Should President Bonespurs salute a soldier"

In a word, no.  Although the President is Commander-in-Chief, the President is in civilian clothes.  According to armed forces regulations, the President is not required to salute.  In the past, generals who became Presidents, like Washington and Eisenhower, did not use the hand salute when meeting soldiers.  

The first President to salute troops was President Reagan, who during World War II made propaganda movies.

I will say this.  When the President is wearing a baseball cap and dead soldiers are being unloaded from the plane and passing in front of him, it might just be appropriate for him to take off his cap.  

 

Just to remind you how a real leader speaks

     We shall not flag nor fail.  We shall go on to the end.  We shall fight in France and on the seas and oceans; we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air.

     We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be; we shall fight on beaches, landing grounds, in fields, in streets and on the hills.  We shall never surrender and even if, which I do not for the moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, will carry on the struggle until in God’s good time the New World, with all its power and might, sets forth to the liberation and rescue of the Old.

Winston Churchill June 4. 1940

And then there is this:

“And sadly, there will be more [deaths] before it ends.  That’s the way it is.”

Donald Trump, earlier this week

 

Religious exemptions for measles vaccines

Spartanburg, South Carolina, is experiencing the largest measles outbreak to hit the U.S. since 2000.  One of the reasons is that people are getting “religious exemptions” for vaccinations for their children.  I’d say this was really Darwinian natural selection at work, except that it is happening to children who have no voice in the matter.

Let’s get something straight.  You do have freedom of religion.  You also have the right to be stupid, as many voters demonstrate far too often.  On the other hand, your religion may be restricted if it harms children or other people.  

Yes, if you are an adult, you may handle poisonous snakes in church.  If God loves you, maybe the snake won’t bite, although my advice is not to carry this too far by pinching the snake’s tail.  On the other hand, if you are a believer in “spare the rod and spoil the child” and then beat your kid with a bull whip until his back is lacerated and running with blood, you will be arrested for child abuse.  And you damn well should be. 

Let’s take this to its ridiculous limit.  Child sacrifice may have been permitted, even mandated in Mayan times, but NOT TODAY.  You can be cited if your kid is not in a proper seat belt, no matter what your religious belief.  You should not have a legal right to put your kid in harm’s way by denying that kid life-saving medical treatment.  I don’t give a damn what your religion says.

Kristi Noem and the Arrival of Spring

 Yesterday the first red-winged blackbirds of the season were feeding in our back yard.  The snow is almost melted.  A warm rain is falling tonight.

And Kristi Noem is no longer head of the Department of Homeland Security.  Now there’s a breath of fresh spring air.

Abusing women online

Germany, as you may know, has tough social media rules.  J. D. Vance has called those policies “Orwellian” and “lunacy.”  The Trump administration thinks that rules against antisemitism and racial slurs undercut free speech.

Now Secretary of State Rubio has banned two women from the group “Hate Aid” from entering the United States.  The group helps women demeaned on the internet. 

Rubio says the women are part of a “global censorship-industrial complex,” whatever that is, and if the women entered the U.S. it could have “serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”

This is the same administration that tried to get Jimmy Kimmel off the air, that put out a list of words and phrases like “transgender” and “climate change” that could no longer be used in government documents, that wants to remove certain books from schools and libraries, and that went after college students who carried signs in support of Palestinians.  Yeah, that group, so quick to defend free speech as long as it involves demeaning women.

I was about to write “amazing,” but it isn’t.  It’s the Trump administration.

See Adam Satariano, “Barred over Helping Women Abused Online, New York Times, (Mar. 4, 2026), p. B1, B6.

Preview for November's election

Because of a screw-up in the election procedures in Dallas, a judge in Texas extended the polling in Dallas for two hours after the official quitting time.  The ruling, as I understand it, only affected the Democratic primary.

Then Texas Attorney Ken Paxton, who is also a candidate for the U.S. Senate, went to a Texas Supreme Court judge and appealed the ruling.  That judge then said the votes of anyone after seven o’clock would have to be segregated.  There is a good chance they won’t count.

Republicans, who are constantly crying that the elections are rigged, rig elections.  I have yet to hear any Republicans complain when they win.  Elections are only rigged when they lose.

Hey Bro, THAT’S CALLED LOSING.  

Wait.  They will try all kinds of subterfuges in November.  We must be on guard.  That’s their motto:  “If you can’t win legitimately, cheat.”  It’s part of their mission statement.

The California Top-Two System Backfires

In 2011 California adopted the “top-two” system.  In the primary election the top two voter getters run in November with no possibility of a write-in.  I thought this system was un-democratic.  It meant that third parties like the Greens and Libertarians would never be on the fall ballot.  Many Democratic legislators, however, supported it, thinking Democrats would benefit.

