Waves of Madness
I have gotten hooked on (and highly recommend) Deborah Crombie’s series of British mysteries featuring Scotland Yard sleuths Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James.
In Leave the Grave Green, a character James is interviewing reminisces about the past. He notes that those who survived the first World War “had looked into the mouth of hell, and they knew how fragile our hold on civilization really is.”
So it is today.
“A wave of madness is sweeping the globe,” says United Nations General Secretary Antonio Guterres.
He senses “growing instability and hair-trigger tensions,” and with them, “a heightened risk of miscalculation.”
Trump and Netanyahu have unveiled what they call a “peace plan” for the Mideast, though it was created without any involvement by Palestinians and involves a huge land grab by Israelis.
What do you call a “peace plan” that is unilaterally imposed? How can such a thing ever result in peace? What else could you expect from two national leaders who are facing charges of corruption?
Moscow Mitch is wrapping up his show trial on Trump’s impeachment. No witnesses allowed, no evidence beyond an endless parade of boring speeches and PowerPoints. Just power politics, which Mitch is handy at.
The invertebrates in the Senate (read: Republicans) will give Mitch what he wants, of course. And since Chief Justice Roberts presided over it all, you can say that all three branches of the government have now conspired to cover up Trump’s misdeeds and pave the way for more.
Is this how it ends? The American experience in self-governance, I mean. This is why so many people stay away from the ballot box. They know the game is fixed. Doesn’t matter who you elect. Power and money seem to always win.
Trump contrived to give Rush Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. One liar honoring another. The gift so demeans previous recipients of the medal. They actually did something to deserve it.
I found the Super Bowl halftime show featuring Shakira and JLo frenetic and exhausting, and I was surprised both had the energy to stand upright when it was over.
They’re catching a lot of flak, of course, for the sexuality of it. Some from Franklin Graham. But he insists that Trump is America’s gift from God, so he obviously is unqualified to speak about morality.
Some people don’t understand Shakira’s “tongue thing.” It was a ululation, a cry of joy or despair, depending on the circumstance. She learned it from her Lebanese relatives. It’s an ancient cry, heard in many cultures all around the world.
Those who condemn her for it probably would be OK with a Rebel Yell.
People around the world are frustrated, for good reason. Our leaders are idiots or worse. Betraying their own infantile insecurity, they belittle Greta Thunberg of Sweden and Licypriya Kangujam from India. In seats of power around the world, Nero fiddles a horrid tune.
