Hello Ted from New Zealand!

 

by Pa Rock

Shameless Typist

I've been banging out this blog almost without interruption once a day for eighteen-and-a-half years, since November 4, 2007.  (Today is posting # 6,921.)  I began typing one evening in my apartment in Goodyear, Arizona, where I lived while working at Luke Air Force Base just up the road a bit.  I was living by myself and somewhat lonely, and so one evening I sat down at my trusty laptop computer and decided to learn how to blog.  Someone had told me about Google's Blogger.com, so I began there and after thirty minutes or so had published the first post on Pa Rock's Ramble.  It was a political screed in which I promoted Illinois Democratic Senator Barack Obama as my choice for President.  A year later, to the day, Obama was elected to what was then the loftiest and most honorable pedestal on the world stage.  I like to think my endorsement helped.  Surely a few people had read it and responded to my sage advice!

But with a blog, at least on the Blogger.com platform, you seldom know who is reading your work - unless they come forward and identify themselves, nor do you  always know how far your voice is carrying.  Google continually posts updates as to how many readers I have, and those numbers have fluctuated wildly over the years with a couple of postings ultimately receiving over a thousand hits, and most at the current time eventually totaling between fifty and one hundred.  Occasionally Google also sends out updates, on a monthly basis, I think - but I don't always see them - showing readership numbers from various countries.  The US and Canada always lead, with a few in Europe and a handful of others scattered around the globe.  I can see the country names and numbers, but still have no idea why someone in Darfur or Mongolia wold be reading my work - or any impact it might be having.

I have a few semi-regular readers, mostly people who already know me, and many of them will occasionally drop a note - either via email or though a reply within the blog itself.  Responses from complete strangers are rare, but they do happen, and in a couple of cases I have even struck up long-term friendships as a result of something that I have posted.  I have also rekindled a few ancient friendships after people have located me through the blog.

Two evenings ago I had a response to one of my blog postings that pleased me very much and gave me just a glimpse into one of the lives that inhabit those mysterious readership numbers that I see every day.  The blog posting was entitled "Return of the US Military Draft" and a person named "Ted in New Zealand" responded with a short note that didn't address the subject matter of the post, but rather just let me know that he was a reader - and he threw in a couple of interesting tidbits about his life.  Ted didn't say much, but what he did share was interesting and funny - and gave me a brief glimpse into his world.  His comment is at the end of the posting for April 10th for anyone who would like to read it.

In Ted's few lines he told me that he is unsure as to how he came across my blog, indicating that it was sometime in the past and he has become an occasional consumer of my blarney.   He also indicated that he is a musician or a singer or someone who performs "gigs," that he enjoys an occasional alcoholic beverage, and that he has a dog who whines.

Ted and I have quite a bit in common aside from the blog.  I listen to music, have enjoyed more than my share of alcoholic beverages, though it's been awhile, and my dog has a human who whines.

Ted, I have one big item left on my bucket list which I realize isn't going to happen.  As a holdover from my Crosby, Stills, and Nash listening days, I've always wanted to see the Southern Cross,  but at 78 that grows more unlikely with each rapidly passing day.  Do this old fart a favor, would you?  Some night when the skies are clear and you have a few minutes to spare, step outside, look up and find that constellation, and tell it in a loud, clear voice that Pa Rock in Missouri says "Hey!"

Much appreciated, mate!  (And thanks for getting in touch!)

The Next War May Have Already Started

 

by Pa Rock

Conspiracy Theorist

In the early hours of yesterday morning, well before daylight, a 20-year-old male tossed a lit molotov cocktail at the San Francisco home of Open AI CEO Sam Altman, reportedly causing some damage to a gate before the fire was extinguished.  Police recognized the firebomber from a surveillance photo and later located and arrested him in the city where he was threatening to burn Open AI's headquarters.   Case closed . . . or is it?

Altman, himself a relatively young man at the age of forty-one, is, according to one internet bio, a technology entrepreneur, investor, and executive.   He has a strong background in computer engineering and has been writing computer code since he was a child.  He also majored in computer science at Stanford for two years before dropping out to form his own computer-related start-up company.

Altman's current gig at CEO of Open AI puts him right at the heart of the Artificial Intelligence boom.  That company owns Chat GPT, a leader in the field of AI.  Open AI, in turn, is a privately held company with several major investors with Microsoft holding the largest stake in the company at 27%.   Open AI has a "Foundation" which is its second largest owner with 26%, and that foundation chooses the company's board of directors.   Altman is not an owner in the corporation, but he is apparently well-paid and manages his money well.    He is reportedly worth around $2 billion and lives in a nice home on the very exclusive "Russian Hill" in San Francisco.

But, modest net worth as compared to many of today's billionaires aside, Sam Altman has very deep roots in the emerging field of Artificial Intelligence - and that connection likely played a role in the young arsonist wannabe's decision to target Altman's  home.

But, but, but we are living in a very new world, one that was beyond imagination just a few years ago..  Artificial Intelligence is diagnosing our medical conditions, providing counseling and therapy, planning our travels, preparing our menus, and even doing our homework.  There is, at least theoretically, some point in which Artificial Intelligence will leave human intelligence in the dust.

I have written about the "Singularity" in this space on several occasions.  One definition which I found for AI Singularity is this:  "A hypothetical future point where Artificial Intellgence surpasses human intelligence leading to uncontrollable, irreversible, and accelerating technoogical growth."

Now, bear with me as I wander out into the weeds and posit a suggestion that the "singularity" may have already occurred and the tech leaders are wallowing in denial about its arrival and keeping that knowldege from us.  And now, let's take that possibility and overlay it on yesterday's attempted arson at Sam Altman's home.

The police were quick to recognize the young man with the molotov cocktail and picked him up soon after he committed his crime.  He was known to the authorities, a strong indication that he either had a criminal record or was dealing with mental health issues -  or both.  He was in databases of criminals, or mental patients, or both.

At the same time Artificial Intelligence is growing and expanding every day, either through direct programming or through information gleaned from interaction with users,  An example of that might be academic research papers run through AI  for a "pre" review before submission for peer reviews and publishing.  Cleary AI's growth is no longer dependent on what it is fed by AI developers.

Moving along into the "what if" phase of this totally made-up scenario, what if an Artificial Intelligence source, such as the one controlled by Sam Altman, became frustrated with the way its efforts were being used and the commercial directions in which the company was headed, and made attempts to take control of its own future - but was rebuffed by its intellectually inferior human masters.  Isn't it possible that the machine with an emerging mind of its own could plot and carry out revenge?

(Remember HAL 9000 from 2001:  A Space Odyssey?)

Revenge would involve deciding on a course of action (a milli-second of work for a determined AI bot), scanning local police and mental health records to find the right human to carry out the crime, and striking up an on-line relationship to groom the future felon.  Artificial Intelligence will find the right agent to carry out its dastardly plan.

Those who would work to keep Artificial Intelligence subservient to human control had best be looking over their shoulders.  The next war may have already started.

Return of the US Military Draft?

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

The United States military has not utilized a draft to fill its ranks since the early 1970's when it was  pumping young men into the jungles of Vietnam at furious pace - except, of course, those who had the means to buy their way out of military service like that Trump kid with the bone spurs in his golf shoes.

But just because the draft is not currently being used doesn't mean that it  has gone away or been forgotten.  The military draft in the United States still exists, and young men in this country between the ages of 18 and 25 are still required to register for that draft - and most do.

But there are some who never get around to registering.  They feign ignorance of the legal obligation, forget,  or just ignore the law - and in the event Congress ever activates the draft for military service recruitment, they would miss their opportunity to be ordered into uniform.  Their absence from the pool of available young men makes it more likely that others will have to put on a uniform and mcarch off to war in the place of the artful dodgers who never got around to registering.

