Initially I was thinking about doing volume three of the EO series, but I have had quite a few people diagnose me with made up acronyms like they are mental illnesses. The acronyms are TDS and DDS. They stand for Trump Derangement Syndrome and Doge Derangement Syndrome. I find them amusing, as the people who use them continue to rationalize anti-humanist governance and binary economic strategy as appropriate strategies for governance. Then I thought, “Do these poor saps even know where it came from? I doubt it.”

The origin of (?DS) is credited to political/psychiatrist commentator Charles Krauthammer. Krauthammer a pulitzer prize winning columnist is commonly referred to as a conservative, but he worked with democratic and republican presidents. He served as a speechwriter for Walter Mondale, and on the bioethics council during George Bush’s administration. Krauthammer was raised in the Jewish tradition, but declared himself primarily a Diest in the spirit of the founding fathers. He also actively fostered the performance of Jewish classical music that had been largely ignored by history (I include this as it was interesting to me as a musician.) Was he a conservative? Was he a liberal? I feel he was more of a realist. He aligned with liberal humanist causes and conservative foreign and economic policymaking. He was the ultimate independent. He is credited with creating BDS for Bush Derangement Syndrome. Here are the two websites I gathered the information about Krauthammer. He passed away in 2018 from abdominal cancer, and he was honored by many politicians following his death. https://www.charleskrauthammer.com/aboutcharles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Krauthammer

Interestingly enough, Krauthammer refused to vote for $45 (now $47) in 2016. He also refused to vote for Clinton. Esther Goldberg hijacked the BDS and assigned it TDS in an op-ed in 2015. Goldberg is a columnist for the conservative magazine American Spectator. She holds a law degree. Goldberg loves to create rationalizations to defend her conservative bias and propaganda (my opinion.) Objectivity in journalism requires one to recognize all aspects of an argument. Goldberg fails to do this, whereas Krauthammer did recognize other perspectives. Pulitzer prize winners don’t write propaganda. They write thoughtful opinion and policy statements backed up with actual evidence and intellectualism regardless of the political belief system.

Now the Doge Derangement Syndrome (DDS) is the newest creation of the far right to rationalize Elon Musk’s behavior penetrating the federal government without congressional approval or oversight. The far right would like you to believe that the executive branch has imminent power. Take a look at Vance’s statements. https://www.newsweek.com/jd-vance-comment-questioning-court-authority-sparks-backlash-2028651 This is the premise being used as a rationalization for Musk’s invasion. Meanwhile a weak congress led by weak right wing majority is sitting there twiddling their thumbs and refusing to exercise the checks and balances. This leaves the courts to check and balance the executive. This is how the democrats are keeping some things in check. The interpretation of law by the judicial branch is all we have to protect the Constitution currently. The number of times, I present the facts in this perspective to a MAGA they just call me a DDSer. It is amusing how little grasp of the constitution and checks and balances a MAGA member has. They argue semantics to justify their bias. The meaning of one word for example. They refuse to read actual government documents that contain actual information pertaining to the budget and expenditures that are free to the public in favor of a billionaire playboy with ax to grind nosing around in proprietary information. That’s fine. Call me a DDSer. Whatever… I think sometime this summer I will walk into the treasury of the United States and demand to see all of the protocols using the DOGE criteria to defend my presence and see how it works. This is the lunacy of the DOGE excuse, as it won’t work for the rest of us.

Now in 2021 a research study was published regarding these made up acronyms. Do they really exist? NO!!

Franks, Andrew S.; Hesami, Farhang (September 18, 2021). “Seeking Evidence of The MAGA Cult and Trump Derangement Syndrome: An Examination of (A)symmetric Political Bias”. Societies. 11 (3): 113. doi:10.3390/soc11030113. 

Rationalizations are all the MAGA and far right have to justify their positions, and their social media. Anti-intellectualism is their calling card. I know a lot of smart people that have dumbed themselves down to be a part of the “winning” movement as they call themselves. They use terms like merit to espouse passive-aggressive racism and sexism against diversity, equity, and inclusion rubrics. They call all illegal immigrants criminals, but only deport the Latin, Hispanic, and Arab/Muslim peoples while leaving Irish, Russian, and other illegal European immigrants alone. More passive-aggressive racism… When we hold them accountable for the double standard we are called TDS. Cutting off humanitarian aid that was approved by Congress using a one line item expense about condoms as the single reason it is wasteful? Let’s kill the horse because the nose has a scratch. When we express our distaste for this lack of humanism we are called TDS. If I use this logic with our own family then my sons should be in prison for being disrespectful to their mother… oh wait… DEI… The logic of their rationalizations are delusional and two dimensional. Their belief in everything $47 or Musk says… is deranged… in itself… Up is down, right is wrong, poor is rich, rich is poor, less taxes for rich is good while more taxes for me is even better… I feel they need their own acronym…

What acronym should we use? SNAP (Sociopathic Narcissist Aider and Protector) BSB (Billionaire Servant Bitch) DoD (Destructor of Democracy) DaBoR (Dumb as a Box of Rocks) OAK (Orange Ass Kisser) LIWoC (Lost in the Wilderness of Conservatism) Nah, those aren’t very nice even though some of them may be appropriate for their behavior and ignorance. When it all comes down to it, I just feel sorry for them. They really have no idea what they are supporting because they think just like Musk, $47, and Vance. We are winners, because we are angry, sad, and pathetic underachievers trying to rewrite the world history by claiming we are the best of the best of the best of the best of the best…

I wrote my legislators about the Musk invasion and I called for their resignations if they were not going to abide by their oaths and use the checks and balances to stall him until he was vetted. My congressional representatives are Representative Mariannette Miller Meeks, Senator Joni Ernst, and Senator Charles Grassley (3rd in line of presidential succession.) I’m still awaiting a reply and I wrote a week ago. They evidently are too weak or crippled by bias to stand up for the constitution. I guess I will have to write again.

I conclude this acronym blog with something I wrote to more than one of these TDS/DDS spewers. “I look forward to the day I get arrested.” This is how far they are pushing the envelope of freedom in the United States. I’m prepared to fight all the way to that extreme… are they… keep dissenting… as it goes….