Senator Mike Lee is Wrong on High Court Amendment

Mike Lee suggests President Biden's proposde amendment to the Constitution will "deligitimitize" the Supreme Court. I think not. The High Court is not deligitimitized just because you put it back in its own lane. It has been taking over more and more power and needs to be reeled in and put back in check. Lee also suggests Congress doesn't have authority to establish ethics rules for another branch of government. I disagree with Lee on the process. Constitutional amendments can start in Congress, but they have to go through the states. Also of note, the Constitution does not place the High Court in the process. So, Lee is wrong if he is suggesting ethics standards can only come from the court itself.

Studying 'The Last Supper' Controversy There's a lot of studying that can be done on whether the drag queen play in the Olympic Opening Ceremonies was an intended put-down of Christians. Was da Vinci, himself, gay? Don't know. It seems certain he was celebate. How does the blue Dionysis fit in when it is suggested the Opening Ceremonies play parodied "The Last Supper"? Answer: Dionysis doesn't enter the short play until after the initial showing that is being compared to "The Last Supper."
Was the image cropped? From what I have found, no, it wasn't. At that point in the play, there were only twelve characters, though others did come on board as the play progressed. Was Christian imagery stolen from pagen legends and festivals? "The Last Supper" painting was created in 1495-1498. The "Feast of the Gods" painting was not created until 1635-1640. In this case, it appears paganism was stealing from Christianity, not the other way around.
Part of understanding the scene from the Opening Ceremonies is to realize just that: that it was a short play (can I call it a skit?) that progressed, as opposed to a still shot. Though I have studied this event greatly, I can see many of have also studied the details. Congrats to us. On one Facebook thread, someone asks what difference it makes, and suggests we get a life, and quit being so judgemental. Me? I think it has been worth studying.

'The Last Supper" does Appear to have Influenced It

  I don't know that I'm persuaded by those who suggest the scene from the Olympics Opening Ceremony was not influenced by Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" painting. Twelve people (in the image making the news, though more in the whole play) . . . almost the same as the Last Supper (13). One in the center . . . same as the Last Supper. The one in the center faces straight ahead while the others (many, anyway) are turned towards and giving attention to the middle person . . . same as the Last Supper, The poses of the drag queens are similiar to those of the apostles in the Last Supper. The person in the center is crowned with an aureole . . . same as Christ is often depicted. All versions of the Last Supper are not the same, but in those of the High Renaissance, Christ has such a halo. Many are saying the Opening Ceremony's play was based not on "The Last Supper," but "The Feast of the Gods," painted by the Dutch artist Jan van Bijlert. That painting also  has much in common with "The Last Supper," even to the point we wonder if  it, too, is a parody of "The Last Supper."

When asked about the short play, and the controversy that resulted, the artistic director (Thomas Jolly) did not specify that it wasn't a reenactment of The Last Supper. Instead, he defended the right to depict things the way he wanted and not depict them in a way that would please Christ worshippers. He said, "In France, we have freedom of creation, artistic freedom. We are lucky in France to live in a free country. I didn’t have any specific messages that I wanted to deliver. In France, we are republic, we have the right to love whom we want, we have the right not to be worshippers, we have a lot of rights in France, and this is what I wanted to convey.” One can easily wonder if he is taking a shot at the United States, suggesting that the U.S. doesn't allow the freedom of speech that is allowed in France.

What a Person Says Oten Reflects Who They Are

 
Because what a person often reflects who they are, here are some quotes from Kamala Harris to help you determine if you should vote for her.

"I care about the environment not because I have any particular desire to hug a tree, but I have a strong desire to hug a healthy baby." -- Kamala Harris

"I've had a lot of titles over my career, and certainly 'vice president' will be great. But 'Momala' will always be the one that means the most." -- Kamala Harris

"This is a country of possibilities." -- Kamala Harris

"At every step of the way, I've been guided by the words I spoke from the first time I stood in a courtroom: 'Kamala Harris, For the People.'" -- Kamala Harris

"The truth is that the vast majority of Americans are good, fair, and just, and they want their country to reflect those ideals." -- Kamala Harris

"America's democracy is not guaranteed. It is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it." -- Kamala Harris 

