* This is an archive of my own blog and online notes, with weekly entries collected by month. The current week in stand-alone format is available here. Feel free to CONTACT ME if so inclined.
DAYLOG MON 31 MAR: There was a national / international "Tesla Takedown" demonstration on Saturday, with hundreds of demonstrations at Tesla dealerships, and hundreds of thousands of people participating. There was little serious violence in the demonstrations, with organizers of the effort emphasizing that it must be nonviolent, and not encouraging attacks on Tesla vehicles -- though the attacks are common. They are unhelpful: the Trump regime wants to say such attacks are due to a "terrorist movement" to justify repression.
There were counter-demonstrations in a few places, it appears on a much smaller scale; it is encouraging to find that few feel inclined to stand up for Elon the Musk Rat and his Tesla vehicles.
The Musk Rat himself is upset at the negative attention he is getting, saying that the protesters are being paid. The reaction of protesters has been: We could get paid? We've been doing this for nothing! Who can we talk to get the money?
In the same way, the Musk Rat had claimed that the big crowds attending rallies by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez & Bernie Sanders were paid, and following them from city to city. He said nothing about how many airliners it would take, or where so many people found rooms.
The Musk Rat's behavior is becoming increasingly erratic, some claiming due to the influence of recreational drugs. Somebody made a chart of his online postings, with days on the X-axis, time of day on the Y-axis, and a red dot for each posting.
The chart shows the postings start to accelerate after he bought Twitter -- and now it's approaching solid red for waking hours. Not incidentally, one of the chants of the demonstrators was: WE DON'T WANT YOUR NAZI CARS / TAKE A ONE-WAY TRIP TO MARS!
Some have slammed the demonstrations, saying that driving down Tesla's stock price doesn't amount to much -- but that's not really the goal, the goal is to drive Tesla out of business and hit his bottom line. More generally, how much do the protests amount to? Compared to the vicious assault of the Trump regime on the USA, not much. Does that mean it would be better to do nothing? No: we do what we can, and keep looking for new things we can do.
DAYLOG TUE 01 APR: DEFENSE EXPRESS ran an item on Destinus of the Netherlands, a drone manufacturing firm run by one Mikhail Kokorich -- a Russian expatriate who renounced his citizenship, and now supplies drones to Ukraine. He'd actually gone to the USA first, but his Russian background was a problem for him in the US defense industry. He then went to Switzerland, but the stiff Swiss regulations on arms exports drove him to switch his HQ to the Netherlands.
The Lord drone has been in combat since 2023, with the Ruta and Hornet following in 2024. The Lord is a very cheap-&-dirty drone, looking much like a very basis prop-powered RC model aircraft. It can be used for surveillance, EW, or as a killer drone.
The Ruta looks more like a mini cruise missile, jet-powered with intakes on both sides of the rear fuselage. It said to be in the 300-kilogram (660-pound) weight class. It appears it is primarily for surveillance, but is intended for all drone missions.
The Hornet is a pusher-prop drone of canard configuration (rear wing, "tailfins" in front) that appears to be primarily intended to intercept other drones, suggesting it is fast. Once again, however, it can be used for various missions, using a modular payload.
The company has also flown a set of demonstrators, primarily for a jet fighter-type "loyal wingman" combat drone. The subsonic "Destinus 2" demonstrator is expected to lead to the production "Destinus 3" Mach 2 combat drone, but deliveries won't be until 2026 at earliest. Interestingly, Destinus is building their own jet engines.
A relatively cheap "loyal wingman" drone would be a big assist to Ukraine, multiplying air power without needing more pilots. Unfortunately, that's not easy to build and can't happen for some years.
* Hillary Clinton has now showed up on BlueSky to help promote the Democratic cause, quickly acquiring almost 200,000 followers. That's a good thing, since the more big players show up on BlueSky, the more momentum it gets. Alas, the replies to Hillary included the faction that despises her. They're called "BlueMAGA" -- being either MAGA fakes pretended to be Blue, or Blue useful tools acting like MAGA. My BLOCK button got a workout.
DAYLOG WED 02 APR: Yesterday and the day before, New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker set a record for the longest speech delivered to the Senate, at 25 hours 5 minutes. It wasn't just idle rambling either, he ran from notes in a big binder, and scored many hits.
He was spelled by other Democratic senators so he could take breaks. In any case, there's been a need among the Democratic faithful for leadership in the face of America's constitutional crisis, and Booker just stepped up front. BOOKER IN 2028? Maybe.
As I get older, the order in the world I long assumed, without really knowing it was there, tends to evaporate. In these times, it is easy to see nothing but amoral chaos. People like Cory Booker suggest that there really are things worth fighting for, and people who do so.
There's been a cry for the older generation -- notably Obama -- to take the leadership role, but are they really in a position to do so? Booker can get into the driver's seat, but Obama is retired from politics and no longer driving. Obama can provide support. One thing about having a leader in this environment is the unfortunate prospect of the Trump regime trying to steal elections. Having a prominent leader to call out and push back on cheating should be a big help.
* In other good news, in a special election for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court the Democrat, Susan Crawford, won handily. This was important to keep liberal control of the court. Her rival, Brad Schimel, graciously conceded and said there was no cheating. The overlying significance of the win was that Elon the Musk Rat had tried to influence the vote, even paying for votes with a million-dollar giveaway. The Democrats played up his involvement. I was hoping that he would turn out to be an electoral liability. He was.
* In semi-good news, the Trump regime has finally acknowledged there's no visible prospect of a cease-fire in Ukraine. Of course not, and everyone else knew it: Putin wanted the war, doesn't want to stop it, and is running out of money to keep it going. It may be the case that the EU -- Ukraine's "Coalition of the Willing" -- was playing up peace just to drive Putin to make it clear he doesn't want it. What happens next, given the Trump regime's incoherent behavior, remains to be seen.
DAYLOG THU 03 APR: Yesterday, the Trump regime dropped a bombshell and passed a big blanket of tariffs over the world. They came up with some numbers for countries indexing the US trade deficits with those countries, then used a simple math model to set "reciprocal tariff" rates that would, according to the model -- and forgetting about the inevitable retaliatory tariffs -- cancel out the trade deficits.
Assuming, with more than a little good reason, the regime follows through, the result will be a deliberately-made global recession with stagflation. The Dow Jones has crashed like 1200 points so far. The Trump regime issued a statement on their thinking in the scheme. I commented online: "Part of me wanted to dig into it and unravel it, but the wiser part told me: DON'T." There is a certain logic to it, but not a logic connected to the real world, and it doesn't really make sense. They really are that witless.
The rest of the world is talking about trade alignment to deal with the Trump threat. Canadian PM Mark Carney said the era of US "economic leadership" is over, and that: "If America doesn't want to lead any more, Canada will take that role."
Anyway the goal, it appears, is to get rid of progressive taxation and replace it with regressive sales taxes. Trump keeps insisting that exporters pay the tariffs, but everyone knows that consumers ultimately pay them, and also that Trump just spews out whatever trash pops into his head.
Another item of Trump trash talk is that the tariffs will force foreign companies to set up manufacturing in the USA. That's nonsense, too; it would take at least 5 years to set up a factory, and Trump is unlikely to be around in 5 years. It is also unlikely that his ramshackle fascist regime will long outlive him, with his demented policies then rescinded. Besides, any foreign firms setting up factories in the USA have to know that Trump will step on them the moment he feels like it.
It appears the Trump regime wants to dial back the USA to the 1890s: isolationism, no income taxes, little regulation, women as 2nd-class citizens, white supremacy. It's so preposterous that it won't work, but it will be a lot of pain before that becomes clear.
That's the silver lining: the Vichy Trump regime is so witless and inept that it is unlikely to endure -- though how long it does endure is a good question. There's another silver lining, in that we're seeing Blue leadership like Cory Booker emerging to challenge the regime and set shining examples. We endure because we have to.
DAYLOG FRI 04 APR: LINCOLN PROJECT'S Rick Wilson gave a podcast, while sitting in a hotel room in NYC, on the subject of courage, coupled to Cory Booker's marathon speech in the Senate.
Wilson stated that courage is the most important virtue from which all else flows -- OK, I would just rank on the top level myself and leave it at that -- and that the bluster, bullying, and abusive trolling of the MAGA faithful is fake courage.
Wilson talked about people making "good trouble", about Booker going beyond any particular political issues to point that, as Wilson said, "America is not the perverted vision of Donald Trump."
BOOKER: "[Trump] wants to divide us among ourselves, wants to make us afraid, wants to make us fear SO MUCH that we're willing to violate people's FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS!" Wilson got feedback from Senate contacts that many GOP senators were rooting for Booker -- and not just the "usual suspects", Wilson pointing that there are only like ten Trump toadies in the Senate, but that the rest lack the will to stand up. There's still courage out there; Wilson said he gets messages from people still in government who tell him what's going on.
Wilson said: "God bless you." -- and added: "Protect yourself." They should use a burner phone and Signal to communicate, and to communicate with the news media, even if it seems compromised. The media can still get the message out, or at least can't say they didn't know.
