Levels of rancor in my blogs/posts about trump’s ability to empathize w/others have been wrong. In a 5/4/26 speech, former Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene told of death threats made to her son after she criticized trump. She reached out to people in the executive branch. 1/6

Responsibility to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed” is the President’s. [FN1] Fed law enforcement agencies include the FBI, [FN2] Secret Service, [FN3] and U.S. Marshal Service. [FN4] The response she…

In November, Alabama voters will decide whether to amend that State’s constitution to “require all public schools to broadcast” or have performed “the first stanza of the Star-Spangled Banner at least once per week.” [FN1] I say make that all 4 stanzas, especially stanza #3: 1/11

“No refuge could save the hireling and slave/From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave.” [FN2] As a weekly rite, singing/performing four stanzas of a relatively short song should not be a factor.…

On Alabama voters’ ballots will be amendments to the State’s constitution to “require all public schools to broadcast or arrange for” performance of “the first stanza of the Star-Spangled Banner at least once per week.” [FN1] Kids in Alabama public schools won’t be taught history. 1/9

The Constitution took effect 3/4/1789. [FN2] “The Star Spangled Banner” was written about the British bombardment of Baltimore on 9/13-14/1814 [FN3] in four stanzas by Francis Scott Key. [FN4] The third…

EVERYONE, PLEASE READ THIS. Iran became a military ally of China in 2021 and of Russia last year. [FN1] Military allies assist each other, especially when one ally is attacked. Imposition of blockade is an act of war. [FN2] In 1914, treaties of mutual aid led to WW1. [FN3] 1/10

We have more recent experience in coming close to nuclear war. In October 1962, Pres Kennedy was told the U.S.S.R. was placing missiles in Cuba. [FN4] On October 22, Pres Kennedy announced a strict quarantine…

Pres Kennedy had read “The Guns of August,” Tuchman’s the Pulitzer-winning account of how European leaders bungled the World into war in 1914, shortly before the U.S. learned the Soviet Union was building launch sites for missiles in Cuba. [FN1] To paraphrase JFK: 1/9

“I will not bungle our way into war as did Europe.” A president reading works of history to guide our country seems silly today. I mean literally today. The header on Thom Hartmann’s blog today stopped me. [FN2] Hartmann…

On 4/9/26, flotus [FN1] stated: “The lies linking we with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today.” [FN2] She has an office in the White House and spoke of a matter, “Epstein”, that is of public concern, [FN3] based on her personal knowledge. [FN4] 1/14

1) The “mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation.” [FN5] If a remark “involves a matter of public concern, the plaintiff is constitutionally required to prove both the statement’s falsity and the defendant’s fault.”…

An unfortunate side effect of having positive moral values w/o critical thinking skills is best illustrated by the reaction many had yesterday to the statement that trump’s current spouse gave from the White House. No one bothered to search for a deeper meaning. 1/6

Fortunately, my Deep State Decoder Ring/Bottle Cap Opener/Roach Clip was close at, but not on my, hand. It had started to glow when the TV switched from the Sumo Mud Wrestling Big Truck Finals to the aforementioned…

You don’t know me.

We take things for granted. Founders did not: a standing army was debated. Oceans “situated [us] at a great distance from” warring nations. [FN1] Wars did not gouge thousand-mile scars across our soil, as trenches did to France in WW1. 1/13

The Framers of the Constitution [FN2] were suspicious of people who held, or sought, political power and so created checks and balances to stop such people from seizing power and to check the exercise of such power. [FN3]…

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.” trump’s words today & he is right. Putin hates the U.S., owns trump, and wants our to civilization die. An added bennie: Russia is making a lot more money for oil Russia sells. 1/5

In interviews of random people in the U.S., a common comment is “trump has to do something or else Iran will get nukes.” THE CONSTITUTION DOES NOT ALLOW A PRESIDENT THAT POWER. 2/5

We used to learn such things in civics, but…

The United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain and France, at the end of WW2, tried former leaders of government and the military of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan for war crimes. [FN1] Two defenses of the defendants are of note. 1/12

1) No such crimes existed. Prosecutions had no “appropriate body of international law” Japan’s leaders stood trial for “wholesale destruction of human lives, not alone on the field of battle” but in “homes, hospitals, and orphanages.” [FN2]…

