Trump has never had majority support, not even here in the US

 

This is it, folks. I sent the following message out to some 50 friends around the world, reminding them to check out my blog. periodically, as I don't plan to remind them again. From now on, they will need to touch bases with me on their own. Again, thanks to all those who have written to me individually, whom I have tried to answer. 

​I'd said I wasn't going to notify you all again, but this is really the very last time. Please just check in with me from time to time to see if I am still alive and still here with you now on our precious planet earth. And please let me know that you are still alive. I love hearing from you individually and have been answering you each individually. I have lost some good friends near my age (age 87) lately. Many thanks to all who have written to me and whom I have tried to answer and sorry if some have been notified here more than once.

I told a recent correspondent who is about my own age: 

I am very glad to hear from you and to get your update on yourself and your family. Our life, as we near the end, is getting harder. None of us is getting any younger, as we all have aches and pains, and all of us will die sooner or later. At this point, it looks like we will go sooner, not later. We are all on that same journey. Still, let's try to remember to check in with each other from time to time. 

There may have been a mixup here, with 2 blog postings being put together when intended for different dates. We'll just have to see what happens. As I've said before, the blog gods are totally in charge here. 

Let's see if it all gets sorted out. 

                                    Friends in Mexico sent this recent birthday photo. 

What is Trump hiding?

• A Yahoo/YouGov poll conducted in late July 2025 found that 69% of Americans believe the government is "hiding information about Epstein's client list," including 55% of Republicans. 
• (Many think that Mr. Trump may have been on that list or was connected to it somehow. So he therefore doesn't want that information to be revealed. Will we ever know the truth?)

 Nearly 70% of Americans — including a majority of Republicans — think the government is hiding something about Jeffrey Epstein. About a quarter believe the well-connected sex offender committed suicide. Twice as many think he was murdered.

I recommend this article from Lincoln Square showing that independent voters are cooling on Trump: Is Trump Crashing Out? | Behind the Numbers with Rick & Andrew Wilson https://open.substack.com/pub/lincolnsquare/p/is-trump-crashing-out-behind-the?r=e2zyw&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

RFK Jr. has done a lot of damage from the bully pulpit Trump has given him.

US vaccination rates for measles, other diseases drop further, government data says | Reuters https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-vaccination-rates-measles-other-diseases-drop-further-government-data-says-2025-07-31/

The Hill, Trump’s net approval rating hits new low of second term

Trump's approval is now at 40%, meaning that 60 % don't approve or do not support him. That is  quite a low figure for citizen support so early in this term. Trump is the only US president never to have reached 50% approval. Yet he is trying to be dictator of the world without even having been backed by a majority of Americans.

Although famously a night owl, Trump has also been falling asleep lately in meetings 

after mockingly calling his predecessor "Sleepy Joe."  And we do need to remember that Joe Biden had more voter support when he was president.

Mr. Biden has been speaking out lately. 

CNN, Biden warns country is facing 'dark days' under Trump 

Former President Biden with son Hunter.

Wash. Post,  Maryland town struggles to recover after FEMA denies flood aid request Residents of Westernport, Maryland, are still cleaning up from a May flood that destroyed roads and homes after federal disaster aid was denied this month.

Apparently in an effort to punish residents, FEMA under Trump has been denying disaster relief to locales where voters have not supported him. 

But money is available for the president's other pet projects

Karoline Leavitt details $200M White House ballroom plans.

Yes, no disaser relief for voters who failed support Trump, but plans are still going forward for creating a big costly new ballroom inside the White House.

https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/5430220-white-house-ballroom-construction/

 

Trump threatens trade deal over Canada's Palestine stance

 

UN conference backs two-state solution, calls on Israel to commit to a Palestinian state

But Trump has voiced opposition to the 2-state solution, perhaps in support of Netanyahu. 

A friend of mine authored this next item.

The US is complicit in genocide in Gaza https://www.stltoday.com/opinion/column/article_dedb742a-691a-40a4-8d75-925a7823b93a.html

The argument this writer and others make is that Israel, with US financing and moral support, is deliberately creating chaos in Gaza to make it ungovernable. Trump now seems to have come to the belated realization that Netanyahu may be deliberately prolonging the war for his own protection. 

