Down the Line

In June 1995, Salt Lake City was awarded the 2002 Winter Olympics. In part of the preparation, public transportation in SLC needed to be expanded. Light rail was the choice, and they'd call it TRAX (Transit Express).

In February 1999, Mitt Romney was hired as President and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, which was responsible for organizing the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah. He was brought in due to mismanagement, and they needed to raise funds, which he did from his Mormon friends.

The first line built and opened on TRAX was the Blue Line. It runs from the top of SLC all the way down to Draper.

The house I lived in was close to the top of the route in SLC. When Kailee would stay over, I would wake up very early to drive her to the station, and she would take it basically the whole way to Draper to work at eBay.

From that house, I could see the stadium at the University of Utah, where the opening ceremony was.

On May 3rd, 1999, Ella Langley was born in Hope Hull, Alabama, about 7 hours from where I am sitting now.

Proud, Determined, and Grateful

On January 19th, 2001, Kacey Musgraves performed at the "Black Tie and Boots Inaugural Ball" hosted by the Texas State Society in honor of President-elect George W. Bush, who would be inaugurated the next day.

On February 8, 2002, the Winter Olympics had their opening ceremony. President Bush opened the ceremonies, the first US president to do so for the Winter Olympics. It was 5 months after 9/11.

He came out to applause. They did a moment of silence with a damaged American flag from the World Trade Center.

The Utah Symphony and Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang the national anthem.

There's Mitt and Dubya. The man without his hand over his heart is Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee at the time, and he is from Belgium. So he gets a pass, I guess.

Then President Bush ended up amongst the crowd of US athletes, where he officially opened the games by saying, "On behalf of a proud, determined, and grateful nation. I declare open the games of Salt Lake City, celebrating the Olympic Winter Games."

At the 2002 Winter Olympics, Kacey Musgraves was invited to sing the National Anthem at a skiing event. She was also a champion yodeler and on the Today Show, see here:

No Ma'am, No Ma'am

In 2003, Mitt Romney was elected governor of Massachusetts. He was a Republican, of course, but both chambers of the Massachusetts legislature were heavily Democratic.

Later that year, the Massachusetts Supreme Court made a ruling that required the state to recognize same-sex marriages. Romney opposed same-sex marriage and civil unions but advocated tolerance and supported some domestic partnership benefits.

He tried to get an amendment passed that would disallow same-sex marriages but allow civil unions. By May 2004, the state was issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

In April 2006, Romney signed a healthcare law later deemed "Romneycare" for the state, which is very similar to Obamacare, including tax penalties for not having health insurance.

On February 13, 2007, Mitt Romney announced his candidacy for US President in Dearborn, Michigan. Dearborn is the hometown of Henry Ford and his company, as well as the largest mosque in North America, which opened in 2005.

In a 2023 survey, 55% of Dearborn residents reported being of Middle Eastern or North African ancestry. The first Arab-majority city in the US.

Mitt cited his stewardship of the 2002 Winter Olympics, his governorship of Massachusetts, and his very profitable business career as key tenets of his candidacy. Ultimately, our AZ boy John Sidney McCain III won the nomination.

Romney spent $110 million on his campaign, $45 million was his own money.

Romney was on the shortlist for VP for McCain, but he decided to go with Alaska governor Sarah Palin who his team saw as a game changer. Palin had flown down and met McCain at his home in Sedona. She was the only person on the shortlist to get a face-to-face meeting with McCain.

At the time, she was the second woman ever to run on a presidential ticket.

The other was Geraldine Ferraro, Walter Mondale's VP pick in 1984, where they lost to the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush ticket, in the middle of, amongst other things, the Iran-Iraq War.

They lost badly...

One of my favorite moments in politics came at a John McCain town hall in October 2008.

An older lady says to McCain, "I can't trust Obama. I have read about him, and he's an Arab."

McCain starts shaking his head, takes back the mic, and says, "No ma'am, no ma'am. He's a decent, family man, citizen, that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and that is what this campaign is all about."

Out of the Hole, Saddam

Barack Obama defeated John McCain and was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States on January 20th, 2009.

They host a "Black Tie and Boots Inaugural Ball" at pretty much every inauguration, but I do not think Obama attended this one. Kacey definitely wasn't there. She was in Austin, TX, recording independent records, trying to make it.

One of his promises was to get US troops out of Iraq, the war George W. Bush started in 2003, where they collapsed the Iraqi government and military in three weeks.

Saddam went into hiding. US special forces later found him in a hole in the ground, and the Iraqi people put him on trial and hanged him publicly.

This led to a power vacuum in Iraq with sectarian fighting between the Sunnis and the Shias, just like Saddam was worried about when the Islamic Revolution occurred in Iran.

In 2007, Bush had surged the troop presence in Iraq with 170,000 additional US troops. This did gradually stabilize things, and, shocker, the Iraqi government wanted the troops out. Most of them, at least.

On June 12th, 2009, incumbent Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared victory with 63% of the vote. Protests erupted throughout Iran.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei ordered an investigation into the claims of electoral fraud, while having the police and Revolutionary Guards suppress the protests violently. The government confirmed deaths of 36, with unconfirmed reports being closer to 72 or more.

On June 19th, 2009, Supreme Leader Khamenei said that the results were legitimate, the large turnout was a "divine assessment," and protests would no longer be tolerated.

Badger Saves the Day

On January 8, 2011, United States representative Gabby Giffords and 18 others were shot during a constituent meeting held in a Safeway parking lot in Casas Adobes, Arizona, in the Tucson metropolitan area. Six were killed, including a nine-year-old girl.

Giffords was shot point-blank in the head by Jared Loughner, and he then turned his gun on the crowd there for the meeting. After he shot about 20 rounds, he had to reload. He dropped the magazine on reload, where a bystander grabbed it. He was then hit in the back of the head with a folding chair and then tackled by a 74-year-old retired Army Colonel named Bill Badger, who had been shot.

Senator McCain remarked, "I'm deeply saddened and shocked at the tragedy that has taken place in my home state of Arizona. The shooting of Congresswoman Giffords and the deaths of other individuals is a terrible tragedy and one that has shocked me."

Sarah Palin got some heat because, before the shooting, on her SarahPAC site, she had Gifford's district with a crosshair over it. Loughner was connected to Giffords well before this, though.

Advancing the Ideals of the United States of America

On June 2nd, 2011, Mitt Romney announced his campaign for the presidency.

Of the United States of America. Again.

The Winter Olympics were in Sochi, Russia, and I don't think they want him.

