When this old world starts getting me down
And people are just too much for me to face
I climb way up to the top of the stairs
And all my cares just drift right into space
On the roof, it's peaceful as can be
And there the world below can't bother me.
The Drifters, 1964
Trump was up on the White House roof today, he said to view the new parking lot, formerly the Rose Garden. He didn’t stay up there too long, however. Evidently a large crowd had gathered and was yelling,”Jump, Jump.”
The governor of New York attended the funeral for the Bangladeshi cop who was shot to death last week. He was also Muslim. Out of respect she wore a black headscarf to the service.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas made fun of her and questioned her motives. Would somebody please report this asshole to ICE? He has to be here illegally. I believe he’s from El Salvador, but if not, close enough.
Here is a random collection of headlines:
Andrew Cockburn, “Playing Dead: Do the Democrats really want reform,”, Harper’s, Aug. 2025.
“Stop Whining and Take On Trump, Obama Scolds Democrats at a Fund-Raiser,” NYT (July 16, 2025), p. A22.
“Why Is Democratic Favorability at a 35-Year Low?” The Liberal Patriot, July 30, 2025. (On-line newsletter.)
Josh Dawsey, et.al. 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America. Penguin Press, 2025.
Michelle Cottle, “Kansas Shows a Path Forward for Democrats,” NYT,
(July 20, 2025), p. A9.
“Slotkin Pushes Democrats To Show ‘Alpha Energy,’” NYT, (July 20, 2025), p. 19.
Dash Lewis, “Opportunity Knocked: Lily Geismer on the Democratic Party’s Failed Vision for the Working Class,” The Sun, (Aug. 2025).
“New Crop of Democrats Is Sick of the Status Quo,” NYT, (July 13, 2025), p. 24.
I have more, but I think we get the picture. No one has THE answer. Maybe there is no answer.
This year it should be fun. I don’t work the booth until Friday evening, but I’m looking forward to it. Tariffs, Epstein, the big ballroom, the labor statistics, “Let’s go fat Brandon”–so much to toss back if any MAGA people give me a hard time.
I notice our Republican Congressman Ryan Mackenzie, friend of billionaire tax cuts and Trump lapdog, also has a booth. I might have to stop by that one on my way home.
Paving the Rose Garden, pushing tariffs on Brazil because of an internal legal decision, attacking Canada, appointing obviously authoritarian judges to the courts, dismissing honest civil servants, redacting Trump’s name from the Epstein files–the list goes on and on and on. Big important matters, small petty actions, personal vendettas carried out with government power, illegal deportations, personal financial gain, lies about science, attacks on public broadcasting, strengthening China, harming long-standing allies....
Big stuff. Small stuff. Silly stuff. Things that are just stupid. Things that will change the future of our planet. And the Republicans in Congress fall into line. And the networks grovel. And the law firms cave. And the universities bend. And the MAGA cult cheers.
There are some islands of resistance. People fighting back against ICE. People organizing demonstrations. Reporters who still speak the truth. Men and women who refuse to be afraid.
Be one of those people. Speak out. Fight back. You don’t need to stand in front of a tank, but don’t be complicit.
The Smithsonian removed all reference to Trump’s impeachments yesterday. Never happened.
Then today Trump was disappointed in the labor statistics. They didn’t reflect well on his administration. The statistician who came up with the data was fired. Maybe the next report will be more to his liking.
You don’t know how lucky you are, boy, back in the U.S.S.R.
(Apologies to John, Paul, George, and Ringo.)
When their “Big Beautiful Bill” is criticized, Republican members of Congress are quick to point out that they have eliminated the tax on tips. They really care about us.
Here is something they never talk about. Why not raise the federal minimum wage for all workers, including tipped workers, to a level people can live on? Why are Republican congress members depending on customers to make up for the lousy wages tipped workers are now getting paid?
Those members of Congress also never talk about the fact that the “no tax on tips” ends in three years. Incidentally, the 14% cut in billionaires’ taxes will be permanent.