 From The Atlantic: "A few weeks ago, President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu each gave the other something of great symbolic value. Trump excoriated the 'out-of-control' prosecutors responsible for the Israeli prime minister’s corruption trial, and Netanyahu nominated the American president for the Nobel Peace Prize he has long coveted."

 Yes, Mr. Trump really wants that Peace Prize. He has often asked others to nominate him. Whether his efforts will hold any sway with the Nobel committee is doubtful, as the award has not been given before to someone so openly campaigning for it. (Will Trump now donate money to the Nobel committee, or would that be too brazen even for him?)

And what about Benjamin Netanyahu? Will his Nobel prize gesture on behalf of Mr. Trump protect him in his upcoming corruption trial? Mutual gestures now being made by Trump and by Netanyahu seem to be an exchange of favors designed to protect them both. 

The Brazil tariff spat has been unnecessarily damaging to both Brazil and the US. There was no need for Trump to pick a fight with Brazil. Even Bolsonaro, facing corruption charges as the former president whom Trump said he was trying to help, says he had nothing to do with Trump's actions.

My son and other regular coffee drinkers are now paying the price for Trump's heavy-handed intervention efforts in Brazil. 

Mr. Trump seems to lack the ability to anticipate the probable repercussions of his words, actions, and decisions. He just acts impulsively and leaves it to others to pick up the pieces. 

NY Times, Childhood Vaccination Rates Have Dropped Again, C.D.C. Data Shows

The new report paints a sobering picture of immunizations as infectious diseases like measles surge across the United States.

This unnecessary increase in measles deaths and life-long disabilities are the public health legacy of Trump appointee RFK Jr. 

Now let's take a deep ocean dive. 

This composite photo of undersea tube worms being approached by an underwater vehicle shows their plant-like aspects as rare examples of living entities in a transitional phase between plants and animals.

 I'm posting this now before any more problems arise. 

Back and forth

Our small town of Berkeley Springs, W Va., was established originally under the name of Bath by the Virginia House of Burgesses on December 6, 1776, after Lord Fairfax had then deeded to the state of Virginia 50 acres surrounding the flowing natural hot springs. Now, almost 3 centuries later, Berkeley Springs is still here and people still enjoy bathing in the soothing hot springs waters.  But the local population has not been growing any more numerous. In 2020. the population was 758, but was down to 752 at last count. As a new resident, I am somewhat of a rarity.

 

I just sent an email message to my daughter Melanie, living in Florida now with her own daughter and grandson: Jon just went out now to take a friend to the doctor and I am staying home alone here with the dog. No one lives nearby and I don't know anyone here except for Jon. I really miss my neighbors on A St. SE in DC. Back there, I just went out on the front porch and someone I knew would pass by. 

 Donald Trump’s approach to the Jeffrey Epstein case has been getting low marks from the American public, according to a new Washington Post poll.
Just 18 percent of U.S. adults approve of how the president is handling the issue, while some 58 percent disapproving, WaPo’s poll found. The remaining 24 percent have no opinion.
Disapproval is, perhaps expectedly, widespread among Democrats, 90 percent, and independents at 63 percent. But even among Republicans, views are mixed. Just 38 percent approve, while 24 percent disapprove, and another 38 percent say they’re unsure.

In response to allegations that Trump's name appears in the Epstein files, a White House spokesman called that "a fake news story".

Trump's problem in making the Epstein story go away is that some in his own base are still clamoring for more details and information. 

Judge orders Trump administration to explain why order to restore Voice of America 

wasn't followed

What can be done if officials of the Trump adminstration just ignore court orders? The president 

is not going to be arrested for disobeying a court order and if members of his administration should be 

arrested, then, as president, he would simply order their release. Unless the president is impeached, he can 

keep on igorning court orders. Even then, he is likely to suffer no consequences. Mr. Trump was 

impeached twice during his first term in office, but, each time, he was acquitted by the senate. 

