Well, the unthinkable has come to pass, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been confirmed as the USA's new health secretary. I really did not think it would happen. I thought just a handful of Republicans -- particularly those with medical backgrounds or moderate tendencies (like Collins and Murkowski) -- might oppose him. But no! It turns out the only Republican with any integrity is Mitch McConnell, who helped enable the Trump administration in the first place and now seems to be having sudden pangs of conscience. Too little too late, Mitch.
Meanwhile, the National Park Service has stripped any references to transgender people from its page dedicated to the Stonewall Inn and the uprising there in 1969 -- even though transgender people were a key component of that event. Talk about rewriting history. It's positively Soviet.
All my life, I have believed in the strength of the American system of government. Checks and balances seemed to ensure that nothing too wild could or would ever happen. That was the genius of our Founding Fathers, right? Even the dark days of George W. Bush and his war on terror, when we tortured and incarcerated people indefinitely in Guantanamo Bay without trial and I was left with the feeling that I didn't know my own country -- even those days didn't seem as perilous as this. With Congress as Trump's lapdog, the only checks and balances we have are the courts. They are pushing back valiantly, but you gotta wonder what's going to happen when Trump, with his apparently endless reserves of money, litigiousness and bile, appeals any contrary decision to the Supreme Court.
Trump and his minions insist those pesky judges have no right to stop him. He's the president, after all! Apparently he failed civics, if he ever studied it.
And while Trump continues to lay claim of ownership to Gaza, imperiling the release of Israeli hostages (who he really doesn't care about and in fact would rather see not released, giving him and Netanyahu a green light to continue exterminating the Palestinians), I note that the right-wing media outlet I peruse doesn't report his Gaza comments at all. His MAGA followers don't like this Gaza idea, because they don't see it as "America First," so the right-wing media response is to simply ignore it.
I don't want to seem too pessimistic, but it does seem like we're in uncharted waters and about to smash ourselves on a reef. I have no idea what's going to happen. Meanwhile I have friends in Washington who are losing their jobs or, if they're lucky enough to still be employed (so far), are sifting through agency grants and policies for problematic words like "justice." It makes my head spin.
I know, I know. Resist. Believe me, I'm resisting in whatever way I know how. I'm putting my money where my mouth is with donations. Just the other day I bought a "Gulf of Mexico" t-shirt in a vain attempt to resist Trump's ridiculous rewriting of our global map -- a minor form of resistance, to be sure, but it's something. (The shirt is being delivered to Dave's parents in Florida, where I hope I'll be able to wear it without being killed.)
In other news, unrelated to Trump, I purged my iPhone of photos. I'd stacked up a ridiculous quantity of photos over the years -- about 2,600 of them since 2017 or so. I winnowed them repeatedly over time but they still felt overly burdensome for my phone's operating system. They were all backed up elsewhere, so on Wednesday I deleted about 2,000 of them, giving me a much more reasonable library of pictures that I might actually want to look through. Of course, Olga is in at least half of them.
I just realized, seeing the date, that I penned this political screed on Valentine's Day. Sorry about that. Not very celebratory of love, but I send you all a virtual hug anyway.
(Photos, both taken yesterday: A glass-block sidewalk panel over a shop basement on Finchley Road; a brick wall in St. John's Wood.)
Yeah. I know. I am trying so hard to handle this with as little emotion as possible, but...it isn't working so well some days.
ReplyDeleteI agree -- sometimes I feel like I can deal with this and we'll be fine, and sometimes I think we're headed for Armageddon.
DeleteI think the rest of the World is starting to feel just a bit nervous right now, realising that the US system has been broken and he seems unstoppable.
ReplyDeleteHe really DOES seem unstoppable. It's crazy.
DeleteSending you many virtual hugs. I have great respect for your opinions, and political and social insights. I am therefore ready to put a pillow over my head.
ReplyDeleteSo am I!
DeleteMost of us understand your pain, if he was poor he would have been locked up by now, instead we see his ruthless outdated will being thrown around and the others in power too (I don't know, scared or stupid) to speak out.
ReplyDeleteIt is being blinded by power. They are all grabbing for power.
DeleteIt's remarkable that so few people are standing up to him. They're terrified of their constituents and being "primaried."
DeleteI have so much to say but if I started I'd never stop. The vileness that is happening now is almost beyond comprehension. And it's reaching out into the world - the rest of North America, Africa, much of Europe, the Mideast.
ReplyDeleteSending love to you and Dave and Olga. Be careful wearing that T-shirt. Seriously.
Yes, the spread of the MAGA mentality is what's really troubling. I still think Russia is somehow behind all of this.
DeleteIt's cruelly ironic that the oligarch that Trump chose* to run DOGE is a South African wheeler dealer who has sucked millions in grants from the US government. Hardly someone who had any history of scrupulous spending - more of a risk taker - he who dares wins and all that. It is extra ironic that one of the finest buildings in Venice, Italy is called The Doge's Palace - occupied for centuries by The Doge of Venice and his successors.
ReplyDelete* - on second thoughts maybe Musk came up with the idea of DOGE and Trump just ran with it.