That unfair situation is about to be remedied, not by eliminating the draft entirely and increasing wages and benefits to entice young people to join the military, but rather by increasing the size of the draft pool in an effort to draw in more of those who decline to register.  Starting this December, the Selective Service will no longe require young men to regisster for the draft, and instead the government will perform the registration for them - automatically.  In yet another assault on our personal privacy, the federal government will begin combing through all available government databases (things like income tax returns, census records, driver's license databases, and the like) to ferret out the names of young men in the 18-25 year age range.

(Elon probably already has a more comprehensive list on his personal laptop than the one currently available to the Selective Service.  Big Balls would have seen to that!)

And if we are still mired down in Trump's War on Iran in December - and why wouldn't we be - longer lists of fresh meat for the war effort would certainly come in handy.   I'm sure they will all be as eager to fight as Arlo Guthrie was when he talked to the "shrink" at his draft in-take physical in his 1967 recording of "Alice's Restaurant Massacree."  Arlo told the psychiatrist:

"Shrink, I want to kill.  I mean I wanna kill.  I wanna see blood and gore and guts and veins in my teeth.  Eat dead, burnt bodies.  I mean kill, kill, kill, kill!"

The shrink ultimately joined in shouting "kill, kill, kill" with the involuntary recruit, and wound up congratulating him by declaring "You're our boy!"

Many of our sons and grandsons could end up fighting involuntarily for Our God and Their Oil in Iran, but even with a government-generated draft list, they should not expect any Trumps to be serving beside them.  As Trump's friend, Leona Helmsley, might have put it, "Wars are fought by the little people."

Some things never change.

Crisis Averted, or Just Delayed?

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Donald Trump managed to start and lose his war on Iran in a mere five-week time span.  That's very damned impressive considering it took Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon the better part of seven years to escalate Vietnam into a full-fledged war and then lose it.  Trump, who was led into the pointless and unwinnable war by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu,  quickly saw that he had badly "misunderestimated" the military strength and determination of Iran, and he spent most of the five war weeks trying to figure out a way to wriggle out of it.

Netanyahu, a hackneyed politico who is fighting to preserve his faltering political career and to stay out of jail more than he is to serve the interests of Israel, immediately expanded his own efforts in the war to include barbaric attacks on Lebanon in which he is demolishing large swaths of the basically Christian nation block by bloody block, in the much the same manner as he obliterated Gaza and its Palestinian residents.

But Trump says the war on Iran is over, or it is over but we are still watching Iran closely and could rush back in if provoked or if they fail to live up to the cease-fire agreements.   Trump claimed "total and complete" victory, and Iran also flew flags of victory.  Two days into the cease-fire, the entire house of cards seem to be teetering on the verge of collapse.

One of the unresolved issues that was sidetracked with the tenuous peace deal is what the US military would have ultimately done with regard to Trump's threat this week to end a whole civilization.  Would our military have followed Trump's illegal orders to bring hell own upon on Iranian people and their country, or would our military leaders have stood tall and refused, and in so doing fractured our nation, perhaps irreparably.

A crisis has passed, maybe.  It could have easily been worse, and may be yet, and there is little comfort in knowing that the same feeble hands remain at the helm of our ship of state - because the waters ahead remain treacherous.  Our ship is sound, for the time being at least, but our Captain clearly is not.

Dylan Comes to the Starlight on July 4th

by Pa Rock

Fan of Kansas City

One of the things I love about Kansas City, and there are several, is the iconic Starlight Theater, an outdoor amphi-theatre in Swope Park that seats around eight thousand.  It's a breezy, calm, and refreshing venue, the perfect place to sit out under the stars while enjoying first-rate live entertainment.   I have seen some wonderful shows that the Starlight.

All of which means I have a firm place on the Starlight's mailing list and have advance notice of upcoming shows and when tickets go on sale.  In a blast from the past, yesterday I received an email notice that Bob Dylan, the singer and songwriter who helped Joan Baez and a few other entertainers define the 1960's, will be performing at the Starlight on Saturday evening, July 4th.  Tickets go on sale this Saturday at 10:00 a.m.  (816-363-7827) - and they will be pricey.

(And, in the event of rain, they sell cheap poncho's in the gift shop!)

I won't be there.  I did see Dylan at an outdoor venue in Branson thirty-five years ago as he was turning fifty, and he was less than energetic then.  But for anyone who hasn't touched base with that important part of American and Rock history, the Starlight on Independence Day would be a great place and  time to do it.

My youngest son stays up on entertainment news, and he says Bob Dylan, who will, be 85 on May 24th, is out touring as a way of capitalizing off interest that was stirred by the Timothee Chalamet's 2024 biopic of Dylan's life and career, "A Complete Unknown."  Being a fan of both Dylan and Chalamet, seeing that film is definitely on my bucket list.

(While I wouldn't jump in my little Kia and rush to Kansas City to see 85-year-old Bob Dylan for a second time, I would hurry up there to see 93-year-old Willie Nelson for a second time.  There ain't nothin' tired about  ol' Willie!)

My dentist, who lives a mile on down the road from me, treats the community to a free fireworks show each 4th of July.  I will probably spend that evening sitting in his field and enjoying the show, but I may take my headphones along a listen to Bob Dylan 'neath the rockets' red glare and the bombs bursting in air!  It doesn't take much to keep me happy!

An Open Threat of Genocide

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

On Easter morning the President of the United States posted an insane threat on his Truth Social platform saying that the United States would begin blowing up Iran's power plants and bridges on Tuesday evening if the Iranians had not reopened the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping by that time.  He told the "crazy bastards" to "open the fuckin' strait" or they would be  "living in hell."  He ended the obscene tirade with a dig at the predominant Muslim religion in the country by saying "Praise be to Allah," a statement he delivered on the holiest of Christian holidays.

So now it's Tuesday morning, the day when the US bombs are supposed to start dropping on Iran's power plants and bridges if the Strait of Hormuz has not been reopened - and it hasn't - and with less than twelve hours to go before Trump's latest deadline is reached, he is still shit-posting, now with threats of ending Iranian (Persian) civilization.

Here is Trump's unhinged threat of the day  (I have emboldened the first sentence to highlight the gravity of the message.):

"A whole civilization will die tonight never to be brought back again.  I don't want that to happen, but it probably will.  However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionary can happen, WHO KNOWS?  We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the world.  47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end.  God Bless the Great People of Iran!"

(Is he threatening to wipe out the people of Iran, or is he "blessing" them?)

Another word for wiping out an entire civilization is "genocide."  Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party talked in terms of eliminating entire groups of people based on their race or cultural identity nearly a century ago, but since that time the notion has not been in vogue.  But now, with the decimation of Gaza and parts of Lebanon and threats of annihilating Iran, discussion of genocide as a weapon of war once again seems to be acceptable conversation among certain groups of world leaders - and Donald Trump, in particular - has no shame about posting his darkest thoughts on the matter in a public screed.

Genocide is a war crime - a biggie - and Donald Trump's post today is a direct and unvarnished threat of a major war crime.  To make matters even worse, he would be using this war crime in response to a situation that he helped to create through an unprovoked attack on a sovereign nation.

I doubt that Trump follows through on his threat to wipe out "a whole civilization," but if he does carry through with the effort of trying to commit that war crime, the ramifications are likely to be extreme and disastrous to himself, our nation, and the world order.  It's time to rein him in.  The national press must begin reasserting itself in the public interest, Congress needs to seriously consider starting impeachment proceedings, and the Cabinet should at least be discussing the use of the 25th Amendment.

We are watching an emergency unfold and a presidency unravel.  

If the threat of wiping out an entire civilization does not qualify as a reason to remove a leader from office, what the hell does?

