Sums up the current mood, doesn't it?
The No Kings protests return today, after a roughly six-month hiatus, to confront a President who seems ever more unmoored to any kind of objective reality., especially in light of his unilateral crusade for remote control regime change. Over 90 events are planned in Michigan alone, most spanning the 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. shift, though "local listings may vary," as TV Guide used to tell us. So check the particulars of any event before you go (see link below).
This third installment promises to be the largest one yet, with organizers forecasting seven to nine million participants at some 3,000-odd events nationwide. By any measure, today's events amount to a major display of defiance, as the Trump regime continues its slow, but steady, unraveling.
Nowhere is the disconnect more glaringly apparent than the ever-shifting rationales for the Iran War, now entering its fifth week. The predictions of a quick finish are a distant memory, one that makes mincemeat out of this Trumpian boast: "We figured it will be four weeks or so. It's always been about a four-week process, so -- as strong as it is, it's a big country, it'll take four weeks -- or less."
And, presumably, hash of this one: "It won't be difficult." Or this one, tossed out to CNN: "I don't want to see it go on too long." (How long, of course, wasn't specified.) Or this one, via "War Secretary" Hegseth Ham Sandwich: "This is not a so-called regime change war." So much for that idea, apparently, though even that has a conditional contingency, as Trump sees it: "If they rise, they rise."
Nowhere is the disconnect more glaringly apparent than the ever-shifting rationales for the Iran War, now entering its fifth week. The predictions of a quick finish are a distant memory, one that makes mincemeat out of this Trumpian boast: "We figured it will be four weeks or so. It's always been about a four-week process, so -- as strong as it is, it's a big country, it'll take four weeks -- or less."
And, presumably, hash of this one: "It won't be difficult." Or this one, tossed out to CNN: "I don't want to see it go on too long." (How long, of course, wasn't specified.) Or this one, via "War Secretary"
Glad we cleared all that up, eh? All jokes apart, however, it's worth pondering the mental disconnect that's deposited us in this most miserable of places, and why it bears addressing -- however, whenever, wherever we correct our national course. Imagine the mental thought process that prompted all those Black, Gen Z and Latino voters, among the more obvious suspects, to give Trump another try in 2024:
"Donald or Kamala? Hmm, looks like a tough one. How can I vote for a chick who hasn't worn a dress since 'Silver Spoons' went off the air? She does seem more stable than Trump, though. I can't imagine her leading us to war with Russia, or China, or any of those rogue nation states.
"But my eggs and my gas have never cost more! Just like Biden, she keeps saying, 'Look at those charts, look at those graphs! Why all the bitching? You've never had it so good!' Guess I'll just go for the man-baby. He'll blow up everything, and gas will be back at two bucks a gallon, before you know it. At least he's not boring, right?"
Obviously, I'm exaggerating for eeffect, but not by much. The scary thing is, this imagined rundown is probably more complex than the reasoning most voters likely employed to give Trump another bite at the apple. Essentially, as we've suggested before, economics played the greatest tipping point.
"Donald or Kamala? Hmm, looks like a tough one. How can I vote for a chick who hasn't worn a dress since 'Silver Spoons' went off the air? She does seem more stable than Trump, though. I can't imagine her leading us to war with Russia, or China, or any of those rogue nation states.
"But my eggs and my gas have never cost more! Just like Biden, she keeps saying, 'Look at those charts, look at those graphs! Why all the bitching? You've never had it so good!' Guess I'll just go for the man-baby. He'll blow up everything, and gas will be back at two bucks a gallon, before you know it. At least he's not boring, right?"
Obviously, I'm exaggerating for eeffect, but not by much. The scary thing is, this imagined rundown is probably more complex than the reasoning most voters likely employed to give Trump another bite at the apple. Essentially, as we've suggested before, economics played the greatest tipping point.
Sadly, Biden nor Harris never understood the reality that macro stats don't pay the bills, politically speaking, nor do they win affection in the voting booth. Learning that the official unemployment rate has never been lower offers cold comfort when you can't afford the food on your table.
But neither should we allow those proverbial broken clocks -- the ones who finally admit that giving Trump another turn at the wheel might not have been the greatest idea, from Marjorie Taylor Greene, to Joe Rogan, and all the rest of them -- off the hook, either. Another reminder of this idea crossed my mind, via this sentence from this MSN article (see link below):
"Wall Street is sounding the alarm as Trump's Iran war threatens to crater an already fragile economy, with financial analysts warning the protective guardrails shielding the U.S. from economic catastrophe are rapidly eroding."
The effect further snowballs, as we see from these words, a few paragraphs later: "Gregory Daco, EY-Parthenon's chief economist, warned of systemic vulnerability. 'The U.S. is now confronting inherent fragilities,' he said. 'The typical buffers that would prevent any type of external shock -- like an oil price shock -- from disproportionately affecting the economy are smaller than usual.'
"'Downside risks are rising, and this is an extremely fluid situation,' Daco added.
"The financial sector is rapidly losing confidence in the administration's economic stewardship, Politico reported. A Bank of America survey of global fund managers released Tuesday found inflation expectations surging, with 28 percent now expecting Democrats to retake both houses of Congress in the midterms -- up from just 20 percent a month ago."
To which I can only respond, "Gee, guys. Guess what? Did any of these possibilities ever cross your mind, before you lined up on the dais on Inauguration Day, and began prostrating to your preferred golden calf? Apparently not. So what am I supposed to feel here? Because of all the emotions, sympathy is not among them."
The effect further snowballs, as we see from these words, a few paragraphs later: "Gregory Daco, EY-Parthenon's chief economist, warned of systemic vulnerability. 'The U.S. is now confronting inherent fragilities,' he said. 'The typical buffers that would prevent any type of external shock -- like an oil price shock -- from disproportionately affecting the economy are smaller than usual.'