In fact, in this campaign, he said, "Russia, this is, without question, our number one geopolitical foe" in a debate, to which Obama said, "the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back, because the Cold War’s been over for 20 years."

On December 18th, 2011, the final US combat troops left Iraq.

Gabby Giffords survived but had to resign her seat in Congress on January 25th, 2012, to focus on her recovery. Her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, resigned from NASA to care for her.

In his retirement post on Facebook, he said:

"Words cannot convey my deep gratitude for the opportunities I have been given to serve our great nation. From the day I entered the United States Merchant Marine Academy in the summer of 1982 to the moment I landed the Space Shuttle Endeavour three weeks ago, it has been my privilege to advance the ideals that define the United States of America."

Romney won the Republican nomination and was smeared due to his time in private equity. In July 2012, he traveled abroad to the UK, Poland, and Israel, where he met up with his former colleague at Boston Consulting Group, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Romney described Netanyahu at the time as "a strong personality with a distinct point of view".

In September, he was speaking to a group of supporters and said something like 47% of the nation doesn't pay income tax, depends on the federal government, and see themselves as victims. He said those people will always vote for Obama "...so my job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."

Obama defeated Romney in 2012 and was inaugurated for a second term on January 20th, 2013. The Texas State Society did the "Black Tie and Boots Inaugural Ball" again. Kacey Musgraves wasn't there, neither was Obama, but Jamie Foxx was.

Here is how the election ended up:

• Romney got 47% of the popular vote. Poetic.
• 51% for Obama.
• 0.99% for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, who I voted for, in my first presidential election. Cringe.
• 0.05% for Roseanne Barr, who was the candidate for the Peace and Freedom Party. Yeah, that Roseanne.

In August 2013, on the 60th anniversary of the coup in Iran, the US released documents confirming its involvement. This was the first official acknowledgment and was seen as a goodwill gesture by the Obama administration towards Iran.

Mind Your Own Business, Roosevelt

Kermit Roosevelt Jr. was a key player in the 1953 coup in Iran. He was considered an Arabist and advocated for the US forming alliances with Arab nations as they came out of the grips of colonizers Britain and France. A key factor was preventing them from entering the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union. Commies bad.

Eventually, US public support of Israel (which emerged as a state after WW2, thanks to the Brits, mostly, who had the British Mandate over Palestine) was rising, and the strategy of the US shifted away from Kermit's preferred Arabism.

Kermit tried one coup in Iran, failed. The CIA told him to get out. He said no, and tried again, and he was successful. His actual impact is debated, but he was certainly there and gave it his best effort.

Kermit is the grandson of Teddy Roosevelt.

Teddy was pivotal in The Great Rapprochement, which was the period between 1895 and 1915, during which the US and Great Britain greatly increased mutual objectives and cooperation across politics, military, and economics. This led up to World War I.

In 1901, Teddy signed a treaty with Great Britain, which essentially gave him approval to build the Panama Canal.

In December 1902, the Germans, British, and Italians blockaded the ports of Venezuela to force the repayment of delinquent loans.

In Teddy's 1904 State of the Union address, the Roosevelt Corollary came to be. This was an addendum to the Monroe Doctrine, a US foreign policy position instituted in 1823 by President James Monroe, which held that any interference in the affairs of the Americas by a foreign power was considered a hostile act against the United States.

Teddy's addendum was that the US could intervene in any Latin American country that was decided to have committed "chronic wrongdoing, or an impotence which results in a general loosening of the ties of civilized society".

In 1930, the socialist Sandinista National Liberation Front led the resistance to US occupation in Nicaragua.

In 1979, the same year as the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the Sandinistas overthrew the US-backed government in Nicaragua and took control.

In 1981, the Reagan administration started backing the resistance, the Contras, who waged terror to destabilize the Sandinistas. Mostly against the rural population, committing unspeakable horrors.

In 1983, Congress passed the Boland Amendment, which essentially barred US support for the Contras. After this, the Reagan administration continued to do this secretly and raised money for the Contras by selling weapons to Iran for use in their war against Iraq.

Don't worry about a thing

In 2013, Ella Langley's grandfather passed away. Her father restrung her grandfather's guitar so she could learn to play. That night, she taught herself "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley.

In it Bob sings:

Singing, "Don't worry about a thing
'Cause every little thing gonna be alright"
Singing, "Don't worry about a thing" (Don't worry)
"'Cause every little thing gonna be alright"

Russia invaded the Crimea region of Ukraine in February 2014. Ukraine was a key part of the Soviet Union, and Putin wanted it back. And the oil and gas reserves in the waters surrounding it.

On March 16, 2014, Russia annexed Crimea after a referendum where, they claim, 96.77% of the inhabitants of Crimea voted for reunification with the Russian Federation.

The Obama administration responded with sanctions.

They were a bit preoccupied with ISIL (ISIS) in Syria and Iraq, which grew in influence during the Syrian Civil War and the power vacuum after the US withdrew from Iraq. ISIL was so bad that even Iran and Al Qaeda were against them.

Please Clap

On March 23rd, 2015, Texas Senator Ted Cruz entered the race for the 2016 presidential election.

Eventually, 17 meaningful candidates entered the gauntlet for the Republican nomination, including Donald Trump.

On June 23rd, 2015, Kacey Musgraves released her album Pageant Material.

Regarding the record, she said, "You can't have a potty mouth or an opinion. In the South, getting judged on superficial stuff is a real thing. And I'm not attacking the people that might get something positive out of pageantry; I'm just not into being judged in that way."

On July 14th, 2015, the Iran nuclear deal was signed, which constrained the Iranian nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. The deal was opposed by Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the Republican Party.

This was the iconic primary season where Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida and brother of George W. Bush, ran and famously asked a crowd to "please clap" after something he said.

This was also Trump's, the owner of a pageant, political rise.

Cruz won the Iowa caucuses, and Trump then won New Hampshire and South Carolina. Trump also accused Ted's father of assisting in the JFK assassination and insulted his wife.

In 2016, Ella Langley performed for the first time at a school talent show.

Of course, Trump won. Hillary couldn't concede that night cause she was crying, and he was inaugurated on January 20th, 2017.

The Texas State Society threw the "Black Tie and Boots Ball" once again.

Trump was not there.

Former Texas Tech basketball coach Bobby Knight was there and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I promise you that in a Donald Trump administration, there will be no bullshit."

US Representative Randy Weber said, "Any time there’s a peaceful transfer of power, it’s good." Randy voted to contest the results of the 2020 presidential election.