Tomorrow the coterie of racists and imbeciles who remain loyal to the racist imbecile occupant of the Oval Office will have another chance to chip away at the framework in the Constitution put in place to end, and address the ravages, of slavery. Citizenship is at issue. 1/11

In trump v Barbara, the Roberts Court [FN1] will hear argument: whether children born on U.S. soil are citizens by birthright and under the clear wording of the 14th Amendment [FN2] A lot of history was set forth…

1) The attacks on Iran & Venezuela violate the Constitution. The Constitution does not authorize a president to attack other countries. Congress has the power to declare war. [FN1] [FN2] The purpose of a military is not trumpian conquest. [FN3] 1/16

2) The attacks on Iran & Venezuela violate international law. The U.N. Charter prohibits the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any country. [FN4] The USA is a signatory to the UN Charter.…

Eleven nuclear-powered, $17 billion dollar [FN1] targets [FN2], sailing under U.S. colors, await target practice. [FN3] About 4,500 personnel are onboard each of those vessel. In Ukraine, use of drones has exposed the weakness of big, expensive machines. We should know. 1/13

“Charlie Wilson’s War” [FN4] depicts “Operation Cyclone, a program to organize and support the Afghan mujahideen” against the Soviet Union. We trained people to use relatively cheap surface-to-air missiles to…

In a flashback to the day the Germans marched into Paris in “Casablanca,” we see the chaos at the train station as people are desperate to flee before der Reich. [FN1] Perhaps a million U.S. citizens are stranded in the Middle East following the U.S. attacks on Iran. [FN2] 1/13

Yesterday afternoon, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as noted by the Tennessee Holler, “pleaded with news orgs to put the help Line number out for Americans stuck in the Middle East… but per ABC News when you…

Bits and pieces of posts and conversations from the past few days & the past few months, not in any particular order, and responses/reflections:

Bit/piece: Gotta admit, at least they got a brutal dictator out of office in Iran. 1/9

Reply: There is no exception in either the Constitution or the War Powers Act for “brutal dictators.” There are 195 countries in the World. [FN1] Of these, 32 can be described as “hard” authoritarian regimes. [FN2] (E.g., Syria, Sudan, Saudi…

Doors shut soon. Military power is wielded by a man who dodged his own military service and called those who did served “suckers and losers.” One can hardly blame him. His daddy did not serve in the military. His grand-daddy came here to dodge service in Prussia. 1/8

Congress was not asked for a formal declaration of war, as required by the Constitution . Art. I, sec 8. The War Powers Act is the law, adopted in 1973, is meant to check a President who might use the military in ways…

“One fifth” of the World’s oil pours through the Strait of Hormuz. With the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, that passage is closed. [FN1] That will fuel inflation, an aspect of “economics.” [FN2] Those clueless about economics need not worry. trump, too, is clueless. [FN3] 1/17

History [FN4] provides perspectives of great value, [FN5] that too often are ignored, forgotten, or never learned. Americans’ ignorance about Iran and about U.S. actions in and to Iran are staggering. We should be…

Odd is the juxtaposition of a pic of a bearded IN Lt Gov Beckwith over a header from the IndyStar: “Gov. Mike Braun signed an executive order urging the state government to collaborate with faith-based institutions to service Hoosiers.” A thousand words aren’t enough. 1/7

Executive Order 26-06 is titled: “Fostering Indiana’s Faith-based Institutions.”

1) Among 10 “whereas” clauses in Braun’s Executive Order are an observation that Hoosiers have a long and proud tradition of faith…

Today’s mindless scree called a press conference followed a decision, issued this morning by the United States Supreme Court, that trump’s claim of sweeping power to impose tariffs, has no basis in law. This is Friday afternoon & a time for surprises from this WH. 1/6

The World has legitimate concern for everyone’s safety. The latest possible target for a military strike ordered by a third generation draft dodger [FN1] is Iran. trump lacks mental stability to issue ANY military…

Among recent TV ads [FN1] I find most offensive is that of GOP candidate for Governor “Ted for Illinois” (“IL”) Dabrowski. Joe Abraham talks about his daughter who was “murdered by an immigrant Goveror Pritsker protected.” We have a right to question political ads and 1/9

purported “facts” such ads assert in advocacy for candidates & issues. Katie Abraham was in a vehicle rear-ended by a vehicle whose driver fled. [FN2] Arrested in Texas was Julio Cucul-Bol, a Guatemalan national.…