Obama Center Beckons

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

My sun is setting, I know that, and with each passing day the shadow of my accomplishments in life lengthen less and less while the steps that I have yet to trod and which lie before me also diminish.  I have an informal bucket list of things I would still like to accomplish, "informal" meaning it's in my head and not written on parchment somewhere, and almost all of those goals involve either writing and having my many projects completed, saved, and easy to access for my kids and their kids - or travel, places I would still like to visit.  A couple of my travel destinations are to exotic locales that I am unlikely reach at this stage of my life, but one is in the midwestern United States and very doable -  the Obama Center in Chicago - and I have every intention of making that one happen.

Barack Obama and his family opened the Center last week, to the VIPs on Thursday along with massive media coverage, and then to the general public on Friday, Juneteenth.  Public tickets to visit the center are already sold out through November 30, 2026, and tickets for beyond the end of November will not go on sale until July 8th.  Just gaining admission to the center will be a challenge that will likely exceed the degree of difficulty in getting from West Plains, Missouri, to Chicago.

I did ride past the Obama Center two years ago just before the Democratic Convention plopped down in the same city.   My niece was providing a tour of Chicago and we drove by the structure which at that time looked to be about half-finished.  It was obvious from our drive-by that the completed structure was going to be massive and architecturally unique.  

The Obama Center is a stunning monument to an equally stunning presidency.

I was able to watch many of the speeches on Thursday as the Center opened for the VIP crowd.  It was a very inspiring day.  Four Presidential couples were there:  Barack and Michelle Obama, Joe and Jill Biden, George and Laura Bush, and Bill and Hillary Clinton.  The camaraderie between the four couples (three Democratic and one Republican) was inspiring, showing America that we can heal and get past the deep partisanship ushered in by the Trump circus.  The cross-party friendship, particularly between the Obamas and the Bushes, brings to mind the friendship between the Republican Fords and the Democratic Carters after they were each out of the White House.  

The Trumps had not been invited.  With the abuse that Donald Trump has heaped on the former Presidents and their families, neglecting to invite him was totally understandable.   The day had a special vibe, one that Trump's presence would have significantly altered or killed.  

It's not realistic to spend everyday being the neighborhood dick and then expect to get invited to the block parties.

But I digress.

Pa Rock can't wait to visit the Obama Center.  Maybe he'll send Trump a postcard from there and show the old criminal what he's missing!

The Dietary Wisdom of RFK, Jr

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

For those who plan to stumble through Washington, DC, this summer to see the sights during our nation's Semiquincentennial now that Trump has spent piles of our money getting everything gilded, painted, or just dolled-up with his name emblazoned n it, here are a few things to check if you suspect you may have spotted a Cabinet secretary or other Trumpian star.

First notice gender and skin color.   Members of Trump's inner circle and Cabinet are more likely to be male and white than in any other recent presidential administration.  So far during his current administration Trump has replaced three cabinet members and his Director of National Security, all women, with (at least on a temporary"acting" basis) all white men, which most of his cabinet members and closest advisers were to begin with.

Second, take a gander at their shoes.  Trump wears  $145 Florsheim Cap Toe Oxfords, and he is so proud of that choice that he has given the same style of shoes to many of the males with whom he works closest.  A dead giveaway that some guy is in Trump's inner circle is if he is wearing the Florsheims and they don't fit properly.   The boss didn't ask about sizes before ordering the surprise gifts - apparently thinking he had a "gift" for guessing the right size - and when the lucky lackeys unwrapped their surprise shoes in his office, they instinctively knew to put them on and carry their old ones out.  Some were too tight to walk in while others flopped around like beach shoes, but wear them they did.

And now a third way to discern Trump's main sycophants from mere mortals seems to be arising.  If you are too close for comfort, and it happens to be meal time, check their plates to see what they are eating, or if no food is around but you are still within germ-jumping distance, try to catch a whiff of their breath.  If your prey is eating sauerkraut or kim chi, or smell like they have been, they may well be people who regularly crowd around the enormous oval table in the under-sized cabinet room to watch Donald sleep.

RFK, Jr, the nation's Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and all-around health nut, has created his own version of something generally referred to as a "sour meal plan" or a "sauerkraut diet."  The plan focuses on fermented vegetables, like sauerkraut and kim chi, along with grass-fed beef, as well as breads and waffles made from sourdough.  Yummy!   Kennedy, who reportedly carries his own supply of sauerkraut around with him and has a penchant for roadkill, says that he has lost 20 pounds and 40% of his visceral fat from the diet. He is so happy with the results that he is promoting it among the other Trump stooges.    So far Vice President JD Vance, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and former US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have joined the fad.

So, if you have a figure like me or Donald Trump and an adventurous spirit, you might want to give the sour meal plan a try.    Sauerkraut on a sourdough waffle for breakfast would probably kill the urge to eat breakfast and the next several meals.  Or, another option would be to seek the advice of a legitimate medical professional, such as your personal physician, for competent advice on a diet plan.

I can't help feeling that people who take medical and dietary advice from the current US Secretary of Health and Human Services are destined to go the way of the dinosuar, dodo bird, and passenger pigeon.  Darwin understood how these things work.

  

Guest Nobody Wanted

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Donald Trump flew to the G-7 Summit of the leaders of the world's major economies on Monday of this past week, shortly after:   his name had been pulled off the Kennedy Center, it became apparent to the world that he had resoundingly lost his ill-conceived war on Iraq, his birthday cage-fighting event had desecrated the White House lawn and made the US look even more foolish to the world, and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool had sprung a new crop of algae and turned green again.  Perhaps he thought he would get more respect in Europe, but that proved not to be the case.  

While Trump was in Europe, he stopped off at the Palace of Versailles near Paris and signed the surrender document supposedly ending the war with Iran, an agreement that seemed to only net one of Trump's stated goals when he and Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel initiated the ill-conceived war that destabilized the Middle East and global trade - particularly the world's oil markets.  

The only thing Trump appears to have secured with the war and its abrupt end was a re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz so that oil shipments through the Strait could resume, and that "concession" on Iran's part was more of a purchase than it was a spoil of war.  In return for reopening the Strait the US promised to unfreeze Iranian assets held by US banks and cough-up a $300 billion fund for Iran to use to rebuild its infrastructure.

Per Iran's understanding of the agreement, Israel was to quit bombing southern Lebanon in its never-ending search for Hezbollah (or any other) terrorists, but suprisingly to no one except perhaps to Trump, Netanyahu says the new agreement has nothing to do with him, and Israel's aggression in Lebanon has continued.  Iran says it has again closed the Strait of Hormuz, and US Vice-President JD Vance insists that it is still open.  (I know who I believe.)

Long story short, Trump's only shred of victory for the week, his bribe to Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, appears to be in the crapper.

But that's all just backstory to what I really wanted to write about today:  Trump's abject humiliation at the G-7.  There are several revealing photos floating around on social media showing the participants standing and chatting, always in one or two small groups with Trump standing by himself, reminiscent of an unpopular child being shunned at a birthday party.  Trump appeared to be familiar with the situation.

He was operating in France, a foreign country where he didn't have control of the room or the media.  But as soon as Trump got safely back in the US he began trying to change those images.  He told a bizarre story on more than one occasion that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, was frantic to have her picture taken with him, but Trump, being the most important person there, or anyhwere else for that matter, resisted her entreaties.   Meloni says Trump "fabricated' the story, and their feud has escalated on-line.

As the feud between the leaders of the United States and Italy grew, Italy's second-rankoing government official called off his scheduled visit to the US, and the Italian newspaper "Libero" ran a headline on its front page stating "Trump E Un Coglione."  "Coglione" translates roughly to "idiot," "moron," or "asshole."  

'Nuff said.

