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Maybe the world really is coming to an end. Maybe that’s what’s happening. Maybe this is the beginning of the end, maybe it’s the middle of the end, maybe our run on this planet is soon to be over. I kind of actually mean it.
Or maybe I’m just completely drowning right now thinking about everything that’s happening in the world. All I know is I woke up this morning with an overwhelming sense of hopelessness and dread. I woke up feeling helpless, like it’s all too much, like America will never recover from the damage Trump has wrought, like we’re on the verge of WWIII, and like we’ve already created and are creating the weapons that will wipe out the entire human race.
Now, I should add here a couple of caveats. First, I go through periods like this pretty regularly. I mean, when you do what I do — pay attention every minute of every day to what’s going on in the world, and go to war every day on the political battlefield — there are ups and downs. It’s exhausting. I’m regularly drained at the end of every week, and, yes, I get depressed. How can anyone who pays attention to, is invested in, and goes to war over what’s happening politically in this country, no matter what side you’re on, NOT get depressed pretty regularly?
So, it could be that. I’m also no longer a kid, so at my seasoned age, I recognize the end is not far off, so I’m also regularly contemplating the meaning of it all. But… still… maybe the world is on its last gasp. I mean, I woke up this morning to some pretty sure signs.
Sign #1 — Yesterday, an AI researcher at Anthropic resigned. Why? Because, in his words, the people building AI are racing so fast to be the first with whatever it is that they’re building, an intelligence that will kill humans. Most people in the field believe the technology will be able to kill all humans within the next decade. Why are they building this technology if they think there’s a decent chance it will kill us all in ten years? Many haven’t taken the time to think about that question, and many are just locked into a race, so they gotta be first. And our government is doing nothing in this area, world governments aren’t coming together to do anything, so… what the fuck?
Sign #2 — Look, I know Donald Trump lies about everything. I know he lies as he breathes. But that piece of shit yesterday lied about 9/11. The king of stolen valor actually lied about what he did on 9/11. He said he was down in the rubble, putting his life on the line trying to save people, when they heard a building start to screech, and two firemen picked him up out of the rubble and carried him to safety. LIES. It’s all a lie. And as used to as I am to that piece of shit lying, it felt like such a gut punch to hear him again today, nearing the 25th anniversary of that most horrible day, lying about 9/11. Lying about 9/11. Hearing Trump lie about 9/11 yesterday broke me. I think it broke me because so many people support him. And I feel again like we, as a nation, will never recover from putting history’s greatest con man in power twice. Like, why do I even care anymore about fighting who he is and what he stands for if millions and millions of my fellow citizens do not care that he lied about 9/11?
Sign #3 — Zohran Mamdani is the mayor of New York City. He’s Muslim. And because he’s Muslim, there is a huge movement among many New Yorkers to demand that Mamdani not be allowed to commemorate 9/11 on Friday. Are you serious? Mamdani was 9 years old on 9/11. He’s the mayor of the city that was hit by those evil terrorists. And just because he’s Muslim, and you don’t like his politics, or you don’t like some of the Democratic socialists who work with him, you don’t want him to attend the ceremony? How fucking bigoted is that? What are these people saying — like, because he’s Muslim, HE had something to do with 9/11? Is this how hopelessly divided we really are? Twenty-five years ago, that terrorist attack united a nation; this country stood together as one people to grieve together and fight back together. And now look at us. We’re at each other’s throats. I spend so much of my time trying to bring people together from across the political divide to have conversations, but this morning I’m wondering if it’s even worth it. Are we too far gone? Are we still at war with each other, and no one has any interest in listening to the other side? Again, that helpless and hopeless feeling this morning.
Sign #4 — I saw a video of a 5-year-old immigrant boy being pulled out of the arms of his immigrant mother by masked ICE thugs, who then hauled her away to be detained. The little boy sobbed and screamed. I thought he may never see his mom again. I thought America will never recover from the cruelty and evil that’s being done in our name under Trump. I speak a lot about ICE. I read stories and watch videos of their cruelty and lawlessness hourly. But I never let myself become numb to what they do, and I will never let myself become numb to it. Which is why last night I cried watching that video of that scared little boy. But again, will we ever recover from these masked federal thugs? Maybe we won’t. Maybe the cruelty and evil will prevail. And maybe then God will say the heck with this human race, be gone with them, I’m going to start over.
I apologize. I’ve gone on too long. If the world is ending, maybe this is the perfect time — with an idiot in charge, human greed creating the technology that will be our demise, a people so divided all they can do is cling to their base bigotries, and a little 5-year-old boy whose young life was just destroyed. Stick a fork in us, we’re done.
Oh well, I need a good night’s sleep tonight. I’ll probably wake up tomorrow, grab my musket, and be that happy warrior again. Who knows?
Be Brave,
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***AN ICE BADGE DOES NOT MAKE CRUELTY LEGAL [ [link removed] ]
Under Trump’s mass-deportation agenda, ICE has become a weapon of fear, intimidation and, let’s call it what it truly is, evil. And they have ramped up efforts, illegal efforts, to arrest and deport more people regardless of their immigration status. They chase, hunt, arrest, detain and willfully defy local and state laws. And because they get paid for each person they arrest ICE has decided to arrest and detain first, let the courts work out the details later.
***ICE COMMITTING CRIMES [ [link removed] ]
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