That’s the way things worked when the world was relatively sane, and our biggest worry was the Covid pandemic. But those halcyon days are behind us.

Now I find myself waking to wonder, not only what day it is, but whether the terrible things I’m remembering are segments of my last dream, or a too-real memory of yesterday’s news.

And then I make my first major mistake of the day: I check the news headlines. Today, for example, I learned the following:

Headline #1: “White House and El Salvador’s president make clear mistakenly deported man won’t be returned to US.”

That “deported man” is, of course, Salvadoran citizen Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, whose “mistaken” deportation has been much in the news lately.

During a meeting between Donald Trump and El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele today, the latter unequivocally stated in response to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins:

“I hope you’re not suggesting that I smuggle a terrorist into the United States. How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? Of course I’m not going to do it. The question is preposterous.” [Kaitlan Collins and Kevin Liptak, CNN, April 14, 2025.]

Despite having said last week that he would comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling, Trump refused to respond to questions from the press. But he did say — speaking to members of his administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller — that the U.S. does not have the power to return Abrego Garcia. According to Bondi:

“That’s up to El Salvador if they want to return him. That’s not up to us. The Supreme Court ruled that if El Salvador wants to return him … we would facilitate it: meaning, provide a plane.” [Id.]

And there you have it — Trump doing another 180, this time shifting responsibility to the Supreme Court’s admittedly weak wording of its otherwise correct decision, wherein they ordered Trump to “facilitate,” rather than “effectuate” Abrego Garcia’s return.

The administration is now saying it’s “not up to us” to bring back the man they illegally deported in the first place. That is, of course, total bullshit.

I ask you: When has Donald Trump ever hesitated to apply pressure on another person, another institution — or another country — in order to achieve his goals? NEVER . . . that’s when. But suddenly, there’s nothing he can do for this man who was granted asylum and has been living in the U.S. legally, with his family, without so much as a traffic violation, for six years? I repeat:

*. *. *

Headline #2: “Dozens Killed In ‘Horrific’ Russian Missile Strike, Prompting Global Condemnation.”

In the second major attack against civilians in the past ten days, Russia has bombarded the Ukrainian city of Sumy with a missile strike that left at least 34 people dead, and at least another 117 — including 15 children — severely injured. [RFE/RL, April 14, 2025.]

The Kremlin, of course, repeated the same old refrain, denying that the two attacks targeted civilian infrastructure. Really? Then what would they call this:

At the risk of sounding like my own broken record, I have to say it one more time: Vladimir Putin has zero intention of bringing this war to an end, other than in his own time and on his own terms.

And Donald Trump — who campaigned on a promise (along with others, equally untrue) that he would bring the war to an end “within 24 hours” — continues to schmooze Putin into “normalizing” diplomatic relations.

*. *. *

And that’s just a small sampling of one day’s news. Is it any wonder I choose to sleep until noon on most days?

I’m simply afraid to wake up.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/14/25