The Nodfather nods off again

 

See NY Times, Tina Brown, How Trump has Changed Us

How has Trunp changed us? Tina Brown has some ideas. So do I. 

Google says:  Donald Trump is the oldest US president to take office.

Is Mr. Trump even going to make it until the end of his term? He still has 3 more years to go and despite his assurances that his doctors say he is in excellent health, his stamina seems to be waning fast. This has implications for us all. 

Speaking for myself. when I turned 80, a birthday that Donald Trump is fast approaching, I decided to give up my driver's license, as too many tests were then required and I had no car anyway.  I used to sometimes rent a car when I no longer had one, but those days were now over. Here in West Virginia with my son, I now rely on him to drive me..  

Now, in my opinion, both Hegseth and Netanyahu are blatant war criminals being protected by Mr. Trump, though Trump himself may not be fully aware that he is even doing so. No longer a "night owl," he seems to go in and out of conciousness these days. His lucid moments are fewer and shrinking, 

And voters had been so concerned even before Trump that Biden might be getting forgetful! Although Biden is not so often seen much in public any more, when he does appear, he now seems more alert and vigorous than the President himself.  

                                    "The Nodfather" cannot seem to keep his eyes open.. 

California Governor Gavin Newsom, still alert himself at age 58, makes fun of Trump, age 79, who keeps nodding off. Newsom seems to aspire to become president himself well before he reaches Donald Trump's age.

Excessive daytime sleepiness could be a sign of dementia or at least of serious dementia risk, especially when coupled with bruises on the lower legs, which Trump evidently also has. 

When he is actually awake, Trump keeps fighting back, arguing that he has taken more tests than any other president and has totally "aced" them all. There actually has been no other president of his age. 

The voting public also seems to be getting concerned, unsure whether Trump is still in charge.  

"Trump Hit With His Worst-Ever Approval Rating on the Economy" https://www.thedailybeast.com//president-donald-trump-hit-with-his-worst-ever-approval-rating-on-the-economy/?via=ios

Trump has dismissed this report as simply more "fake news." 

Not only is Trump wealthy in his own right, but he is supported by other millionares and billionares.  

Wash. Post, Billionaire NationHow the rich amassed political power

Meet the Trump administration’s 12 billionaires

At a net worth of $390 billion, it’s the wealthiest White House in modern history..

Meanwhile, as Donald Trump snoozes, no one has actually been monitoring Pete Hegseth, When Trump woke up momentarily, he told Hegseth, "Good job," 

So let's review the Caribbean boater situation. In addition to boaters being killed, boat strike surivvors have apparently also been victims after being struck once. If there is any ambiguity about killing boaters out in international waters, there should be none whatsoever about killing boat strike survivors clinging to the wreckage, which certainly is a war crime. But who is responsible? Is it Pete Hegseth who gave the order or the officer who actually carried it out? This is not a video game, not even a game at all, but real life with real-life and death consequences.

Broad slice of Americans oppose Venezuela boat strikes, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds | Reuters https://www.reuters.com/world/us/broad-slice-americans-oppose-venezuela-boat-strikes-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2025-12-10/

I count myself among those Americans opposing the boat strikes. Even if some boaters might, in fact, be bringing illegal drugs into our country--something actually unknown--then subjecting them to the death penalty without any evidence or trial is still unwarranted. Apparently several innocent unarmed boaters have been killed while just going about their usual daily business, even when only out fishing or traveling from one place to another--that, at least, according to their families. Then Pete Hegseth had suddenly authorized killing them without any warning or apparent reason. The "fog of war" which  Hegseth has used now as his excuse just doesn't pass muster. What war is he talking about? What fog? If Pete's mind is so foggy now, then he doesn't belong in his position. as Secretary of War.   

Hegseth, after authorizing or even ordering these unlawful and lethal boat strikes, shoild now face a war crimes tribunal  But I wouldn't necessarily advocate the death penalty for Pete, although he has visited death without any evidence or trial on so many others. Instead, life-long imprisonment would prevent him from continuing to keep on killing and harming others. He has now become a serial killer who must be stopped and punsihed for what he has done. He may in the future try to make amends, though once he has authorized killings and they've been carried out, there is no return from death for the unfotunate victims. Hegseth has actually become a serial killer with Donald Trump's blessing. 

====================================

This Nicaraguan woman's husband was deported leaving her to struggle to provide for herself and their children. 

Wash. Post, Scientists discover oldest evidence of human-made fire in a 400,000-year-old hearth

A new archaeological find pushes back the timeline on when humans mastered the ability to make fires, a transformative technology.

Apparently our ancient ancesters were using fire for both warmth and cooking long before writing had been developed to allow them to leave a written record. Our modern era is just a brief blip in the long trajectory of human history going back at least several hundred thousand years. To those early human pioneers, we actually owe our own existenec today, What can they teach us? Perseverance, experimentation, and curiosity have all been qualities supporting their survival and our own. 

=========================================================================

A long-tme friend who is my own age just sent me his photo. I've told him that he is looking pretty darn good! 

Write to your Members of Congress

Edward McCarthy <ecmccar@gmail.com>:  Here's something I sent off to my two Senators. I will reach out to my House Member too. Do likewise. Don't let Trump, Hegseth and, yes, the compliant Admiral, get away with murder so easily. Here is my letter:   This is to urge you, as a key member of a Committee likely to be involved, to advocate for investigation by relevant bodies in both the House and Senate, of the Trump Administration’s boat strikes and broader policy with regard to the Caribbean and eastern Pacific regions. This needs to happen as soon as possible.   There have been calls for investigation by the Department of Justice. Given the gross perversion of that agency’s role by the Trump Administration, such an inquiry would have no credibility. Congress must intervene.   Several aspects of this matter need clarification. Admiral Bradley has been quoted as saying that there was no order to “kill everyone.” Perhaps not, but this does not quite say that the Secretary of Defense provided no relevant directive or statement. The term “weasel-wording” comes to mind.   It has also been reported that after a second strike on September 2 that killed the two shipwrecked survivors, there were two more strikes which apparently obliterated all of the boat, its cargo and the personnel aboard. Was there a defensible military reason for this? Isn’t it just as reasonable to suggest that what occurred was an effort to cover up what was belatedly recognized as a war crime in violation of the Law of War, as spelled out in DoD guidance?   Isn’t it also notable that in at least one subsequent case, survivors were not murdered on the seas but rather returned to their home countries? If the homicides perpetrated were in fact as justifiable as Senator Cotton and Mr. Hegseth make out, why this apparent change in policy?   There is a lot to unpack regarding both the above particulars, and what the Administration intends to do generally. Please do what is needed.

Do we even need tote bags? 

If so, this one looks a little bit different..