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.
She said in a social media post: “It’s the most truthful and easiest thing to say that Oct. 7 in Israel was horrific and all hostages must be returned, but so is the genocide humanitarian crisis and starvation happening in Gaza.”
Rep. Greene also voted to strip $500 million of American funding from the Israeli military. One of the people who voted with Greene on that issue was Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, the only Palestinian in Congress.
Truly mind-boggling.
See Robert Jimison, “MAGA Stalwart Calls Gaza Crisis “Genocide, New York Times, (July 30, 2025), p. A6.
That’s right. I received a solicitation for money from Speaker Mike Johnson. The message talked about how awful the Democrats (a.k.a. socialists) were, and how the Republicans were making things great.
Luckily an email was provided. I sent in a message telling Mike that I would give him money when the Republican Party dumped the pedophile Trump. I doubt if I will hear from Mike again.
Reflect on this. If Trump dies, we get Vance. If Vance dies, we get Johnson. It almost makes you hope Trump serves out his term. Incidentally, today 1/8 of his last term is over. Hang in there.
Frank Kendall was the Secretary of the Air Force during the Biden Administration. He is now an attorney. He recently wrote “The Trump Administration Brings Fear to America,” in which he discusses Trump’s efforts to suppress dissent and spread fear among colleges, students, government employees, even members of Congress.
These people will not be thrown in jail or sent to another country, They may lose their jobs, but they won’t be killed or deported, at least not yet.
However, there are groups of people in this country who have much more to fear. Kendall writes: “A few years ago, I represented a woman seeking asylum because she had been persecuted by her country’s government. When an immigration judge granted her the right to remain in the United States indefinitely the assumption was that she was finally safe. Now she must live in fear once again.”
We are now Chile under Pinochet, Argentina under the Generals, Russia under Putin. I hear people say “This is not who we are.” I am afraid it is exactly who we are.
See Frank Kendall, “The Trump Administration Brings Fear to America,” New York Times, (July 24, 2025), p. A 22. The conclusions are mine.
Political columnist and author Ezra Klein has written that when a dominant and powerful group foresees that it is losing its controlling position in a democratic system, it has two choices. It can make an appeal to the groups it is losing, reaching out to broaden its coalition. It can also repress the party that it sees as a threat, limiting the suffrage, discouraging voters who might support the other side, and winning by intimidation.
The Republican Party is full of people who worry about “the great replacement,” who are concerned that Republicans (and often times white people) don’t have enough children, and think that Christianity and conservative dominance are under threat.
Some Republicans have successfully attempted to broaden their support. Mike Dewine in Ohio and Larry Hogan in Maryland are two Republicans who won elections with a broad coalition. Even Trump has courted “tech bros,” although many of that group are also rich, into crypto, or believe Trump will advance their wealth and power.
The main Republican emphasis, however, seems to be to limit the ability of Democrats or third parties to win elections. Attacks on voting by mail or demands for citizenship papers are obvious methods to limit voting, but also consider the conservative boost in “Citizens United,” the push to gerrymander districts, and the efforts to undermine an independent press. Even structural features in the Constitution help to maintain Republican dominance–red Wyoming gets two Senators; blue California, with about 60 times the population of Wyoming, also has two. That system also affects the electoral college. And if a party can win both Congress and the Presidency, it can appoint fanatical followers to the federal courts.
Yeah, it looks bleak.
I’m tired of posting about Trump. Just looking at him makes my skin crawl. So tonight I’m writing about a much more pleasant subject.
Did you know it is legal in Pennsylvania to pick up road-killed deer for personal consumption? There are a few stipulations. You have to be a Pennsylvania resident, and you must notify the Game Commission within 24 hours. They will issue a permit number for the meat along with instructions on what to do with the inedible parts, like antlers.
I learned this today in an article by Ben Moyer in the latest issue of the Pennsylvania Game News. Use your common sense, of course. Do I really need to say the carcass should be fresh?
By the way, the same rules apply to road-killed turkeys.