No US president has ever been successfully impeached and removed from office. Bill Clinton was 

impeached, but remained in office after being acquitted by the senate. The impeachment of 

President Andrew Johnson for "high crimes and misdemeanors" was initiated

by the House of Representatives on February 24, 1868. But Johnson, even before Clinton and Trump,

was acquitted by the senate and then served out the remainder of his term. 

So a president can safely ignore court orders with impunity. If a judge orders the Trump administration 

to explain why it did not restore Voice of America, as ordered by a court, the administration is likely to

simply ignore that order to explain, just as it ignored the order to restore the program. In our present 

governmental system, there is really no check on a president, who still remains as the highest authority. 

CNN, Tsunami waves hit US shores after 8.8 magnitude quake strikes Russia’s far east

Wash. Post, 60,000 Gazans have been killed. 18,500 were children. These are their names.

Palestinian children have been killed at a rate of more than one per hour since the war began.

[Photos of some lost children appear in the newspaper.]

Starvation deaths in Gaza are reportedly rising. Even those who do survive will probably have life-long health problems.

What Americans think about Israel's military action in Gaza, according to a new Gallup poll

In a nutshell, Democrats are more opposed than ever, while Republicans still stand firm in their support of the Israeli leadership. 

However, even MAGA may now be reassessing.

MAGA is turning on Israel over Gaza, but Trump is unmoved

Trump remains in lockstep with Netanyahu and the Israeli leadership.

But Trump and Bibi still remain best buds?

Here is a messge about Israel that just came into my in-box:

There is no longer a consensus among Jews about what has gone on there, as
witness today that two well known Israeli human rights groups have now
joined Amnesty International and others in charging that Israel has
committed genocide. Klein names some of the key figures in the discussion,
including Peter Beinart,...[and cites Beinart's] short but very good book, ON BEING JEWISH
AFTER THE DESTRUCTION OF GAZA.

Wash. Post, Leading genocide scholars see a genocide happening in Gaza

GMA, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Tuesday that his nation will recognize the state of Palestine at a United Nations meeting in September if Israel does not agree to a ceasefire in Gaza.

"Today, as part of this process towards peace, I can confirm the U.K. will recognize the state of Palestine by the United Nations General Assembly in September, unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire and commit to a long-term sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a two-state solution," Starmer said at a news conference.
"This includes allowing the U.N. to restart the supply of aid and making clear that there will be no annexations in the West Bank," he continued.

Wash. Post, Canada endorses Palestinian state as U.S. envoy heads to Israel

www.CubaArchive.org For World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, Jamaica should stop the exploitation of Cuban workers 

A former DC neighbor found the online biography shown below about my late ex-husband Tom Joe, whom I married in 1959 when I was 21, and who then divorced me 24 years later in 1983 to marry his young office assistant. Even before our divorce, I'd began working for, and remained for 16 years at, the American Occupational Therapy Association before joining the Peace Corps as a health volunteer in Honduras in 2000. I had no language problem in Honduras, thus skipping the usually mandatory language classes for volunteers as I was already completely bilingual, having first learned Spanish at the age of 2 when visiting Central America with my family. (Reportedly, I don't speak Spanish with a gringo accent.)

 After serving 3 1/2 years in the Peace Corps in Honduras as a health volunteer, I returned to Washington, DC, then started working as an on-call Spanish medical interpreter. I soon began making annual humanitarian trips back to Honduras at my own expense, most recently in June 2024, as reported on this blog. I also wrote 2 books, one about my experiences in Honduras, the other about my volunteer human rights work in Cuba. (Titles appear here on this blog, with the books still selling modestly, both digitally and in print.)

My ex-huband had died in 1999 of lung cancer at age 63, after having been a life-long chain smoker of unfiltered Camels. He was totally blind from a youthful age and had never held a job before we married. I always stayed quietly in the background while helping propel him to success, assisting him over the years in the formulation of and reporting on all his early government projects. I also worked part-time during our marriage, mostly doing research and academic writing while raising our 4 kids. My son Jon, with whom I live now, is our youngest child. (My late ex-husband's online biography follows below, with no mention there of my major role in his success.) 

