I hate that I have to keep writing about this stuff, but it warrants our attention until it goes away.

With each passing day, a certain animosity builds. We watch as scary people and young punks are handed the reins, and institutions take one hit after another. What may be the most infuriating thing is that it has been so easy. Steve Bannon’s “flood the zone” stratagem is unfolding before our eyes, and so far, we seem powerless to stop it.

Sure, there will be protests and raised voices, people weakly shouting, “You can’t do that.” But they’re doing it, and with what they consider a “mandate,” as if there is a groundswell of support (it’s never mattered whether or not there’s an actual mandate– all Trump and Co. have to do is talk it up, carry on as if there is one, and that’s always seemed to have been good enough).

Many who voted for Trump probably didn’t vote for this. Oh, some did, because they’re so far gone that they believe Trump is on a mission from God and what the country needs is a strongman who can seal our borders and fill the pews with Bible-thumping Christian white people who can be led like sheep. Trump has neither the desire nor comprehension nor the stamina to do any of that, for very long.

It’s the cast of misfits and bottom dwellers around him who have dreamed of finding the right sucker who could deliver the levers of power to them. Trump is their man, their mouthpiece, their ticket. He’s almost incidental, though needy enough to demand the lion’s share of limelight, and savvy enough to contribute his own brand of bullshit to the cause.

I’m rambling, I guess, but what’s happening now, beyond the flooded zone and glaring incompetence, is an attempt to consolidate power for the purpose of destruction, with no regard for who gets hurt. These are cold people. There is no life in their eyes. Somewhere along the way, they were taken over by anger and disenchantment, and they succumbed to the same old Siren song of selfishness and lust for power for power’s sake. Their vision is narrow and skewed. They’re lazy, they have a dim view of humankind, and they view compassion and fairness as weakness, or just too hard.

They best be careful, though, lest people start viewing them as cold-hearted monsters.

Amateurs. Incompetent dabblers. Maybe feeling pretty smug, or possibly just trying to keep a stiff upper lip, project strength despite shaking in their boots, knowing that they’re operating in rarified air, loitering in places and situations that are too complicated and way out of their league.

Vance and Hegseth and the rest have their marching orders, though, all tucked under the umbrella of isolationism and America First and “saving democracy.” I’m surprised people still ascribe to such a time-tested failure.

A navel-gazing America, closing in on itself, is like an elephant trying to hide in a broom closet. We are in too deep all over the world to withdraw, to turn our backs, to shut down programs, to say, “You’re on your own.”

Mr. Lavrov is probably licking his chops over the opportunity to meet with Marco and company, while Mr. Zelenskyy wonders what has to happen to get heard, wonders where the salvation and real peace is going to come from if he can’t have a seat at the table.

The longer we go down this road of “flooding the zone” and absence of forethought, and cold-heartedness, and doing end runs around actual understanding and competence, the easier it becomes to draw conclusions about Trump and the whole lot of ass-kissers and out-of-touch rich kids: they don’t give a shit about real governance, or America. It’s not in their best interest, and it’s just too hard.

Instead of focusing on issues, on genuine need, the Trump administration is occupied with pettiness and payback and poisoning the water. It’s all damnable, inexcusable behavior, but of course many are offering two thumbs up.

The sheer volume of bullshit is staggering. The ease with which Project 2025 has been implemented, or at least introduced, is stunning, and disheartening. Court decisions appear to be the only impediments, the only weapon we have when it comes to keeping this takeover and dismantling at bay.

But what happens if Trump and the rest simply decide not to abide by lower court decisions—or even SCOTUS decisions, when they inevitably come? It’s a safe bet this will happen, which highlights how fragile, indeed, is our whole system. It’s always been a matter of enough people buying in.

There is no bedrock other than buy-in and trust in the rule of law, trust in actual experts who know things that are beneficial and efficacious. Trump and the rest are simply casting all that aside, as if it means nothing.

The Dems lost their asses because they took the bait and tried to be like Trump, which we know to be a fool’s errand. Only Trump can be like Trump. Harris and the rest took the bait and ended up handing over their lunch money.

And Joe should have stepped aside long before he did.

There’s nothing normal about any of this. Normal went out the window when Trump descended that damned escalator close to ten years ago now.

He was out of office for four years, but no one would have known that, thanks to a compliant media hungry for ratings, covering Trump’s made-for-TV life. He’s a manipulative media whore, addicted to attention, needy, getting older and less stable by the minute.

He’s being marginalized by Elon Musk and the graveyard full of Heritage Foundation stooges who seem not to have a problem with hastening America’s decay. Trump won’t stand for this. He’ll find a way to elbow his way back into the limelight, so we best be prepared for the next bizarre EO or boneheaded proclamation.

Jumping ahead, is anyone else curious about what we’ll actually be celebrating by the time our 250^th rolls around next year? Donald and the rest will do a stellar job with that, too. It’ll be some sort of flag-waving extravaganza, I’m sure.

I watched part of an interview Rick Beato recently did with the surviving members of The Doors—John Densmore and Robby Krieger. I found it to be a special thing—the three of them sitting in the studio where Light My Fire and other hits came together.

There they were, getting up in years but still fiery and sharp, reminiscing a bit, sharing details about who influenced them musically, about scouring LA for gigs, how certain songs took form and got recorded, and the brilliance of Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek.

It had the air of three guys just sitting, having a conversation, with all that water having gone under the bridge and plenty of stories to tell. It was cool, for some reason. And Beato doesn’t ask just your run-of-the-mill, starstruck questions, though there might have been a couple of those.

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