By the time Trump arrived back in the US on Thursday, his crews still had their tarps up covering the front of the Kennedy Center, the agreement to end the war on Iran is in chaos, the "claw" of the White House lawn was coming down, but complete restoration of the lawn will not be quick, and the new special paint on the bottom of the reflecting pool was beginning to peel - and the algae is still there!  

Why, it's almost as if he never left!

Sully Turns Ten in Steamboat Springs

 

by Pa Rock

Proud Grandpa

My youngest grandchild, Sullivan Charles Macy, reaches double digits today as he celebrates his 10th birthday in beautiful Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  Sully is in the Rockies to attend a family reunion with his father and mother, Tim and Erin, and his older sister, Olive.  Roman, his good friend from back home in Kansas, is also on the trip to help Sully celebrate big number TEN!

The boys have been hiking and exploring Steamboat Springs and the Yampa Valley since arriving in Colorado two days ago, and they are also planning on learning the basics of fly-fishing while they are there.  My grandson, as reported in this space on other occasions, is quite the fisherman!  Sully is also into basketball and plays on a team that his Dad coaches, and though old Pa Rock has yet to be able to attend a single one of Sully's games, he has heard numerous reports of how talented his grandson is on the court.  Sully, my goal is to make it to at least one of your games before this season ends!

Travel is food for the soul, and Sully's soul must be full to the brim because Tim and Erin have taken their children on some wonderful trips.  I know they have been to Oregon on multiple occasions as well as South Padre Island in Texas, the Gulf Coast, the coast of Maine, New York City, and even Hawaii.  I hope that Sully is able to make those same types of travel adventures available to his children because travel is such an important component of growth and education.  The further you go, the more able you are to see and understand the entirety of the world and how your little piece of it fits in to the bigger picture.

Happy birthday, Sully!  We wish you and Roman and your entire family the best vacation ever!  With love from Pa Rock, Uncle Nick, Rosie, and especially Gypsy who wishes she was out there running through those mountains with you!  Enjoy being ten!

Juneteenth, a Significant American Holiday

 

by Pa Rock

Patriot

On this date, June 19th in 1865, federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to inform America's last enslaved population that the Civil War was over, the South had lost, and they were free at last.  The anniversary of that joyous event quickly became an unofficial holiday in many Black homes and communities that was known as "Juneteenth."  In 2021 Congress passed a bill making Juneteenth a federal holiday, and President Biden proudly signed it into law.

The mail won't run today and US government offices will be closed.  Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia where the nation's capital is located have also recognized Juneteenth as an official state holiday and their offices will be closed as well.

I am proud to note that my redneck state of Missouri somehow managed to officially recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday.  Perhaps anarchists dumped LSD into Jefferson City's water reservoirs (an old movie reference to 1968's "Wild in the Streets," one of Pa Rock's all-time favorites!).

If Donald Trump had been President when Congress passed the legislation making Juneteenth a holiday, the mail would still be running today.  Trump, whose father was arrested in New York City in 1927 for "refusing to disperse" during a KKK rally,  has twice moved to minimize the importance of the holiday since returning to office in 2025.  He declined to issue a presidential proclamation on Juneteenth of last year recognizing the holiday and instead whined  on social media that the United States observed "too many" non-working holidays that are "costing our country."  (Like thee UFC  Cage Fight Night on the White House lawn for his birthday?  That one certainly cost plenty.   Another big waste of taxpayer money was Trump's dud of a military parade for his birthday last year.  Spare us your cost-saving, racist-tinged sanctimony, Donbo!)) 

In December Trump's US Department of the Interior removed both Black holidays - Martin Luther King, Jr, Day and Juneteenth, from the National Park Service's list of fee-free days, a petty move designed to minimize the importance of a significant segment of the American population.  (There is currently a move afoot in Congress to make both of those national holidays admission-free at our national parks - by law - something a less-enfeebled President would likely support.)

Happy Juneteenth!  Let's all take time to celebrate the end of the ugliest chapter of American history and do everything we can to stamp out the resurgence of bigotry currently infecting the land of the free and the home of the brave.  Let's be better than our leaders.  That's a very low bar.

Members of Congress Advised to Call Members of Congress

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Members of Congress are hard-working sons-o-guns, you betcha they are!  The US House of Representatives, for example, is in session a whopping 145 to 160 days a year.  That means that in a busy year, one where they have to show up to work 160 days, the poor sods only have 195 days off!   It's a hard life, but in a functioning representative democracy, somebody has to do it.

Most Americans have travelled by air at one time or another, and many have spent unplanned hours sitting in airports, or worse yet, on runways, due to flight delays.  But we put up with it because we are little more than cattle being shipped from one market to another, and we want to fly on planes that have had all necessary maintenance and are in good repair.

We make sacrifices for safety, and a sense of fairness prevails with the knowledge that even our betters, those sitting in First Class, are being as inconvenienced as much we are.

Everyone was inconvenienced on a Delta flight from Reagan Airport from Washington, DC, to Detroit last Thursday afternoon when their flight, and all others in the Washington,DC metro area, was grounded for an hour so that members of the United States Air Force could practice their formation flying for Sunday night's UFC fights at the White House, a spectacle planned by the President of the United States as part of his birthday celebration.

Passengers on that particular Delta flight included five of the 435 members of the US House of Representatives:  Debbie Dingle (D, MI), Rashida Tlaib (D, MI), Shri Thanedar (D, MI), Lisa McClain (R, MI), and Bob Latta (R, OH).

One of the plane's pilots who seemed to be a tad annoyed at the hour delay due to the rehearsal for a Trump vanity project,  took to the plane's public speaker system and told his frustrated, captive passengers, that if they were unhappy with the situation, they should call their representatives in Congress!

Ouch!

American Currency Green

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

By anyone's perspective, except perhaps his own, this past week has been a roaring disaster for our nation's man-child President.  One of Trump's primary birthday gifts to himself was to  make an unsubstantiated claim that his and Netanyahu's war on Iran is over and that a Memo of Understanding has been agreed to.  But even though Trump made that boast on Sunday, his birthday, the details of the MOU have yet to be disclosed.  The more reliable international news sources indicate that the hidden details include nothing relative to Trump's stated goals when he took us into war, and that the only thing of substance likely to emerge in the foreseeable future is a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to allow petrol products to reach world markets.

The Strait was open when the US and Israel attacked Iran, and Iran quickly closed it.  Current speculation in the news is that the Strait will be reopened - something that cannot be accomplished quickly - primarily due to a large bribe being paid to Iran by the US government.  (That's one way to "win" a war.)

Sorry, Donald John, but that just does not have the feel of a smashing victory - at least for our country.

Trump has also been styimied of late on construction of his big, grand ballroom at the White house.  There are still lawsuits blocking his plans, and the whole matter appears to be eventually headed to the US Supreme Court.

This week a Federal court finally succeeded in getting Trump's name pulled off of the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, an act that stung Trump so badly that he had the removal crews hide behind a tarp while they excised his name from the structure.  As of this morning those tarps are still up, hiding the evidence that Trump lost his vanity battle.

Trump did manage to pull off his UFC fight on the White House grounds Sunday evening, a tawdry display of middle-aged kick-boxers rubbing elbows with over-aged US politicians amid the glowing backdrop of neon signage and Bud Light ads.  It was undoubtedly Trump's personal high water mark for the week, but the event resonated poorly with the American public.  A Reuters-Ipsos poll out this morning shows that only 16% of Americans felt activity was an appropriate use of the presidential grounds.  At least seven government agencies were involved in putting on the event and making it secure, leaving American taxpayers footing a big portion of the event that was supposedly all going to be covered by the company promoting the fight card, a company in which Donald Trump owns shares,  To further muddy the ethical waters, prize money for the fighters was paid in crypto currency by the Trump family's crypto company.

