Sunday Reflection

"If the people have no bread, let them eat cake." -- a quote famously, if apocryphally, attributed to Marie Antoinette, Queen of France (11/2/1755 - 10/ 16/ 1793) before the French Revolution toppled her and her husband, King Louis XVI.  Marie Antoinette was well known for her extravagant lifestyle: she never wore a gown twice and was known as "Madame Déficit" for her profligate spending while France was experiencing severe economic problems. 

If all of this sounds familiar, one has only to look at the delusional, narcissistic oaf in the White House who is busy making it in the image of a royal palace, complete with a massive gaudy ballroom and gilded ornamentation for the Oval Office and Lincoln bathroom, and who threw a "Great Gatsby" themed party at Mar-a-Lardo as SNAP benefits lapsed.  Meanwhile, because of his mismanagement and cruelty, Americans are going without food, having their health insurance premiums skyrocket, paying more for groceries and clothing due to his vindictive tariffs, and watching armed thugs attack people on the streets of American cities.  Another apocryphal quote by Louis XVI's predecessor Louis XV also may be timely: Après moi, le déluge / After me, the flood.

(image: Donnie Antoinette / Gavin Newsom, AI)