Thomas Joe was a social policy analyst who initiated and critiqued government policies that affect the disadvantaged. He was instrumental in developing the nation’s federal income maintenance system for elderly and disabled persons (Supplemental Security Income), and helped two administrations draft plans for family welfare reform.  Joe assisted state and local governments in the design and financing of human services for dependent children and low-income families.  Former special assistant to the undersecretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (1969-73), and consultant to the White House Domestic Policy Council (1975-79), he also served on the first National Council of the Handicapped (1982).  He is co-author of By the Few for the Few (1985) and co-editor of Images of the Disabled, Disabling Images (1986).

Biography

Joe was director of the Center for the Study of Social Policy in Washington, D.C., a nonprofit organization he founded in 1979.

Joe received a B.A. (1958) and an M.A. (1961) from the University of California, Berkeley, where he also completed course work in the Ph.D. program in political science.  Joe was totally blind since the age of thirteen.

Published on August 1, 1986

One day at a time

Looking back now at the most recent blog posting, I have no idea why all caps appear in some places, though never there to begin with, and why they still resist correction now. There is really no remedy, so we simply must yield to the will of the blog gods, whose ways and  motives remain inscrutable. I am grateful for this free forum and hope it endures. We just have to put up with its quirks. 

Today, while my son and I were out in the car, we came across a wild turkey standing all alone in the road. My son hit the brakes and we waited until it went into the woods. In these parts, we give the right-of-way to all sorts of wild creatures: deer, geese, ducks, raccoons, rabbits, beavers, and squirrels. The area is teeming with wildlife, which is always exciting to see.

Farmers are facing a fork on Trump's immigration highway. So what's next?

Farmers need workers right now to pick crops, but simply cannot find native-born 

Americans able and willing to do that. Unauthorized immigrants are both willing and able, though 

first must cross that tight southern border, an increasingly difficult challenge. Is there a

remedy? Crops ready to harvest simply cannot wait. 

Trump may now be yielding rather belatedly, saying he 

wants to make farmers responsible for their workers. But can a system be created in time to

satisfy both Mr. Trump and the farmers? 

• Reuters: ICE raids are disrupting the construction industry and worsening labor shortages.
• CEOs say raids are causing project delays and cost overruns.
• Some construction workers are in hiding to avoid deportation.
• DHS says workplace raids help combat trafficking and exploitation.

Tim Harrison, whose Alabama company is building a recreation center, said he cannot 

easily replace construction workers born in Mexico and Central America with native-born 

Americans, because most simply don't have the skills.

Ex-MSNBC star Chris Matthews insists that 'the country is moving toward' Donald Trump 
despite some increasingly negative polling for the president on key issues. Matthews may be
right, but needs to offer more specifics. 

Wash. Post, More than 60,000 people killed in Gaza war, local health officials say The toll 

announced by the Gaza Health Ministry is likely to be an undercount as Israel pursues its war and starvation 

spreads.

Netanyahu's Iran Attack Trumps Trump

Portside.org

https://portside.org › netanyahus-iran-attack-trumps-trump

 Basically, U.S. policy in the Middle East is a stepchild of Israeli policy, and Netanyahu keeps playing Trump for a fool (which is not hard).

The Gaza dealth toll has reached 60,000 but Israeili citizens are not informed of these deaths and presumably 

don't even t know they are taking place at the hands of the Israeli military.  

WASHINGTON, DC – Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem today announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status for Haiti. The TPS designation for the country expires on Aug. 3, 2025, and the termination will be effective on Tuesday, September 2, 2025. 

U.S. citizen told "you have no rights" during immigration arrest speaks out

This young man was born in the US and is Hispanic. Isn't his arrest an example of racial profiling? 

Message from a former Cuban political prisoner is shared below in part. 

Querida Bárbara, he tenido mis problemas de salud, sobre todo con arterias tupidas, pero 

sigo adelante. Todos estos inconvenientes, como es lógico, obedecen a los años que nos 

va sumando el almanaque, por lo que hay que cogerlo con calma y hasta con un poco de 

alegría. ...¿Crees que tú también estás entre el cielo y el purgatorio? En fin, yo diría en el 

"border line". Bueno, mil gracias por tu nota. Siempre te recuerdo con cariño.