Yesterday, I went to Shut Up and Write mini-marathon, and I added another 2,000 words to The Psychic Out of Time, and it felt amazing. I’ve been having a hard time writing lately, and I felt a great deal of apprehension going in. The words came easily, though, and I like what I wrote. It will need some adjustment, but it’s good stuff.

I went into this morning with a lot of positivity, but as I read that Trump now plans on blockading the Strait of Hormuz in response to Iran’s blockade, I’m worried.

Social media isn’t taking it very seriously. Lots of jokes. So many jokes. But I honestly think this could be the trigger for a much larger conflict.

The three largest exporters of oil are Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the US. Saudi Arabia exports about 50% more oil by volume than the US and Russia individually. While it may not be the majority of oil going through the Strait worldwide, it is a substantial amount of oil, and the biggest importers are China and Japan.

So, let’s put the jokes aside and look at this seriously.

The Strait of Hormuz is supposed to be international water. Iran blockading it breaks international law, and is not good. Extolling fees from people going through those waters is a problem for the world, but Iran is likely in a sympathetic position since it’s a retaliation to US aggression.

A US blockade of the Strait would have 2 main economic side effects. The first, which is what Trump is most likely looking at, is that it would strangle oil from the middle east, crippling that economy. They can’t sell oil that they can’t ship, and so a full third of their economy goes away. That’s devastating, and would make the US an even bigger enemy.

The second economic side effect is the impact to China. Around 55% of China’s oil imports are from the middle east, and China is the largest oil importer.

In one stroke, Trump makes enemies of the world. China will call Trump’s bluff, because it won’t stand to have half its oil supply removed. The interruption to China’s oil imports will impact China’s industry, raising the price of… well… everything, worldwide.

And it can all be laid at the feet of Trump, which congress still hasn’t removed.

If you want to piss off someone enough that they’ll start throwing punches, fuck with their money. That’s what a US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz will do. Trump is an idiot, and doesn’t see how interconnected we all are. How much we rely on each other.

Today is Sunday, and while I don’t do much with organized religion anymore, I still believe our calling is to love each other. The example (for me) is Jesus, loving everyone enough to die for their sins, even those that don’t deserve it. True, unconditional love, for everyone. It’s aspirational, and I fall short. Especially when I think of Donald Trump, who I truly cannot love.

On Easter, Trump posted to his favorite social media site a threat to take place on Tuesday. He said he was going to bomb Iran’s infrastructure, and he threw in a cute little “Praise Allah” for good measure. Real asshole behavior, especially on Easter.

Today is Tuesday, and Trump started the day with threatening open genocide and more war crimes. Destroying infrastructure that primarily hurts civilians and non-combatants is a war crime, after all. Trump’s exact words: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”

For a little while today, I wondered if that meant he was going to nuke Iran. He’s always wanted to use nukes, and has openly said that we should use them. Would people be stupid enough to do it if he told them to? How bad could this get?

Thankfully, predictably, Trump backed down and extended his threat out 2 weeks. Terms have been floating around that the Strait of Hormuz will open, and Iran and Oman will split $2M per ship through the strait.

The best case scenario now is that the deal goes through, which is abysmal but better than the end of the world. A few weeks ago, the Strait of Hormuz was international waters, free for all to use. Now it belongs to Iran. The US spent the lives of good servicemen, billions of dollars, and gained absolutely nothing.

Trump Always Chickens Out. In this case… good!

It should be clear to everyone that Trump should not be President. He has made things worse. Even Tucker Carlson, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Alex Jones spoke out against Trump today. Trump’s crazier than the craziest people.

A Texas republican publicly spoke out against Trump’s threat of genocide. That’s good. Some number of Democrats called for Trump’s removal, either through impeachment or through the 25th Amendment.

Some buzz on social media around the 25th Amendment was that it’s harder than impeachment, since impeachment just requires a majority of the House and then 2/3 of Senate. The 25th requires the VP, members of the cabinet, 67 votes from the Senate, a 4 leaf clover, and maybe a doctor’s note or something. I’m making a little bit of a joke of it, but the point is that it is harder to remove the president via the 25th Amendment.

I didn’t see people talking about the different requirement for the 25th versus impeachment. Impeachment is generally a legal case. The target of impeachment did some illegal thing, The House acts as a grand jury, and then the trial takes place in the Senate. It’s a legal proceeding, whereas the 25th is about whether or not the President is fit hold office, both physically and mentally.

Things Trump has said make me believe that he is not fit for office, so the 25th probably applies. As for impeachment, is it legal for the President to threaten genocide? Is it legal for him to usurp the powers of the purse and the war powers from Congress and do what he’s done in Venezuela and Iran?

This Congress is the least capable legislative body in our history. And if they don’t do something after what happened today, it will continue to show Trump that he can do whatever he wants, because the government body that is supposed to provide checks and balances is unwilling to rein him in, even when he does the unforgiveable.