Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas and a great New Year!

 

Holiday cards and letters have been arriving, forwarded here to West Virginia from my DC address. Thanks to all those who have sent them. I don't send out holiday cards any more, just make posts now right hereon this blog. Old friends may fear that I have died. but I am still around at age 87, if you can find me!  

Let me again say at the outset that quirks in this post may simply resist correction. Attempts at correction often just make things worse. So adjust your tolerance meter and please stay with me. I am merely communicating with you, my friends, and expressing myself, not trying to make any money nor trying to advance any particular point of view. You already know where I stand. I'm always glad to hear from you via email with your comments and questions. 

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Is Donald Trump, at age 79, going to survive until the end of her term 3 years from now? Voters had been concerned that Joe Biden might be getting too old  Now Biden, though older, looks more vigorous than Trump himself.. 

Let's refer back now to an earlier post on this blog, where I noted that Trump has idioepathic hypersomnia, something usually associated with other health conditions.

Hypersomnia is closely associated with  ITP,  Immune Thrombocytopenia Purpura, that is, bruises or spots on the lower legs, which Trump certainly has, also spots on his right hand, which he often covers with make-up or a bandage  There are medications indicated for ITP, but it is unknown whether Mr. Trump is actually taking them. The effect of the condition on longevity is variable and depends on many other factors, which are unknown in Mr. Trump's case. He is no doubt getting top-notch medical care for the condition. 

Donald Trump might well survive until the end of his term, some 3 years from now, or perhaps not, in which case VP Vance, now 41, would take over, and then be able to run again. Google has something to say about Trump's current health, also characterized by excessive sleepiness. .

Google: Idiopathic hypersomnia

• Idiopathic hypersomnia is a condition that causes people to be very sleepy during the day even after a full night of sleep. People with the condition have trouble waking up from sleep. They also may wake up confused and disoriented. Naps typically don't lead to feeling refreshed.

  Idiopathic hypersomnia is not common, and the cause of the condition is not known.

  The need to sleep can strike at any time.

• 
  

So Donald Trump's condition seems unlikely to improve, though no doubt his doctors are doing everything humanly possible to address his symptoms and to prolong his life. He himself has said that he is in perfect health and also that he had "aced" a cognitive test, which was actually just a simple dementia screening, . 

Trump does have a few moments now when he wakes up and seems much like his old self. 

The dementia usually associated with Trunp's condition, hypersomnia, progresses in stages that can vary with the individual. We don't know what stage Trump is experiencing right now nor what its likely effects on his longevity might be. The President himself says that he is in perfect health, 100%!  Since he is not being candid, the citizens of this country really don't know what to expect. Is Trump likely to survive to the end of his term? That is somethingn completely unknown. 

Here is the short test that Mr.Trump has taken and bragged about "acing." I also "aced" this simple screening, getting all the questions right--it's just a very basic way to check on issues in someone not showing any obvious symptoms.

The 

Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a popular, quick (10-min) screening tool for detecting mild cognitive impairment and dementia.

Does Mr, Trump show any cognitive impairment?  

He says the answer is: "Absolutely not!" 

And what about Epstein? Let's just skip questions on that issue now, as well.

         Trump is still embroiled in the Epsrein matter, but has been trying to ignore it.

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Wash. Post, Behind the Supreme Court’s Push to Expand Presidential Power

Republican-appointed justices should keep in mind that a president's tenure is limited and that a 

Democratic president could well come into office during their own lifetime, even perhaps rather soon. 

The odds are not great that Donald Trump, with all his ailments and despite top-notch medical care,

will survive until the end of his term. And the national electorate could then favor a Democrat to become our next president. 

NY Times, Troops Involved in Boat Strikes Face a ‘Moral Injury' Risk, Experts Say

They had found themselves torn between obeying orders and doing something they considered wrong. 

Wash. Post, DOJ sues Georgia county as Trump pushes debunked 2020 election fraud claims

President Donald Trump has pressured his administration to find widespread voter fraud, despite those claims having been dismissed in dozens of cases by the courts.

