Oh my god.
I think I get it.
Trump is Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now, and we are Captain Willard, headed upriver to see the madness of the man and his rabid cadre.
Consider the similarities:
*A globular egomaniac with an odd dome.
*White militants who “carry out any order, however ridiculous” (John Millius script).
*Impotent yes men.
*Incomprehensible military goals.
*A nefarious adviser. 
*A delusional journalist.
*Fake Time magazine covers.
How did that flick end again?
America has a chip addiction.
And I’m not talking about Pringles. I mean, sure, I love ’em. Who doesn’t? Some even say you can get a fever for the flavor. But it’s social snacking only. I can stop anytime I please. Get off my back about it, ok? Why’d you even bring it up? I don’t need a nap, you need a nap! 
I forgot what I was talking about… Oh yeah! I’m talking about the chips that sit on our shoulders. The ones that make for such good drama, inspire athletes, drive the determined to greatness.
It can also make you a frightening asshole.
For years, we’ve abided the assholery, even glorified it. What Hollywood entertainment does not hinge on the little guy being wronged, only to mete out home-cooked vengeance? Charles Bronson, Jackie Chan, Jason Statham and innumerable more discovered that revenge is not a dish best served cold, but with prospects for a sequel.
And now we see politics trying to similarly franchise itself. This time, by posing as a one-size-fits-all costume for the aggrieved.
It’s hard to imagine how a chip addiction occurs across every demographic of the country. But the president made it clear in political rallies this summer for his very pale fanbase: Democrats are stealing your country; Immigrants are stealing your jobs; Black athletes are stealing your flag’s dignity.
You, the Pouter-in-Chief admonishes, should be more pissed about getting screwed. At a recent rally in North Dakota, he employed the tired-but-dependable stratagem of “Pssst, people are talking about you and they think you’re stupid.”
“We got more money,” Trump said, though I’m not sure the median income in North Dakota. “We got more brains, we got better houses and apartments, we got nicer boats, we’re smarter than they are and they say they’re the elite. You’re the elite, we’re the elite. Let’s call ourselves, from now on, the super elite.”
That super-elite status has energized the super-entitled. Frat boys are hitting Pier One for protest tiki torches. Jordan Peterson, a Canadian professor who specializes in neo-psychobabble, has become a bestselling author with a singular message: Whitey needs to man up. Fox News, in particular, has found ratings gold in redefining the GOP as the Grand Old Pariahs. Tucker Carlson actually hosted a segment on the societal assault on American men. Building glass ceilings, you see, is apparently hazardous duty. You could get a nasty shard.
It’s even seeped into sports. Free agency has made the hometown athlete as quaint as a phone booth, except more rare. We prefer pulling against a team than rooting for one. Tony Kornheiser, a talking head on ESPN, insisted in a segment that the New York Yankees needed to be atop the standings, for the good of the sport. “Baseball,” he said, “needs someone to hate.” 
Maybe. Personally, I don’t see a shortage of people to resent. Starting with those Pringles critics. How I loathe them.
To hell with Trump. To hell with Congress. To hell with Supreme Courts.
Time for a reason for tomorrow.
1. Many of the rescued Thai boys did not know how to swim and were given anti-anxiety medications before being helped out by divers.
2. It took 11 hours for a diver to make the five-mile round trip to reach the boys.
3. All the while, hundreds of gallons of water were being pumped out of the cave — the equivalent of 48 Olympic-sized swimming pools in a 75-hour period. In an effort to stop the flooding, authorities also dammed streams that flowed into the caves. Natural shafts that dumped water into the caves were also plugged.
4. Divers used “Heyphones,” a 20-year-old technology, to communicate with the rescue base. The ultra-low frequency transmitters are able to penetrate through rock and send divers’ locations and messages.
5. Approximately 90 divers were involved in the rescue. About 50 were foreigners.
6. Rescuers transferred about 100 oxygen tanks to the cave to help improve the air supply. Thai diver PO Saman Gunan had been helping transfer the tanks when he got into difficulties on the way back and did not have enough air himself. He died after losing consciousness in one of the passageways and his colleagues could not revive him.