The pushback against Trump needs everyone to have courage, including universities, media outlets, corporations, everyone. Wilson suggested taking a break every now and then, we can't fight all the time, this is a long-term thing. The bottom line is still that we need the strength to back up 250 years of strivings of Americans. BOOKER: "If America hasn't broken your heart, you don't love her enough."
As for myself, I'm not usually into inspirational messages, but this one hit home. I got up this morning, striving to keep my balance between falling into discouragement or full of mindless and useless anger. Wilson's right, we do need to keep courage. Again, we're in this for the long haul. There's not a lot I can do myself, but I can do little things, give a little money, spread the word. In the meantime, I keep the faith, stay brave, and don't go off the rails.
BACK_TO_TOPDAYLOG MON 07 APR: There was a nationwide demonstration, named "HANDS OFF", against the Trump regime on Saturday, which was a huge success -- millions showing up across the country, some estimates as high as 5 million. It turned out there was a demonstration in Loveland CO too -- but I didn't realize it and I didn't show. It seems there will be another mass demonstration on 19 April, so I'll show then.
Anyway, the question was floated online: Do these demonstrations really do any good? OK, in directly influencing or posing a threat to the Trump regime, NO. However, as one "Laura" commented online: "It's good for morale; it normalizes speaking out against the govt (which is important when fascists are trying to criminalize dissent); and it can provide opportunities to invite people into other, more direct forms of action."
I said myself along the same lines: "They encourage people who are demoralized, defy repression, send a message to our congresspeople and other elected officials, & provide a basis for organization. Another thing: Where are the counter-protests? Weak at most." They were estimated at a fraction of a percent, with zero reports of violence. It sends a message to MAGA that so many of their neighbors have had it with Trump and his stooges.
The demonstrations were personally very encouraging at a time when things aren't looking good. The next day, the worries came back and piled up. We do what we can in the here and now, and don't focus on the problems that might be down the road. My world is shifting now, it's a strange period of time for me: yeah, fear and dread, but I'm also focused and resilient.
One last word. One Ken Jennings, reflecting on the cascading lunacies of the Trump regime, commented online: "This is really unfair to everyone who just voted for him for the racism."
DAYLOG TUE 08 APR: The Trump regime is making a lunatic fuss about trade deficits. I've long wondered if trade deficits are really a problem. One "Franca", posting online, did a simple analysis of trade between the USA and Canada for 2024. What he pointed out was that 40 million Canadians buy $8700 from the USA per capita each year -- while 340 million Americans buy $1200 from Canada per capita each year. So where's the problem?
It could be a problem if the other country has formal or informal barriers to selling US products there, but that's something that can be reasonably negotiated without a trade war. In the absence of big tariff barriers and obviously unfair regulations against US products, it's hard to convincingly blame the other country. Canada buys way more from the USA per capita, but the trade is imbalanced because there aren't as many Canadians as Americas -- simple as that. We can't really fix the trade deficit except by being more competitive internationally.
* Kamala Harris showed up on BlueSky yesterday -- up to over 100K followers already. The trolls showed up in force in the comments. I had a nice block party. Her first posting was a short video, the gist being: "Fear is contagious ... but so is courage." These days I'm much more into inspirational messages than I've been since I was a kid, when I was easily impressed.
Inspiration is needed. Commenter JV Last, writing on THE BULWARK, had an article: "America is a Powder Keg", suggesting an imminent explosion. I couldn't read much of it since it was paywalled, but I wondered if he was panicking. Sure, mass violence is a possibility -- but I don't see the fuze as having been lit yet. It might, but it's only one possible future, and we can't give the odds of that over other plausible possible futures.
I'm keeping a rule of NO VIOLENCE. Violence isn't really a practical solution, and can hurt us far worse than it helps us. I'm believing more that this is the USA's time to shine in nonviolent resistance. Millions will join in. Finishing off with another inspirational message I just saw: "On the other side of fear is everything you want."
DAYLOG WED 09 APR: As discussed in an article from NEWATLAS ("Renewable energy now handles 40% of our global electricity needs" by Abhimanyu Ghoshal, 8 April 2025), a report from UK-based climate-energy think tank Ember says renewables are gaining ground.
Globally, 40.9% of the world's electricity is now from renewable sources. Data for the survey was obtained from 215 countries. Hydropower provided 14.3%, while wind and solar provided 8.1% and 6.9% respectively -- for the first time, more than hydropower.
Solar grew by 29%, with China and the USA being the most bullish on solar. Growth in wind power hasn't been so robust for the last few years; wind turbines are being installed, but there's been a general decline in global wind itself for the time being.
