November 11, 2025

The Paucity of Hope

In 2006 Barack Obama wrote "The Audacity of Hope.” This was both a memoir and a call to action. The book outlined his vision for America. Two years later he beat John McCain for the presidency and four years later won his second term defeating George Romney. He did fulfill his promise to bring hope to the country. People like us had hope.

Then Trump came along. He was bad but he didn’t turn out to be as bad as many of us thought he would be. Next came President Biden and we breathed a collective sigh of relief.

As of 2025, President Joe Biden ranks approximately 14th among U.S. presidents based on recent surveys of scholars and political scientists. This ranking places him in the upper tier of modern presidents. Obama is ranked as seventh, and Trump is rated as 45th, dead last. (This is from an AI query.)

Yesterday I wrote “The futility of desperately seeking hope.”

Today I want to be less dire as I look at Amercia’s future. I want to share what gives me hope, albeit meager hope, that the country won’t descend into the hell of a brutal dictatorship.

Much of what I think could happen to stop this descent and reverse its course so democracy is restored is unlikely to happen. I still think what I described yesterday is what America will look like in a year or two.

The most likely chance I see of my vision not being realized is that Donald Trump dies and Vance takes over and he decides that without having Trump around he wants to reverse his most draconian and cruel policies.

Assuming Trump lives, I see variations of a few occurrences that could achieve different positive results.

Lots of people are pinning their hope for thwarting Trump’s worse excesses on the Democrats taking over Congress. They assume that Trump will abide by the laws they pass. When it comes to this I am not sanguine. Trump may be so confident in his power that he defies Congress. The same applies to rulings of the Supreme Court which, while much less likely to go against him in a major way like a Democratic Party controlled Congress would, might still try to stop his most egregious violations of both presidential norms and of the Constitution. Trump could simply ignore Supreme Court rulings he doesn’t like.

The actions I describe would undoubtedly lead to the Democratic House impeaching him. His being convicted in the Senate would mean that enough Republican senators decided he had turned the country into something abhorrent even to them so they would risk not being reelected and they would vote him out.

This could happen. It would depend on public sentiment combined with the personal morality of enough Republican senators.

Once voted out of office we have the possible scenario of Trump refusing to leave and trying to use the military to keep him in power. This might suceed but I doubt it.

This possiblity brings up the other reason I cling to a slim hope.

In America, like in all countries, there are two forces that decide how a nation is governed. One is the force of law and the other is the force of force, or put another way, the force of the armed forces.

Here are two articles which address what would happen if the military decided that Trump had gone too far:

What Would Happen if the Generals Refused to Follow Orders?

Two Key Takeaways From Quantico

The second article ends with:

More to the point, are the generals and admirals, who took an oath to uphold the US Constitution, ready to resist orders that violate that oath?

Resisting orders could just be the beginning of a military coup. At it’s banana republic, extreme, we’d see tanks surrounding the White House and other federal buildings. We might see Trump arrested.

We could see a a triumvirate of generals and admirals assuming the duties of the president. This might be like unofficial coalition of Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus in 60 BC and the “Second Triumvirate,” which was a coalition formed by Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian in 43 BC. We could see this military triumvirate bring in Barack Obama as temporary president.

They hopefully would maintain power only until free and fair elections could be held.

Thus I see two ways the country can get back to being a democracy. One depends on the on the death of Trump or his removal from office, and (a crucial “and”) President Vance restoring the kind of democracy we’ve had under very conservative presidents like Ronald Reagan.

I asked AI what a Vance presidency would look like. Click here or scroll down for the answer> 1

The other way democracy could be restored is through a military coup. An attempted coup by a significant number, but not overwhelming percentage, of the armed forces could result in a violent civil war. Depending on which side won we could have a restored democracy once the smoke settled and the dead were buried, or an even more brutal dictatorship with executions of members of the losing side. If the authoritarians won we could turn into a country which would make North Korea look like Disneyland.

JD Vance’s Potential Presidential Agenda

If JD Vance were to become President, his agenda is likely to align closely with Donald Trump’s policies, given his current role as Vice President and his involvement in the Trump administration. Here’s a breakdown of what Vance’s presidential focus could look like based on his actions and statements so far.

Key Policy Areas

POLICY AREADETAILSImmigrationAdvocate for strict border security measures, including ending catch-and-release policies and enhancing vetting.Economic PoliciesLikely to support tax cuts for middle and working-class Americans while pushing back against regulations seen as burdensome.HealthcarePotentially push to cut funding for the Affordable Care Act and oppose social programs like Medicare and Social Security.Social IssuesStrong opposition to abortion rights, with support for a nationwide ban and minimal exceptions.Energy PoliciesEmphasize U.S. energy dominance, aiming to streamline regulations and boost fossil fuel production.Foreign PolicyWould likely continue a nationalist agenda, with a strong emphasis on America-first diplomacy.EducationAdvocate for educational reforms that align with conservative values and promote school choice.

