That whirring sound you hear

That’s Ronald Reagan, the President who famously uttered the words “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” spinning in his grave.  The President who said “trust, but verify.”  That guy.

Then there was President George Bush, who, when Saddam Hussein seized Kuwait, put together a coalition of over 30 nations and rolled back the Iraqi aggression. 

Yes, I can remember Republican Presidents who stood up for national sovereignty and opposed dictatorial governments.  This one now says, “Comrade Putin, feel free to seize Ukraine.  We will even help you do it.”

"They want to cut your children"

“Six states, I mean, they could do whatever they want and they do.  Your son leaves as Jimmy.  And comes back home in three days as Janet.  And they don’t even ask you.  Most people don’t believe that, you know, they think it’s like, an exaggeration.  It’s not.”

–United States President Donald J. Trump

This is beyond a lie.  It is total bullshit. 

Remember the old saying?  A lie travels seven leagues while truth is still pulling on its boots.

Here’s the truth.  No American school has sent out a child for gender reassignment. Not one.  No school has performed gender reassignment surgery in a school.  Not one.

On the other hand, so far in this century, hundreds of children have come out of schools in body bags.  Hundreds.

Another letter to the President

President Donald Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Washington D.C. 20500

Dear Sir:

I received a letter today over your signature explaining that I am receiving a payment of $90.00.  Since you signed the letter I assume you paid for this out of your own pocket.  Sir, I thank you so much, sir.

I will put the money to good use.  I am adding $10 of my own money and then sending a check to James Talarico.  It won’t match the hundreds of millions that Mr. Elon Musk is putting into races around the country, but it is the best I can do at this time.  And $100 is so much better than the $10 I had originally intended to send.

I also don’t want to appear greedy, but if you would like to send me another $90, I could forward that amount to Abdul El-Sayed.

Sincerely, and thanks again, sir,

Roy Christman

Worse than Neville Chamberlain

In an opinion piece today Thomas Friedman compared Donald Trump to Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister who went to Munich and gave Hitler a piece of Czechoslovakia, an act which led Hitler to believe he could get away with further aggression.  As Friedman pointed out, Chamberlain at least was trying to achieve peace.

Trump’s betrayal of Ukraine and Zelenskyy has a different purpose.  It is to lower diesel fuel to help a few Republican congress members win their elections.  It is the complete betrayal of a democratic ally, and harms a nation we were pledged to protect in return for it giving up its nuclear weapons.

It gets worse.  Just as Chamberlain led Hitler to an awareness of the weakness of Britain and France, Trump’s actions will encourage further aggression by Russian and perhaps China.  There is a term for giving “aid and comfort” to an enemy.

Has your life gotten better recently?

I’d like to ask all those MAGA people how the deportation by ICE of all those “illegals” has improved their lives.  I know that jobs have opened up in meat packing plants, in certain construction industries, in senior care homes, and in California lettuce fields, but I’m not sure how many MAGA types have rushed to fill them.

If inflation has gone down, or data center construction has been reduced, or the war with Iran has been won, or our alliances have been strengthened, or our mass shootings have been ended, I am unaware of that.  Are we a stronger country?  Are we a more decent country?  A more moral and just country?  No, and no, and no.

We have become a cruel and evil country.  One nation, under God, with cruelty for people who live among us.  

Today was a day for a rally urging people to vote.  That isn’t enough.  If you vote for enablers like Mackenzie or Susan Collins or any Republican Senate or House candidate, you are complicit with ICE and all it is doing.

Not on the front page

We all hear about Trump aiding Russia in its war against Ukraine, the Iranian debacle, the ballroom and the reflecting pond, the ICE murders, and the refusal to release the Epstein files.  What we may not read about are the hundreds and hundreds of decisions that take place by way of regulation changes or executive orders.  Here are just a few:

Home health care workers who help the elderly by preparing meals or administering medications or assisting with toilet use may now be paid below the federal minimum wage, currently $7.25.  (Times News, July 22, 2026, p. 7.)

English is now the official language of the U.S.  (New York Times, Mar. 4, 2025, p. A15.)

The military publication “Starts and Stripes” which since World War II has given troops information without censorship must now “focus on warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability, and ALL THINGS MILITARY.”  (New York Times , Jan. 17, 2026, p. B-5.)

Millions of acres of national forest land, including forests in national parks, will now be open to off road vehicles.  (New York Times, June 9, 2026, p. A15.)

Logging will be expanded on old-growth woodlands.  (New York Times, Aug. 19, 2026, p. A20.)

The E.P.A. will eliminate its scientific research arm. (New York Times, July 20, 2025, p. A24.)

The E.P.A. removed the fact that human activity is driving climate change from its website.  (New York Times, Dec. 10, 2025, p. A11.)

Trump is asking for $152,000,000 to make Alcatraz a prison again.  (New York Times, Apr. 5, 2026, p. 15.)

And so many many more.

"Musk"

I am not planning to see the four-hour documentary on Elon Musk entitled, appropriately, “Musk.”  I don’t want to spend four hours of my remaining life watching a movie about that jerk.  

Evidently I’m not the only one who dislikes him.  In dealings with his first start-up, Zip2, he was given a $22 million buy out to leave the company.  Some years later Peter Thiel of PayPal dumped Musk from PayPal but gave hime $250 million in parting.  

Imagine a guy so unpopular that people will give you millions to send you away.  That says something, especially when you are sent away by a creep like Peter Thiel.