they are being led by a disreputable lawbreaker whose sole allegiance is to his own devious schemes and his capacity to derive the maximum proceeds from the office.

So why not say that out loud, before election day arrives and there is no longer a reason to do so. In other words, why not harness and neuter the elephant in the room before he breaks free and has a chance to trample on and demolish the democratic norms and institutions on which our country was founded and with which it has advanced and flourished for almost two hundred and fifty years.

It's at least worth a try.

October 31, 2024

Happy Halloween, everyone! Boo!

Now let's get down to business...

Last Sunday, Donald Trump held a rally at New York's Madison Square Garden that embraced and applauded everything Nazi this side of prison camps and Storm Troopers.

For more than six hours, the former president and his surrogates ranted and raved about anything and everything that doesn't completely resemble them or poses a threat to their scheme to remake America into an authoritarian country with Trump its grand and unchallenged sovereign. Democrats were portrayed, as always, as a party of degenerates, "the enemy from within."

The first speaker, "comedian" Tony Hinchcliffe, wasted almost no time before delivering an unforeseen (and unwelcome) "October Surprise," describing Puerto Rico as "a floating island of garbage in the ocean." That should earn Trump a few votes!—especially after Puerto Ricans remember how he happily tossed rolls of paper towels their way in the wake of deadly Hurricane Maria in 2017. Eat your heart out, FEMA! And hasta la vista, Pennsylvania! Flush with success after unleashing a brutal (and not at all funny) swipe at the entire population of Puerto Rico, Hinchcliffe took dead aim at some other groups the GOP routinely taunts and despises: Hispanics, for failing to use birth control; Jews, for being misers; Palestinians, as rock-throwers—and for good measure, he singled out a black man in the audience with a "joke" about watermelons.

Needless to say, with a start like that, there was nowhere to go but—down, ignoring the sage advice that if you dig yourself into a hole, it's time to stop digging. Not only did Trump's surrogates keep digging, they continued to seek out and plow fertile ground where none had even existed.

One speaker compared vice president Kamala Harris to a prostitute with "pimp handlers," while another labeled her (with the usual absence of proof) "the Antichrist." Not to be outdone, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson—who would be scorned by any self-respecting group whose aims were less than democratic disaster and despotic domination—demeaned Harris's ethnicity and creds, saying she would be "the first Samoan-Malaysian, low-IQ former California prosecutor ever to be elected president."

With so many speakers spewing so much smut and sewage, it's no wonder the event was more than two hours behind schedule when the Fuhrer—pardon, ex-president—finally took the stage, introduced by his adoring wife, Melania, who had that same day returned from an extended visit to the Twilight Zone. Most of those in the MSG audience were unfazed by Trump's late arrival. They had, after all, waited eighty-five years for this moment, which closely mirrored the 1939 German-American Bund rally at MSG, so a few hours more or less was unlikely to dampen their enthusiasm.

Once onstage, Trump launched immediately into his favorite riffs, labeling the Biden/Harris tenure in office a "disaster" while vowing "retribution" against those who have had enough backbone to speak ill of him or oppose him in any way based solely on what he sees as the weakest of arguments—in other words, the facts. And, in the spirit of Hinchcliffe, he had on another occasion (more than that, actually) labeled those who oppose him "complete garbage." Immigrants (from south of the border) were next ("America is an occupied country..."), followed by special counsel Jack Smith ("I would fire him in the first minute...") and of course the host city (children in NYC "have a seventy-five percent chance of being shot" while riding on a city subway...)—which explains why the schools there are so empty.

Trump spoke for seventy-eight minutes, almost as long as a Rangers hockey game in double overtime. When he finally finished his hate-fueled diatribe, those in the audience who had gamely hung around to swallow the last of the claptrap—both of them—applauded loudly.

The roster of speakers who preceded Trump consisted of the usual suspects—Carlson, Don Jr, Elon Musk, running mate JD Vance, wrestler Hulk Hogan, RFK Jr, Dr Phil, and of course, the peerless Rudy Giuliani, whose name used to mean something to New Yorkers aside from spinelessness and shame—so there's no use dwelling on what any of them had to say.

It was left to Stephen Miller, Trump's secretary of meanness, cruelty and separation, to concisely summarize the over-all theme of the MSG event: "America is for Americans and Americans only."

Geronimo and Sitting Bull would have been delighted to hear him say that.

November 8, 2024

Bravo! my fellow Americans...You did it!

