What gets me about the whole "surprise" politics cycle is how often it's fake surprise. A court does the thing it was built to do, a billionaire guts a newsroom he bought for influence, a government backs a war after months of saying the quiet part out loud, and people act stunned like this fell from space. I don't think cynicism helps, but memory does. If someone keeps showing you what side they're on, believe them early, not after the damage is done.