This is what happens when you put short-term partisan interests above fairness and democratic values.  On June 2 the state holds its primary.  Polling shows five Democratic candidates for governor in a range between 14% and 10%.  No other Democratic candidates has more than 5%.  Undecided is at 10%.

What all that means is that the top two candidates will most likely be two Republicans.  Remember–no write-ins.

So liberal California may end up with a Republican governor.  FAFO.

See “Ballot Access News,” (Mar. 1, 2026), p. 1.

Did we win?

My New York Times was not delivered today.  No magazine.  No book reviews.  No Metropolitan section.  No Opinion section, which I really miss.  No Style section, but I really don’t care about that one or the section on real estate. 

But the front page–the news:  I depend on that.  So what happened?  Did we set up a new government in Iran?  I heard that the President, or whatever they call their Supreme Leader, was killed, but is there a functioning government?  Are we planning to install one?  Did we get all the oil?

I’d like to know.

A day that will live in infamy

That’s what if felt like this morning when I heard the news.  An attack right after negotiations.  No warning.  Except this time it kinda feels like we are the Imperial Japanese forces.

Where to send detainees

 A federal District Court judge in Boston ruled on Wednesday that it is illegal for ICE to send detainees to a country that is not their own country.  ICE policies are already cruel and unconstitutional in so many areas, but one of the cruelest is to send deportees to countries to which they have no connection, no relatives, not even a familiarity with the language.

Unfortunately the Trump administration has had a history of ignoring judicial orders or appealing them again and again.  

Let’s all celebrate our 250th.  We have so much to celebrate, don’t we?

Ya dance with them that brung ya–Part II on John Fetterman

The recovery took longer than we thought.  Initially he had trouble speaking.  He stepped back from the leadership role many of his supporters assumed he would take.  Some of his actions might best be described as “performative,” like wearing a hoodie to the Senate, which to some Pennsylvanians seemed representative of the way we dress, but did not advance any legislation.

And he did dumb things.  Driving when he wasn’t supposed to and getting into a car accident.  Failing to take his meds.  Feeling suicidal, but not resigning from the Senate.  Alienating his staff.

And it got worse.  He made a trip to Mar A Lago to visit with the newly elected Trump.  He has said his best friend is Sen. Britt from Alabama, perhaps not the worst of the MAGA clan, but certainly not the brightest Senator.  He refuses to criticize ICE and the deportation of immigrants who in many cases are in this country legally.

He supports the Republican bill to require voters to have birth certificates or passports in order to vote, even though voter fraud is a myth promulgated by the President and unsubstantiated by hundreds of recounts and studies.  (I wonder how many of the residents of Braddock have their birth certificates or passports.)  He backed President Biden when it was obvious that Biden would be unable to serve out another term or even run a campaign.

I generally approve when members of Congress cooperate with their opponents for a good cause.  I’m impressed when politicians like Marjorie Taylor Greene could reach across the aisle and work with Democrats demanding the release of the Epstein files.  I also understand why a Senator from a bright red state, like West Virginia’s Sen. Manchin, would not line up with a Senator from Vermont or Massachusetts.  Fetterman, however, is not reaching across where it matters, and Pennsylvania is not a red state.

If Fetterman is having mental or physical issues from the stroke, he should resign his seat.  If he has changed his politics, he should resign.  I recently received a letter from his campaign asking for money for fellow Democrats.  That’s a nice gesture, but he is costing the Democratic Party far more than the money he will bring in.

What a disappointment.

Ya Dance With Them That Brung Ya–Part I

That’s an old Texas saying often used in a political context.  It means that you will remain loyal to the people who have elected you.  You don’t turn your back on your supporters, even if it might be in your short term interest, or you had your head turned by a more attractive dance partner.

Senator John Fetterman has forgotten that rule.  Before he ran for the U.S. Senate, he had visited Carbon County on at least three different occasions, twice to speak to a club then known as the Carbon County Democrats for Change, once to a “petition party” to gather signatures. 

He spoke of his efforts to rejuvenate the Rust Belt town of Braddock, mired in crime and a victim of industries fleeing to foreign countries.  He had tattoos listing when murders had occurred in Braddock, and he obviously cared about working families, immigrants (his wife is an immigrant), and he certainly did not look like the slick professional types we so often see. running for office.

In short, he impressed many of us, and when he ran for the U.S. Senate in November 2022. he had the support of dozens of Democratic activists in Carbon County.  We sent out postcards, put up yard signs, and canvassed our neighbors.  When he had a stroke days before the election, we pressed on, assuming that the press releases from his campaign were truthful and that he would soon be back to his old self.  Even his opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz, wished him well and didn’t question his ability to recover, at least not publicly.

