July shaping up to be hottest month on record in the US - and more dangerous heat is on the way
Yet, so far, so good, right here in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. It's already August, but still barely any use of A/C for this whole summer, just windows left open, like right now, with a soft welcoming breeze wafting in. And winters here are not so bad either, usually some frost and a little snow, occasionally, even substantial snow. It's quite pleasant now to be out and about, taking our dog Willow to a national park, seeing deer crossing our yard during the day and wild rabbits coming out at night. Right now, there are many wild flowers and lots of birds of every size and color.
So what does the future hold for us, tomorrow and beyond? I am age 88 with a few aches and pains but still communicating by email with friends all over the world. Unfortunately, Donald Trump is still the US president, but I hope to live to see the day when he is gone, gone, gone from office.
We've already mentioned karma and poetic justice as being not quite the same, but still linked. Are they even real? Perhaps only in our own imagination. Sometimes, we seem to have human agency over an outcome, but often we actually do not. Good and bad things happen to us all but what is judged as good or bad depends mainly on our personal interpretation. Someone who loses a child may say that he or she is safely in heaven. I lost my older son, but I don't say that, so I still feel the pain.
Someone I consider to have seriously wronged me has now suffered a medical emergency, but that was just the result of a health condition, so really has nothing at all to do with me or my own family. If readers knew the details of our past interactions, they would likely agree that I had been seriously mistreated. But that person's current medical problems have nothing whatever to do with our own past interactions. It was just fate, bad luck, nothing at all regarding the former relationship between us. So it was not karma bringing that individual to task, though it may be tempting for me to think that it was.
Likewise, Donald Trump's avoidance of incarceration after having, in fact, raped E. Jean Carroll, a deed most of us know that he really truly did, may seem quite lucky for him. But the result is not justice for her, although Trump did have to give her a substantial sum, really nothing for him, but which does mean a lot to her. Maybe this is just a case of trickle-down or partial justice. The universe doesn't really care.
Trump can easily afford to pay her, after he has already given Carroll a substantial sum as per the court order. But he has now appealed to the Supreme Court to try to get it all back. not because he cannot afford it, not because he lied about having committed the rape, but rather for having defamed her by saying that she lied. But if she didn't lie and he actually did rape her, then he still belongs in prison. Even a president is not above the law and there is no statute of limitations on rape. Trump should be glad he has gotten off easily so far, but no, he still considers the payment a blemish on his record as the greatest ever US president since Abraham Lincoln.
Therefore, Trump now wants have the award reversed; he still wants to get the money back. Any Supreme Court justices whom he has named who may decide to rule against him will certainly hear all about it, loudly and very often. I would advise Carroll to start spending that money right now on something really annoying to Trump, like helping out other rape survivors and expressing solidarity with those survivors whose assailants have never been punished, as all too often happens.
lately. What is he worried about?
A blog reader observes: the Dems are in total disarray. The chairman of the Dem National Committee was so upset at a meeting earlier this week that he hurled a cellphone at a desk. The divisions in the Party are evident and are playing out in primaries; Michigan and Colorado are examples.
Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin was seen out campaigning. A friend back in DC says, "The Dems are a disaster zone." So it seems.
Donald Trump is now the president, but with only a short time still left in his term. Yet, talk about a disaster zone, Trump personifies it. He zigs and zags, but never seems to land anywhere. Yet Dems still need to get their act together and very quickly to even stay relevant.
The Democratic Party may still be considered the majority party, "a big tent." Yet Trump won the presidency this last time around, won it fair and square, with a majority of votes cast, although not the huge "landslide" that he claims. But he still won this time, not after falling thousands of votes behind, like when he won the first time only because of the quirks in the Electoral College system. Way past time now to jettison the Electoral College for a national voter count just like that of other modern nations. We are way past the age of the original 13 colonies. And having a female presidential candidate should not be so controversial either. In this hemisphere, even Mexico and Honduras have had women presidents. Is the US still a global leader?
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An old friend, a former fellow Peace Corps volunteer, living now in Arizona reports,
Nothing new to report here in dismal Tucson. Next week will be the hottest yet, with temps up to 108 degrees. At least we don't have humidity like in Honduras.
Yep, 108* F in Arizona. Can you see it? 
Arizona cacti don't mind hot weather; in fact, they actually seem to thrive in the heat.
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Another political observation now:NPR, Democrats show divisions on Israel amid competitive midterm elections
While I am registered as in Independent here in West Virginia for purposes of possibly influencing candidates of either party, I have always voted Democratic at election time. I do that although I do disagree with the Party's stance on abortion, as a fetus is still a person, necessarily starting out as all humans have ever since time immemorial. Life is short, but everyone has a right to live their own life as long as possible, even a criminal, even Donald J. Trump. Likewise, someone with Down's Syndrome can have a meaningful life. While my son and I were having lunch at his employer's hotel restaurant, a couple was sitting at another table with their daughter with Down's. A finite, imperfect life is all any of us ever will have.And, as for Israel, now a little tough love is certainly in order.
Google says: Israel allocated roughly $730 million for public diplomacy (hasbara) in its 2026 national budget. This marked a nearly fivefold increase from the previous year and an exponential jump from pre-2023 levels, designed to counter sliding global approval and shifting public opinion in the United States and allied nations.
And how much of that money, as indicated before, which is now being used to try to influence Americans and our government, is coming right from the massive US support provided to Israel in the first place? (Is this Peter paying Paul to influence Peter?) And the US only started the Iran war at Netanyahu's secret urging, by whispering the idea into the ear of a very suggestible and befuddled Donald Trump.
Certainly much of what happens in the world in terms of elections and relations among nations, and regarding war and peace, occurs just by accident, by pure luck good or bad, and not according to any particular plan. Or else a plan proves unworkable or requires modifications due to actual circumstances. Probably life unfolds for most of us just by going along for the ride, seeing where it takes us, like going out for a drive, as my son and I did just this morning.
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Some children, especially a first child, may arrive by surprise, conceived almost by accident. Only then may a couple try to stop it from happening again. This actually means that the US birth rate is not now at replacement, which would require 2.1 children per woman. Instead, the US birth rate and total fertility rate have dropped to historic lows, down to about 1.57 children per woman and still declining. And immigration is also at an historic low, thanks to Donald Trump and our hermetically sealed southern border. The result is a worker shortages and a total population growing top-heavy with oldsters like me. Help Wanted signs appear everywhere, including right here in Berkeley Springs.
Not enough babies, not enough people, too many old people just like me.
And not enough immigrants either. Donald Trump's mother and wife were once immigrants, but he seems to have something against immigrants and wants to keep them all out, except for the white South Africans championed by Elon Musk.
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Multiple people dead after shooting at fast food restaurant in southern Idaho
Not only are too few babies being born, but those actually born who have already grown up are being wiped out by the NRA's so-called "right to bear arms," which is absolutely not protective and has increased our nation's murder, accidental death, and suicide rates far beyond those of culturally similar nations. Just look at the numbers.
Better to have fewer guns and more people. Traffic deaths have been reduced despite more miles being driven. People resisted wearing seat belts and obeying speed limits. And they may now resist giving up their guns, but it's the only way to bring down our national murder and suicide rates. Pulling a trigger is too easy and cannot be taken back. Guns are no longer needed for hunting, as that's not how we get our food anymore. Offer gun buy-backs and drop all those dangerous lethal weapons right into the sea. Guns should be reserved for use by police and military, not for everyday citizens. The deaths and injuries now in Idaho could have been prevented by sharply restricting the American manufacture and sale of firearms. So time now to bury the "right to bear arms," instead of burying so many people.
