March 15, 2026

Sunday. Left at 9:54. Blacksmith. Pavement not completely dry after yesterday's rains, but the sun and moderate breezes out of the south were making good progress. Small gray-white clouds, and when one of them blocked the sun, it was chilly. Merwedekanaal to Vreeswijk. Runners, lots of runners. Beatrixsluis to Irenesluis (new segment) on the dike. Traffic fairly light, although the motorcycles are reappearing. River empty and calm. Birdwatchers. Little activity still at the farms. Wijkersloot to Cothen, to Hollendewagenweg. Achterdijk full of cyclists leaving the city. German stop at the Marsdijk, and home. A comment from the president which should not surprise, but still does: well, yes, Russia is probably helping Iran target American troops, but then again, we're helping the Ukrainians a little, and China is probably doing something similar. All these wars involving third countries, it's little stuff. Nothing, it appears, can come between this president and his Russian colleague. It's hard to think of a tougher challenge for U.S.-Russian relations than Moscow actively helping the country Washington is at war with, the country that's trying to kill American soldiers. But what would anger a normal person for this president is just small potatoes. In order to be outraged, one has to have principles; as a commander-in-chief sending service people into war, among one's first concerns should be to minimize casualties. But principles are for suckers, or hypocrites; and this commander-in-chief can do as he pleases. Leaving aside the rationale for this American-Israeli war on Iran, the immediate response to those actively aiding the opponent would be countermeasures, at least sanctions. Instead, in the face of Russia helping Iran this president has lifted sanctions on Russia's oil trade, a reward, in other words. To emphasize, this is not more of the "normal" behavior where Washington chooses Russia's side in the talks with Ukraine, this is Washington rewarding Russia for helping Iran target its own forces in the Gulf region. That the president doesn't care about what happens to ordinary Iranians (or Venezuelans) he has made clear already; he has now given irrefutable evidence that he doesn't care about American military personnel either. A barren wasteland where basic decency normally resides. There may be another, or additional, explanation besides the moral one, namely that of cowardice. In spite of all their bluster, bullies tend to be cowards. The president simply does not have the stomach for taking on other major powers. Beat up on small countries, certainly, but those themselves capable of inflicting damage, the "strong" leaders he admires so much? No thanks, we'd rather obfuscate, evade, accommodate.