Voices

They are out there. Can you hear them?

We start with a ridiculous voice. It’s Donald Trump’s voice, calling in to a C-Span show on Friday afternoon, identifying himself as “John Barron,” the pseudonym he loves, the one he has fraudulently used for decades to anonymously lavish praise upon himself, the name he so loved that he gave it to his progeny.

The call came in shortly after the Supreme Court trashed Trump’s trashy tariffs. That’s it, above. Sure sounds like Trump, no? It’s vicious and stupid and disjointed and nuts. Here’s the full text:

“Well, this is John Barron, and, well, look, you have, this is the worst decision you ever have in your life practically … This is a terrible decision, and you have Hakeem Jeffries, who … he’s a dope. And you have Chuck Schumer, who can’t cook a cheeseburger. Of course these people are happy. Of course these people are happy. But true Americans will not be happy. And you have the woman earlier, I assume she’s a woman, she’s a Democrat, and she’s disgraced … “

Then the host cut him off.

Just yesterday, C-Span said that it believes this was a hoax call. The station said the call came in when Trump was at a public meeting, from a private phone number in central Virginia. The timeline they give is a little shaky, though. There seems to have been a window of time where he could have made the call — say, from a burner phone — but let’s assume C-Span is right. They probably are.

That’s not the voice I am talking about. I am talking about the instant eruption of certitude voiced in social media that this WAS Trump. Some of them even seem to be Trump supporters.

And that’s what’s most telling, to me. The big tell. We simply accept, collectively, that the president of the United States is out of his mind.

—

The second voice I want to talk about belongs to my neurologist. I see him every year or two to deal with an annoying back problem. I had an appointment with him on Wednesday, and as soon as I sat down, before he asked me how I was doing, he commiserated, saying he was depressed about what was happening to The Washington Post. I agreed. Then he spoke for almost a full minute. It was extemporaneous, I believe. Something had just occurred to him, upon seeing me. I’m reconstructing this as best I can:

“You know, in a sense what happened to The Washington Post is a microcosm of what is happening to this country. The whole disaster. It hits all the … nerves. The tyranny of a plutocracy. The human and economic dangers of AI. The destruction of sacred institutions, the pillars of democracy. The manipulation of the electoral process to bring us here. And, ultimately, the erosion of truth.”

Bam. All of it. An eloquent theory of everything. From a doctor, in an examination room. People are thinking and talking.

—

Next, this headline:

A school suspended 323 students after ICE protest. They protested again.

Woodbridge Senior High School is one of many across the country that have seen students walk out in protest of actions taken amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Kids are thinking, talking.

—

So, Trump is giving the State of the Union address tomorrow. Let’s not watch it. Let’s make it the least-watched SOTU in modern times. It’ll infuriate him.

That’s a way of thinking and talking, too.

—

Two Gene Pool Gene polls today.

—

Okay, good. Please send your Questions and Observations here:

And if you are able, please send your alms and encouragement here: