O tempora …

Dear readers, while not wishing to panic anyone, I feel obliged to pronounce that the times are no longer interesting. They have instead become damnably scary. And the scariness is centred like an unpredictable tornado over the occupant of the White House: Donald Trump. Of course, it is never about one person. Trump’s base of support is the oligarchy of Silicon Valley, Wall Street, and what remains of US manufacturing.

Yet, Trump’s personality does matter. His soul is consumed by the need to do property deals. He has noticed there is valuable real estate up in a place called Greenland or something. Could get that at a bargain price – like for nothing. Then there is that place in Latin America where there is a canal – right?  Someone told him the US used to own it, and now he wants that back. For holidays, there will be the resort in Gaza with its beachfront views. And of course, I nearly forgot, Trump’s got to have Canada. All of it. And I am here to tell you there is nothing stopping him from getting it.

We are back in the era of American expansionism. There is a world to develop (i.e., loot and burn), and Trump is determined to close the deal. America will be made great again. And unlike in his first Presidency, Trump has the Republican Party behind him. He controls the House, the Senate, and the Supreme Court. The checks and balances thing have been chucked out the window.

What of the great mass of the American working class?  Millions of them flocked to Trump’s banner, eager to get a return to the days when they formed an aristocracy of labour. But, of course, long gone are the material conditions which made the development of a privileged layer of the working class possible. Wages and conditions have been smashed along side of the union movement. The jobs are not coming back.

Will the white working class of the US recognize this truth? Or will they remain in the grips of resentment against people of colour? Will they continue to believe that Trump is their friend? If they turn against Trump, will it be back to the Party of Genocidal Murder – the Democrats? The historical evidence suggests that the answer is “yes”.

All this is terrible news. And if we turn to Australia and observe the squeaks and squeals of those who rule us, then a good old-fashioned panic response is well and truly justified. Our rulers tremble on the brink of recognizing that Trump’s first impulse is to cannibalize those kneeling in prostration around him. Dear reader, can you honestly say that you can think of an easier mark than Albanese and Dutton? Trump looks at them and is sorely tempted. That is, if he can be bothered to notice his “gallant allies” Down Under.

His current intent is to do a deal with Russia. The ruling elite of the UK, who form the ranks of the MI6, will be flicked aside. Ukraine will fall. Europe will fold.

Then, the rulers of the US will endeavour to prepare for war with their real enemy – China. At that stage, the Australian ruling class will, in all probability, follow the US into the maelstrom.

What should we the sane ones do?  Well, we should first avoid getting sucked into the “Do you support Ukraine or Putin”” game.  That functions to get us to accept the idea that foreign wars are of crucial national interest.

Zelensky posed for photographs as he signed bombs that were dropped on the children of Gaza. That makes him lower than a piece of dirt as I am concerned. If I stepped on anything like Zelensky, I would want to clean my shoes quickly.  For me, Putin is the grave digger of the revolution.  When Putin was taking over from the drunk Boris Yeltsin, Putin approached the MI6 for help. They sent their Prime Minister Tony Blair to pose with Putin at the Opera House.
It was the 11th of March 2000, and the opera was “War and Peace”.

My flag stays red. Always. We must not fight their wars, and we must do all we can to prevent our rulers from sending our youth once more to a grisly slaughter match. We owe them at least that much.

From the bin, March 2025

“O tempora, o mores” is a Latin phrase, meaning “Oh the times! Oh the customs!“. It’s an exclamation of despair at prevailing social or political norms, often used with a hint of irony