The thing about people like Donald Trump is that they have little or no capacity—or time or stomach—for evaluating their own actions—making the effort to review and critique, admitting to making the occasional mistake and learning from it. In Trump’s case, there is no way for such a thing to happen, because he, unlike human beings, doesn’t make mistakes. Everything is always someone else’s fault.

I get that an uninformed and impatient public, or a relentless press corps full of people yearning to distinguish themselves can get on a President’s or a Press Secretary’s nerves after a while. I also get that it’s not necessarily easy to handle critique of one’s behavior or actions or decisions, but a person in his position necessarily has to have this quality. And Trump in particular continues to provide a lot of ammunition for his detractors.

Bottom line is that people like Donald Trump should be coming nowhere near public office and dwelling anywhere near the seat of power. He didn’t, he doesn’t, and he never will have the tools for the job.

And yet,  

What’s frustrating is the lack of acknowledgement among the Tucker Carlson crowd that there is anything wrong with Donald Trump and Republican talking points.

Democrats are warning of the imminent fall of democracy or whatever this system of governance is rightly called, while most Republicans and Carlson and Fox News and the Breitbart universe are calling foul on Democrats. It’s all the Dems’ fault, those weak-kneed, liberal, baby-eating alarmists.

Better to wear Jesus on your sleeve and cast a wary eye on immigrants and support a ban on abortion and get behind the 2^nd Amendment and blow things up and act tough with a gun in your hand than admit that your platform is hopeless and dated and tone deaf and commandeered by people who are completely out of touch with reality, by people who claim they feel their constituents’ pain but really couldn’t care less about anyone but themselves. Their “vision” is not shared by a majority of Americans. Republicans wield fear as a weapon, even as, ironically, they themselves are terrified of change.

It all seems so entrenched and unsalvageable. Like we’re heading toward a place we shouldn’t want to go. Maybe this is what happens when a large enough number of people refuse to believe in evolution.

Nations can evolve, too. If you can summon the courage to let them.

Has it always been that people have needed compliments and congrats on a job well done—needed to be shown appreciation—or is this an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences thing? Maybe just part of the overall attitude among the younger generations who can’t go too long without being told how wonderful they are? Is this the fruit born of being the kids who all got trophies, whose parents thought their children could do no wrong?

I don’t know. What I do know is that I’m annoyed by this, for some reason. The vibe is whiny and self-involved and spoiled rotten.

Has there ever really been a time when people chose certain career paths and took on certain jobs simply because it’s what they wanted to do, they loved the work, regardless of how much they got noticed? Well, apart from an occasional “thank you”?

Admittedly, it was nice to get feedback on occasion, though the positive stuff was always more welcome than the critique. But I wasn’t one to complain about going unnoticed or unappreciated. I don’t think I needed constant reinforcement or attaboys. I just tried—usually not very effectively—to do my job.

Ah, who am I kidding? It felt good when people handed me a compliment, and it felt shitty when someone offered critique, even if I said I appreciated the honesty. Am I being honest here, or am I engaging in selective remembering?

Anyway, it just doesn’t sit right when you hear people whine about not getting noticed enough, being underappreciated. Did you get into a line of work just for the kudos and the money, or because it lit a fire in you? Simply because you thought you could make a difference and you felt called to the task at hand, understanding that the greatest reward is simply doing the work and doing it well.

What kind of darkness does a person have to embrace in order to stay in power for decades? What are the motivations for wanting to stay in power for so long? And why would anyone want to do that on purpose? Seems to me it can only be for selfish, deluded reasons, pure power play. One might think that the citizenry wouldn’t let it happen, but it happens all the time. The citizens are rendered impotent, and those who make noise are most times silenced or marginalized.

There’s no more glaring case than V. Putin. Imagine the control he’s had to exert, the attention paid to quieting dissent, and the methods employed for tending to such.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world, while annoyed and appalled by his ruthlessness and sense of impunity, basically does nothing to stop him. An appeal to reason is futile and laughable, but there has to be a way to stop him, short of WWIII and/or resorting to nukes.

The whole concept of military parades seems like bad theater to me, somehow pathetic. What is the purpose of such pageantry? I can imagine it has something to do with intimidation and… reassurance? What is it if not an attempt to show off, to threaten, and remind citizens and the rest of any of the world that might be watching that a country is not to be messed with?

What I see is paranoia and government officials wanting to show off, deciding to invest billions, maybe even trillions of dollars in weaponry and armor that could have been spent on infrastructure and hospitals and education and beneficial advancements of all kinds.

