Whether X distracts us from Y can be tough. [FN1] X derives strategic value by being so obvious that we cannot see Y. Today there are a lot of X’s, a ton of Y’s & they seem interchangeable. Example: demolition of a big chunk of the White House is in our faces, w/funding > 1/9

detailed, but still opaque, today. [FN2] It’s a crap shoot. Given trump’s failures at running the “house” (i.e., casinos), the outcome bodes ill for us. And then there’s what most people would agree tops the list for Y [FN3]: incineration of the Earth in a nuclear war. Nukes 2/9

can weigh heavily on the mind of the President, but at least the other presidents of the nuclear age had minds. To trump’s stupidity add more than a dollop of senility, and that makes his tossing out ideas about nukes, as he did last month, alarming. [FN4] Finally, there are 3/9

signs that as his favorability ratings tank, he is becoming more depressed. The retreat into la-la land is worse than for most of us because WE DO NOT HAVE NUCLEAR LAUNCH CODES. Don’t forget, trump is surrounded by Christian nationalists who see Armageddon as 4/9

the will of their “God” & believe Revelation is a book of prophecy. “Evangelicals” shake their heads & say variations of “that’s not what we believe.” Sure! The “left behind” saga was a bullshit fantasy & raked dough from people who didn’t believe in Armageddon. 5/9

We are not safe. [FN5] Millions of us took to the streets on 10/18 in a day of peaceful protests & we need to keep up that pressure. When the Speaker of the House described the protests as “hate America” & communistic, he showed what a dumb bastard he is. [FN6] 6/9

Footnotes:
FN1. X = thing that distracts us from Y = a thing of greater value greater than X.
FN2. July est’d cost of $200 mil now is $300 mil. “[M]ajor companies” & pd by “wealthy individuals like Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman.” Brett Samuels, “White House releases donor list for Trump ballroom amid East Wing demolition,” The Hill, 10/23/25. 7/9

FN3. Remember, Y = a thing of value greater than X.
FN4. Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, “Trump Rambles About “Two N- Words” During Massive Military Meeting,” New Republic, 9/30/25, accessed 10/1/25.
FN5. “We” = human beings on planet Earth. 8/9

FN6. I am a (Groucho)Marxist-(John) Lennonist. And remember, “Abaraham Lincoln didn’t die in vain. He died in Washiongton, D.C.” Firesign Theatre, “How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You’re Not Anywhere at All,” Columbia Records, c. 1969. 9/9