In between working through an ugly project deadline, I made the mistake yesterday of watching/reading news AND reading a post-apocalyptic novel about what happens in the US when the power grid goes down. Yikes. Things are bad in the US, real bad. We have a lawless, corrupt President and a Congress that encourages/enables him. A Congress that just passed a budget incorporating the largest transfer of wealth in history, from the poor to the rich. A President who sees no problem with selling access to the office for a million bucks per dinner guest (a crypto dinner), or a “gift” of a $400 million jet from an Arab country whose state religion declares us an enemy. A “Department of Justice” that is pointedly ignoring the orders of their own judges and renditioning (kidnapping) people to prison camps in places like Sudan and El Salvador. No checks and balances, no rule of law, no one to stop the corruption, no one to stop the Christo-fascist white supremacy cult calling themselves MAGA. This doesn’t end well.

All this bad news and a book about the end of US civilization makes me seriously consider buying some property outside the US as a safety measure. Southern France would be my first choice, but if the shit hits the fan fast, you might not be able to get there. Mexico or Canada are driveable, and factors like access to water (Baja is a hot desert, not a great place if you’re worried about the basics like food and water) and political stability make Canada the clear choice. Though Ensenada would be real easy – great wine, seafood, same climate as San Diego…I suppose I could learn Spanish.

But I’m thinking Vancouver or Victoria. Drive across the border or take a ferry, and you’re in a safe(r) place with a decent climate. But then there’s the matter of family, grandsons. So maybe a defensible hideout somewhere in KY. You’d still be under the rule of the wanna-be-king Trump family, but if you kept to yourself and stayed off-grid, it wouldn’t matter much. But…I don’t really want to live the Amish life. And buying a place anywhere and outfitting it for the end of the world is expensive. Generators, water tanks and filters, food supplies, a defensible perimeter, guns…it all adds up.

Bottom line, Convict Donnie and his Cabinet of sewer clowns are hell bent on ruining a good country (the one we live in), and there’s no simple way to escape.

Though a quick search in Ensenada shows some promise. Vaya con Dios…