Past as prelude

"The past isn't dead. It isn't even past." 

~ W. Faulkner
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It was only 30 years ago that Nicolae Ceausescu was executed by firing squad in Romania.

45 is clearly no student of history, but he seems to be modeling himself in Ceausescu's mold:

"Life in Romania during the regime of Nicolae Ceausescu was at once tragic and absurd as the nation’s head of state erected a cult of personality that literally turned his country into a stage show. Ceausescu scripted an epic with himself as the star, but others wrote the inevitable denouement that brought down the curtain on him and his wife, Elena..."

I don't (yet) believe the end of 45's story will mirror Ceausescu's, but sitting here today, I also wouldn't rule it out. As much as I despised him before he was "elected," I still never would have predicted the extraordinary anti-democracy actions he's taken in a mere 18 months. 

Equally disquieting is the complicity of the GOP-controlled congress, which in the face of overwhelming evidence of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and a literal act of war by the Russian military, has chosen their party and their "president" over our country.

I'm certain the elections in November are the most important in our lifetime. But given Friday's indictments by Bob Mueller and the lack of action to secure the vote from Russian hacking, we all have reason to wonder if those elections will be legitimate.

The US as we've known it is in trouble.