Most of the time, the smoke leads us somewhere. So does the money, and when there is smoke AND money...
Rumors about Trump and Russia have been around for decades now and there is plenty of evidence that there is something not quite right with Trump and his family and obvious admiration for dictators, with Putin being the exemplar. This social media post about wanting Ukraine to stop destroying deisel production facilities because THAT is what has dramatically driven price increases in the U.S.... Come on!
Even the Russians said that not bombing those facilities would have little impact on prices, though they certainly appreciate the support. After all, poor Russia is at the mercy of the monstrous Ukranian war machine and any help they can get, you know.
It's such a looney tunes thing to say that we can only surmise that Trump has completely gotten lost in some delusional fantasy (likely the correct choice) or that he is a Russian agent working on the behalf of a powerful adversary (the most frightening option).
I have read comments on how it's safe to ignore Trump's fantasies about 9-11 and physically helping at the site with a hundred workers he pulled from a project, or his dramatic rescue by two burly firefighters (some sort of homoerotic fantasy shared with the world?) just before a building fell on them. Neither of those things happened and everyone knows it.
It is disturbing that Trump doesn't know it.
Memory is a funny thing and it's completely possible that someone can come to believe some false memories (desires, nice-sounding stories, tales of heroism) are ACTUAL memories. I really would love to somehow translate many high school athletic moments of heroism into facts, but I retain enough of myself to know those would just be me making stuff up.
We have a president who is just making stuff up, and a majorty of congress and government that is just nodding along.
"The emperor wears no clothes," exclaims the little boy in the story. The good news is that all the adults who had pretended the man was gloriously clothed due to peer pressure were able to awaken from their trances and see the truth plainly before them.
I large chunk of America plainly sees that Trump wears no clothes, lives in a fantasy, cares only for himself and his wealthy friends... but won't awaken from the trance. I guess that is what depresses me about the country and our future.
When Trump calls fears of AI doing what experts say is quite possible -- the robots destroying humanity through disease or nuclear annihilation or whatever -- a hoax is the president trying to protect his investments in AI (and crypto and private equity investment). Climate change is a hoax because Trump might not make money on his fossil fuel investments.
Those commentators who brush off most of Trump's ravings as Trump being Trump are fools who are outthinking themselves. The crazy man is in charge and the totality of his ravings is what gives him away. Trying to sort the analytical from the fanciful from the bigoted from the self-serving... that's a fool's errand.
It's got to stop.
