This is a message I just sent to my grandson Andrew, now a medical student in Texas.

Andrew, it is evident from your photo that you have lost weight. Your father Jon has also lost some weight, but not as much as you have, and he is taking a weight-loss drug, which maybe is something you also are doing? I do remember when we used to go out to eat and you would finish all the leftovers on everyone's plate.

Usually Jon just drinks coffee in the morning and eats nothing or very little until evening, when he eats a fairly hearty meal. No doubt, you inherited your physique from him, but you are much taller. Jon, how tall are you? 5' 10"? I don't think now at age 88, that I even reach 5' 2". I have shrunk.

My message to grandson Andrew then continued.

Here I was with son Jon and daughter Stephanie about one and half years ago.

When I (Barbara) was a health volunteer with the Peace corps in Honduras, 2000-2003, I even had helped deliver babies and assisted in the operating room, though the only quasi-medical experience I've ever had was related to occupational therapy. Yet, I was still helping out in the operating room in Honduras during those Peace Corps years and even since then.

In Honduras, 2 surgeries often take place in the same operating room.

I am very sorry now that under Trump, the Peace Corps has almost disappeared, as he simply doesn't want to support anything associated with the Kennedy family. The Kennedy Center is now closed and may even be torn down. No one wants to appear there now in the renamed Trump-Kennedy Center.

All for now, so tell us how much weight you've lost, maybe like Jon with a weight-loss drug? You're looking good!

Love, Grandma

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My son Jonathan tells me he is only 5' 8". I thought he was taller--because from my vantagepoint, I have to look up at him.

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Back now to our erstwhile and current president, who sometimes has trouble keeping his hairdo in place.

As for judicial orders, Trump just considers them words on paper.

Judicial, smicial, Donald Trump might say about most judicial orders aimed at him, which he simply chooses to ignore.

Judicial orders just mean nothing at all to Mr. Trump. No one can tell him what to do, not even a court. He is the US president after all, the world's supreme leader. No one is higher. Forget about separation of powers. He's the guy in charge now.

So Donald Trump really doesn't care about judicial orders to stop him from cutting down trees at DC's municipal golf course, as he considers himself as the US president to be completely above the law. Actually, he is now the law, the supremo supremo. He apparently plans to keep on playing golf in the DC area even after his presidential term ends, but he doesn't like having so darn many trees around there, just obstructing his view, never mind what other visitors or golfers might prefer. Short of putting Trump behind bars and taking away his phone, what can a judge actually do? It might take a generation to fully restore the damage he has already done just on the municipal golf course, not to mention the damage he has done to the US reputation around the world, as well as all the serious harm, including deaths, that he has visited on so many people, both here and abroad.

Some Trump voters do still support him, but many others have had second thoughts. Too late, folks, as he is already the president until January 20, 2029, more than 2 years from now. And after that he may seek an unprecedented third term, even though the US Constitution forbids it. He really likes being in office and doing whatever he wants, making others follow his orders and obey his every command, like having them cut down those !@#$%&^ trees.

But he now needs to overhaul the Supreme Court, which has not always done his bidding, actually making him pay more than $5 million to E. Jean Carroll. That was quite a setback. But he is just going to keep on cutting down those trees, financed by taking money away from other essential programs.

Judge imposes sweeping emergency order halting DOJ pressure campaign on election officials across the country

How can Trump get around this one? There are so many voting sites around the country where he is trying to intervene and now many are simply fighting back. So he is trying to tackle them all at once with a big sweeping order, but a judge has even issued an emergency order against him for that. This has just been one more case of the president fighting against much of the rest of the government. He really dislikes "checks and balances." He completely rejects any checks on himself. He is the US president, after all!

Wash. Post, Judge blocks Trump administration from airing 3 taxpayer-funded ads

With Donald Trump and his administration, citizens cannot rely on the president's own judgment and moral compass to keep him from seeking to get away with illegal or unethical acts. Citizens and judges need to be alert to the enemy within. Courts and judges have been quite busy and it's not over yet.