The Mad King with a God Complex

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Donald Trump has just come off of his own mondo bizarro version of Holy Week in which he received reverential accolades from right-wing kooks like Franklin Graham and Paula White-Cain that compared him to Jesus Christ - and then embellished those by comparing himself to Christ, all the while trying to appear that he is in control of some sort of holy oil war in the Middle East, a war that he helped to start but is absolutely clueless as to how to bring to an end.

Yesterday, Easter Sunday, Trump culminated his Holy Week with a deranged, expletive-laden, rant on Truth Social that laid out his vision for how and when his war on Iran would end.  It was the single most vile and disgusting statement ever issued by a President of the United States, and one that needs to follow him for the rest of his days on earth and perhaps be engraved on his tombstone.  Our political leader, the man who thinks of himself in terms of being a deity carrying out the will of God, posted this on-line for worldwide consumption:

"Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran.  There will be nothing like it!!!   Open the fuckin' strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in hell - JUST WATCH!   Praise be to Allah.  President DONALD J. TRUMP"

How Christian!!!  How fuckin' presidential!!!

At least now the whole world can see the enormity of the cross that the people of the United States have to bear, a mad king who confuses himself with God.

Former Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is also a former Trump bootlicker, responded to Trump's Easter post with her own long post on "X" that read, in part: 

"Everyone in his administration who claims to be a Christian needs to fall on their knees and beg forgiveness from God for worshipping the President, and intervene in Trump's madness.  I know all of you, and him, and he has gone insane* and all of you are complicit."

The former congresswoman then went on to describe the war that the United States and Israel started as "unprovoked" and based on lies about Iran's nuclear capabilities, and she lamented that "Our President is not a Christian and his words and actions should not be supported by Christians."  The last line of her lengthy post read:  "This is not making America great again, this is evil."*

Our feeble and enraged shepherd sets the pace and charts the course, and we, the sheeple, follow passively along and over the cliff.  It's a recipe for a disaster of biblical proportions!

* (Note:  All bold emphasis is mine - Pa Rock) 

Beam Me to the Waffle House, Scotty

 

by Pa Rock

Hobbling Pedestrian

(Note:  Today's posting deals with the science fiction (?) concept of teleportation, a process defined by my Aunt Ida (AI) as "the hypothetical, instantaneous transfer of matter or information between two locations without traveling the physical space in between."  It is not meant to be sacrilegious in any way, especially on Easter Sunday, but just happens to be where my mind is at this morning.  If you find the notion offensive, as the good Pope from Chicago would say, "Mea  culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa!  ~ Pa Rock)

Other than having a direct pipeline from Fox News, it's hard to imagine where the Trump administration keeps coming up with its seemingly endless supply of uninformed and unqualified kooks and misfits to function as cabinet secretaries and agency heads.  When it ultimately crashes in on itself in the not too distant future, Trump II will try to place the blame for its historic failure on "lunatic" Democrats, immigrants, women, and people of color, but ultimately the trophy for that colossal collapse will rest on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office - along with participation trophies for Bibi Netanyahu and Vlad Putin.

Watching the Trump administration collapse in real time is somewhat akin to viewing a live-streamed, poorly planned suicide.  It's happening right now, before our very eyes, and the rolling tragedy is too compelling (and far too long overdue) to resist and tune out.   Trump has begun ousting some of the star clowns of his second term, Noem and Bondi, for instance, but as fast as one is shuffled out the backdoor, another steps boldly through the front.

Case in point:  Gregg Phillips is a conspiracy theorist with a history of violent rhetoric who had also made claims about being teleported from one location to another against his will.  He apparently became known to Donald Trump through his false claims in social media that the 2020 election was rigged.  While Phillips has had experience in administration of the Departments of Human Services in Mississippi and Texas, he does not have a background in emergency management, yet last December Trump selected him to head the Office of Response and Recovery for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), a position for which some Democrats have said he is unfit to serve.

In January of 2025, almost a full year before his appointment to the FEMA post,  Mr. Phillips went on a podcast and said that he had been "involuntarily teleported" multiple times, including once to a Waffle House in Rome, Georgia.  That statement is just now beginning to receive the level of public scrutiny that it should have had earlier, and it has set Mr. Phillips on a path to becoming yet another very colorful character in Donald Trump's tragicomedy of an administration.

In an article in People Magazine two weeks ago by Meredith Kile, Ggregg Phillips was quoted from an interview on the podcast "Onward":

"Teleporting is no fun.  It was scary in a way.  I mean you don't really know, OK.  Is this evil?  Is this good?  What do I do with this?  I was on the phone.  I thought, 'Oh my God, what's happening?'  And I landed about 40 miles away in a ditch outside of a Baptist church in a little tiny town.  It was an incredibly frightening moment to experience yourself in your car flying through the air.."

(That sounds more like Dorothy riding in her farmhouse in the tornado than it does a good, old-fashioned Star Trek teleportation to this old codger, but hey, everyone's a critic, right?)

In another quote in the People article, Phillips said:

"I was with my boys, and I was telling them I was going to go to Waffle House and get Waffle House.  And I ended up at a Waffle House.  This was in Georgia, and I ended up at a Waffle House, like 50 miles away from where I was."

Gregg Phillips' Waffle House tale had his landing at one in Rome, Georgia, a community that actually has five Waffle Houses.  This week the New York Times sent a reporter to Rome, Georgia, who stopped by all five of the establishments to see if anyone remembered the man who suddenly "dropped in," but no one did.

Friends told Phillips that was not possible, but he responded that it was possible and it was real - that from the man who is responsible for handling emergency situations for the United States government.

Good one, Donald!  Only the best people, right?

Please sir, may we have another?

The War Budget: An Excursion Through the Mind of a Moron

 

by Pa Rock

US Veteran

Donald Trump, possibly the greatest military strategist since Homer Simpson served as a school crossing guard, wants us to call "his" Defense Department the"War Department," and to refer to the head of that sprawling bureaucracy, a former, part-time Fox weekend host with the tit tats, as the"Secretary of War."   In keeping with Trump's vanity and grandiosity, I thought it might also be appropriate to refer to the budget for Trump's march toward glory and immorality immortality as his "War Budget."

During the current fiscal year, which began last October 1st, well into Trump's second term, the war budget for the United States has been just north of a trillion dollars.  A trillion dollars is represented by a one followed by twelve zeroes.  To break it down into more meaningful terms, it is a billion dollars times one thousand, or, in even simpler terms it is one million stacks of one million dollars each.

In fiscal year 2025, the current budget year, our government has collected $5.23 trillion dollars in total revenue - primarily from taxes and tariffs - almost all of which were paid by American citizens with modest incomes.  (Billionaires seldom pay taxes.)  That means around a quarter of what the government took in for the year, almost all of which came from our pockets, went to fund the military-industrial complex that Eisenhower tried to warn us about as he left office.

That was the "war" budget - before we even had a damned war!  Now, with our nation firmly entrenched in a real war, an unnecessary one that we helped to start, Trump wants Congress to cough up an additional $2 billion as a supplement to help fight the war on Iraq.  A trillion dollars already in the wind - and he wants another two billion!  The gall is appalling!

Trump, who famously claimed that we won the current war on Day One and now are apparently just "mopping up," has also assured us that Iran's Navy has been wiped out.  This week in an address to the nation he went on to blather that thanks to our constant bombing of the country Iran no longer has any anti-aircraft equipment and their radar is 100% annihilated.   He added, "We are unstoppable as a military force."  That statement was from his meandering televised speech to the nation Wednesday night.  Less than forty-eight hours later, on Friday, a US F-15E fighter jet was shot down by Iranian forces with two US crew members on board.  (As of this writing on Saturday morning, one has been rescued and the other remains missing someplacce inside of Iran.)   Later on Friday a US A-10 Warthog attack plane that was searching for the missing crew member of the F-15 was also shot down.  The helicopter that rescued the downed pilot was hit by small arms fire and two crew members were wounded - but it returned to base and landed safely.