The Beach Boys performed. Still no Kacey Musgraves.

John Wayne, LSD, Same Team

On July 28, 2017, Senator John McCain cast the deciding vote to end the Republicans' attempt to overturn Obamacare. He had been absent from the Senate seeking treatment for brain cancer.

On March 30, 2018, Kacey Musgraves released Golden Hour. Two of the songs, she later noted, she wrote while under the influence of LSD.

On the track "High Horse" she sings:

Oh, I bet you think you're John Wayne
Showin' up and shootin' down everybody
You're classic in the wrong way
And we all know the end of the story

On May 8th, 2018, the Trump administration withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and imposed maximum sanctions.

On August 25th, 2018, John McCain died at his home in Cornville, Arizona. His nickname was John Wayne.

McCain prepared his funeral arrangements before he went.

He requested that Presidents Bush and Obama deliver eulogies. He selected his pallbearers, including his longtime Senate colleague Joe Biden and Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, who has been poisoned twice by Putin's regime.

All obliged. Bush spoke for about eight minutes. Obama spoke for nearly 20 minutes. I think we'd all prefer it that way.

Obama said:

"What better way to get a last laugh than make George and I say nice things about him to a national audience?"

and

"John believed in honest argument and hearing our views. He understood that if we get in the habit of bending the truth to suit political expediency or party orthodoxy, our democracy will not work."

and

"We never doubted we were on the same team."

He requested that Donald Trump and Sarah Palin not attend. Mitt Romney, Kamala Harris, and Jay Leno attended.

McCain once said: "The core political values of our free society are so deeply embedded in our collective consciousness that only a few malcontents, lunatics generally, ever dare to threaten them."

On November 8th, 2018, Mitt Romney was elected to represent Utah in the United States Senate.

On February 10th, 2019, at the Grammys, Golden Hour won Album of the Year. The sixth country album to win the award ever.

Pitchfork made it their number 2 album of the year, behind Mitski's Be the Cowboy. Yeehaw.

On February 12th, 2019, former astronaut and husband to Gabby Giffords, Mark Kelly, announced he would run as a Democrat for the seat John McCain had held.

Arizona Governor, and former Cold Stone Creamery CEO, Doug Ducey had filled it with Martha McSally, the Republican who lost to Kyrsten Sinema in 2018, until the election was held.

Baghdad & Wuhan: It's Under Control

On January 3rd, 2020, CDC Director Robert Redfield was notified by his counterpart in China that a "mysterious respiratory illness was spreading in Wuhan."

Also on January 3rd, 2020, the Trump administration assassinated a commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps named Qasem Soleimani at an airport in Iraq via a drone strike. He was on his way to meet the Iraqi prime minister.

According to the prime minister, Soleimani was there to deliver Iran's response to a letter that Iraq sent to them from Saudi Arabia, seeking to ease tensions in the region.

Soleimani was not a good man. He coordinated, trained, and funded the Iranian proxies in the region, namely Hamas and Hezbollah.

On January 7th, 2020, Iran fired ballistic missiles at US bases in Iraq. No fatalities, but 100+ traumatic brain injuries were the result.

On January 8th, 2020, Iran shot down Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752, killing all 176 on board. They mistook it for a cruise missile, apparently.

On March 9th, 2020, President Donald Trump said COVID-19 was "very much under control" and less deadly than the flu.

On March 13th, 2020, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On March 17th, 2020, President Donald Trump told reporters: "This is a pandemic ... I felt it was a pandemic long before it was called a pandemic."

On March 18th, 2020, President Donald Trump said to reporter Bob Woodward, "I wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down, because I don't want to create a panic."

In July 2020, Kacey Musgraves and her husband Ruston Kelly filed for divorce.

On September 22nd, 2020, US deaths from COVID-19 reached 200,000.

On November 4th, 2020, the Associated Press declared Mark Kelly the winner of the Arizona Senatorial election. He received 1,716,467 votes, 51.16%. Joe Biden won Arizona with 1,672,143, 49.36% of the votes. A little over 10,000 more than Donald Trump.

158 million votes were cast in 2020, more than 100 million of them via early voting or mail due to the pandemic. The highest voter turnout since the 1900 election, when William McKinley won. Teddy Roosevelt was his VP.

On September 6th, 1901, in Buffalo, NY, McKinley was shot and died eight days later. Teddy Roosevelt became President of the United States.

"Reformers [in the Republican party] hoped Roosevelt's vigorous leadership would refashion the Republican Party into the progressive force it had been under Abraham Lincoln, endeavoring to spread prosperity beyond the wealthy few to the common man."

Joe Biden was declared the winner by most major news outlets on November 7th, over three days after the polls closed.

A December 2020 poll showed 77% of Republicans believed widespread fraud occurred during the election, along with 35% of independent voters.

On December 9, 2020, the Attorney General of Texas, Ken Paxton, filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court asking the court to overturn the results in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Georgia.

Attorneys general of 17 other states also signed on to the lawsuit. Two-thirds of the Republican caucus in the House signed on to an amicus brief supporting it.

The Supreme Court rejected the lawsuit on December 11th.

The same day, the FDA granted an Emergency Use Authorization for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Moderna followed on December 17th.

On December 27th, 2020, the US surpassed 19 million confirmed COVID-19 cases.

This is what you've gotten, guys

In early January 2021, Trump falsely claimed that he had, by right, won all 50 states in the presidential election and a 535-3 Electoral College victory.

On January 6th, 2021, Congress met to certify the results of the election.

At the "March to Save America" rally, Trump, behind a bulletproof shield, encouraged attendees to walk down to the Capitol. Regarding the counting of Biden's electoral votes, he said, "We can't let that happen."

He told them, "You are allowed to go by very different rules."

He used the word "fight" twenty times and "peacefully" once, where he said "I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard".

Trump finished speaking at 1:12 pm.

At 1:50 pm, the Metropolitan Police declared a riot. At 2:13 pm, the Capitol was breached and VP Mike Pence was taken to a secure, hidden location. The Senate recessed, and the doors to the chamber were locked.

In the chamber, Senator Mitt Romney exasperatedly threw up his hands and criticized fellow Republicans challenging Biden's electoral votes, yelling to them, "This is what you've gotten, guys".

Trump called Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville and told him to do more to block the counting of Biden's electoral votes, but the call was cut short at 2:30pm because the chamber was being evacuated.

