In charge?

This is a recent part of what the person running the US said:

Americans stranded in Middle Eastern countries are desperate to get out, and the government has not been able to help them. When asked today why not, Trump answered:

“Well, because it happened all very quickly, we thought, and I thought maybe more so than most, I could ask Marco, but I thought we were going to have a situation where we were going to be attacked. They were getting ready to attack Israel. They were getting ready to attack others. You’re seeing that right now. And a lot of those missiles that are hitting in those are stationary. Those were aimed there for a long period of time at these other countries. So I think I was right about that. We attacked first, and if we didn’t, it could have been, you know, look, we’re really decimating them. They’re being decimated. And if we didn’t. If we didn’t, and by the way, we have massive amounts of ammunition. We have the high end. A lot of it was given away stupidly by Biden, very stupidly, for free. And I’m all for Ukraine, but they gave away a lot. As you know, when I give away ammunition, everybody pays for it. The European Union is paying for it, then they can do what they want with it, but they are giving it, let’s say, to Ukraine, and it’s okay, but we gave away a lot of high end but we have plenty. But we have unlimited middle and upper ammunition, which is really what we’re using in this war. And we have an, really an unlimited supply. We also have a lot of the very high end stored in different countries throughout the world. With this, we’re literally storing it there, which is actually something that I insisted on in my first term. I rebuilt the military. In my first term, the military is great. A lot of, not unbelievable, amount of of ammunition, or munitions, as they say, were given away to you know, the Wall Street Journal incorrectly covered the story when they said that it was given away to the Middle East, not to the Middle East was given away to Ukraine. Very little was given to the Middle East. Middle East would buy a lot. And some of the nations, because they’re rich, they have a lot, but it was given away to Ukraine and it just should have been done. Look, it’s a war that should have never happened. If I were president, that war would have never happened. But we have a tremendous amount of munitions, ammunition at the upper upper level, middle and upper level, all of which is really powerful stuff.”

Distraction

It is rather horrendus to start a war to distract from other things that are bothering you, or just because you want to. or even because you have to.

• Your poll numbers are going down,

• The Epstein files are making things worse.

• You like to pretend that you are a big tough guy - even though you never did military service.

• People who did favours for you are calling in their cards.

So you start a war - unfortunately you are not the first president to do that - against the rules of your own country and that of the United Nations. You spend lives and tax payers money to do that. You learn nothing from the experience of previous wars started for questionable or illegal reasions. You don’t learn. The question is whether anyone else will.

We don’t know.

Infinite Scrolling

That is apparently what happens when teens go online. It never stops nd increased the addictive power of social media. I can fall into this addictive habit myself with ease - Apple News can go on forever. But that is easy to fix. How about a limit on the number of items that can be scrolled on a visit - or even better, on a day? What if government made it mandatory to stop at say - 30 items. If you try this on FaceBook, you will ptobably see an even number of ads and posts from friends - but suppose that’s all you could see in a day. It really points up how banal the experience actually is.

The companies are trying to put the onus on parents. That will never be good enough. Let’s start looking at the process.

Differences

The Supreme Court decision will be the source of the most chatter today - but there is another one. I’m glad to be a Canadian for some but not all of the following reasons:

• I don’t have a clue about the political views of our own supreme court judges - or, in fact, any judges.

• I don’t know the politcal persuasions of those who made the recommendation to the Prime Minister when they were appointed.

• Supreme Court judges are not appointed for life. When theyt retire, they often serve useful roles elsewhere giviing others the benefit of their experience - including in the United States.

• Our political leader is a serious person who keeps his emotions in control when it matters. That he would attack or praise particular judges is laughable.

• Oher leaders understand what tariffs do and who pays for them.

• I lived in America in the sixies and visited it many times after that. Since then it has become a different place. That’s a tragedy, but sadly. one of its own making.

Value

I started the morning by Googling “Ron Charles” to confirm that he was gone from the Washington Post since it has shut down its Books section. It wasn’t hard to find his cheerful face - but also a reassuring post : “I’ve been laid off - but I’m not done” on S.ubstack. He’s been there for some time - all for free and has still not set up a paywall. But I immediately set up an annual pledge t ostart when it does.

Ron Chrles has won many awards as a book critic and he knows his sfuff, but really comes across is his humanity - funny, modest, profound. It’s like a family member that you don’t see all the time, but you can pick up immediately and we also know his teacher wife and their daughters. Who else will send you a weekly poem?

Thank heavens he will not be constrained by a Post hgher up who thinks that these cuts will be to the paper’s advantage. “The Washington Post has laid off one-third of its staff, eliminating its sports section, several foreign bureaus and its books coverage” I can read in today’s edition. This was the paper that broke the story of Watergate. The sports fans will be lamenting their loss but the current journalists will soon appear elsewhere as so many previous writers at the Post already have.

I stopped my subscription when its owner refused to endorse a political candidate in the fall of 2024. I was still able to access the weekly books column with some appreciation. It informed my book buying for gifts and for myself. I once recommended a book and got a personal thank-you note from Mr. Charles himslef.

There is no doubt that we will have to step up to the plate and pay good jounalists directly. It’s the least we can do to save what we value.