truth

Fear and Loathing 2020: A Step Back

I’ve got upwards of 37,000 words assembled thus far and there’s an end in sight.  So far so good, right?  Time to take a quick step back from the task and survey the whole, to see if there’s any major adjustments that ought to be made before it goes too far to recover.  On any other project I might instead be looking to see if it’s worth finishing, but this one’s gone too far for that.  It’s got momentum of its own, and I wouldn’t dare try to stop; the book would devour me.

Which is a problem, because I’m thinking book, and events are going too fast (more…)

And It’s Not About A Wall Either

The present situation has almost nothing to do with a border wall.

I submit that Mr. Trump is attempting to (more…)

Talks Break Down Over Color Of Wall

Tonight, angry Democrats stormed out of a meeting with the President on border security after failing to reach an agreement over the color of the new wall panels presently under construction in the Sonora Desert.

“This is an unprecedented abuse of power,” said Minority Leader Schumer.  “No president should hold the government hostage.” (more…)

More Important Than A Wall, Part 2

Nearly two weeks ago, I posted an article in support of a border wall with Mexico, one I still hold to.

The following day, I began writing about other things that were at least as important as border defenses, and here we’ll discuss the second of them in more detail.  Remember:  This is not an either-or situation (more…)

A Dispassionate Look At A Border Wall

One of the great dangers to us during the Trump presidency is our tendency to automatically discount anything the man says as either false, foolish, or insane.

There’s a reason we do this:  Donald Trump is well known for proclaiming the impossible loudly and repeatedly, as though that would make it true — or convince anyone aside from his more militant followers.  However, just because he says something doesn’t automatically make that thing wrong.

I want to be very clear:  I disagree with many of Trump’s policies and far more of his statements.  I believe him to be ill-mannered and (at best) deliberately provocative (more…)

Comey, Intel, Impeach?

I want to be very clear from the beginning:  I dislike Donald J. Trump.  I find him odious and I believe him to be unprincipled and dangerously impulsive.

And I don’t think he’s done anything terribly illegal during his time in office.  If it’s found that he has, it’ll be a surprise to me, and I’ve been watching about as closely as an outsider can.  (more…)

We’re Tired Of It

It’s been a long couple of years now, and let’s face it: we’ve got a right to feel worn out.  It’s been exhausting, a roller-coaster ride of war and politics and ambition and guile.  We’ve been lied to, cheated, insulted, and abused, and if you’re anything at all like me, you’re pretty sick of it.

The thing is, we’re tired of it — tired of all of it.  We’re tired of sound bytes and memes masquerading as facts, of a long recession masquerading as an economic recovery, of politics masquerading as government.

Eight years (more…)