Today is Sunday, January 28, 2024.    Taking a page right out of the Nazi playbook, repugnican frontrunner (how did we get here?) Donald J. Frump echoes his mentor, Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, who is quoted as saying, “Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it and eventually they will believe it.”  This prescient quote leads off an online article for Montgomery Advertiser written by Ron Yeomans entitled “Letter:   Trump is the biggest liar since the Nazi’s Joseph Goebbels.”

Yeomans then examines how Herr Drumpf “told the most dangerous lie ever told by a politician running for office in the United States.”    This lie was what he told his deluded followers:  if he lost the presidential election, then the election was rigged.  It wasn’t, of course.   Then Herr Drumpf lost the election and immediately started telling his supporters that the election was stolen from him.   He claimed that ballots were destroyed.   That poll workers had changed and miscounted ballots.    That various election officials had schemed to make him lose.  That voting machine companies had rigged the vote count.  Thus “all of his ranting is nothing more than a pack of horrible lies resulting in poll workers’ and election officials’ lives being threatened and in some cases ruined.” Numerous lawsuits have debunked the Big Lie.

This egregious alternate reality led to the siege at the nation’s Capitol on January 6, 2021, when Herr Drumpf instructed his loyal minions to go to the Capitol and “fight like hell.”  The Trump mob descended on the halls of Congress and broke in while Congress was in the midst of certifying Joe Biden as president.   In the ensuing riot, the mob assaulted 134 Capitol police officers and murdered one officer.   The Dump coup to overturn the 2020 election failed, but it hasn’t prevented him from repeating the big lie.   He has never apologized to the officers who were assaulted.  He never apologized to the slain officer’s family.  On the contrary, Herr Drumpf called the mob “patriots” and claimed that the convicted rioters were being held hostage.  Fucking not true!    And very dangerous to say this!

Now this traitorous ex-president is running for president once more.   His purpose here is twofold: (1) To destroy democracy in this nation while appointing himself dictator and (2) To pardon himself if convicted of the numerous crimes for which he has been indicted (for a grand total of 91 times).

Here is a direct quote from the writer of this piece:   “Donald Trump is hands down the most dangerous threat to this nation since the Civil War.”  He concludes, “Electing him president would be a disaster from which this country would never recover.”     Amen!

And I’m at my wit’s end trying to fathom why this horrible, horrible subhuman has any supporters this late in the fucking game!    Maybe this most recent massive judgment against him might convince some undecided voters – how could there be any at this point? I wonder – to finally reject him at the ballot box.   It’s really his supporters, actually, who need to be analyzed – and denounced – for their unabashed loyalty to him:  Herr Drumpf remains the object of admiration and enthusiasm for his cult followers, who whoop with glee when he demeans women and laugh themselves silly when he threatens people who see through one or more of his innumerable lies and cons.   For them, the cruelty is entertainment.   As Adam Serwer noted way back in 2018, in The Atlantic, “the cruelty is the point.”   

For me, I’m quite relieved that I do not know any Herr Drumpf supporters in my small circle of friends or in my rather small family.  But I have mentioned having a few encounters with Herr Drumpf supporters right here in Forest Hills at my Austin Street Diner.   That was scary and bizarre!   So I can only imagine if someone has friends or family members who defend this criminal!    And if anyone is dealing with being estranged from friends and family because of their admiration for this monster, I sympathize with them.    What is there to do in this case?  There has never – never – been such a polarizing figure in American politics like this divisive and terrible man!     Richard M. Nixon is a pussycat when compared to this would-be dictator, in my opinion.  

Now I’m glad that I got that off my chest:  whoo!  

Today was a very nice day, even though it drizzled all day, since Elliot and I met one of his best friend’s sons at a Chelsea hot spot, Worthwild, located at 20th Street and 9th Avenue.    

We left Forest Hills around 11:30 in order to meet “Gabriel” who is a very young-looking 38 at 12:30.     We actually got down to 9th Avenue a little early, around 12.   So we darted into a coffee shop for coffee and a dessert before walking down to 20th Street. 

When we arrived at Worthwild, we were ushered to a window table and waited for Gabriel.   He came a little past 12:30 and we all caught up with all that we missed since we last saw him, which was a while ago, in Los Angeles.    He moved to the West Village about three months ago and this was the first time we were able to see him. 

One of the subjects we discussed was dating.   All I can say is that I’m glad I’m not young anymore which sounds like a song from Gigi (oops, it is!). Gabriel showed us the various dating apps he’s on and he showed us a list of 10 women that he’s now currently considering to go out with.   Since Elliot and I are superannuated, I don’t think Gabriel could identify with the old ways one used to meet someone of the opposite sex like taking ads out in the now-defunct Village Voice and just going to bars, which I never liked since I couldn’t drink more than one beverage and having it last several hours.  However, Gabriel agreed that going to bars is still an option that someone of his age would consider.  We just wished him all the best and then moved on to discuss his family back in Beverly Hills.   Gabriel is one of four brothers, by the way.  

By the way, the food at Worthwild was very good.   We had fresh blueberry muffins as an appetizer and I had the brioche French Toast consisting of tahini Nutella and whipped cream.  Gabriel had the eggs Benedict, I believe, and Elliot had the little gem salad consisting of roasted garlic vinaigrette, smoked almonds, and parmesan cheese.   The coffee was quite fantastic; it was so good that I had three cups.  

We sat for at least two hours before we said goodbye to Gabriel who was meeting a friend at an exclusive club in Chelsea.

It’s time to sign off, as Atticus is preventing me from typing more.  I would have to move him away from the screen, but I don’t want to.

So have a good week.

Stay safe and be well.