True, it took nearly two hundred-fifty years, but you finally elected the first-ever convicted felon to be president of the United States. And as a bonus, he is a lawbreaker who vows to dismember and terminate our democratic way of life.

That must lend you a warm glow of triumph, especially as the presidential race was considered a virtual toss-up until you made sure that former president Donald Trump would be returning to the White House by outvoting vice president Kamala Harris on election day in four of the seven so-called "battleground" states and leaving the others leaning his way. Your No. 1 issue, according to exit polls and the media, was "the state of our democracy," so it must have pleased you no end to cast your ballot for a candidate who used every means in his power—up to and inciting an armed attack on the US Capitol—to overturn the result of the 2020 election (which he lost) and who favors shredding the US Constitution as the final arbiter when it comes to interpreting and enforcing our laws.

It must make you proud to know you voted in favor of a nationwide abortion ban, the possible mass deportation of millions of honest and hard-working immigrants (hint: it isn't going to happen), enormous and unprecedented shackles on free speech and a free press, an economic policy (read: tariffs) that will cost each one of you thousands of dollars every year, the probable end of affordable health care for millions, an even more conservative Supreme Court poised to remove more of your hard-earned civil rights, and handing the reins of government to a seventy-eight year old narcissist and serial liar who not only does not give a shit about you or your needs but would sell you out in a heartbeat for as little as a bucket of fried chicken or candy bar.

Of course, you also cast your vote in favor of Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un, Xi Jinping, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Viktor Orban, among others, and against the steadfast NATO alliance, the vital Paris climate accord, the brave people of Ukraine who have been at war with Putin's Russia for more than three years, and one of the strongest and most resourceful economies the world has ever known, thanks to policies enacted by president Joe Biden and his vice president, Kamala Harris—and for which Donald Trump will no doubt take full credit.

Oh, there is one more thing...you may also have cast your vote for Trump's untested and widely detested running mate, the odious JD Vance, because (insert personal opinion here) I don't believe that Trump has what it takes, either physically or mentally, to last another four years in office. His mental decline is especially noticeable and troubling, as he struggles to keep his thoughts in line and his unfinished sentences from spiraling away and evaporating into the ether. This is a condition, as doctors will affirm, that never improves; it only worsens with the passage of time. Trump, in other words, is on the rocky road to dementia, a road that becomes more difficult to traverse as months and years go by. What comes next? Your guess is as good as mine, but whatever it is, chances are it won't be good, either for Trump or for the country.

I have been wracking my brain since election day, trying my best to find a thorough and rational cause for what happened—and I simply can't to do it, at least not yet. There are far too many variables to consider and assess. Here is one, however, that is seldom raised but must bear at least some weight in Americans' decision-making. When you, dear fellow American, entered that voting booth, can you affirm with honesty and assurance that the dark and ugly specter of sexism, racism and misogyny did not arise to help guide your hand as you were considering which candidate to choose? How else to explain a shift of more than seven million votes in Trump's favor, enabling him to win not only the Electoral College but the popular vote as well—especially after he went out of his way to insult and demean almost every voting bloc in the country while Harris was delivering an uplifting message of hope and inclusion.

It simply doesn't add up.

On the one hand, Americans saw a dedicated public servant with years of invaluable experience—in local, state and federal government—who ran a near-flawless albeit relatively brief campaign, one replete with bold and meaningful policies to help working-class Americans, economically and otherwise, while she stated her case with clarity, persuasiveness and enthusiasm; and on the other, they saw Donald the Entertainer, proposing almost nothing that would aid or uplift them, and indeed spending most of his time saying nothing that made much sense at all. The choice seemed clear-cut and reasonable. That is, until the votes were counted.

And so America is doomed to endure another four years of the quintessential con man's lies, distortions and embellishments, all the while seeking new and even more devious ways to enrich himself and his mega-wealthy peers while gleefully screwing the Americans who foolishly cast their votes for the man, not for any meaningful policies or positions, nor for any proven ability to govern fairly or wisely. In fact, the opposite is true, even though Trump has deftly brainwashed nearly half of America's population into believing his first term in office was by every measure an unqualified success instead of the dismal failure it actually was, and that Biden and Harris enacted none of the broad and positive measures that have aided Americans during the last four years.

For the next four years, our government will rest for the most part in the malicious and avaricious hands of president Donald J Trump with almost no guardrails to slow his rampage and majorities in both houses of Congress to support his ruinous ambitions. As Bette Davis said in the film All About Eve, "fasten your seat belts," it's going to be a long and extremely bumpy ride.

