Monday, March 9, 2026
I used to wonder how it was possible that Trump could have won in 2016, and then again in 2024, given how emotionally toxic and depraved he is.
I don’t wonder anymore. I think he won for that exact reason. Because he carried at least one broken shard to reflect the broken shards in millions of others.
If you’re a racist, you found your guy. If you’re a misogynist, you found your guy. If money is your only religion, you found your guy. If your heart is armored shut, you found your guy. If you mock the disabled, you found your guy. If intelligence makes you insecure, you found your guy. If you’re a sexual predator, you found your guy. If you trade in humiliation and conspiracy and filth, you found your guy.
If you’ve never done a single hour of emotional inventory, you found your guy. If you cheat, stiff contractors, bankrupt your obligations, and call it savvy, you found your guy. If you lie as easily as you breathe, you found your guy. If cruelty feels like strength, you found your guy. If white grievance is your comfort food, you found your guy. If your ego is a black hole no title can fill, you found your guy. If warmongering fuels your ego, you found your guy, If empathy feels like weakness and dominance feels like oxygen, you found your guy.
If he’d only carried one or two of these pathologies, he might have been dismissed as just another loud, damaged man. But he carried a buffet of them. That was the appeal. Millions could locate themselves somewhere in the wreckage. They didn’t have to agree with all of it. They just had to recognize a piece of themselves in it.
It was never really about him. It was about the validation. The absolution. The permission. He didn’t invent the resentment; he amplified it. He didn’t create the cruelty; he normalized it. He gave millions the intoxicating relief of hearing their ugliest impulses echoed back at rally volume.
Trump is a symptom. The deeper illness is collective. If there’s one sentence that defines his power, it’s this: “He says the things I’m thinking.”
And that’s the part that should chill us.
Because what does it say about us that so many were thinking those things? That tens of millions of Americans harbored resentments so deep, so seething, that they were simply waiting for a demagogue to baptize them as virtue? That after decades of supposed progress on race, gender, and equality, so many white men felt so threatened, so displaced, so furious, that cruelty became a political platform?
Maybe we were living in a fool’s paradise, mistaking silence for healing, politeness for progress.
Now the mask is off. Now we know.
And knowing is a far more dangerous place to stand.
– Michael Jochum, Not Just a Drummer: Reflections on Art, Politics, Dogs, and the Human Condition.
Sunday, March 8, 2026
Israeli authorities are imposing strict penalties on individuals who share videos from Tel Aviv during ongoing security tensions. The alleged measure is described as part of emergency restrictions aimed at limiting the spread of sensitive information during active military operations.
Governments sometimes introduce temporary media or security restrictions during conflicts to prevent real-time information from revealing military positions or damage assessments. Such measures are often justified as necessary to protect operational security and civilian safety.
Israel has previously enforced emergency regulations during wartime or national security crises, including limits on broadcasting certain footage that could assist hostile forces. Military censorship laws in the country allow authorities to restrict information that could endanger national security.
At the same time, legal experts and civil rights organizations often debate the balance between security measures and freedom of expression. Restrictions on sharing images or videos can raise concerns about press freedom, transparency, and the rights of civilians documenting events.
Because situations during conflicts change rapidly, official details about emergency policies are often clarified through government statements or military spokespersons. Observers typically rely on verified announcements and credible reporting confirming the exact scope of such restrictions.
Is Israel now censoring all photos or videos of bombings and damages to Tel Aviv buildings and Israelis? Asked in Google browser Mar. 8, 2026
Answer: Israel has implemented strict measures and laws that can lead to the arrest and punishment of individuals who post footage of missile strikes or other attacks within the country. These restrictions apply to both professional journalists and regular social media users.
Key Restrictions and Legal Consequences
Military Censorship: All publications, including social media posts, blogs, and chats that reveal the location of a strike from "enemy war material" (such as missiles or drones) must be submitted to the IDF Military Censor for approval before being posted.
Severe Penalties: Violating these orders or sharing real-time sensitive videos can result in serious legal consequences, with reported penalties of up to 5 years in prison. Under some state security laws, sentences for unauthorized publishing of damage to military sites can reach up to 15 years.
Enforcement Actions: In 2025, authorities introduced "zero-tolerance" enforcement. Police have confiscated equipment from photographers and questioned individuals for attempting to record from locations overlooking strategic areas like Haifa Port.
Broader Crackdown on Social Media
Beyond footage of strikes, Israeli authorities have significantly expanded their monitoring of social media since October 2023:
"Consumption of Terrorist Materials": A 2023 amendment to the Counter-Terrorism Law criminalizes the "systematic and continuous consumption" of publications from designated terrorist organizations (like Hamas or ISIS) if it indicates identification with the group. This is punishable by up to one year in prison.
Incitement and Solidarity: Hundreds of people, primarily Palestinian citizens of Israel and residents of East Jerusalem, have been arrested for posts deemed to express "incitement to terrorism" or "solidarity with a terrorist organization".
Civil Consequences: Many individuals have faced disciplinary actions, including being suspended or fired from their jobs or facing expulsion from universities, for their online activity during the conflict.
TRUTH IS THE FIRST CASUALTY OF WAR
BREAKING: “Trump Is Lying To You - All Our Bases Have Been Damaged” - Former U.S. Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor
"The mainstream media, the defense contractors, and the establishment are lying to you about what is actually happening in the Middle East right now. Russia and China are sitting on the sidelines feeding top-tier satellite intelligence directly to the Iranian government. Because of this intelligence pipeline, Iran is experiencing successes against Israel and U.S. positions... The military-industrial complex are cheerleading a slaughter while our service members are sitting ducks..."
*This is the man, Douglas McGregor, former U.S. Army Colonel who advised Bush and Cheney there were no weapons of mass destruction. They ignored him.
The ICC issued a warrant. Most EU countries ignored it. Slovenia didn't.
Slovenia declared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu persona non grata on September 25, 2025, becoming the first European Union member state to ban him from entering its territory. The government cited the ICC arrest warrant issued which charged Netanyahu with war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the military offensive in Gaza.
The move followed a series of escalating steps by Slovenia, which had already recognized Palestine as an independent state in June 2024, banned two far-right Israeli ministers from entering the country in July 2025, and imposed the EU's first arms embargo on Israel in August 2025. Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar addressed the UN General Assembly the same week, calling on all nations to act.
Netanyahu's flight to the UN that week reportedly avoided the airspace of every country that might enforce the warrant.
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