But my favorite Trump rebuke of the week came from Mother Nature.   Trump, who wants to remake our nation's capital in his own image while keeping the country's focus off the Epstein files, decided in April that the Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial needed to be cleaned, repaired, and repainted.  He criticized the pool because it was green with algae, and he wanted it to be bright blue for his July 4th festivities.  The Trump administration gave out $14.2 million in no-bid contracts to have the work done and it was completed around two weeks ago.  He made a loud point of declaring that he had the pool painted "American Flag" blue.

(Trump's original announced estimate for the total project was $1.5 million.  No bid contracts were used because the work was done on an "emergency" basis.)

Critics of Trump's plan, people who had gone to school and studied science back when that was a thing, said that painting the bottom of the Reflecting Pool dark blue would cause the water to heat (from the sun) and the algae to quickly regrow. One week after the paint job and other work was completed, the algae was back in full force and the pool is once again green - what some ag are calling "Amrerican Currency" green.

The money paid to the paint contractor, over $13 million (no-bid) was said to be enough to ensure a 20% profit margin for his company - when most government contracts allow for a 6% to 12% profit margin.  One of the "improvements" was a "nanobubbler" filtration system that was supposed to keep the algae from coming back.

Yesterday our government poured large quantities of hydrogen peroxide into the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in an effort to kill the new growth of algae.  It is unclear at this point what that is going to cost us.

But hey, when you're spending other people's money, who gives a crap?  Right, Donbo?

Jason Smith has Another Birthday

 

by Pa Rock

Missouri Voter

Today is birthday #46 for my GOP Congressman Jason Smith (MO 08) who represents the residents of south central and southeast Missouri - or at least the ones who watch Fox News programming where Jason maintains a near-constant presence.   Jason won a special election to Congress in June of 2013 and has been snugly ensconced there for more than thirteen years.  With Mr. Smith's free quality government health care and good Missouri genes, he could likely expect to stay in his securely red seat at the government trough for another fifty years.

Jason has politicked hard in the US House of Representatives and has been rewarded with the chairmanship of the powerful House Ways and Means tax writing committee, a position once held by the late Arkansas Congressman Wilbur Mills.  Jason is very proud of this fine achievement and never fails to mention it multiple times in each edition of his weekly email newsletter.  

This week Jason also sent out a large four-page, multi-colored paper newsletter on the public dime to many of his constituents.  The all caps headline across the top of page one reads "SMITH PASSES LARGEST TAX CUT IN AMERICAN HISTORY."  There is no word yet as to whether he sprained his arm while patting himself on the back or not.  Most people in rural Missouri tend to be a little more subdued in their bragging.

The quality newsletter featured a photo of Jason at a meeting sitting between House Speaker Mike Johnson and Vice President JD Vance - along with a shot of the back of Donald Trump's head - as well as three - count 'em, THREE - photos of the rural Missouri congressman with Melania Trump!

Jason is tight with the Trumps, yes siree, buddy, he is, yet somehow he didn't seem to make it onto the by-invitation-only list for the UFC match on our White House lawn last Sunday night (what some social media commentators are referring to as "Donald Trump's Big Gay Pride Event").

One thing I strongly admire about my congressman is his reluctance to "get comfortable" in Washington, DC.  Rep. Smith, a lifelong bachelor, made it clear early on that would never happen.  He is one of several congressmen who sleep in their offices when Congress is in session.  (Roughly 150 nights per year.). It's a bargain - the "rent" is free and the IRS does not regard it as a work perk for which ordinary humans would have to pay income tax.  So Jason is very lucky when ti comes to rent and tax breaks!   (It's reassuring to know that the man responsible for writing tax law can himself benefit from those laws, isn't it?)  Jason has said on multiple occasions that the reason he sleeps in his office is to keep from getting "too comfortable" in Washington, DC, but after more that 13 years one can assume that he has adapted well to his office couch and sleeps the sleep of the just and righteous.

Happy birthday, Jason.  May your next forty-six be as personally rewarding as your first forty-six have been!

A Mighty Wind

 

by Pa Rock

Man of the Earth ~

For several days the Ozarks have been blanketed in dreary clouds and rain, but that seems to finally be yesterday's news. Today the sun is out and the skies are bright blue and cloudless.  The soaked earth finally has a chance to dry.  We received LOTS of rain.   The local creeks are up beyond their banks, but I have not heard any reports of dangerous flooding or people being trapped and cutoff by the rising waters.

I am not a fan of maple trees because they split so easily and produce roots above ground that interfere with mowing, but regardless of my personal tree preferences, there are numerous maple trees on this acreage that I refer to as a "farm," with two large maples behind the house on the other side of the driveway where I park the car.  Saturday afternoon during a particularly heavy downpour, a big wind roared down from the hills and across the yard fracturing one of the largest limbs in one of those mighty twin maples.  The limb broke at the tree trunk and fell across the driveway and onto the deck.  It did not separate completely from the tree, which left it as a bridge across the driveway that I was able to back my car under and get it to a safer location.  Amazingly, there was no damage to the house or the car

The deck was covered in a profusion of wet, leafy branches and inaccessible for a day until my son and a friend turned the whole mess into firewood on Sunday.

I've never conducted a tree census here on the farm, but there are fifty or sixty trees on the ten acres, with many of the pines, oaks, and hickories being massive.  There are six pines more than forty feet in height which would take out the house if any one fell just right, so we tend to take wind and rain very seriously.  Our little house has a dry and secure basement which is where we head when the mighty winds come roaring in.

Sooner or later nature will win, so it's best to have a plan and a place to go - and stay prepared.

White Trash Birthday Bash at White House, Don't Forget Your Rubbers!

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Today Donald Trump, the oldest person ever elected President of the United States, is observing his 80th birthday.  Last year he celebrated his 79th with a massive military parade across the governmental heart of Washington, DC, a "Flag Day" parade that was a dud by any reasonable person's standards, an event so agonizingly lackluster and boring that Trump himself, the birthday boy, fell asleep while watching it pass by.  

This year Trump's people and a fight promoting company of which Trump is a stockholder have set up a 90-foot-tall arched steel truss system called "the Claw" on the South Lawn of the White House.  "The Claw" is an LED-lit dome and lighting rig designed to frame the Washington Monument and the Executive Mansion during tonight's celebratory event - an evening of cage-match fighting, something that uppity Kennedy Center has yet to ever host.

(Yes, and "Kennedy Center" is the correct appellation.  Trump's name was removed from the structure yesterday!)

There are some classy before-and-after shots of the South Lawn circulating on the internet that are well worth a look-see.   The 'before' shots show a majestic, well-maintained green lawn with a circular fountain as the centerpiece, but the earth is barren and brown in the 'after' shots with the big, ugly dome dwarfing the White House.    The once-beautiful lawn now has the overall look of a ragged midwestern carnival setting-up in a fallow field.  There has never been a more potent image of Trump despoiling America than the way the South Lawn of the White House appears at present.  The desecration is stunning!

Tonight's event beneath the massive steel "Claw" in the backyard of the White House is a seven-bout fight card.  The venue will seat 4,300 in the open air.  While the show is being billed as a part of the official celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it will not be open to the general public and attendance will be by invitation only - but most of those who are invited will have free tickets.  However, the few "special" guests invited to sit in the "special" lawn seating will be paying up to $1.5 million each to park their butts in front of the unwashed masses.  (Money aways buys privilege in Donald Trump's America.)

Tonight's birthday fiasco has an estimated cost north of $60 million to cover construction of the temporary octagon arena, security costs, and payroll for the hundreds of event workers.  Those costs will be paid by TKO Group Holdings, the owner of UFC.  (Trump is a shareholder in TKO.). Fighter bonuses are being backed by the Trump family crypto business, World Liberty Financial.

