'Wake up' America

                     Mourners visit the graves of victims of the recent Minneapolis school shooting. 

'Wake up' America, Gavin Newsom says, warning that Donald Trump wants third term in office

Gov. Gavin Newsom of California revealed on Wednesday that President Donald Trump won’t stop 

sending him merchandise. Specifically, ‘Trump 2028′ hats.
In an interview with Politico’s Christopher Cadelago...Newsom expressed concern that Trump wants 

another term. The proof? “I have two dozen Trump 2028 hats his folks keep sending me.”

I certainly cannot survive a third Trump term. I may not even survive his current term. Newsom sounds as though he might want to be president himself. That sounds certainly preferable to a 3rd Trump term. 

Trump says he has raised $1.5B since 2024 election

If so that's a record for an incumbent president, especially one not expected to run again--or will Trump try for a 3rd

term after all? 

 

Border Patrol arrests 2 firefighters for being in the country illegally as they battled
Washington’s biggest wildfire

This happened in Washington State near the Canadian border. 

What polling shows about Trump's pivot from immigration to crime

Crime is now a bigger concern among US voters than immigration. 

Trump escalates spending fight with Congress, says he will cancel $5 billion

Trump says he is going to withhold spending of 2025 funds until his efforts outrun the fiscal clock. 

He doesn't want shared power; he is determined to seize dictatorial power. Newsome may be right that

Trump is laying the groundwork for unprecedented 3rd term. The man may have dementia; he may 

forget what he was saying in mid-sentence, but his more canny advisers behind the scenes are

guiding him every step of the way. It's a scenario worthy of the Wizard of Oz. 

Wash. Post, Trump tries to wrest spending power from Congress as government shutdown looms

The administration says it can cancel nearly $5 billion in international aid with or without approval from lawmakers under

 a little-tested theory called a "pocket cession."

Reuters, India's powerful Hindu group chief urges three-child families as fertility rates falls.

Did we ever expect to see a leader in India urging larger families? Even 3 children per woman is 

more than the average there these days. In fact, the rate in India has even fallen slightly below 2. 

The baby bust is now moving from China to India, moving all around the world, 

where 2 children has often become a limit, not even an average. 

Partnered women everywhere are entering the workforce and they now know how to prevent having 

any more children. They love their kids, but are finding that 2 are quite enough. Generous childbirth 

incentives have had little effect even in Scandinavia, where they have been widely offered. 

Worldwide, the average birthrate per woman was 2.2 in 2023, and just 1.6 here in the US, which is 

now below replacement, with its own unfortunate effects. This is Malthus in reverse, creating a

society top-heavy with elders like me. 

Only a few African counties are now bucking the trend. Niger, Chad, and Somalia are currently 

high fertility countries; so is south Sudan, where I once had a mission. There, the rate was 5.3 children 

per woman in 2024.

I need to post this right now, as the blog gods keep on interfering, no matter what I try to do.  

Scent of fall in the air

Those capricious blog gods have been giving me quite a lot of trouble lately, prompting me to consider bidding fond farewell to all my cherished blog readers around the world. I've so much enjoyed connecting with each and every one of you, but it's getting quite challenging now to even continue. But let's give it one more try to see if we can still make a go of it. 

Last evening, about 6:30 pm, while I was eating supper at our home in West Virginia, I saw 3 young does suddenly emerge together from a grove of trees, then amble rather nonchalantly across our yard to disappear into the nearby woods. Fortunately, our dog was inside with me or she would have gone crazy. 

A Spanish-English interpretation just request came in, but, of course, I cannot accept it from here: TransPerfect is requesting your availability for an onsite consecutive interpretation session for Asylum/Immigration subject matter in Arlington, Virginia, on Friday, August 29, 2025, from 08:30 AM to 12:30 PM EDT. 

I would have loved to be an interpreter on an immigrant/asylum matter, though, of course, the interpreter is not allowed to intervene whatsoever, which is hard sometimes.

I got a chance to speak a little Spanish today when ordering from a Mexican Restaurant, Mi Ranchito, located right here in Berkeley Spings. When I asked in Spanish where the proprietors were from, they said Guadalajara, near the Pacific coast a little north of Mexico City. How did they ever get here?  

Below is Union Station, only a few blocks away from my old home on Capitol Hill back in Washington, DC. I often used to walk over there to eat lunch or take the metro. 

The National Guard has now taken over DC's Union Station. Why is Donald Trump actually doing all this? Does he even know why himself? 