"'Downside risks are rising, and this is an extremely fluid situation,' Daco added.
"The financial sector is rapidly losing confidence in the administration's economic stewardship, Politico reported. A Bank of America survey of global fund managers released Tuesday found inflation expectations surging, with 28 percent now expecting Democrats to retake both houses of Congress in the midterms -- up from just 20 percent a month ago."
To which I can only respond, "Gee, guys. Guess what? Did any of these possibilities ever cross your mind, before you lined up on the dais on Inauguration Day, and began prostrating to your preferred golden calf? Apparently not. So what am I supposed to feel here? Because of all the emotions, sympathy is not among them."
You can guffaw through the rest as you wish. Whoever wrote those sentences surely has a bright future as a standup comedian, even if it's an unintentional one.
But we must not lose sight of how deep the need for accountability runs, whenever this madness finally, mercifully, and thankfully runs its course. We can talk about "Trump-proofing" our increasingly sclerotic democratic system, so that someone else like him cannot bend and break its rusting guardrails beyond repair, and beyond redemption.
We can pass whatever reforms are needed, to give people a long-overdue modicum of relief from the implicit dictatorship of make believe money, so they can regain a real and meaningful measure of control over their lives once more.
We can work on retaking our media landscape back from the feral tech bros and amoral billionaires wishing to twist it around their grimy little fingers, as the likes of Bari Weiss are already demonstrating -- in vying to soft sell their Dear Leader's worst attributes, Tiger Beat-style. The only difference being, of course, that Tiger Beat didn't pass off its '70s pop idol promotional blitzes as actual shoe leather journalism.
We can do any or all of those things. But unless we start a conversation with those who enabled this madness -- starting with, "Just what did you see in this man?" -- none of those objectives will matter. Without that conversation, we will simply end up duking it out again, four years now -- if not with JD Vance, Trump's hopeful heir apparent, then someone who sounds just like him.
With those thoughts in mind, I'm leaning towards these words from Polly Toynbee in The Guardian, as a more pertinent and relevant point of inspiration:
"Trump calls on the Iranian people to rise up and overthrow their religious dictatorship. The rest of the world is willing the American people to rise up – progressives, Magas and stock marketeers alike – against their wildly out-of-control president who has no exit strategy because he never had an entry purpose. This world-changing conflagration will cost his citizens dear and they need to frighten him out of war: unpopularity is all he fears."
That is what today's third round of national actions are all about. There is a reason why Abraham Lincoln said, "Public sentiment is everything." And it's about time that the ruling class found that out, however they end up learning that particular lesson. --The Reckoner
Links To Go: Hurry, Hurry,
Before "King Lear" Reads Like A Documentary:
MSN: Wall Street Sounds Alarm
That Trump May Be Leading US To Economic Catastrophe:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/wall-street-sounds-alarm-that-trump-may-be-leading-us-to-economic-catastrophe-report/ar-AA1YYvPi?ocid=msedgntp&pc=LCTS&cvid=69bc7c52f62a4665bcab5b933bfa65c6&ei=14
No Kings: Find An Event Near You:
https://www.nokings.org/
The Guardian: Polly Toynbee: It's Trump's Mania,
But Now All Of Us Will Pay The Price:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/23/war-unprecedented-depression-trump-mania-iran
Yahoo News: A Running List Of
The Most Inspirational Trump Quotes About The Iran War:
We can pass whatever reforms are needed, to give people a long-overdue modicum of relief from the implicit dictatorship of make believe money, so they can regain a real and meaningful measure of control over their lives once more.
We can work on retaking our media landscape back from the feral tech bros and amoral billionaires wishing to twist it around their grimy little fingers, as the likes of Bari Weiss are already demonstrating -- in vying to soft sell their Dear Leader's worst attributes, Tiger Beat-style. The only difference being, of course, that Tiger Beat didn't pass off its '70s pop idol promotional blitzes as actual shoe leather journalism.
We can do any or all of those things. But unless we start a conversation with those who enabled this madness -- starting with, "Just what did you see in this man?" -- none of those objectives will matter. Without that conversation, we will simply end up duking it out again, four years now -- if not with JD Vance, Trump's hopeful heir apparent, then someone who sounds just like him.
With those thoughts in mind, I'm leaning towards these words from Polly Toynbee in The Guardian, as a more pertinent and relevant point of inspiration:
"Trump calls on the Iranian people to rise up and overthrow their religious dictatorship. The rest of the world is willing the American people to rise up – progressives, Magas and stock marketeers alike – against their wildly out-of-control president who has no exit strategy because he never had an entry purpose. This world-changing conflagration will cost his citizens dear and they need to frighten him out of war: unpopularity is all he fears."
That is what today's third round of national actions are all about. There is a reason why Abraham Lincoln said, "Public sentiment is everything." And it's about time that the ruling class found that out, however they end up learning that particular lesson. --The Reckoner
Links To Go: Hurry, Hurry,
Before "King Lear" Reads Like A Documentary:
MSN: Wall Street Sounds Alarm
That Trump May Be Leading US To Economic Catastrophe:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/wall-street-sounds-alarm-that-trump-may-be-leading-us-to-economic-catastrophe-report/ar-AA1YYvPi?ocid=msedgntp&pc=LCTS&cvid=69bc7c52f62a4665bcab5b933bfa65c6&ei=14
No Kings: Find An Event Near You:
https://www.nokings.org/
The Guardian: Polly Toynbee: It's Trump's Mania,
But Now All Of Us Will Pay The Price:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/23/war-unprecedented-depression-trump-mania-iran
Yahoo News: A Running List Of
The Most Inspirational Trump Quotes About The Iran War:
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