How Much Danger Are We In?

Sometimes, when I’m writing these things, I worry about just how much trouble I could get into because of them. Trump and MAGA are not known for their mercy. They have consistently sought revenge on anyone who, they think, has not shown them sufficient deference.

I tell myself that I’m relatively safe. No one reads me, for one thing. So it’s not like I’m a serious thorn in their side. And even if I did have a massive audience, what does that matter? People are protesting and writing and speaking out all over the country, and the Trump/Musk administration still just does whatever it damn well wants to. 

But, still, maybe there is some small danger. Dictatorships have long memories and short tempers. They do remember their critics, even the smallest, even decades later, and act accordingly.

However, I’m hoping that there is safety in numbers. If we all of us…all us Democrats, Progressives, Centerists, and Never-Trump Republicans…continue to speak out and continue to protest, then we will number in the millions. Maybe far too many for even the most efficient secret police to track and imprison. 

And maybe…maybe…in the end…

In our teeming multitudes, each of us alone but joining so many others…

We, and not they, will inherit the earth.

They’re “sick” of Musk…as are we all

Amusing article in the New Republic today, “All of Trump’s Appointees Are Sick of Elon Musk: Donald Trump’s appointees are growing frustrated with DOGE’s dangerous shenanigans” by Edith Olmsted. In it, Ms. Olmsted reports on how Trump’s Cabinet members have had it up to here with Musk and his DOGE-bros and his meddling. And they are telling their staffs to ignore his notes, directives, and diktats. 

Which is doubtlessly true and understandable. Musk is a dork with all the people skills of a cherrystone clam, and I don’t care how many great companies he is “managing,” because he seems to have no idea how to run a government. 

But the thing is: will the Cabinet be able to find enough power and courage to stand up to Musk, who paid good money for Trump and owns him body and soul. I’m guessing that will be hard. Musk says sh*t. Trump is going to say what color and round or cubical?

On the other hand, here’s a question. Just for sake of supposing…well, what would happen if Trump were no longer in the picture? Suppose for reasons of health or the 25th Amendment or whatever, he were to retire or otherwise become less involved with the running of the government?

What happens then? And would some Cabinet members, and some staffers, be looking for a little revenge?

This summer I hear the drumming, Four dead in Ohio … Oryol

This summer I hear the drumming, Four dead in Ohio … Oryol 

Here’s an interesting article on the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) site, “Exclusive: Russian Defector Leaks Files Revealing Shocking Scale of War Casualties.” It seems that RFE/RL has obtained files showing just how many Russians (and others) have been killed or wounded in the war. It is a staggering 700,000 people.

That is a tremendous loss of population for a country which already has demographic problems. I keep wondering how long Russia will keep it up before finally facing the grim reality that taking over Ukraine is simply not worth the cost in blood and treasure. 

Alas, knowing how easily pride gets in the way of reason, I fear the Russians never will make the kind of calculation that, say, they did in Afghanistan, and which the United States did in Vietnam. 

Which means…Russia as a nation, and a society, may well be wounded for generations yet to come.

Native Americans Harassed By ICE

From the Department of Extraordinary Irony, we have this story “Alleged ICE harassment of tribal members in New Mexico concern lawmakers,” by Julian Resendiz. It seems that some border patrol members can’t tell the difference between illegal immigrants and Indians. 

In other words, yes, Native Americans…the first Americans…are being told to “go back where they came from.” And given the fact that the Bering Strait hasn’t been open to pedestrian traffic for quite some time now, that’s kinda out of the question. 

This story would be funny if it weren’t so sad. If you are supposed to be guarding the border, and you cannot tell the difference between, say, a Navajo (i.e., Diné) person from a Guatemalan, you’ve got a problem.

I’ve always suspected that the whole Mass Deportation thing was more for show than anything else. It gives the illusion that the Administration is doing something productive, when in fact it is just smashing things. 

