It is less than two weeks from the illegal inauguration of a convicted criminal to the highest post in the land and no one should have any illusions about Trump’s intentions.

Though Republicans probably didn’t notice, in one executive order yesterday, he attempted to take the function of allocation of funds away from Congress. That EO, now retracted, would have screwed the majority of his constituency by gutting programs their lives depend on.

Not long after he lied about upholding the Constitution in his inaugural oath, he tried to abolish the 14th Amendment. Actually, that’s not much of a surprise since that Amendment also plainly states that he does not have a right to hold office—any office.

It is hard to overstate how insane our current position is as a nation, a world power. A convicted criminal and wanton dictator is now officially in charge and he’s abandoning all pretense of governing and instead trying to rule. There’s a big difference between governing and ruling. One involves administration, consensus, agreements, compliance with laws, etc. The other involves edicts—and in Trump’s mind that means executive orders.

Rest assured Trump isn’t writing all these orders. They were written for him based on the fever dream concepts of an American Fascist empire laid out in Project 2025. Trump’s surely working his fingers to the bone signing new EOs between rounds of golf—it must be exhausting.

As we have long known, Trump does not deal well with facts. He views everything happening around him as something he has to take credit for or deny it exits. His silly post about “abandoned astronauts” on the international space station is a perfect example.

The truth is that these two are not stranded there. They were reassigned by NASA to duties on the ISS because the ship they arrived on from Boeing was deemed unsafe to return them. Their return flight is already planned for March and has been for months. He just feels like he has to be the one who gets credit and is the only person who can cause anything. Thus he alters all facts to fits this view.

In short, the guy is clearly nuts. We are dealing with a mad, wannabe king. And there is a large number of self-serving fools who think that helping him attain that status will gain them something—others of their number are simply just as insane. Well, except for Elon, he’s just your typical drug addict who also happens to be the richest man in the world—and he’s acting out a drug addict’s secret hatred of those around him..

What is one of the key indications of insanity, of psychosis? Compulsively trying to stop things. Trump is trying to stop wholesale sections of our government from functioning. He’s trying to stop funds approved by Congress from arriving where they are intended. He’s trying to stop Biden from getting credit for the actual and tangible accomplishments of his single term. He’s trying to stop communications about health and even disease warnings. He’s trying to stop people of color from living here. He’s trying to stop anything he can think of.

Trump’s gleeful sycophants are doing the same thing. Project 2025 is just a long list of things these people want Trump to stop for them. Like regulations, like a level playing field, like Medicare and Social Security—so all that money can roll through their accounts. Get the picture?

There is an intentional cruelty in their actions. Let’s precisely define that: “Cruelty: callous indifference to or pleasure in causing pain and suffering.”

Crazy people don’t see other people. They don’t exist to them, really. Sure, Trump, Musk, Steven Miller and the rest of the crew can converse and be social. But their intentions and actions tell another story. The reality is that causing pain and suffering in others is pleasurable for these semi-human husks. Any thought or wishful thinking that hope or empathy can emanate from them should be abandoned post haste.

This is an assessment of the mindset we have to confront. It is evil, cruel and destructive. But it has to be confronted and it can be. The idea of madmen being all powerful and omnipotent should similarly be tossed aside. Deep down these are terrified little creatures in the trappings of wealth and power, scared to death of everyone around them.

America is seeing the beginning of an unpredented campaign of hate and cruelty. It won’t last. It can’t. Trump and company cannot in their wildest dreams erase the United States and what it stands for. They have forgotten our history—or in Trump’s case never learned it in the first place.

The United States of America has an allergy to kings. No matter how much FOX and the far-right Greek chorus of Alex Jones clones scream to the rafters, in the end we will never be ruled.

This is our government, not theirs.