MARCH 31, 2025 – As long-time followers of this blog site are aware, I’m capable of “serial posts”—not to be confused with “Post cereals.” The longest on record featured my “inheritance”; the runner-up was an account of my “Grand Odyssey,” travels around the world now 44 years in the rearview mirror; taking the bronze medal for duration was the story about our family pet (the indomitable collie, Björn). Numerous other, shorter series have been included in this daily writing project, which is about to enter its seventh year.
But all that is water over the proverbial dam. Outside the serial bowl, each day I must strike a match, put the flame to tinder and hope it catches fire.
Lately, of course, there’s been plenty of combustible material lying around; an over-supply, actually—more than enough to fuel a major blaze. The biggest challenge is to confine the campfire before it explodes into a whole forest-consuming blaze.
Take Signalgate, for example, and the laughable (if it weren’t so serious) “liar, liar, pants on fire” syndrome running rampant across Trumpworld as grown people who supposedly graduated from college talk as if they hadn’t yet entered kindergarten—intellectually or emotionally.
Or . . . consider the whole business of Trump’s tariff so-called policy. It’s easy for Trump to state but impossible for us to understand: On-again, off-again, on-again – “What’s the point of this? I’m just fooling you, I don’t care what you think. Lutnick? He’s a nice guy and he likes tariffs and he’s a billionaire but not as big a billionaire as me. Tariffs are just a negotiating tactic—for what, I don’t care because it doesn’t matter, they’re just a good negotiating tactic. Yes, I mean it, no I don’t mean it. Watch the Dow plunge 700 points in one trading session, then bounce back 412 the next—isn’t it fun to watch a bouncing ball? All I have to do is say, ‘Tariffs!’ and I’m in yo-yo land! The people, they love yo-yos, and no one makes yo-yos go up and down better than I do, which is why I like tariffs so much, which is why the people love me.”
Or . . . for those worried sick about the direction of the country, we have the fate of the CDC, the NIH, NOAA and wholesale layoffs of scientific researchers.
Or . . . the ultimate corruption of American politics: President Musk throwing millions at the state supreme court race in Wisconsin (after having spent $250 million to buy the White House and win billions in contracts), all of which has many Americans asking, “Is what he’s doing legal? And if it is, shouldn’t it be outlawed?”
Or . . . extortion orders directed at law firms.
Or . . . fascist detentions and deportations.
Or . . . if we tire of domestic disruptions, we can go to Greenland to watch melting glaciers freeze up instantly whenever J.D. Vance decides to visit and wherever Old Glory is unfurled.
Or . . . Professor Stavrou’s latest lecture in his undergraduate course at the University of Minnesota, Russian History from Peter the Great to the Present. This evening’s two-and-a-half-hour lecture covered the period from 1928 to 1953, which was dominated, of course, by the role of Joseph Stalin, one of the most powerful figures in all of history. The experience of such sustained and intensely focused learning for that length of time is exhilarating. Invariably, from the beginning to the end of class my brain is hermetically sealed off from all possible distractions—including, but not limited to, the “news items” listed above.
One measure of Professor Stavrou’s inspiration as a scholar and educator is the motivation he’s given me to read as many books as possible on his recommended reading list. The latest additions: the three volume biography of Stalin by Stephen Kotkin, Vol. I – Stalin: Parodoxes of Power, 1878 – 1928 (976 pages), Vol. II – Stalin: Waiting for Hitler, 1929 – 1941 (1184 pages), and soon available at your nearest bookstore, Vol. III – Stalin: [???] 1942 – 1953 (at least 1,200 pages). Thus far Professor Stavrou’s book recommendations have been excellent, which is why Kotkin’s magnum opus is now on order.
I can’t say when, but I’m certain that my reactions to “Stalin: The +3,000-page Biography” will find expression on this site. Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, there’s always new material in the shape of “breaking news” and another month and a half of lectures by the inimitable Professor Theofanis Stavrou.
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© 2025 by Eric Nilsson
1 Comment
Excellent summary of he who would be president