But, if you are going to make an effort to “close the border,” you darn well better know what you’re doing.

And right now, the evidence of anything like competence is fairly minimal. 

She's a lawyer from Albuquerque, you idiot.

The Next Sino-Russian War?

In January of this year,  Sarah C. Paine, a Professor at the U.S. Naval War College, authored an extraordinarily interesting article in The Kyiv Independent,  “The question isn't if China will turn on Russia, but when: Putin’s war on Ukraine blinds him to Russia’s real threat: a hungry China waiting in the wings.” In it, Professor Paine argues that it is only a matter of time before the (already somewhat shaky) alliance between Moscow and Beijing comes apart. Simply put, she says, China has more to gain from opposing the Russians than it does from supporting them – as in significant chunks of Siberia and the Russian Far East.

True? False? I’m afraid I have no idea. I’m not sufficiently versed in the field to make that kind of judgement. But, I’m old enough to recall the border clashes of 1969, when it seemed some sort of Sino-Soviet conflict was a distinct possibility. We no longer have a Soviet Union any more, and – at the moment – it seems that the Russians and Chinese have vastly more to gain from standing with each other, and against the United States and the West, then they do from pursuing any ancient quarrels.

But, the tensions that led to the 1969 clashes are still there. And one wonders if Beijing might not feel a certain temptation to make up for lost time, and lost territory, at a moment when Russia is distinctly weakened. After all, eastern Eurasia would be a marvelous addition to anyone’s real estate portfolio.

Frankly, I’m guessing a Sino-Russian conflict isn’t in the cards. I’m not sure what China stands to gain from a war with its neighbor. Russia is already China’s economic satellite. China controls Russia’s economy. Whether Putin likes it or not…or knows it or not…his country now dances to a Chinese tune, and will do so for the foreseeable future.

Still, perhaps that could change. Maybe China will see some sort of advantage in territorial expansion someday. Maybe…

Or to put it another way: if there is no honor among thieves, there is still less among dictators.

He's coming for you, Ivan.

The Tate Boys Come

So the Trump administration has made it possible for Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate to return to the United States, this in spite of the fact that they stand accused of everything from human trafficking to just being boors. (Stress, that’s accused, not proven.)

I wonder why the Trump administration put out the red carpet for these two. I don’t know, but I do have a few guesses. First, the Tates, and particularly Andrew, do speak to something in the incel-loving soul of the MAGA movement. Second, maybe it is professional courtesy. One alleged rapist supporting another as it were. (Repeat, alleged.)

Yet…and I suppose this is actually improbable, but still worth considering…there’s a third option. To wit, could it be that the brothers have something on the Administration? Some knowledge they might share? Something that the White House might want to keep quiet.

As I say, probably not likely. Yet…yet…

There is the rumored pee-pee tape, after all. If it happened once…why not twice?

Buyer Boycott

 So today (Feb 28) is supposed to be an Economic Blackout. People are pledging not to buy anything today as a protest of rising prices.

Count me in. I’ll participate. I’ll vote with my wallet. Or rather my credit cards.

I suppose, though, that it probably won’t do much good. A few retailers will suffer, but the major powers that control the economy are pretty much insulated from the actions of individual consumers. Is some billionaire hedge fund manager going to care if I don’t buy eggs or soda today? Of course not.

On the other hand, maybe it will be a little useful. Every once in a while, we need to remind our Corporate Masters that we exist. 

And if they ever succeeded in working us all to death, or allowing us to starve…

Well, that might be most inconvenient for them. 

Even in an age of robots and chatbots and “right sizing.” 

Vote With Your Wallet

Don't forget, the Boycott is tomorrow!

 Like it says, don't forget. The Boycott is tomorrow! 

Fear and Loathing in Congress

So I gather that one of the reasons that GOP congressmen and -women have been so supportive of Donald Trump is that they fear retribution. By that, I don’t mean simply that they will be rebuked or punished by their party–not even the extreme form of party discipline handed out by, for example, the fictional character Francis Urquhart in Michael Dobbs's House of Cards trilogy–but rather actual physical violence. 

At least according to an recent article in Vanity Fair, “‘They’re Scared Shitless’: The Threat of Political Violence Informing Trump’s Grip on Congress,” by Gabriel Sherman, Republican Congressmen have faced everything up to and including “credible death threats” from Trump’s more ardent followers if they fail to bend to the President’s will.

If this is true (and we do have to ask if that is the case), then it means we have entered a new and distressing period in American politics. We would have to ask if we still have a two party system, or rather one party and one political mafia that uses threats and intimidation to keep its minions in line.

And worse, it would be a mafia…

Without even the charisma and the cunning of Vito Corleone.

Again, Steve Bannon

Steve Bannon is, of course, no fan of Elon Musk, whom he understandably despises for taking the role he’d planned for himself, that is, all-powerful head-of-government to Trump’s largely symbolic position as head-of-state. Or, if you prefer a chess metaphor, magisterial Queen to his impotent King. 

Perhaps, then, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Bannon has equally little love for the tech company CEOs and other powerful men who make up Trump’s government. In a recent CNN interview, Bannon said that Musk and other tech “oligarchs” will abandon Trump and the MAGA movement as soon as they can profitably do so. 

It is intriguing that I disagree with Mr. Bannon on so very many things…but, now and then, I found myself admiring his political sagacity, for in this he is undoubtedly correct. The oligarchs will turn on MAGA at the first available opportunity. They are not even wolves in sheep’s clothing. They are simply wolves counting on the sheep to somehow pretend that they are shepherds. 

Punch Back?

Interesting article in the Nation by Dave Zirin, “Why Democrats Won’t Throw a Real Punch:  Faced with existential threats from the right, the Democratic leadership remains timid; faced with demands for justice from the left, it goes on the attack.”

I am not sure I agree with all of it. Zirin is, I think, too hard on Biden and Obama. But he does make an interesting point: to wit, that the Democratic party establishment has been far more ruthless with progressive fellow Democrats than with Trump, MAGA, and the Right in general. It played harder ball with Bernie, for instance, that it has so far with Musk.

He argues that there are a number of reasons for this, but perhaps most of all it is because on some level the Democrats support and identify with the wealthy and the powerful who now control the GOP. They would, perhaps, cheerfully support the Techbros and the billionaires if only they were donating to Blue rather than Red candidates.

As I say, I don’t know if I agree with that. But it is something to think about. And, whether his thesis is right or wrong, Zirin is definitely correct when he suggests that Democrats need to start fighting back. And that we need to do it now.

Or we may never have a chance to do so ever again. 

Poor Steve Bannon

Poor Steve Bannon.

Say what you like about him, but he does have an ideology. He does believe in something other than himself. That puts him far and away beyond some other figures on the Right.

And he worked like a champ for years to put Trump in the White House, not once but twice. I’m sure he saw Trump as his sledgehammer, the tool by which the old Liberal Institutions would be removed, leaving room for his carefully constructed National Conservative alternative.

Only, here he is, after all his labors…

And it turns out that the Prime Minister of his cardboard King is not himself, but Musk…who believes in quite a different utopia. If anything.

That must hurt.

A great deal.

Mesa, Jesus. "Steve Bannon Escalates Feud With Elon Musk, Calls Him ‘Parasitic Illegal Immigrant’." Newsweek, 19 Feb. 2025, https://www.newsweek.com/steve-bannon-escalates-feud-elon-musk-parasitic-illegal-immigrant-2032675.

Murdochulated

 Saw this interesting piece in the Atlantic. (I’ll put the link below.) Basically, it is a sort of interview with James Murdoch, younger son of Rupert (he of Fox News). In it, James describes the brutal infighting going on in the Murdoch clan for control of the family’s media empire once Rupert passes on.

