The Meaning of Good
/By Don Varyu
Jan 2026
our years ago this month I published a piece called, “America is Over.” Some thought it alarmist. Some urged me to turn it into a book. In any case, even doubters back then will now admit we’re closer to demise than at any time since World War II.
In the foreground of all this stands a mentally deranged dictator named Donald Trump. He is a liar and a cheat and a grifter and a bully and an abuser and a hypocrite and a megalomaniac. But of course, none of this is news. He’s always been those things. But he has a deft skill; he ignites outrage, but then forces us to lose focus because of yet another of his assaults on humanity and integrity. In the face of his daily whirlwind, it’s nearly impossible to identify a single moment that portends the arrival of our worst fears.
But now we have one; a crime that defines him and directs the future of America.
The murder of Renee Nicole Good by ICE agents this past week was shocking—but not for long. Already, it is effectively in the past. In its online Sunday paper, the New York Times prints an entire section of ideas, opinions, observations, and criticisms. On the Sunday following the Good killing, more than two dozen pieces were published online--but not one relating to Good. Trump moved the media focus elsewhere.
The reason that murder is so significant is that it invites a future of terror, free from restraint. A thug with a mask and a gun decided without reason to kill an innocent woman guilty of nothing more than driving her car. Before full details could possibly have been known, dictator Trump and immigration witch Noem were inventing them. They didn’t care what happened to Good; they only cared what might happen to them.
The citizens of Minneapolis did not want those ICE thugs there. The mayor did not. The police chief did not. The governor did not. Only Trump did. Now every ICE agent anywhere conducting any type of crime knows that the dictator has his back. And in the unrealistic event he should be charged and even convicted, he knows he will be granted a presidential pardon--just as the January 6 terrorists did after beating and murderering law officers. The irony is staggering.
It is now open season on Americans.
hat can be done? There are two general possibilities. Neither carries a high probability of success.
The first is external. It could come from the previously co-equal branches of government. But Republicans in Congress are weak and traitorous—and most of them know it. They will not stand up.
The majority of Supreme Court justices stand behind their robes of propriety, pretending that they are not the ones who ushered in all this in the first place by granting Trump full presidential immunity. Where once “no man is above the law,” now one defiantly is.
We also cling hopefully to the idea that mass protests force Trump to change course—even a little. He does not listen to them; he condemns them.
But wait! Maybe you think the midterm elections will change things? I’ve heard all the analysis. The House alone is not a solution, but at least a roadblock.
Just watch what’s going to happen. He will claim victory via fraud or miscounts no matter what the vote count says. Even if those results are ridiculously slanted against him, he will ignore them. What’s to stop him? Should we expect the FBI to fairly investigate? Or the Justice Department to issue indictments? The law enforcement and legal systems will remain silent. He will just ignore the noise. What enforcement mechanism would even an emboldened Congress or Supreme Court have?
he second possibility is internal demise; a correction from within. I mean this in two senses. In the first, this could come as an actual physical threat to Trump’s life from someone inside his circle. To be clear, I am not endorsing this; only stating factually that during WWII, no less than seven assassination attempts against Hitler were planned. However, every one was either abandoned or bungled. Not everyone close to a dictator is duped by him.
And “internal” could also strike literally from within. Trump is a man who turns 80 in June. People at that age and in poor health cannot count on any reliable continued life expectancy.
Those who deeply believe in both the power of prayer and the promise of America might consider a strong request upstairs.
ut even beyond Trump, the seeds of our demise will not be eradicated. Many of those enabling him see the murder of this innocent woman not as “a murder of Good,” but rather, “a good murder.” This is the message they’ve been itching to deliver.
Demise is upon us…awaiting a cure. And the murder of Renee Good is the event that should make this abundantly clear.
