The oligarchy

Oligarchy.  

Noun. 

A small group of people having control of a country, organization or institution.

I've been thinking about this a lot trying to figure out how our country has seen its democracy teeter on the precipice toward anarchy. Or worse. It might be above my pay grade.

I mean, how did we get to the point in our history to where we're scooping mostly brown-skinned people off the street, deporting them to a foreign prison, perhaps "disappearing" them forever, all without the fundamental right of due process? Due process. The original cornerstone of our form of government, based on the rule of law. Where is it? Has due process been disappeared as well?

Does this make you proud to be an American citizen?

I guess it's possible when your leader is lawless himself, a 34-time convicted criminal and adjudicated rapist who has been given the keys to your future, your fortunes, your very lives, because the cost of eggs was too high. 

So how does this happen?

The only thing that makes sense to me is the money.

Trump, the lawless leader, has stacked his cabinet with a coterie of maleficent billionaires intent on not serving we the people, but rather we the top one-tenth of one percent. It's why we've been inflicted with ridiculous and unnecessary tariffs that manipulate the stock market, and when played correctly, further enriches the wealthy. Has possible insider trading crossed your mind?

Money talks. It always has. Which makes Trump's power base all the more incongruous since his primary appeal seems to be with those who can never live the lifestyle. "He looks out for us," claims the working class, somehow never seeing the graft and corruption unfolding in front of their eyes.

So Trump surrounds himself with 13 billionaires in positions of control and whose combined personal wealth of more than $460 billion exceeds the GDP of 172 countries. Take a look:

• Elon Musk, department of government efficiency co-head: $439 billion. 

• Leandro Rizzuto Jr., ambassador to the Organization of American States, $3.5 billion.

• Warren Stephens, ambassador to the United Kingdom, $3.4 billion.

• Linda McMahon, education secretary, $3 billion.

• Howard Lutnick, commerce secretary, $2.2 billion.

• Charles Kushner, ambassador to France, $1.8 billion.

• Jared Isaacman, NASA administrator, $1.8 billion.

• Thomas Barrack Jr., ambassador to Turkey, $1 billion.

• Steven Witkoff, special envoy to the Middle East, $1 billion.

• Frank Bisiganano, Social Security Administration commissioner, $1 billion.

• Scott Bessent, Treasury secretary, reported billionaire.

• Vivek Ramaswamy, department of government efficiency co-head, $1 billion. 

• David Sacks, AI (not A1) and crypto czar, net worth unknown.

• Doug Burgum, interior secretary, $100 million.

• Mehmet Oz, administrator for the centers for Medicare and medicaid services, $100 million.

That's what an oligarchy looks like. I'm still trying to find where we the people are in here. 

What could possibly go wrong?

Sleep well.