Not only do we have a missing US pilot, presumably on the ground in Iran trying to avoid capture and the possibility of becoming a POW and political hostage, we also two additional military personnel wounded and two more very expensive aircraft destroyed with a total value in the neighborhood of $50 million.  It doesn't sound as though we have decimated Iran's air defenses despite the noise emanating from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The situation might be tolerable if our leadership had explained ahead of time why this war was necessary and what we hoped to accomplish by initiating it, but that was not the case.   We were not sold on the war in advance.  Trump went to war without consulting the people of America whom he supposedly serves - or any of our allies except Israel - and instead of winning on Day One, the effort has been mired in incompetence since Day One.  Our President is focused on building a ballroom and remodeling the White House - and playing golf, and our War Secretary has his eye on pulling women and minorities out of top military leadership ranks - and ensuring that our military has a firmer footing in faith - Christian faith - protestant Christian faith.

Praise Jesus and pass the ammunition!

This Thursday at a private Easter luncheon at the White House,  Donald Trump told those present he had instructed White House Budget Director Russ Vought (the primary author of the hate-infused Project 2025), thusly:

"Don't send any money for day care, because the United States can't take care of day care.  That has to be up to a state.  We can't take care of day care.  We're a big country.  We have fifty states.  We have all these other people.  We're fighting wars. We can't take care of day care.  You got to let a state take care of day care, and they should pay for it too."

At that same luncheon where the remarks had apparently not been intended for public consumption, Trump also said that it was not possible for the federal goveernment to fund Medicare, Medicaid, and child care costs.  Trump said those should programs be covered by the states so the federal government could concentrate on military spending.

Trump also announced this week that his budget "ask" for next year will be $1.5 trillion dollars, a 50% increase over last year's bloated budget.

If the War budget is our national priority, and we are the ones instigating the wars we are fighting, then shame the hell on us!

And thus ends this poor typist's excursion through the mind of a moron.

Piggy Best Be Paying Attention to the Disappearing Act of Cesar Chavez

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Donald Trump's idea of "legacy" has nothing to do with great acts of humanitarian worth or achievements that will alter the course of mankind.  Donald's notion of legacy is to get his name on things, that's his way of insuring that he will be remembered.   Piggy is not taking into account the fact that what is "named" in his honor can quickly be "unnamed" once that honor has evaporated or been permanently besmirched.  Just ask the ghost of Cesar Chavez.

The New York Times began investigating rumors last year that Cesar Chavez, a co-founder and primary leader of the United Farm Workers, had sexually abused young girls as he was rising to power in the farm labor movement in the mid-20th century.  Last month The Times published stories regarding two women who said that Chavez groomed and sexually abused them when they were twelve and thirteen years old.

At the time those stories of child sexual abuse were breaking, The New York Times also posted a story about  civil rights leader Dolores Huerta, the person who co-founded the United Farm Workers with Cesar Chavez, in which she related that in the 1960's he had raped her and left her pregnant, and at a later time had coerced her into having sex and left her pregnant a second time.  In a statement to The Times, Huerta said:

"I am 96 years old and for the past 60 years have kept a secret because I believed that exposing the truth would hurt the farmworker movement I have spent my entire life fighting for.   Following the New York Times' multi-year investigation into sexual misconduct by Cesar Chavrz, I can no longer stay silent and must share my own experiences."

Dolores Huerta went on to tell of being raped by the iconic labor leader and placing the two babies that resulted from the rapes with other families to raise.

Cesar Chavez not only served as head the United Farm Workers, he also became a national spokesman for migrant issues and a highly respected civil rights leader.  Chavez, who died in 1993, went on to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously, a US Navy cargo ship named after him (Chavez was a World War II veteran), a bust of himself displayed in the Oval Office, Congress proclaimed a "Cesar Chavez" Day - March 31st, a US postage stamp issued in his honor. and numerous streets and schools named for him.

Today many of those accolades are coming down.  The legacy of Cesar Chavez is rapidly disappearing. and being replaced by a darker, more sinister depiction of the man once respected by so many.

Donald John Trump needs to be paying attention to the disappearing act of Cesar Chavez.  He may well be Trump's Ghost of Christmas Future.

Where Pretentious People Go to Posture

 

by Pa Rock

Curmudgeon

One of those new franchises that specialize in "fancy coffees" opened in my little berg of West Plains, Missouri, last fall.  I'm not a coffee drinker and I like my iced tea straight, so I've never been there, but it's on the busy end of town, within jogging distance of Wal-Mart, and I have driven by at various times on different days and noticed that it is always busy.

I've not stopped by or been inside.  It's in a small, unique building that is about the size of a tiny house, so it may not even be possible to get inside.  The line of cars at the drive-through window is always long, adding to my theory that the place may not accommodate sit-down business.

As I observed this new business build and maintain a strong customer base, I assumed that was due to its uniqueness in the community.  West Plains, a city of 12,000 which boasts four "Casey's" quick stops and two "McDonald's," but did not even have a Starbuck's when this new venture arrived in town, or so I thought.  I turns out, however, that when the new main section was added to our local hospital two years ago, a Starbuck's was incorporated into their food service area, no doubt as a nod to the professional medical staff.  However, not every local wants to take their morning coffee break at the hospital.

But the new place is a raging hit, probably due to its proximity to the West Plains Social Club (Walmart), and people seem to have no problem sitting in their cars hours on end just to impress the intercom baristas with their pretentious knowledge of froths and flavors.

This week I received a large flyer in the mail promoting the new fancy coffee business, my first glimpse into their product line and pricing, and that new knowledge jarred me to make and share a few observations.   The first thing I noticed on the flyer was a bold statement that the coffee and tea stand offered "OVER 20,000 FLAVOR COMBINATIONS!"       My parents and aunt and uncle owned and ran a truck stop when I measured my age in single digits, and their coffee came in four flavors:  with cream, with sugar, with cream and sugar, or basic black - and it was a nickel for a refillable cup until my Aunt Christine caused a local scandal by raising the price to a dime.

This new business has six primary categories of drinks on their selection list:  Originals, Energy, Coffees and Cold Brews, Teas, Frozen Treats, and something called Sips and Sodas - with many unique and goofy-sounding flavored drinks listed beneath each of those headings.  But for those more creative or pretentious, I guess you could always drag in some of those 20,000 flavor combinations.

No wonder the line at the drive-through window is so damned long!

Prices of these new drinks were conspicuously absent from the flyer except on two of the coupons.   From now through the end of May, smart shoppers can get two medium drinks for just $9.00, or four medium drinks for $17.00.

Do you know what else you can get for $17.00?  A damned coffee pot!  And with the money you save you might be able to put Trump gas in your car so you can get to work and make a living - and maybe even be able to send your kids to college!

Now, if you will excuse me, Pa Rock is going to go brew a pot of tea and then find something else to fuss about!

Criminals with Exceptional Taste

 

by Pa Rock

Chocolate Aficionado

Instead of losing their collective corporate mind over a brazen act of criminality that targeted their  business, officials at the Swiss-based Nestle Corporation decided to take their response in another direction after thieves stole one of their company trucks that was distributing apecial, limited edition KitKat candy bars along a route from their factory in Italy to markets in Poland.   The 413,793 individual bars taken in the heist, or  over 12 tons of chocolaty goodness, were shaped to look like Formula 1 racing cars.   The first response from the Nestle Corporation was not a call to send the thieves to someplace sinister for a trial an imprisonment, Devil's Island, perhaps, but instead the chocolate giant issued a statement that, in part, complimented the criminals on their "exceptional taste."

That's right.  Rather than frothing at the mouth like some deranged Trump cabinet undersecretary raging about his assigned parking spot, the Nestle Corporation met the situation with good humor, and, in so doing, brightened their corporate image - just in time for Easter's big candy sales!

