Three Dollar Quill

I mentioned the inauguration finally sinking in. I think part of that is the pace of news and the constant back and forth.

There's an agricultural crisis that will make things harder on the American consumer, exacerbated by Trump's planned tariffs. Wait, never mind, about the tariffs, not the crisis, though, that's still happening, I think. The tariffs are off the table, thanks to Trump's trademark negotiation tactics. Self-proclaimed free speech advocates are censoring government websites. No, that's getting rolled back. Somewhat? Elon Musk is somehow the most powerful man in America now. ... Probably don't fly.

It's like a kaleidoscope of horrors and faint hope, and I don't even know if anything I just said is or was ever accurate.

I don't generally say much about politics on this blog, and that's because I generally don't have much to say, and I feel like I shouldn't. Like the young men Musk has gotten to help him strip the country for parts, I've got a focus on STEM fields, but unlike the stereotypical STEM bro, I've got some idea of how many sub-fields there are. I'm paper-qualified in one area of engineering, and self-taught in another. There is so much of STEM alone to which that knowledge does not generalize. So why should I have anything to say about policy decisions?

Except. Except that there is a culture war on, to try and stop people like me and my family and friends from existing. To tell us how to live our lives, in the name of freedom. To turn us into a boogeyman, when we just want to hold down jobs, make art, and watch movies or whatever.

There is so much to be done to deal with this, but part of it is just to be there for myself and the people in my life. I know there are more people out there reading my blog than I can quite understand how you all got here. I want to thank you all for reading what I have to say, and if you're feeling as scared and uncertain as I am, I want you to find the people that matter to you, and make sure to be there for them.

I'm dealing with a lot right now, and I don't know how much more I have to say on this, so the "grease-monkeying around inside MOTR" content that's been so much of my output lately is probably going to start back up tomorrow.

Good night.