In the House chamber, many members were stuck there while waiting to be evacuated. Law enforcement was attempting to keep a door from being breached. The window was smashed. Police and Secret Service warned, "Get back! Get down! Get out of the way!"

Ashli Babbitt, wearing a Trump flag as a cape, began to climb through the shattered window, where she was shot in the shoulder and later died. Babbitt was an Air Force veteran who was deployed eight times, including Iraq.

At 4:22pm, Trump issued a video message to supporters on social media, "We have to have peace. So go home. We love you. You're very special".

The first contingent of 155 DC National Guard members, dressed in riot gear, began arriving at the Capitol at 5:20 pm.

At 8:06 pm, Pence called the Senate back into session, and at 9:02 pm, Pelosi did the same in the House. Biden's victory was confirmed by Pence shortly before 3:40 am on January 7th, 2021.

Over 1,400 people were charged with crimes in relation to the attack.

On January 13th, 2021, President Donald Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives and acquitted in the Senate with a 57–43 vote in favor. They needed 2/3rds.

Seven Republican senators voted to convict:

• Richard Burr of North Carolina
• Bill Cassidy of Louisiana
• Susan Collins of Maine
• Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
• Ben Sasse of Nebraska
• Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania
• and, Mitt Romney of Utah

Many others had strong words about Trump's actions, but decided they felt the Constitution did not allow them to impeach a former President, even though doing so prevented holding the office in the future. Polls around this time showed ~55% of the country supported a conviction.

100

On January 18th, 2021, the Texas State Society hosted their "Black Tie and Boots Inaugural Ball" virtually due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Again, Kacey Musgraves was not there but Christian rapper Lecrae performed.

On January 20th, 2021, Joe Biden took the oath to become the 46th President of the United States. Trump did not attend the inauguration, the first outgoing President to take that stance since 1869.

President Joe Biden stated his goal was to administer 100 million vaccines within his first 100 days in office.

On January 22nd, 2021, the US passed 25 million confirmed cases of COVID-19.

In January 2021's issue of Rolling Stone, Kacey Musgraves is interviewed about her forthcoming album and said, “This last chapter of my life and this whole last year and chapter for our country — at its most simple form, it’s a tragedy."

On February 22nd, 2021, the US passed 500,000 deaths due to COVID-19.

On March 2nd, 2021, Texas and Mississippi announced they will reopen, the first states to do so.

On March 19th, 2021, the goal of 100 million vaccines in the first 100 days was reached early. The goal was increased to 200 million which was reached on April 21st.

On June 15th, 2021, the U.S. passed 600,000 deaths from COVID-19.

On September 10th, 2021, Kacey Musgraves released her album Star-Crossed. She wrote 40 songs during the pandemic, 15 made the album.

In 2021, Ella Langley signed her first publishing deal with Sony Music Publishing Nashville and released her song "If You Have To".

They protect the system, not the people

On February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia thought Kyiv would fall quickly. It did not. Iran has supplied Russia with a large number of the drones they produce.

From the start of Biden's presidency, he worked to try to revive the Iran nuclear deal that Trump pulled out of. The assassination of Soleimani in 2020 was still a sore spot for Iran.

Soleimani was the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, which translates to the Jerusalem Force in Persian. US military officials have compared it to if the CIA and US Special Operations had a baby, basically. They report directly to the Supreme Leader of Iran.

The thing to note about the IRGC is that they are not there to protect the country of Iran or the people of Iran. They are there to protect the theocratic rule, the system of government, religious control, and desired culture, not the state and definitely not the people.

In May 2022, the Biden administration placed sanctions directly on the Quds Force, accusing it of participating in a Russian-backed oil smuggling and money laundering network.

In June 2022, the Biden administration imposed more sanctions targeting Chinese, Emirati, and other firms involved in Iran's petrochemicals industry. In July, they targeted more.

In June 2023, CNN released a video of Trump showing off classified documents he took from the White House on US plans to invade Iran. This was part of his federal indictment.

In September 2023, Iran and the United States agreed to a prisoner exchange. The US got five, Iran got five, plus $6 billion of frozen funds released, to be administered by Qatar for humanitarian purposes in Iran.

On October 7th, 2023, three thousand members of Hamas and its affiliates entered Israel via Gaza. They murdered 1,195 people and took 251 hostages back to Gaza.

Here is Biden's tweet from that day:

2012 presidential candidate Roseanne Barr, in his replies, stirring up trouble.

Anyone But Netanyahu

Israel's prime minister at the time was, once again, Benjamin Netanyahu. Mitt Romney's friend from back in the consulting days.

For reference, Netanyahu was the prime minister from 1996 to 1999.

Then from 2009 to 2021.

Then, briefly, a coalition was formed against him.

Two key figures were Yair Lapid, a centrist politician and former news anchor. And Naftali Bennett, who controlled a small right-wing party. He was needed to get the majority for the coalition.

Therefore, Lapid agreed to alternate being prime minister with him, with Naftali going first.

From 2006 to 2009, Bennett was Chief of Staff to Benjamin Netanyahu and they both served in the same Israeli special forces team, just in different eras.

In 2018, the Minister of Defense position in Netanyahu's cabinet was vacated and Bennett decided to pursue it. He was rebuffed and Netanyahu took the position for himself.

Bennett met President Biden as the Prime Minister of Israel on August 27th, 2021. Here he described Israel's strategy against Iran as "a death by a thousand cuts."

On March 5th, 2022, Bennett met with Putin in Russia to talk about the Ukraine war. It was coordinated with the United States, France, and Germany. He offered to mediate between Russia and Ukraine.

Bennett's term as prime minister ended on June 30th, 2022, and he resigned afterward, stating he was done with politics. Bennett is a multimillionaire from various tech companies he started and investments.

The Knesset (Israeli Congress) called a snap election after this, so Yair Lapid became a caretaker prime minister before the election on November 1st, 2022.

Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power but had to make deals with far-right parties to secure a majority, which greatly influenced his government in exchange for their support.

He won't run again. Guess who's back?

On November 15th, 2022, Donald Trump announced he would run for President in the 2024 election.

On April 25, 2023, President Joe Biden officially announced he would run for re-election. He would be 82 at the end of his first term, and 86 at the end of his second if he got one.

In 2019, Politico reported: “If Biden is elected,” a prominent adviser to the campaign said, “he’s going to be 82 years old in four years and he won’t be running for reelection.”

Senator Bernie Sanders was asked if he intended to run against him and he said, "The last thing this country needs is a Donald Trump or some other right-wing demagogue who is going to try to undermine American democracy or take away a woman's right to choose, or not address the crisis of gun violence, or racism, sexism or homophobia." So, no, basically. Bernie is also old.

