No Duh!

Do we really have to state the obvious?

Dear Friends,

I have been thinking a lot recently about a phrase that was common in my childhood, used when confronted with something so self-evident or so stupid that it shouldn’t even have to be said, let alone experienced.

No duh!

Like when your parents say, “Don’t touch the stove when it’s hot.” Or your teacher says, “Read the directions first.” Or your friend says, “Don’t forget to pick up the pizza.” You’d say, No duh.

The emphasis was firmly on the duh. And if you were really committed, you could fluctuate the pitch with a little verbal vibrato.

“No duh” was the perfect sarcastic comeback. The ultimate expression of exasperation. A way of saying: why are you even wasting my time with something this obvious?

Which brings us to the regime in Washington.

Apparently they never learned the “no duh” lesson. They have turned our national government into a clown car, the gear firmly in reverse, running over norms, competence, and common sense. If someone told you to “look where you’re going,” you might say, No duh. But not these geniuses.

So let’s say a few things that should go without saying.

Before you start a war with Iran, you might want to find the Strait of Hormuz on a map.

No duh.

And if you want your allies’ support, you probably shouldn’t treat them like your beaten dog.

No duh.

Instability in the Persian Gulf means Americans pay more at the pump.

Canceling alternative energy projects makes you more susceptible to oil shocks.

Just like canceling measles vaccines makes you more susceptible to measles.

No duh.

Imposing tariffs drives up prices.

Your trading partners will probably retaliate.

And your competitors, like China, can benefit from the chaos.

No duh.

Americans do not like rogue armed federal forces roaming their streets and snatching their neighbors.

When you say you’re targeting the worst of the worst, that shouldn’t mean the nice woman who has been here for decades and runs the local preschool.

You can’t claim to stand for law and order when it is your own forces creating the disorder.

And it rings hollow to say you support law enforcement when you pardon thousands of violent thugs who attacked police officers on January 6.

No duh.

Selling out your administration to oligarchs who all but publicly admit bribing you does not suggest you are standing up for the common person.

Jeff Bezos wasn’t making an investment in great cinema when Amazon forked over $75 million for the Melania Trump propaganda film.

Calling in an addled and unpopular Elon Musk to break government isn’t going to end well.

No duh.

If you spend years saying there is a government conspiracy to hide the Epstein files, and then you refuse to release the Epstein files people might reasonably assume you have something to hide.

If you attack your predecessor’s age and mental acuity and then confuse Iceland with Greenland while rambling incoherently through your speeches, people might start wondering about your own mental state and fitness for office.

If you fire or drive thousands of competent people out of government, and then you reach a moment when you need government to function competently, you might have a problem.

No duh.

It is a lot easier to break things than to build them.
We should not elect con men, or fools, or rapists.
We should, we must, be better than this.

No duh.
No duh.
No Duh!