And So We Will

                                                                                  Alt- NPS

Nearly every person I know shares a pervasive sense of unease these days. It is not personal enough to be classified as paranoia, yet it is forces us to question our basic fitness to withstand what has become an unending onslaught on our basic sensibilities.

It is like chronic joint pain in that no matter how you position yourself, it just keeps hurting. A dull ache that we know may eventually become much, much worse.

There is dread, of course, about what the madman and his minions will do next. He is certainly a genius at doing things that make us angry. And scared, if not yet directly for our own welfare, at least for the welfare of others.

But that is what democracy is all about — our relationships with each other. So that when one of us is threatened, all are threatened. When one of us loses their freedom, none of us can be free.

So Trump has almost succeeded in taking away our ability to enjoy being alive and to cherish the blessings we have.

But only almost. We can still smile and cry and feel the way we feel. We can still love one another.

And we remain free to fight back, to stand up and say no. To join the nascent resistance.

So we will.

HEADLINES: 

• Pope Francis has died. What happens next? (Catholic News Agency)

• Trump deadline on Insurrection Act looms (WP)

• Alito’s dissent in deportation case says court rushed to block Trump with middle-of-the night order (AP)

• The Trump Billionaires Who Run the Economy and the Things They Say (NYT)

• Sen. Van Hollen says trip to El Salvador was about defending the right of due process, not ‘defending the man’ (CNBC)

• Trump claims unfettered presidential power on immigration (WP)

• Migrants Are Heading South (Atlantic)

• The Trump-Harvard showdown is the latest front in a long conservative war against academia (Guardian)

• Harvard Teaches U.S. Leaders a Valuable Lesson (Time)

• Losing International Students Could Devastate Many Colleges (NYT)

• Ousted Pentagon officials question leak investigation claims (Reuters)

• Republican senator backs Powell over Trump attacks on Fed (Financial Times)

• Midwestern city has long been a federal hub. The pain from DOGE’s cuts is everywhere (ABC)

• Power is being monopolised in Ukraine (Economist)

• Israeli military admits ‘professional failures’ over Gaza paramedic killings (Guardian)

• China's US envoy urges end to trade war, but warns Beijing ready to fight (Reuters)

• Scientists discover surprising predator that could replace toxic pesticides: 'We hope to ... complement other control methods' (Yahoo)

• An AI Customer Service Chatbot Made Up a Company Policy—and Created a Mess (Wired)

• Famed AI researcher launches controversial startup to replace all human workers everywhere (TechCrunch)

• ‘Show Me Where You Make Autism!’ Shouts RFK Jr., Storming Sour Patch Kids Factory (The Onion)