The weather forecast for tonight in Washington, DC, is:

"Partly to mostly cloudy with a lingering chance of a thunderstorm or two, particularly in the early evening, followed by the temperatures dropping to the mid-to-upper 60s.   It will remain quite humid, and any evening storms could bring localized gusty winds and heavy downpours."

(And "humid" conditions in a tidal basin area that was formerly a swamp could bring mosquitoes the size of drones.  Just sayin'.)

For the fortunate 4,300 who were invited to tonight's big event on our White House lawn,  you might want to pack a poncho, and don't forget your rubbers!  (And thunderstorms could produce lightning, so leave those tin-foil hats at home!)

Happy birthday, Piggy!  May your party be everything you deserve.

Scumbag Trillionaire

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

A million dollars was a lot of money back in the 1950's, such a formidable sum that there was a popular television show built around the premise of a very rich guy who would send his manservant out each week to deliver a million dollar check to random individuals - a million on which the taxes had already been paid.  The recipients never knew who their mysterious benefactor was, and the weekly shows followed the lives of the newly rich individuals as they figured out what to do with their money.  It was a tour de force of self-discovery in which ordinary individuals sometimes were able to improve their lives, but at other times brought about their own moral and economic collapse - a big lesson in "be careful what you wish for."  The program was called "The Millionaire."

But my point (I think) is that time, seventy years ago, a million dollars was an almost unfathomable pile of money.   A millionaire in the 1950's was a rare bird indeed.  Today, according to Google's AI chatbot "Gemini," there are between 23.8 and 25.5 million millionaires in the United States alone.   More than 40 percent of the world's millionaires reside in the United States.   Another way of looking at that is one in fourteen to nineteen people in the United States currently are millionaires.  (If they all paid their taxes honestly we would know EXACTLY what that number is.)

The Forbes World's Billionaire List reports that the United States currently has 989 billionaires.  (A billionaire is a person who has a minimum of one million dollars times one thousand.). For those with an interest in where the world's wealth is gravitating, Forbes has a site on the internet called:  "Forbes Real-Time Billionaires Ranking."

Yesterday new ground was broken in the race to see who ultimately will control the world's wealth and the lives of its humans.   US immigrant Elon Musk opened his company, SpaceX, to public trading and quickly became the world's first trillionaire.  (A trillion dollars is represented by a one followed by twelve zeroes.  It could also be visualized as one million piles of one million dollars each.)  Musk, who will be 55 on June 28th, has said that he envisions himself being worth ten trillion dollars during his lifetime.

According to the Forbes "Real-Time " list, this morning Elon is worth $1.1 trillion, with Google billionaire Larry Page languishing far behind in second place at a paltry $294.1 billion.

A positive aspect of individual human beings controlling that much of the world's wealth is they are magnanimous individuals who appreciate the advantages that have come their way - and are focused on sharing their good fortune with those less fortunate than themselves.

Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, and certainly nothing that would ever cross the mind of Elon Musk.  Musk showed the world who he was in early 2025 when he ran the cruelty-based Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for Donald Trump and led in the elimination of government programs that impacted the health, safety, and economic security of people around the globe.  Musk was responsible for the hollowing-out of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) which provided critical assistance to the world's inhabitants, fellow human beings whose very lives depended on aid (often food and medicine) from America.  Musk referred to the sixty-year-old operation as a "criminal organization" and noted on social media:

"We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper.  Could have gone to some great parties.  Did that instead."

That's who Elon Musk is.  His weekend at the wood chipper caused a marked increase in death and suffering among the world's poorest people, many of them children.

Musk has also used his social media platform, X, to foment nationalist movements against immigration, to promote anti-labor movements, and to attack altruism (such as the charitable efforts of billionaire MacKenzie Scott whom he accused of "destroying Western civilization" through her donations to charities focused on women, minorities, and marginalized communities.  Musk, who grew up white in South Africa during the heyday of apartheid, seems to have a fixation with regard to preserving the dominance of "Western" civilization.

Elon Musk also had at least an email connection with convicted sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein,  A recently released 2012 email from Musk to Epstein read:  "What day/night will be the best party on your island?"  Elon says his emails with Epstein have been misinterpreted.

Elon Musk is complex individual, and those few examples just scratch the surface of the type of individual he truly is.  But, saint or sinner, whether he uses his money for the common good or just piles it up and sits on it, a million dollars a million times over is an obscene amount of the world's total wealth and should not be controlled by just one individual.

Tax the rich.  Let them use their wealth to benefit their fellow travelers on Planet Earth, whether they want to or not.  Paying their fair share for the ride is the absolute least they should do.

Battling the Bots

 

by Pa Rock

Human Being

I have taken my stand against artificial intelligence, especially that which powers customer "service" chatbots, one of the more aggravating drains of personal time on the planet.  I will deal with automated electronic voices over the phone for a limited time when I need information or assistance, reluctantly, and always with rising blood pressure, but it will be a cold damned day in hell when I accept and engage in conversations with a machine - where it was the machine that called me!

I deal with two insurance companies, and because of the tyrannical way in which they run their prescription operations, I have to contact both several times a year.  I can usually get my called bumped up to the human level within ten minutes or so with one of the companies, and when that happens the issue is normally resolved quickly and without symptoms of an impending stroke.  The other insurance company, one of the largest in the United States, is a different story.  I have been on the phone with their chatbots for up to thirty minutes before one or the other of us finally terminates the call with no human-to-human contact.

The second company, (which ironically has the word "human" in its name), the one where humans apparently only work in the home office shielding the muckety-mucks from direct customer contact, has been trying to contact me for the last six months or so - via automatic calls.  Three or four time a week a number calls that I don't recognize.  I pickup but remain silent, and then a recorded voice comes on saying "Hello, this is ______ calling," and it is at that point that I hang up without telling the irksome bot to sit and spin on a flagpole.  I "automatically" disconnect every time, and yet the shameless bastards keep calling.  Whatever extra service or insurance add-on the company wants to sell me goes unheeded because I am obviusly not worth the time or expense of human-to-human contact.

Well, for all of the useless retailers who want to sell me something, here is how Pa Rock rolls:  You want to talk to me - then put a damned human being on your end of the line.  This crusty old hillbilly does not waste his valuable remaining time on the planet chatting with chatbots.  It looks to me like a company with any pride at all would quit using machines to call after the first few dozen hangups - unless trying to kill me off with a stroke was the goal all along.

But, you keep doing your thing, and I'll keep doing mine.

I'm Pa Rock, and I'm still here!

Dressed for Walking the Dog

 

by Pa Rock

Traveling Fool

Rosie and I made it back to West Plains, Missouri, today at 1:00 p.m. after five hours on the road from Kansas City.  We were both very thankful to finally get out of our little car and plant our six feet on terra firma.

As we were leaving Kansas City just before 8:00 a.m. we had to navigate through the dressed-for-success young people who were out walking their city dogs, pushing baby strollers, and jogging - and sometimes all three at once!  They are fine as long as they stay on the grass or sidewalks, but the blocks are short in suburbia and athletic clothes' horses spend as much time crossing streets a they do burning up expensive shoe leather on the sidewalks.

If I'm sounding a bit snide as you are reading this, that is intentional.  As I watched the fitness parade this morning it became obvious that being dressed appropriately for these activities is of paramount concern.  Clothing has to look as though it has been machine-washed no more than one time and be in new condition.  I didn't see any labels, but the get-ups had enough uniformity that one can assume with a high degree of certainity that the items worn are purchased from a small and very select list of brands and styles.

