Donald Trump, already a lame duck, has now become even lamer. A slight majority of the electorate won him the presidency two years ago, but an even larger majority have turned against him right now. But no, "I don't view it as a hit on me," he said of the outcome of the midterms. Trump himself has another explanation. He said Republican candidates this time just could not "transfer that love" that his own supporters show him over to themselves. "I wasn't o the ballot."

Alas, other Republicans just don't have his own moxie, his smarts, his charisma--it almost takes his breath away to contemplate what a fantastic well-loved president he actually is, the wisest, most superior, most wonderful leader ever in American history, greater even than Washington and Lincoln. Whew!

Trump told voters, 'Pretend I'm on the ballot.' They did.

Midterms 2026: How Democrats built a blue wave and won control of Congress

Trump wasn't on the ballot. But exit polls suggested he was top of mind for voters.

NPR

Troy Jackson wins Maine Senate race over Susan Collins, in big victory for Democrats

Jackson defeated Collins, a Maine senator ever since 1997.

Trump talks about the White House ballroom project, not the midterms, in extended public comments

NY Times,

How Democrats

Turned Texas Blue

Trump asking advisers if Hegseth should go, sources say

Of course, Pete Hegseth should never have been chosen to begin with, so, yes, he needs to go now before making even more mistakes. Remember Franklin Targets Narco Terrorists? That's something that Hegseth had actually carried out, but not against real "narco terrorists," rather, by ordering a blatant war crime that killed unarmed civilian boaters navigating in international waters. He has continued to make other mistakes, such as requiring mandatory testosterone testing in the military.

Mandatory Testing: Male service members aged 30 and older must undergo mandatory testosterone testing, with the policy for women and younger members being reviewed. What is actually the point? Medical science does not support testosterone supplementation, which has limited benefits and may even be counterproductive by reducing natural production. So why even test testosterone levels at all?

Wash. Post, U.S. home prices are falling for the first time in 3 years

Are home prices falling because the US population is no longer growing, with fewer children now being born and immigration almost at a standstill? Or do these falling prices mean that a recession is already underway? It can be hard here to untangle cause and effect. Mortgage interest rates have risen, beneficial for those invested in mortgages, but not so great for borrowers.

So could recession fears even become a self-fulfilling prophesy? Could panic make folks behave in ways that actually harm themselves and the economy?

Google says, Yes, recession fears can become a self-fulfilling prophecy when widespread anxiety drives people and businesses to change their behavior in ways that contract the econ

A growing federal debt is now also helping fuel a vicious cycle. Paying down the cost of the federal debt requires an increase in interest rates to attract more investors, which, in turn, increases the cost of borrowing. So a vicious cycle then arises, threatening the entire economy.

A young female runner, Rachel Apa, age 24, collapsed and died because of a rare life-threatening condition, while she was running the NYC marathon last weekend.

The NRA's so-called "right to bear arms arms" has had even more victims. Guns are dangerous! Private gun ownership is just not protective., quite to the contrary. Look at the death tool among gun owners.

So high time to now end "the right to bear arms". No more keeping of guns at home because private guns actually hurt and kill those living there! Guns are dangerous! No other modern nation has so many civilian gun deaths, attributable directly to personal gun possession. Most people just don't know how to use guns safely. They make mistakes. Firearms should be used only by the military and
police, then kept locked up and never taken home. The time may come when even our police here can mostly go unarmed, as in the UK and much of Europe. Without a "right to bear arms", there will no longer be as many civilian gun casualties and deaths. Without any personal guns, everyone will then be so very much safer.

[If there is underlining there above, something which appears here now, but does not actually appear on the preview, then I didn't do it. The blog deities did that all on their own,]

And no more toy guns for kids either.

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Among those shot last weekend was a 5-year-old girl still wearing her Halloween costume, shot in the chest and now being treated in a hospital that is trying to save her.

Firearms belong with the military and perhaps with some in law enforcement. But not in unreliable erratic civilian hands, where they too often end up injuring, even killing, a gun owner or family members.

A gun may injure or even kill a child out trick or treating, just by ringing the wrong doorbell.

Gun owners are too often trigger-happy, acting impulsively and aggressively, then sometimes immediately regretting it. If someone has already been killed, too late then to express regret, as the action cannot be reversed.

So best for us all to adhere to a brand new maxim: "no more right to bear arms."

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Donald Trump has announced that he is immediately cutting off $2 billion in aid to Israel, the world's biggest recipient of US assistance, right now, 2 years ahead of schedule, because "they really don't need it." His announcement came as quite a shock to Israelis. He said it was Netanyahu's idea.