The sad truth is, there is no plan

Well, the Japanese trade delegation arrived in the United States recently to make a deal. They left empty-handed.

They were frustrated.

Even angry.

They said it wasn’t possible to make a deal with the United States because the United States kept changing the terms of the deal.

They said the United States didn’t know what it wanted.

You know what that means.

There is no plan.

In fact, there never was a plan.

People who say Trump has a plan, that he’s a canny businessman who is playing the long game with the economy, that he’s 10 steps ahead of everybody else, don’t have a fucking clue what they’re talking about. They’re simply externalizing their blind faith that this huckster isn’t lying to them.

I’ve been around for awhile, about 70 years, and I’ve seen a few presidents in my day. Eisenhower, JFK, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump, Biden. Some of these people have been good presidents; some have been lousy presidents.

Trump makes the lousy presidents look like eminent statesmen.

He is, hands down, the worst president ever.

The absolute worst.

Not only that, but he’s an abysmal human being.

And you people who voted for him should never be allowed to vote again. You’re a good argument for requiring a license to vote. The damage Trump has done may very well be irreparable, and it’s your fault he’s there to do it.

It’ll take decades to fix this, assuming it can be fixed. We may never see an America with the leadership, statesmanship and governance worthy of the leader of the free world.

I hate what has been done to my country.

I grieve for America.

About the author:

Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”

Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.

As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.

Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .