America Goes To War

I'm heading back to the US with a distinct feeling of deja vu.

Hi,

Just a short note I wanted to send out, and I guess just a place for us to all have a talk and a vent in the comments.

I woke up just now, on the day I fly back to the United States, to the news that the US has entered Israel’s war with Iran. Donald Trump is a live wire and I cannot fucking believe we’re doing this again.

I’m 42, I was around for the whole weapons of mass destruction thing and the ensuing war in Iraq which killed an estimated 200,000 civilians.

“In particular, God.”

I left the US 10 days ago, heading to Manchester to see my best friend Rosabel and my favourite band Nine Inch Nails.

While I was here I worked with a team of lawyers in San Francisco who are bringing a claim against the federal agents who attacked and dispersed journalists a few weeks ago in downtown Los Angeles.

They reached out to me after my Webworm coverage a few weeks back, explaining how their firm had taken action when Trump sent federal agents to Portland during the 2020 protests.

We went over my Visa status and they explained the risks (the Australian man detained then deported from LAX is in the back of my mind), but I went ahead and wrote and signed my witness statement because honestly, fuck all this shit. Masked goons are kidnapping people on the street, escalating their approach — now brandishing silencers, cocking weapons, and pulling pistols.

And now this President — a power obsessed man with the restraint of a toddler, who believes in nothing beyond himself — has thrown the US into another war alongside a regime engaged in a genocide against the Palestinian people.

I am about to head to the airport to head back to LA.

I will reassess things there, but right now my plan is just to keep reporting on things here on Webworm. Thanks for powering this newsletter and being here. Thanks for caring.

“We love you, God.”

And in the .00005% chance any of Trump’s goons pull me aside for secondary questioning, they’re not getting my phone willingly. If they pull you aside they already have their case against you. It’s some hours and days in a holding cell and then a plane back to New Zealand — or maybe I catch some more Nine Inch Nails shows in the UK.

It was a damn fine show and the crowd was screaming the words even louder than usual:

God money / I’ll do anything for you

Bow down before the one you serve / You’re going to get what you deserve

Head like a hole, black as your soul / I’d rather die than give you control

David.

PS: I am making this post public because why hide.