In my meditation today I found myself feeling sorry for Trump, Musk, and cronies.

I read Nicholas Kristof writing about the world’s richest men taking on the poorest children, and doing it with lies.  “The actual amount of U.S. assistance spent on condoms for Gaza in recent years appears to have been not $100 million but $0.”

“Musk lambasted U.S.A.I.D. as “a criminal organization.” In fact, many of its employees have risked their lives in the best tradition of public service. The U.S.A.I.D. Memorial Wall honors 99 people killed while working for the agency in places such as Sudan, Haiti, Afghanistan and Ethiopia.”

Kristof continues: “By my calculations, Elon Musk probably has a net worth greater than that of the poorest billion people on Earth. Just since Donald Trump’s election, Musk’s personal net worth has grown by far more than the entire annual budget of U.S.A.I.D., which in any case accounts for less than 1 percent of the federal budget. It’s callous for gleeful billionaires like Musk and President Trump to cut children off from medicine, but, as President John F. Kennedy pointed out when he proposed the creation of the agency in 1961, it’s also myopic.”

We all benefit from this aid.  Again, how can we not feel sorry for people who live without empathy or heart.  It’s one thing to look at how money is allocated, and another to lie and destroy.

I read about the peaceful protests yesterday and exult in the words: Joy is another form of resistance.

On Monday, we had 70 mph winds, and I watched the redwood stand steady as its branches swirled about.  There may be lots of inane and cruel swirling these days but we stand centered and strong in the cultivation of connection, joy, and the ground beneath our feet, and the air we breathe and share.