Win some .lose some

Since we cannot count on either karma or poetic justice--or even on divine justice--to derail President Trump, we'll just have to wait for nature to take its course, as he's already on a very slippery downhill slope. His mind is slipping now even in mid-sentence.

Donald Trump was never the most luminous bulb or sharpest tack, never the brightest crayon or most useful tool, but now he is dimming and dulling, as happens to us all at age 80 and beyond. And his Daddy is no longer around to advise and rescue Donald, having once gotten him a phony draft deferral for "bone spurs", a malady of the elderly. Now Donald is elderly and may have bone spurs after all.

I've lived under many US presidents, but don't recall any of them ever being challenged as often as Donald J. Trump. Why? Why indeed? He never backs down; he keeps on fighting even after having lost the fight. "Win some, lose some" even happens to presidents, but Trump doesn't accept that. The guy keeps holding onto grudges and refuses to ever take "no" for an answer. He remains obsessed with trying to win battles that he has already lost. He keeps on holding onto to lost causes. He rejects advice. 

Trump seems to be unable to learn anything new. Even as our US president, he is finding out that he is not all-powerful. But he still keeps banging his head against a brick wall. 

Reuters, US appeals court blocks Trump's $400 million White House ballroom project

Wash. Post, Trump says he’ll bring ballroom fight to Supreme Court after lower court halts work 

Trump moving forward with attempt to fire Lisa Cook after SCOTUS setback

He hasn't forgotten about her, no siree!

BBC 

Trump again tries to limit US birthright citizenship with new executive orders

Let's just make this retroactive now and deport Donald Trump to Scotland, his own mother's birthplace, If they will even take him there.

Donald Trump may be "losing it"--in fact, he may have already lost it. 

 Industry groups ranging from construction to agriculture are raising concerns with the Trump administration over its ongoing immigration crackdown, arguing it is undercutting President Donald Trump’s agenda and weakening the economy, according to multiple groups who spoke with CNN and sources close to the White House. Worker shortages have been a years-long problem for multiple industries, but the recent abrupt push to end deportation protections for 1.3 million people who had been legally working in the US and the aggressive immigration enforcement push nationwide are exacerbating an already challenging issue, industry representatives say.

‘It’s been chaotic’: Trump’s immigration crackdown prompts worries from industry groups

The US really needs more workers now; "help wanted" signs are posted all over West Virginia and also in neighboring Virginia and Maryland. Our country needs even more people of working age, not fewer. So why is Donald Trump deporting them and keeping folks all out? They need jobs and we still need them. Supply and demand. Not enough babies are being born and, even if they were, it would take a couple of decades for them to actually  grow up. 

 

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WISN 12 News 

Man finds stolen Picasso etching in Milwaukee property eight years after gallery theft

A landlord cleaning up an apartment after an eviction was surprised to find the Picasso piece hanging behind a bedroom door. 

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Wash. Post, Netanyahu rejects Trump-backed Gaza plan for Hamas disarmament, Israeli withdrawal

“Israel does not accept the 15-point document,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. The U.S. president had touted the Board of Peace plan as a step toward a lasting settlement.

 Netanyahu may not really want a lasting settlement as then he will have to go to trial for corruption after all.

Bibi, who do you think is financing your Iran war? Isn't this the tail wagging the dog? Should folks keep on getting injured and dying just to keep you out of prison?  This is just all topsy-turvy! Donald Trump, wake up!  You are helping this guy out, so you hold all the cards. Who is actually the boss here now? 

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NY Times, The U.S. Scraps These Cars. Central Americans Drive Them Home.

Both old cars and discarded buses enjoy a new life.  I've seen it happen often,

Motor vehicles are not made in Central America, but many have a second life in the region.. Where do you think all those cars and buses on the road around there come from?  They are not made there, but they are being transformed!

Are we now living too long?

 Are we Americans living too long now, becoming a nation top-heavy with elders and without enough young people coming along? As in Scandinavia, it's time to start offering subsides to families with young children. And also time to stop the ridiculous effort by President Donald Trump to limit immigration and even to take away birthright citizenship. Our country needs about every person we can possibly get. JD Vance is setting an example by having 4 kids. Even Donald Trump is setting an example with his 5 kids. at least 5 that we know of. Of curse, it's easier for a man than for woman to have 5 kids.  And it's easier for those who can afford it, which is why child subsidies should be offered to American parents, as in Scandinavia. By keeping people out, Donald Trump is just not doing the math. 