"The American dream belongs to all of us." -- Kamala Harris

“Anyone who claims to be a leader must speak like a leader. That means speaking with integrity and truth.” -- Kamala Harris

"There is no vaccine for racism." -- Kamala Harris

"I believe that any child going without an education is a crime." -- Kamala Harris

"For as long as ours has been a nation of immigrants, we have been a nation that fears immigrants. Fear of the other is woven into the fabric of our American culture, and unscrupulous people in power have exploited that fear in pursuit of political advantage." -- Kamala Harris

 "When you can’t sleep at night, how can you dream?" -- Kamala Harris

"The criminal justice system punishes people for their poverty." -- Kamala Harris

"My mother tells the story about how I’m fussing, and she’s like, ‘Baby, what do you want? What do you need?’ And I just looked at her and I said, ‘Fweedom.’” -- Kamala Harris

"Here’s the truth people need to understand: To tackle the challenges of the 21st century, we must empower women and families." -- Kamala Harris

"No one who is the subject of that hate should ever be made to fight alone." -- Kamala Harris

"Democracy just cannot flourish amid fear. Liberty cannot bloom amid hate. Justice cannot take root amid rage. America must get to work ... We must dissent from the indifference. We must dissent from the apathy. We must dissent from the fear, the hatred, and the mistrust." -- Kamala Harris

"My daily challenge to myself is to be part of the solution, to be a joyful warrior in the battle to come." -- Kamala Harris

"The measure of you is so much bigger than you; it’s the impact you have, it’s what you do in service to others." -- Kamala Harris 

"We are a nation that, at its best, loves, protects, and helps our fellow Americans." -- Kamala Harris

"In the years to come, what matters most is that we see ourselves in one another's struggles." -- Kamala Harris

"My whole life, I've only had one client, the people." -- Kamala Harris

"We must measure up to our words and fight for our ideals because the critical hour is upon us." -- Kamala Harris

"Let’s fight with conviction. Let’s fight with hope. Let’s fight with confidence in ourselves, and a commitment to each other—to the America we know is possible, the America we love." -- Kamala Harris

"My mother was and will always remain my greatest hero." -- Kamala Harris

 
Real Values

French values are not ours
And we can be happy they're not
The Paris opening ceremonies
Were not what they ought

There was this parody
Of DaVinci's Last Supper
Hardly a good thing
Not super-duper

Drag queens replaced apostles
In reenacting that picture
You can be certain
That's not in line with scripture

Then there was what
Was called a "menage a trois"
That's three lovers together
Three in the draw

The artistic director 
Saw nothing wrong
He praised his values
Yes, he really sang such a song

Someday the Olympics
Will be in Salt Lake
May we show better values
Values that are not fake

The Forces of Evil Come at Us from Both Sides

 
Says the meme, says the fear: "I was once willing to give my life for what I believed this country stood for. Today I would give my life to protect my family from what this country has become."

My thoughts are different, so I reply to that meme on Facebook by saying: "We're fine. We are still a nation of values. The forces of evil are stronger, and more people listen to them instead of to God, but we still remain overall a good and honorable nation. My fear is that this type of thinking falls right into the hands of those who would take over our nation. You worry that you need to give your life to protect your family from bad values? While the morals of our nation have dipped, let them not serve as excuse for turning on each other in war. Do you feel you will need to take up arms against the LGBTQ? Hey, hey, don't go that far; do not be persuaded of that. Live with those whose morals are not your own. Love them. The danger of our country falling into a civil war is real, and this kind of thinking falls right into the arms of those who are seeking to take our freedom away."