Netanyahu's failure to see October 7th, 2023, coming was a catastrophe for him. Israel is renowned for their intelligence agencies, and they did not prevent this large-scale, coordinated attack. Not only did they not prevent it, but they were also unprepared.

Israel started their brutal response on Hamas, and thus Gaza. The Israel Electric Corporation provided 80% of the electricity to Gaza, they shut it off. They stopped food and fuel from entering until Biden stepped in. On October 13th, Israel ordered the residents of Gaza City to evacuate south within 24 hours.

On October 27th, Israel had called up reservists and had a force of roughly 100,000 ready to invade Gaza. Israel hit a hospital with an airstrike. They bombed a refugee camp, where a "senior Hamas commander" was, killing 50 innocent Gazans.

On October 31st, Israel bombed and collapsed a six-story apartment building, killing at least 106 civilians, including 54 children.

In November 2023, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei gave a speech where he said the US had failed to reshape the Middle East.

Hezbollah was 10x stronger, Iraq and Syria had not ended up aligned perfectly with US interests.

The two-state solution between Israel and Palestine was essentially dead. And he called the October 7th attacks a "historic event" towards the "de-Americanization" of the region.

In February 2024, the militias in Syria and Iraq that had been sending drones and missiles at US bases stopped.

On March 12, 2024, Donald Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee.

Bombs, Buildings, Architect Rebuilding

On March 14, 2024, Kacey Musgraves released her sixth album called Deeper Well.

She has a song called "The Architect", which she wrote after the 2023 school shooting in Nashville. It ponders the existence of God.

Does it happen by chance? Is it all happenstance?
Do we have any say in this mess?
Is it too late to make some more space?
Can I speak to the architect?
This life that we make, is it random or fate?
Can I speak to the architect?
Is there an architect?

On April 1st, 2024, Israel bombed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, killing Iranian military officers. Iran vowed to retaliate directly, which would be the first time since the start of the proxy war in 1985.

On April 13, 2024, Iran launched 170 drones, over 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles. All aimed at Israeli military sites and the contested Golan Heights region.

Israel's air defenses shot some down, but so did the Air Forces of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Jordan. 99% of the projectiles were destroyed before impact.

Hours after the beginning of the attacks, Iran's envoy to the United Nations stated that the retaliatory attack "can be deemed concluded" and that Iran would respond with "stronger and more resolute" actions if Israel were to "make another mistake".

They also urged the US to stay away from the Iran–Israel conflict.

All things considered, it was a very reserved response.

On April 19th, 2024, Israel bombed a military site in Iran. Iran did not retaliate.

Trying to Shoot an Elephant

On June 27, 2024, Biden and Trump debated. Many consider Biden's performance as the worst in modern history.

At one point, he says, "Making sure that we're able to make every single solitary person eligible for what I've been able to deal with ... the COVID ... Excuse me, with dealing with everything we have to do with ... look ... if... we finally beat Medicare."

It started with the strategists, commentators, and donors telling Biden to step aside. Then the editorial boards of The New York Times and The Economist.

On July 5th, 2024, Biden said in an ABC News interview with George Stephanopoulos that he would not end his candidacy unless "the Lord Almighty came down and said, 'Joe, get out of the race'". He added, "The Lord Almighty's not coming down."

I remember watching that interview thinking, "everyone knows but him."

On July 13, 2024, there was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Butler, PA. A bullet grazed his ear.

20-year-old Thomas Michael Crooks fired eight rounds, killing Corey Comperatore and critically injuring two others. Twelve seconds after starting to fire, Crooks was shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper.

Crooks was a quiet kid who was often bullied. He earned great grades, scored well on the SAT, and earned perfect scores in a few AP classes. He was registered as a Republican but donated to a progressive cause the day Joe Biden was elected.

Crooks was a fan of George Orwell's essay "Shooting an Elephant," which is often read as a metaphor for colonialism.

A British police officer in Burma (Myanmar today) is called to a small village on reports of an elephant on a rampage. He arrives but he does not see the elephant. Eventually, he is taken to an Indian man who had been killed by the elephant. He then gets an elephant rifle and finds the elephant in a field.

The elephant is peaceful now, and the officer does not wish to shoot it. But a few thousand people are there, yelling for him to. He shoots the elephant multiple times but only wounds it. The officer then leaves because he cannot bear to watch the elephant suffer.

His older colleagues said it was the right thing to do, and the younger colleagues said the elephant was worth more than the Indian. The officer wondered to himself if they knew he only shot it "solely to avoid looking like a fool."

In the first sentence of the story, the officer says, "I was hated by large numbers of people—the only time in my life that I have been important enough for this to happen to me."

The essay was adapted into a short film in 2016 by writer Alec Sokolow, who was a writer on Toy Story, Cheaper by the Dozen, and Gnomes and Trolls: The Secret Chamber.

On July 19th, 2024, 30 Democratic members of Congress came out to pressure Biden to step aside. And many others were doing so in private.

On July 21st, 2024, Biden ended his campaign and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the nominee. Less than four months to campaign, pretty much every power player in Democratic politics got behind her, including the Obamas.

On August 2nd, 2024, Ella Langley released her debut studio album called Hungover. Kacey Musgraves also released an expanded version of her album called Deeper into the Well.

On Hungover, Ella sings on her song "cowboy friends":

Hate to break your buckle, baby, you ain't the only John Wayne here
In the spur of the moment, some other boots could buy me a beer
If you're threatening to leave just to see if I care
I'd tell you where to go, but I think you know where

On Deeper into the Well, Kacey has a song called "Ruthless" where she sings:

I don't believe in violence
But you know I won't be silent
I'm a lover, not a fighter

On November 5th, 2024, Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris. He would return to the White House.

The Pillars of Our Society Lay Broken

On January 19th, 2025, the Texas State Society hosted its Black Tie and Boots inaugural ball. Trump did not attend. Neither did Kacey Musgraves. Neither did Ella Langley, she may have been hungover.

On January 20th, 2025, Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States.

Tech magnates Sam Altman (OpenAI), Jeff Bezos (Amazon / The Washington Post), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Tim Cook (Apple), and Sundar Pichai (Google) all donated $1 million and attended the swearing-in ceremony.

Many other large corporations donated, like Ford, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, AT&T, Boeing, Pfizer, and McDonald's. In total, $239 million was donated towards his inaugural committee. The prior record was $107 million, by Trump in 2017.