And as I have always said of politics, from local to global, "We get what we asked for...and life goes on."

November 12, 2024

Now that the 2024 presidential election is over, and America's voters have chosen to turn their backs on competence, experience and honesty and instead re-elect a convicted felon whose main talking points included his plans to deport up to twelve million people while dismantling our government's apparatus so he can rule by fiat, the pundits have been swarming like vultures on a fresh carcass, breathlessly debating what had gone so terribly wrong, why the Democrats struck out swinging on November 5 and what they might do to get back in the ball game.

I've been thinking about that too, and to me the answer is clear and simple: next time, nominate a man (any man, but preferably a white one) as your candidate.

Let's be honest; in spite of the misgivings about his age and mental capacity, president Joe Biden stood a much better chance of beating Donald Trump than vice president Kamala Harris ever did, no matter how cogent or persuasive her message.

Why? Because Joe Biden has the balls (literally) that American voters consider essential when choosing anyone to occupy the country's highest elected office. Before you say that's ridiculous, please consult the nearest history book for a list of female American presidents. A rather small number, no? Small as in zero. Nada. Zilch.

It's a number that is unlikely to change any time soon, as Americans this year chose to reinstall a vengeful and incompetent village idiot who has already proven he is unfit to govern (having blown his first chance big-time) rather than elect a woman whose experience and mental acuity are far beyond those spawned in Donald Trump's wildest and most self-serving dreams.

As a woman, Harris already had one strike against her before she stepped into the batter's box. She is also of mixed heritage, with an African-American father and a mother born in India. Strike two. Harris remained confident even in the face of an 0-2 count, but America's voters then threw her a wicked curve ball that landed squarely in the strike zone. Harris took her best swing but it was far too little and too late. Strike three. Game over.

I said I wouldn't believe Trump could be re-elected until I saw it in black and white. Well, on November 5, I and millions more Americans clearly saw it happen...in plain black and white (even though "color" played a leading role in the outcome as well).

Policies, programs and promises be damned (as all were meaningless), no one can ever convince me that racism and sexism (not necessarily in that order) weren't the primary incentives that prompted enough Americans to vote for Donald Trump instead of Kamala Harris to reshape the game to his liking and assure his victory.

Now Americans of every stripe and opinion must face a Murderer's Row of savagery and incompetence as Trump surrounds himself with simple-minded yet ruthless loyalists who are ready and willing to satisfy his every whim and wish, no matter how bizarre or absolutely unlawful.

Welcome, everyone, to Trump 2.0, which promises in every way to be a whole new ball game.

November 18, 2024

And all this time we thought president-elect Donald Trump had no sense of humor.

Matt Gaetz for attorney general. Robert Kennedy Jr for health and human services. Pete Hegseth (who?) for secretary of defense. Kristi Noem for homeland security. John Ratcliffe for CIA. Tulsi Gabbard for national security. Lee Zeldin for environmental protection. Chris Wright for energy. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy for an as-yet nonexistent "department of government efficiency."

If these aren't guaranteed laugh lines, I don't know what is.

Mind you, Trump has had at least a year or two, and presumably more, to consider these nominations for key positions in the incoming administration. For someone who has boasted that he has "the best people," these are the best people he could come up with? What isn't so funny is that among the lot of them, their combined experience in the areas to which they have been nominated by Trump totals exactly zero. And neither Hegseth—best known as a Fox News hustler—Wright, Musk (the world's wealthiest man) nor Ramaswamy has ever held a government position.

While some may reason—and rightly so—that these appointments are at best comically absurd and at worst extremely dangerous, please keep in mind that if Trump is sincere in his desire to demolish the machinery of government and replace it with one man (guess who) who is basically in charge of everything—at least in the executive branch—he is off to a brilliant start. And he hasn't even taken office yet!

To eclipse the slight chance that any of his nominees are too pathetic even to pass muster with his servile senate majority, Trump has floated the possibility of "recess appointments," wherein congress would adjourn for ten days or more so he could confirm much of that miserable lot without consent from the senate, one of whose key roles is lending its stamp of approval to presidential nominees. If that should happen—a longshot but still feasible—or should the senate see fit to confirm any or all of Trump's laughable and clearly unqualified nominees, the country will be well on its way toward oligarchy with Trump as the titular leader.