 
When the Economist Visited the Border

All you need to do 
Is to let the immigrant through your wall
The national debt won't go away
But it will help it take a fall

Down there on the border
Trump constructed a wall
He wanted to stop every one of them
When they came to call

And now he wants to mass deport them
Send them right back home
And whenever he speaks of them
His mouth begins to foam

But wait! Hear this!
An economist says he's a fool
For if you want a strong economy
The immigrant is a wonderful tool

Just take a current surge
Of migrants to the border
The economist says they'll make us
Far more than just a quarter

The taxes they will pay
And the spending they will do
Will stack up to almost a trillion
Pretty good money, from a man you call a villain

Yes, give them just a decade
And that's what they're going to do
And that will decrease the national debt
A lot, by the time they are through

 

None Dare Call it Treason

Just an afternoon walk through the halls of Congress
Forgive if I beat up the police
Just a sight-seeing mission
And everything I do, I do in the name of peace
I'm with the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers
But don't make much of that connection
For none should dare call This an insurrection

I would never climb the building's walls to do what I do
I would never shout and curse
For I'm about the kindest person
In all the the Universe

I go to church on Sunday
I'm a Christian every day
Don't you dare try to see it
Any other way

I do what I do in the name of patriotism
Don't you dare try to see it
Through any other prism

I'm not a man of violence
I'm not a man of strife
So don't you dare say
Anyone lost their life

Yes, for everything I do, I have reason
And none dare call it treason

 
The Light of a Dead Moon

A dead moon hangs in the western sky
Blood red
In a short time it will die

I lift my canteen
Emptying the flask
And turn back to complete my task

Morning will come
So I must complete this chore
Before the wounded moon
Casts its last light upon my shore

The subservients of history
Who salute too easily
Lined up the riverside
Masses by the millions
Had been taken for a ride

My charge was to free them
My charge, to set them free
Change their hearts
So they wouldn't so easily agree

The dead moon looked down on them
Soon it was to fall
I told them to look to it for guidance
Instead of the tyrant's call

They switched their view just in time
Their eyes shifted to the moon
And as the moon crashed to earth
The spell that hung over them
Was broken, just that soon

 

Razzmatazz

Great dreams and flying machines
America once was great
No ice patch loomed ahead 
That it could not skate

Has it wrecked and lost respect?
Some will say it has
But I see in our nation yet
Much razzmatazz

    I consider the settling of this valley (the Salt Lake Valley) and how some say it was a fulfillment of Isaiah 35:1, which speaks of the desert blossoming as a rose. And. I consider that if this is true, then the settling of my hometown, Rupert, Idaho, was also a fulfillment.

There stands a plaque in Rupert, proclaiming, "The Desert Blossoms." The area was considered a desert. A river ran through it, but diverting water from it would not serve many. It took what was then modern technology, hydroelectric dams, to make it possible for water to be pumped and canaled to the farms. The timeliness of the technology is attested to by Rupert High School being the first all-electric high school in the nation. Even, then, there was a limit to how many people the water could serve. But, when the Snake Plain Aquifer was discovered in 1947, it opened the area to more settlers. The government then invited military veterans to farm the land. My dad and mom won a farm in the drawing, and became part of the largest homestead farming project in the nation. Dad and Mom had been parade marshals in Manassa, Colorado, for the Pioneer Day and now, this short time later, were pioneers, themselves, opening up new land as America was going through some of its last expansion.

The Minidoka County project (Rupert area) became the largest homestead project in the nation. I've always joked that that kind of makes Rupert the New York City of rural areas.

Anyway, an area that was desert, covered with sagebrush, is now one of the noteworthy agriculture developments that our nation has had. It was once uninhabited. It once was solitary. (It still might be considered, "solitary," depending on how you take that word.) That it lacks natural water is testified to by the fact a strip of land next to my father's farm remained in sagebrush right up past the year Dad sold the farm.

So, would all this be a fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 35:1"The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose."

 
Wicked Weather

Wicked weather ravages our land
From where cold winds blow in Alaska
To where warm gales stir Miami's sand

The elements of nature will be forced to rearrange
And when there's too much pollution
We call it climate change

 
Really isn't True

How strong is this sentiment
This malice toward's America's government?
It was present on J-6
That day was a testament

Is there a strain of it this running through
Most every conservative?
Why can't we take pride in our country
And be more appreciative?

We've been taught to hate our government
We speak of the deep state, we do
And when it comes to loving our nation
That's something that really isn't true

 
Civil War II

George Lang said it
Ohio state Senator George Lang
And his words didn't ring American
Like when you sing Home on the Range

"If it comes down to war
We are the last stand"
Lang was calling for civil war
To break out across our land

It was just a reminder
That it is not just the Proud Boys
Who hate the American government
With a hate that destroys

 
 
Trump Might Try to Stop Her

Will she get on the ballot
In every state?
Or is there someone who will try to block her?
Someone who will try to berate?

