The Wind is Coming: Trump's House of Cards

“Democracy is so overrated.” -Frank Underwood , House of Cards (Season 2, Episode 2)

In a recent New York Times interview with Donald Trump, the subject turned to energy policy, specifically alternative energy solutions. In typical Trump fashion, his response was meandering and full of vagaries. When pressed on a meeting he had with Brexit leaders regarding windmills and how they might detract from the views on his Scottish golf course, he came up with the memorable line, "The wind is a very deceiving thing." From there he rambled on about how windmills are made in Germany and Japan out of massive amounts of steel that "goes into the atmosphere"(?) and "kill all the birds".

This is a man to whom we're entrusting the future of our country and in many ways the world. His decisions will no doubt effect every one of us, whether we live in the US or not, for the next 4-8 years and likely much longer, especially in terms of the environment and Supreme Court appointments. For those who haven't read the interview and still say we should give the man a chance as we have all previous Presidents, I challenge you to read the interview in its entirety and NOT conclude that Donald Trump is mentally unbalanced and has absolutely no business anywhere near the Oval Office.

Already his cabinet nominees read like a who's who of corruption, many of whom have expressed opposition and even taken legal action AGAINST the departments they'll be heading . It's amazing that the numerous charges of sexual harassment against him and his admitted sexual assault, disturbing as they are, are not even the most worrying of his corruption. Neither are his countless business conflicts of interest, which he's done nothing to eliminate and stands to profit from BIGLY.

Now Trump and his cronies' well documented ties to Russia are finally coming to light, conveniently AFTER the election. Whether Trump himself was unaware of the Russian hacking of the DNC emails, he now seems indifferent and even resistant to uncovering the truth. And now, he's continuing his crusade to discredit all major media outlets and specific reporters who aren't firmly onboard the Trump train.

In three days, Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 45th President of the United States, an event considered unthinkable and I even took part in lampooning just a year ago. And just as surely, some day, either before his term is up or after, the full extent of his corruption will be exposed and his house of cards will come tumbling down.

Bob Dylan's "Tempest"

Soon, Bob Dylan will release his 35th studio album, Tempest. Rolling Stone has called it a "dark masterpiece". The centerpiece of the album is its 14 minute title track dealing with the sinking of the Titanic. Dylan's typically offhand response to those who've found significance in the fact that "The Tempest" was the title of Shakespeare's final play was simple: "The name of my record is just plain 'Tempest.' It's two different titles." Though Dylan has never lacked for creative energy, stuff since 1997's "Time Out of Mind", he seems to have entered a new creatively fertile period that, from all accounts thus far, continues with "Tempest". The name of the album is a reminder that weather conditions (often violent)  have featured prominently in his lyrics and song titles, even from his earliest work.

Consider the following:

"Blowin' in the Wind"

"You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows." (Subterranean Homesick Blues)

"Buckets of Rain"

"A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall"

"A messenger sent me in a tropical storm" (Sara)

"You were born with a snake in both of your fists while a hurricane was blowing." (Jokerman)

"Shelter from the Storm"

"When the Night Comes Falling From the Sky"

"Thunder on the Mountain"

"I ran into the fortune-teller who said beware of lightning that might strike." (Idiot Wind)

"A change in the weather is known to be extreme." (You're a Big Girl Now)

"Crash on the Levee (Down in the Flood)"

And this is by no means a comprehensive list.

Of course with any songwriter who's released around 500 original songs and whose career spans over five decades, there are bound to be a number of references to a topic as ubiquitous as the weather, but just as the authors of ancient myths, Bob Dylan often seems to find inspiration in the heavens.

In keeping with the somber mood of the album, "Tempest" will be released on Sept. 11th.