Biden, Kamala, both Clintons, the Bushs, and Barack Obama attended. Michelle did not go. Mike Pence came. Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to go, but did not get an invitation.

Mike Tyson, Joe Rogan, and Wayne Gretzky attended. As did Charlie Kirk and Tucker Carlson.

Melania held two Bibles for Trump to place his hand on for his swearing-in. He did not put his hand on either.

In his speech, he said a lot.

He said:

As we gather today, our government confronts a crisis of trust. For many years, a radical and corrupt establishment has extracted power and wealth from our citizens while the pillars of our society lay broken and seemingly in complete disrepair.

We now have a government that cannot manage even a simple crisis at home while, at the same time, stumbling into a continuing catalogue of catastrophic events abroad.

Just a few months ago, in a beautiful Pennsylvania field, an assassin’s bullet ripped through my ear. But I felt then and believe even more so now that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again.

My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier. That’s what I want to be: a peacemaker and a unifier.

President McKinley made our country very rich through tariffs and through talent — he was a natural businessman — and gave Teddy Roosevelt the money for many of the great things he did, including the Panama Canal, which has foolishly been given to the country of Panama after the United Spates — the United States — I mean, think of this — spent more money than ever spent on a project before and lost 38,000 lives in the building of the Panama Canal.

We will be a nation like no other, full of compassion, courage, and exceptionalism. Our power will stop all wars and bring a new spirit of unity to a world that has been angry, violent, and totally unpredictable.

Syria's soon-to-be President, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said, "The past decade has brought immense suffering to Syria, with the conflict devastating our nation and destabilizing the region. We are confident that he is the leader to bring peace to the Middle East and restore stability to the region".

Al-Sharaa, a former member of Al Qaeda, had led a successful overthrow of Assad's government in December 2024 in Syria after nearly 15 years of Civil War that included ISIL taking over a large portion of the country. Assad fled to Moscow, where he was given asylum.

From June 13th to 24th, 2025, Israel conducted the Twelve-Day War against Iran. They destroyed missile sites, attacked nuclear facilities, and air defenses. They killed military leaders, nuclear scientists, and politicians. Eventually, Israel had air supremacy over Iran.

Iran started shooting missiles at Israel. This time at civilian centers.

On June 22, 2025, the United States entered the conflict by dropping bombs from B-2 bombers onto the three Iranian nuclear sites that were deep underground. The bombs, which only we have because only our B-2 Bombers can carry them, were needed to penetrate deep into the ground.

Basically, Netanyahu was saying, "We did all we could, finish the job."

US intelligence determined that the strikes caused severe damage but only set Iran back by 1-2 years.

On June 23rd, Trump declared there was a ceasefire.

In September 2025, the UN reimposed sanctions on Iran. Previously, they were mostly US-specific. The currency weakened, and basic goods like meat and rice saw large price increases of up to 72%.

On October 17th, 2025, Ella Langley released the first single from her forthcoming album, Dandelion, titled "Choosin' Texas".

Help is on the Way

On December 28th, 2025, protests started happening in Iran. Small, at first, mainly due to economic crises caused by sanctions and government mismanagement. It gradually spread to 200 cities across Iran, becoming the largest uprising since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

On January 3rd, 2026, President Trump warns Iran that if they shoot protestors, the United States will come to their aid. Supreme Leader Khamenei stated they will not yield to the enemy and "the rioters must be put in their place."

On January 8th, 2026, Reza Pahlavi, the son of the Iranian Shah overthrown in 1979, called for unified protests. In Tehran alone, 1.5 million Iranians took to the streets. By January 9th, 5 million were protesting across the country.

The government cut the internet.

Prior US intelligence assessments were that these protests could not overthrow the government. But they were being reassessed.

On January 9th, Trump once again warned Iran against killing protestors.

The IRGC started using live ammunition on the protestors. Remember how I told you they exist to protect the theocracy, not the people?

Iranian protesters were on the streets saying "Death to Khamenei", and "Long live the Shah."

On January 10th, Trump posted, "Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!"

By January 13th, at least 12,000 protestors had been killed. Trump posted, "Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!... HELP IS ON ITS WAY"

When a reporter asked what he meant by "help is on its way", he replied, "You're going to have to figure that one out. I'm sorry."

Topping the Charts

Things calmed, and by January 21st, Iran announced the protests had been fully suppressed.

In February 2026, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified before Congress and said, "What we have done is created a dollar shortage in the country. It came to a swift and, I would say, grand culmination in December, when one of the largest banks in Iran went under. The central bank had to print money. The Iranian currency went into free fall. Inflation exploded, and hence we have seen the Iranian people out on the street."

On February 11th, the anniversary of the 1979 Iranian Revolution, largely anti-government slogans were expressed.

On February 14, 2026, "Choosin' Texas" hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time. Not the Country chart, the all-genre chart.

Chanting anti-government slogans in Iran became an ongoing form of protest.

The protests started to rise again, mostly from students.

On February 21, "Choosin' Texas" fell to #4 with "DTMF" by Bad Bunny taking the top spot. It was the fourth Spanish-language song to do so.

The most recent was the Justin Bieber remix of "Despacito," which topped the chart for 16 consecutive weeks, tying the record at the time before it was surpassed by the "Old Town Road" remix by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, whose daughter Miley Cyrus dated Nick Jonas... who was born in Texas... Ok, that one was a bit much.

On February 28th, Israel and the US started bombing Iran.

Many Iranians celebrated, Trump's offer of help had finally come.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed by an Israeli airstrike on his home. Trump's stated objective was regime change.

The internet blacked out again, and they started shooting protestors again.

"Choosin' Texas" topped the chart again on March 7th. The same day, the United States sent a third aircraft carrier to the Middle East. The USS George H.W. Bush.

On March 9th, Trump said, "The war is very complete, pretty much," after he spoke to Putin. He said the Strait of Hormuz was open.

On March 13th, to help with oil prices, the US temporarily lifted the restrictions on the sale of Russian oil, the primary deterrent to Russia for the war in Ukraine.

On March 14th, "Choosin' Texas" went down to #2 after "I Just Might" by Bruno Mars.

On March 21st, it returned to #1. The US once again bombed the Natanz Nuclear Facility using bunker busters. Russia condemned the strikes as a "blatant violation of international law."

Trump told Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, or he would strike power plants in the country.

On March 28th, US-Israeli airstrikes targeted residential and civilian facilities, including the Iran University of Science and Technology.

"Choosin' Texas" was still #1.

