Before going forward now with this post, I must again emphasize that I have no control whatsoever over the blog gods nor over the appearance of any odd configurations. Correction efforts often only make matters worse and must be made before the final posting, as I've found out later. Sometimes, I try to make a correction on the spot in a current post over and over again, but it still bounces back to the first uncorrected form. We must all--myself as well as faithful readers--become more tolerant and forgiving. I'm trying to communicate almost daily with friends all around the world met through my many travels over the years, just doing my best, so please bear with me. And thanks to all those who have communicated directly with me by email. I will always try to answer you each individually.
My daughter who is a federal employee now says, "Looks like my job is on the chopping block again. Supreme Court Clears Way for Mass Firings at Federal Agencies
Here's another recent message from an old friend living across the country,
I am so dispirited at our country and in particular the supreme court. They have just rolled over and given up their duties. Since they have lifetime appointments, I m not sure what they are so afraid of. Maybe they really are in his [Trump's] pocket?
I replied:
Very good to hear from you again. At my age now (87), It's good to know that old friends are still alive and kicking as long as I remain among the living myself.
Do you still have a little dog? I live here in W Va. with my son, a Trump voter like everyone else around here....
I have often thought of living for a while in Honduras, where I have many friends. Honduran politics also leave something to be desired but since I am not a citizen and voter there, I don't feel responsible.
Does anyone know what's actually in the new tax bill? Probably not. It will be the subject of much controversy and analysis for years to come.
'Train wreck': Trump slams Musk after billionaire announces new political party
Elon Musk is no longer wearing his MAGA hat. His new party is likely to hurt Trump.
When asked by a reporter whether he would consider deporting Musk, who became a naturalized U.S.
With the annoucement of his new political party, Musk has been shoring up both his
offense and his defense. He appears to be a much more strategic thinker than Trump, who keeps on
flailing around, often with his thoughts coming out in a garbled fashion.
Musk is a citizen of Canada as well as of the US and of South Africa, thus giving him options. Third
parties have never done well in the US, but Musk may be willing to make that gamble or maybe he just
wants to distrupt Trump going forward, which already seems to be happening.
Elon Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa in 1971, making him a South African citizen by birth He
also holds Canadian citizenship through his mother, Maye Musk, born in Saskatchewan.
"Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately
voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!" Musk wrote before Trump signed the legislation. "And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on
this earth."
The Supreme Court has let the Trump administration resume deporting migrants to countries
other than their own (to South Sudan, as mentioned last time) without offering them a
chance to show what harms they could face and also to end temporary legal status previously
granted on humanitarian grounds to hundreds of thousands of migrants.
Flood deaths have continued now in Texas.
Wash. Post,
On Ukraine, Hegseth embarrasses Trump and undermines the U.S.
Hegseth and Trump don't seem to be on the same page on Ukraine.
"We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth," Trump told reporters
during a televised cabinet meeting at the White House.
He often undercuts his own employees and even contradicts himself.
Planned Parenthood now needs to revise its mission to enable people to actually become parents,
not to prevent parenthood.
Though I've always been a registered Democrat, I am also an adoptive as well as a birth mother.
I strongly disagree with my party for characterizing abortion as a "right." I have always
opposed abortion, even before becoming a mom myself. It has never made any sense to me that it is
all right to kill a developing child in the womb, but not after birth. I oppose the deliberate killing
of any human at any stage of development, including via the death penalty.
Moreover, now on a macro level, with births plummeting all over the world, humankind actually
needs every would-be baby to be born alive and to survive to produce offspring. We are no longer in the
age of Malthus. I consider abortion wrong and it is also outdated. High time to reverse course on
abortion, which may already be happening.
In my own family, I supported the decisions of my unmarried older daughter and then of her own
daughter to each go forward without a partner with an unplanned pregnancy. Their decisions enlarged
and enriched our family, down even to a teenge great-grandson who may become a father himself in
due time.
My daughter and grandaughter also helped create a culture where being a single mother
is no longer taboo, rather becoming a common option for family formation. (Many female mammals
also raise their young without male help.)
As mentioned before, single mothers now often bring their children to work with them at
Coolfont, the resort complex in Berkeley Springs where my son is employed, something
encouraged, not prohibited. Customers have only reacted favorably. Of course, not every job is suitable
for having children present and this only works with one or 2 kids and not on a daily basis, though I
once saw a worker bring 3 (well-behaved) offspring with her to Coolfont before the old lodge had
burned down.
While living in Latin America, I have seen firsthand how malaria can affect people of all ages.
Though rather rare, I've even seen cases of permanent paralysis and sometimes death resulting from
a bout of malaria. I've also had malaria myself, despite taking anti-malarial prophilactics and
always sleeping under a mosquito net.
Sadly, Haiti's once-famous Grand Hôtel Oloffson has now been burned to the ground by gangs. I'd
often stayed there during visits to Haiti.
Alas, the Grand Hotel Oloffson is no more.
That wonderful Gothic gingerbread structure in Port-au-Prince was built in 1886.
It had served as an inspiration for the fictional Hotel Trianon in Graham Greene’s 1966 novel
“The Comedians,” set in Haiti under the brutal dictatorship of Francois Duvalier, best known
as “Papa Doc.
Israel is still obliterating
everthing in Gaza at will, creating tremendous havoc, destruction, and death among people of
all ages: women, children, the elderly, and other non-combatants. Meanwhile,
Donald Trump
is apparently placing no constraints whatsoever on aid to Israel, allowing what might
actually be considered a genocide against Palestinians to go forward now with his blessing.
Netanyahu has even nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. If that prize should be awarded to Mr. Trump, it will then become a joke, something completely meaningless.
No comments:
Post a Comment