Spandex was a common theme for those who were fit enough that they obviously did not need to be jogging, pushing a sleeping infant in a stroller, or be dragged around by a big dog that would have rather been out in the Rockies killing elk.  Those whose bodies are not suitable for spandex, people like me, wear loose, but very clean and neat, cotton shorts and tee-shirts.  A few men ran shirtless and some of the women were in halter tops.  And the tennies, I think they call them "trainers" or "kicks" now, had to appear recently purchased.   The comfortable pair covered in grass stains that you use for mowing would be cause for avoidance or derision from the other fresh-air enthusiasts. 

You must dress appropriately for the activity, or you will be avoided and zoomed around like a truck carrying crates of live chickens on the interstate.

Sweat is permitted, though it should be a light sheen and not dripping from our body like a few dozen leaky faucets.   It is also cool to have electronics banded you our waist, arms. or legs, like a cell phone for listening to music trough your Bose headphones or ear buds, and medical devices which constantly check your heart rate and rhythm, blood glucose levels, or speed.   Devices, as long as they are small and look cool, are a plus.

The important thing is is to remember that your morning outdoor workout is all about being dressed for success and seen by the right sorts of poeple.  (Stay in the good neighborhoods!)   Anything less is just grunt work and of little practical value.

Trail of Dead Deer

 

by Pa Rock

Traveling Fool

Rosie and I are back in Roeland Park, Kansas, after an absence of almost three-and-a-half months (March 1st).   We used to make it up this way every six weeks or so, but advancing age and the attendant decrepitude have worn us down.    As we grow older, the road between south-central Missouri, and northeast Kansas grows longer and more difficult to traverse.   I blame Trump.

When we do make these increasingly rare road trips, I always look for oddities along the way - things to blog about.  Yesterday's item of interest turned out to be dead deer,  From north of Springfield, Missouri, to Harrisonville, Missouri, in the Kansas City area, the deer carcasses on the roadway were so numerous that I lost count.  It was almost like driving through the remnants of a wildlife suicide pact.  

The other item of interest to this worn out road warrior was Truman Lake just south of Clinton, Missouri.  State Highway 13 crosses two long stretches of Truman Lake, which, in its normal state is not that deep, at least close to the shore.   There are trees growing in the water, somewhat like a southern bayou.  This trip, however, after the recent rans, the lake had far more water in it than usual - almost resembling the Lake of the Ozarks - or Lake Norfolk in northern Arkansas.  And it was still raining yesterday through much of my trip - which did not make the travel any easier.

The big mishap of the trip - so far - is that I left my computer at home and didn't realize it until about the time I was arriving in Kansas City.   It turned out not to be the crisis situation I expected because Tim was quickly able to connect me to most of my accounts on his computer, even though I had no idea what my passwords were.  Password recovery is so simple that it begs the question of why we must be hobbled with passwords at all.

Once we arrived in the KC area, a highlight of the trip was a visit with an old college friend from the 1960's who came by my son's house,  My friend, who is just my junior by two years, has, like me, gone through multiple careers, but instead of just choosing to retire and just sit in a corner and vegetate, he is enrolled in a multi-year divinity program which this time next year will have resulted in his being qualified to be a professional deacon in his church.  I am in awe of Mike's drive and his energy.

Speaking of rain, it is clouding up and the wind is beginning to blow.  That doesn't bode well for our planned trip to Costco later today.  I am also expecting a visit from a grown grandchild who lives in this area later today.  Visiting with three of six grandchildren on a two-day trip is certainly making good use of my time!  

Headed back to the Ozarks tomorrow.

Political Pest Gets Booed at NBA Finals Last Night

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Donald Trump, a former resident of New York City, was roundly booed at Game 3 of the NBA finals last night at Madison Square Garden in downtown NYC.   Trump, the first sitting president to ever attend an NBA Finals game, announced plans earlier this week to be at the game,   His visit caused ticket holders to have to stand in line two hours in order to get into the venue.  When Trump stood in the owner's box and saluted for the national anthem, the scene was shown on the jumbo-tron and greeted with extensive jeers and derision. The crowd loved their Knicks, but clearly were not impressed by the President of the United States and his entourage of flunkies.

Not only did Trump's short-notice trip to Madison Square Garden slow fans' entry into the venue (considerably!), it also managed to snarl traffic even more than usual.  Trump's sports outing required a large security presence at the Garden both inside and outside of the event.  Five blocks around the game site were supposedly locked down by government agents.

CNBC reported that as the presidential motorcade made its way to the Garden, Trump was able to see signs along the way disparaging his visit.  They featured sentiments such as "Nobody Wants You Here," "Trump Must Go," and "Impeach.  Convict.  Remove."   There were also people along the route booing the motorcade.  Clearly Donbo was not feeling the love.

The New York Knicks lost last night's game, ending a thirteen-game winning streak, a sad occurrence which some are undoubtedly interpreting as what to expect when a self-important personage chooses to make a national sporting event about himself rather than the teams and the competition.

The final score was the San Antonio Spurs 115 and the New York Knicks 111.

Donald, please do the Knicks a favor and watch the rest of the series on television!

Another Interview, Another Hissy Fit

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Donald Trump likes to be the loudest person in the room and the center of attention, and he likes to tell a story his way.  He does not like being challenged or interrupted, especially by female journalists.

Yesterday as Trump was reeling off a litany of lies about American elections which didn't go his way on NBC's "Meet the Press," the program's host and moderator, Kristen Welker, challenged his fabrications as she tried unsuccessfully to keep him honest and on-topic.  Trump wanted to make the case that he believes US elections are rigged, and he cited his own 2020 loss to Joe Biden and the current governor's race in California in which ballots are still being counted.  Trump told Ms. Welker that he believes US elections are rigged, and then he began criticizing the three major television networks - CBS, ABC, and NBC - culminating in:

"They're crooked just like you're crooked, your press is crooked.  and 'Meet the Press' is crooked."

Trump also said that Welker, herself, was "either crooked or stupid."

Welker, a professional journalist with years of experience, responded with "To be fair, I'm not crooked.  But let's continue ."

Trump was not in the mood to continue his diatribe, particularly with a black female journalist.  He said;

"Let's call it quits because I've had enough.   Thank you, darling.  I've had a good time."

His patronizing "darling" tag at the end of their conversation is also pure Trump as he talks down to the little people, and women in particular.  In the past he has criticized Kaitlan Collins of CNN for not smiling enough and also called her and CBS's Nancy Cordes "stupid" and "dumb," told MS Now White House reporter Akalya Gardner that she was a "dumb person," called ABC's Rachel  Scott and Mary Bruce "obnoxious" and "terrible," and, of course, last November he said to Bloomberg's Catherine Lucey, "Quiet, quiet Piggy."  

Trump said in a social media post that New York Times reporter Katie Rogers was "ugly, both inside and out," and he also referred to her as "third-rate."  Trump accused NBC News reporter Yamiche Alcinder of being "very aggressive." He has also lobbed comments at two other female reporters - Megyn Kelly of Fox News and Mika Brzezinski of MS Now -  that have been widely interpreted as referring to their menstrual cycles, and Trump has referred to Brzezinski as "Low IQ."

There's a reason Donald Trump rails so loudly and vehemently against women in power positions and the "woke" culture.  They represent the modern and enlightened world, a place Trump refuses to acknowledge or respect.  The shadow of America's sexist, racist, and homophobic past is waning despite the efforts of our government and troglodytes like Donald Trump to preserve that awful legacy.  

The times are slowly changing for the better.  I believe that.  Donald Trump is struggling to preserve white, male, straight, protestant privilege, but he is basically pissing into the strong winds of change.  America is already sensing life beyond Trump and beginning to right itself.  Our country is better than Donald John Trump, and we know it - and deep down so does he.  That's why he's so damned angry.

Brilliance Like the Light of a Thousand Dumpster Fires!