‘Grasping at straws’: Judge tosses Trump suit against Wall Street Journal for report on Epstein letter

Trump cannot win them all, but he keeps on trying by fair means or foul.

Trump Approval Rating: Latest Polls

Silver Bulletin

https://www.natesilver.net › Models & Forecasts

Donald Trump's approval rating recently hit an all-time low of 36.3 percent, but has since rebounded about a point, and today sits at 37.3 percent.

So about one-third of the electorate still does support him.

Yet two-thirds, an actual majority of would-be voters, no longer support Mr. Trump. "Fake news" the president would shrug. He has already declared himself to be the very greatest, actually the very best, US president ever in our nation's long history, even greater than former presidents Washington and Lincoln. So forget those so-called polls now being fabricated by his political enemies, just envious of his popularity, wisdom, and superior judgment.

The Merck Medical Manual would describe Trump as having
"Narcissistic personality disorder... a mental health condition that is characterized by a pervasive pattern of feeling superior (grandiosity), needing admiration, and lacking empathy."

Yep, that certainly describes Donald J. Trump to a T. Why did so many Americans ever vote for Mr. Trump? He didn't win by a landslide in this last election, yet a slight majority of voters actually did support him. Some do regret their vote, but it's too late now, with still more than 2 years left until January 2029.

Could Trump possibly be impeached before that? Well, yes and no.

Google warns that impeachment requires a very heavy lift.

House of Representatives (The Charge): The House holds the sole power of impeachment. A simple majority vote is required to pass articles of impeachment.

The Senate (The Trial): The Senate holds the sole power to try all impeachments. A two-thirds supermajority vote of the members present is required for conviction and removal from office. The Chief Justice of the United States presides over presidential impeachment trials.

Penalties: Conviction results in removal from office and potential disqualification from holding future federal office. It does not bar criminal liability.

Trump has already beaten impeachment efforts twice, nor has any US president ever been removed by impeachment. If he were impeached once again, Trump is still confident of beating it. Just bring it on!

Donald Trump (2019 & 2021) – Impeached Twice

First Impeachment (2019): Abuse of power and obstruction of Congress regarding dealings with Ukraine. Acquitted by the Senate in 2020.
Second Impeachment (2021): Incitement of insurrection following the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Acquitted by the Senate in February 2021.

Is Donald Trump just a frenemy of the American people, someone who pretends to have their interests at heart, but who is actually undermining them for his own benefit? That certainly seems to be the case.

So would a third Trump impeachment be the charm? Two more years until the end of his term just seems like too long to wait.

Here now is a voter appeal that agrees that Americans cannot endure Trump and Trumpism any longer.

Yet impeachment, given that Mr. Trump still has many supporters in Congress and even among the citizenry, seems unlikely to actually be achievable. Certainly the country is divided. Are we just going to muddle through until Trump's presidential term ends? Then what? As long as that man remains here on planet earth, he will keep on being a troublemaker for you, me, and everyone else.

Here now is a recent message from a friend living out west:

Hello citizens of the United States of America. Are you guys ok? Just in case you are wondering...The rest of the planet sees you and are still with you.

People overseas are paying attention to our Tuesday elections! Yes, they know the situation will get much worse not just for us, but for the citizens of other countries as well if Democrats do not win.

At my age, I don't like standing in line waiting at the polls, so I've already voted on an absentee ballot and, yes, I voted a straight Democratic ticket.

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Dr. Leana S. Wen

Wash, Post, Why daylight saving time should be eliminated entirely

Standard time should become the standard. Some places in the nation--namely Hawaii, Arizona, and US territories--already use standard time all year 'round, an annual clock that best supports human health and wellbeing.

But opinions are divided; Donald Trump actually would prefer annual daylight savings because of his own personal habits. He likes getting up late, snoozing at meetings, and staying up until the wee hours, calling folks even during the night. Melania sleeps elsewhere and fallows a different schedule.

Here was Donald Trump nodding off recently, eyes closed while RFK Jr. was talking. Whenever that happens, perhaps every day, Trump says he has been listening intently, just resting his eyes.