Trump simply doesn't want to admit that he lost that election. 

He also doesn't want to admit that he is losing his memory about that election and about many other events.

"Republicans Panic as Election Losses Pile Up UnderTrump" https://www.thedailybeast.com//republicans-panic-as-election-losses-pile-up-under-donald-trump/?via=ios

So far, Trump has dismissed these election losses as simply "fake news."

And what is happening now regarding the controversial ballroom project?

The organization, which is charged by Congress with historic preservation, is seeking to halt construction on one of the president’s priorities. (Wash. Post)

National Trust sues to stop White House ballroom construction--Wash. Post

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Without subsidies, health care will get costlier for these 3 families | AP News https://apnews.com/article/congress-health-care-subsidies-cost-aca-premiums-6a69b51aee8a6b04353b914e044f4efa

(The families featured represent many of the types of families being affected.) 

At least 2 killed and 8 hurt in shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island

This is part of the tragic legacy of the National Rifle Association's successful push for the 

"right to bear arms." Western Europe, Ireland, and the UK don't have to endure this sort of carnage.

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PBS, Hondurans vote in close presidential race overshadowed by surprise Trump 

intervention

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Hondurans voted to elect a new president only days after U.S. President Donald Trump intervened in a close race with an endorsement of one candidate and had 

announced that he would pardon a former president.

NPR, Honduras seeks arrest of ex-President Hernández after Trump pardon

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A former DC neighbor tekks me:

This morning I checked out the bird bath in my front yard thinking to replace the water, but ran into 2 inches of solid

ice. So, I knocked out the ice, refilled the bird bath, and went back into my house. When I looked out my front 

window, I saw that a swarm of birds had pounced on my neighbors' bird feeder. At first I thought that it was just a 

coincidence that they were visiting the feeder right after I had put out water for them. But, then I saw them moving 

back and forth between the bird bath and the feeder and realized how the birds (and we) often rely on addressing 

multiple connected needs.

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BALTIMORE (AP) — Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose mistaken deportation helped galvanize 

opposition to President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, was released from immigration 

detention on Thursday, and a judge has temporarily blocked any further efforts to detain him.

Abrego Garcia currently can’t be deported to his home country of El Salvador thanks to a 2019 

immigration court order that found he had a “well founded fear” of danger there. However, the 

Trump administration has said he cannot stay in the U.S. Over the past few months, government 

officials have said they would deport him to Uganda, Eswatini, Ghana and, most recently, Liberia.

Abrego Garcia is fighting his deportation in federal court in Maryland, where his attorneys claim the 

administration is manipulating the immigration system to punish him for successfully challenging 

his earlier deportation.

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Reuters Inside Honduras’ election chaos: Infighting, delays, and broken systems

The Honduran elections are still undecided and Trump's efforts to name a winner have only further

 complicated matters.

Reuters 

Honduras special vote recount expected to begin as presidential election deadlock prolongs

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In a recent radio interview, Dolly Parton recalled how as a young singer, she was catapulted to 

fame by an agent. That may also have happened to Elvis Presley.  Agents may have helped  

a few pop singers to actually become famous. 

With book promotions, the odds of success and fame are small and an agent always takes a large 

chunk of any profit. Still, I probably would have done better at obtaining greater profit myself and 

more readers if I had accepted offers from an agent, whose own profit also depends on book sales. 

But I just didn't like that system. I thought a book should be judged on its own merits, not because 

of promotion, But, of course, if no one even knows about a book or actually reads it, how can it be 

judged? I might have done better in selling my books with the help of an agent who knew the 

system. I learned that lesson rather too late. 

But my books are still good reads, having gotten even more interesting over time, if anyone 

reading this blog should consider buying them. If you do so and want to send me a copy

of either or both books for my signature, I'd be happy to sign. (They are also on Kindle.)  

                                 In 1908, many children arrived at Ellis Island from overseas. 

                                 They and their descendants helped populate our country.