A week of conferences back in the U.S., back in the U.S., back in the U.S. of A.

Dropping, Jet-lagged, into the always-on news cycle has been an absolute assault.  Really an absolute riot.

Many of my countrymen watch with dread as a horde approaches from the south. Armed with old luggage and old sacks. Like zombies, or an approaching storm.  A hurricane or typhoon hell- bent on destruction. Or maybe winter is coming. And white ( or brown rather) walkers are plodding ever northward.

Troops will be dispatched.  The Nights Watch. We need a Jon Snow. Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses. We will lay waste and turn the sands red in accordance with our new and greater values. Extreme vetting is no longer enough. Only a head on a pike will suffice.

This is a drama that will unfold next season.  

And then an assault from within. Explosive devices!  Aimed at those in apparent opposition. A frantic search over days. Who could be responsible? Surprising to me is that rapidity with which a conspiracy theory takes hold, that opposition figures are bombing themselves in an effort to make the other side look bad.

This in a world where strong men send agents with polonium and nerve agents to silence dissent. Or even, kill and carve up opposing voices in a back room never to be heard from again.

Then the week climaxes in another shooting in another place of worship in another town. Another quanta of lost souls. Another vessel for all of America’s thoughts and prayers.