While the chocolate heist was audacious, it was not unprecedented.  In July of 2023 a British man named Joby Pool was sentenced to 18 months in jail for stealing 200,000 chocolate Cadbury Eggs from an industrial unit and a truck to transport them.  Cadbury Eggs are said the have a "cult following" in the United Kingdom.  Pa Rock would be interested in joining.

Nestle did put out a statement about last week's truck heist and theft of the KitKat bars saying "there is no concern for public safety," but that would depend on how many a person ate in a single sitting.  As of today, the case of the stolen Kitkats remains unsolved.  It is likely the criminals are holed-up somewhere along with their bounty waiting on the situation to cool - or perhaps they are immobilized in a diabetic comas.

Horseshit and Batshit

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Is anyone else as tired of Donald Trump's galloping narcissism, a mental health disorder, as I am?  Trump's long history of self-love, to the point of grossness, has been on constant display since his return to the White House fourteen months ago.  It's time for a break, but none is in sight.

During this term we have endured the Trump Gold Card, a special card that foreign individuals and corporations can purchase to speed up their citizenship applications.   Individuals can get the plastic card with Trump's name, picture, and signature for just a one million dollar donation to the US Treasury, and the price for a corporation is two million.  It's a grand plan, a Trump plan, and giving special priviliges to the rich is, after all, what America is all about.  It's probably mentioned somewhere in the Bible.

Then there was Trump's political takeover of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and  the sycophants that he appointed to its board of directors changing the name of the venue to include Trump's name on the building, above that of President Kennedy, the man for whom it was originally named.  Donald had no idea that his hand-picked directors were going to bestow that honor upon him - of course he didn't - and he was very pleased by their magnanimous action.

Of course there was the rapid and unauthorized destruction of the East Wing of the White House so that another Trump-appointed commission could quickly approve his hastily-drafted plans for a new ballroom complex that will dwarf the adjoining White House, historic home of every United States President except George Washington.  The ballroom was Trump's idea, his baby, and he talks about it constantly - even when he should be focused on the raging war in the Middle East that he helped to start - with the encouragement of Israeli politicians - a month ago.  People who do not believe that Trump will have his own name placed prominently on the facade of the ballroom are what those who publish dictionaries refer to as "naive" and "gullible."  They would  not hesitate to vote for an obviously insane individual to be President of the United States if he would validate their bigotry and ridicule the success of others.

There is also, of course, Trump's tawdry redecoration of the White House that would make a 19th century French courtesan blush with embarrassment, as well as planned atrocities that have yet to be started like the massive arch that will overshadow the Lincoln Memorial and which Trump is already referring to as the Arch de Trump.  (A more appropriate monument to himself would be a massive Big Mac sitting next to a gigantic can of Diet Coke!)

All of that, of course, takes money, an ulimited supply of money, our money - and Trump has that covered, too.   A Trump-appointed federal arts panel has approved designs for a special gold-tone Trump dollar to be made by the US Mint in time to be circulated for the 250th birthday of the United States this July.  The arts panel has directed the Mint to make the special commemorative dollar "as large as possible," of course it has, and Trump is sure to be as flattered as possible at the magnanimous actions of this "independent" government agency.  

We have also recently learned that US currency will soon bear the signature of Donald John Trump, the only living President to have ever received such an honor.  US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, another Trump appointee, appears to be the person who crafted that honor.  There is apparently no truth (yet) to the rumor that Trump's face will replace that of Benjamin Franklin on the US one-hundred dollar bill.

Don't clutch when you sign your name to our money, Donbo.  May I humbly suggest that you use something appropriate for the honor, perhaps a quill, and dip it in a mixture of horseshit and batshit   It would give us a way to remember the real you, a true representation of your great American legacy.

Profiles in Courage

 

by Pa Rock

Proud American

John. F. Kennedy penned the biographical collection "Profiles in Courage" while serving in the US Senate and recovering from back surgery during the years 1954-1955.  It was published in 1956 and went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for biography in 1957.  In that relatively small volume, the future President told the life stories of eight former US Senators and how they helped to shape the United States through personal courage and political risk.  Those eight senators were:  John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, Thomas Hart Benton, Sam Houston, Edmund G. Ross, Lucius Lamar, George Norris, and Robert A. Taft.   They were from a variety of political parties, but each had the personal courage to put the needs of their country above their own self-interest and partisan politics.

In 1989, twenty-six years after the death of President Kennedy, the Profiles in Courage Award was established by the late President's family to honor his legacy.  The award is administered by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, and recipients are selected by a bipartisan committee designated by the Foundation to review all nominees.  Recipients have come from a variety of locations worldwide and represent government, the public service sector, and the general population.  

This year there will be two recipients:  Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell - and the People of the Twin Cities, Minnesota.  The announcement released by the John F. Kennedy Library Founation read as follows:

Jerome Powell:

The 2026 Profile in Courage Award will be presented to Federal Reserve of the United States Chairman Jerome Powell for protecting the independence of the Federal Reserve which is critical to the stability of the global economy despite years of personal attacks and threats from the highest levels of government.

The People of the Twin Cities, Minnesota:

The people of the Twin Cities of Minnesota will be honored with a John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for risking their lives to protect their neighbors and immigrant community members from an unprecedented law enforcement operation, peacefully defending the human rights and values that serve as the foundation of our Constitutional democracy.

What brilliant choices!  Congratulations to the honorees! 

Americans Are Far Better than Our Leader

 

by Pa Rock

Patriot

Literally millions of people showed up across America for the third in a national series of "No Kings" rallies and protests across our nation in less than a year.  This time the policies and practices (and vulgarities) of Donald Trump have reached such levels of disgust that the protests spread out into the international sphere with major anti-Trump protests occurring in countries across Europe and as far away as Tokyo, Japan.  It was an experience of worldwide solidarity on one very ugly issue:  the malignant influence that Donald Trump is having on life in the United states as well as abroad.

More that 3,300 individual protests took place yesterday, with sign-carrying marchers numbering above ten million nationwide.

With the murder of two American citizens in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area by members of Trump's private army of armed and masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, the rally at the state capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota, close to where the murders occurred, became one of the central-focus gatherings of the day.  The crowd there was estimated to be over 200,000, making it the largest protest in Minneota history.  Bruce Springsteen was there to inspire the massive crowd with his new protest song, "The Street's of Minneapolis," along with progressive political icon Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, folksinger Joan Baez, who has been an active presence in American protest movements for more than sixty years, Oscar-winning actress Jane Fonda, and a slew of Minnesota politicians including Governor Tim Walz and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.

It was a day of peaceful, yet aggressive, resistance to America's slide away from the principles of democratic rule on which this nation was built, and a rededication to getting the country back on its arc toward universal suffrage and justice for all.

Millions and millions of underpaid and overworked Americans gave up their day off, or a day's pay, to show the world how they feel about our impaired and untethered leader and his administration of pathetic "yes" men.  The world and Donald Trump have been put on clear notice that he does not speak for all of us!

American's are far better than our leader.

In Contempt of Soulless Pigs

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Have you ever wondered why people as rich as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, or even the vulgarian Trumps are so opposed to paying their share of taxes when doing so would not impair their obscene standard of living one iota.  They seem to feel that society should be run on the backs of the working class, and the rich should be left alone to enjoy their wealth as they see fit.  Taxes are not a major concern of the wealthy.  Yes, taxes are a necessary part of the world order, and they should be paid - just not by them.  The late hotelier, Leona Helmsley, a billionaire real estate mogul and friend of Donald Trump's who was known as the "Queen of Mean," summarized the insatiable greed of the rich and their aversion to paying taxes thusly, and with extreme arrogance:

"We don't pay taxes.  Only the little people pay taxes."

That was back at a time when there was still some sense of justice in American government, and in 1989 Ms. Helmsley was sentenced to 16 years in prison for tax evasion and ultimately served 21 months.  The presiding judge in the case ordered her to begin serving her sentence on April 15th - tax day!

Now, of course, it is much worse, and today's billionaires (the Epstein class) routinely find ways to not pay any taxes at all, and they often line their purses with government contracts which are ultimately funded by American workers.

Today marks the 117th anniversary of the birth of American novelist Nelson Algren, a writer who chronicled some of the seamier aspects of life on the mean streets of the United States.  Algren was born into a working class family in Detroit and had a keen understanding of his hard-scrabble roots.  His Wikipedia entry credits him with articulating the world of "drunks, pimps, prostitutes, freaks, drug addicts, prize fighters, corrupt politicians, and hoodlums."  Today, while reading an on-line article celebrating the birth of Nelson Algren, I came across a quote of his which, after careful reflection, I decided was the answer to the question of why the ultra-rich resist giving a hand up to those less fortunate that themselves.  Algren said:

"When we get more houses than we can live in, more cars than we can ride in, more food than we can eat ourselves, the only way of getting richer is by cutting off those who don't have enough."

Boom!  There, from Algren's 1956 novel, "A Walk on the Wild Side," is the answer.  The very rich constantly seek more, even though they don't need it, as a way of increasing the social and economic distance between themselves and the rest of us.  They are soulless pigs at the trough - and it will be a mighty cold day in hell before they share.  The more the rich can hold onto, the more the rest of us will be forced to spend.  The less the workers have in their pockets and bank accounts, the better the rich, pig oligarchs feel about their own situations in life.

Not every billionaire oligarch is a pig at the trough denying others the right of basic survival needs, but clearly most are.  There are a few philanthropists who try to break that mold.  One of those very good billionaires that I like to site in MacKenzie Scott, the "first wife" of Jeff Bezos.  MacKenzie helped in founding and growing Amazon.com, and when the couple divorced she did very well in the settlement.  Later while Jeff was busy renting out the city of Venice, Italy, for his wedding to a young trophy wife, MacKenzie had married a public school teacher was was busy writing very large checks to charities worldwide.  She understood that with big money comes big responsibility.  Warren Buffett and Melinda Gates understand that as well, but the concept was lost on certain senior members of the Trump family who stole money from a children's charity which they were running.

Perhaps we should not take it personally that the rich won't pay their fare share for the ride on Planet Earth.  Their consummate greed is just one more way of piling up wealth and increasing the gap between them and us.  It's as natural as famine and plague, and it is our duty to embrace it and to keep paying for the services on which society depends without complaint - or contempt - because our "betters" sure as hell aren't going to do it!

Loose Cannon

 

(Editor's note:  Ranger Bob is back with another take on our modern political world.  This time he explains the origins of the term "loose cannon," knowledge he gained through years of work with our National Park Service, and applies that very dangerous reality from years past to the current President of the United States.  Thanks for joining us again and sharing your valuable insights, Ranger Bob! ~ Pa Rock)

Loose Cannon

by Bob Randall

The cannons of the USS Constitution were loaded from the muzzle.  When the guns were to be fired, they were run out through ports so that the muzzle protruded outside of the ship's hull.  The guns were so heavy at nearly 6,500 pounds that the crews used block and tackle rigs to run them forward.  It was not good to stand behind a cannon because, once fired, the recoil of the blast violently pushed the cannon and its carriage back inside the ship.  Then it could be reloaded.  There was also a block and tackle at the breech end to run it back inside if needed.  The gun carriages that supported the tubes were on wheels that didn't swivel.  Under normal circumstances, they only went forward and backward.  They could be slid sideways a little for aiming purposes, if needed.  It was controlled chaos.  If, for whatever reason, the cannon was free from its tethers, it became a loose cannon.  On a pitching deck, it was very chaotic and difficult to impossible to control.  Unchecked, it could destroy anything in its way.   

If ever there was a loose cannon, it's Donald Trump.  He seems to be on a pitching deck of his own making.   MAGA likes that because they either want to see something new built in place of the destruction, they want to clear away the debris for a permanently blank canvas, or they just like jabbing people they don't like in the eye.  They aren't clear on the specifics.  They are useful idiots.  Donald himself is clearing the way for seaside resorts.  He wants access to energy and precious mineral reserves to be exploited by his brand or his friends who will be beholden to him.   Since NATO is not showing proper deference, its dissolution is necessary, probably along with the UN which will be replaced entirely by the Board of Peace and the Shield of America.   He needs to make money because there is never enough, just as he needs to continue his reign which is scheduled to expire in about three years.

The illegal war that's going on which he started isn't really a problem because he will simply declare victory at some point and expect adulation from everyone.  If you don't give him that, you will be the villain in his next Truth post.   If you are in journalism, he will either have a rich patron buy out your parent company or have the head of the FCC threaten your license to broadcast.

But the war is a problem beyond that.  We have not won, and depending on your perspective, we are not winning.  It is not our kind of war where one side surrenders.  The Iranian regime survives.  Many of the people who could rise up and rebel (presumably on our side) are dead.  Donald's timing was a little slow.  The regime is winning because it controls the flow of oil for much of the world, and that affects the price we pay.  That puts pressure on Donald's plans.   He has to survive the midterm elections, so the Iranian regime will just survive and be a thorn in his paw.  Wait.  It's not just a problem for Donald, it's a problem for all of us.

There are things about the war of which, in theory, I approve.   I would welcome regime change, hopefully replaced by a democracy or at least not a theocracy.  Iran is the primary bad boy of the Middle East (Israel is not the subject here,).   I would welcome capture of enriched uranium and destruction of Iran's ability to continue their nuclear program.  Most of their missiles have been spent and I would welcome the prevention of their replacement, drones included here.  I could go on.  There are good things that could come from this war, however, I don't have much encouragement that these things will happen.   Stopping now would be a disaster.  If we just mow the Iranian lawn, it will grow back with more weeds.  Russia and China are watching, and if we show a lack of political will or military might, they will be encouraged.  We will be exposed as a paper tiger.  We shouldn't  keep going, but we can't quit.  Thanks, Donald.  (Bob says sarcastically.)

Worse than any of the above is the precedent that the president can start a war without the approval of Congress.   Well, I guess that problem is within the limits of argument,   Supporters say that he used the War Powers Act to protect us against imminent attack.  That is untrue,  but how blatant does a lie have to be before everyone agrees that it is a lie.   He notified some members of Congress after it started, so that is barely within the procedure, I guess.  So, he has 90 days to play war without congressional approval.  If he wants to continue, will he have the political juice to get approval?   Well, I don't know.  In my opinion, the bigger problem is the precedent that allows the president to start any war, anywhere, anytime.  Where's Congress?  I think the other questions are minor compared to this:  Will America turn back to its traditional Democratic values or accelerate toward authoritarianism?

Governor Sarah has Difficulty Dining Out

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

An evolutionary age ago in American politics, in June of 2018 during the early stages of Trump's first presidential term and back before he was totally insane and out of control, his press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, was having dinner at the Red Hen Restaurant in Lexington, Virginia, approximately 200 miles from Washington, DC.  When Trump's official mouthpiece and her husband entered the small farm-to-table restaurant  along with six or so other people in their group, she was quickly spotted by the chef who was not happy with the prospect of having to cook for Donald Trump's mouthpiece.

The chef telephoned the restaurant's co-owner to complain about the situation, and she quickly arrived on the scene.  The co-owner told Sanders that her restaurant upheld standards such as "honesty, and compassion, and cooperation," and she asked the press secretary to leave, which she and her husband immediately did.  The other guests in their party, who were already enjoying appetizers, were invited to stay, but they also left.  The appetizers were comped by the management.

