Day: April 2, 2026

The Collapse Of Democracy

There have been many writers that are telling us that we are witnessing the collapse of American democracy since the election of Donny for his lovely second term as president….that is wrong…..we have been living through it well before Donny started his assault on our rights.

Since Donald Trump returned to the White House, American political life has taken on a familiar rhythm. Each week brings another court ruling framed as a breaking point, another election cast as the last real one, another executive order described as the moment it all finally tips over the edge, another person murdered by a government that’s finally gone too far. Democratic party fundraising emails promise to “save the Republic”. Commentators warn that the guardrails are giving way. Anxious citizens refresh their screens, waiting for the collapse of American democracy.

This state of permanent panic rests on what Sigmund Freud called an illusion: a belief embraced not because it reflects reality, but because it satisfies a psychological need. The illusion in this case is that the United States still has a democracy to lose. The more unsettling truth is that Americans are not living under threat of future democratic breakdown; we are living inside the aftermath of one that has already occurred.

For tens of millions of people, democratic life has been absent for decades as they endure precarious housing, inaccessible healthcare, unchecked policing powers, debt servitude, vanishing public goods, and near-total exclusion from meaningful formal political power. For others – the wealthy, the politically connected, the donors and oligarchs – the same system produces not insecurity, but insulation, along with a constant need to rationalize the deprivation of others upon which their power is predicated and to disavow any responsibility for it.

These are not signs of a democracy under threat. They are symptoms of one that eroded – if it ever existed – long ago. Why, then, does American political discourse remain fixated on a catastrophe that always seems imminent but never quite arrives?

https://www.theguardian.com/global/commentisfree/2026/mar/08/trump-democracy-oligarchy-policy

This is a situation that some of us have been saying for decades but people were too busy to notice the slide….and that is where our problem lies….people think that living only for their individual interests will keep everything on a an even keel…..I believe people can see now that that was a moronic reason….well some people.

Disagree?  Knock your socks off.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

A Babbling Mess

Dear Donny made a national speech on our war with Iran….it was a short speech (surprise….surprise) and as usual was a total waste of time….his and ours.

Presidents make these types of speeches reassure the nation….if that was his intention then like most things Donny it was a failure…..

President Trump said US forces will “finish the job” in Iran soon as “core strategic objectives are nearing completion,” offering a full-throated defense of the war Wednesday night in his first national address since the conflict began more than a month ago, the AP reports. He used his platform before a wide audience to tout the success of the US operations and argue that all of Washington’s objectives have so far been met or exceeded, but said Iran would continue to face a barrage of attacks in the short term. “We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks,” Trump said. “We’re going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong.” (Iran’s president issued a letter in advance of Trump’s speech.)

But Trump also spent much of an address that lasted just under 20 minutes repeating many things he had already said in recent weeks and providing few new details. The speech appeared unlikely to move the needle of public sentiment at a time when polling shows many Americans feel the US military has gone too far in Iran and as gas and oil prices remain high. A few notable things he didn’t say:

  • He didn’t mention the possibility of sending US ground troops into Iran.
  • Nor did he reference NATO, the trans-Atlantic alliance he has railed against for not helping the US secure the critical Strait of Hormuz, where a chokehold by Iran has sent energy prices soaring.
  • He also didn’t say anything about negotiations with Iran.
  • He didn’t bring up his April 6 deadline for Iran to reopen the waterway or face severe retaliation from the US.

Trump ticked through a timeline of past American involvement in conflicts and noted that the ongoing war in Iran had lasted just 32 days, seeming to appeal to the public for more time to achieve the mission. “World War I lasted one year, seven months, and five days,” he said. “World War II lasted for three years, eight months, and 25 days.” Trump also added references to Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq. He also noted that in “these past four weeks, our armed forces have delivered swift, decisive, overwhelming victories on the battlefield.” He said US military action had been “so powerful, so brilliant” that “one of the most powerful countries” is “really no longer a threat”—even as Iran kept up its attacks on Israel and Persian Gulf neighbors early Thursday.

So all he did was regurgitate all the crap he had spread for the past 5 weeks.

Then there is the reactions of Donny’s favorite part of his job…..the markets…..

Investors got a fresh reminder Wednesday that geopolitics often calls the shots on Wall Street, CNBC reports. US stock futures slid Wednesday night after President Trump signaled the conflict with Iran is likely to grind on, even as he again suggested an end may be near. S&P 500 futures fell roughly 0.8%, Nasdaq 100 futures about 1%, and Dow futures dropped more than 300 points. Asian stocks also fell, the AP reports. The moves came as Trump vowed to strike Tehran “extremely hard” and said the US would push Iran “back to the stone ages” over the next few weeks.

Markets reacted in real time: futures weakened during the speech while oil prices jumped, with US crude up nearly 4% above $103 a barrel and Brent up 5% past $106—a high point for oil prices in recent weeks, Forbes reports.

So all in all waste of time…..for him and for me…..

He really should study up on what these types of speeches are really for and not just to see his pasty mug on TV.

I Read, I Write, You KNow

“lego ergo scribo”