Mug Shot of Mug Shots!

Donald is the New Grinch! 

I just realized where The Donald gets all his inspiration: The Grinch that Stole Christmas! Look at that mug shot! That's a grinch if I ever saw one! I guess the real title is "How The Grinch stole Christmas." That makes it even better. It took an entire movie for Hollywood to to tell the story of the Grinch. Since the election of 2020, it has taken almost three years to figure out how Donald and his crew attempted to steal the Presidency from Biden.

There are other parallels. The Grinch was a grouch with a heart that was too small. Some wonder if DJT has one. The Grinch lived on a mountain in a cave by himself. Donald spends most of his time in one of his towers. He might not be alone although since the Stormy blow up, you have to wonder. The Grinch dressed as Santa - can't even imagine DJT doing that. The Grinch flew on a sleigh - Donald in his own plane (I have often wondered if the manufacturer ever got paid. Hopefully the pilots do - he isn't THAT stupid.)

When the Grinch enters the first house to steal presents he is interruped by a young girl. He concocts a lie on the spot to get rid of her. Sound familiar? Grinch takes presents to an abyss to get rid of them. Where are those classified presidential records now?

The parallel ends where The Grinch finally realizes that Christmas is a lot more than presents and in the end returns them. He even warms up to those he was about to screw over, and they invite him to join in on the feast. Sounds a lot like Scrooge - another story from which I could draw more parallels to Trump. If he has been visited by ghosts, there is no sign of any turnaround in personality. Perhaps that will be another post.

The Grinch has a dog - Max. I ask you: Does The Donald strike you as a dog person? Can you even imagine one in any of his residences including the White House? Good thing. They are not permitted when you are incarcerated either!

There has been a lot of media footage about that mug shot - that it was envisaged and even rehearsed. Not true. It actually came from a candid shot of one of the many occasions when Donald was presented with one of his countless lawyers' invoices! You know - the ones he never pays. Somebody had their camera ready.

There is one big flaw in my hypothesis. It assumes that the subject has actually read the original Grinch story. He certainly didn't read it to his kids before bed. As most of us have heard - he never reads anything longer that a Tweet or whatever they call it now. Is he capable of such a read?

I guess there remains one question in my mind - has always been there. Who is "Dumber than Donald?" One possible answer would be his lawyers. They had better get one hell of a retainer up front or they are indeed dumb. The second has to be those in congress and Governors of states who know Trump is lying but still support him. Sadly they are also cowards - some might be intelligent cowards but cowards just the same.

Both The Grinch and Scrooge experienced an Epiphany which changed their lives forever. It will take an orange jumpsuit for Donald to experience this.

The sad fact is this will never happen despite deserving it. The White House and POTUS are not Hollywood or a book for children - despite being childish at times. Right now they ARE a glimpse of Hell - and the world can only hope that sane Americans will pull back from the abyss.

#thebrewsterblock

Technology now Displacing Entertainment Writers. Who is next?

Another Case of the Rich Getting Richer

I was just catching up on some of the details behind the writer's strike in an article by Todd Holmes. See below if you are interested ++.

Quite honestly I really don't have a lot of sympathy for the business side of Hollywood. In my opinion actors, producers / directors, studios, and celebrities in general have always been overpaid for what they do. Some so-called celebrities have essentially done nothing but indulge in porn, get "caught" on video, and then make millions from it. Others became celebrities merely spreading gossip about other celebrities.

However none of it would happen without the creativity of writers. I suspect their future is dim. The same thing happened in the music industry. Studios made fortunes on the talent behind the music - writers, vocalists, and instrumentalists - for decades. In the end, just as they are doing with movies and TV, studios turned to streaming content. Royalties began to plummet.

I interpret this as just another example of owners trying to make more profit through technology, automation, and now A. I. Welcome to free enterprise. It should be called "unbridled exploitation." The rich have always gotten richer on the backs of the poor whose poverty then increases.

We have been exploited by: the oil industry; the pharmaceutical industry; the gun industry; the real estate industry; the fashion industry; or the food industry to name a few? Notice the consistent use of the word "industry." As an adjective, industrious means hard working. Hard work is supposed to result in reward - for the hard workers. Too often it does not.

You would expect people at the top to be clever enough to realize that the energy which keeps enterprises and obscene incomes thriving is jobs and workers. If these continue to disappear who will buy the goods and services? Who will fill the stadiums and theatres or purchase new vehicles?

My immediate conclusion has to be that those at the highest levels - the "haves" - just don't care. Bigger profits mean bigger executive salaries, They have enough money to live wonderful lives until they die and then it is no longer their problem.

