Very powerful speech. He pretty much bluntly put what’s wrong. And the short amount of time that he spoke, he spoke volumes. It’s time that Americans to wake up to the fact that their country is no longer of high regard anywhere in the world because of one man and the group that supports him. The last time he was in office the whole country was in chaos this time it’s worse. He has destroyed every relationship with every leader around the world and he doesn’t care. The biggest thing is he doesn’t care about anybody except himself and how he looks. Then he wonders why the rest of us can’t stand him. We who live outside the United States have had enough. We are all ready to move on and leave the United States in the rearview mirror. Unfortunately, we also need to realize that there are Americans who need us to support what they want to do to put an end to this nightmare administration. There are those of us that have family in the United States. This aberration of an idiot has caused families and friendships to fracture. This person is a piece of human garbage and I don’t say this lately. If we the rest of the world have this problem in our own country we need to step on it and stop it now. The only way is by standing up and saying no more lies no more fake news. That may mean getting off social media and speaking, face-to-face and talking out loud about what is going on around us. Unfortunately, there are those people who will always believe garbage and will not look at true facts. I don’t know what else to say.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment, you do make an excellent point about it not being just one man. I do believe when people support one man and in this context it has become about the power that they have been given and how they have abused this power to cause so much pain and hurt and they don’t care. It has destroyed years of loyal friendships with many countries around the world. Those in power down south have no true understanding how this has hurt the reputation of their country at all. Hopefully this can be undone before it is too late.
it's already too late and it's already undone. What's required is rebuilding. Americans thought they were protected by the Constitution but the law can't be upheld if the defendant owns the police. A toothless tiger can do little but pontificate.
The United States of America could elect a genuine Democratic Socialist as President in the next election cycle. It wouldn’t change the reality of the gerontocracy that is the House and the Senate. Or anything about the pervasive white nationalism. That kind of transformation would certainly take generations.
So accurate on all accounts. Thank you for this post. It dovetails nicely with other important realizations and I would not have known about this accurate presentation otherwise: trust requires drop by trustful drop behaviors.
…arrogance leads to ignorance which breeds stupidity and brought this country down
…250 years old toddler country just bumped its head really hard and been introduced to an ancient concept of totalitarian rule
…consumerism, political ignorance, religion and lack of proper education made this country a politically impaired nation
…it didn’t happened overnight, for decades the trick was to convince american liberals they still live in a democracy, while led them to the point of no return by pulling the rug under their feet, but they still don’t fucking get it
That’s a heavy take… and I get the frustration behind it.
But I’d push back on the idea that it’s “over.”
History doesn’t really work like that.
Countries don’t just flip from functioning to finished... they go through messy, uneven phases where things look worse before they stabilize… or change direction.
And yeah, there are real problems in what you’re pointing to.
But there are also a lot of people inside that same system who don’t agree with where it’s headed... and aren’t sitting it out.
Calling it done might feel accurate in the moment…
But it usually misses the part where things keep evolving, whether we like the direction or not.
…there will be no elections under the regime, people still don’t understand the gravity of the situation, but lets elaborate on the theory so many still support - elections, whoever will run for president have to build their campaign on promise to restore trust in our government, i don’t think at this point there’s too many blind people left to believe congressional democrats will come to the rescue, there’s no government agencies in this country people can really trust, government have to prove it’s trustworthy and this is impossible to do without real investigations and public trail of all who perpetrated crimes in all ten years period… i don’t know about you, but that’s the only way i will trust anyone and will not vote, now try to think about it for a minute… how far we are from that point?
You are right. The world is changing. It’s not breaking, but it is reorganising, into a world independent of the USA. The states will not be irrelevant, it is too powerful to be, but the new power blocks will be able to withstand its vagaries. Whatever happens to the US will no longer have such an impact, not irrelevance, just a total loss of hegemony.
One can conservatively speculate that 50% of the US CONgress is on the take and/or terrified of mob threat "accidents" to their immediate families. Mafia muscle and tactics live in the cellar of US intelligence. Once "inside" the system rhat deeply, congress' only choice seems to be to double down on declaring a vacation if decent governance might require a response (eg- drunk Lindsey with princess wand). If they truly communicated and cooperated with each other, ways to manuveur could emerge but details about how it all started and was sustained in the first place further haunts them. Treason is an exclusive but completely repugnant clubhouse. When "honorable" (as they continue to address each other-- cue bulb horn honks) men & women stubbornly refuse to admit personal/professional guilt, it's no wonder every challenge becomes a holy war. All that said, "ever" being able to trust or interact with a legit govt here isn't something many US citizens have or will abandon.
My comments are not based on a hunch. Danny Sheehan, among several others, has meticulously documented and litigated the "players" behind numerous landmark scandals here. See: The People's Advocate (2013)
Anonymity is an invisible foe almost impossible to challenge. The secret govt is apparently about 300 strong from "old money".
We agree on substance but not style. Within our nations, other nations reside and indigenous people have PLENTY to say about what's really going on behind closed back room doors. What I'm writing about is so horrifically depraved, it's too repulsive to even contemplate. That's exactly what "they bank on" (pardon the expression).
The big question is: even if the US can regain the trust of other democratic countries, will they ever be given the ability to lead international organizations the way they did before or even rejoin those they abandoned?
Will these organizations decide to change their constitution to remove the need for a consensus or give certain countries a veto to make decisions?
I was wondering if the other members will ever agree to give that much power to one or group of countries. The UN Security Council is deadlocked, the WTO has no appeal mechanism because the appointment of judges has been vetoed, NATO is also unable to achieve consensus. Maybe all these organizations need updated constitutions.
China is now selling “defensive” weapons to Iran. The stakes just got higher. “Nature abhors a vacuum”. If the US can’t be trusted to run the world, who will step up?
Thank you, Fred, for your response. And thank you for your analysis on many subjects. I feel like the world is on fast-forward and I need a commentator on the news as it flashes by.
Very powerful speech. He pretty much bluntly put what’s wrong. And the short amount of time that he spoke, he spoke volumes. It’s time that Americans to wake up to the fact that their country is no longer of high regard anywhere in the world because of one man and the group that supports him. The last time he was in office the whole country was in chaos this time it’s worse. He has destroyed every relationship with every leader around the world and he doesn’t care. The biggest thing is he doesn’t care about anybody except himself and how he looks. Then he wonders why the rest of us can’t stand him. We who live outside the United States have had enough. We are all ready to move on and leave the United States in the rearview mirror. Unfortunately, we also need to realize that there are Americans who need us to support what they want to do to put an end to this nightmare administration. There are those of us that have family in the United States. This aberration of an idiot has caused families and friendships to fracture. This person is a piece of human garbage and I don’t say this lately. If we the rest of the world have this problem in our own country we need to step on it and stop it now. The only way is by standing up and saying no more lies no more fake news. That may mean getting off social media and speaking, face-to-face and talking out loud about what is going on around us. Unfortunately, there are those people who will always believe garbage and will not look at true facts. I don’t know what else to say.
There’s a lot of frustration in what you’re saying… and some of it’s earned.
But I’d dial one piece back a notch.
It’s not one man.
If it were that simple, the fix would be simple too.
What we’re seeing is deeper than that...
trust slipping, institutions getting tested, people digging into positions instead of questioning them.
That’s why it feels bigger… because it is.
And you’re right about something important at the end there...
Real conversations don’t happen in comment threads.
They happen face-to-face… where it’s harder to dismiss each other as “the enemy.”
That’s probably where any real repair starts.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment, you do make an excellent point about it not being just one man. I do believe when people support one man and in this context it has become about the power that they have been given and how they have abused this power to cause so much pain and hurt and they don’t care. It has destroyed years of loyal friendships with many countries around the world. Those in power down south have no true understanding how this has hurt the reputation of their country at all. Hopefully this can be undone before it is too late.
it's already too late and it's already undone. What's required is rebuilding. Americans thought they were protected by the Constitution but the law can't be upheld if the defendant owns the police. A toothless tiger can do little but pontificate.
I think you’re right about one thing Jim... this isn’t a “fix it and move on” situation anymore.
Rebuilding is the right word.
But I’d push back on the idea that the whole system is toothless.
If it were, we wouldn’t still be seeing pushback from courts, states, journalists, and regular people.
Messy, inconsistent… but it’s there.
The Constitution was never meant to run on autopilot.
It only works when enough people insist on it...
and that part’s being tested hard right now.
So yeah… damage done.
But not nothing left to work with.
I think you’re hitting the important part there... it’s not just about power… it’s how it’s used once it’s handed over.
That’s where the real damage shows up.
And you’re right, the ripple effects don’t stop at the border.
Reputation, trust, long-standing relationships...
those take years to build and not much to strain.
What gives me a bit of cautious optimism is this...
Awareness is growing.
More people are starting to see the cost of it...
not just politically, but personally and globally.
Undoing it won’t be quick… but it’s not fixed either.
That part’s still being written.
The United States of America could elect a genuine Democratic Socialist as President in the next election cycle. It wouldn’t change the reality of the gerontocracy that is the House and the Senate. Or anything about the pervasive white nationalism. That kind of transformation would certainly take generations.
You’re not wrong about the timeline.
Big systems don’t turn on a dime… they drift, then they shift
usually slower than anyone wants.
But I’d push back on one thing...
