Flash Fiction: I Read the News Today

 

I read the news today.

Well. I read some headlines on my phone. I had a choice between several sources.  Which one you picked depended mostly on which billionaire you liked best. 

They all pretty much said the same thing.  Explaining in great detail why Greenland should be a part of the United States.

One billionaire said it should be for national security.  He had many military contracts with the United States.

Another billionaire said it should be to gain the oil resources under the permafrost.  The implication was that Greenland would become more valuable as global warming melted its glaciers.

Yet another was a tech bro, and coveted the abundance of rare earth elements - once again, under the melting permafrost.

Finally, one was a real estate mogul who saw it as an opportunity for development.  It helped that he was also the son of a former President of the United States.

I wondered who lived there and what they thought.

For that, I would have to read deeper.  I wasn't going to do that. Too much time.  I had other stuff to do. I had to get to my second job. Help earn enough to keep the family afloat amid our rising bills.

I thought about stopping at Chick-fil-A for a morning biscuit.  But I didn't want to spend $12.99 to get that.  I could eat after work.  Esmerelda, my beautiful partner, was a whiz with PB & J.  If she had any time between her three jobs.

I arrived at Hobby Lobby at 6 AM, just in time for my morning shift: stocking, cleaning, and preparing sales merchandise for the store's 9 AM opening.  Today was going to feature a special on the Twin figurines - Jesus blessing his representative on Earth, President Vance.

There was also a display honoring our dedicated immigration enforcement agency, ICE.  Last year, this day was declared National ICE Recognition Day, where we celebrated their vigilant protection of our borders and saving us from the wrath of the evil and illegal aliens.

Not all the aliens were deported, of course.  Many remained in camps, and as prisoners, supplying their labor to farmers and hotel owners, and maintaining the yards and homes of our beneficiaries of the Prosperity Gospel. I had a friend tell me this was just a modern form of slavery.  We had no follow-up conversations.  He was sent to a re-education camp.  We had a lot of camps.  None that I would want to go to, though.

My two workmates, Marvin and Matilda, and I worked hard and got the store in order with fifteen minutes to spare.  We thought we could take a few minutes to relax, but the manager told us to re-clean the windows.  Again.  For the third time this morning.

The doors opened.

The crowd came in.

They were very white.

As usual.

It's another great day in the Kingdom!

All hail President Vance and his lovely spouse, Vice-President Kirk-Vance!

Taking the Wrong Fork

 

Global warming/climate change is real.  It's not a debate.  It's a reality. Even Trump knows this.  He won't tell you this.  But you can see from his behavior and actions.

With climate change advancing faster than scientists anticipated, we are at a fork in the road.  Which fork, which path will we take?

One fork leads to greater conservation efforts, a move away from the damage done by fossil fuels and towards alternative fuel sources that are less harmful to the planet. It requires science and international cooperation.  It may result in energy sources that are more universal but less profitable to the multinational corporations.

Some nations are striving that way.  But, clearly, the United States is not.

They have chosen a different fork.  This fork leads to...

Resource Wars!

In that scenario, we do not change or evolve.  We do not develop (or prioritize) energy alternatives.  We double down on the fossil fuels that are destroying us.  We use our strength and power to take what we want.  

It is not to benefit the nations we are robbing.  It really does not even benefit us.  What it does is enrich the multinational oil companies.  What it does is increase the wealth and power of the billionaire class.  It enriches the Trump family.

The damage it does to the planet is not their concern.  They see it as a problem for another generation.  Their plan is to take advantage of the planetary changes to enrich themselves.

It will take a lot of moolah to survive what's coming, and they will have it in spades.

Stripping Venezuela of its terrible dictator is one thing.  Running Venezuela is another.  The trump administration has made it clear that the priority is resource exploitation, not the democratic liberation of the Venezuelan people.  The Nobel Prize winner, Machado, whose opposition candidate won the last election (but was denied victory), has been deemed "too unpopular" to be allowed to take control.  This is by the man whose popularity in this country is hovering around 35%, and will most likely rocket further downward.

It's not just the oil; it will take a lot of time and investment to have any impact on world oil supply or price.  It's the rare-earth elements that the billionaire tech bros drool over. This AI revolution comes at a high cost, in its incredible consumption of water and electricity, and rare earth elements.

Speaking of water, the resource wars over fuel will seem minuscule compared to the fight over dwindling supplies of fresh water.  Oh, Lord, I would not want to be living in Phoenix, Arizona.

