Why I stopped watching the news!!

When I say that I’ve stopped, I don't mean that I don't watch it as much. That I don't read as many articles or visit and engage in political discourse. When I say I've stopped, I mean cold turkey. I consume approximately 0 news. Since the election, there is no Washington Post, NYT, Drudge and other articles in my feed. No CNN, MSNBC, FOX... none. My cell phone is void of any news articles and when they show up, they are promptly added to the exclusion list. I got to thinking and it's actually kind of a big deal, at least for me. I've watched, read, discussed and consumed news just about every day for 3, 4, 5 hours a day since I was 15 years old. I recall watching Ann Richard's excoriate George HW Bush at the DNC convention and listening to Bernard Shaw, Larry King and Lou Dobbs (when he was sane) moderate on CNN. I watched intently as Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat negotiated the Camp David Accords and watched in horror as the twin towers fell. I could go on all day, but the point is that now I'm done. I've not consumed an iota of news since November 6, 2024, after learning of the election results.

I shouldn't say none, I do have some friends that talk about it and I hear little tidbits of the crazy here and there. I'm not surprised, however. Some of my friends think that I am an alarmist, and it won't possibly get as bad as I project. These are smart people; I just feel that they are woefully uninformed about some of the things that were done in the past. I do hope that they are right, and more importantly, I hope that I am wrong. Over the years, I've consumed all types of news, from liberal to conservative and everything in between. I always wanted to understand the different perspectives, even when I knew that the media was lying. It's the same reason that after watching the DNC convention in 1988, I turned around and watched the RNC convention in its entirety. I had a discussion with my Uncle recently where I was frank and told him that if you understand the goal, everything else will make sense. So, what's the goal, he asked? To dismantle the U.S. from the within. I believe him to be an enemy of the State. Why, he asked? Why would he do that, he benefits from this system? My answer, why would Aldrich Ames sell U.S. secrets to the Russians? Why did he knowingly send an armed mob to the Capitol and during the melee, target his VP? One thing I've learned in life is to never try to get into the mind of a lunatic or, at the very least, someone who is suffering from a psychological condition. I'm making predictions of what things will be like based on what has been done, said and what has been attempted. It is through this lens that I will go on a quick journey of what we can expect in the coming weeks and beyond.

The arrest of Joe Biden. Joe will likely be first, followed by others like Hillary, Liz, Jack Smith, Adam Schiff, Dr. Anthony Fauci and many others. When Joe is first arrested, the MAGA supporters will at first be shocked, but will soon after dismiss it, stating, "well, he did it to Trump too, so...." blah blah blah. After that initial shock, they'll be less shocked by the ones that follow and before long, they won't pay attention at all. It will have become common place.

We'll pull out of NATO. He'll use the usual, they aren't paying their 2% argument, and his supporters will acquiesce. Some in Congress will protest, but their voices will be minimal at best. He'll pull our troops out of conflict zones across the Middle East and Africa and pull our troops out of Europe, seeding the ground to China and Russia. I expect U.S. troops will be pulled from places in Africa, like Djibouti, first. Ukraine will be carved up, to Putin's liking, or provided on a silver plate. Ukraine won't go down without a fight, so expect U.S. weapons to be cut off, forcing them to accept whatever Putin wants. Sadly, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky won't personally survive the 4-year term.

The Tariffs will be a real downer, pushing the U.S. economy into a recession at first and unless Congress grows a backbone, a depression. Interest rates will fall, along with inflation. The jobless rate will increase, and domestic discontent will grow. Our allies will respond in kind to the tariffs and issue their own. Understanding the position of the U.S., our traditional allies will form new alliances with others, possibly joining the BRICS alliance. Crypto currency will grow in value, especially Bitcoin, but others as well. Not because of its potential, but as a haven for high-net-worth individuals, banks and governments.

People will protest for the shooting of an unarmed citizen or an undesirable policy difference. The military will be called to put down the protest and people will be shot and killed by the military via a direct order from the President or, as our Supreme Court has ruled, an official act. As a result, more violence will ensue. World markets will respond negatively to the events, sending the stock market to record drops with ever increasing volatility.

Our nation’s most valued secrets will be exposed to our nation’s most hostile enemies. Aldrich Ames will be looked at as a choir boy in comparison. The FBI, CIA, NSA and other government institutions will be gutted. American assets serving in other countries will be exposed at a rate not seen. People will quit and go public, but it will be too late.

Wars will break out in Europe, Africa and Asia. We won't get involved, stating, "it's not America's war" America First!! I haven't commented on the White nationalist perspective that he placates. I feel like they will be the biggest losers. You see, if you think that things are going to be great, you tend to feel richer and want to go out and do more. When the reality of what will happen seeps in, the shockwaves that will traverse this land will be devastating generally and even more to this group. Let's just hope the blame will be where it should be, with the individual standing in the lurch. That last statement is important, because if he can convince them to blame others for the problems he creates, we'll have a serious problem on our hands. Watch this space.

At the end, we'll be a shell of our current selves, not to be trusted on the global stage ever again and the World Order will have shifted away from the post WWII system. His move to make Federal jobs, political appointee positions will be equally devastating. If we are to survive the next few years and ensuing decades, White Nationalists', Black Americans, White Americans, Latino Americans, Asian Americans and Americans of all stripes will have to join forces to defeat this internal enemy. I'm an optimist to the core, always have been, but this election has changed me, and I sincerely do not see the light at the end of the tunnel. Now, I understand that this is a dystopic view of events that have not yet occurred. No-one wants me to be wrong more than I. I can't watch it because I love this country too much to watch it be destroyed. My emotional health won't allow it. I'll send this blog to a few friends and hopefully they can tell me how wrong I've been and how this is the best President in our nation’s history over the coming months and years. I think that's the eternal optimist making one last go of it.