The Taught Lists, 58th Day of Spring, 526 M.E. (Electra): I woke up to the sound of thunder around 6:00 am this morning, hopeful that some rain may have finally come to end this extreme drought here in Georgia. But apparently, the weather was just dry heaving, as no rain accompanied the thunder. All sound and fury, but no precip.

Republicans are saying that since a gunman had entered a hotel at which the president was speaking last Saturday and fired shots in the next room, taxpayers should give the Stable Genius $400 million to construct a ballroom at the White House. Never mind that the gunman never made it through security - the system worked - and there were still like 100 armed Secret Service agents between the gunman and the president when the shooter was apprehended. Never mind that the Stable Genius claimed the ballroom will be paid for by private donations when he had the East Wing of the White House demolished to make space for his ballroom.

Presidential staff and White House correspondents are all over the news talking about how traumatic it was for them to hear gunfire in the next room. Welcome to America - if you haven't heard gunfire by now, you should probably have your hearing checked. But instead of a ballroom, may I suggest the president and his staff do what they insist millions of schoolchildren have to do, and just duck beneath their desks until the shooting stops? If you're so shook hearing gunshots in a hotel, imagine what it's like for an eight-year-old under a desk at school seeing their dead classmates on the floor.

At least two-thirds of Americans agree with me that this country is on the wrong track, with some polls showing as many as 80% of Americans, particularly Gen Z adults, believe we're on the wrong track. A significant number of Americans view the economy negatively, with polls showing that 47% rate the economy as "poor" and three quarters believing economic conditions are worsening, with high fuel prices influencing their views. According to AAA, the average cost for a gallon of regular gasoline just hit $4.18, the highest price since April 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. 

Public trust in government has been low for decades, and a Pew Research poll found that a mere 2% of Americans say they trust the government to do what is right “just about always,” while 15% trust it “most of the time.” The current measures are among the lowest in the nearly seven decades of polling, and are lower than last year (22%). Only about 38% of Americans say patriotism is "very important" to them, down from 70% in 2000, and half of all adults between the ages of 18 and 29 say they are not very or not at all patriotic.

Congressional polarization has reached its highest point since Reconstruction, and threats of violence against politicians have surged. Some draw parallels between the United States and Weimer Germany, and others to the Soviet Union in its final years - a brittle gerontocracy rotting from within - while some argue that the country is on the brink of a civil war.

But sure, let's build the president a gauche, $400-million, gold-plated ballroom, because ya gotta dance, right?