A super reveal of how much the Trump administration accepts climate change is the incredible lust for Greenland.  As the glaciers and permafrost melt, more and more resources will be discovered.  Greenland will be a vast treasure trove for the wealthy elite.

There can be no doubt that we have taken the wrong fork in the climate change road.  In a contest between a dangerously altered Earth and an all-out cooperative mitigation effort, it is incredible how much the scent of money can steer people away from decency.

Nothing is going to get the US off this path for the next three years.  Even if Trump is replaced, they'll still control everything.  Vance is a billionaire bro B-boy.  Midterms won't matter.  They don't need Congress to do what they want.

I'm sorry, this isn't a feel-good post.  Even if Americans wake up, it is much too late. At some point, we can reverse course, back up, and get on the right fork in the road, one that leads to conservation and science-based solutions.

I'm not optimistic.

Year of the Scout!

 

It’s the Year of the Scout!

Yes, the year that this dog lover discovered there was still enough love left over in his heart to include at least one cat – Scout!

Adopted as a kitten of about eight weeks, Scout came to us after his own WILD adventure!  He took a ride under his caretaker's car and ended up a few miles away at the local college's parking lot!  How he wasn’t damaged in transit, I have no idea!

I am not a cat person, but I quickly discovered I am a cat person.  This active, playful kitten became our first pet who was more attached to me than Alison (who is the ultimate animal magnet, almost like a Disney Princess).  He spends most of his day where I am at.  He loves to sit on my lap, and we have playtime every evening.  The miracle for me is I no longer do my nighttime snacking – instead, I get exercise with Scout!  It’s part of why my health improved this year.

He is now considerably bigger.  He has outgrown Pixie, our 13+ year-old chihuahua mix. At seven months, he may still get bigger.  He can parkour all around the house, jumping from chair to cat tree.  From table to countertop.

The year was pretty good for my family.  I know it was less so for the country and world at large.

My spirits are often down, but it is amazing how much playful, loving Scout can lift me up!

Scout sleeping beside me.

Scout in my work bag.  I think he wants to come to work with me.

Scout and I watching Cat TV.

Scout waiting for me to come back home.

Sccout in his cat tree.

Redacto-Mania! Saturday Political Soap Box 301

 And now...the BOLD truth about the Epstein Files!

On December 19, 2025, the Epstein Files were finally released to the public!  And this is what they showed...

They clearly proved that.                                                                                                             

                                                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Impressed?

Satisfied?

Justice isn't served.  Justice is blacked out.

Yes, they were supposed to redact victim's names.  So, were most documents a constantly flowing list of those names?

There were some 300 gigabytes of files that were supposed to be released. I've senn estimates that we only got two gigabytes.

Much of what was released was already publicly available. The majority of information was redacted.  A 119-page grand jury report was completely redacted, except for the title.

The only political figure pictured or mentioned was Bill Clinton. Is it just a coincidence that Clinton was the only name released by the TRUMP DOJ?  I have no love for Bill Clinton.  I am not now nor have I ever been, a Clintonista.  I wish he had resigned in the face of his scandal and let Al Gore assume the presidency.  Our history might have been quite a bit different had he done so.

But Bill Clinton is not the Big Kahuna.  We all know who that is.

It's the man who was Epstein's decades-long best friend.  It's the man who ran teen beauty pageants and modeling agencies geared to underage models, and used those as feeder systems into the Epstein pedophile ring, also including hiring underage masseuses at Mar-A-Lago. It's the man accused of sexual assault by over two dozen women, who bragged about how he grabs women by the nether region, who was adjudicated for sexual assault/rape, who was convicted of campaign financial crimes for trying to cover up his sexual liaison with a porn star.

It doesn't end.  And no one should doubt his involvement.  

Anyone who thought that Trump was going to allow damaging information about himself in the Epstein Files to come out, is operating at the height of delusion.  

You should not need to see the files to know the extent of his corruption. 

He's covering up his complicity, and everyone can see that.  As we learned from Watergate, it's the cover-up that gets you.

It's tough.  Yes, clearly, the DOJ is violating the law.  Pam Bondi and all involved should be impeached and criminally charged.

But that won't happen.  Because Trump is in control of everything, and the Democrats are weak (at least the Corporate Democrats).  Additionally, even if others go down, Trump won't. A SUPREMEly corrupt COURT has granted him immunity.  

