With enough spin and a command of the English language, we end up in the place where we are—constant shouting matches, verbal gymnastics, a constant stand-off, where the only rules involve who can conceive of the best words, who can create mythic reality and “truth” merely by repeating something over and over again.

Still, I and many others know in our collective gut that something is seriously off about Donald Trump and JD Vance and Elon Musk, Curtis Yarvin, Kevin Roberts, Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller, Peter Thiel, Russell Vought, and the Freedom Caucus, among others.

Trump and his machine convinced enough voters that he was going to fix the economy, secure our borders from the imaginary hordes of hoodlums and lowlifes, and make America Old Testament Christian(?) again… The only things missing have been the magic wand and ruby slippers.

The “Republican” machine dulled peoples’ Spidey sense, bludgeoned them with repeated assertions that they alone knew how to conjure greatness for America, when all that’s actually happened is that they’ve elevated lying and deception to art forms, and fascism and authoritarianism have once again reared their ugly heads under the auspices of trimming fat and saving money.

America is and probably always will be a target, because at its core it is an experiment in trust—trust in leaders, trust in the electorate, trust in institutions established to respond and to maintain balance. America is an attempt at flying in the face of human nature, ambitious and honorable. Some people hate honorable.

What Trump and the rest want is for us to trust in and obey them, which is, of course, a fool’s errand. They deserve no such compliance. At a minimum, they deserve a derisive laugh and a boot out of town.

The quiet parts out loud…

The attempts at silencing, along with acquiescence, are already in progress. How long before the protester suppression and disappearances and violence start? If Trump and Musk and others get frustrated enough, who can say they won’t contemplate or even resort to such tactics?

Remember, MAGA—no one will be safe. Well, except maybe those January 6 pardonees.

Has there ever been such a collection of misfits and cretins in one place? There’s no reason to find assurance in their reassurances. No reason whatsoever. They’re blowing smoke, just saying shit. When it comes to competent governance, they have no idea what they’re doing, except that they’re following someone’s orders. No action plan, other than tearing everything apart and watching it burn, trying to render us desperate enough to have to turn to the Almighty Donald and his thugs for daily sustenance and a reason for being.

Tight corner, indeed. For all of us. The price of eggs somehow seems like a quaint notion, anymore.

Lately, we’ve been checking the Big Bear Eagle Cam, always live from somewhere out in southern California. There’s a pair of adult bald eagles—Jackie and Shadow—with three hatchlings. It’s been interesting and enlightening to tune in and see what they’re up to. Often times, there will be long stretches of stillness with one or the other adult sitting in (not really on– it’s pretty big) the nest protecting the young, occasionally and daintily feeding them, calling for the partner or maybe communicating with the young ones.

The nest looks to be placed high in a pine tree overlooking what I assume is Big Bear Lake. Weather conditions have varied. Sometimes it’s perfectly still and clear, no wind. A couple of days ago, the wind was howling and I found myself hoping the nest would hold up in the gale.

Yesterday, it was snowing, and there was little movement. Jackie was sitting on the hatchlings, covered in snow, hardly moving the whole time. I got to wondering if this was an annoyance and difficult, but then realized that, of course, she’s built for this. She and all other wild creatures don’t ever go inside where it’s warm and cozy. They’re outside their whole lives. Eagles have feathers, and powerful instincts.

Sitting in a nest, high in a tree, feeding and protecting their young in gale force winds and snowstorms and from occasional incursions from intruders—it’s all in a day’s work. They come by it naturally, and it’s somehow inspiring to watch.

Washington (AP)– The head of the Environmental Protection Agency has announced a series of actions to roll back landmark environmental regulations, including rules on pollution from coal-fired power plants, climate change and electric vehicles.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said Wednesday his actions will eliminate trillions of dollars in regulatory costs and “hidden taxes,” lowering the cost of living for American families and reducing prices for such essentials as buying a car, heating your home and operating a business.

It’s good to see that the AP can still file and publish stories, considering that Mr. Trump has a contrived bone to pick with these folks. But beyond this, let’s take a few moments to parse the above news brief.

The EPA, like many other agencies in Washington, is being decimated, discounted, overruled. Oh, and dismantled, because it seems the Trump administration and those who authored Project 2025 would prefer to torch everything, so that we the people have to turn to the all-knowing, omnipotent Republican Party for table scraps and mercy as we fly blind and defenseless through an average day.

I suppose we are expected to be grateful to Mr. Zeldin for reducing prices for such essentials as buying a car, heating our homes, and operating a business—all movers and big ticket items that keep the wheels of commerce from falling off (not to mention continuing a steady cash flow for all those passionate environmental stewards in the fossil fuel industry).

What angers me more, though, is the fantastical figure of “trillions of dollars in regulatory costs and ‘hidden taxes.’” Has he run the numbers, or just picked a big one out of thin air?

Most of all, Mr. Zeldin and so many others in the Trump administration play the general public for simpletons and fools whose god is the belly, who, they apparently believe, will always respond with fervent support and gusto to news about cost savings of any kind—whether on another gas-guzzling, CO-spewing vehicle, a tax-sheltered business, or anything else–no matter if all this “savings” jeopardizes the air we breath or water we drink even more than it has already been compromised.

Mr. Zeldin and his ilk appear to be cut from the same cloth— caricatures, almost, who have bought into this march to the precipice with their outsized dislike of regulation and disregard for climate science. It tempts one to ask, “Who are these people, and why are they so blatantly dishonorable, so uncompromising in their focus and ignorant of facts, hell-bent on killing us all?”

Well, not all. Some will be on the next flight to Mars, or secure in their fortified and well-stocked, palatial bunkers.

This is an all-hands-on-deck moment. Trump and his doomsday cronies aren’t gonna stop, so it’s going to be up to the rest of us to stop him.

The huge irony is that the system he so maligns is what’s allowing him to get so far with the plan. It’s not his plan. He doesn’t have the wherewithal—ok, the brains—to conceive of such darkness. But he’ll gladly go along with it, maybe even manipulate it a bit, if it generates attention and enrichment for him, and keeps him at the top of the pile.

It may be difficult for many to wrap our heads around such an evil infestation making it so far up the chain of command, but here we are.

We’re past the time of pointing fingers. Mistakes have been made, but Trump is President now, and he shouldn’t be. It’s time for blue and red, left and right to put our heads together, roll up the sleeves, and make it clear to this empty-souled traitor and all the cling-ons around him that their vision for America is odious, hateful, and totally unacceptable.

How dare they?