Birds of a feather

 So, now what's new? Unfortunately, not very much is new, as Donald Trump is still the US president.

Certainly, the fact that Trump is again making war-crimes threats is nothing new. He's not afraid of being prosecuted for actually carrying out any such threats, because he considers himself untouchable, invulneable, after having just survived actually raping E. Jean Carroll, a violent crime with no statute of limitations, but he is still not in jail now, He just paid a $5 million judgment for merely having "defamed" Carroll. For him, that was a minor setback, but one he can easily afford to cover. He is not in prison after all and remains the US president, still admiring himself and touting his abilities, now judging himself to be one of our nation's very greatest presidents of all time. 

Here's what Google, that universal authority, has to say about Trump's inflated self-assessment: 

A person who considers themselves more talented than they actually are is often experiencing the Dunning–Kruger effect. This cognitive bias causes individuals with limited skill in a specific area to overestimate their competence, largely because they lack the self-awareness to recognize their own mistakes. 

Depending on the exact nature of their behavior, both psychology and everyday language use several different terms to describe this type of overconfidence:

Superiority Complex: A defense mechanism often rooted in deep insecurity where an individual acts or claims to be superior to others to overcompensate for real or imagined inadequacies. 
Hubris: Extreme pride, self-confidence, or arrogance that often leads a person to believe they are invincible, exceptionally talented, or above the rules. 
Delusions of Grandeur: A psychiatric term for when an individual holds an unshakable belief in their own exaggerated greatness, power, or special abilities. 
Narcissism: A personality trait characterized by an inflated sense of self-importance, a deep need for excessive attention and admiration, and a lack of empathy. 

All that definitely describes Donald Trump to a T, as someone totally lacking in self-awareness with no notion of his own inadequcies or how others might actually regard him. His late father certainly was successful in bolstering Donald's ego, making him always feel superior to others even when that was hardly the case. His dad's notion of Donald Trump's superiority has stayed with him thoughout his life, although his father is now long gone. And his dad's exaggerated sense of his son's capabilities probably propelled Donald to seek the US presidency, as he never had experienced any doubts about his own ability to handle the job nor did he have any worries about the scandals he may have been involved in. Greatness was always his future destiny. Donald Trump even considers himself actually on an equal par with Abraham Lincoln, whom he acknowledges as our greatest president. Trump and Lincoln, the 2 greatest American presidents, standing above all others. Those who fail to see that reality are sadly deficient in their judgment. So never any self-doubts or regrets for Donald Trump.since he is always right. But it was really rather annoying and a bit concerning that he had to pay that $5 million to Carroll, though he could easily afford it. He wanted to appeal to the Supreme Court, several of whose justices he had actually named himself and whom he would have expected to rule in his favor, but then they failed to respond, so he had to let it go and just pay that $5 million.

Trump has now moved on, focusing instead on Iran, saying in a post on Truth Social: "From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran.” 

Targeting civilian infrastructure could well be considered a war crime. In fact, under international law, it actually is a war crime to target civilian areas that are not a military objective. But, so what? If he decides to actually do it, Trump will deal with the consequences later. After one of his missiles had hit an Iranian girls' school, killing all the little girls and teachers inside, Trump admitted that was a mistake, as the school was not in the intended target. Did that then make it OK? Still sounds like a war crime, 

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Nor are some Trump appointees doing any better than he is,

like US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., whose father and uncle I had once admired.

Our country had already officially removed measles as a threat to American children. Measles had been declared eliminated from the United States back in 2000 by the World Health Organization (WHO), based on the success of routine vaccinations. But thanks--or "no thanks"-- to Donald Trump and his Health Secretary RFK Jr., by deliberately undermining trust in vaccinations, means that measles is surging once again.  As of July 16, 2026, 2,260 confirmed measles cases were reported in the US. Measles can be deadly or have life-long health consequences. RFK Jr.,Trump's designated  "health czar.," tasked with protecting and improving Americans' health, has publicly eroded faith in childhoodvaccinations by linking them without any clear evidence to autism. The result has been abandonment by parents of once routine childhood vaccinations, leadig to unnecessary deaths and to lifelong disability among many American children, whom vaccines would actually have protected. So what about a Health Secretary who simply undermines health and increases the incidence of illness, disability, and death? Maybe he deserves to actually be called the Sickness Secretary. 