While many Americans who voted for Trump may say, "that's not what we had in mind," that is precisely what he told them he would do if elected, boasting that he would be "a dictator on Day One," seizing the levers of power while crushing those who dared oppose him. So far, Trump's choices for the cabinet and other positions are perfectly suited to help him reach his goal of complete control with the least possible resistance.

Trump also promised his bootlickers he would begin on Day One the deportation of up to twelve million immigrants from south of the border. What he did not tell them was how much it would cost and the irreparable harm it could do to our currently robust economy.

What can be done to counteract that blueprint? Unless congress miraculously discovers a spine and backbone, not a whole lot. As of now, Trump is firmly in the driver's seat, with congress and the Supreme Court riding shotgun. Trump most likely has about two years in which to do as much damage to our democracy as he can. If by then he hasn't abolished the Constitution, overturned the rule of law and assumed absolute power, the voters may wake up and strip him of his advantage, at least in congress.

As of this moment, that likely represents our best chance to weaken Trump and impede what looks to be an inescapable slide toward authoritarianism.

And that's no joke.

November 21, 2024

With the re-election earlier this month of Donald Trump as our nation's forty-seventh (and perhaps last) president, Americans are coming face to face with a new benchmark on the country's political horizon, namely governance by celebrity.

The president-elect, whose governmental experience before he was elected president in 2016 consisted of fifteen years as host of the TV series "The Apprentice," has reasonably decided that if someone as blatantly ill-equipped and mentally unfit as he could make the transition to the highest levels government, anyone could.

And so he has nominated Fox News weekend anchorman Pete Hegseth for defense secretary; Linda McMahon, co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment, to lead the department of education; Fox Business host Sean Duffy as head of transportation; and TV huckster Dr Mehmet Oz as director of Medicare and Medicaid, working under yet another celebrity of sorts, Robert F Kennedy Jr, Trump's candidate to oversee health and human services.

Among other choices Trump is said to be seriously considering are Elmer Fudd for alcohol, tobacco and firearms; Bugs Bunny for secretary of agriculture; Tarzan for housing and urban development; Dick Tracy as FBI director; Milla Jovovich for the centers for disease control; SpongeBob SquarePants for small business; Yogi Bear for management and budget (smarter than the average auditor!); Wilma Flintstone for labor secretary; Dr James Kildare for surgeon general; and Oliver Warbucks for secretary of the treasury.

Regarding secretary of transportation, several of Trump's close advisors said it was a narrow decision between Duffy and Wile E Coyote, with Duffy prevailing on the basis of fewer transportation mishaps than the more daring but reckless Coyote, this in spite of Wile E's close ties to the gigantic Acme empire and its Super Pac, "Roadrunners for Trump," a substantial donor to the president-elect's recent campaign.

The race for energy secretary was close as well, with Chris Wright barely nosing out Droopy the basset hound. That decision, according to insiders, rested on Trump's belief that Wright's nose is slightly browner.

In education, the choice came down to McMahon or Daffy Duck, a Disney outlier who earned Trump's attention for his antipathy toward Florida governor Ron DeSantis. McMahon was chosen because of her close ties to another renowned pedagogue, Hulk Hogan.

Aides close to Trump say his second choice for secretary of state was Sarah Palin; for national intelligence, Mortimer Snerd; for surgeon general, Dr Ben Casey; for treasury secretary, Bernie Madoff; for agriculture, Peter Rabbit; and for defense, the Lone Ranger.

According to unnamed sources, Fudd's confirmation could face trouble in the senate, as reports indicate he may have stalked the nominee for agriculture secretary while armed, and demeaned him as a "wascally wabbit," among other insults. Fudd, however, does have his defenders, among them the powerful triumvirate of Superman, Wonder Woman and the Tasmanian Devil (who was briefly considered for the post as UN ambassador but lost out to congresswoman Elise Stefanik who is considered to be the more aggressive and intractable of the two).

At a press conference announcing the nominees, Trump declined to answer questions from the media, entrusting the last word instead to his newly chosen press secretary, Porky Pig:

"Th-th-th-th-that's all, folks!"

November 26, 2024

Remember the good old days when nominees for the president's cabinet and other high government positions were weighed based solely on experience, merit, sound judgement, expertise in that particular field and other relevant issues, not almost exclusively on character flaws, personality clashes or party affiliation?

Neither do I.