Immigration and Border Security

Vance is expected to focus heavily on border security, advocating measures like reinstating “Remain in Mexico” policies and ending asylum for undocumented migrants. His administration might pursue the designation of cartels as foreign terrorist organizations to enhance law enforcement capabilities along the border.

Economic Policies

Vance’s economic agenda will likely include aggressive tax cuts and reducing federal spending on social programs. He has been vocal about viewing the Affordable Care Act and entitlement programs like Social Security as obstacles to fiscal responsibility.

Social Issues

Vance’s stance on social issues, particularly abortion, reflects a hardline conservative view. He supports stringent abortion laws with no exceptions for cases of rape or incest and has articulated views that discourage women from leaving abusive relationships.

National and Foreign Policy

In terms of foreign policy, Vance’s approach is more isolationist, aiming to prioritize American interests without heavy reliance on global agreements or organizations. His administration may focus on reshaping U.S. relationships with traditional allies as well as adversaries, including China.

Summary of Approach

Vance’s role as a “fixer” and enforcer in Trump’s administration suggests he would continue to cha . mpion the America First agenda while likely bringing a more personal, aggressive flair to discourse on both domestic and foreign fronts. His presidency could entail a commitment to reform various aspects of government to streamline processes and enhance support for conservative objectives.

With his potential candidacy for the 2028 presidential election already in discussion, JD Vance is positioning himself as a key figure in the continuation of Trump’s legacy and an enforcer of his policies

November 10, 2025

The futility of desperately seeking hope. The signs at the entrances to the Nazi death camps read "Work Shall Set You Free."

It drives me crazy. It leads me to actually shout out loud at home.

People are desperate for hope. They want to hear answers to the question “what can we actually do to stop Trump?”

They want to feel that going out to hold signs along a busy road once week like they do around the country will make a difference.

This is human nature. Feeling helpless when your life as you know it, your lifestyle, is not just jeopardized, but may be forcibly taken from you is a normal reaction. When this is the fact, pretending it isn’t inevitable when it is for certain happening or about to happen is clinical denial or delusional.

Although some people have been herded onto deportation airplanes, we haven’t been herded by armed soldiers into cattle cars to a place that has a sign over the gate that says “work shall make you free.”

Perhaps some of the Jews headed to the gas chambers saw that sign and had a glimmer of hope, a fleeting moment that defied logic. Even if though they didn’t know that some wouldn’t last more than a week before they were killed, while others were going to be worked to death, they had to know that the SS and Gestapo who brought the there weren’t going to provide work that would make them free.

I am under no illusion that my using AI to make images of Nap-oleon Trump like these > 1 does anything more than provide me amusement. I’d hoped it would amuse my readers. It doesn’t solve anything. It is just an escape, a momentary respite.

All the SNL skits, the riffs mocking Trump by late night comics, the editorial cartoons (like those by Ann Telnais), and even the No Kings protests, play into Trump’s hands. He may personally bristle when someone or something scores a hit that bruises his ego, but he also is firm in his belief that those people opposing him are, as the line used in several movies says, bringing knives to a gunfight.

I know that keeping one’s sanity and not succumbing to clinical depression or being debiliated by anxiety is crucial. It is vital for all of us to find ways to take care of our mental health. If it means just avoiding even thinking about the news, this is what you have to do.

I would rather see people seek balance. Escape for a period of time and then refocus your attention so you see what is going on.

You might say to me that is seems like I am saying I should give up hope. I am loath to state that I this is what I am saying. Don’t kid yourself. Trump holds not only the reins of power, but is whipping us with them. He may not be drawing blood yet, at least for those who haven’t been targeted by his ICE thugs, but I see it as only a matter of time before we are all feeling the sting on our metaphorical flesh.

My suggestion as someone who was a therapist for 40 years and still thinks like a shrink is that we should do what help us to feel good but not kid ourselves. If you want to head out to the road with a group of like minded people and hold signs because this makes you feel like at least youre doing something, and it feels good to be with friends and have people who drive by hink and wave, go ahead and do it enthusiastically.

Everyone must practice self-care. I broke my practice of having the news on TV in the morning and going to Music Choice and listening to oldies.

I just want people to understand that things have gone so far beyond being bad that bad can’t even be seen in the rear view mirror.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have posted my Trump as Nap-oleon of yesterday’s Substack which I took down.

