The search for the missing American crew member of the downed fighter jet continues apace but so far without success. Although the Americans are not unaccustomed to losing the occasional aircraft, this is usually as a result of an accident or even ‘friendly fire’ and it is quite rare for an American aircraft to be shot down by hostile fire. Yesterday, the Americans lost not only their fighter jet but a ‘Warthog’ used in the rescue and a couple of helicopters were fired upon and damaged. All of this does rather puncture the Trump claims of complete domination of the skies and points to the fact, disturbing for the Americans, that their aircraft may still be vulnerable to Iranian air defence systems particularly if the latter are of the mobile variety. Trump is keeping tight-lipped over the American losses ad may well be contemplating a way in which he can extricate himself from a mess of his own making whilst claiming complete victory. Meanwhile, there is a part of the American liberal podcast media which is claiming that Trump has lost control of his bowels and they have an incident captured on film in which officials have to usher everybody quickly out of the room. One American specialist has even gone as far as to suggest that Trump’s dementia is advancing at the rate where he only gives him another 4 months left. Some psychiatrists and reporters have speculated that Trump may have mental health impairments, such as dementia (which his father had) or narcissistic personality disorder. Such claims have prompted discussion about the ethics and applicability of the Goldwater rule, which prohibits mental health professionals from publicly diagnosing or discussing the diagnosis of public figures without their consent and direct examination. However, video is emerging practically every day of Trump either falling asleep or giving vent to random thoughts and non-sequiturs in the middle of his rambling speeches, so it is no wonder that speculation is rife. There are several schools of thought concerning recent sackings, such as Bondi the former Attorney General. One explanation is that Bondi was sacked because of her dismal appearances before Congressional committees where she refused to answer pointed questions. Another line of argument is that Trump sacked her because she failed to pursue his political enemies through the courts with sufficient vigour. A final line of argument is that when things are going badly, Trump will lash out and sack almost anyone so that they and not he can take the blame – certainly, the last explanation fits in with the ‘Narcissistic personality disorder’ from which many would claim that Trump has suffered for years. The investigative psychiatrist Robert J Lifton once explained to us that Trump is a solipsist, as distinct from the narcissist that he is often accused of being. A narcissist, while deeply self-infatuated, nevertheless seeks the approval of others and will occasionally attempt seduction to get what he wants (I think of the French president, Emmanuel Macron). For Trump the solipsist, the only point of reference is himself, so he makes no attempt even at faking interest in other people, since he can’t really see them from his self-centred position. Trump’s absence of external connection is self-evident: his treatment of the ‘other’ – from his own family to his tenants, his political rivals, the victims of the Los Angeles fires or the displaced people of Gaza – displays not only a lack of empathy, but also an emotional blindness. How else could he tease out loud about dating his own daughter, Ivanka? How else could he so cruelly insult former president Biden in his inauguration address, with Biden seated just a short distance away?
The day has turned out to be an interesting one. In the morning I spent a certain amount of time putting the Italian/English lyrics to some of the Mozart arias in my little presentation and I now have only two more to go. In the late morning, I went into town and picked up my newspaper and then went on to my ‘Gifts of Love’ horse sanctuary outlet where I met up with the proprietor and a volunteer and we had a lovely long chat. On my way back to the carpark, I popped into the Salvation Army and saw some trainers of a good make in quite good condition which I picked up for £4.00. The ticket machine in the car park would not accept any of my coins so I got a ‘free’ 30 minute ticket ad explained on it how the machine was malfunctioning thus saving myself £2.50 so on this reckoning I had only paid £1.50 for my trainers and if they last me until the end of the summer, I shall be quite content. When I got home, I cooked myself a meal of pork mince with onions, potato and green beans trying to ensure my protein quota is reasonably high. After lunch (and a rest), as we had a small burst of sunshine, I got round to cutting the back lawn where the grass seemed incredibly high but it was easy enough to cut. A U3A member of the Classical Music Group and I have been ping-ponging messages to each about getting access to musical tracks and I passed on to him what I hope is useful advice about utilising YouTube but also information on the next U3A trip out to Derbyshire. My Italian friend from down the road gave me a swift telephone call as I had volunteered to take her to church as and when she wanted. It happens that Easter Day is the anniversary of her husband’s death so I am more than happy to take her to the later service which is held on Sunday morning. Afterwards, I might be able to give her a little view of the rolling photos of Meg’s life to which I can add a sound track supplement of a Handel aria ‘Waft her, angels, through the skies’ so I will take my iPad along with me to church in the morning. It goes without saying that I am looking forward to the next day if only because I can start to indulge in some chocolate tasting again. I know that parents buy Easter eggs for even their (grown up) children but I have noticed that this year, children seem to be doing the same for their parents (myself included) but perhaps this has gone on for years and I haven’t really noticed!