That's probably because such days never really dawned. Unreasoned responses to potential nominees have always been with us, but those reactions have been amplified in recent weeks thanks to the large number of dreadful and absurdly unqualified candidates chosen by president-elect Donald Trump. Owing to the fact that several of them have sketchy backgrounds and carry heavy personal baggage, the news media, which dearly loves a tantalizing story, has directed much of its focus there, instead of where it should be, namely: are they suitable for and able to manage the positions for which they have been nominated? The answer, with respect to most of Trump's candidates, is a resounding "no."

And that is by design, as Trump didn't choose them based on their expertise or acumen, but rather on the premise of their loyalty to him in any and all circumstances, regardless of logic or legality. If Trump says "jump," he wants them to say "how high?" That, in a nutshell, is their only requirement for high office. How else to explain Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense, Doug Burgum for secretary of the interior, Robert Kennedy Jr to supervise health and human services, Chris Wright as energy secretary, Linda McMahon as secretary of education, or Kristi Noem as secretary of homeland security. Their combined experience in those fields? Zero. That's not to mention Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence or Elise Stefanik as UN ambassador.

Numbered together, a rogue's gallery of ignorance and incompetence—which is exactly what Trump wants in his cabinet: bootlickers who will readily obey his every command and do their best to dismantle and demolish the offices to which they will be confirmed by a meek and groveling senate.

Those who voted for Trump should not be surprised by any of these shenanigans, as he told them time and again at his MAGA rallies exactly what he intended to do. What he didn't delineate was the high price they would pay as the government imploded, taking with it many of their cherished benefits along with a number of their personal freedoms. And it's too late for them to argue that's not what they voted for. It is Trump they have, and any cure for his madness won't kick in for four more years.

In other Trump news...

Even as president-elect, Trump keeps on selling tasteless trinkets at his online web site.

Why? Because he simply can't help himself. Once a huckster, always a huckster. And having hired an outside firm that specializes in separating fools from their money, Trump has to give them something to do. And what better time than the holiday season to grab as much swag as possible.

Never one to turn his back on a payday—especially at the expense of his lackeys—Trump has opened wide the doors to his tacky Christmas warehouse. Among the latest ploys: a gold MAGA hat tree ornament; "Merry Christmas" mugs; MAGA Christmas stockings; a MAGA holiday-themed t-shirt; and a MAGA poster, allegedly signed by Trump himself. He has also added a "Grazed But Not Fazed" t-shirt, a MAGA Victory hat, a new MAGA shirt in red, and MAGA hats in gold, red or black. And we mustn't forget his new (ghost-written) book, Save America, which is being offered for the ridiculously low price of only $99 a copy. Ho ho ho, Donald; we know you'll be having a merry Christmas. Your sitting ducks? Not nearly so merry or bright.

December 30, 2024

With the new year only two days away, things are looking merry and bright for former congressman Matt Gaetz. Only one more misdeed and he'll be qualified to run for president.

And speaking of presidents...

President-elect Donald Trump (how I wish I didn't have to write that!) has big plans for his second term in office—and I'm not talking here about immigration, tariffs or tearing asunder whatever presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama (Trump remains obsessed with him) built for the American people during their time in office. No, I mean BIG plans, starting with inviting Canada to become our fifty-first state—an offer he seems to think they couldn't possibly refuse.

Once Canada has joined the union, and we have won the war with Panama and retaken the Canal, Trump plans to ask Denmark how much it would cost to buy Greenland, and whether the payment could be made in installments, preferably starting when his successor takes office. Trump could then turn his attention to less crucial matters such as securing our southern border, deporting a fairly large segment of the American population, ending the war between Ukraine and Russia, sending a laundry list of "enemies" to prison (presumably by executive order, as none of them has done anything unlawful), and fleshing out his "concept" of an awesome low-cost health-care plan to replace Obamacare, among other matters. It promises to be a busy time in the White House.

Meanwhile...

Billionaire and de facto "prime minister" Elon Musk is making his fiscal presence felt. As Donald Trump pointed out (with palpable relief) in a recent speech, Musk could never run for president, as he was born in South Africa. Only recently has Musk apparently become aware that it is far more innovative, not to mention worry-free, simply to buy a president and let him take the heat for whatever decisions you order him to make. For Musk, as it was for Candide, it is the best of all possible worlds.

The best of all possible worlds? For a clear-cut example of that, you need look no further than our morally bankrupt Supreme Court...

