This Carbon Based Life

By David Glenn Cox

It was a beautiful day in Casa Grande for a No Kings protest. The wind was brisk, making holding signs a bit of a chore. The crowd was even larger than last time and larger than the time before that. But while larger than last time, it seemed calmer and more sedate. The mood was upbeat, but somehow some of the enthusiasm was missing or maybe it was my enthusiasm? This crowd was quieter with less to prove. Less vocal, but more resolved. Saying; “here we are, again.”

For little Casa Grande it was an admirable showing, but for America; it was a terrible showing. A self-inflicted war for Israel. Criminal invasions. Americans shot dead on the street by masked Gestapo agents. Concentration camps and ethnic cleansing, and mile-long lines at the airport. The turnout for the protest should have been double or triple the turnout. There’s a lot of retirees in Casa Grande on the Saturday after the Friday Wall Street lost 800 points and moved into correction territory.

There is no guarantee the “correction” is going to stop “correcting” anytime soon. Three, count them, three crises at once. The war, The AI bubble, and the private credit crunch. The AI bubble is salvation’s Gold rush. The winners are going to be very rich. The losers aren’t. A race of time and technology, and one little slip and the race is over and all is lost. You must cover all the bases to be sure. That’s going to be expensive, like a heroin habit. They’ve invested thirty or a hundred million dollars, and the man on the phone says they need thirty or fifty more, or all is lost.

High-wealth individuals generally save paper clips. These individuals amassed fortunes by hanging on to them. They can invest in private credit funds where the returns are rarified. Only some restrictions may apply. Like you might be limited in getting your money back promptly. No problem, it hardly ever happens, don’t worry about it. More and more private credit funds are closing their doors and not allowing the money to leave right now.

The verdict is still out on artificial intelligence. It might be the greatest thing since grandma’s biscuits. Or it might be a big bust and everyone might lose their backsides. The man on the phone wants your decision. Can he have the money? Like a riverboat poker game, the stakes keep going up, and the return becomes more questionable.

The base economy looks somewhere between butt awful and just plain terrible. How long is this AI thing going to take? Nobody knows. How much is this AI thing going to cost? Nobody knows. It just keeps taking longer and longer and costing more and more. Until finally, the ceiling is reached. A credit crunch sucking up all the money available and always needing more. More! Feed me!

This down economy offers us few opportunities for new technology and get rich quick schemes. So AI is the only real game in town, and the winner will take all. If there is a winner? The cost of the data center soars as the power usage questions alarm everyone. You could be involved in a class action lawsuit for the next twenty years, and your profits would never arrive. Then, there is the obsolescence issue. With the speed of technological change, that data center might need to be upgraded with all new, expensive technology every five to seven years. We’re going to need another hundred million!

And now, with Captain Jerk’s war, the credit crunch and nervousness accelerate exponentially. Why aren’t they on the street protesting with us? A toddler is turning knobs and pressing buttons and has destroyed the world economy. Leaving a 50/50 chance of either a worldwide depression or a world war. Do they not make the connection? Trump + anything equals disaster. Where was the investor class? Where were the young people who will have to pick up the pieces from this debacle? Are the Trumper’s too ashamed to come forward and admit their mistake?

That’s one thing I saw for sure. There were fewer counter-protestors and fewer cars flipping us off or otherwise expressing any support for Trump. Trump has turned on his base, and they are at a loss of what to do. They aren’t pleased, but they aren’t ready to break their training yet. After years of deep programming, it’s difficult to make that kind of change. To admit the party of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden was right all along about Donald Trump.

Lost in a Sargasso Sea, not ready to be Democrats yet but no longer Trumpers. Not ready to join the crowd on the street, just yet. As for the young, they haven’t seen a positive accomplishment of government in this country in thirty years. It’s no wonder they doubt we ever went to the moon when we can’t pass a budget between government shutdowns. They see little use in protesting on the street, it won’t make any difference. “Why protest,” the Eloy said; “when It won’t make any difference.”

Is this a generational thing? Those middle-aged and up remember their training from Civics class. While the young Eloy are locked into the belief that nothing can be done and it’s nonsense to try.  Trumper’s lost and Trumper’s found. The former middle class hammered and browbeaten. Lost in the propaganda bubble. What happens to societies fed lies and pressured when all falls down? They get angry.

A dangerous cusp for the Trump administration. The public holds its breath for now. Millions protest in the street, but nowhere near millions enough. An illegal and immoral war. An economy on pins and needles and geriatric crazy man at the helm. And only a few paltry millions came out to protest the destruction of liberty and democracy. For Mr. Trump, this Saturday was a big win. Fascism won big!

Trump can bomb cities and assassinate enemies at will. The United States Congress will do nothing to stop him. The United Nations will do nothing to stop him. No one will do anything to stop him. A few million Americans will protest, but not ten percent of what is needed for any real change.

If Mr. Trump has any nefarious plans for the midterm elections I’d say, his chances of success are pretty good.

“I grieved to think how brief the dream of the human intellect had been. It had committed suicide.” ― H.G. Wells,

“A really efficient totalitarian state would be one in which the all-powerful executive of political bosses and their army of managers control a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced, because they love their servitude., ― Aldous Huxley,

“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever.” ― George Orwell

“Casey stared blindly at the light. He breathed heavily. “Listen,” he said. “You fellas don’ know what you’re doin’. You’re helpin’ to starve kids.” – Preacher Casey