It was simply nice to see the third "No Kings" protests. Delightful. Justice, it seems, will not be denied, though, there are many that have a vested interest in our present king.
It's impossible to know for sure in politics--as in life--but it seems many forces are gaining against MAGA. And Trump is not looking too healthy--in a number of ways.
***
Here are some quotes from the excellent book by Dr. Jason Stanley, How Fascism Works.
--"When the Israeli right uses the unquestioned history of Jewish oppression to assert Jewish dominance over Palestinian lands and lives, they are relying on the ease of victimization to obscure the contradiction between a struggle for equal respect and a struggle for dominance" (p. 115).
--"The Confederacy, like Hitler's Reich, was built to defend, 'the aristocratic principle in nature,' the principle of racial hierarchy" (p. 91).
--Quoting Hitler from Mein Kampf : "...all effective propaganda must be confined to very few points which must be brought out in the form of slogans" (p. 64)
The last quote brings to mind some words of a certain man named Trump:
--"Drain the Swamp"
--"Lock Her Up"
--"Drill, Baby, Drill"
--"Make America Great Again" (thank you former Pres. Reagan)
--"Too Big to Rig"
--"Make America Healthy Again"
--"Never Surrender" (thank you Corey Hart)
***
I just read an excellent book by Jason Stanley, Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future. Here are a few quotes:
--"Erasing history helps authoritarians because doing so allows them to misrepresent it as a single story, a single perspective" (p. xi).
--"At the heart of fascist ideology broadly, and Nazi ideology specifically, is this conspiracy about the replacement of a dominant group" (p. xv).
--"Wars are won by teachers." (Vladimir Putin) (p. 1)
--"Authoritarians have long understood that when they wish to change the political culture, they must begin by seizing control of education" (p. 23).
The book speaks truth to power and to the present.
***
Simply put, I'm just enjoying the trials and tribulations of our president. The day draweth nigh.
***
A great political website is "The Status Kuo," run by Jay Kuo. Here is a part of one of their emails, dated Feb. 27, 2026:
"Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was forced to testify behind closed doors for some six hours before the House Oversight Committee, despite never having met Epstein and knowing nothing about him. She issued a blistering attack on the weaponization and cover-up of the Epstein files. Her opening statement blasted the sham proceedings:
'You have compelled me to testify, fully aware that I have no knowledge that would assist
your investigation, in order to distract attention from President Trump's actions and to cover
them up despite legitimate calls for answers.'
She added, 'You have made little effort to call the people who show up most prominently in the Epstein files,' noting that not a single Republican had attended the deposition of Les Werner, a billionaire who helped Epstein become a tycoon."
***
--"a zap to the synaptic cleft" (John Leonard)
--"a slice of the strange" (" ")
--"Alone in literature, we find sanctuary" (" ")
--"and a muffled barking of dogs" (Joan Didion)
--"unremarkable good looks" (" ")
--"and dreams about bigger houses, better streets" (" ")
--"cutting both their losses and their hopes" (" ")
--"I wouldn't believe Donald Trump if his tongue were notarized." (Alair Townsend)
--"He invited them over for a carne asada cookout..." (Jennifer Medina)
--"at the still point of the turning world" (T.S. Eliot)
--"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.." (William Butler Yeats)
--"Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast." (Shakespeare)
***
I have been reading a number of good articles in The Atlantic (from my local library's online database). I especially like the articles by the editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg. They seem able to show, better than most newspapers and magazines, what are the moving parts of the MAGA movement.
Reading the articles help keep me quasi-sane.
***
I've been thinking about President Trump again. Months back I was beaten down thinking about him and about the gains he and his followers have had. Yet, it seems the tide is turning, indeed.
He seems beaten down, and tired. He has always been good--stunningly good--at dealing with the pushback on all of his lies. Now, his age coupled with the mountain of lies are coming home to roost. And he's starting to flail wildly in an effort to look poised and in control.
He is beginning to look unpoised and out of control. Maybe the arc of the universe does bend toward justice.
***
I'm just typing up some interesting phrases and sentences that I find euphonic.
--"dumping out prodigious amounts of rain" (Peter Brannen)
--"The concreteness of the scene carries the burden of the meaning." (Chris Anderson"
--"a disturbing sense of mental disorientation" (Robert Atwan)
--"petty crimes and murder across a desperate American landscape" (Richard Sandomir)
--"We're all dying in increments." (Roger Ebert)
--"It's a colossal miscalculation." (Roger Ebert)
--"a waltz-length white wedding dress" (Joan Didion)
--"a frail and unhinged casualty of modern life" (Nathan Heller)
--"trim back on the magnitude of your ambition" (Jon Franklin)
--"enriching the story with new revelations" (David Sassoon)
--"For all the drug-addled extravagance" (Peter Richardson)
--"No views, no food." (David Brooks)
--"alongside a state-of-the-art waterpark" (Eric Adler et al.)
***
I've been reviewing a book I got years ago. It's called Bryson's Dictionary for Writers and Editors, by Bill Bryson. It's a great book for writers. It gives the correct spelling, and lots of definitions, on thousands of words. They tend to be words that the spelling can be tricky.
Here are some examples:
Minsk Capital of Belarus.
mullah Muslim teacher.
murmur
oscillate
plenteous
propinquity Nearness or similarity.
rumba A lively dance of Cuban origin.
Senegal West African republic; capital Dakar.
seppuku Ritual suicide in Japan; hara-kiri.
tattoo
Valhalla In Norse mythology, a great hall of slain warriors.
***
--There is more to life than increasing its speed. Mahatma Gandhi
--What do we live for if not to make the world less difficult for each other. George Eliot
--The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated. William James
--Measure twice, cut once. Craftperson's aphorism
--Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or better. John Updike
--If you're not making mistakes, you're not trying hard enough. Vince Lombardi
--Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly. Robert F. Kennedy
--A proverb is a short sentence based on long experience. Spanish proverb
***
I have been trying to write more. It's always present in my psyche but most of the time I don't follow-through with the action steps.
I seem to be dealing with some momentum that is helping now. I do find it interesting to puzzle over why writing at times can be difficult and at other times quite natural.
I have guesses but no answers.
***
I know I go back constantly to President Trump but it seems the nature of the beast. Now the president has invaded a country. That's new.
I remember him saying he would be the president to end Bush-style wars. I know this is truly out of character for the president, but it looks like he fibbed.
***
