Decency

 

Jimmy Carter died peacefully at his home yesterday after a hundred years of military service, political achievement and international renown.  He was only allowed a single term as president but his achievements on the world stage endure:  Israel is still at peace with Egypt after forty-six years and Panama controls all its own territory as of this writing.  

His successes and failures will be hashed over elsewhere.  What gives me joy is the literal shadow he will throw over the second Trump disaster, as flags fly at half-staff on inauguration day.  I'm sure the felon's first act will be to order them back up.  Nothing petty or mean is beyond him, nothing selfless or brave within his grasp.  Read about how Lt. Carter, USN, and his team risked their lives in 1952 to repair the Chalk River nuclear research facility in Canada.  It's not hard to imagine Trump's reaction:  "What was in it for them?" followed by another taunt of "Governor Trudeau."  Which is why he will never win the Nobel Prize he covets even if Elon buys Sweden for him.  (Fine obituary here.)

But there's more delightfully bad news.  The US Court of Appeals upheld the original verdict in the E. Jean Carroll sexual abuse case days after her rapist demanded that she be jailed.  Five million, please.  That's less than frightened billionaires hand over at Motel a Lago every week.  His clearly reluctant "endorsement" of Mike Johnson may not be enough to save God's Chosen Speaker from the wrath of Massie, Greene and other House MAGAs.  (Trump wouldn't care if Carroll was elected speaker on January 3 as long as he gets certified on January 6.)  Musk has apparently lost interest in Donny and is now devoting his prodigious energy and cash to getting neo-Nazis elected in Germany.  

Now we can see the scheme behind the Musk-Trump pact of iron and what a surprise, it's money.  Can't have enough of the dosh, apparently.  Musk lost a pile of it when he bought and systematically ruined Twitter in order to promote Trump in order to make another pile by laying off American workers at Tesla and replace them with foreigners holding H1B visas.  This is already SOP in Silicon Valley.  Won't those auto workers who voted for Trump be thrilled.  He really cares about them.  And he acknowledges having "many H1B visas on my properties."  The visa is supposed to be for high-skilled workers, not housekeepers or gardeners.  Not, in other words, the sort of workers who will soon be deported with or without their American-born children.  I guess the ex-auto workers can apply for those jobs.  After years of toiling in factories they might enjoy picking lettuce in the fresh air.

These people have a long history of flouting US law when it comes to visas.  Musk overstayed his student visa and worked illegally, according to his brother Kimbal.  (How did they come up with these names?  Were Scrabble tiles involved?)  We're still waiting for a glimpse of the college diploma which supposedly entitled Melania Knaus to come here.  Why not just drop the hypocrisy for five minutes and admit that the intent is still what Calvin Coolidge said it was when he signed the 1924 Immigration Act:  It's meant to keep America white.  A hundred years ago that meant limiting Italians, eastern Europeans and Jews.  Now some of their descendants are proud MAGAs.  Progress.

Naturally Musk is responding with quiet dignity:  "Take a big step back and FUCK YOURSELF in the face."  Oh my goodness.  Do you eat Mae with that mouth?  Not that it's weird to take Mom to parties.  Does she cut up your meat?  Boers -- the Dutch were so lucky to get rid of them.  And Bannon retorts, "Somebody please notify 'Child Protective Services.'"  Could you two please continue to feud like the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons?  It could be America's last best hope.

Alert as always, Greg Abbott tweeted his condolences to Rosalynn Carter, who died in 2023.  That was merely uninformed, not vile.  This was vile:  "My wife attended the funeral of Rosalyn [sic] Carter and it was beautiful...I thought to myself, Jimmy Carter is happy now because he will go down as being a brilliant president by comparison to Joe Biden."  Of course, he (or Karoline Leavitt) pumped out some standard boilerplate today.  Yes, what man doesn't experience happiness at the death of the woman who shared his life for 77 years?  Let's give the last word to Biden:  "Jimmy Carter stands as a model for what it means to live a life of meaning and purpose.  We could all do well to be a little more like Jimmy Carter."  What could Trump learn from Carter?  "Decency.  Decency.  Decency."