I resent the fact that there’s so much material to work with now that Trump is back in office. I prefer to focus on other things but often find myself trying to make sense of the latest headline news regarding something he said, or another insane policy decision, or Executive Order he signed.

I guess something to remember about Trump is that he’s merely the front man. He’s the visible, in-your-face reminder that there’s something bigger and even uglier going on around him. The people at the Heritage Foundation, people like Stephen Miller and other bottom feeders, are the real movers and shakers in this race to ignominy and ruin. They’re trying to command a whole nation to shit itself, to give up, to turn its back on the rule of law because that’s too hard and inconvenient.

And they found a malleable, delusional empty soul with a permanent chip on his shoulder to do their dirty work.

If I seem preoccupied and moody and cynical, it’s mainly because this assault on the America that could be truly beautiful is heartbreaking, rage-inducing, and taking its toll.

It’s becoming tragically clear that humans can’t have nice things. We’re just animals with a somewhat evolved brain.

Will there be a moment when the MAGA crowd comes to its senses and realizes the error of its ways, regrets what it has foisted on the country they supposedly love?

Seems unlikely.

But even the straight, white, gun totin’, flag waving, Jesus loving Base won’t be able to avoid the fallout from this debacle. No one emerges unscathed when you hand the reins to a vindictive, delusional liar who couldn’t care less about the price of eggs.    

Fiscal sanity, fiscal conservatism, is a smokescreen. “Efficiency” is a smokescreen. Cutting trillions from the budget is likely impossible, but it’s also mere cover for an insidious agenda.

It’s the height of hypocrisy. The ones who push for spending cuts are the ones who have no worries about putting food on the table or securing needed medications or receiving a helping hand when the money is tight. “Handouts” are anathema to these cold-hearted bastards. But that’s only because they can’t relate to anyone else’s life, anyone else’s situation.

All they see, for some reason, are illegal aliens, beggars and leeches and drags on society, instead of desperate human beings. They’d rather spend money on themselves or on an Iron Dome, instead of on a program that makes someone’s day a little less bleak.

The confirmation hearings are revealing, overall, that Project 2025 is going swimmingly. RFK, Jr. faced predictable lines of questioning—hardballs from Dems, softballs from Republicans. It’s unclear how much of a difference Caroline’s letter and video will make when it comes to her cousin’s bona fides.

One thing about his vaccine stance, though—isn’t there middle ground when it comes to making sure vaccines are still available? Instead of the extreme of prohibiting research and availability and making questionable claims about their efficacy, can’t people be given the option of receiving a vaccine or not receiving it?

In other words, leave the decision to an informed public– let us choose, instead of taking that option out of our hands.

Saying that out loud, I realize that the whole intent of vaccinating the public is to thwart a disease’s ability to spread—something that’s much more difficult to accomplish if a bunch of people aren’t immunized, aren’t participating.

Pete Buttigieg is right—it boils down to trust. Who are we gonna believe– the environmental lawyer and seeming quack who’s attempting to punch way above his weight, or scientists and virologists and immunologists who do research and have the tools and know-how to come up with solutions for our ills, who tackle things rationally and want to get it right when it comes to providing something as remarkable as a vaccine that, by and large, protects from the scourges that would otherwise make us miserable or do us in?

Untenable. Unsustainable. Un-American?

Who can tell anymore?

Seems all Trump needs is his bully pulpit and his penchant for spreading quality bullshit. The clueless MAGA herd, the lemmings in Congress, and the brown-nosed billionaires will take care of the rest.