Looking Back to Get Ahead
The week of 3/01/2026
Another long week in America at the hands of the most corrupt, venal, incompetent, and bloodthirsty regime in our history. Following is a recap of everything we’ve covered as America and Israel’s war of choice against Iran enters its second week.
But first, I think we need some Emergency Art.
Although Ronda and I had met twice between December 2022 and January 2025, when she sent me an email on Inauguration day saying she was interested in getting to know me better, it didn’t feel like we would really meet in person for the first time until March 20, 2025. The first two occasions, after all, had been, for me, work events and the handful of emails we exchanged in the interim were brief and formal if not impersonal.
A week after that January 20th email, though, we started talking on the phone frequently and at length—ultimately every day for an average of three hours. Our feelings for each other developed and deepened quickly, but because I was in Arizona and she was in D.C. it seemed risky for either of us to articulate our feelings in any explicit way. So we started using other people’s words—song lyrics, poems, arias—to get those feelings across.
Three weeks after we started our marathon conversations, Ronda sent me this Mary Oliver prose poem, “Don’t Hesitate”:
If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happened better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.
Because I wasn’t paying close enough attention to the message, I blew right past its import and responded with a rather grim Mary Ruefle aphorism that had nothing to do with the content or the spirit of Oliver’s poem.
When I re-read it later (I was re-reading every text and email Ronda sent me as often as I could), I realized my mistake and wrote:
The first time I read [“Don’t Hesitate”], I didn’t at all process the phrase [“very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins”]. I had no recollection of it whatsoever. Because sometimes the thing I miss, is the thing I most need to find.
We currently live in a time in which there is so much noise, so much distraction, and so much about which to be legitimately concerned it’s increasingly easy for many of us, I imagine, to miss the thing we most need to find. Sometimes we just need to look more closely or, if we’re lucky, have somebody else help us to see.
And here are last week’s posts, interviews, and Daily Recaps.
Sunday, 1 March, 2026
For over ten years, Donald has made promises to the American people he either cannot keep or had no intention of keeping. He has presented no clear or coherent rationale for launching a war of choice against Iran. What are the potential dangers and consequences of being taken to war by a government we cannot trust?
Monday, 2 March, 2026
A lethal combination of incompetence, hubris, and greed is driving this disastrous war that the United States and Israel are waging against Iran. The Trump regime continues to be unable (or unwilling) to articulate why this war is being waged or how it will redound to the benefit of the American people. A majority don’t even understand why it’s happening and do not support it.
Tuesday, 3 March, 2026
Donald was supposed to bestow the Medal of Honor on three American veterans, two of them posthumously. Before getting to that, however, he talked at length about the gold drapes in the Oval Office. Worse than that were the people in attendance who nodded approvingly and laughed along with him as he bragged about his ballroom, a $400 million vanity project, while children, civilians, and members of our military were being killed in his war of choice. There is a certain class of people in this country who have decided there is no line Donald can cross.
Wednesday, 4 March, 2026
Donald won’t rule out putting boots on the ground in Iran and warned that a much larger wave of strikes is still ahead.
While Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other higher-ups were killed in the initial joint strike. Donald admitted those strikes also killed all of those identified as our government’s preferred choices to replace the existing regime increasing the likelihood that Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, the preferred choice among Iranian hardliners, is almost certain to succeed him.
In Conversation with Norm Ornstein
Wednesday, 4 March, 2026
My friend and fellow Nerd Avenger, the amazing Norm Ornstein, talk about the recklessness of Donald’s war of choice in Iran and the impact it could have on the region and the world.
We also discuss Immutable, an extraordinary documentary directed by Charlie Sadoff and Gabriel London about the Washington Urban Debate League and the Matthew Harris Ornstein Debate camp Norm and his equally amazing wife Judy started in the wake of the tragic death of their son, Matthew, who himself was a national debate champion. The film is in part about the transformative power of debate and the incalculable difference it makes when our children feel listened to.
You can watch it here:
Thursday, 5 March, 2026
Murderer and war criminal Sec. of Defense Pete Hegseth presides over another war crime and, as oil prices continue to rise, the Trump regime does Vladimir Putin another solid. As the war expands throughout the region, the situation becomes increasingly volatile.
This Week’s Daily Wrap-Ups
Donald ordered Saturday’s sweeping attack against Iran after weeks of pressure from Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabi, and Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. The Pentagon says more U.S. forces are deploying to the Middle East as the war with Iran escalates. Donald said the campaign could last four to five weeks and possibly longer. The US had identified possible candidates to take over Iran, but they were killed in the initial attack. A new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that only 27 percent of Americans support the U.S. strikes on Iran.
Reports indicate over 1,000 civilians have been killed in Iran, including more than 180 children, as a direct result of American and Israeli attacks. Six U.S. troops have died since the conflict began. Global markets are rattled and stocks continue to fall while oil and gas prices surge. Iranian drone and missile attacks have struck multiple locations across the Gulf region, disrupting air travel and forcing temporary restrictions at several major airports,
In its fifth day, the conflict with Iran is rapidly widening across the region. Secretary of State Marco Rubio initially suggested the timing of the U.S. strike on Iran was tied to Israel’s plans to attack. Donald, on the other hand, publicly framed the war as a pre-emptive move to stop Iran’s nuclear program and eliminate an imminent threat that does not exist. The Justice Department quietly removed more than 47,000 Epstein-related documents from public access including summaries of FBI interview connected to allegations involving Donald.
Security Secretary Kristi Noem will step down at the end of March after serving just over a year in the role. Donald has nominated deeply unqualified Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin to replace her. A key House committee voted Wednesday to issue a subpoena to Attorney General Pam Bondi. The Strait of Hormuz — one of the world’s most critical oil shipping routes — has effectively been shut down to vessels linked to the United States, Israel, and Western allies.
Independent media is more important than ever. My goal at The Good in Us is to stay above the fray, connect the dots, and bring you clear-eyed analyses and assessments that help you negotiate these chaotic times. It is free to subscribe, and adding your voice to this amazing community is a great way to help us reach more people. If you are able, a paid subscription is a phenomenal way to make sure I can keep expanding Mary Trump Media and speaking truth to power. I will never pull punches, and I will never be beholden to anything but the truth.
Thank you for everything you do.
Emergency art is necessary in these tumultuous times. How beautiful to hear that the connection between you and your wife joyfully bloomed through art. “Joy is not made to be a crumb”, is a much needed reminder to us all. We’ll NEVER let the soulless bastards steal our joy.
A quote of yours stuck with me and I’m dutifully spreading it around wherever I can (always crediting you):
FASCISM KILLS ART.
ART KILLS FASCISM.💥
What is he doing in the photo??????