As LA Burns

What a set of overlapping stories!  As LA burns, Donald Trump Jr. flew to Nuuk to make his father's pitch to buy Greenland.  Daddy couldn't go because he had committed himself to the state funeral of Jimmy Carter, where he made small talk with Barack, whose wife Michelle was conspicuously absent.  I'm guessing she didn't want to sit next to Donald.  No one did, not even his wife.  Elon Musk used the opportunity to have a "friendly chat" with the newest leader of the ultra-right wing AfD party of Germany on his X chatbox.  The fetching Alice Weidel, which "Leon" mispronounced Veedle, is supposed to represent a moderating force for the neo-fascist party, but here they were talking about Hitler, saying he was a "communist and socialist," not a "conservative and libertarian" like themselves.  Nice dodge.  Meanwhile, unusually cold weather blankets much of the US with a freeze warning in Northwest Florida, which my old high school classmates are lamenting to no end on facebook.

Here in Lithuania the weather is pretty mild.  Our gray tabby cat chose to saunter about the yard for ten minutes or so now that the snow has melted.  We had a light snow storm last weekend, but it didn't take long for it all to disappear much to the chagrin of our little Corgi, who loves running through the snow.  

The political climate is pretty stable too, although there remains concern over the new governing coalition, in particular the Nemunas Aušra party, whose leader has become world renown for his off-color Jewish jokes.  To be fair, it was a poorly-considered song he chose to reference and has since faced widespread backlash.  Not that I'm a fan of his, but this is pretty mild compared to what is going on in Austria right now, where it seems a Fourth Reich is forming.    

Žemaitaitas' "Nemunas Dawn" party gained a surprising number of seats in the parliamentary elections late last year, but he doesn't represent the extreme in this country.  He's a very articulate farmer with a folksy sense of humor, who goes too far sometimes.  The name of the party refers to the Nemunas River, which runs through the center of Lithuania.  I suppose he sees himself as binding the country together in his homespun way.  Concerning yes, but at this point not overly troubling, as his party finished third.

Anyway, Trump has managed to pretty much obscure everything with his constant bullying.  Every single European news channel is running stories on his bid to buy or use military force to annex Greenland.  Virtually every EU leader has spoken out against his wild bid. You have to figure this is just a distraction as "Leon" tries to influence the parliamentary elections in Germany next month.  However, Musk is so bald-faced about it that he is drawing similar scorn from EU leaders.  You figure they are both trying to "bargain" here.  This is supposed to be Trump's "style."  Trump wants a free flow of goods at low tariff prices and Leon wants the EU to loosen up its digital service laws.  

Seems Zuckerberg does too, as last week he said Meta will no longer fact check posts.  Not like it was doing much to stem the widespread flow of disinformation during the election.  Zuck badly wants to be a part of Trump's MAGA circle, and seems like he will do anything to accommodate the incoming Orange Fuhrer.  

This is why I'm considering a move to Bluesky.  One of my friends recommended it on facebook, saying he planned to make the move soon.  Looks like a much more friendly environment created by Jay Graber with the financial help of Jack Dorsey.  All my favorite news sources have pages on the social platform so I think I will make the move as well.  It would be nice to keep in touch with some of my old friends, but not at the expense of supporting Zuckerberg.

The best way to deal with all these narcissists is to ignore them, which is why I don't pay much attention to television news these days.  Daina was worried about the fires in LA, so she would turn to CNN thinking they would provide more information.  We have a Lithuanian friend who lives in Santa Monica.  Mostly, it was Anderson Cooper and other CNN anchors seeing how close they could get to the fire without being burned.  A pretty good metaphor of their take on politics as well.  Fortunately, our friend's apartment complex was spared, although she says the air is unbreathable.

Mostly I read and have started to share my thoughts on Bluesky to see what sort of reactions I get.  Not much so far, but I will be patient.  I refuse to get sucked into conservations about Greenland or The Taking of Panama Canal 123.  I'm more worried by the ulterior motives for all these distractions, as the Orange Fuhrer will be sworn into office in 9 days.  It is so hard to believe!  Judge Merchan gave Donald a slap on the wrist after he went to such extremes to get the sentencing blocked.  There was nothing to worry about, Donnie.  No one seems to want to rain on your inaugural parade except Mother Nature.  So, bundle up!