Well class, today’s lesson is in potential vs. kinetic energy. I know, conservatives don’t like or sometimes even believe in science. But as the saying goes the thing about science is that it’s true whether you believe it or not. When it comes to energy there are two types – potential and kinetic.
A quantity of explosive like C-4 is just a lump of stuff you can mold with your hands any way you want. A lot of energy is stored up in it. A LOT. But you can shape it, drop it, throw against the wall and even set a match to it and it won’t explode & release all that stored up energy. It’s not going to blow up all on it’s own. That lump of C-4/”plastic explosive is just a lump of stuff. Potentially devastating, but only potentially. If and when the Potential Energy in that lump of C-4 becomes Kinetic however, watch out!
Potential energy is something that is stored up, or not yet released/activated but will with either an inducement or naturally be released. And become kinetic energy. For the moment, given Trump’s thing about golf let’s switch metaphors. (I promise, there’s a method to my madness at work) Let’s consider something any of us who’ve played golf have been through, sometimes eventually rejoicing and some times suffering. Take a look again at that golf ball sitting on the edge of the hole.
The ball may or may not wind up falling into the hole/cup. The “energy” of it falling is Potential. Gravity might, given time cause the ball to fall in of it’s own accord making that stored up energy into Kinetic energy. Or some other force, whether a puff of wind, someone stomping the ground next to it, a bunch of earth shaking explosions like in Caddyshack or a golfer tapping it with a putter can also turn the Potential Energy in the ball into the Kinetic Energy of it falling into the bottom of the cup. The “force” created when the ball hits the bottom of the cup is from a physics standpoint inconsequential. However, what it means on a golfer’s scorecard and yes, golfing history can be enormous.
So ask yourself “what’s an indictment?” Practically speaking it’s a formal set of accusations put down on paper all “official like” that someone broke a law(s) and should be brought to court to have their guilt or innocence ruled upon by a jury. Even then, until it’s filed with the clerk of a court it’s just a bunch of stuff on paper. Potential Energy. Filing it with the Court turns it into Kinetic Energy. Most of the time it’s only significant to the person being charged in the indictment and victims of the crime(s) they’re accused of committing. Some crimes however get a lot of attention, because so many people are affected. Entire communities. A large group of people spread out all over the place. Sometimes and entire state.
And even an entire country. Or countries.
What I’m driving at is that this won’t be just any indictment. It will alter history no matter how a trial turns out. By definition the word Unique means one-of-a-kind. Call me nitpicky but something can’t be “very” unique or some similar nonsensical descriptor of the word. Something is either unique or it’s not. One-of-a-kind. And NO U.S. President, whether sitting or former has ever been formally indicted on federal criminal (felonies to boot) charges! Walking into a courthouse with an actual indictment of Donald J. Trump will be a unique event in history.
It will also set off a massive legal and political explosion. Handing those papers to the clerk might be as simple as the golf ball dropping into the cup but the force imparted by it will be a helluva lot more than a couple ounces of golf ball hitting the bottom of a cup!
It would be massive for any President or former President. Profound. And it would generate all kinds of analysis and discussion from legal scholars to pundits with trial experience to journalists to the average person. However, this is Donald Trump we’re talking about so measured, or even intense discussion debate is something no one should waste time hoping for.
No, Trump will turn this into the Circus From Hell, with him as Ringmaster in the Big Tent. An Orange Orangutan firing flaming balls of sh*t to create “The Biggest Sh*t Show On Earth. Worse, he’ll call upon his MAGAs to do the same.
Speculation about him doing the smart thing and pleading down to a Misdemeanor charge or two, or a Felony with no jail time is a pipe-dream. Pure fantasy. The self-proclaimed Master of the Art of the Deal would never cut THIS deal. No, Trump will be the jilted lover who decides life is no longer worth living, but will kill the lover (and others) before turning the gun on themselves. For all the damage he’s done to date, it’s gonna get worse. Much worse. If Trump had the fictional version of Ice-9 Vonnegut wrote about he’d angrily sit at the door of Trump Farce One and toss it out over the ocean and any body of water he could find. Environmentally devastate the entire planet and kill every living thing including eventually just to have his revenge.
As I see it, we are in for a real life version of the ending of Caddyshack. A very, very ugly real life version but all the elements are there and a bit has already been underway. While the scene shown is funny and entertaining, the real life version is going to be awful but there are an awful lot of parallels in it. All that stored up legal Potential Energy is about to become legal and political Kinetic Energy and it will be an earth shaking explosion. Kind of like this:
Think about all the groaning (and worse) as the putt/indictment sits on the edge of the cup, never dropping and “scoring.” But prior to that a lot of work has been done that will make all the difference. The plunger is pushed (the indictment filed) and the explosions start. So many literally earth shaking explosions all over the place, and the ball drops!
As the explosions continue, leaving devastation in their wake there’s lots of celebration. Yay! The Judge/Trump FINALLY got his! Trump’s lawyers and others close to him caught up in all this will make like Bill Murray’s Carl the Groundskeeper and slink away hoping no one notices them. Hell, that process has already started. Even Wannabe Princess Ivanka is suddenly trying to play Trump? Who’s that? As for Judge Smails, he s not having any of it. He huffs and puffs and says he’s not going to pay up, that he will NEVER pay up! Rodney Dangerfield’s character is ready for this though, and he (Jack Smith) calls on “Moose & Rocco” (the justice system including Federal Marshals if need be) to help the judge “find his checkbook” (get his a$$ to court and answer to the criminal charges) and the judge tries to run away.
But in real life, as in the movie he won’t get far. Smith has got plenty of “Moose and Rocco” people at the ready to help Judge Smails/Trump “find his checkbook” and let’s hope payment will end up being not in dollars but in days. Months. Years. Of time in prison.
It won’t be entertaining like the scene depicted above, but we’re about to see it play out in real life.
I believe I was wrong yesterday, and that instead of weeks we may indeed see in days after all. For sure, and with apologies to a tune from The Music Man “The DOJ Indictment train is coming, coming and it will have, something special, just for Trump.” Sadly, Trump has been fearful of this and has been prepping the mother of all “doomsday sh*t bombs” to cover the country with. So be ready for THAT.
When you mentioned all the explosions, I thought of the scene in Kingsmen: The Secret Service, where heads were exploding. Sorry if anyone thinks that’s gross.
How could I have so completely forgotten about that? It was awfully memorable, and let’s face it the scenes of people fighting and killing each other all over the world as Sammuel L. Jackson’s character wanted is exactly what I can imagine Trump being like. Still, on the balance since Trump is so huge into golf (especially cheating at it!) I guess I was focused on that and when it comes to mayhem and golf Caddyshack is the gold standard.
Funny thing though, I DO sometimes think of the exploding heads in that first Kingsmen movie from time to time and imagine so many in the GOP experiencing it when they get “wedgied” by Democrats.
Ice-9…scary stuff. Of course the entire BIG LIE is described in Vonnegut’s book, Cat’s Cradle…no f**king cat…no f**king cradle. Vonnegut gave the Guns Over People party the first line of their platform by writing that, “nothing in this book is true.” Ah Kurt…you should be required reading, as you were when I was in college.