* In the meantime, the Trump regime is trying to boost coal -- again. He tried in his first term, and it was a fizzle; it will be a fizzle now, coal being in irreversible decline. According to an article from ARSTECHNICA ("Trump throws coal a lifeline, but the energy industry has moved on" by Marianne Lavelle, 9 April 2025), coal plants are being shut down not just because they are environmental nightmares, but because they are uneconomical to operate.
One estimate suggested that keeping existing coal plants running is more expensive than replacing them. The downward drive on coal is not really due to environmental regulation, but instead to the rising use of natural gas and renewables for power generation.
Coal is dying and can't be revived. The Trump regime, of course, insists on pushing ahead with coal, while sweeping environmental and climate worries under the rug. The story is so familiar that it's hard to complain, it's what we expect. However, it still seems that the world keeps on track even if the Trump regime tries to stop it. The Trump regime is temporary, and may not amount to more than a downward blip on an upward track. Trump is bad -- but also weak.
DAYLOG THU 10 APR: Yesterday, I ran into someone online saying that Americans needed to buy assault rifles and confront the Trump regime. I replied that the evidence suggests nonviolent resistance is much more effective than violent resistance.
That conclusion was established by political scientist Erica Chenoweth of Harvard / Radcliffe, working with others. Considering hundreds of governmental change efforts of the 20th century, the result was that nonviolent efforts worked more than half the time -- but violent efforts only about a quarter of the time, and they often led to tyrannies. Not surprising: we can't create harmony using violence. Chenoweth was actually surprised by the results.
Chenoweth says that nonviolent resistance can work, first of all, if based on a large and diverse population that can be sustained. Violent movements tend to based instead on a smaller militant clique that is intolerant, sometimes brutally so, of disagreement.
Second, a nonviolent movement can, unlike a violent movement, get sympathy with groups within the regime, particularly police and military. Soldiers are usually not enthusiastic about stepping on unarmed and nonviolent women, for example. Third, nonviolent movements are not weak: they can use a range of imaginative, even prankish techniques to push back against authoritarians. Violent movements are much more limited.
And fourth: nonviolent movements need to be resilient against repression. They need to watch out for provocateurs stirring up trouble -- and defend against attacks. I'm worried about crazies driving trucks into crowds of demonstrators.
I got mostly good feedback on standing up for nonviolence, the recognition being common that violent protest would give the Trump regime a pretext for a crackdown. Nonviolent protest won't be easy and won't be quick, but it's the right way to go. These days, I often feel submerged in a subtle pool of fear and dread, and I know I'm not alone. I remember to stay brave, and get my head above water when I can. It will take time, but we'll put Trump behind us sooner or later.
DAYLOG FRI 11 APR: Trump is still (more or less) pushing on his global trade war, in particular targeting China. According to an article from the BBC ("Why Beijing is not backing down on tariffs" by Stephen McDonell, 11 April 2025), the Chinese are not intimidated. The most significant reason for Chinese confidence is that US trade only accounts for 2% of Chinese GDP. Trump has also given Beijing a diplomatic prize, the Chinese reaching out to other countries to coordinate a trade response to US lunacy. China is making friends, the USA is driving them away.
As far as the mutual sky-high jacking up of tariffs between the US and China, they're meaningless: once tariffs reached a painful level, making them more painful amounted to nothing. The blanket 10% US tariffs against everyone else are still on; exactly what happens there is unclear. It would seem retaliation by our trading partners would be wisest, because caving in to Trump only encourages him to do more of the same thing again.
Trump is, by all evidence, trying to force a recession. The ugly silver lining there is that a man-made recession (emphasize "men" here) will wreck the Republican Party, probably permanently. The road in front doesn't look the same as the road behind.
* Regarding my comments yesterday about fear and dread, I think I'm getting used to them, and able to rank my level of burden. It was like level 2 yesterday -- difficult. It's level 1 today -- mostly annoying. Sometimes I get to level 0, not bothered at all.
Again, I'm in it for the long haul, taking things a month at a time. Also relative to comments yesterday on nonviolent resistance, Erica Chenoweth says that all nonviolent movements with more than 3.5% of the population succeeded.
I've got to learn more about nonviolent resistance. At the very least, doing so helps me stay afloat in the face of the daily nightmares in the news. Not incidentally, today I saw somebody online demanding a military coup. Ridiculous, of course. I replied: "Not gonna happen. The military would then own the USA. They neither can nor want to do that. Things should be fixed tomorrow. They won't be. We do this the slow hard way, or it never happens." As always these days -- I feel angry, I tell myself: NO VIOLENCE.
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