Average people do not push back enough - myself included. We take the increases and the job losses. There are things we can do about prices (not so sure about job loss). After all if a company can make something cheaper they can sell it cheaper. They just don't. Shareholder and executive incomes increase instead.

Over and over we keep watching the movies. We keep attending the sports events. We keep idolizing the celebrities on screens, fields, and rinks. We keep buying the clothes, the fuel, the phones, the large TVs etc. We are guilty of APATHY.

For one or two weeks we could car pool and take public transit - however inconvenient that is. Then watch the drop in gas prices. We could refuse to go to any live sports event. Then watch the ticket prices fall. We could keep our current phones, TVs, and cars that are still perfectly functional. Then watch the new item prices fall. We could vacation at home; put alcohol consumption on hold; put meat consumption on hold etc.

But we don't and corporations know it.

History is the great teacher. Nations and societies have been destroyed when the masses were forced to take matters into their own hands just to live. We are headed there. Smash and grabs and other forms of violence are one small indication that it is already happening. People are living in the street. Food banks have become the norm. Very few can afford a home or even rent.

Are there any avenues of hope? Perhaps a few.

1. Many should forget general college or university degrees unless they are targeting a particular profession. There will always be a lot of high income jobs in the trades. What is more important, status or a job? The wealthy will always need you to fix or renovate their homes. Natural disasters mean thousands of homes and infrastructures must be re-built.

2. With the environment becoming so destructive, there should be a ton of jobs as we fight it by electrifying the economy, in particular the car industry. Obsolete industries will require years of effort to be shut down cleanly and permanently.

3. Nurses and teachers are in very short supply. The pay is good.

4. Think about history. Gas engines virtually obsoleted steam engines and the horse and carriage trade but the new industry employed millions of people. FM radio replaced AM and thrived. Jetliners replaced most propeller commercial aircraft and created a new industry. Cell phones have almost totally replaced land lines. Somehow society managed to continue.

As a final thought, necessity is the mother of invention. People should consider a business themselves. Find something you enjoy doing and do it. There are very few employers upon whom to rely. They will use you and dispose of you.

You could always write a blog but I haven't made a dime.

#thebrewsterblock

++

(Hollywood Writers Strike Hits Day 109 And Negotiations Have Barely Begun. Here's What's At Stake (forbes.com)).

Draining the Swamp

Beware of Gators and Snakes

If you are ever going to drain the swamps - especially in the southern USA like Florida - a host of monsters await you. Most notable are the gators and snakes. Then there is also the chance of getting totally lost.

So many people find it very ironic - those with some semblance of honesty and integrity - when they know that the guy who promised to drain it turned out to be the biggest gator of them all. Perhaps biggest snake is more appropriate. His party is also totally lost.

As all of the charges unfold against a former American President, we will find out with proof, who really tried to weaponize the White House and all of its resources. It was not Biden or anyone else since Nixon. It was Trump - hands down. He is still trying to do it.

Being addressed as "Mr." by the judge sent a very important message. I was overjoyed to hear that Donald was upset. He has thumbed his nose at any form of rules or laws for most of his life and loves disrespecting others with childish (and not very clever) nicknames. He really did and still does think he is above all of this - too smart. NOT! Although there are many to choose from, his big mouth is the dumbest body part he owns.

There is only one thing that would be as satisfying as Trump being found guilty on any or all of these charges and even wearing prison gear (which is unlikely although it shouldn't be.) That would be to see a majority of Republican Congress members in both houses, summon up the guts to admit that the charges are true and that Biden won and Trump lost - twice.

The attempt to steal the last election was perpetrated entirely by Trump people and the GOP - not Biden and the Dems. Trump followers DID try to kill the VP and the Speaker. Others DID lose their lives. Anyone who even tries to claim that January 6th was just another day of free speech and protest in Washington should not be in office. That includes DJT.

If Trump is the GOP nominee you can bet your last dollar the 2024 will indeed be rigged - again - by the Trump team and their chicken hearted followers in the GOP. These people have no interest in making America great again. Like Trump, they only want to make their own bank accounts and lifestyles great again, or keep the ones they have.

Oh yes - if Trump wins, America will be toast - a sad chapter in the history books.

I would love to see Trump serve time but regardless he should never ever hold the office of President of the United States again. Electing him just because you don't like Biden is like amputating your foot because you have a sore toe. Americans - in particular Republican Americans - have a choice to make. There are several candidates who could make America great again if you don't think Biden has. Pick one of them. Some would pardon The Donald but at least there would be another four years without him. 

By 2028 who knows where he will be? One thing is for sure: Wherever that is he will still be spreading lies about losing in 2020. If most of his neighbours are wearing orange suits like his, they won't care and they hate cry babies.

Even I will concede that it would make America at least a little greater again.

#thebrewsterblock