I think Musk did originate DOGE, didn't he? As I understand it it's named after some kind of Internet meme. There's a cryptocurrency named DOGE as well.
DeleteI suppose it is a normal political tactic, hit hard when elected and then pull back before for the next election. From afar, it is horrible to note what is happening, and I fear it could happen here.
ReplyDeleteAnd since it's his second term he has no guardrails. He doesn't have to hold himself back to win re-election.
DeleteWe're well and truly f*cked, Steve. Sorry to be so pessimistic, but I think our democracy is done. I knew Worm-Brain would get confirmed. They're all getting confirmed. Kash Patel will be, too. Mark my words.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right about Kash, sadly!
DeleteI find it all very scary, in Europe and the US. Spoke with my former colleagues in the medical faculty and many are cancelling their research cooperation with US centers while US research scientists are starting to apply for posts in Europe, bringing their data with them. This will have massive consequences for everything related to health in the US.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine all the damage that is being done to scientific and medical research, since the federal government funds so much of that.
DeleteHappy St Valentine's day to you and Dave.
ReplyDeleteThank you. :)
DeleteSad day. Thank you for any resistance you can put up.
ReplyDeleteI'm working on it!
DeleteMitch voted as he did because he had childhood polio and knows what RFK's ideas will do for other children.
ReplyDeleteHappy Valentine's Day anyway.
Peter
Yeah, he definitely has a personal connection to the value of vaccines.
DeleteVirtual hugs back. We'd all better be hugging each other a lot because we aren't going to be getting any warm fuzzies from the DC crowd. Be grateful you are living in the UK. I know you're not without your challenges either but at least there appears to be a bit more collective intelligence on your side of the pond. Our democracy is a democrazy and I hate it. And on that happy note, Happy Valentine's Day. We'd better love the ones we're with because we're going to need each other for all the uplifting energy we can get. (My Support Cat is getting an earful these days!)
ReplyDelete"Democrazy" -- ha! The right-wingers insist that we are NOT a Democracy but a "Constitutional Republic." I'm not sure why Democracy has become a bad word.
DeleteEvery day is some new hell here, I think. Confirming Kennedy is absolutely insane. I just don't know where Trump gets the leverage on seemingly normal Republicans, like Collins or Murkowski. In what world should that man have been confirmed? It's horrifying.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've read, their defense is that Trump was duly elected and he should be permitted to assemble his team. Basically, they're abdicating their roles as watchdogs.
DeleteIt keeps getting worse, doesn't it? I can't say anything that will make us feel better about the US right now.
ReplyDeleteHappy Valentine's Day to you and Dave and Olga.
It's kind of like being punched in the stomach over and over again.
DeleteThese really are scary times. As a straight white woman past childbearing age I'm not personally worried about my own self (YET), but I'm worried for all my marginalized friends.
ReplyDeleteAnd even the non-marginalized ones! With a very few exceptions, these are not good changes for anybody.
DeleteWhat's happening is horrifying. 47 seeks to extend his empire, Putin and Xi do the same.
ReplyDeleteThere is bloody strife ahead.
Meantime, hug your loved ones and keep them close.
It's true. We are in an age of empire expansion.
DeleteHappy Valentine's Day, Steve. I am sure that you and Dave celebrated with roses and chocolate covered cherries for breakfast. Well, don't eat the roses.
ReplyDeleteLike you, like so many of us, I am standing here with my mouth open going, "WHAT THE F**King F**K?" It's like in his first term as president, Trump sawed through all of the underpinnings of the constitution and now he is gleefully torching the whole thing.
Wear your shirt with pride.
It's jaw-dropping stuff almost every day.
DeleteDark times indeed. How long did the last dark ages last? 500 years. Oh shit.
ReplyDeleteYikes!!!!
DeleteI have never felt that THIS was MY country- i just happened to get born here. I suppose that you, having been in Peace Corp, have more of an affiliation with the illusion that this country was ever "good". We are comfortable here, which presents a problem. The problem of getting the hell out before it's too late.Plus we are old, which makes shifting more of an issue. So...we ride it out and die. ..but I will die wearing the T-Shirt that I just ordered , thanks for the link!!!
ReplyDeleteThe bricks are GREAT! I love those !!!!
DeleteI really did absorb the lesson as a child that we have a good and unique system. I believed it. But over the last 20 years or so, and especially lately, that belief has been powerfully eroded.
DeleteHappy Valentine's Day! You've expressed my feelings beautifully. I am afraid for the future. Like you, I really didn't think Kennedy would get confirmed. It seemed like such a long shot. Now here we are with a voodoo practitioner running the health department. The other department heads aren't much better. I feel like we are heading for a major disaster.
ReplyDeleteI thought if anyone would get rejected, it would be him. At least Matt Gaetz didn't get the nomination as Attorney General. I suppose that's something.
DeleteHow much can the American people take of this nonsense?
ReplyDeleteThat's the question!
DeleteYes, the courts are resisting the lawlessness and I suspect even the highest court in the land won’t roll over to whats happening but this administration has already shown that the court can rule however they want, they simply won’t comply. It’s an oversight on the part of the constitution framers because the only body of govt that could compel compliance is under the executive branch, which certainly won’t order any such thing. Our corner is very dark. But, on a happier note, I hope you and Dave and Olga have a lovely Valentine’s Day!
