During our last time going out to lunch before the pandemic, my dad (who was the only member of his family to survive the Holocaust and later spent years in the Partisans fighting the Nazis) and I were walking toward a restaurant, and he expressed his dismay that Americans weren’t taking the threat to our country seriously enough. I suggested that while most Americans were concerned, they didn’t see the Trump era as being that ominous because they assumed the kinds of things that happened in his life could never happen here. My dad stopped walking, looked at me, and asked, "You think vhen I vas a kid any of us thought it could happen there?" I bring up this excerpt from my book because, like most of my dad's concerns, his worry about America's slide toward a corrupt authoritarianism is happening before our very eyes. It's bad enough what this is doing at home, but it's hard to overstate what it's doing abroad. We’ve known about Trump's treachery and Putin romance since Trump sided with him over America in Helsinki, and the enablers were completely cool with that. From that point, I was sure I could never again be shocked. But the GOP’s tragic Ukraine delays have shocked me to my core. American officials unwilling to take the side of democracy because of the wishes of a corrupt, Putin-wannabe 91-time indictee, one of the leading rightwing media personalities praising Russia during the same week Navalny was killed, Trump only commenting on Navalny's murder by comparing the victim's plight to his own legal problems and an entire political party reacting with a ho hum, performative, fake impeachment hearings based on nothing (except some testimony from a lying informant with ties to, wait for it, Russian intelligence) ...This is what it looks like when it's happening here. 2The Pew Coup Q StewWhy would so many people who know better back Trump? Don't underestimate the religious factor and Trump's transactional willingness to push almost any policy that gives him power. It's a transactional relationship that has worked to great effect for the religious right so far. See the makeup of the Supreme Court and the state of abortion laws for an example. Politico: Trump allies prepare to infuse ‘Christian nationalism’ in second administration. "Spearheading the effort is Russell Vought, president of The Center for Renewing America, part of a conservative consortium preparing for Trump’s return to power." And when it comes to many of these issues, most of the party leaders are fully on board. Nikki Haley sides with Alabama Supreme Court on IVF ruling: 'Embryos, to me, are babies.' 3Exhaustive Analysis"Based on a model in which all new vehicles sold by 2035 are zero-tailpipe emission, the group concludes that there would be 2.7 million fewer asthma attacks among children, as well as 147,000 fewer acute case of bronchitis. The transition to EV-only sales would also prevent 2.67 million cases of upper respiratory symptoms and 1.87 million cases of lower respiratory symptoms in children. And there would be 508 fewer cases of infant mortality." The Verge: Switching to electric vehicles would be fantastic for kids’ health. (They're also remarkably fun to drive.) 4Ripping the Social Fabric"The story of how American pro-sports jerseys—baseball and beyond—have lost some of their swagger, however, goes further than a single company. It’s also a story about the nature of sports uniforms themselves, and why fans might be doomed to more disappointment in the future." Amanda Mull in The Atlantic (Gift Article): What Happened to Baseball Jerseys? During a week when the NBA is on an all-star break, spring training games haven't started, and the NFL is over, I'll take any sports-related content I can get. Our power went out for several hours the other night, and aside from the total darkness, I barely noticed. 5Extra, ExtraAim: "There’s no doubt that the IDF has done significant damage to Hamas's infrastructure. Israel has killed or captured somewhere around one-third of Hamas’s fighting force, destroyed at least half of its rocket stockpile, and demolished somewhere between 20 and 40 percent of its tunnel network under Gaza. The more the war goes on, the higher those numbers will become. But as significant as these achievements are, 'none of them come close to eliminating Hamas' says Dan Byman, a professor at Georgetown who studies Israeli counterterrorism policy." Vox: How Israel’s war went wrong. 6Bottom of the News"A 4-hour long tour of all 17 toilet, or a 2-hour long tour divided into East and West, guides restroom enthusiasts through what are referred to as the symbols of Japan’s world-renowned hospitality culture. During the tour or after, you’ll never have to worry about finding a public restroom in Tokyo ever again." Go on the Tokyo Toilet Tour and Never Worry About Finding a Public Restroom Again. As an occasional IBS sufferer, this is seriously my dream vacation.
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