There are times when reasonable questions seem to evade any sensible answers. One of them is this: when will Americans become so thoroughly fed up with the rapacity and corruption that is driving our Supreme Court that they rise up and demand that something be done about it. A simple code of ethics—an edict with which every other court is obliged to comply—would be a good starting point. It is past time for chief justice John Roberts to stop making excuses and implement a code of ethics based on those already being used throughout our judicial system (and most others around the world). It is not rocket science. Here are the rules: obey them or face some form of consequence. Done. Or, as in the case of our highest Court, not done. Why the Court is allowed to get away with such an absurdity is anyone's guess. What remains clear is that nothing can or will be done about it, at least not while the present Court is seated.

Moving on...

There are many other thoughts to pursue and areas to cover, but they must wait for a more opportune time. Until that time, Happy New Year, everyone! May 2025 bring you peace, love and happiness. As the Gershwin brothers once phrased it: "Who could ask for anything more?"

Oh, and did we mention that the White House is also for sale? Well, not quite yet. We'll have to wait until next January 20 for that transaction to unfold.

January 20, 2025

More than four years ago, I started writing The Trump Files as an outlet for my anger and frustration with a president and his administration that were rife with incompetence and corruption. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that the American people would be stupid and simple-minded enough ever to re-elect an unskilled and clueless clown/confidence man who did his best to demolish our country and democracy during his first term in office, then claimed he had won an election that he clearly and decisively lost, even urging an armed horde of his supporters to attack the US Capitol building in the vain hope that they might somehow disrupt the machinery of government and return him to the White House.

Although that didn't work, fortune later smiled on Trump when the Democrats reasoned that Joe Biden, at eighty-one years of age, couldn't beat him a second time and turned instead to Biden's vice president, a woman whose father is African-American and whose mother was born in India. Given the enormous boatload of racism, sexism, misogyny and sheer stupidity baked into the American electorate, that was basically game, set and match. Even though she ran a brilliant campaign, one that addressed and sought to resolve the most pressing needs of many Americans, Kamala Harris never stood a chance.

And so the American people have sentenced themselves to four more years of Donald Trump's absurd bungling, crude and unreasoning behavior, temper tantrums and ill-advised decisions, not to mention his disdain for the rule of law and his blatantly mercenary ambitions. Unbeknownst to them, they have also handed The Trump Files, which I had hoped would end shortly after Joe Biden was elected in November 2020, another four-year sentence.

All of which has led to a deep and difficult decision. Faced with the grim prospect of another four years chronicling the mishaps and blunders of a ruthless and inept Trump administration, and having already spent more than four years doing so, I have decided to grant myself an unconditional pardon. In other words, the time has come to dim the lights and put this baby to bed.

As I sense some slight disappointment among readers who have come to rely on the honesty and common sense (not to mention the occasional humor) offered by The Files, I will say there is a chance the baby might reawaken someday, at least long enough to fire a well-aimed volley or two across Trump's ample bow. That depends entirely on circumstance, or rather on how vicious or erratic the president becomes once he realizes he has almost absolute power to run amok and destroy as many agencies and lives as possible before he leaves office (which, come to think of it, may never happen as long as he is still breathing) or until someone teaches him the meaning of the word "tariff." In any case, consider this goodbye, au revoir, hasta la vista and arrivederci for The Trump Files—at least until further notice.

Creating The Files has been a labor of love, something that I've truly enjoyed writing and sharing. But as the mind and hands that created The Files are more than a decade older even than Trump's, it's time to give them a well-earned rest. Besides, the people have spoken—in their usual dumbed-down English—and Donald J Trump, believe it or not, has been untethered a second time to wreak even more discord and havoc on the American people. If there is, as many people believe, an all-wise and benevolent Supreme Being safeguarding our best interests, America needs Him now more than ever. In other words, God help us to survive the coming four years.

Until we meet again, whenever that may be, double down on your resistance to Trump and everything he stands for and stay on the right side of honesty, integrity and history...

One final thought before leaving: We are now being told that America's proud democracy is methodically being replaced by an oligarchy in which only the wealthiest citizens would wield power and make decisions. That grim prospect should be laid squarely at the feet of a corrupt and compromised Supreme Court, which decreed in the absurd and indefensible Citizens United decision that corporations are "people," entitled to speak as loudly and as often as anyone else (with their pocketbooks, of course) in election campaigns. On the road from democracy to oligarchy, that is known as Step 1.

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Illustration courtesy of Keith Henry Brown and Michael Ricci

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