ReplyDeleteThat's the "Constitutional Crisis" that so many people envision, I guess -- the executive branch simply ignoring the rule of law.
DeleteDemocrats and pundits are finally recognising that we are in a full blown constitutional crises. As I wrote on my post today, turns out democracy only works if those in power support it. I don't know what's going to happen but one thing, it will never be the same. And I have no doubt Trump will support extermination of the Palestinians if he can't get other nations to absorb them.
ReplyDeleteOne way or another, he really wants them out of Gaza. Hamas made a grievous misstep when they waged those attacks on October 7. I can't imagine what they thought would happen, but surely it wasn't this.
DeleteI am sick and scared and am trying to do what I can. But I still feel powerless. :(
ReplyDeleteThat's the hardest thing -- the sense of powerlessness. I think we all just have to do our part, whatever we conceive that to be. In my case, for example, it's helping to build an LGBTQ-friendly book display in the library for Valentine's Day.
DeleteI get your sense of frustration Steve. It is hard to see things you care about whittled away one by one. I can sympathize with that as someone more political centrist because I see very little focus on finding middle of the road solutions where both sides get something and give up something. I would have bet with you that Kennedy wouldn't get nominated and would have lost with you. I think we as a society are so divided onto opposing political teams that things like Kennedy getting nominated are going to keep happening for the team in power, not because it is the right thing to do but because it spites the "losing team". Hopefully if we can put all the animosity behind us, we will start caring about the how the losing team feels again, if we ever did I guess.
ReplyDeleteI have mixed emotions about a lot of what it going on. In my world, if I patch something enough times trying to fix it, at some point I find it better to just stop at some point and start over from scratch. But I realize with the very lives and livelihoods of other human beings on the line, starting over from scratch might not be the best way.
The optimistic side of me however says that no matter what happens, we will survive the next three plus years and come out on the other side still a country that many people will still want to immigrate to and call home over their own country. I just hope that we can eventually start to heal and not be so divisive and focused on hatred of the other side. Hard to do with the leader of the other side right now.
I think you're right about the need for more compromise. This has been a problem for our government for at least the last couple of decades, as the media magnify political differences and search for "drama" in the disagreements. I am definitely not in the "start over from scratch" camp. I think what we have is too precious to simply blow it up and begin again. I hope your optimistic vision proves true.
DeleteThere is a moral rot here, that's hard to comprehend. The republicans are actually fine with defunding Medicaid, which poor people depend on. Let them die, are there no workhouses for them? I do not remember voting for any of this crap.
ReplyDeleteI think racism and xenophobia is at the heart of so much of that moral rot. They think the beneficiaries of Medicaid aren't their friends and neighbors -- they're "invaders" or "welfare queens" or whatever other stereotype they want to employ. If they believed that government programs like Medicaid served white, native-born Americans like themselves they'd be all for them, but they don't believe that.
DeleteMitch McTurtle is not running for office again because he's 300 years old so he decided he finally had a spine to stand up to The Felon.
ReplyDeleteAnd that stuff about taking the 'T' out of Stonewall just pisses me off. Talk about erasing people.
Yeah, that Stonewall story was a punch to the gut, wasn't it?
DeleteHugs back. Keep the faith, baby!
ReplyDeleteIt may not sound like it, but I'm trying!
DeleteI'm not going to admit to you how many photos I have on my phone. It's shameful.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, I'm sticking my head in the sand. It's probably the wrong approach, but I have to keep my mental health in check. Seriously. (and I'm a moderate!)
In my case, my phone began having problems connecting and downloading to my computer, I think because of all the data used by photo storage. That's why I cleaned them out, and now they do seem to download more smoothly. Time will tell.
DeleteI understand protecting your mental health!
I thought I could add to what you said, but after re-reading it, you have covered it all. We're headed down a really dark path here and I don't know if we will ever recover.
ReplyDeleteI think the American "optimism" that Ronald Reagan always embodied is also a sort of willful blindness to the needs of others. And that tendency persists in today's Republicans, even though their outlook is much darker than Reagan's.
DeleteThe land of liberty is gone largely because our founders expected honesty, transparency and an educated electorate. None of our major papers have reported this as a coup and the press has until today usually been on top of things...it is all frightening.
ReplyDeleteWell, I think the major papers HAVE challenged much of what Trump is doing. Whether they've used the word "coup" or not, I'm not sure. But the NYT in particular is quite critical of him, in its measured, NYT-ish way.
DeleteUnbelievable times.
ReplyDeleteIndeed! Literally unbelievable.
DeleteHugs, Steve. These are dark days; we need each other. And we need Olga!
ReplyDeleteChris from Boise
Yes, Olga makes all things better! :)
DeleteIf this was a movie the ghosts of presidents past and future would be terrorising him nightly is his sleep. It wouldn't help at all, but they'd be trying.
ReplyDeleteWWGWD?
Delete(That stands for "What would George Washington do?")