Donald is known to twist elections
Trying to control them so he will win
But he will need the help of the courts
If he's going to commit this sin

Will Trump attempt to Block Harris from getting on the ballot?

 
Will he try to keep Kamala off the ballots? Donald Trump is capable of trying to alter the election. You can wonder if he won't approach states asking them not to certify Kamala Harris's being placed on the ballot. This is the guy famous for attempting to alter and steel elections. What makes you think he won't try to pull this out of his sleeve? What makes you think he won't try such a stunt?

The big storylines are over? Nope, this is one that yet might come up. This election has had more turns than a political thriller -- fiction, I that is -- and the book is not yet finished. Here's a turn of events that well could happen.

Each state has rules for qualifying to be on the ballot. Trump will look into them -- and look for excuses to say Harris doesn't qualify for the ballot even if she indeed does.

And, he will look not only at the states' requirements, but at federal and party requirements. He has already taken a step that direction. "Shouldn't the Republican Party be reimbursed for fraud in that everybody around Joe, including his doctors and the Fake News Media, knew he was not capable of running for, or being, President?" Trump posted on Truth Social. 

Trump says Harris is being placed on the ballot only through fraud. The rules of fair play weren't kept, so Harris is going on only in violation of them, according to Trump's line of logic.

We will yet see. Trump might or might not attempt to keep Kamala off the ballot. But, we do know this: He is capable of as much.

 
 
A Woman for President

A woman president
She will be the first
A Black woman president
And an Asian
Such things upon us burst

Kamala Harris will change history
And change it for good
She'll spell defeat for Donald Trump
And all those in his hood

 
Solitaires and Assassins

Once when society rejected them
They headed for the hills
Becoming solitaires
Living all alone

But have things changed
To where it is today
They're more likely to pick up a gun
To make someone groan?

They seek to etch their names
In the history books of time
They seek to take out
Someone who is well known

Lincoln had a killer
And he was way back then
But over all, it seems back then
More were solitaires
More of them just lived alone

She's the Anti-Trump

Trump and the Anti-Trump
Says podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen
Everything that Kamala is
Trump is simply blowing

She prosecuted sex predators for a living
Trump was one
Which one is more clean-living?

She shut down for-profit colleges for swindling
He was owner of such a place
Which one fought for justice
Of the two who are in the race?

Trump is owned by the big banks
Kamala's the AG who beat the biggest banks 
Which one makes more sense
To be in our presidential ranks?

Trump and the Anti-Trump
Which one will you choose?
The choice should be clear
With all of those things as clues

Krugman Slices and Dices Vance

 
It's not me saying it, but I am quoting Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman, and I am persuaded he is right. Three quotes from his recent column in The New York Times:

"Trump and Vance have a lot of things,  including this, in common: They're both con men who despise their most avid supporters."

"Vance, despite stiff competition, may be the most cynical major figure in modern American politics. You never know whether Trump believes the false things he says; Vance is smart enough to know that he has pulled off a monumental political bait-and-switch."

Vance "shows startling contempt for the people he grew up with." Contempt for who? Krugman says it is the common folk, those who are not elite. He quotes from Vance's book, Hillbilly Elegy, to make his point.

Those are not nice things Krugman, one of the world's most-respected economists, has to say about Vance.

 
A Devil Doesn't Lose His Horns

A devil doesn't lose his horns
Just because he says they aren't there
And he'll still hook you with them
And say, What's fair is fair

I am no devil, is what he'll say
There's no devil around here
And he'll coax you to like him
And tells you, There's nothing you should fear

Beware the devil, and all he is
Beware of Satan's grasp
He'll woo you with his dark deceit
Till in the end, you can only gasp 

 

 
More than Twenty

Twenty false claims all in one speech
Call them lies if you like
Donald Trump stated at least that many
And for that would should tell him to hike

It was the Republican National Convention
He spoke for an hour and a half
And for Donald Trump that's plenty of time
To say things that will make you laugh

