Monthly Archives: May 2026

State of Emergency

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Camp is away this week so I get to rant all by myself. 

The latest robbery of public funds by Trump with the 1.7 billion dollar creation of the ‘anti-weaponization-fund’ boggles the mind with its scope and absurdity.  

I’ve come to realize that cynicism in the face of corruption with impunity is acceptance and defeatism. The autocrats from Moscow to Bejing to Washington dismiss and disregard cynicism since it is toothless and passive. 

To fight for what’s right takes courage, conviction and exposure of the fighter but if you don’t know the rules or if there aren’t any then the fight resembles Don Quixote’s flailing at windmills. It’s easier to justify moral outrage and retreat into the bubble of complacency, lamenting the state of the world and shouting at the heavens for the injustices and corruption carried out in plain sight. Normalizing bad behaviour and flouting the laws of common decency and morality renders both meaningless. The bullies and autocrats win when the populace resigns itself to a state of imposed anarchy by the ones wielding the power. It’s much more repressive and depressing when that power is granted by the plebiscite. When the governing institutions and courts support and even encourage this state of internal corruption and lawlessness then the population reaches a state of somnambulance and inertia that makes the autocracy a certainty. 

To reverse this process takes either a revolution by a population mired in generational misery and powerlessness or it takes a coup from within the ranks of government or the military. A highly unlikely scenario since all of those lawmakers and generals who oppose the regime have already been purged, dismissed or killed. As long as the population has food and the trappings of modern life like cars, heat, AC and TV, communication devises and entertainment, access to education and healthcare, a revolution is highly unlikely. 

There is no cure for cynical complacency and frustrated anger about the blatant corruption and kleptocracy will not change the outcome. 

We are in a state of emergency as far as our civilisation built on democratic principles and the rule of common law is concerned. We can stand by and watch the disintegration of standards of decency and goodness as they are trampled and dismissed by the oligarchs and autocrats or we can stand up and fight to uphold what we still have and value in places like Canada and Europe. It’s an existential necessity and we need to shun and oppose the purveyors of nationalist, racial righteousness in our midst and get back to a place of tolerance and acceptance. 

We have to go forward to a place where we feel good about ourselves again. Our children and grandchildren deserve to have a comfortable and decent life with solutions and cures, hopes and harmony with nature and each other. It sounds like utopia and maybe it is but those attributes are paramount for our continued existence as a free people. 

We have the tools and the knowledge, the art, the words, the music and the industry to make this world a better place. It is not the natural order for resources and achievements to be plundered and squandered by a few billionaires with their self-serving ambitions and limitless powers. It’s this aberration and infestation of greed and corruption that needs to be stopped, uprooted and abolished before it’s too late. 

I have a fantasy that together we can – with our voices, songs and words. 

The Human Printer

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“Did you know Camp that Natalie Harp, a young woman, writes most of Trump’s posts on Truth Social? She decides what he sees and tells the world. Harp is considered unconditionally loyal and determines which information reaches Trump.” 

“Really, you’re telling me that this woman makes and shapes the US policy by proxy?” 

“Yes, she is also known as the Human Printer, because she always carries a cordless printer around. She is Trump’s communications assistant.”

“Don’t tell me she writes his posts?” 

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you. She prepares posts without oversight by the White House staff. There is a growing concern about the uncontrolled power structure behind the president’s Truth Social account. He regularly bypasses official review procedures.”

“How come nobody seems to know about this.”

“The Wall Street Journal did an analysis of 8800 Trump posts since January 2025, often sent in the middle of the night. Although Harp uploads the posts, Trump personally approves every post on paper – therefore the printer – before she publishes it. Often late at night. An investigation found that in April 2026 there were only five days on which the president managed to get a full night’s sleep. On a single Monday, 54 messages were published within three hours, including calls for Obama’s arrest.”

“Who is this Natalie Harp?” Camp asked.

“She is a 34-year-old Californian, from a strictly religious Christian family. She previously worked for the far-right broadcaster One America News Network and now coordinates Trump’s online activities.”

“Did she make up the Obama as monkeys and Trump as Jesus posts?”

“Harp reportedly published the posts on Trump’s direct instructions. She bypasses all control mechanism and only answers to him.”

“Is she always with him?”

“Apparently yes. She accompanies Trump constantly — whether on the golf course or at official events.”

“Unbelievable! I was wondering how he can keep up with all these posts by himself. He posts an average of over 3000 words a week. That’s a sizable essay.”

“According to the Wall Street Journal investigation, Harp described Trump in personal letters as her guardian and protector and emphasized that he alone matters to her. She has significant influence over which information reaches him.”

“And us for that matter. Where do you get all this information?”

“From an article in my Swiss paper by a staff reporter. There are pictures of Harp with an armload of paper at the White House.”

“So we have two women, Lara Loomer, who tells Trump who to hire and fire and Natalie Harp who directs his domestic and foreign policy with his Truth Social account.”

We both finished our first pints just in time as Vicky was serving up a fresh round.

“What’s new in the world boys?” she asked.

“We’re controlled by a human printer,” Camp said.