Flags were flown at half-staff at the US capitol after the deadly school shooting in Minneapolis.

The "right to bear arms" still seems to take precedence in the US over the right to life.

Daily Beast, Citizens Refuse to Indict D.C. Subway Slinger in Blow to Trump  A federal grand jury has refused to hand down a felony indictment for the man who threw a Subway sandwich at a federal agent in Washington D.C. The panel of  citizens rejected demands from prosecutors working for Jeanine Pirro. 

Political observers around the world have ridiculed President Donald Trump’s latest fawning Cabinet meeting, describing the sycophantic display as a carnival of “butt-snorkeling” and “boot-licking”. The meeting lasted 3 hours. 

Members of Trump's Cabinet took it in turns to fawn over the president.

Wash.  Post, Trump critic Bolton concerned by lack of Secret Service protectionVindictively, Trump immediately withdrew Bolton's Secret Service protection after Bolton's book critical of the president's decisons and actions came out. Personal were also items removed from Bolton's home in a 7 am raid. But that did not stop Bolton's negative comments on Trump's actions.

Wash. Post, Bolton continues criticism of Trump foreign policy following FBI raids“Donald Trump’s Ukraine policy today is no more coherent than it was last Friday when his administration executed search warrants against my home and office.”

Trump has indicated that he now wants to expand use of the death penalty. He certainly needs to explain why. 

NY Times, 2 Weeks After Trump-Putin Summit, Russian Air Attack Kills at Least 18 in Kyiv

The strikes, which hit an apartment building and buildings used by European governments, were the largest on the Ukrainian capital since the Alaska summit.

Wash. Post, Israel’s unprecedented slaughter of journalists in Gaza

Now, how about having Israeli leaders tell the world why? Isn't this a war crime? 

NY Times, Rabbis Emerge as Growing Voice of Criticism of Israel’s Tactics in Gaza

Israel's reputation worldwide has certainly plunged to a new low, though Trump continues to give Israel unstinting moral support as well as generous financial aid, ignoring its continued atrocities against civilians and journalists, making our country complicit in these crimes.

Hudson Institute, Speak Up for Jimmy Lai, China’s Most Dangerous Dissident — And for Hong Kong’s Liberties

                          Multicolored living succulents have been created that actually glow in the dark. 

                                            And how about some yellow wild flowers to close the post this time?

Remembrances, refusals, resistance

 

My late son Andrew's birthday was September 4. He would have been 58. For me, losing a child has been worse than losing a spouse, sibling, lover, or friend, though I have lost all 4 during my long life.

Now, at age 87, I am hoping to go

next, as I cannot endure any more such losses. Let others cry over my grave. 

Donald Trump may now be getting only tepid support from ordinary voters, but Republican lawmakers are throwing their full weight behind him. 

Daily Beast, Voters at a town hall meeting in Missouri demanded that their Republican congressman denounce President Donald Trump’s “lies”—and told him to get his head “out of Trump’s a--.” Rep. Mark Alford was the latest GOP lawmaker to host a contentious live event during the August recess despite party leaders advising their caucus to avoid in-person meetings with constituents.

C-Span, President Donald Trump’s personally appointed sycophants were not so subtle in their sucking up to him during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday afternoon. In an introduction described as being akin to North Korean state TV, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer invited Trump to travel to the Department of Labor and see his “big, beautiful face” on a massive banner she had hung from it.

Wash. Post, Social Security official says DOGE compromised Americans’ data Chief Data Officer Charles Borges said sensitive data was uploaded to a digital cloud, risking the security of critical personal information for more than 300 million people.

Wash. Post, Trump’s move to take over the Fed adds more uncertainty to the economy

By seeking to remove Fed governor Lisa Cook, the president has taken his boldest step yet in a campaign to bring the independent central bank under his control.

Wash. Post, Trump wants expanded death penalty, longer control over police in D.C.

Call for greater use of capital punishment is likely to draw fierce political and legal pushback.

Yes, expanding the death penalty will certainly get pushback from me, now living in West Va, which has no death penalty, but where Trump's allies may try to re-install it. Here my vote counts for more than it did in DC. 

The president also wants a review now of all Smihsonian exhibits. He disliked this painting and wants it removed. 

Here's an image on display at the Smithsonian that Mr. Trump really doesn't like. He wants it removed.

I have to stop now, as this posting is giving me a lot of trouble. Will I have to give up the blog?