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Donald Trump recently revealed that while he can tolerate being called a "tyrant" and a "dictator," he draws the line at being called a "dumb" dictator or tyrant - a nugget of self-reveal leading some to suspect that mentally he may still be operating on the playground level of an elementary school in Queens, NYC, circa 1954.  And while Trump does not like having the word "dumb" applied to himself, he takes great pleasure in using it on others, particularly female journalists and members of the Democratic Party, whom he now refers to as "Dumocrats."  Donald is such a clever boy.

Trump explained to a group of Iowa farmers last week that the word "dumb" has a "b" at the end - and that "not many people know that," though he, being "brilliant," another word he likes to use to describe himself, obviously does.  His announcement that the word "dumb" ends in a "b," came across as something so novel, at least to him, that it could very likely be a case of recently acquired knowledge.

Donald, that "b" at the end of "dumb" is what some damned know-it-all, overpaid, public school teachers refer to as a "silent" letter, with "silent" meaning that it doesn't make a sound.  And while you are unlikely to have ever been silent in your entire life, except while snoozing in Cabinet meetings, many letters when used in certain words in the English language, do not make a sound.  They stay silent.  Try it sometime.

The "b" is also silent in "crumb" as in a "crumb" of bread, "numb" as in a "numbskull,"  and, of course, "dumbass."  You will also not hear the "b" when people use the word "comb" or discuss your sad "combover."   "Bomb" has two "b's" with only the second one being silent, and "tomb" also ends in a silent "b."

So Donald, the next time someone laughs at your combover or or pillories you with personal insults like "dumb," "dumbass," or "numbskull," you might want to show your brilliance by discussing the silent "b."  Your could really bowl your critics over by spelling "debt" and "doubt" for them and then explaing that both of those are spelled with a silent "b" within each word - and then announcing in as patronizing a manner as possible that"not many people know that," while you of course do.

Your brilliance will continue to light the way, like the light of a thousand dumpster fires!

Never forget, you are only as "dumb" as you let on - and say - and do.

Prices Soar as the War Drags On!

 

by Pa Rock

Pissed-Off Consumer

I paid $41.85 to fill the 12-gallon gas tank on my little Kia Soul yesterday.  Praise Allah it wasn't completely empty to begin with or I might have been out a full fifty-dollar bill!

I only use my little car to putt around town - which is two miles or so from my house - but with shopping, doctor's appointments, and various other demands on my life, I am often in town once or twice a day.  The only "public" transportation out my way are church buses on Sundays, but I haven't resorted to those yet.  I have taken a ride-share twice, once after breaking each arm and being taken to the Emergency Room by ambulance.  (Medicare doesn't pay to get you back home.)   One of those ride shares was with a young lady  who sat and impatiently watched as I struggled to get all of my things and my arm-in-a-sling into her little vehicle - with nary an offer of assistance of any kind, and the other was with an old farmer in an old farm truck which was also difficult to board and exit.

Ride shares in rural areas are not as prevalent or practical as they are in the cities, so if I need to go to town, I drive.   

Today I will use my almost four-dollar-a-gallon gas to drive to a local grocery story where I will buy a four-dollar gallon of milk, a six-or-seven-dollar box of cereal - and maybe a pack of baloney and a loaf of bread.  It is a comfort to know that with the economy crashing down around us, we have a President fixated on things like building a grand ballroom, constructing a massive eyesore of an arch, painting a reflecting pool at a cost of millions of dollars to suit his own particular tastes, and now constructing a "promenade" to connect the Lincoln Memorial to the Potomac River, as God intended.

Prices and affordability don't concern Donald J. Trump.  He could care less.  They will eventually come down, they always do, and if they don't, they don't.

Suck it up, America!  Affordability is a hoax, and Donald Trump will protect us from sinister things like immigrants of color, 'lectric cars, and windmills.  Everything else he will gold-plate and name after himself!

Shame on us for letting this happen.

Pa Rock Wants His Settlement - and No Tax Audits!

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Sometime in 2019 or 2020 a contracted employee with the IRS illegally released tax returns on 405,000 Americans, one of whom was Donald John Trump.  Trump was President at the time and the person ultimately in charge of the government whose procedures, regulations, and hiring practices made that breach of the law possible.  The contractor was eventually identified, arrested, tried, and is today serving a prison sentence.  But that level of legal vengeance was not enough for Trump, who, as President, knew of a "settlement fund" held within the US Treasury for the payment of court settlements against the United States.  The fund had already been approved by Congress, and the Treasury was free to dole out settlements without going back to Congress each time that the US lost a case in Court or chose to settle a  case out of court.    The fund was, in Trump's eyes, easy pickings.

A few months ago Trump brought suit against the United States Treasury and Internal Revenue Service for $10 billion over the illegal release of his tax returns which had occurred earlier on his previous watch.  Not only had Trump appointed the leaders of those agencies who were on duty during the theft incident that occurred in his first administration, he had also appointed the leaders of those same agencies years later during his second administration.  When a judge commented that it sounded like a case of Trump suing himself, Trump and his legal team, fearing the case would be doomed if it went to court, decided to be extremely cute and "settle" the case before it ever got to court.  That involved the Justice Department, headed by Trump appointees, negotiating a payment with Trump and his legal team - or Trump settling with himself.  

A sweet, sweet deal ensued in which Trump agreed to drop his suit, which he feared would not stand up in court anyway, in exchange for the government setting up a special fund of $1.776 billion to compensate people who had been persecuted by a weaponized government that was out to get them.   Trump and his government refused to rule out that the money, which was being referred to as a "slush fund" in the press and would have been administered by people appointed by Trump, could ultimately be used to compensate the traitors and anarchists who had attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

The public outcry over the proposed fund that would give government money to criminals was swift and loud, and even Republican politicians were feeling the heat of the outrage.  A federal judge put the slush fund on hold and ordered that no payments be made for the time being, and the judge also ordered the case be returned to the purview of the court.  This week, the acting US Attorney General, a man appointed by Trump who also was once one of Trump's personal lawyers, announced that the deal to fund the weaponization fund was dead.  But Trump apparently didn't get the memo and is still "iffy" on the matter.

What Trump is not "iffy" is the other part of the proposed settlement in which Trump, his family members, and his companies, would not have to face any on-going tax audits - or any tax audits in the future.  That is still definitely a part of the settlement suit, while Trump's pursuit of the $10 billion of taxpayer money remains unclear at this point.

This Wednesday Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was testifying before the Senate Finance Committee when he was asked if Trump and his family would still get immunity from IRS audits, and Bessent dodged the question.

Last night during a most-of-the night debate in the US Senate over amendments to a bill to fund US immigration enforcement for three more years (at a cost of over $70 billion!) Republican senators voted down a measure that would have permanently blocked Trump's "weaponization" slush fund.

Pa Rock has a couple of questions:

1.  405,000 individuals, many of them very prominent, had their tax records released along with Trump's. Are they all going to demand $10 billion in compensation if Trump's suit against himself is successful?

2.  The second Trump administration reportedly gave all of my personal and confidential information (and yours, too) to Elon Musk and the juvenile delinquents he had running the (completely non-official) Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).  Goddammit, I want $20 billion - in small bills!

3.  If Trump and his family are free from tax audits forevermore, then I expect nothing less than the same damned thing for myself and my family members.  My government has harmed me, too, but my megaphone is not as large as that of the bellicose toddler waddling around the White House!

What's good for one decrepit old geezer ought to be good for another!

Case Closed, Columbo

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Casey's is a chain of more than 2,900 convenience stores across the Midwest and South, where most, but not all, sell gas, minimal groceries, snacks, soft drinks, liquor, and lottery tickets.  Four of those 2,900 locations are in my town of West Plains, MO (population 12,000).  I stop at one of the local Casey's on most days where I buy one $1.00 lottery ticket, an unsweet iced tea with plenty of crushed ice, and sometimes a sandwich for lunch.  I vary which store I stop at depending on where my business in town happens to take me, or my mood.