It’s not just who’s sitting in Congress or the White House.
It’s what people are willing to accept… or stop accepting.
That’s where change actually starts.
Messy, uneven, and yeah… generational.
But it never begins at the top.
True. The systemic racism, among other things, has always existed. Trump only gave them a reason to flaunt it.
So accurate on all accounts. Thank you for this post. It dovetails nicely with other important realizations and I would not have known about this accurate presentation otherwise: trust requires drop by trustful drop behaviors.
Appreciate that, Zoe.
That “drop by drop” idea sticks for a reason.
Trust isn’t built in big moments…
it’s built in consistent behaviour over time.
And when it’s damaged, there’s no shortcut back.
Just the same process in reverse...
slower than anyone wants, but the only way it actually holds.
…this country is a goner
…arrogance leads to ignorance which breeds stupidity and brought this country down
…250 years old toddler country just bumped its head really hard and been introduced to an ancient concept of totalitarian rule
…consumerism, political ignorance, religion and lack of proper education made this country a politically impaired nation
…it didn’t happened overnight, for decades the trick was to convince american liberals they still live in a democracy, while led them to the point of no return by pulling the rug under their feet, but they still don’t fucking get it
…we created the empire and now we have an emperor
…bone voyage america and buckle up
That’s a heavy take… and I get the frustration behind it.
But I’d push back on the idea that it’s “over.”
History doesn’t really work like that.
Countries don’t just flip from functioning to finished... they go through messy, uneven phases where things look worse before they stabilize… or change direction.
And yeah, there are real problems in what you’re pointing to.
But there are also a lot of people inside that same system who don’t agree with where it’s headed... and aren’t sitting it out.
Calling it done might feel accurate in the moment…
But it usually misses the part where things keep evolving, whether we like the direction or not.
…there will be no elections under the regime, people still don’t understand the gravity of the situation, but lets elaborate on the theory so many still support - elections, whoever will run for president have to build their campaign on promise to restore trust in our government, i don’t think at this point there’s too many blind people left to believe congressional democrats will come to the rescue, there’s no government agencies in this country people can really trust, government have to prove it’s trustworthy and this is impossible to do without real investigations and public trail of all who perpetrated crimes in all ten years period… i don’t know about you, but that’s the only way i will trust anyone and will not vote, now try to think about it for a minute… how far we are from that point?
I hear the frustration in that… but I think you’re jumping to the end of the story too fast.
“No elections” is a serious claim.
That would require the courts, the states, the military, and a lot of people across the system all going along with it...
and that’s a much bigger leap than most people realize.
What you’re pointing to about trust, though… that part lands.
Trust is damaged.
And yeah... real accountability matters.
But it doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing.
If people wait for “perfect justice across ten years” before they engage… nothing moves at all.
Systems don’t rebuild in one clean sweep.
They rebuild in pieces... uneven, frustrating, and never fast enough.
You don’t have to trust everything to participate.
Sometimes participating is how you force things to improve.
…i’m not “jumping” to anything, i was born in soviet union in 1956, i know
You are right. The world is changing. It’s not breaking, but it is reorganising, into a world independent of the USA. The states will not be irrelevant, it is too powerful to be, but the new power blocks will be able to withstand its vagaries. Whatever happens to the US will no longer have such an impact, not irrelevance, just a total loss of hegemony.
That’s a fair read… and probably closer to reality than most people want to admit.
It’s not collapse.
It’s diversification.
The world isn’t lining up behind one centre anymore...
it’s building alternatives so it doesn’t have to.
And once those alternatives exist… they don’t just disappear.
The U.S. doesn’t become irrelevant.
But it does lose something it’s had for a long time...
The benefit of being the default.
From here on out, influence has to be earned… not assumed.
That’s the real shift.
One can conservatively speculate that 50% of the US CONgress is on the take and/or terrified of mob threat "accidents" to their immediate families. Mafia muscle and tactics live in the cellar of US intelligence. Once "inside" the system rhat deeply, congress' only choice seems to be to double down on declaring a vacation if decent governance might require a response (eg- drunk Lindsey with princess wand). If they truly communicated and cooperated with each other, ways to manuveur could emerge but details about how it all started and was sustained in the first place further haunts them. Treason is an exclusive but completely repugnant clubhouse. When "honorable" (as they continue to address each other-- cue bulb horn honks) men & women stubbornly refuse to admit personal/professional guilt, it's no wonder every challenge becomes a holy war. All that said, "ever" being able to trust or interact with a legit govt here isn't something many US citizens have or will abandon.
That’s a pretty dark read of the situation Eddie.
I get where it comes from...
when things stop making sense, people start looking for what’s behind the curtain.
But I’d be careful about jumping to that level of explanation.