On March 29th, Trump said he would prefer to "to take the oil in Iran."

On Top of the Mountain

On April 3rd, Iran shot down a F-15E fighter jet over the country. US helicopters conducted search and rescue. They found the pilot who had ejected, but not the weapons systems officer (WSO). The US knew they had to find him before the Iranians did.

On April 4th, "Swim" by BTS overtook "Choosin' Texas" for #1.

The WSO hiked a 7,000-foot ridgeline in the Zagros Mountain foothills and hid in a crevice. He had an emergency beacon, but limited its use, so Iran did not find him.

The WSO sent a short radio message saying "god is good." The CIA used some sort of secret, special technology and called upon civilians in the area who they knew would help.

Airstrikes were used to keep Iranian forces from the area. They used an abandoned agricultural airstrip as a temporary forward operating base secured by Delta Force. Iran offered $60,000 for the WSOs location.

Seal Team Six was tasked with the rescue. They were racing the Iranian forces, but also nomadic tribesmen who wanted the reward.

On April 5th, they rescued him and got him out of the country. Trump later stated that the rescue mission had involved 155 US aircraft, including four bombers, 64 fighters, 48 refueling tankers, 13 rescue aircraft, and other aircraft.

In a March 2026 interview, Ella Langley discussed mental health. She said, "I think it's important to talk about it and to share that just because I might seem like I'm on the top of the mountain right now, it doesn't look like that all the time."

Back & Forth

On April 7th, the US, Israel, and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire.

On April 11th, "Choosin' Texas" went back to #1.

On April 18th, "Choosin' Texas" was still #1.

And April 25th.

On May 1st, 2026, Kacey Musgraves released her latest album, Middle of Nowhere. She went back to her country roots on this one while also incorporating some traditional Mexican-style music.

Olivia Rodrigo's "Drop Dead" was released and topped the chart on May 2nd.

"Choosin' Texas" was back on May 9th.

And May 16th.

The US, Israel, and Iran were going back and forth with the blockade, a strike here and a strike there, playing with lives.

May 23rd, "Choosin' Texas" was still at the top.

Drake released three albums, so on the May 30th chart, Ella fell to #5, with "Janice STFU" at #1, and continuing on the June 6th chart. "Choosin' Texas" was #2.

On June 12th, Pakistan stated that a peace agreement between the US and Iran had been agreed to.

On the June 13th chart, "Hate That I Made You Love Me" by Ariana Grande topped the chart. "Choosin' Texas" was #2.

The agreement did not hold, and on the June 20th chart, Taylor Swift's Toy Story song "I Knew It, I Knew You" topped it. "Choosin' Texas" was #2.

It was the same on the June 27th chart.

The hostilities continued between the US and Iran. On the July 4th chart, "Choosin' Texas" went back to #1.

On July 10th, Israel provided the US with intelligence regarding a planned assassination attempt of President Donald Trump.

On the July 11th chart, "Choosin' Texas" was still #1.

America needs to two-step together

In an interview for Middle of Nowhere, Kacey talked about how moving to Nashville in 2008 was so important for her. But she says she does not want to be beholden to what Nashville thinks her music should be.

She said, "I wound up in Austin one night, and I went out to a super divey dance hall, and there was a live country band playing. It was really nice to see so many different kinds of people having the best time decked out in their western wear. It was hot Latino couples, it was hot Black cowboys, it was older white cowboys dancing with younger cowgirls, and everybody was having such a good time dancing with each other.

I was like, "Damn, America needs to two-step together. America needs to be on the dance floor." It's really a great equalizer, and it's where your differences sort of melt away, and the one goal is to connect via music and have fun and move your body. It made me really inspired to infuse some of that Texas dance hall feeling and rhythms into the record."

Abilene

On Kacey's album Middle of Nowhere, she has a song called "Horses and Divorces" that features Miranda Lambert.

Kacey and Miranda had a bit of a feud. Kacey wrote a song that her label ended up pitching to Miranda Lambert without her knowing. Miranda wanted it, but Kacey wanted it for herself.

Miranda wanted the song, and Kacey had co-writers to consider, who would make more money if Miranda did it than if Kacey did.

Miranda recorded it, and it did well. Kacey was still sour about it. Eventually, Kacey reached out to her to collaborate on "Horses and Divorces", two things they have in common.

On Middle of Nowhere, Kacey has a song called "Abilene", which is a city in Texas I have been to many times. It is where my parents went to college, initially, at Hardin-Simmons University.

The Dyess Air Force Base is also located there, where the B-1 bombers are stationed. They have been used to bomb Iran.

On "Abilene", Kacey sings:

I gotta say I thought about it but I probably won't ever leave Abilene
Ain't ever leavin' Abilene

"Choosin' Texas" starts out with:

Just when I thought I got him to fall in love with Tennessee
I shoulda known better than to take him back to Abilene

Ella Langley wrote "Choosin' Texas" on a writer's retreat in October 2024. One of the songwriters with her told her about how one time she got pulled over with her pet Kangaroo in the passenger seat.

She commented to the female officer that she had Texas license plates. From that, Langley said, "She's from Texas, I can tell," which morphed into "She's from Texas, I can tell by the way he's two-steppin' around the room."

The kangaroo owner? Miranda Lambert.

Miranda was born in Longview, TX, about 45 minutes from where I am sitting. I drive through there on the I-20 whenever I go to Dallas.

Texas

I have always had a soft spot for Texas. Obviously, my dad and his family are from Lamesa in West Texas, and Shreveport is 20 minutes from the border. Texas was always the way to get to Shreveport, and we often would fly into Dallas and drive to Shreveport because it was cheaper.

In 2023, the Republican controlled Texas House of Representatives impeached Ken Paxton, the Attorney General who sued to have the 2020 election overturned, with 20 counts, ranging from accepting bribes to abuse of power to obstructing justice. It was 121-23 in favor of impeachment.

Paxton called it a politically motivated sham and encouraged his supporters to march peacefully on the Texas Capitol. The Texas Senate acquitted him of all charges.

Ken Paxton is the Texas Republican candidate for Senate this year. He ran against sitting Senator John Cornyn, who is also a former Texas Attorney General, under Governor George W. Bush.

In May 2023, Cornyn said Republicans should nominate "a candidate who can actually win", arguing that Trump's "time has passed him by" and that Trump did not appeal to voters beyond his base.

Cornyn had been in the Senate since 2002. He ended up in a run-off with Paxton, and Trump endorsed Paxton, who ended up with 63.8% of the vote. The other Senator to lose renomination was Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who voted to impeach Trump after January 6th.

