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The U.S. didn’t get conned. It chose the con.
Because every filter—media, voters, donors—was calibrated for charisma.
Not wisdom. Not skill. Not integrity.
Just the loudest guy in the room.
Just finished this 5-metre-long drystone seating area on the banks of a loch.
It stands about 1.5m tall and will hold a single piece of oak across the three protruding stones to form a bench.
The idea was to create something rooted in the land, not just placed on it. Sheltered, steady, and quietly purposeful. A place to pause and reflect.
Built by hand, no mortar, just time, attention, and stone. All materials sourced locally.
#Drystone #Craft #Scotland #Sustainable #Environment #Nature
@ZDL
True. There are many takes on America past and present, lived or learned. For myself (man of privilege), I mourn what *I thought* America was.
I feel betrayed by the lies we were sold about it, and I am horrifyed that I accepted and repeated them. I have no illusions about the past or the present any more though.
This is the lasting legacy of the Ozymandias in the White House - a permanent de-blinkering of the world's view on the US. But this mass shattering of illusions is a passing horror, the dark you pointed out is still ongoing. 💔
@Remittancegirl "The country’s founding promise, after all, is “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.
That promise is why success in America does not lead to gratitude but to an intense sensation of loss. The elite take any deviation from their fantasy existence as a broken contract. They’ve been ripped off. That is a big feeling among the most successful people in America: the sense of being ripped off."
WOW. Nailed it. Fantastic piece of writing, thank you for linking
"they talked to me about their hopes for the destruction of their government cheerfully and frankly, because they were living the movies playing in their minds and they wanted me to witness the projection.”
A magnificent essay on America by Stephen Marche.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/apr/20/american-dream-trump-canada
@davetroy I think that somehow these two things are related - convergence and unintended consequences.
https://america2.news/convergence-is-here-and-were-not-prepared/
https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/frankly-original/91-unintended-consequences
"Some U.S. travelers are expressing uncertainty about how they’ll be received in parts of Europe."
Hell, this uncertain U.S. traveler is worried my own country won't let me back IN or might exile ME to El Salvador.
https://bsky.app/profile/nycsouthpaw.bsky.social/post/3lnb5ckc3ms2b
Two backpacking German teenagers who had obtained ESTA approval from DHS were detained by CBP at the Honolulu airport, strip searched, jailed overnight, and ultimately deported to Japan because immigration officials weren’t satisfied with their lodging arrangements. https://beatofhawaii.com/why-these-hawaii-travelers-were-jailed-and-deported/
The Index
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Dave Troy 
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bouriquet