Tomorrow:  Then what happened...

Trump's State of the Union

I didn't watch it, but I'll give you odds it won't go down as one of the great orations in history.

On the other hand, my sock and underwear drawers have never been better arranged.

A.I. company Anthropic takes a stand

The Artificial Intelligence company Anthropic told American Defense officials “...that it did not want its A.I. used for mass surveillance of Americans or deployed in autonomous weapons that had no humans in the loop.”  Sounds reasonable to me.

Our alcoholic tin-hat Secretary of “War” then noted that the Pentagon just might declare Anthropic a “supply chain risk” and sever all ties with the Defense Department.  

I’m not surprised.  These are the same people who order pilots to fly back to shoot people clinging to a fishing boat in the ocean.

The info for this post was taken from an article by Sheera Frenkel and Julian E. Barnes, “Tensions Rise Between U.S. And Anthropic,” New York Times, (Feb. 20, 2026), pp. 1, 18. 

Google AI Overview

I have an Apple Computer.  The Web Browser is called Safari.  If I type in “Antietam Battlefield,” the first thing that pops up is the Park Service website for the Antietam National Battlefield.  Fine.  The facts are there.

However, if I search for “What happened at the Antietam Battle?” up pops a “Google AI Overview.”  I don’t want a goddam AI overview.  I didn’t ask for it. 

So I type in “Google AI Overview” to find out what is happening.  I get this:

“Google AI Overview (formerly SGE) uses generative A-I to provide concise summarized answers at the top of search results for complex queries, offering quick multi-step reasoning with links to source websites.  Available in select regions, this feature is integrated into searches and cannot be turned off, though it can be bypassed using the ‘Web’ filter to show only text based links.”

This is annoying.  I didn’t ask for this.  I don’t want this.  I don’t like AI, and I don’t know enough to use the “Web” filter to bypass it.  

I am not the only person annoyed by this.  See Brian X. Chen, “A.I.Is Bringing You A Personalized Internet.  You Have No Say in It,” New York Times, (Feb. 20, 2026), p. B1, B5.  The article points out that when you use a Chatbot, Google and Meta will use your conversation to target ads to your interests.  If you mention that you like to go hiking in the snow, you might get ads for cold weather gear. 

This is scary stuff.  Google’s share of the global search market is around 90%.  

I think there is something called DuckDuckGo.  Can I use that?  Does that track me?  I’m need to call my tech guru Debbie.

6-3; could this be a spring thaw?

About two weeks ago an 80-mile-long crack opened up in Lake Erie, crossing the lake diagonally.  It was about a mile wide.

I haven’t seen or read the tariff decision.  I haven’t even read a good analysis, but it does feel that a 6-3 vote giving the President a setback may be a crack forming in the ice.  When the six includes two members who were appointed by Trump, that feels like a thaw, like a warming breeze.  

Of course, it could be the excuse Trump needs to launch a war against Iran or do some other stupid thing.  Still, 6-3.  Not bad. 

Curses for the 21st Century

Remember “A plague on both your houses.”  I know you’ve heard it, but you might not remember it’s from “Romeo and Juliet.”  Three witches also cursed Macbeth, boiling all sorts of disgusting ingredients in their pot.  But those are so medieval.  Here are some more up-to-date invectives you might want to hurl:

May Social Security go bankrupt six months before you turn 65.  

May all your co-workers be MAGA.

May you be stuck with a Cybertruck no one wants to buy.

May your parents watch Fox News.

May you have a cat that needs to take a pill.

and this one that hits really close to home:  May you have a family member who doesn’t know how to text.

Credit goes to Bev Potter, “Updated Curses for the 21st Century,” Funny Times (March 2026), p. 20.

Setting Congressman Ryan Mackenzie straight

Congressman Ryan Mackenzie

121 Cannon House Office Bldg.

Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Congressman Mackenzie:

The newspapers are full of articles headlined “Trump Orders That...” followed by some outrageous action on his part.  Increasing tariffs, bombing fishing boats, deporting kids, making deals for his family members, selling out Ukraine, pardoning drug importers, ending EPA mandates, re-writing history....  You can add to the list yourself. 

And where is Congress when this is happening?  I don’t know.  It seems to be in permanent hibernation.  I have a copy of your letter asking supporters for help in your re-election.  Why on earth would you want to be elected to a body that does nothing?  And why on God’s earth would you place at the top of that letter a photo of you standing and grinning next to a president who is doing everything in his power to make the United States into an authoritarian power.

You do not deserve re-election.  You are obviously not the solution to our country’s problems.  In fact, you are a large part of the problem.

Sincerely,

Roy Christman