Record inflation under Joe Biden?
Let's see, it was 3 percent in June
And the all-time record is 23 percent
That's really quite a big balloon

Trump repeats his lies over and over
And people just accept that they're true
But remember the story of Pinocchio
The guy whose nose just grew and grew

Trump said Biden wants to raise taxes
So they are four times what they are now
But Biden has never suggested or indicated that
So Trump, for that lie you can take a bow

And on and on throughout the night
Trump added lie after lie
And his listeners simply swallowed all that he said
More than 20 falsehoods before he said goodbye

 
A poem dedicated to Donald Trump:


Fooled the Crowd

The calm and the cool is not always the honest and fair
Sometimes when you smile and speak softly 
It simply means you've an orator's flair
Eloquent you are, skilled in your delivery
But what you're up to, it's really quite slivery
You're sly
So you give truth a fry
You're slick
But your intent is only to trick
You laugh when you're done
For you know you've fooled the crowd
They both admire and trust you
Through deceit you've got them wowed

Trump: One of the Greatest of Orators

 
Trump gave a sterling, grandiose speech tonight at the Republican convention. Who knows but what it wasn't about as great of an acceptance speech as any presidential nominee has ever given.

And, of certain, Trump is one of the greatest orators of our time. Slide him right up next to Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Barack Obama. 

And, Adolf Hitler.

If that last name sticks in your craw, it should. Trump has been accused of seeking to become a dictator, a Hitler, and, well, he has the polished oration of the Nazi leader. 

Vain and flattering words? His speech tonight was full of them. Sophistry? Yes.

Vaccinations Meant for Horses, not Babies?

 
It made the news for a moment, then the news moved on, what Trump told RFK Jr. on Sunday. It was the day after the shooting. The COVID-19 vaccinations, of course, were discussed, as that is one of Kennedy's most-valued issues.

"Remember, I said I want small doses. Small doses," Trump said, recalling what he said about vaccinations in general during a 2015 presidential debate.

"When you feed a baby, Bobby," Trump went on, "a vaccination that is like 38 different vaccines, and it looks like it's meant for a horse, not a --you know -- a 10-pound or 20-pound baby."

Perplexing and bewildering are these thoughts from our former president. When you feed a baby, it's like 38 different vaccinations? What exactly does that mean? What are you trying to say, Donald? And, "it looks like it's meant for a horse"? What are you saying there? That the syringe used is so large it looks like it should only be used on a horse, not a baby?

"Have you ever seen the size of it? It's just massive," Trump says. "And then you see the baby all of a sudden starting to change radically; I've seen it too many times. And then you hear that it doesn't have an impact, right?"

Trump probably was talking about vaccinations in general, not specifically about the COVID-19 vaccinations. Still, his words are strange. No baby is hit with a syringe so large it looks like it should be used on a horse. "And then you see the baby all of a sudden starting to change radically"? What kind of changes take place in the baby when they are vaccinated, Donald? 

Do we dismiss this all as just a strange conversation? Or are we wrong to wonder about Trump's mental stability?

 
 
Is Trump a Changed Man?

Still comes a dictator?
Still comes such a man?
Or did that shot that grazed him
Help him understand?

Is Donald Trump the same
As he was before?
Or did the shot shake him up
Shake him to the core?

 

Many and Mighty and Merciless

There were reports throughout the land of corruption
They were many and mighty and merciless
Graft and corruption prevailed
Many a leader was found to be larcenous

Not just in the leaders elected
The High Court also had its crime
Corruption on the highest bench
Cheatin' and favors and lyin'

The new face of America?
Reflecting a third-world look
The new face of America
Is one we wish was mistook

"I am a Gaffe Machine"

 
Have we let go of pushing President to step aside and let someone else fill the spot? Have we ceased to worry about and call attention to his mental missteps? We shouldn't  -- but that doesn't mean he definitely is too senile to be president. It simply means we should consider the mistakes and then decide.

The Guardian recently documented about two dozen of his slips. Let's just consider some of the more serious ones.

March 2022: During his State of the Union address, he said "Iranian" when he meant "Ukrainian," "American when he meant Delaware," and "profits when he mean prices."