37-year-old James Talarico is the Democratic nominee for the Senate. He joined the Texas House in 2018 at age 29.

Both a minister and an educator, he fought hard against a mandate to have the Ten Commandments in public schools.

On February 16, 2026, Talarico was set to appear on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. CBS canceled it due to pressure from the Trump administration. Colbert was told by CBS not to have him on or talk about his canceled appearance.

Colbert had him on, spoke publicly about the cancellation, and posted the full interview on YouTube. It received 7.3 million views in two days.

Current polls have Talarico and Paxton neck and neck. We'll see.

Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire

On October 27th, 2026, Israel will have an election for the Knesset. Israel is interesting because voters vote for parties, not specific politicians. Each party has its list of members ranked in order. If they win 10 seats, the top 10 members on their list join the Knesset. Then the President of Israel asks the party with the most seats to create a government. They must get at least 61 seats to join the coalition and form a majority.

In the 2022 election, there were 10 different parties in the Knesset. Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party had 32 seats after getting 23.41% of the vote in the election.

Naftali Bennett decided to return to politics and founded the Bennett 2026 party. He has once again teamed up with Yair Lapid's party, Yesh Atid, and they are running in an alliance called Together.

A key issue in the election is an investigation into the failures to prevent the October 7th attacks.

A new centrist party named Yashar is currently leading the polls, with Likud second and Together third.

Yashar means "straight" or "honest" in Hebrew. It comes from a quote by former Hamas hostage Eli Sharabi, where he said, releasing the other hostages is "not about right or left, but straight."

On October 7th, 10 Hamas militants entered the Sharabi home where he and his family were in their pajamas. Eli understood he would be kidnapped and cooperated hoping it would spare his wife and daughters. As they took him, he looked at them and said, "I'll come back."

Eli's wife and two daughters were killed by Hamas. Sharabi did not know.

His brother was also taken hostage and killed in captivity. An IDF investigation stated it was possible he was killed after an Israeli airstrike on a building in Gaza.

Eli was a hostage for 491 days. Upon his release, his mother informed him about his wife and daughters.

Eli weighed 97 lbs when he was released, over 60 lbs lost during his time as a hostage. He met with Trump, addressed the United Nations Security Council, and on July 2nd criticized Netanyahu after he said the stress of October 7th made him "lose a little weight."

A Radical and Corrupt Establishment

Throughout this, you can see how some people come up over-and-over. How these pivotal, important events roll back to decisions made by mostly men, and they shaped the state of our world today.

Not everything is nefarious. However, a distance is created with the common person the higher you go up the ladder. And if they try to understand, it is research, not their lives. They aren't living it, they're hearing about it.

Everyone brings up conspiracies about shadow governments, a New World Order (a term popularized by George H.W. Bush), this think tank, that corporation, or this invite-only conference.

As I said, not everything is nefarious.

However, there are institutions existing where people with influence from various facets of society meet. Not all at the same time. Not all are in agreement. But opinions are given, plans are made, and lives are impacted. Lives that had no choice in the matter.

A few times, my dad has become frustrated with non-American citizens talking negatively about America. I just explain to him that decisions made in America impact the world.

We have planes that can leave our country with bombs heavier than anyone else's, drop them on another country halfway across the world, and come home safely. And we use them.

We have economic power that can drive a country's currency up so high that parents cannot afford to feed their children. Then we do that. And then we bomb them.

You've seen throughout this writing how interconnected our world is. But I also wanted to illustrate that we are all on the same timeline.

Two women from the South, one winning Grammys and one topping the charts. One from Texas, one from Alabama, both moved to Nashville to make it.

I doubt Ella thought she'd be the soundtrack to a country at war.

As Trump said in his 2nd inaugural address:

"For many years, a radical and corrupt establishment has extracted power and wealth from our citizens while the pillars of our society lay broken and seemingly in complete disrepair.

We now have a government that cannot manage even a simple crisis at home while, at the same time, stumbling into a continuing catalogue of catastrophic events abroad."

He wasn't wrong, but he doesn't realize he's part of the problem, making it much worse.

In George W. Bush's eulogy of Senator John McCain, he said:

"Perhaps above all John detested the abuse of power, could not abide bigots and swaggering. He spoke up for the little guy, forgotten people in forgotten places. One friend from naval academy days recalls John reacted to seeing an upperclassman verbally abuse a steward. Against all tradition, he told the jerk to pick on someone his own size. It was a familiar refrain during his six decades of service."

Before John McCain passed, he wrote a farewell statement.

He ends it like this:

"Do not despair of our present difficulties but believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history. Farewell, fellow Americans. God bless you, and God bless America."

John McCain was certainly not a perfect man, I disagreed with him on many things. I remember in my freshman English class, we did a debate. It was my idea. I advocated for McCain, some other classmates advocated for Obama. I don't remember who won the debate, because it doesn't matter.

Some weird shit walking

After Obama was inaugurated, George Bush went back to Texas and effectively retired at his ranch in Crawford, TX. About four hours from where I am sitting now.

He has kept a fairly low profile but will attend an occasional sporting event or release a statement after an important event.

He did call Obama's withdrawal from Iraq a "strategic blunder" but generally said nothing.

After the murder of George Floyd, he and Laura Bush released a statement say, "are anguished by the brutal suffocation of George Floyd and disturbed by the injustice and fear that suffocate our country" and that "it is time for America to examine our tragic failures."

He attended Trump's 2017 inaugural and later referred to it as "some weird shit" in private.

He opposed Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan.

He refused to endorse either candidate in the 2024 election. No word on how he felt about the 2025 inauguration, but it was still some weird shit.

In his 2004 acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, he said, "Some folks look at me and see a certain swagger, which in Texas is called 'walking.'"

Something many veterans of his wars can no longer do.

Diethylamide

The second verse of "The Architect" by Kacey Musgraves goes:

Somеtimes I look in the mirror
And wish I could make a rеquest
Could I pray it away? Am I shapeable clay?
Or is this as good as it gets?
One day, you're on top of the mountain
So high that you'll never come down
Then the wind at your back carries ember and ash
And burns your whole house to the ground

On Golden Hour, she has a song called "Mother" that she wrote on LSD.

Bursting with empathy
I'm feeling everything
The weight of the world on my shoulders
Hope my tears don't freak you out
They're just kinda coming out
It's the music in me and all of the colors

And that's pretty much it.

Anyways,
Garrett