James comes across as a surprisingly likeable figure. Though, what is fascinating is his description of life in the Murdoch family. It sounds, frankly, awful, with the Patriarch pitting the siblings against one another, and then sabotaging James in favor of his first born, Lachlan Murdoch. 

It all sounds a bit like what little we know of life in Donald Trump’s own childhood, which similarly seems to have been a battle royal, to say the least.

Which makes one wonder, how is it possible for this to be such a common story among our elite? Or, to put it another way, why are we being ruled by such monstrous people?

The Atlantic piece is here: Coppins, McKay. "Rupert Murdoch’s Final Chapter." The Atlantic, Apr. 2025, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/04/rupert-murdoch-family-succession-james-murdoch/681675/.

It is behind a soft paywall, but you get pretty much the whole story in this similar piece in The Guardian: Williams, Zoe. "James Murdoch Is Poised to Take Over the Family Business. But Will He Ditch the Right-Wing Politics?" The Guardian, 19 Feb. 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/19/james-rupert-murdoch-family-succession-rightwing-politics.

Darwin In Action

 Take a glance at this extraordinarily interesting article by James Marriot in the London Times, “Conspiracists are about to get a dose of reality: Antivaxers, cranks and fantasists thrive in safe, stable societies but the days of consequence-free idiocy may be ending.” In it, Marriot makes the fascinating argument that anti-science and anti-democracy activists have been able to survive in the modern world because they are protected by the very technologies and social behaviors that they pretend to despise. They can reject vaccinations, for instance, because most people get them…and so antivaxers don’t get the highly infectious diseases that might otherwise kill them. 

But, says Marriot, that’s changing. In a world where people like RJK Jr. call the shots, you are far more likely to get exposed to something that could actually kill you. As a result, antivax ideologies become truly deadly.

All of which is to suggest that, in future, we may see a good many people reaping what they sow, and regretting it. 

Marriott, James. "Conspiracists Are About to Get a Dose of Reality." The Times, https://www.thetimes.com/comment/columnists/article/conspiracists-are-about-to-get-a-dose-of-reality-c2fltx0xd.

Mike Pence....hero?

 

There is something amazing in the fact that Mike Pence, of all people, is emerging as a hero…one of the few figures in the GOP actually willing to take on Trump and MAGA. I certainly wouldn’t have thought it back when he accepted the VP role in Trump’s first administration.

Admittedly, I don’t think he’ll be able to achieve much. His party is now too fully wedded to the oligarchy and to corruption to follow him. Yet, the mere fact that he is present is comforting. Something about better a single candle than cursing the darkness in the Republican soul.

“Mike Pence emerges as one of the few Republicans willing to challenge Trump 2.0,”  By  Jill Colvin, Updated 6:53 AM CST, February 17, 2025, Associated Press (AP), https://apnews.com/article/pence-2025-interview-trump-lobbying-agenda-relationship-c035c2d4a235ec685eb5e8bfb4170f7b?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

If only Mitch had done this twenty years ago

 Interesting article. We learn that Mitch McConnell is leaving Congress at the end of his term. The tragedy is that if he had done this earlier, before Trump, he would have exited with a modicum of dignity. He would have been seen as a controversial but effective conservative legislator. As it is, he goes as a sad and pathetic figure who, like von Papen and Victor Emmanuel, aided the forces of absolute evil in the deluded belief that he could control them.

"Mitch McConnell, Longest-Serving Senate Leader in History, to Step Down from Role in November." Associated Press, 28 Feb. 2024, https://apnews.com/article/mitch-mcconnell-senate-retirement-34c79ef12bf62d14cb71d3c393f23a83.

Happy Halloween

 Give us all a treat this year and vote this rotting, orange vegetable out of office. #VoteBlue

A bit of video

 

Who JD Vance really serves.

 If had any doubts about who (or what ) JD Vance really serves.

Get to the polls!

 We don't have much time. So get to the polls, and if you can five a lift to a neighbor or friend, do it!