September 2022: As he was thanking organizers of a conference on food insecurity, he asked if Jackie Walorski was there. Indiana Rep. Walorski had died the previous month in a car accident,

June 2023: As he concluded a speech about gun safety, he closed with, "God save the queen, man."

January 2024: During a meeting on reproductive health, he directed attention to health secretary Xavier Becerra, who he suggested was sitting in the room. It was actually homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas who was in the room.

"I am a gaffe machine," he admitted in 2018.

Are such slips excusable? Do we consider that we all misspeak at times? At the moment, I am neither ready to condemn him for his slips nor to give him a pass for them.

I will confess, though, that I do wish he would step down and let Kamala Harris ascend to the top of the ticket. The danger of Donald Trump winning the election, and becoming a dictator remains. The candidate going up against Trump needs no extra baggage. 

 

When America Comes Together

When America comes together
As it has upon this day
It is a beautiful country
And we wish such peace could stay

"While we may disagree
"We are not enemies"
Biden called for us to stand together
Shedding our natural tendencies

And Trump called for the same
"It is more important than ever that we stand united"
And in this, he is clear-sighted

Neighbors, friends, and co-workers
Citizens of the same land
If we could only hold on to this moment
Wouldn't America be so grand?

Closer to the Day?

 Bless Donald Trump. A bullet clipped his ear. Bless him to recover. He was defiant. He was brave in the face of gunfire, shaking his fist and crying, "Fight."

Bless America. Bless and protect those who run for office.

Shortly after the shocking and horrifying news reached me, I received a Facebook message blaming me for the shooting. 

"Do you consider your culpability in this heinous act?" I was asked. "You and others infected with Trump Derangement Syndrome?" My attacker then reminded me I had written a poem equating Trump to Adolph Hitler. "This sort of histrionic rhetoric encourages and incites deranged individuals. . . . Your rhetoric is not benign. It is not Christlike."

Taken back, I replied, "That I have seen in Trump a Hitler simply means I see in him a Hitler. That is my observation. With what has been revealed about Project 2025 the past week, my conclusion has only been confirmed."

I could not help considering how in some nations, if you wrote or said ill words about the leader, you might be arrested and tossed in jail. Negative opinions of the dictator are not tolerated. Reading my friend's words against me, I wondered if she would consider such arrest justified.

Where goes our nation? How could we drift so from our moorings? I am horrified by the shooting, but hope it does not move us closer to the day political opponents are tossed in jail simply for opposing the rule of the dictator. 

Trump Knows Project 2025 can help Him Take Over America

 
It is not unusual for those seeking to overthrow democracies to create blueprints describing how they are going to go about it. Think: The Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf.

Or, consider Project 2025, which is the outline of how America will be overthrown. Yes, it is the American version of Mein Kampf.

Project 2025 is the product of the Heritage Foundation. Public interest in the Heritage Foundation exploded when its president, Kevin Roberts, announced last week that "We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be."

A bloodless coup, then?

Project 2025 was written with Donald Trump in mind, but he quickly distanced himself from the project. 

"I know nothing about Project 2025," Trump posted."I have no idea who is behind it. I disagree with some of the things they're saying and some of the things they're saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them."

He knows nothing about Project 2025? He doesn't even know who is behind it? 

Funny, he was the keynote speaker at a 2022 Heritage Foundation meeting. In his speech, he called the Foundation's plans a "colossal mandate" and said it would "lay the groundwork for exactly what our movement will do" to "save America."

Trump is mentioned more than 300 times in the Project 2025 document. He knows good and well what it is and that it can serve him as an outline to take over America.

 

Cometh Project 2025

Cometh the Reaper
The Grim Reaper
Wearing the cloak of Project 2025

An American Mein Kampf
Is what it is
For it keeps Mein Kampf alive

He Convinced Me

 
   Then stick with Joe Biden. He was not without flaw, but overall, he knocked it out of the ballpark in his press conference. 
   Biggest error was when he referred to Vice President Harris as Vice President Trump. We can be sure that gave Trump a laugh.
   But, Biden stood for an hour, answering grilling question-after-grilling question, often with intricate explanation and remembering events of the past -- not perfectly, but as admirably as most anyone could do.
   Reviewing what he has already done and the notable accomplishments, he argued he is the best person to "finish the job."
   He convinced me. 
   
   

 
And You're Not

How many times did he say that?
"I'm president, and you're not"
At least a half dozen, I'd say

I guess it's something he wanted to remind us
Pretty much every day

It just seems a little strange
That he would go around saying so much
"I'm president and you're not"

Okay, then
You're the boss around here, Donald Trump
And that leaves us in a pretty bad spot

Things that Should be Taught in Our Schools

 
   Education is one of the pillars of democracy. And, there is more to it than reading, writing and arithmetic. Souls fit for democracy should be raised for democracy. This doesn't mean you indoctinate them, it means you teach them to think for themselves. 

  But, you must teach them about civic affairs -- you must. 

  You must teach them about the world about them -- you must.

   And, you must teach them about current issues -- you must.

   So, let's start with the world around them. They should be taught the modern backgrounds of the nations. How did Germany get it's start? How did Cuba? When did the Jews return to Israel?

   Then, a more troublesome matter, that of teaching them the backgrounds for some of the issues, such as guns, and abortion. Teach them what each side thinks, and why, and how those opinions came about. Is that asking too much? Is it wrong to teach the history of how each side arrived at their opinions? No, it's essential.

   We live in this world. We should read the primer before we enter into it. 

 
The Biggest Tent

It was the biggest tent
That tent called the United States
Everyone lived under it
They were all friends and mates

Demos loved Repubs
Repubs loved the Demos, too
All lived in the great big tent
Safely as animals in a zoo

You take such a tent
A tent of common love
And you'll find it's hard for someone from outside
To come in and start to shove

It's hard for them to work the crowd
Inciting friends against each other
Hard to get them riled up
Turning brother against his brother

So, what's wrong with America?
Where did we go wrong?
We failed to keep the Second Commandment
And, you should realize that, you ding-dong

 

The Threat Looms Just as Large

I will use the strongest language
The strongest I can find
I cannot afford to be gentle
I cannot be sweet and kind

It's the 1930s
And Hitler's name is on the ballot
He's loved and praised by many
He seems so great and gallant

It's 1998
And you can vote for Hugo Chavez if you like
Venezuela's freedom was lost that year
Now, what will yours be like?

It's 2024
And the threat looms just as large
If you vote against Joe Biden
Hitler will be left in charge

Freedom will not be maintained
It will be surely lost
If you vote for Donald Trump
So vote against him at all cost

Trump's Finest Hour: the Speech about Taking Over the Airports

File this one under great American speeches. And if you don't break out laughing when you read the speech, you don't have a sense of humor. And, if you believe the guy who leaves you laughing ought to be president of the United States, you greatly disrespect the office. This is an excerpt from President Trump's Independence Day address in 2019:

"In June of 1775, the Continental Congress created a unified army out of the revolutionary forces in camp around Boston and New York, and named after the great George Washington, commander-in-chief." (The Revolutionary forces were named after George Washington? Well, if you say so.) "The Continental Army suffered a bitter winter of Valley Forge, found glory across the waters of the Delaware, and seized victory from Cornwallis of Yorktown" (Minor slip of tongue there. Actually, Cornwallis fought at Yorktown, but he was not of Yorktown.) "Our army manned the air." (I'm not sure he is saying "air;" it sounds more like a word created just for the occasion; maybe "epp.") "It rammed the ramparts." (While most who transcripe it suggest he said "rammed the ramparts, watching his lips in the video shows he did not close his lips for the M sound in ramparts; instead, it appears he said "ranned the ramparts) "It took over the airports." (The first successful airflight didn't come until the Wright Brothers pulled it off in 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Just a small mistake, right?) "It did everything it had to do. And, at Fort McHenry, under the rocket's red glare, it had nothing but victory. And when dawn came, their Star-Spangled Banner waved defiant." (And, well, the Star-Spangled Banner still waving in the Fort McHenry dawn came in the War of 1812, not the Revolutionary War.)

Trump blamed his gaffe on his teleprompter going out. I fail to see how that gets him off the hook. If the teleprompter went out, that means you were left to go by your own knowledge. That means that by his understanding, they did have airplanes and airports during the Revolutionary War. Well, well.

