I was sick. "Babylon Berlin". Immigration. & Trump's scandals.

Earlier this week I caught a virus & got sick. 
The first night I was sick, I slept for about two hours then I woke up drenched in sweat. I had to get up, drink water, and move to a couch in another room. Once there, I put the fan right next to me. 
But even then, I could only sleep for about another two hours or so. Then I would wake up sweating & I would have to drink more water. This went on all night.

Unfortunately, the night I got a sick I was watching the Netflix detective series "Babylon Berlin" about the German city in 1929. The last episode I watched (before getting a fever) was when communists were being indiscriminately killed on the streets by the cops. So all night, I had the same nightmare involving shooting all around me, me pinned down behind a shield, & dead women lying next to me. It seemed my body was fighting against the virus all night, & my mind was stuck creating a nightmare to "help me" visualize the battle.

The next morning, (in its battle against the virus) my body seemed to be doing ok , nevertheless, I took a day off from work and I binge-watched "Babylon Berlin". Fortunately, the virus left my body by the next day, so it's all good now: thank God. 
I also finished watching "Babylon Berlin" and was surprised by how compelling the series is. I especially liked the realistic portrayal of the chaos in the city & in the country in that particular & important moment in time. Especially the delayed but effective unmasking of the Nazi character in the series.

Makes me think about the chaos going on in this country right now. It's not easy to make sense of Trump's many scandals and it's hard to gauge the damage being done to our institutions and to the credibility of the United States. For example (just from the past week), Trump withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, Trump's personal lawyer being paid off by U.S. & Russian entities, the steady political attacks on the FBI, and the constant stories of deportations.

Speaking of that, it's difficult to understand the effects of Trump's deportation policies, especially for people like me who I admit live a somewhat sheltered life, living in a mixed-race central Phx neighborhood away from the raids & its consequences. 
Still, as I've said before, I like to watch all kinds of news (except Fox news) including the Spanish-language noticieros (Univision & Telemundo). & I've been surprised at the increasing number of stories involving the deportations of undocumented immigrants. & even some immigrants who actually have a right to be here: like the brothers Simon and Fabian Rodriguez whose dad is a U.S. citizen: 

"U.S. Citizens Arrested and Sent to Immigration Detention Centers"http://www.kveo.com/news/local-news/us-citizens-arrested-and-sent-to-immigration-detention-centers/1170521901

Even so, Trump apparently still isn't happy with the pace of deportations. So he berated the female Chief of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen (in front of his whole cabinet) for 30 minutes! 
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/10/us/politics/trump-homeland-security-secretary-resign.html
"WASHINGTON — Kirstjen Nielsen, the homeland security secretary, told colleagues she was close to resigning after President Trump berated her on Wednesday in front of the entire cabinet for what he said was her failure to adequately secure the nation’s borders, according to several current and former officials familiar with the episode."

In addition to deportations affecting immigrant communities & causing labor shortages in some industries, as well as the recent withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, the Trump administration has kept Obama's drone attack policies and they've actually expanded on it:  

"The administration has quietly expanded how the U.S. uses military force around the world. The consequences are grave. Why is no one paying attention?"
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/05/09/donald-trumps-shadow-war-218327
"The numbers of special operations forces operating in Syria, Somalia, Yemen and the Sahel has reportedly increased..."

Politico asks why is no one paying attention? Most likely because we have grown comfortable with a mostly volunteer army fighting our wars. In the meantime, I (unlike most "poor people" who actually spend their money trying to survive), a single guy, in the words of republican senator Chuck Grassley, spend my time & money on booze, women & movies: 

REPUBLICAN SENATOR: TAX CUTS SHOULDN’T HELP POOR PEOPLE WASTING MONEY ON “BOOZE,” “WOMEN” 

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/12/chuck-grassley-women-booze-movies 

And I distract myself watching TV & Netflix. All this diverson seems to be well-coordinated to keep the U.S. population in an inattentive disposition. And it sounds like a good "Alex Jones" conspiracy, but one which Alex would never expand upon because right now he's a republican partisan & a Trump fan.

Nonetheless, as I mentioned before, if you want to momentarily distract yourself from the chaos going on in this country right now, I recommend "Babylon Berlin": it's a good show.