The end of the American era

Apparently, the entire 330 million American population plus the rest of the world, in varying degrees, are now at the whim of one old, tired, and angry man... a man who appears almost entirely divorced from reality and likely in some stage of dementia.

The Dow Jones is in free fall, dropping over 3400 points in two days. Other markets are just as bad. The reputation of the country among the 190 nations we share the planet with is shot, and it will likely take a decade to recover. And that supposes that we will eventually be rid of Trump and his cult.

At this point, who wants to bet his 401K on that?

A lot of Americans are outraged or puzzled or confused or just terrified. A significant percentage is blissfully unaware, and I envy them right now. Life goes on as most people know that they can't make much of a difference as individuals in anything the government is doing. 

There is frustration with elected Democrats and assorted rational leaders, but there is only one small group of people who can exert any meaningful pressure on the Fearless Leader: Republican senators and representatives. 

Anyone want to bet the aforementioned 401K on that happening?

It's a strange feeling, sitting in my comfortable home, watching Opening Day for the Rockies on TV and going about my day of judging and critiquing and grading... while the economy is tanking and the secret police are spiriting college students off the street and congress pushes for tax breaks for the fabulously wealthy. 

The world is metaphorically on fire and I just sit and type. 

I read that the tariffs were calculated using AI and that they are based on all sorts of erroneous assumptions. Trump has lied for his entire life but his latest lies are now producing enormous problems that are difficult to even wrap our heads around. 

Big law firms, big universities, and big journalism are all cowering in fear of Trump and his Cult Army, but no matter what you do to appease a bully, there will always be more demands. 

The only good news, from my perspective, is that true change doesn't happen until things get REALLY bad. 

Maybe we are approaching that point. 

Yay!