The whole affair is made worse by the dishonesty of those who tried to pin the revision of history not on Trump, but on Biden. Broadcaster Joe Rogan quoted Biden as saying, "One of the reasons we lost the Revolutionary War -- one of the problems of the Revolutionary War -- was that they didn't have enough airports." Rogan said if anyone else holding a job had said that, they would have lost their job. "You're done," they would have been told. Minutes later, on the same program, someone played the quote, showing it was not Biden, but Trump who goofed up. Rogan's response? "So he f---ed up." So, if it's Biden who messed up, he should lose his job, but if it was Trump, no big deal? Brush it off and forget about it?

Trump's speech came as part of the "Salute to America," a showy Forth of July celebration featuring America's military weaponry, including tanks and fighter jets. Trump said he got the idea for Salute to America while French President Emmanuel Macron was hosting him at the Bastille Day military parade in France, and Trump told Macron he wanted to "top it," by putting on an even-more impressive show. Trump's extravaganza came at great expense, a reported $5.4 million, which caused great hand ringing and debate, many pointing out such money should have been appropriated by Congress if it was to be spent.

As for myself, I could not help but see a parallel between Trump's military celebration and Putin's Moscow Victory Day Parade held each year in Russia. Military pageantry in Russia and now corresponding military pageantry in the U.S. -- how fitting, since we might soon be joining Russia as one of the world's great dictatorships.

Is Patriot Front New to Sen. Mike Lee -- or has He Actually Heard of Them?

Well, Sen. Mike Lee says he's never head of Patriot Front. He posted a video of the group protesting Saturday on the streets of Nashville. Don't know what all was on the video, but one news report said the protesters carried Confederate Flags, and chanted "Deportation saves the nation,' and "Seig Heil." 

And, Lee has never heard of them? Patriot Front participated in the rally in Charlottesville in 2017. That was the big news story at the time, but if Lee paid attention to those who participated, perhaps he has forgotten them -- it was seven years ago. Then, the group made the news last summer, for allegedly plotting a riot in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Six of those arrested were from the state Lee represents -- that would be Utah. Bloomberg has reported that as of 2022, Utah was one of the states where the Front has been most active. 

It is does seem likely Lee pays enough attention to such extremist groups that he should have heard of  Patriot Front. Rolling Stone, which is where I got the information for this post, said it "almost defies belief" that he would not have heard of them.  

High Court Further Weakens Regulatory Agencies -- and that is not Good

Not a proud week for the U.S. Supreme Court. Among other decisions, they ruled that courts should no longer defer to regulatory agencies for interpretation of law. These agencies were created to protect us from such things as polluted air, polluted water, bad food and bad drugs. 

No matter. They courts no longer need to listen to them so closely.

The regulatory agencies are the people's defense. They were created because we need people versed in such matters making guiding us when it comes to the environment and energy use, among other things. We of the masses do not have time to study such things, but we have the agencies to do that for us. When you take away the doctrine of allowing the regulatory agencies to be the guiding the courts through ambigous legal language, you create a vacuum. Who then is going to take the lead in saying how the ambigous language should be applied? Yes, that pretty much leaves the fossil fuel industry -- and that is like letting the wolf guard the henhouse. The Supreme Court justices surely had their thinking hats on when they made this decision. 

 
Feeble Old Man

It's a feeble old man, carrying that flag
A feeble old man, it is
The fate of a nation rests with him
That's just the way that it is

Democracy's lost if the weight is too heavy
Democracy is lost to the tyrant
A feeble old man is carrying our flag
And he refuses to shut up or be silent

 
Two Chumps

The national debt is one thing
The national debt is one thing
But to let it grow and grow and grow 
Is to let it get so big, it's the same as if it were three things

The national debt is Biden's 
The national debt is Trump's
They each need to take responsibility
For all the swells and bumps

Under President Trump
$7.8 trillion to us was lent
And the projection for under Biden
Is that another $7.9 trillion will be spent

You want to know why when it comes to the debt
Our nation's in the dumps?
It's because of these two guys who blame each other
Just two chumps calling each other chumps