The only thing that counts is public pressure.  And that is muted by the fact that once we allow a dictator in, they no longer have to consider public opinion. Nevertheless, we have to try. And it will only count unless MAGA adds its voice to ours.

Trump is culpable of many, many crimes.  But please!  This is one we should not let him get away with.

The Return of Colonial Empire

It is indisputable at this point that we are losing our democracy.  That includes whatever you want to qualify it with - constitutional republic, representative democracy, or just plain old reliance on a system of checks and balances.

Much of it has disappeared.  What is left is quickly receding.

Many of us have used different terms to describe what is replacing it - authoritarianism, fascism, oligarchy, dictatorship. All are about the same thing - the consolidation of power into one person, and the wealthy, entrenched interests behind him.

What we may be less familiar with is how they're ushering in a new era of Colonial Empire. 

It's very accurate to say that developed nations have always sought to exploit the resources of the less developed world.  It often involves corporate interest, both American and multinational conglomerates.

But what is now happening is taking it to a new level. A raw, ugly level that barely hides its true purpose.  The lust to control other nations' resources is no longer disguised.  There is little pretense that is for the purpose of freedom or democracy.  It is for acquiring resources.  And it is not for the benefit of mankind, or even a nation.  It is to enrich the greed and control of a small number of super-wealthy individuals.

The idea that we want to go into Venezuela to end drug trafficking or free the populace would be laughable if it weren't so deadly and dangerous.

Trump and friends want to control Venezuelan oil, the largest reserve on the planet.  They also want more of their rare-earth minerals and elements that tech bros lust after. They don't care whether the daily lives of Venezuelans are improved - they would just as soon they were left impoverished and controllable. Because, yes, my friends, there is more to exploit than the earth's resources.  They are also people, people who can do the dirty work necessary at as little as you can get away with paying them.

In the US, under the pretense of cracking down on undocumented workers, the idea is to actually imprison them (and others) and then reintroduce them into society as prison labor. They know Americans aren't doing fieldwork or other menial, physically intense labor, especially at the pay rates the wealthy want to pay them.  

Another part of the New Colonial Empire is the perversion of the Monroe Doctrine - the US has the right to control and dominate the Western Hemisphere.  That's what all the imperial mutterings mean about South America, Central America, Mexico, Canada, and Greenland mean.  For many rational and decent Americans, these rantings seem insane.  But we dismiss them at our peril.

We are no longer on the side of good and democracy.  We are on the side of authoritarian control and exploitation.

A Celebration of Nothing: Saturday Political Soapbox 300

There was a celebration of Democratic voters and other anti-Trumpers.  Their very able and talented candidate, Aftyn Behn, narrowed the gap between the two parties in the Tennessee Special Election for the 7th district congressional seat.  In 2024, the gap between the parties was 21.5%, and in this election, they were only apart by 8.8%.

My own opinion is that this is nice, but it's really a celebration of nothing.

"What's wrong with you, Tom?  Don't you understand how important it is that we are closing the gap?"

Like I said, it's nice, but it's not enough.

We HAVE to win.  We don't have time for a slow ramp build-up.  We have to win NOW. Our democracy is fading every day.  Unless we take back the House as soon as possible, there will be no way to escape the strangling of our constitutional republic.

Whatever we're doing, we're not moving enough voters to save ourselves.

I don't care how conservative you are.  The clinging to the scarring barnacle of the orange conman has got to stop.

But too many of them cling.  

They cling despite our committing war crimes/murder by blasting fishing boats out of the Caribbean, even slaughtering survivors.  They think it's part of a drug war, while the other front of it is by pardoning the big fish drug dealers.

They cling as their medical insurance premiums skyrocket, as homes and college become more and more out of reach for the working American, and as groceries and other retail prices continue to soar. Meanwhile, they know he is lying when he says prices are going down - they can see for themselves that it is not true.  Yet they cling.

They see that ICE is chasing down, not criminals, but every day decent folk, including those with citizenship.  Yet they cling.

They change and rationalize every time the Greed King reverses and contradicts himself.  Yesterday: We Want the Epstein Files released! Today: Uh, no we don't.

For me, in addition to stopping the madness of King Drumpf, I want to see the progressive wing of the Democratic Party become the majority wing.  I am so tired of the cowardly and big donor-driven corporate Democrat dominating.

Mamdani was a good start, but we have to prove we can win anywhere.  We have to win primaries. We have to win in places where no one expects us to. 