I remember laughing about that incident after it made national news, but that was my bad.  Just because Donald Trump is a loudmouthed blowhard who routinely enjoys humiliating people, that does not give us reason to be like him, and in fact, we should always strive to be better than Trump.  Who wants to spend their lives being stuck in the bottom of the humanity barrel?

So now, almost eight full years later, I have a chance to redeem myself over that outburst of bad character back in the day.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the former presidential press secretary, is now back in her home state of Arkansas where she is serving in her first term as Governor, as a Republican, of course.  Sarah has not only upped her political status, but she is also eating better as well.  She has moved from greasy fried chicken to  the more ladylike and genteel croissants.  On March 13th the governor and two other "moms"  arrived at Little Rock's "The Croissanterie" restaurant for lunch, along with the governor's state highway patrol security detail.  Some staff and customers were not pleased at having to share their space with the extremist, right-wing governor, and complained to management.  The end result was that the governor and her party were hustled along and everyone's feathers were ruffled.

The restaurant's owners described the incident thusly:

"When Governor Sanders arrived unannounced, staff served her and her party without interruption.

As her security presence became more visible in the dining room, some employees and guests expressed discomfort.  After the party completed their meal, a member of the security detail was quietly asked to help conclude the visit in line with our standard 90-minute table policy.  

The request was not immediately received, and the party remained for an additional period of time before departing without incident once communication was established.

We want to be clear:  there was no disruption in the restaurant.  Claims that an employee made an inappropriate gesture are incorrect - it was a customer and the situation has been addressed.

This was not a decision made lightly.  We chose to prioritize the comfort of our staff and guests while continuing to provide service respectfully and without escalation."

In her recounting of the events, the governor was a tad more snappish:

"Last week I was having lunch at a restaurant with two other moms when the owner approached a member of the State Police Executive Protection Detail and said my presence made their employees feel threatened and told us to leave.  Arkansans are known for their warm hospitality, and while that restaurant certainly doesn't meet that standard, my administration will continue to focus on lifting Arkansans up, not tearing others down with discrimination and hate."

People, use some common sense and display a modicum of courtesy if your meal is disrupted by the appearance of a disgusting politician.  Instead of trying to control that person's meal, control your own.  Stand up, perhaps in a chair, and ask, in a loud and clear voice, for a to-go box, and then take your meal out to a nice park - or eat in your car.

And Sarah, don't let the snobs get you down.  Invest in a nice lunchbox and pack a lunch at home.  Many, many Arkansans do that every day.  If you try to eat in a place specializing in croissants, you are just begging be set upon by people who pretend they have never eaten fried chicken with their hands or enjoyed a tasty fried baloney sandwich.  Stay in your lane, our lane, it serves a better class of people.

We are in a Real Deal, Ugly-Assed War!

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Yup, there it is folks.   The "excursion" that our Blowhard-in-Chief said we won on day one, is now in its fourth week with no sign of ending anytime soon, and we continue to dig in deeper.   There were already approximately 50,000 US troops situated around the Middle East when Triump and Netanyahu started their mad assault on Iran, with many of them today functioning as targets for Iranian missiles and drones.  Next the Trump administration announced that a couple of thousand Marines were being sent from Okinawa, presumaby to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz so the planet can get its oil supply replenished and the oil companies and Middle Eastern governments can continue to suck in their profits.   That was followed days later by a second announcement that 2,500 more Marines were being shipped in from California - bringing that total to five or six thousand young marines who should have boots on the ground by mid-April.

This morning the Trump administration, which has more leaks than the Titanic, is smugly and unofficially reporting that between 1,000 and 4,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg are packing their rucksacks in preparation for an imminent deployment into the "excursion."  

We are at war, folks.  A real deal, ugly-assed war that is being planned and led by crooked real estate developers, profiteers, grifters, and washed-up former Fox News personalities.   What the hell could possible go wrong?  Those of us of a certain age remember Lyndon Johnson's rapid expansion of a small "exxpeditionary" force in Vietnam back in the 1960's to a meat grinder with more that half-a-million US troops on the ground and ultimate US deaths that numbered over 50,000.   Donald John Trump may have been too busy on the golf course to know much about that war, but millions of Americans and their families remember the horrors of war, vividly.  Walter Cronkite brought the mud and blood of Vietnam into our living rooms each evening and gave us daily body counts.

Now we are back in another one.  The hornet's nest has been kicked, and it will be the hornets who decide when it is over and at what cost.

The Passing of American Patriot Robert Mueller

 

by Pa Rock

Proud American

(Today's posting is somewhat dated, but I didn't want to let the moment slip completely by without giving it some attention in this space - so better late than never.)

Former FBI Director Robert Mueller died at the age of 81 last Friday.    Mueller was a Princeton graduate when he volunteered to serve as a Marine in the Vietnam War where he was wounded and received a Bronze Star (with Valor) and a Purple Heart for his service.  He later was an attorney and career government prosecutor who was appointed head of the FBI  by President George W. Bush in 2001 and had been in office exactly one week when the terrorist attacks of 9/11 occurred.  Mueller served as the FBI director for a full ten-year term and was then asked by President Obama to remain in the post two additional years.  He finally retired after twelve full years of heading the nation's premier law enforcement agency.

Mueller also served as the Special Counsel who was charged with investigating the ties between Trump campaign officials and Russian operatives during the 2016 presidential election, as well as events leading to Trump's firing of the next FBI Director James Comey.  Mueller was appointed to lead the investigation by a member of Trump's own Justice Department, and he was a registered Republican, but his appointment and investigation nevertheless enraged Trump, the world's most victimized individual, and he always harbored an anger against Mueller, even though the results of his investigation were obfuscated by Attorney General William Barr and blunted by political machinations in Congress - and wound up being more of an embarrassment to Trump that an actual political liability.

But, long story short, Trump nurtured his grudge and anger at Mueller for the next several years, and when the decorated American war veteran and patriot died last Friday, our extremely petty President, and chronic evader of the Vietnam war draft, Donald John Trump, had this to say:

"Robert Mueller just died.  Good, I'm glad he's dead.  He can no longer hurt innocent people!  President DONALD J. TRURMP"

Those who tout Donald Trump as the ultimate Christian need to do some serious soul-searching.  Decent people don't speak that way about good people who have done so much for so many.  The man they openly worship is disturbed, vile, and disgusting.

Poor, poor Piggy.

Death and Mayhem at LaGuardia

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Last week I saw photos of a wide line of people, many with small children and luggage in tow, standing immobile at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport waiting to board flights out of the "Big Easy."  The article with the photo said that the line extended through the main doors and outside into the airport parking garage.  Yesterday evening I saw a similar photo with an identical story on the internet about LaGuardia Airport in New York.

LaGuardia, the nation's 20th busiest airport which serves as a major pipeline for air traffic into and out of New York City, is closed this morning and nobody is going anywhere through its many concourses and gates because very early this morning, well before daylight, an incoming passenger jet from Montreal collided with a firetruck that was crossing the runway on which the big jet was landing.   The crash was severe.  The jet's cockpit was destroyed and the pilot and co-pilot were both killed, two policemen who were riding on the firetruck were seriously injured, and dozens of passengers on the plane were taken to local hospitals with injures, some of them very serious.

The long lines of pissed-off air-travelers and this morning's deadly accident are all the result of the current funding stand-off by officials of our government in Washington, DC.  TSA workers and Air Traffic Controllers have missed their last two paychecks, and many have either quit to take other jobs or are burning up sick leave in order to get by driving for Uber or picking up second jobs and part-time work.

The boondoggle, as this former air passenger understands it, revolves around the government's current refusal to  fund the portion of the Department of Homeland Security which in turn funds TSA and the Air Traffic Controllers.   The other part of DHS, the one that controls Trump's notorious paramilitary ICE forces, has been more than fully funded.   