You don’t need secret control or mafia tactics to explain what we’re seeing.
You’ve got...
career incentives
party loyalty over country
fear of losing power
and a system that rewards going along instead of pushing back
That alone can create the kind of dysfunction you’re describing.
It’s less dramatic… but honestly, more believable.
And probably harder to fix ... because it means the problem isn’t hidden.
It’s out in the open.
My comments are not based on a hunch. Danny Sheehan, among several others, has meticulously documented and litigated the "players" behind numerous landmark scandals here. See: The People's Advocate (2013)
Anonymity is an invisible foe almost impossible to challenge. The secret govt is apparently about 300 strong from "old money".
I hear what you’re pointing to.
But there’s a difference between documented scandals… and connecting everything into one hidden control system.
History’s full of real corruption cases.
No argument there.
Where it gets tricky is when separate events get stitched into one all-powerful explanation...
that’s where things can drift away from what can actually be proven.
The uncomfortable truth is usually less dramatic...
You don’t need a secret group of 300 people to explain what we’re seeing.
Power protects itself.
Institutions resist change.
And people, once inside the system, tend to play along to get along.
That’s messy, visible, and frustrating…
but it’s also something that can actually be challenged.
Once it becomes “invisible enemies,” it gets a lot harder to do anything about it.
We agree on substance but not style. Within our nations, other nations reside and indigenous people have PLENTY to say about what's really going on behind closed back room doors. What I'm writing about is so horrifically depraved, it's too repulsive to even contemplate. That's exactly what "they bank on" (pardon the expression).
Good morning 🙏 thanks for sharing 👍
The big question is: even if the US can regain the trust of other democratic countries, will they ever be given the ability to lead international organizations the way they did before or even rejoin those they abandoned?
Will these organizations decide to change their constitution to remove the need for a consensus or give certain countries a veto to make decisions?
Luc, that’s the right question.
Trust can be rebuilt over time… but leadership is different.
Once others have stepped in and proven they can carry the load, it doesn’t just snap back to what it was.
I think we’re heading into a more distributed kind of leadership...
less reliance on one country, more shared responsibility.
And you’re right, the rules of those organizations may evolve as well.
Not quickly, but pressure has a way of forcing change over time.
Appreciate you raising this.
I was wondering if the other members will ever agree to give that much power to one or group of countries. The UN Security Council is deadlocked, the WTO has no appeal mechanism because the appointment of judges has been vetoed, NATO is also unable to achieve consensus. Maybe all these organizations need updated constitutions.
Luc, that’s the tension, isn’t it.
Those institutions were built around consensus, and that made sense at the time... but it also makes them fragile when trust breaks down.
Giving more power to a smaller group solves speed… but creates a whole new set of concerns around fairness and legitimacy.
I suspect what we’ll see isn’t one big overhaul, but gradual shifts...
smaller coalitions, parallel agreements, and workarounds that evolve over time.
Appreciate you continuing to push the thinking on this.
No. We are just driving around the roadkill. Thanks
Feels like that some days, no question.
But even roadkill tells you something hit it… and what direction it came from.
We’re not just swerving around a mess.
We’re watching a system adjust in real time... awkward, ugly, and not very graceful.
Doesn’t mean it’s over.
Just means it’s not running smoothly anymore.
China is now selling “defensive” weapons to Iran. The stakes just got higher. “Nature abhors a vacuum”. If the US can’t be trusted to run the world, who will step up?
You’re right about one thing Joanna... the stakes are getting higher.
There are credible reports that China may be preparing to supply air defense systems to Iran, though nothing is fully confirmed publicly yet.
But here’s where I’d tighten the lens a bit.
This isn’t a simple “power vacuum.”
It’s more like a reshuffling.
China isn’t stepping in to “run the world.”
It’s playing a quieter game...
protect its oil supply
expand influence
avoid getting dragged into full conflict
Even its recent role has been cautious... helping broker talks, but avoiding responsibility for enforcing anything.
The bigger shift looks like this...
The world is moving away from relying on one dominant power…
toward multiple centres that balance each other.
Messier?
Yes.
More stable?
Maybe.
And that line you used... “nature abhors a vacuum”... still applies.
But what’s filling the space isn’t a new boss.
It’s a system where nobody gets to be the boss anymore.
That’s the part people are still adjusting to.
Thank you, Fred, for your response. And thank you for your analysis on many subjects. I feel like the world is on fast-forward and I need a commentator on the news as it flashes by.
Appreciate that, Joanna.
It does feel like everything’s speeding up right now…
and half the battle is just slowing it down enough to see what’s actually happening.
I’m just doing my best to cut through the noise and call it straight.
Glad it’s helping.
No way the empire is collapsing