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Yahoo News, Man Arrested After Fatally Shooting Two Roommates for Eating His Ice Cream

High time now to update the "right to bear arms." People change, times change, laws change, so the time has come to update our US gun laws. Too many folks with access to guns just act on impulse, killing others for no good reason. They may come to regret it after their victims are already dead.

The NRA's "right to bear arms" has had too many recent victims right here in the USA, so that so-called "right" urgently needs to be updated before any more people are killed; their "good guy with a gun" is never on hand to stop all these random killings which do not afflict other modern nations. Citizens living in other countries without easy gun access, may fight, punch each other in the gut, call each other names, but they simply don't shoot to kill. And, sometimes, after tempers have cooled, they may even simply shake hands to try to work things out. The American fight for independence took place some 250 years ago, so guns are no longer needed for doing that now.

All firearms in this country should be locked up safely away from unpredictable and often impulsive civilians unless being used at a sport shooting range, as in Switzerland, just hitting targets there, not actual people. This is a public health priority. So no more "right to bear arms" because the ongoing toll of deaths and injuries just needs to stop. Guns kept in the home usually end up killing or injuring the occupants, so no more guns kept at home either. The risks are simply too great. Changing these habits will not be easy and the NRA will put up a fight. But the numbers don't lie. No other modern nation has the many gun deaths that we have here. My son still has a foot injury from age 11 when another curious boy dropped a bedside gun that went off in a neighboring house. Fortunately, my son was not killed.

Fewer guns should be manufactured and sold here in the US from now on, while those already in civilian hands need to be collected and dropped in the ocean. Nor should humans be out shooting endangered wild animals any more. The NRA must be challenged now and prevented from holding our whole nation hostage. Fewer guns in circulation simply means fewer gun deaths. Just look at the numbers in other countries. Private gun ownership is not protective, but actually is dangerous to all associates, family members, and the gun owners themselves.

You can still buy several types of firearms right here in Berkeley Springs.

‘It all happened so fast,’ Oregon educator who confronted school shooter says

Yes, shootings can happen in minutes, even just in seconds. The Oregon teacher seen below, Cassidy Schutz, threw her phone at the 16-year-old gunman, a former student at the school, and tried to tackle him. Yet a teacher and 3 children were killed, as well as the young gunman himself. Several others were injured. This tragedy could have been totally prevented by jettisoning the so-called "right to bear arms."

Guns simply do not belong in civilian hands. They are not protective, nearly always injuring or killing the gun owner or a family member or innocents like the Oregon school students.

And those injured or killed there in Oregon were not our nation's only gun victims.

Dozens injured, at least 6 dead in Halloween weekend gun violence at nightlife districts across US

These frequent, almost routine, deaths and injuries of US civilians by private gun owners just do not occur in other developed countries with stricter gun laws.

Americans had initially resisted wearing seatbelts, but since they became mandatory with traffic tickets being given to the unbelted, many lives have been saved. At first, people complained, but after being stopped and getting tickets, they finally complied. Now everyone buckles up automatically without even a second thought.

Time now to update "the right to bear arms" to reduce gun deaths. Americans can get used to living without personal firearms, settling disputes in other ways.

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The blog police seem to have loosened their grip, so let's see if these images posted now will remain. Not so long ago, the blog police were zapping all my photos right and left, and also some text, just swooping in to remove whole sections of this blog without any warning or redress.

But then there was a backlash everywhere and they seem to have retreated. Let's see now what happens next. Those nasty blog police have apparently not been actual humans, but just apps gone rouge. They simply went a little too far.

Even at a protected gun range, things can go wrong if a shooter doesn't aim for the target and shoots himself instead. Guns are dangerous!

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Now for something tasty to eat to soothe our rattled nerves.

I'd really like to try this item from my Florida-based daughter's Goodness menu, but her food simply won't make it here to West Virginia via the US mail. We've already tried that, just creating a big mess. So now I'll have to enjoy her dishes "virtually" until I'm actually able to visit Florida again.