November 9, 2025

JOJOFROMJERZ calls it Napocalypse Now, I say the narcoleptic news about Trump delights me, AI images show him napping in a meeting with his clowns, by Hal M. Brown

Go to bottom of page or to see more images click here > 1

JoJofromJerz had the best name for the lastest news about Trump: Napocalypse Now. All of you must read this Substack from JoJofromJerz (click here). I don’t know how even she can top this one for her always funny, acerbic wordsmithing about Trump. She makes me not even want to try to be snarky, let alone to see if I can come up with one or two lines which I think are amusing, let along gut busting laugh out loud hysterical. Check it out:

Her subtitle is damn good, too: “face-planted into dreamland during a press conference on dementia.”

JOJOFROM JERZ is the online persona of Joanne Carducci. She was a suburban mom from New Jersey, but now is a prominent Substacker and podcaster where she writes

Here’s an article about her. She has 237k follower on Instagram here and a million on X here.

I won’t even begin to try to write anything clever about Trump being caught on camera napping and express how, for the first time since he was elected, I actually feel good about anything in Trump world. As JoJo might say, this fucken delights me.

The results of the 2025 election don’t come anywhere close to having made me feel as good as this narcoleptic news about the nattering nabob of narcissism. That alliteration is the best I even want to try to foist off readers as being clever after reading JoJo.

I couldn’t come close to writing sentences like these:

He’s anti-woke like he heard Dr. Oz say “People can sleep again” and immediately took it as a fucking directive from the sleep gods, then attempted to achieve full unconsciousness during a press conference.
But President Napoleon Bone-Apart-From-Reality, seated like a bloated Renaissance bishop awaiting confession, simply slipped into the void with the kind of ease that comes from decades of surviving on rage, ego, and whatever Gargamelian goo is leaking out of his adrenal glands.
And for a split second, Trump twitched upright — like someone hit the defibrillate button on a microwaved pot roast.
A moment so saturated in unintentional symbolism it belongs in a museum next to the Emancipation Proclamation and a can of Barbasol steaming in the glove box of a Dodge Neon outside a Cracker Barrel.
And don’t even get me started on the cankles — those puffy, defiant ankle-calves that look like they’re smuggling two Costco rotisserie chickens under house arrest.

I want to make sure that none of my readers miss this particular JoJo Substack and consider following her.

There are lots of excellent writers on Substack. One is my friend Sabrina Haake. Steve Schmidt is another who wields a sharp rhetorical sword. Here’s his piece on Trump’s reaction to the man collapsing in the Oval Office. Jeff Teidrich is fun to read but he thinks using fuck and shit throughout a piece is humor when it is just venting. For example his Substack about the same topic as this which he titled “what the fuck is wrong with this guy” here.

I have nothing more to write about this. I can’t take credit for the images Perchance AI made. I can take credit for this AI request:

I don’t have to explain why I decided to ask for this particular image. On the very first try I came up with six images. I thought the two in the upper left might serve as a primary illustration but then figured, what the hell, I decided that I’d share them all.

Her are two that came up when I used the same request to be made in a cartoon version.

I know I don’t need to elaborate why I asked for clowns.

I like that HuffPost used the photo of Trump taken when the person collapsed in the Oval Office on the main page to illustrate this story. With some luck this will be used frequently. It won’t have the beneficial impact (to him) that the mugshot photo did and that his fist-raised photo after a bullet clipped his ear really did. That may have gotten him elected. He wants to have it on a new coin.

We should take what we can get when it is offered to us.

This photo is a gift on a golden platter.

The photo shows two things: that he is fighting a losing battle with the demon of drowsy even when he know there are cameras, and they also demonstrate his I don’t give a crap attitude about people who are suffering.

As if this isn’t enough, here some icing on the Trump snooze-quest news cake. This is a another sleepy time story made even more yummy since Fox News broke it:

Here’s the RawStory article about it: ‘He worse than Biden’: ‘Exhausted’ Trump seen ‘slumping into limo’ amid sleep scandal.

Excerpt:

Just as Donald Trump is trying to shake off a scandal after purportedly being spotted falling asleep in the Oval Office, the president was seen in a video reportedly “exhausted” and “slumping” into his limo.
Trump appeared to doze off during a press conference on Thursday, drawing both mockery and shock from political analysts and other online observers. One night later, he was seen “slumping” into his limo, according to video posted by Fox News and shared by the Daily Beast Saturday.
“President Donald Trump slumped into a waiting limousine after landing in Palm Beach for a Mar-a-Lago weekend on Friday—even as he demanded lawmakers keep at it in Washington, D.C., amid the ongoing government shutdown,” the outlet reported. “In footage captured by Fox News on Friday night, Trump can be seen slowly making his way off Air Force One. He descends the stairs at a cautious pace and raises his fist after completing the task without incident, before almost collapsing into the seat of his waiting car.”

That article includes a reference to this X post about McDonald’s burgers and fries: