Everybody’s talkin’ about it, the firing of Sally Yates. Before I head into town today, I want to take a somewhat different focus on this – language. Language is important. When you can’t look at the person saying something, language provides all the vital clues we need to analyse information received. Here it is, click for full size:

This goes right back to the post on Trump’s constant assertion that he’s smart, super smart, genius smart, the smartiest of the smarty pants, the bigliest IQ ever, and his complete lack of a vocabulary, in spite of all that smart. The article linked in that post goes into detail, including analyses of Trump’s favourite words, of which, one is the word weak. I’ll concede that Trump is smart in the same way Wile E. Coyote is smart. Trump is no Roadrunner.

What concerns me in the above missive though, is the use of the word betrayal. Trump’s order isn’t, and wasn’t legal. Ms. Yates didn’t betray her office, or anyone else, but that’s language that is highly disturbing. When you use betrayal, traitor and traitorous is far behind. In a post yesterday, I asked people to note the use of the word comply. All these not so small signals are mounting up to be a screaming red alert. The fact that we’re now under a fascist dictatorship could hardly be more clear, and that’s being advertised, loud and clear at every opportunity. There is no “reasonable” in this, there’s no “necessary” either. What is there is yet another Trump Toddler Tantrum, screaming in disbelief that anyone could have the spine to not only disagree, but stand up to him. Ms. Yates was fired, not disappeared, but it’s only been two weeks. This is not going to get better.

The language is there. The signs are not only there, they are screaming. It’s full red alert, and that fact is going to slip right by way too many people. There’s already a move across the land to shut down any and all who protest. Here in my state, it’s been made legal to run down protesters. Hundreds of protesters and journalists in Washington are sitting under felony charges. Protesters in Denver were told they didn’t have a permit to exercise free speech legally. And so on, and so it is going. We are moving inexorably into a state where the words betrayal and comply are going to have a terrible weight, and the sword of Damocles is upon our heads. Speak now. Speak loud. Be Strong. Be Brave. Reject Silence. I understand scared. I’m scared. I’m wearing those pants into town today, into the heart of nDakota. Yeah, I’m fucking scared, but you all give me courage, and I wrap that around me like a cloak, and keep that strength and love and trust close.