Another terrible contribution Donald Trump has made to the general corroding of human cognition has been popularizing to the point of ubiquity the word "deal." Everything is a deal. Every trade agreement is a deal. The telos of every action in public life is a deal. Everything has been boiled down to the shallowness of a business deal. Nothing ever is more complex or more rich in its structure. At its epicentre this is a narrowing of the American mind, but the rest of us are pulled in as well. And I hate it.

Modern Imperialist Russia... 1. Jails and murders political opponents both at home and abroad 2. Jails and murders journalists both at home and abroad 3. Does not hold valid elections 4. Is run by oligarchs who hoard wealth while the people suffer with life expectancies as low as 67 for Russian males 5. Works to destabilize functioning democracies all over the world through hybrid warfare 6. Invades its neighbours without provocation 7. Allies with states like North Korea to achieve its goals 8. Attacks Ukrainian cities, killing civilians: men, women, and children 9. Kidnaps tens of thousands of Ukrainian children 10. Sends a whole generation of Russian youth to die in the meat-grinder of the frontlines, a disproportionate amount of these being from indigenous populations 11. Fills up mass grave upon mass grave of civilians all for the imperial ambition of regaining some lost empire from long ago And this is who Trump and the Republicans are wanting to ally with so they can become even more wealthy.