JD and Elon Go To Mars

I learned a great deal this week on Ezra Klein's podcast about ideas permeating Trump's futuristic and yet medieval Washington. How do seemingly disparate parts of Trump's fan club tolerate each other? If this is baffling (it has been to me) you may be looking for answers, too.

Puzzles are pieced together. How much the Don actually knows or cares about the cultural framework, the shared ideology, the hopes and assumptions, is unclear. He has cast a spell, he has been installed. He is proceeding to the disruption and the dismantling and the blaming.

Meanwhile, there is a curious parallel revealed here, which I've not seen remarked on elsewhere, a connection between the 1990's men's group movement (anyone remember Iron John and Robert Bly?) and the JD Vance initiative to advantage “Heritage Americans." Robert Bly sought to rewild masculinity, and Vance has much the same idea. Elon, too, albeit exploding out into the planets and stars. From these copulations shall be spawned handsome and intrepid young people, paying off mortgages on Martian resorts.

If there's anyone here who's not right for the cast of this miniseries, that's fine: we'll just deport you.

Truth can stretch credulity. James Pogue is measured. Like a great novelist, he's able to inhabit these characters and relay their point-of-view, even as we may cringe and wonder. He's a longtime friend of JD Vance, and a contributing writer at New York Times Opinion, two qualities not often found in the same person.

Here's the link again: Ezra Klein's podcast. Highly recommended.

Maybe I can get Pogue to tell me what's happened to the Joe Biden technology that makes hurricanes & moves them around. What will Trump and Vance do with it?