This week I have gone to the one over by the college, where us young people tend to congregate, on three separate occasions, and each of those visits turned out to be memorable - at least with regard to the rest of my remarkably uneventful, retired life.  On Monday I was handed a very dull and dark, old gray nickel in change, and when I got to the car where I could examine the coin in more detail, I discovered that it had begun its long career circulating though American commerce in Philadelphia, the "City of Brotherly Love," in 1940.  The damned thing was eight years older than me!

While West Plains has four Casey's, quite a point of local pride, it apparently has no resident "coin psychics," paranormal professionals who would feel the old coin, perhaps even put it on their tongues, and eventually provide a personal history of the nickel, so I set it aside and determined that on some slow day at the blog I would "create" a history for the well-worn coin.   You have that to look forward to.

On Tuesday I went back to the Casey's, and as I left the little store, iced-tea and Missouri "Show-Me Cash" lottery ticket in hand, a young lady customer came running out the door after me saying "Sir, you forgot your key fob on the counter," which she politely returned.  Why I had the key fob out of my pocket and on the counter is anybody's guess, and, as far as I can remember (at least several days), the first time in five years that I had ever misplaced it.  I thanked her, claimed the standard excuse of old age, and went putting on down the road.

Yesterday I stopped at the same Casey's again where I went inside and placed the same order.  Upon returning to my car, getting settled in the seat with everything in its place, I reached for the key fob and realized it was missing!  I carefully searched the front and back seats of the little Kia, and when I was sure the fob was not with me, I went back in the store to check with the clerk to see if I had left it in there two days in a row.  I hadn't.  As I began to realize that I might be dealing with a case of raging dementia instead of just simple forgetfulness, I went back out to the car and looked in the glove box where I thought the extra fob was, but it wasn't.

I called my son who was at home and rushing around to get to work.  I told him a couple of places where the extra fob might be and asked him to look for it.  Then I went back into the store for a second look around, and the nice lady at the register helped me search - still no luck.  I went back outside to sit in the car until my son hopefully arrived with the spare key, and when I got to the car I discovered that the doors were all locked!  Twenty minutes had passed, and I was ready to begin walking home when the nice lady from the register rushed out and said, "I've found your key!"  But instead of handing me the errant fob, she got down on her hands and knees and reached under the driver's side of the car and retrieved the fob from the parking lot beneath the car.  I had dropped the damned fob getting in and had not thought to look there, but she had been able to see it from inside of the convenience store!

Case closed, Columbo.

That's just a sampler of how this geezer spends his days.  Gotta love the golden years!

Scott Pelley: Great American Patriot

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Donald Trump is a creature of the media, and, as such, he tends to wallow in right-wing news and social media sites that have the good sense to continuously praise and glorify him.  Other news sources, however, such as those which strive for accuracy in reporting, are far less likely to meet with Trump's approval.  Two groups of media personalities which seem to rankle Trump beyond measure are mainstream reporters for the major broadcast networks ,and the late-night comedians of those same networks.

Trump is also a creature fueled by retribution, and a major focus of his presidency has been to focus on using the powers of his office to settle scores.  He is quick to threaten the major broadcast sources with lawsuits and pulling their broadcast licenses through his ultimate control of the licensing authority - the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) whose members are appointed by the President.  Trump also exerts pressure over the major networks through his personal relationships with some of the billionaire oligarchs who control those news outlets.

Donald Trump had nursed a personal grievance against the CBS network for the past couple of years and even lodged a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the corporation over the way the news program 60 Minutes edited an interview with Kamala Harris in 2024.  Last fall CBS was acquired by tech billionaire Larry Ellison, a political ally of Trump and a man who has other business pending approval from the government which Trump runs.  Ellison has a strongly vested interest in playing nice with Trump, stroking his fragile ego, and bringing the hammer down on two of Trump's perceived enemies:   CBS News and its flagship news program, 60 Minutes.

One of Ellison's early acts after acquiring control of CBS late last fall was to bring in an outsider to run CBS News and soften its approach toward Trump.  Ellison chose Bari Weiss, a 42-year-old op-ed writer without executive experience to be the  CBS News editor-in-chief and to get 60 Minutes, as some might see it, "under control."

Weiss wasted no time placing her stamp on the program's operation and was actively reining-in reporters before she even got her office unpacked.  In December actor George Clooney, the man who recently portrayed CBS News icon Edward R. Murrow on Broadway, noted that Weiss was already "actively dismantling" CBS.  Then last Thursday things at the network seemed to hit a crescendo when Weiss fired the executive producer and two senior reporters from 60 Minutes.

Monday there was a meeting at CBS News between Nick Bilton, a former documentary filmmaker and tech writer whom Weiss had just appointed as the new executive producer of 60 Minutes, and senior staff from the program.  Bari Weiss chose not to attend the meeting.  Bilton, who seemed to think he was stepping into some sort of polite "meet and greet" was quickly disabused of that notion when the staff began lobbing questions and accusations toward him.  Scott Pelley, the senior reporter and a person who had been the face of CBS Evening News for several years, led the charge.

Bilton tried to assure the riled news staff that Bari Weiss had not been brought in to destroy CBS News or 60 Minutes, and that she "loves this place," but the staff, and particularly Scott Pelley, were not having it.  Pelley fired back:  "She does not love this place.  She was brought in to kill it, and she is doing exactly that."  Pelley went on to accuse Bari Weiss of "murdering" 60 Minutes.  He told Bilton that Bari Weiss had no qualifications for her job, and that his (Bilton's) qualifications were "slender."

After Nick Bilton left the meeting, Scott Pelley's co-workers gave him a standing round of applause.

That was Monday.   This morning (Wednesday) Scott Pelley has been fired, another head has rolled at CBS.  

In his letter of termination to Pelley, Nick Bilton cited Pelley's "remarkable incivility and contempt" and his "performative hostility."

Today the "free" press that built America is a little less free.   Donald Trump has gotta be loving that.

Thank you, Scott Pelley, for speaking truth to power at great personal sacrifice to yourself and your career, and for standing tall for the guarantees and promise of the Constitution and the United States of America.   Edward R. Murrow would have been proud to have worked with you.  Salute!

CBS News, goodnight and good luck.  You're going to need it - and so will the rest of the country.

Talarico Markets "Talafreako"

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist 

When scandal-plagued Texas attorney general Ken Paxton won the GOP nomination to run for the US Senate last week, both he and the propaganda wing of the Republican Party, Fox News, hit the ground running with personal attacks on the Democratic nominee for that Senate seat, State Representative James Talarico, of San Antonio.  Talarico, who is just thirty-seven-years-old, is clean cut, soft spoken, highly intelligent, and an 8th generation Texan who is also enrolled in a Presbyterian seminary and has no trouble weaving a positive strain of Christianity into his thoughts and remarks on the futures of Texas and the Untied States.

Paxton, who defeated four-term Republican Senator John Cornyn in last week's primary election runoff with the help of a last minute endorsement from Donald Trump,  has been plagued with personal scandal, accused of impropriety in his state job, impeached, and embroiled in a nasty divorce within the past couple of years.  Talarico, on the other hand, comes across as squeaky clean.  The choice between Paxton and Talarico is stark, night and day, and many Republicans feel that Talarico could conceivably beat Paxton in November's general election.

Paxton seems to think so, too.  

Before the ink was dry on his election cerificate, Ken Paxton and the Republicans were coming at Talarico with all their political guns blazing, but unlike Paxton, Talarico seems to have led an exemplary life and does not have a closet packed with skeletons to deal with.   So, sleazeball Republicans being sleazeball Republicans, cut straight to the chase and began lobbing personal attacks.  Fox News spent the better part of a day implying that the single Talarico might have some gender identity issues or even possibly be gay, and one commentator seemed concerned with what she perceived to be Talarico's "soft skin."

