Mme. Defarge
Mme. Defarge's JournalMoral Injury
I recently had my routine annual check in with my primary care physician and when she asked about my general mood I said that I was feeling depressed over “world events” so as to be honest without putting her in an awkward situation. She responded by saying that many of her patients were saying the same thing.
But “depression” doesn’t exactly fit with what I’m experiencing and today I came across this article in The Guardian, which pretty much describes my reaction to “current events.” Maybe it will for some of you as well.
‘Not unique to war’: millions of Americans suffer from moral injury. What’s causing it?
Jo Livingstone
Tue 7 Apr 2026 12.00 EDT
To experience moral injury is to be forced to act in ways or to witness actions that contradict your most deeply held convictions.
You can sustain moral injury in one catastrophic event, like hurting an enemy combatant in an armed conflict you don’t believe is just. It can also appear after a slow crescendo of moral distress, as people who work in slaughterhouses or prisons report. Easily mistaken for depression, moral distress frequently presents as sadness or feeling like a bad person.
In his new book, Moral Injury: When Good Conscience Suffers in a World of Hurt, Michael Valdovinos, a former US military psychologist, points out this “unique kind of stress” overwhelmed medics early in the Covid-19 pandemic who felt they had betrayed their oath to do no harm, and in his own crisis of conscience while deployed to Afghanistan.
https://www.theguardian.com/global/2026/apr/07/moral-injury-us-citizens-michael-valdovinos-book?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
(Contrary to my DU screen name character, naturellement!)
I rest my case -
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100221091157https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/12/california-iran-threat-fbi?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
My deepest fear now is a false flag attack on the West Coast
perhaps as we get closer to our the mid-term elections.
FBI puts West Coast on alert over potential Iranian drone attack on US soil:
Story by Joe Lombardi
According to ABC News, the bureau issued an alert to state and local law enforcement earlier this year, advising increased vigilance over potential unmanned aerial vehicle attacks on undisclosed targets.
"We recently acquired information that as of early February 2026, Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United State Homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event that the US conducted strikes against Iran," the FBI alert said, according to ABC.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/fbi-puts-west-coast-on-alert-over-potential-iranian-drone-attack-on-us-soil-report/ar-AA1Ypk0G
Why the West Coast?
Then there’s this:
Trump Sons Back New Drone Company Targeting Pentagon Sales
By
Heather Somerville
Follow
Updated March 9, 2026 at 8:21 am ET
https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/trump-sons-back-new-drone-company-targeting-pentagon-sales-2f74abca
Obama 2.0?
James Talarico speaks after winning Texas Senate Democratic primary
https://www.youtube.com/live/aOwbs7DwDV0?si=WUYN_Ipy6WN0Ew63
US Emigration and Costume Enforcement?
Portland Frog Brigade headed to State of the Swamp event in D.C.
https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2026/02/portland-frog-brigade-headed-to-state-of-the-swamp-event-in-dc.html
Organizers are calling the State of the Swamp event “The Rebuttal to the State of the Union,” with the Portland Frog Brigade tweaking that to “The Ribbital.”
Dozens of celebrities, politicians and activists are lined up to speak or appear, from Robert De Niro and Mark Ruffalo to U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. The event, set for 4 p.m. Tuesday at the National Press Club, can be live streamed at Defiance.org.
“Boycott Trump’s speech,” a banner on that group’s website says. “Join our party.”
“We’re hoping to steal the thunder,” a Portland Frog Brigade spokesperson told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
I wish I could take credit for the title of this post, but that goes to a very close friend.
Meanwhile in Oregon, a Trump appointed judge shows how it's done!
https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2026/02/oregon-man-gets-more-than-20-years-in-prison-in-international-child-abuse-case.htmlSteven D. Griswold, 44, was arrested in the Philippines in December 2023 and then returned to the United States, where he has been held in custody since.
U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut adopted the sentence jointly recommended by the prosecutor and defense lawyer.
“You orchestrated the serial sexual abuse of a horrific nature against very young children,” Immergut said. “In that sense, you were a predator.”
Sometimes pathological liars accidentally tell the truth.
“Leavitt said. “I will tell you why, and the president agrees with this: Because election security is essential to national security.””
https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/05/politics/tulsi-gabbard-georgia-trump-fulton
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