written 25 January, 2026
published 1 February, 2026
Two divisions of airborne troops are preparing to put "boots on the ground" in the US. ICE tactics grow more erratic, killing another observer, and now expanding into Maine, while the administration gives them complete immunity. The president gave a rambling, fact free televised speech on his accomplishments. A day later he gave a similar performance at the Davos Economic Forum, insulting NATO, claiming we deserve to be given Greenland (or Iceland), displaying his growing disconnection from reality. The whole world sees the Republican leader of America is an incompetent, corrupt, demented bully.
The stock market dipped, but recovered after another TACO move, where he backed away from threatening to take Greenland by force (this week). But the damage has been done. The world sees that America is no longer a trusted partner. If your friend just tried to bully you with tariffs and threats of invasion, your trust has been broken. The prime minister of Canada recently stated the global power structure that has dominated for the last 80 years has come apart, and everyone needs to take actions accordingly.
After WW2, the US was the only major industrial country with an intact manufacturing infrastructure and vast domestic reserves of oil, the dominant energy source. We led the world, formed agreements beneficial to the US that stabilized the global financial system, helped rebuild much of the planet, with enough wealth left over to create a booming domestic middle class.
Eight decades later, we have burned up most of our domestic oil, there is an energy alternative to fossil fuels, we have sent manufacturing to countries with cheaper labor, there is another currency as strong as the dollar, and we have a trillionaire while a hundred million Americans struggle to survive. These forces have been building for decades, but the general world order has endured. Until now.
China has begun valuing liquified natural gas purchases in yuan, their own currency, rather than dollars. Countries are shedding US financial investments as increasingly risky, and hoarding gold instead. NATO no longer sees the US as trustworthy. Canada, our long-standing trading partner, is planning to resist an attack by the US, and opened trade negotiations with China. The EU announced a South American trade agreement, excluding the US, and is negotiating another with Southeast Asia.
The stock market is financially fragile. The market's steady rise results from just a few AI stocks, while the rest of the economy has stagnated. This AI frenzy, with hundreds of billions invested, has almost no economic return. It requires huge increases in electrical power, supposedly from installation of new natural gas and nuclear power systems. But new natural gas production is limited by supply chain constipation and increasing fuel prices. Building traditional nuclear takes at least a decade, and small modular reactor development, at the scale needed, may take as long, since none currently exist. The entire market is poised for a serious correction from reality, which could be triggered by the unhinged element in the White House.
So, who benefits from this presidency? In the short run, Republican leadership has power and has been dismantling the progressive agenda assembled over decades. But I can't imagine any of them anticipated the destruction now being wrought on America's economy or world standing. They may have known the president is crazy, but mistakenly assumed he could be controlled.
American billionaires have done very well in the last year, but their wealth depends on the post war global order and rule of law, which is now crumbling. The other global autocrats stand to gain from America's fall from grace, as democracy has always been a thorn in their plans.
With NATO distracted by defending against the US, Russia is freer to push their domination in Ukraine. But corruption has hollowed out the Russian economy, and their only trade good is oil, which suffers from decreasing demand as global renewable investment continues to grow exponentially.
China is the only clear winner, already the leader in producing the renewable energy systems of the future, while the US foolishly tries to return to the past.
Thank Republican leadership, which used to have principles and revere the rule of law, yet they continue to support this destructive administration. Reality is whole, and cooperation, between individuals as well as nations, produces sustainable results. Selfish bullies may appear to thrive in the short run, but reality eventually prevails. The saying goes: nature bats last.
