Random Notes, April 2026

There's so much that's happened in the first third of the year that I've barely discussed here:

+ Impeachment is still wishful thinking. We've done this twice before in the last decade and it didn't work. Someone in Congress can write articles, but it'll go nowhere. Trump has too many loyalists and bootlickers. Assuming voter rights aren't completely gutted by November, the best short-term option is a blue wave in the midterm elections in six months. 

+ I'm not buying into conspiracy theories about the latest assassination attempt --yes, his third in less than two years-- because there's too many holes in the logic. It also only serves to embolden both brainwashed Trump supporters and right-wing conspiracy theories against his critics. 

+ I feel like I'm making a down payment on unleaded now. These gas prices are absurd. 

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A Season of Bloodshed

If the USA in 2022 is a Chuck E. Cheese Whack-A-Mole machine of crises, then gun control is the latest plastic rodent to be hit with a cushioned mallet. A bipartisan bill has been signed but isn't in effect just yet. Regardless, this is already shaping up to be one of the bloodiest summers in recent memory, with mass shootings in Buffalo, NY, Uvalde, TX, and most recently Highland Park, IL. Those are just the most notable shootings; there has been a smattering of massacres all across the continental US.

I said this several years ago, and my stance hasn't wavered much: if you keep a .45 in the house, fine. You own a hunting rifle or two? Cool. If you own an AR-15 assault rifle... why? I'm personally not interested in guns, but I respect the constitutional right to own one. At the same time, there is a time and place for military grade weaponry, and that's if you're in the military, in the heat of combat. The rest is just paranoia and politics. That the Highland Park shooting happened at an Independence Day parade, the most patriotic of holidays, a day to celebrate democracy and freedom, is cognitive dissonance. 

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