I really, honestly, feel like the only way to restore what our country should be, to really aspire to the best dreams of an improving America that lives up to its pledge and Constitution, is to give Progressives the biggest seat at the table.

And we have yet to prove that we can do that.

Our politics are largely character-driven.  If Progressives are not big, appealing characters like Mamdani, we will not gain. One of the dominant voting impulses in America is, "I don't care.  I like 'em anyway."  It worked for as disparate a group of politicians as Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.

It works in a way for Trump.  He has trouble achieving a majority support, but those who do cling to it. Oh, do they cling!

On the corporate Democratic side, the only two figures with that character potential are California Governor Gavin Newsom and former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. That shouldn't be who we need (I'm 110% Team AOC), but if they have a large contingent of Progressive Congressmen and Senators, it would undoubtedly be better than the alternative.

The Republicans will have a lot of trouble replacing Trump.  None can hold together his fervent, deluded base.  Yet, they may not need to.  They may not need to worry about elections at all.  Every day moves us closer to Soviet Style elections.

By 2026 (in part) or 2028 (in full), our elections may be completely rigged. Through voter suppression, through uber-gerrymandering, through a controlled media, through a fawning Supreme Court, through whatever Elon Musk does to voting machines.

That is why we have to win NOW.  Every Congressional turnover has to be a battlefield.  As crazy as it sounds, we have to fight for Marjorie Taylor Greene's district. 

The future cannot wait.

T. M. Strait

AOC '28

Earliest Merry Christmas Ever from Your Episcopalian Friend

 Merry Christmas!

Yes, I know in years past I have been hesitant to celebrate Christmas until Christmas Eve, as per our Episcopalian tradition.  Currently, we are in the Advent season, a time devoted more to reflection and preparation.

But the truth is, many of my fellow Episcopalians start early as well.  The whole weight of the culture favors early celebration, and less during the actual season of Christmas (roughly December 24th through January 6th -Epiphany.

The season does require preparation.  Much planning has to be done for gifts and events.

In this age of increasing authoritarian fascism, it is getting harder and harder to get in a celebratory mood.

We need to treasure our family and friends.  Even our MAGA friends/family.  We must love everyone, as best we can.  Yes, they are dismantling our democracy and endangering our planet, but hatred won't solve the problem.* It is challenging but fair to avoid as much confrontation as possible. Reason will not change their minds.

Meanwhile, as consumers, we should be looking to spend our dollars as progressive-friendly as possible.  We do not need to feed the monster that is consuming us.

First, shop as local as possible.

In heavily MAGA areas, this may be difficult to determine. I live in a county that votes 90% for Trump. 

There are a few businesses that are not MAGA, clearly.  A massage therapist and a couple of locally owned restaurants come to mind.  I am not going to name them here, but I will be glad to in direct messages, group texts, and private Facebook groups.  

For the rest, I have to go to the philosophy of do no harm.  If there are no blatant displays of MAGA in their stores, or the owner isn't blasting MAGA themes on social media, I'm more inclined to spend Christmas dollars with them.

Many stores in our area are part of corporate chains.  No corporation is perfect, but in my area, TJ Maxx and Kroger are better than most.  Costco is not in our area, but I would shop there in a heartbeat if it were.

High on the naughty list is Hobby Lobby.  If you could go to Michael's or Home Goods instead, I would do that.

If you shop online, do your best to avoid the beast that is Amazon.  Etsy is a collection of individual creators and entrepreneurs that offers a wide range of small business products. My weakness is books, and two of my primary sources, Amazon and Books-A-Million, are on the naughty list.  I will do my best to focus on independent bookstores and Thrift Books.

Streaming, which I love, is overwhelmed by ownership of Trump-friendly billionaire owners and abject cowards.  The worst may be the Ellison family, now owners of Paramount+ and CBS. The best may be Netflix.  At this point, many shows challenge authoritarianism (it's the nature of storytelling - the villains are almost always the exploiters) on all of the streaming services.  So, for example, Star Trek is an impressively liberal show, and it's still available on Paramount+.

There are many more I can mention, especially if I do more research.  There are websites and TikToks that can guide you in this.  ShopHowYouVote.com lists many companies and simply tells you their past political bias, without appealing to the left or right. TikToks by xjigaydnp4 have been especially helpful to me.

If you have any additions or thoughts, please let me know. I am posting this only to friends and liberal groups, so you should be able to comment.

Thanks,

T. M. Strait

AOC '28

* The offer to avoid hatred does not apply to Trump.  Please forgive me, Jesus.