I am so ready for the Midterms. How ’bout you? For the sane, this paragraph is money.
“President Trump has been saying, ‘Vote as if I was on the ballot,’ and that’s exactly what I’m going to do — not vote,” said Brandon Tremaine, 24, a graduate student in Texas who voted for Mr. Trump in 2020. “You do not campaign on being the ticket of peace and start a war of choice that is directly hurting Americans here at home and gotten Americans killed overseas.”
Note to self . . . temper yo’ enthusiasm.
“Polls can be unreliable, and moods may be fleeting. Trump loyalists are also known for not taking the calls of polling outfits, and that may be overstating Democratic strengths. Disaffected Trump voters may yet rally to vote as the possibility of a Democratic victory nears, and many Americans still love Mr. Trump.”
This morn I should’ve been staring at the black line on the bottom of the pool. Instead, I sampled the paper of record’s “Great Reads” series. In this case, “Depressing Read” would be far more accurate.
“In the back of the police car and while being booked, he asked four times about the well-being of his dog, Frankie. He did not ask about the condition of the man he had shot.”
Top reader comments:
Depending upon who you are, your socio-economic status, where you live in the (dis)United States, and what content you selectively choose, life is either steadily getting better in the (dis)United States or worse.
Violent crime is way down, yet you can get shot at a dog park. Personal technology makes it far easier to keep in touch with many more people, yet loneliness is on the rise. Despite far less funding for medical research, and a greatly weakened CDC, impressive cutting-edge medical advances continue, extending lifespans.
I’m of two-minds. Due to my economic and related privilege I’m optimistic, but more generally, pessimistic. It’s obvious to me that most people’s lives are not improving anywhere near as much as mine.
Timothy Snyder sees my half-filled glass and empties it.
Two things can be true at the same time. In October, 2026, in the (dis)United States, life can be getting better for the New Aristocracy and future historians will convincingly argue that the world’s preeminent superpower had already begun it’s steady decline.
“‘No fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals,’ he said of the people who he believes have no place in the military.
As he pointed to a few reporters in the back of the auditorium, the defense secretary criticized ‘anti-American losers in our media,’ accusing them of aiding the country’s enemies through their reporting on the war in Iran.
‘It’s treason, actually,’ he said of the reporting. ‘I mean, I hate to have to say it, but it has to be said.'”
I remember when our military was among the most inclusive and diverse of all our institutions. When the primary criterion was a sacrificial patriotism. I also remember when the First Amendment was understood to be the lifeblood of a free press. And a free press to be the lifeblood of our democracy.
On second thought, the humble blog can’t promote better mental health and recommend pondering anything Hegseth says or does. In hindsight, I should’ve titled this “I’m Nostalgic For The Recent Past”.
According to the Council of Foreign Relations. Their list. I’ve only read one of the seven and it’s hard for me to imagine the others being quite as gripping/illuminating.
“One morning in June, three paralyzed military veterans in wheelchairs from rural Pennsylvania arrived at the office of Sen. John Fetterman for a long-awaited meeting to discuss legislation that would improve their care.
Fetterman’s staff greeted them with bad news: The Pennsylvania Democrat had to cancel. He’d told his staff he may have eaten something bad and wasn’t feeling well, according to people familiar with the matter.
Less than an hour after his staffers met with the veterans in his place, Fetterman walked into his office, showing no signs of illness. He had an appointment he didn’t want to miss, he told staff: an interview on Fox News to discuss Israel and the war in Iran.”
Ron Swanson of Parks and Recreation fame could have learned a lot from Fetterman.
I nominate this “statement” from Tumwater, WA’s mayor as the worst, most wordy every penned by a public official. She should slowly step back from the keyboard. I fixed it and expect nothing in return. Just the kinda guy I am.
Any self-respecting writer must eventually come to grips with today’s political reality. Eventually, intelligent readers deserve more than paddle boarding and dance vid posts.
“As a crumbling truce with Iran officially collapsed on Monday, President Trump signaled his frustration at his inability to resolve a war that he started but cannot seem to end.
In an interview with Fox News, the president lashed out at an American ally, Oman, that has been trying to mediate negotiations with Iran.
‘If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,’ Mr. Trump said in a phone interview, according to Fox News’s Trey Yingst.”
Until this war “that he started”, Trump has excelled at bending reality to his patently false and often delusional will by using the bully pulpit and his legion of cowardly acolytes to repeat lies over and over until all of the Fox News anchors and half of the voting public believes them.
But lying as a means towards self-serving ends doesn’t work in the context of geopolitics. There are too many actors and too much complexity for his bullshit to work on the global stage. Remember when he said the Russian War against Ukraine would be over within 24 hours of his being elected? More specifically, Iran’s leaders are immune from his bullshit. As is the price of crude oil and all the related agricultural and consumer products. Saying we control the Strait of Hormuz and we have ample military resources for this conflict and others does not make it so.
Trump is learning he can’t bend Iranians or inflation to his will like he has the Republican Cult Party. And he can’t investigate or fire anyone abroad. He’s trapped by his own inattention to detail and his team’s incompetence, so of course he’s lashing out. At Oman. At South Korea. At the families whose sons and daughters are showing more selflessness on the USS Lincoln than he ever has. Or will.
This will not end well for the Middle East, for the (dis)United States, or for the global economy. But if his name is just put back on the Kennedy Center, Trump won’t sweat it.
That was my thought this morning walking back from my dentist’s office through downtown Olympia. Specifically, at this point on the Fifth Street Bridge.
Rando bushes, three feet tall, growing out of the sidewalk curb. Next to chipped paint. Maybe I’m overreacting. Or maybe it’s symbolic and I’m not.
If you want to know the financial condition of a college or university ask about one thing—deferred maintenance. Financially strapped private arts liberal colleges are patching roofs because they can’t afford to replace them. Look for buckets in libraries on the proverbial rainy days and you will likely find them. Dead give-away.
The sidewalk “greenery” is symbolic of not being able to keep up with maintenance of public spaces. Is it possible that Canada’s higher tax rates translate into superior social infrastructure which consists of places were people are prone to gather and make friends? Positive social infrastructure, of course, depends upon comfortable, accessible, clean, physical infrastructure like you see all over the Dallas Road Riverfront Trail. In the form of clean bright yellow chaise lounges, tables and benches, drinking fountains, ubiquitous trash cans, dog parks, and groovy public art.
Which all combine to make the shore of the Strait of Juan de Fuca a magnet for walking, running, cycling, socializing. Sunday morning I couldn’t get my AirPods to connect to my watch for some reason so I did that most scary of things, ran with my own thoughts swirling around in my peabrain. So many smiley people said “hello” wonderfully oblivious to my citizenship. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they were so cheerful.
Dig this video, especially from 1:42-1:50 where you can catch a glimpse of the yellow chaise lounges, and at the very end, some public garbage cans. On parts of the trail, there are large numbered garbage cans every 50-100 meters. Numbered, I suspect, because someone is keeping close track of their status.
Olympia’s sidewalk bushes are not numbered. They may very well turn into trees before my fellow citizens realize, often, you get what you don’t pay for.
Of course I coulda/shoulda titled this “Dear Europe” or “Dear World”, but it’s you I’m thinking about most today.
I’m sorry. If it’s any comfort, many of us are counting down to January, 2029. Of course that is no consolation for you right now. If the (dis)United States wins, there will always be an asterisk attached. If you win, I will celebrate your overcoming the double whammy of FIFA and DJT corruption.
And if it’s any consolation, I will be in Belgium with my bike and several friends in September. At which time I can apologize in person on behalf of many, many of my fellow citizens.