Paxton also formed a line of attack trying to link Talarico to trans individuals, and finally got down to bare-knuckle name-calling by referring to his opponent as "Talafreako."  Good one, Ken!  (Not!). At another point the Paxton campaign painted Talarico as not being a real Texan because he didn't eat barbecue - to which the young Texas lawmaker replied that he had been eating barbecue "since before Ken Paxton's first indictment."

Everything's nastier in Texas!

This week, in response to the homophobic attacks, Talarico introduced his girlfriend of the past several years to the press, a very beautiful lobbyist for the Texas Medical Association named Brianna Menard.  At one time, before they were dating, she was the chief of staff in Talarico's office.  Then the young politician also displayed some new merchandise in his campaign store - tee shirts with logos saying "I'm a Talafreako," and "Texas Is Talafreako Country!"

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade - and whn life gives you catchy slogans, you make teee shirts!

Well played, Jimmy!

Marilyn Monroe at 100

  

by Pa Rock

Fanboy

Perhaps the most iconic rendition of the musical standard "Happy. Birthday" ever recorded was the one Hollywood sex bomb Marilyn Monroe sang to President Kennedy at his 45th on birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden in New York City on May 19, 1962, a Saturday night.  The blonde actress's breathy and voluptuous rendering of the classic is one for the ages, sounding more like something that should have been sung privately, maybe between satin sheets, rather than in a public venue with more that 15,000 people sharing the intimacy.

Certainly no one could have guessed that the singer, who was 35-years-old and that time, and the 45-year-old President would each live to celebrate only one more birthday.  Marilyn turned 36 on this date (June 1st) in 1962 and died of a barbiturate overdose in Hollywood just over two months after her birthday on August 4th, 1962.  Kennedy, who turned 46 on May 19, 1963, died from an assassin's bullet in Dallas, Texas, just over six months after his birthday.

During her very short lifetime, Marilyn Monroe starred in some of the most memorable movies of the 1950's, and early 1960's.  Some of my favorites of hers include:   Niagara (1953), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), River of No Return (1954), Bus Stop (1956 - my second favorite), Some Like It Hot (1959 - my all-time favorite), and The Misfits (1962 - the last feature-length film of both Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable).

In 2007 a friend and I stayed at the historic Del Coronado Hotel in San Diego where Some Like It Hot was filmed, and a couple of years later my daughter, Molly, and her husband, Scott, were married on the beach behind the Del Coronado.  My other brush with the ghost of Marilyn came on a weekend in August 1n 2012 when (for the only time in my life), I happened to spend a weekend in August visiting my son, Tim, and his family in West Hollywood and Los Angeles.  That was also the weekend that encompassed the 50th anniversary of Marilyn's passing, so I made a point of thinking of her while I was in town.

Marilyn Monroe's flame burned brightly and too quickly, but during her brief time with us she managed to leave an indelible mark on American culture.  Happy birthday Lorelei, and Cherie, and Sugar Kane,  and Marilyn.    I hope someone special is singing to you today, maybe Joltin' Joe Dimaggio!

Judge Orders Major Improvement for Kennedy Center

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

The news out of Washington, DC, last week was more than just political blather about grotesque $250 bills, a UFC fight ring turning the White House grounds into a veritable amusement park, and a massive national "state" fair that is being boycotted by many entertaianment acts.  Last week in our nation's capital also featured a court ruling which pulled at the very soul of Donald John Trump.

Federal District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled on Friday that Trump's name had been illegally placed on the Kennedy Center and must be removed within two weeks.   Judge Cooper said that the building had been named by Congress and only Congress had the authority to change it.  The judge further ruled that the cultural center could not be closed for two years for renovations as had been previously been scheduled by the commission Trump appointed to oversee operation of the esteemed public venue.

Trump, who does not take criticism or direction well, issued the following rejoinder:

"Unless I am free to do what I do better than anyone else, bring this institution back physically, financially, and artistically, I have no interest in continuing what could only be a hopeless journey into ' NEVER, NEVER, LAND.'"

The Whiner-in-Chief took his toys and went home - after being thrown out of the game.

In a related story, Trump's "Great American State Fair," which is scheduled to run from June 25th through July 10th on the National Mall, was to have been kicked-off by a concert featuring 10 nationally known artists and groups.  Most of those, however, had agreed to perform under what they later regarded as false pretenses, and by yesterday eight of the performers and groups had withdrawn.    But never fear because Donald Trump rushed in to save the day and said he would hold one of his rambling rallies as the kickoff event.

There are two distinct groups putting together programs for our nation's 250th birthday.  One is a bipartisan congressional commission called "America 250" that works at the national, state, and local levels, and the other is a competing organization formed by executive action that is essentially a White House task force and which has more of a MAGA focus.  It is called "Freedom 250."  The Trump group, "Freedom 250," is planning the "Great American State Fair," and some of the artists who cancelled said they had agreed to perform because they mistakenly thought the program was under the auspices of "America 250," and that they did not want be be a part of what would be more like a Trump political event - which it now blatantly will be.

Trump, being Trump, was quick to trash the artists who chose not to perform at his "Fair," people his group, Freedom 250 had originally sought out and hired.  He called them "highly paid, third rate artists" and "over-priced singers who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring, and yet who do nothing but complain."

Trump understands "boring," just ask the people walking out of his rallies while he is still trying (and failing) to speak coherently.   He also understands the fine art of complainig.  It is his life force.

America could use a President, instead we are saddled with a gold-plated narcissist who likes seeing his name of things and thinks he has a flair for interior design and music appreciation.   We could do so much better.

Pentagon Pete's Endless War on Fatties

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former weekend personality on the Fox News network, has a penchant for physical fitness.  He enjoys setting the example by running with troops in formation during physical fitness training, usually with a photographer at the ready,  and doing push-ups.  Boy howdy, does Pete love his push-ups!  (He also likes to pull his shirt off on occasion and display his crusader tats.). It's hard to be more manly than Pete.    He is macho from his toenails all the way up to his nose hair!

Last September when Hegseth called the nation's top brass (generals and admirals) back to the DC area for a meeting to show them who was boss, he took the opportunity to lecture the auditorium filled with his betters on the importance of looking fit - and his strong bias toward that outcome.  Part of Pete's command performance included this gem:

"Frankly, it's tiring to look out at combat formations, or really any formation, and see fat troops.  Likewise, it's completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon leading commands."

During his tenure at the Pentagon, Hegseth has moved to tighten physical training standards (which are normed on male troops) and the physical appearance of the troops.  His team did away with outdated weight and height tables and replaced them with a Waist-to-Height Ratio of less than .55.   As an example, a troop with a 36" waist and a height of 70" has a .51 ratio.

Two weeks from tomorrow, on Donald Trump's 80th birthday, the President will be hosting an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on the White House grounds, and in an effort to produce the best possible photo ops, the Pentagon announced yesterday that active duty troops are being invited to come to Washington, DC, and attend the event.  One stipulation is that they must pay their own transportation to the nation's capital.  Another is that they must all wear summer dress uniforms and meet the standard of less than a .55 waist to height ratio.  ABSOLUTELY NO FATTIES IWLL BE TOLERATED.  There were no specific requirements for female troops other than they must meet the same standards as the men.

Last year Trump had a miles-long, Russian style military parade on his birthday that was a dud,  so boring he even slept through part of it, so this year he's bringing his own audience, an assemblage of people who are used to taking orders.

It should be quite a show, with the photogenic audience cheering and clapping in lockstep and maybe even singing:  "Happy birthday to you, sir, happy birthday to you!"