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A printed newsletter, Amigos de Honduras, for former Peace Corps volunteers who had served in that country, arrived recently by postal mail. It includes a report of Trump's recent pardon of former Honduran president Juan Orando Hernandez. Mr. Hernandez was the Honduran president who had received a 45-year sentence for drug trafficking after having moved over 500 tons of cocaine to the US, but Trump still has completely pardoned him, releasing him from prison. The newsletter report calls this "an incredible travesty." Trump said about Hernandez, "I like him." As has been mentioned before, Trump and his criminal pals all over the world are often described as "birds of a feather." Natanyahu is another such criminal bird. 

 Trump may actually have been snoozing less often lately, as he has had some visitors.

One recent visitor was Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Wash. Post, U.S. signs nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that gives it path to enriching fuel

The agreement with the kingdom, now signaling it wants a nuclear weapon, has sparked alarm among nonproliferation experts. Congress has 90 days to act on the deal.

The Hill, 6 in 10 Americans disapprove of Trump’s job performance: Survey

Trump often looks confused, seems at a loss for words, and completely garbles his speech

"Just more fake news!" Trump would simply say about such observations. In any case, there are still 18 months left to go in his term and the guy could do a whole lot of damage in that time. He could do a lot of damage tomorrow, even just today. 

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Daily Beast, Trump, 80, Unravels With String of Mental Slips on World Stage

SAY WHAT?

The gaffes are reminiscent of the flubs Trump once used to highlight the cognitive decline of President Joe Biden.

The Daily Beast points out multiple verbal gaffes and memory lapses by Donald Trump, widely noted as being similar to the flubs once used to mock the cognitive decline of his predecessor, Joe Biden.

Recent incidents cited by the Daily Beast include:

Volodymyr Zelensky: Trump repeatedly referred to the Ukrainian president as "President Putin" during a bilateral meeting at the NATO summit.
Mixed-Up Nations: He mistakenly confused the Islamic Republic of Iran with the "Islamic Republic of Japan".
Nuclear Accronyms: He mixed up Obama's JCPOA nuclear deal with the "JCPOC".
Fictional Apps: He bragged about his popularity on a social media app that does not actually exist.

At age 80, Donald Trump is not the only one with memory problems. It happens to us all--our memory begins to fail. We just forget things! We mix up names, dates, places. It has happened to me at age 88. If it hasn't happened to you yet, just wait. 

On this blog, I've mentioned several elected representatives who seemed to be "losing it." This had inspired a serious discussion of having upper age limits for public servants and elected officials, as well as lower age limits. Of course, some older elected representatives defy the odds, maintaining fairly clear thinking and speaking abilities even into their 90's, just as some young folks show abilities well beyond their tender years. But we have to go with the averages, just as with driver's licences, marriages, and voting. So what should be the upper age limit for elected representatives, 80, 85, 90? Senator Strom Thermond (R-South Carolina) lived to age 100 while still in office, but died soon after that birthday. Still, I don't think we actually want to go there, as age 100 seems a bridge too far. Give someone else a chance! What about 90, at least as the limit for running for reelection? Of course, something  like 24 current members of the House are 80 or older and more than half are running for reelecttion. That seems like too many, Maybe 85 should be the limit to run. Of course, people differ. The late California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein in her late 80s and early 90s, faced significant public scrutiny regarding her mental fitness and her memory,

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), at age 92, is now the oldest currently serving member of  Congress, saying that he has not yet decided whether he will run for reelection. At age 86,  Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California), the mother of 6 adult offspring, has announced that she is retiring after 40 years and won't be runiing for reelectiom in 2026. She needs to keep tabs  on her husband of the same age back in California, as he seems to be having trouble with driving and probably should give it up. 

With Donald Trump now making so many gaffes, he should definitely retire at the end of his current term. I'd even say he should retire right now because he could even get our nation and the world into pretty big trouble meanwhile. But then JD Vance would take over and, at his age, he could stay in office quite a while longer. We certainly don't want that, So, come on Democrats, who do we have now? Who is an up-and-coming younger Democrat ready to inspire the Party? It's hard to actually identify anyone at all. 

We need an FDR, a Harry Truman, even a Jimmy Carter, somone with personality and drive, but preferably a woman this time--can Kamala possibly make a comeback? She's been awfully quiet lately.