Waiting for snow in Havana is actually the title of a memoir. Cuba's last known snowfall was recorded at higher elevations way back in February 1900. So it might be a while before more snow falls there again.

Let's hope that Donald Trump's retirement from the American presidency occurs long before it snows in Havana, though his retirement won't occur for some 18 more months. That's too long to wait! Not soon enough! How did such a weird, crazy, mixed-up guy ever become our president? He is in a category all of his own. He may even need mental health treatment, but he didn't need to become our president! It was really just a fluke.

Yes, Trump became our US president just through a fluke and a series of freak accidents, along with a few lucky breaks, perhaps lucky for him, but not for the rest of us. It happened only as the result of a very unfortunate accident of the Electoral College system. In most countries, the election winner is whoever gets the most votes, but here in the US, that isn't necessarily the case. Even Trump was surprised by his first Electoral College presidential win.

He had actually fallen thousands of votes short of Hillary Clinton's vote total, so she seemed right on track to become our first woman president. If Trump had not actually been declarded the winner back then, that might well have ended his entire political career.

Here is Fortuna, the Roman goddess of fickle fate. She seems to have really favored Donald J. Trump. And so he became the US president, not just once, but even now once again.

Donald Trump appeared recently at the re-scheduled Correspondents' dinner, wearing a red hat saying Trump 2028. What was that about? An unprecedented 3rd term? A Republican vice presidential candidacy? Trump has been keeping everyone guessing. And pity the poor president stuck with Trump as vice president.

Now Donald Trump hopes to leave a lasting legacy. He has indicated wanting to be remembered as a really great president. Is that even possible?

Will Penn Station be named after Trump? Here's what to know.

Please no! The fewer reminders there are of the travesty of Donald J.Trump, and of the unfortunate accident of his presidency, then so much the better for everyone, both for those now still living and for those not yet born.

What will be the verdict of history? Will Trump be remembered as perhaps actually the very worst president ever? As someone who evaded the draft by declaring he had bone spurs, a malady just of the elderly? A guy who can hardly read and write? Someone who barely escaped being charged with rape! A man who is a compulsive liar? He is scarcely on a par with Abraham Lincoln, with whom he often compares himself. Rather he is more like Ulysses S. Grant, the very worst president, or even just a tad below Grant. Why some Americans ever voted for Donald Trump remains a real mystery. What were they actually thinking? Were they even thinking at all? Many now regret their vote. Some even wish they could take back their vote, but it's really too late now!

Trump administration admits grants for clean energy were canceled based on politics

States where a majority of voters had chosen Harris just had their grants canceled. Serves them right for not voting for Trump.

Measles cases hit highest level in 35 years

Donald J. Trump and RFK Jr. really hate vaccines--with that sharp nasty needle piercing the skin, making little children cry. They also link vaccines with autism, advising avoidance of vaccines altogether. Now, without vaccinations, many youngsters are getting quite sick, with a few even dying, and others being left with lifelong disabilities. What is the trade-off? What is the benefit? You will see that autism still continues, even without vaccinations. Nor will autism become even less common. Probably vaccines have nothing whatsoever to do with autism.

RFK Jr. also dislikes anti-depressants, though many consider them a lifeline. He does have a point in observing that Americans often seek "overmedicalization". The solution to a problem or to life's many challenges may not require just taking a pill. So RFK Jr. may be right sometimes, but is too often quite wrong. Folks should just use their own judgment about whether to follow his advice.

Trump escalates Smithsonian attack with order for signs outside history museum

Donald Trump has ordered his administration to install signs at the Smithsonian's U.S. history museum saying some exhibuis are inaccurate.

What is history? What is truth? What actually has happened in the past?

History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. (Wikipedia)

Much of the evidence helping to reconstruct the past relies on artifacts, sculptures, drawings and paintings, as well as on written records, whenever available. Any such items are all examined and interpreted using the tools we have today. Being unable to now enter the mindset of those who had once made or had written about such items and who had observed or participated in associated events, we can only try to infer their thinking and actual motivations. So our present-day analysis is a summary, an approximation, and not quite the same as actually being there. Consequently, it is entirely possible that the interpretation of past events may vary according to the perspectives of and methods used by historians, who may not always agree.

And it is also true that evaluations and analyses of past events will always be influenced by the attitudes and perspectives of the analysts. Thus, analysts who are avid Trump supporters may consciously or even inadvertantlys skew their findings to support what they consider to be Trump's own perspective. That is what may be actually happening now at the Smithsonian museums, deviating from what has been previously considered accepted history to now align more with Trump's own thinking and preferences. Take one example: slavery. Some slaves were well-treated by their masters and some were even freed to go their own way, while others may have been beaten, raped, or even killed by their owners. Trump and his advocates would like to emphasize the more benign aspects of slavery and to ignore the many cruelties that had also occurred. Those who support the Trump perspective are actually a rather small minority of the entire American population and there-in lies the problem for a nation dedicated to majority rule. It would take a whole book to properly analyze this matter, including an analysis of Trump's own perspective and influence, with some such books already being written.

Here we see the Vances, including their new baby, in a nice family photo. JD Vance is still aligned with Trump, which does nothing for his own reputation.

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Actor Johnny Depp now appears as Ebenezer Scrooge out in San Diego, where the snow there is obviously fake.

Locals were quite excited to see him, busily taking photos for their blogs and albums,

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The Iran war is not over yet. Mr. Trump had found it quite easy to start this war, but now

doesn't seem to know how to end it.

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My good friend Sonam in Bhutan is seen here with her younger daughter.

She also has an older daughter and a son.

Sonam has been out watering her flowers.
She tends a big garden, with flowers to give away and sell.

Sonam considers me her honorary "Auntie", which is how she always addresses me.

I have several friends in Bhutan. They were once anxious to come to our country, but since Donald Trump became president, that is no longer the case.

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With no radio, TV, or internet, ancient royals often ordered up live entertainment during their waking hours.

Maybe I've already mentioned this on the blog, but cannot actually remember. So my readers may not remember either. In any case, I woke up in the night sweating because the heat was turned up full blast now in mid-summer. We have barely used air conditioning so far this summer, because it's really not been hot, though actual indoor heating has certainly not been needed either. I got up to turn off the heat and to look for my son to scold him for turning on the heat, but he wasn't in his bed. I finally found him sleeping out on the screened porch with the dog, having gone there to escape the heat that he had turned on inside. All this seems to have happened while he was still half-asleep.

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My son often takes our dog Willow out on a leash into grocery stores, public bathrooms, and restaurants. He tells people that she is his therapy dog. She has been good therapy for him after his separation from his wife, as well as a good companion for me while he is away at work.