Tag Archives: Iran

Make America Grovel Already! (Nothing for Nothing Ain’t Nothing…)

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To be clear: Russia’s release of hostage and U. S citizen Stephen Hubbard is a good thing. It is good and right that Mr. Hubbard is back on home soil and free once again. The story though, is far from what the Trump administration and its fanboys are trying to make it.

Mr. Putin is a ‘humanitarian,’ said Envoy Steve Witcoff who appears to have played a role in the exchange (the apt phrasing, since we cannot know what role he actually acted in this daytime drama, other than standing stage-side to praise the dictators on cue…). No, if Mr. Puttin were a humanitarian, he would never have allowed Mr. Hubbard to be arrested, unfairly tried and unjustly imprisoned. Release, at this late date, does not negate those prolonged inhumanities.

Mr. Trump, for his part in the charade, has said that the U. S. gave Russia nothing in exchange for this Russian gesture, comparing the event favorably to earlier prisoner releases negotiated by other administrations as he offered particular self-congratulation that there was no economic exchange involved; claims for which only a child should fall. Though separated by a few days (‘yes, Sir, Mr. President, Sir: that gives us plausible deniability, Sir’) this release is clearly a gimme for Mr. Trump’s recent capitulations to Putin – throwing him economic lifelines in the form of petro deals and sanctions relief and (apparently, though yet to be documented) limiting arms and intelligence flows to the Ukrainians heroically resisting the takeover of their democratic and capitalist nation by its authoritarian socio-fascist neighbor.

So, yes, let’s give Messrs. Trump and Witkoff credit for what their messing-about has actually achieved – not some great ‘’humanitarian’ move by Mr. Putin, not a diplomatic triumph at no cost to the USA, but an insignificant concession that cost Putin nothing (maybe even saved a bit on his prison budget!) in exchange for potentially monumental costs to Ukraine, to democratic aspirations throughout Europe and Asia and to the moral and political values for which the US government once stood. A bargain basement public relations coup for the outlaw regime posing the most acute current threat to world peace and freedom.

Way to go, Team MAGA,

the midterms are coming,

there’s no time to waste,

let’s Make America Grovel Already!

P. S. – E Unum Pluribus is a speculative fiction novel that imagines how intentionally divisive winner-take-all politics may soon bring about the end of what Washington called our “Great Experiment.” Shining a light on what we stand to lose,, what could rise in its place and how some survivors might attempt to repair the damage, this cry of warning is currently being serialized online and is available to anyone, for free, by navigating to the homepage of this website and selecting E Unum Pluribus from the top menu, or via the following link:https://robinandrew.net/2026/01/01/e-unum-pluribus/

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Stronger Together (a thought for this morning..).

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Ezra Klein‘s recent interview with Fareed Zakaria questioned what guiding principle progressives could possibly forward to compete with the divisive and belligerently-reactionary nationalism of the MAGA movement.

One simple answer is ‘Stronger Together.’ Ever since thirteen disparate Colonies chose to work together(and even sought French assistance) to win independence from the reigning world hegemon, right up through Allies defeat of the Axis in WWII and establishing the now-defunct post-war order, it has been unity with others which enabled us to succeed and thrive.

With a little luck and grace, DJT’s narcissistic recoil at any hint of cooperation will die with his political career and allow the US to begin rebuilding our credibility as a coalition member and even – in a few decades – as once again a leader.

E Unum Pluribus

How Style Reveals Character

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Heather Cox Richardson has a tasty piece this morning (see Letters From an American, on Substack) about the moment when Robert E. Lee surrendered the Confederate Army to U. S. Grant – Lee dressed in a brand new dress uniform, Grant in the worn and dirty private’s outfit he’d worn the day before, with scant insignia added to indicate his true rank. That instance of appearance as an indicator of the two men’s divergent characters, brought back to mind some thoughts I’d been working on not long ago, before they were (rightly) eclipsed by the chaos of our nation’s attack on Iran. Herewith:

Viewing the renderings of Mr. Trump’s replacement for the White House’s late East Wing, I’ve been surprised no one seems to be questioning the description of it as a “Ballroom.”

To these ears, the zeal and subterfuge with which The Donald is pursuing this particular bit of noncritical infrastructure suggests there is more at stake here than his enthusiasm for ballroom dancing and debutants (though the latter could be a factor…).

Administration PR pretends this cavern is vitally necessary for legitimate diplomatic events, but given Mr. Trump’s disdain for actual diplomats and his preference for small group strong-arming, that seems a stretch. More likely, the room’s programming will lean toward pseudo-events designed to flatter and reward loyal contributors to his continual fund-raising ventures (including, of course, the cost of this boondoggle itself) and to dangle the bait of future seating arrangements to extract still more contributions and concessions from others.

A means, in other words, for Mr. Trump and his chosen people to more-convincingly imitate the persons he obviously idolizes: the nation-owning monarchs and autocrats of the Middle East and elsewhere.

For that reason, I suggest we all just call this construction what it is – The Donald J. Trump Throne Room, at the Trump™ White House™.

On which note, does anyone really believe Mr. Trump will graciously depart what he is busily turning into the Presidential Palace – having finally gotten it redecorated to his taste – just because his current term expires? Having previously experienced the diminution of becoming an ‘ex-’ Chief Executive? Having in this term solidified his dominion over the rabble thanks to a compliant Supreme Court and supine Trumpublican Party? Having for his entire life scooted around every legal and moral constraint and gotten away with it all?

Note that Mr. Trump’s favorite head of state, Vladimir Putin, will have been in power for thirty years when his current term ends. The House of Saud has ruled its Kingdom for over ninety years (and a somewhat smaller realm for generations before that). China’s Xi Jinping is currently enjoying his third five-year term with no end in sight thanks to the 2018 elimination of the prior term limit on that office. Israel’s Netanyahu is over 18 years in control; Turkey’s Erdogan around 23 (Hungary’s Orban a mere 16). True, Napoleon Bonaparte lasted only 15, but Uncle Joe Stalin managed over 50…

On the turgid scale of those role models, a mere eight years in office would hardly rate inclusion. If, indeed, the style of Mr. Trump’s civic works is true indication of his character, we are in for a bumpy January 2029.

P. S. – E Unum Pluribus is a thrilling speculative fiction exploring one way in which a President’s attempt to overstay his welcome might affect our nation’s survival. It is currently being serialized online and you can read it, at no cost, starting at https://robinandrew.net/2026/01/01/e-unum-pluribus/