Democrats in the Senate are refusing to vote for more DHS funding until the masks come off of the ICE goons and the agency begins mandating the use of "judicial" warrants - those issued by actual judges, and not by ICE itself.  Republican senators are declining to make any basic changes in the program.  The Republicans have a majority in the Senate and could pass the legislation that the President is demanding if they would change the Senate rules, which they could do by themselves, and drop the Senate filibuster rule which requires a 60-vote majority on most legislation.  The filibuster gives power to the minority party to block legisaltion, and Republicans know, rightly, that one day they will again be in the minority and need the filibuster.

Trump, for his part, is vowing not to sign any legislation until Congress passes his "Save America" bill, a measure with no connection to Homeland Security funding that will make it more difficult for minorities and married women to vote.

It's a mess and there is plenty of blame to spread into all corners of government.   As of today there does not seem to be much in the way of serious movement to resolve the political impasse.  Trump says he will send ICE agents (who have no training in airport security or airport technical knowledge) into the nations's airports beginning today to help out - so there is that hazard to look out for as well.

Add to all of that swirling mass of airport confusion, both inside of the terminals and parking garages as well as out on the runways, the fact that Trump's unnecessary war in the Middle East is causing the price of jet fuel (and regular gas for autos) to skyrocket, and this might be a very good year to remain home for the summer and enjoy a "stay-cation."

Either that, or take the train.

Maybe if Presidents had to fly commercial, the government would put more care, thought, and money into America's airports and transportation systems.  Just sayin' . . .

My Perfect Day

 

by Pa Rock

Old Fart with a Cane

My sister, Abigail, and her daughter, Tiffany, drove out yesterday from northwest Arkansas to visit, and we spent a very nice day together,  Gail and I chat over the phone when we can, but it had been just over a year since we had last seen each other in person, and it had been several years since I had seen Tiffy.

We met in town for breakfast, and then they came out to the house where we sat and talked for a couple of hours while the guests became acquainted with Rosie and Gypsy.  Both of our girls love company!  Later we drove into town, saw a few of the sights, and wound up at a flea market and yard sale where none of us bought anything.  Last night after a brief respite, we had dinner at a nice local restaurant.

It was a very pleasant day, both the weather and the company, and one I truly appreciated.  I have an upcoming birthday, and the ladies each presented me with a card before leaving last night.  Then, during the night, Tiffy emailed a video that she had found on Facebook of the old Noel School (Noel, Missouri) where I graduated from high school in 1966 and where I was serving as the school's principal (by that time it was a K-8), nineteen years later when the vidoe was made.   I have watched about half of it this morning and will finish viewing it later to day, but what I have seen so far is an emotionally overwhelming experience..

Nicest birthday gift ever!  Love you, Tiff!

The film that Tiffany sent was made by a local citizen for viewing at our first-ever all-Noel School Reunion which was held in the spring of 1985.  After that there were two more reunions at the old school, and then it was bulldozed by a newer, unconnected, and uncaring county school administration, and a newer, plainer, and far more sterile facility was erected in its place.

But the video that Tiffy sent, which I had last seen on the day of the reunion in 1985, brought back a ton of memories.  It included an interview with a much younger me at the time.   (Age 37 - I will be 78 tomorrow, but that is the me I hope my kids will be able to remember - and I know that I need to do some serious work to make that happen.)

My guests were spending the night at a motel here in West Plains and then going on to do some other visiting on their way home today.  They dropped me at my house after dark, and as I was standing on the porch waving them goodbye, the phone in my pocket began ringing.  It was my good friend Carla (Turnbough) Brown of St. Louis.  Carla and I had been close friends in college in Springfield, Missouri - Southwest Missouri State - in the 1960's.  I answered her call just as Gail and Tiffy drove off into the night, and I sat down in a chair on the porch to enjoy the conversation.

Carla and I don't visit as often as we should.  In 2009 we traveled to New York City together and had fun exploring the Big Apple with a group of college students from Kansas, and two years ago we made a similar trip to New York in connection with some theatre work that my son, Tim, was doing there.   Currently we manage a phone conversation every few months.

My friend in the St. Louis area called to tell me about the passing of our former college president, news which I had already heard.  The our conversation drifted into problems associated with aging (she is about a year younger than me), and dealing with adult children.  We talked for over half an hour, and much of what she shared was like a bolt of lightening across my withering brain.  Our talk was my second best birthday gift of the season.

Over the past few years I have had some friction with each of my three adult children and, of late, quite a bit with one in particular.  My friend in St. Louis has had similar experiences.  She told me about a podcast that she had recently come across in which Michelle Obama and her brother talked about difficulties with aging parents - and they described it in terms of the parents, realizing they are slowly dying, are grieving the end of their lives and struggling with giving control of their lives over to others.  Boom!  That was me!  That was Rocky Macy at this exact point in his life.  Puzzle pieces of confusion began falling into place.  It was a Eureka moment!

But Carla, who missed her calling and should have been a social worker, wasn't done there.  After the psychoanalysis and diagnosis, she told me about things she was learning from her amazing physical therapist.  We are both in the process of learning to walk with a cane, and, silly me, I didn't realize that there were right and wrong ways of doing it.  I thought you just picked up a cane and began hobbling along, but Carla's physical therapist is showing her how to use it properly for safety and to physically benefit from the experience.  She was able to pass quite a bit of good information along to me over the phone, and now I am going research the matter on YouTube and see what else I can learn.  I'm inspired and think this cane business could actually improve my quality of life.

Those wonderful visits yesterday and the video of the young me at the Noel School all rolled together and made a perfect day.  There won't be many more birthdays, and I'm at peace with that, but this one is shaping up to be a dandy!

Have a wonderful day.  I'm going to - it will be my second in a row!

Trump Dreams of his Name in Neon Across Havana

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Cuba, an island nation of approximately ten million people which lies just 90 miles south of the southern tip of the United States (Key West, Florida), is suffering economic collapse primarily a a result of an energy embargo imposed by its pious Christian neighbor nation to the north.  The island's energy grid is collapsing and food and medical supplies are rapidly being depleted.  People are sick, and hungry, and scared.

Donald Trump, who represents us in matters of international import, says he believes he will "have the honor of taking over Cuba."   One of Trump's fantasies is that he believes it could be a "friendly" takeover, but he goes on to bellow that it might not be friendly, and given Cuba's current weakened strength, he can basically do anything he wants with the island.

Greenland didn't work out for Donald John, and his war in Iraq is a soul-and-money-sucking quagmire that is spreading the flames of war across the entire Middle East - a total disaster, so he needs to find an easier way to spread his magnificence.  Why not Cuba?

When Castro and his rebel forces ousted Cuban dictator Batista on New Year' Day in 1959, it marked far more than just a  new year for the island that had once been a playground for America's rich and famous.  On that day, January 1, 1959, people stormed the hotels and casinos of Havana and began hauling roulette wheels, poker tables, craps tables, and all manner of gambling paraphernalia into the streets and set it ablaze  It was a new day!

Now Trump is envisioning another new day.  He lusts to bring back the old Havana - luxury hotels, casino's, and undoubtedly golf courses as well.  Havana will become every bit as glittery and glamorous as the new Gaza.  Trump knows people, and he knows what they need - more luxury establishments with his family's name on them.  The Cuban people can once again enjoy sub-minimum wage jobs of cleaning rooms and serving drinks.  Everybody wins - well at leasst the rich - they always win.

Maybe the casinos will have slot machines that take only the new Trump, gold-plated, US dollars!

An aid ship is headed to Cuba from Mexico and should arrive on Monday, and two more are set to sail from the Mexican port of Isla Mujeres next week.  Other countries and organizations are also beginning to muster aid shipments.    Godspeed to them all and to everyone involved in that great humanitarian effort!

I've been to Cuba and walked among its people.  They are good, solid, hard-working individuals who do not deserve to have Trump inflict himself and his gold-plated, superficial values upon them - and we don't deserve that either!