Monday the ninth

I received a letter from a dear friend overseas the other day, slightly edited here for your perusal:

Hey, how closely are you following the current China situation? If you come across good sources of timely info please share with me. 

I'm also somewhat surprised you haven't written anything (I've seen) about the fact that the three super powers all having leaders choosing now to push themselves into "Emperor/King/Tzar for Life".

I wrote him back a brief message:

Not doing a lot of politics right now but I'm staying aware.

He: 

Cool, thanks for the update. I noticed that there hasn't been ONE single word about China on CNN's website...fucking amazing! Made me wonder if anybody back there had even been aware of what's uP?

Me: Everyone is fatigued

He:

Great excuse! But it just shocks me that it's not TOP of the news anywhere in US! Just to check, I just went through Fox News website - same story! I know you are one of the best read individuals I know in America, so figured I'd check in. If Washington DC suddenly and quietly was ringed with opposition troops, 2 top generals 'disappeared', Supreme Court stood up to Trump and all opposition figures spoke out against him it would be the top story...meanwhile the only story on Fox is about the threat of China's infrastructure projects and CNN doesn't even cover it! The coming days will be 'interesting', to say the least!

*

Hmmm. Great excuse? Let me just respond as best as I can. Politics is completely tribal today. It doesn't seem to matter what the policies are, just what team the other guys play for. I tend to hate the policies of Donald Trump. From coal emissions to black lung, his administration has neutered the CDC, FDA, CFPB, EPA and a hundred other governmental agencies that were designed to protect the American public.

The sight of ICE separating five year olds from their parents and transporting them to measles ridden gulag holding tanks, thousand of miles away, completely nauseates me. He is traumatizing helpless children in a way that will never be completely healed.

They do not have it coming.

We have a broken immigration system and have not had the political balls to make meaningful changes for over thirty years. But to arrest people on the final leg of citizenship and deport them for traffic tickets or maybe because they are dark skinned Somalians seems quite un-american to me. We are breaking our word and not playing it straight.

We have alienated our allies and made friends with every dictator and autocrat in the world, fanning the flames for non nativist anger and hatred. Our tariffs have upset long term trading partners and wreaked havoc on our farmers, who are now being subsidized once again by the American taxpayer.

Having said that, I made a conscious decision in November of 2024. I would lie back, for my own mental health. I would not respond to every excess of the current regime and prefer to watch them self immolate over the long term, which I believe is slowly happening.

Just wait and see how fast his cohorts jump off the Trump ship!

Instead of being a shrieking Cassandra, I would act as a bridge to my friends on the other side, of which I have many and try to meet them where they are and listen to their genuine concerns. While they are different than mine, their man was duly elected and that is how we do things in America.

If that means foregoing all the low hanging fruit of recounting all the tragic machinations of Trump, Inc., so be it. We will talk about birds, food and music and whatever mundane thing is on my mind or you can go somewhere else.

But I can not personally operate in a space of being constantly triggered, it is bad for my health, both physical and mental. I have to take a pass.

Not like I have much faith left in our country anyway. You elected him, have at it. But you better find somebody to pick that lettuce awful quick or you may not be able to afford a salad anytime soon.