Vicky looked at me as if I’m the sane one.

“She is 34 years old.”

“You two never fail to surprise me.

The Orange Man Cult

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Once again, the elephant in the room, even at our pub, is the Orange Man in the White House. 

“You know Camp, the ballroom, at 90’000 sq ft, nearly twice the size of the White House mansion, epitomizes Trump’s achievements. The massive hole itself is the most apt monument to his presidency. “

“Indeed, he has proven far more successful at demolishing venerable and respected structures and relationships than building anything new and lasting.”

“The MAGA cult is the most successful cult after the Catholic Church and Islam. It’s a contemporary cult with an ancient playbook: Narcissistic leader that is infallible and never loses, thrives on chaos, has imperial aspirations, sees himself as God-like and is surrounded with sycophants. He enriches himself and his family,” I pontificated.

“Nothing new there,” Camp said. “What is new is that the cult leader is the president of the world’s biggest economy.” 

“What can you and I do to counteract or even fight this cult? It has millions of believers who would drink the cool-aid if asked to?”

“We can be aware of the facts and look for better ways to deal with people. Be compassionate, be real, be truthful and be kind. Try to understand and help out where we can. Stay educated and informed. Don’t be afraid to speak your mind.”

“All noble ambitions Camp but what will it change?”

“Not anybody’s mind that is a follower of the cult, nor will it change the past nor the plethora of lies and conspiracies. Come to think of it, here in Alberta, we have our very own separatist cult led by angry, rich white men.”

“We now have a war that nobody wants, an immigration crackdown that only terrorizes and scares people, voting rights being usurped by the courts and lawmakers, international trade destroying businesses and health policies that prohibit access to freedom of choice drugs amidst false claims about vaccines and medications. Is that what people really want?” I said, downing my pint in one big gulp.

“You need to relax my friend,” Camp urged me. “It’s not healthy to be upset by the news of the day, news that are geared towards negative, sensational outcomes. You need to pay attention to your beautiful wife and garden, to a nice meal or a drink with friends. To hell with the Orange Man.”

Camp of course is right and thanks to a friend who convinced and taught me, I now have discovered making bread. Sourdough bread that is. I have a culture that I nourish and I bake one loaf a week. That’s all we can eat anyway. Costs me about a dollar as in comparison to ten dollars at the store. I told Camp about my new hobby.

“Baking bread is a noble and a satisfying endeavour. Congratulations.”

“What are you guys celebrating?” Vicky asked when she brought another round.

“Baking bread,” I said. “I’ll bring you a loaf next week.”

Ambitions, Goals and Dreams

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            ‘Do you have any regrets Camp, any unfulfilled ambitions or unreached goals?’ I asked my friend after I sat down and had a sip of ice-cold beer. I was bothered by an email from a friend, claiming that we can all plan our lives with what we have and that everybody can live a fulfilled existence. 

‘You know when I was young, I wanted to be a journalist but then I got sidetracked and went to law school until it dawned on me that lawyers only deal with people who have problems. I switched to pedagogy and became a high school teacher for English and Geography. Then I took over a bookstore which curtailed my travel ambitions. Instead, I read a lot and was and am always fascinated with all the aspects of our little planet.’

            ‘Really Camp, I had no idea you were on track to become a lawyer. I dreamed of becoming a priest because they only worked on Sundays or a clown because they made people laugh or a pilot because every boy wanted to be one. 

            ‘You were lucky to be born into a society that allowed you to make choices,’ Camp said. ‘To have dreams and fulfill them; have ambitions and achieve them; to have goals and reach them is not everybody’s domain. The boy in the Gaza strip who can only go to a madras where his main subject is the Koran or the girl in Afghanistan who cannot go to school at all because she is a girl do not have the same playing field as the boy and the girl who were born and grew up in Demark or Switzerland or Canada.’

            ‘But still, even the poorest campesino in Guatemala or the young woman who was just forced into marriage at the age of 14 have dreams, but can they fulfill them, having no choices and no chance to change their situation,’ I said.

            ‘You don’t have to be rich and especially talented to reach your goals but you have to be able to choose: To study, to marry, to have kids, to travel or even to run away. That means the postal code of where you’re born is the most important factor in your life’s trajectory.’ 

            ‘Can all of us chase our dreams and ambitions and if we cannot reach them, are we condemned to a humdrum and unhappy life or drown in addictions like drugs, gambling or watching daytime TV?’ 

‘I think not,’ Camp shook his head.  Ordinary lives have highs and lows and can be special, like falling in love, the joys of children, the arrival of grandkids.’

‘One thing is clear to me,’ I said. ‘It’s a privilege to be able to choose and a cardinal sin not to take advantage of chances and opportunities. We learn from trying and sometimes insights and solutions come from times of chaos and turmoil. At the end of my day I want to be able to look back with no regrets and no stone unturned.’

‘Do you feel lucky to be born in Canada,’ I asked Vicky while she deposited two fresh cold ones. 

‘Yes, I do but luck is relative,’ she said. ‘Everybody born into a loving home is lucky. The rest of life is a matter of wit and circumstance.’

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