Russia and North Korea aren’t the only ones. We’re pretty good at this, too, except we don’t go goosestepping and parading the hardware like rutting baboons and strutting peacocks. Many nations do this to one degree or another and it is absolutely, morally unconscionable, when one thinks about the amount of money that has been spent on military R&D. All because we don’t trust each other, because humans are animals with an instinct for chest pounding and survival.

Instead of solving problems that affect us all, we waste astronomical sums on what ifs and worst case scenarios, on stockpiles of armaments and aircraft and ICBMs and other terrifying weaponry that gives people boners and bragging rights and has military contractors and oligarchs and dictators and certain congressional districts laughing all the way to the bank.

Turns out maybe there’s been a reason for the dour, dark sunglasses look Phil Mickelson has been sporting in recent tournaments. He’s being investigated for insider trading and shouldering a mountain of gambling debt, $40 million in one recent 4-year stretch. Jeez, Phil.

That’s liable to weigh a person down.  

Finally watched Hamilton last night. I would think it has to be the Everest of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s achievements, though he’s probably long moved on to some “next things.”

I have few words, though he found plenty of them, along with the music! And it all weaves quite a tale. Amazing performances, incredible and inspirational story, based on actual events. Another catalyst for my own life review, and as usual I am found wanting, on a couple levels.

First, in terms of Miranda’s giftedness and creative genius. Second, in terms of once again being reminded of the insignificance of my own contributions to the world, and just how historically consequential certain peoples’ lives have been in birthing this nation. How can something like this not give one pause to think about then and now?

The juxtaposition is jarring: genuinely passionate, flawed, and courageous people who poured their heart and soul and intellect and flesh and blood into bringing this nation into being, set beside the current clown car full of pretenders and coattail riders, people lacking real courage and substance and any appreciation for where we’ve been or how we got here.

People so cowardly and shallow that it boggles the mind and stirs up feelings of vehemence and disgust and a wishing for their immediate fade into the woodwork. Yes, Donald and Ronald and Marjorie and Lauren and Greg and Mitch and Josh and Madison and Stephen and… this means you.

Thanks, though, for reminding us of how far we can fall, how low we can go. And how close we’ve often come to ruin. Lives of consequence can head in different directions and reap different, more bitter fruit.

What are we going to learn about the dynamics behind the leak of the SC decision on Roe v Wade ? Was it an aggressive reporter? Was it an effort by Democrats to motivate their own base? Did it originate among the justices themselves, in an effort to see what the public’s reaction would be, a testing of the waters? How could such a leak happen in the first place?

Alito and the rest have to know they’re sitting on a powder keg.

In addition to the argument that the word “abortion” doesn’t appear in the Constitution, the trouble with the supposedly genuine, albeit leaked, Supreme Court opinion on Roe v. Wade is that there is undue faith-based influence in play here.

Abortion has always stirred strong feelings in all directions. Roe reflected a more rational– secular– take on this being about the right of a woman to have control over her own body. Apart from this, I cannot think of any good coming from a decision based on an Old Testament biblical reference, even “Thou shalt not kill.” Or “You shall not kill,” for anyone who has dared move on from the language of the early 17th century. Life is more complicated than adherence to an ancient edict from a questionably authoritative source.

How in anyone’s right mind can it be proper to force a woman to give birth in any circumstance, including, apparently, incest or rape or when the health of mother or child is in question? There seems to be this undying issue of concern over consequences and accountability, or lack thereof. Making sure, somehow, that a woman pays.

What is the real issue for anti-abortion activists?

Do they feel the need to be the Morals Police? Is it really about right to life, or is it more about the need, ironically, to play God, to be another person’s judge, jury and executioner, another person’s conscience (because, you know, anyone who is considering an abortion is obviously a heathen who cannot be trusted with such a significant decision)?

Conservative Christianity to the rescue! Always wearing their undying love for God on their sleeves, but hardly ever trusting her.

And kudos to the Supreme Court, if indeed Roe is struck down or dramatically weakened. They can deliver their edict from on high and then wash their hands of it, by passing it off on the states to deal with.

The Burger court (9 men!) got it right in 1973. The Roberts court may bring us a big step closer to A Handmaid’s Tale.

What is astounding is that as much as few of us want WWIII, and as much as most abhor the current reality that one person is causing so much destruction and heartache, we are getting sucked into the nightmare anyway. It’s happening before our eyes, regardless of how much we don’t want it to happen.

One thing is leading to another, involvement deepens, and we move ever closer to that moment when Putin will reason that he has no choice but to unleash unholy hell.

We’ve learned nothing from what has come before, except to confirm that there’s always going to be some asshole with a grudge who wants to rule the world. Maybe there’s still time to stop this one.