Trump signs orders to limit US birthright citizenship, despite Supreme Court ruling

Donald Trump's executive orders to limit birthright citizenship are not legally binding, but some jurisdictions might try to use them either to deport people or at least get them to move to another state or even to Canada. Canadian authorities might welcome most migrants coming from the US because of a shrinking birthrate there as well. 

Donald Trump, you nincompoop, don't you realize that our US birthrate is falling and that we actually need more, not fewer. migrants, especially those of working age to now help support a growing number of oldsters like yourself? 

Donald Trump has been getting increasingly tired and mixed up lately. 

Even when reading from a teleprompter, Trump garbles his words. He never was as bright as a button nor as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as your neighborhood squirrel, but now he seems to be getting even worse.

Polls show that Donald Trump, though he won election this last time around, is even less popular now than even during his first presidential term, back when Hillary had won thousands more votes, while losing to him in the Electoral College. Trump may even turn out to be the very least popular, the most unpopular, president ever in American history. Even those who voted for him last time, like many folks right around here, think the guy is slipping mentally really fast. 

Many had avoided voting for Kamala because she is a woman, even though nearly all Latin American countries have already had female presidents. Some citizens there even consider them less corrupt than male politicians. 

It's high time anyway after 250 years to jettison the US Electoral College for a national popular vote. then maybe to elect a woman president next time. Could Kamala even make a comeback? I'm a little concerned about Gavin Newsom of California now throwing his hat into the presidential ring, as he is quite a popular governor and so may leave no room for a female candidate to emerge, But elections are matters of the moment and this may be Newsom's moment..

Speaking of seizing the moment, back in the 1990's, I was volunteering as an election observer and a human rights' monitor and being sent all over the world. I was then a single mother fighting my late ex-husband and his new wife to even get child support. They had even taken every penny from our joint bank accounts. So we delivered phone books for cash to buy groceries. At the time, my late mother asked me, "Why don't you just wait until your children are older to go overseas?" The world was then asking me to come right away when my language skills and local connections were most needed, not 5 or 10 years later. So, of course, I answered the call and our family made it through, though not without sacrifices. I hope my kids did not suffer. but they did lose my attention for a time and alternate care was very hard to arrange, as their father and his new wife were unwilling to help out even one iota.    

Washington Post, 

Israelis fear irreversible shift as support from both major U.S. parties slips

Israel is totally dependent on US support: economic, moral, political, and military. But now even some American Jews have become less enthusiastic about supporting Israel and especially about supporting the Israeli leadership. Some 21% of Israeli citizens are not even Jewish and their numbers seem to be growing faster than the Jewish population. What is their political role in Israel? Is Israel now becoming a multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation? 

Israel was established in 1948 by US President Harry Truman as a haven for European Jews displaced by the Holocaust. I also have known Palestinian refugees in the US displaced at that time by the establishment of Israel, so it's really a rather complicated story.   

I have also known Israelis living in the US belonging to Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) which Google describes as "an anti-Israel and anti-Zionist organization that does not represent the vast majority of American Jews." Those folks had never wanted to live in Israel nor did they even support its creation. Here's what Google says. 

Mainstream Jewish Consensus: Major community organizations and demographic surveys show that most American Jews identify with Zionism or hold a baseline connection to the state of Israel, placing JVP outside the mainstream of American Jewish communal life. 

JVP's Stated Mission: Jewish Voice for Peace describes itself as a progressive, grassroots organization working in solidarity with the Palestinians' freedom struggle and opposing Zionism, which it views as counter to universal equality and justice. 

Criticism from Jewish Defense Groups: Organizations such as the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League characterize JVP as a fringe or radical activist group. Critics argue that its platform delegitimizes Israel's right to exist and utilizes rhetoric that crosses over into antisemitism.

I remain torn, both by having friends who are supporters of Israel and others who are opposed to its existence as a "Jewish state." Of course the ethnic make-up and orientation of Israel is evolving. Nothing ever stands still. 

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           Now I live in West Virginia and have no friends here who are either Israeli or Palestinian. In fact, most folks around here have never even been to Washington, DC. and their focus remains completely local. They never talk about Israel or Palestine or anything else beyond: "What's on sale today at the grocery store?" "Have you been to any services at XX church, as my daughter is getting married and may want to hold the ceremony there?" Or "My teenage son just graduated high school and is now looking for a job." "I need to find someone to help care for my elderly mother." Or, perhaps, "Please come by tomorrow morning to have coffee with us. " And so these conversations continue and fill up each of their days. That's just fine, as it's their life, after all.

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 In Japan and South Korea, robot talking dolls have become companions for the elderly, as not enough younger folks have been born. Each successive generation is becoming smaller. Once that starts happening, the trend is hard to reverse. Scandinavian countries have slowed  the decline by offering generous subsidies to new parents. Malthus had long warned about overpopulation, Now who is warning about underpopulation? 

Goodbye now, Donald J. Trump, and thanks for your service

Is the post-Trump GOP already forming? 

None of us will live forever and nothing ever stays the same. Life always moves right along and it's quite a bumpy ride. The present calamity of Trump's lamentable presidency won't last very much longer. This too shall pass.  

Donald Trump's presidential term ends in just a year and a half. Can we expect him to then bow out gracefully? No, probably not. But is he completely done-for as a real political force? Yes, although he will keep on trying to insert himself when and where he is no longer welcome. He will resist being pushed aside, but, thankfully, his influence is already ebbing, even among stalwart Republicans. 

Move over now, Donald J. Trump, your time's almost up. You've already had your allotted 15 minutes of fame. Trump's political decline may proceed in fits and starts, but it's already happening--what a relief! That's not merely my wishful thinking, so mark my words! Just wait and see. We don't have very long now to wait until he's actually gone, gone, gone. Even Republicans are losing faith, but with Republican office-holders still putting on a good front. 

Trump, Hegseth clashed at Camp David over Iran missile depletion concerns

Stockpiles are running low. Who is to blame? 

Trump keeps making threats. The world has stopped flinching.

Israel has been ignoring all of Iran's peace overtures. So how about applying a little tough love there by reducing America's moral and economic support of Israel? Trump could do that right now, as his bromance with Netanyahu has already run its course. Both men are on their way out, though Trump may not realize yet that he himself is all done. But Trump still has economic leverage right now over Israel, our vassal state. Nor are American Jews as supportive of Israel as they once were. 

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In 1961, pop artist Andy Warhol predicted that anyone's fame would last for just 15 minutes. So Donald Trump's fame and influence are all over now. How will Trump be remembered? The history books will decide, but we already know that Donald Trump, contrary to his own prediction, will not be heralded as the greatest American president ever since Abraham Lincoln. But he may well be considered the quirkiest.

                                                        The late Andy Warhol

https://substack.com/@borowitzreport/note/c-307493878?r=e2zyw&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action

New Poll Reveals Trump Less Popular Than Explosive Diarrhea [satire]

Trump signs orders targeting birthright citizenship

If I am not mistaken, most countries do have birthright citizenship. The US actually now needs more people, more babies, so birthright citizenship may be a way to help us get there since Trump has blocked our borders, especially the southern border. So we need to get more expectant mothers in here somehow. 

Apparently, Trump's mother was born in Scotland, so now let's send Donald back to his mother's birthplace if they will even take him. 

This federal judge ruled against Trump. Then the threats began.

Donald Trump will soon be out of presidential office, and thank goodness for that! Until his time is up, he will remain a threat to our country and to the rest of the world. 

US voters, you made a big mistake in choosing President Trump. He is vindictive and a liar (also probably a rapist). If Kamala were our president now, none of all this would have happened.

US District Judge John McConnel has received at least 6 credible death threats and over 400 hostile messages after he blocked some Trump initiatives. Now he is just trying to keep his family safe until Trump finally leaves office.

Because Trump is so fond of everything gold, here he is shown with many of his gilded treasures.



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CNN, Mexican influencer César Gastélum was shot dead on Tuesday while live- streaming in front of a fast-food restaurant in the northwestern Mexican city of Culiacán, according to local and federal authorities. 

Gastélum, who had over 600,000 followers on TikTok, was shot after being approached by two helmeted people on a motorcycle...A security official from the state of Sinaloa confirmed Gastélum's death and stated that a major security operation was underway. (And we certainly know just where all those guns in Mexico come from.)

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A Tibetan activist shouting "freedom for Tibet" has died after setting himself on fire outside UN headquarters in NY City. Will he be considered a link in an historic chain leading to Tibet's eventual independence? Probably so, as China ultimately will have to give up Tibet, at least that is my prediction, although I will no longer be around if and when it actually happens.  

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A wild mama duck went out for a swim along with her 5 little ducklings. In the animal kingdom, fathers are rarely in evidence. They are often missing from human families as well. 

A grieving mother dolphin carried her dead calf for days. Human mothers are not the only ones mourning lost offspring. (I've lost my older son and Cuban foster son, so I do know how Mama dolphin feels.)

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The still image shown here below is from a video of our closest star, the sun. Our sun's molten perpetual-motion surface is always whirling, swirling, twirling--sending out constant light and heat. 

Without the sun, there would be no life on planet earth, including our own human lives. Humans, animals, and plants could well survive on earth without the moon, even without Mars or Venus. but not without the sun.