With a play on words from the Dylan song, here we have it. My country, the one I have loved since my childhood, is fading fast. Now, with this MAGAWORLD phenomenon ( I say that sparingly) the greatness of America is not what it once was. Please don’t criticize this writer for creating a partisan issue, because it is not that at all. Before there was a Trump and Musk and all those red MAGA hats, there was and IS an empire on steroids. All The Donald did was highlight the horror of it. We had a government owned and operated by the Super Rich for much of my baby boomer existence. As I grew older, and perhaps wiser, I could see what this empire is capable of doing. All those phony wars and military propaganda, from Korea to Vietnam, then onwards to Afghanistan and Iraq, my country has been on the wrong side of the street continually. Neo Con thinking has manifested from both of the ‘ Lesser Evil’ political parties.
Look how our leaders in government have acted concerning Israel vs. Gaza and Ukraine vs. Russia? This empire decided to back the fascist and Neo Nazi governments of Israel and Ukraine. Yes, Israel has become everything it was supposed to be against since WW2. They have taken pages from the Nazi German playbook. The Ukraine has had a history of backing a Nazi mindset. Remember, when Operation Barbarossa began in June of 1940 it was a multitude of Ukrainians who welcomed the Weirmacht with flowers and cookies. Now, the Azov Battalion and Right Sector are merged into the Ukrainian military. As far as Israel, sadly my Jewish brethren ( my maternal grandfather was half Jewish) must have forgotten about the Warsaw Ghetto and its revolt against the German occupiers.
This empire is like the wagon train being surrounded by hordes of Indians. The movers and shakers who run things are scared shitless that the almighty US Dollar is losing prestige financially. As they control our presidents and Congress ( even the Supreme Court) to do their imperialist bidding, the Chinese are taking control universally without firing a shot! We do sanctions and bullying of foreign governments. The Chinese come in and build ports and highways and infrastructure for those peoples. Trump is ordered ( my opinion) to do tariffs so as to allow cuts in taxation to his super rich handlers. Meanwhile, the 330 million consumers here at home will foot the bill with higher prices on imports. And, with high Chinese tariffs on our exports, US manufacturers will lose business abroad. All done to keep the super rich high on the hog as their US dollar sinks. Trump and his cronies will be safe behind their gated communities while us suckers scrape for survival.
PA Farruggio
A consequence of the tariffs is the rampant inflation that is already affecting all of us. Products that are not directly targeted by the tariffs have become more expensive, and it’s difficult to figure out if there’s a secondary effect operating or if the prices are being hiked as a result of gouging by devious companies. The tariffs give them an excuse to claim “Oh no, it’s not us, it’s the tariffs!”