The Oligarchy Comes to Prey

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

 

Donald Trump, a blowhard whose status as a billionaire is well within the margin of error and whose power rests more within the confines of his lungs than it does his cranium, nevertheless likes to think of himself as rich and powerful - and to surround himself with true billionaires who actually are rich and powerful.  Those individuals gravitate to Trump because they know that he can be easily flattered and influenced - if not purchased outright - by cash donations.

Donald isn't shy about asking his rich friends to stuff his pockets.   In April of this year he invited a large group of oil company executives to a dinner at Mar-a-Lago where he pressed them to make a billion-dollar contribution to his campaign.   The meeting was labeled "a roundtable discussion on energy security," but the message seemed clear that a quid pro quo was afoot and that if the oil companies would take care of Trump, he, in turn, would take care of them.  News reports indicate that Trump specifically promised the group that he would slash Biden's tax credits for electric vehicles and he committed to spending less government money on developing wind power.   Some oil company "wants" were discussed as well including their desire for the government to end the pause on new natural gas export permits, and expanding the number of off-shore drilling lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Supreme Court says that money is speech, but it is also obviously influence.

This past week there have been a couple of US-based billionaires in the news as they genuflected and sucked up to Trump.   Each, by virtue of their business interests, could benefit financially by cultivating ties to the Republican presidential nominee.

First, obviously, is Elon Musk, the world's richest person.  Musk, who owns SpaceX, a company which has put most of the planet's communications' satellites into space, and which occasionally provides a taxi service to-and-from the International Space Station, now seems to be running Trump's political ground game in Pennsylvania and has been attending and speaking at Trump rallies.  Musk, who one commentator referred to as "an out-of-control pogo stick" because of his tendency to jump up-and-down on stage at the Trump rallies, has also begun sponsoring a lottery that gives one million dollars a day to a swing state resident who is registered to vote and who signs a generic petition saying that he or she favors the First and Second Amendments to the US Constitution.  The legitimacy of that lottery is being decided in court today.

Musk also owns the media platform, "X" (formerly Twitter), which of late has become little more than a right-wing echo chamber for the Trump campaign.

But clearly Musk is sharing his wealth in an effort to strengthen the election chances of Donald Trump, and clearly Musk, a businessman, sees that effort as something that will bear fruit at some point.   Elon Musk has many contractural ties with the US government.

Jeff Bezos, the billionaire owner of Amazon.com, Prime streaming services, Blue Origins (a space flight company), and The Washington Post newspaper, was also in the news this week.  Bezos, the world's second richest human, has many lucrative government contracts of his own and benefits directly from his dealings with the US Postal Service and the nation's space program.  This week when his newspaper, The Washington Post, the nation's premier political newspaper and one that is based in the capital city of the United States, was preparing to endorse Vice President Harris for President, Bezos personally stepped in and announced that the paper would no longer be endorsing presidential candidates.   Bezos, the businessman, could not afford to run the risk of offending Donald Trump, a man who could potentially become President again and could then negatively impact Bezos's business interests.

Influence.  It's as good as cash in the pocket.

Bezos, unlike Musk, did take a financial hit over his editorial interference in his own newsroom. Several Post employees spoke out against their boss, and a couple resigned, and at one point yesterday it was reported that 250,000 individuals had cancelled their subscriptions to The Washington Post.  (Looks like our Prime rates may be about to go up!)

Vlad Putin has his own cadre of filthy rich oligarchs, and he plays them to his advantage, and while Donald Trump is clearly not the sharpest crayon in the box, he does pay attention to how the men (it's always men) he perceives as strong leaders do things.  Trump knows that political power has a value, and people who want to avail themselves of his power will pay for the privilege.

The oligarchs prey on the government and its treasury through useful idiot politicians, and then, sooner or later, the rest of us pay the bills.

The Election: A Choice Between Darkness and Light

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Maybe Donald Trump is not one of the biggest liars in the history of the world.  Perhaps he has been horribly misjudged and his rampaging falsehoods are nothing more than simple misunderstandings.  Maybe the more than 10,000 whoppers that he supposedly told during the four years he spent as President can be blamed on something organic, such as a hearing impairment or a persistent brain fart.
 
But what about all the rancid name-calling in which he engages?   Can that be explained away as well?
 
This week following his ‘racist-palooza’ at Madison Square Garden in New York City, an event in which various speakers launched verbal attacks against migrants, Jews, Blacks, and, in particular, Puerto Ricans, Trump ignored numerous calls for a personal apology – he does not do apologies – and instead tried to lighten the entire incident by referring to that five-hour-plus name-calling extravaganza as a “love fest.”   He has also taken to referring to the January 6^th, 2021, attack on the US Capitol as “a day of love,” while totally ignoring the deaths, injuries, destruction of property, and total mayhem that ensued that day, much of it at his direction.
 
Love, love, love – all you need is love!
 
Maybe Donald Trump’s obvious mental shortcomings trick him into believing others are also held back by challenges like having a “low IQ,” and maybe he actually suffers from a delusion which makes him believe that he is as intelligent as Kamala Harris.  

And Trump's penchant for calling highly successful women “nasty,” what is with that?  First it was Hillary, then Kamala, and now Michelle Obama.  On a bad day (for Michelle Obama) her public approval rating is above 50 percent while Trump’s languishes below forty, and on a good day she is at 60 percent or better and he is still stuck in the thirties.
 
Smart, successful women seem to scare the crap out of Trump.   (It’s a good thing he has a diaper to catch it!)  He retaliates to the supposed threat they pose by name-calling.  A woman who intimidates Donald John can expect to be publicly labeled as “low IQ,” a "radical” or a “Nancy Pelosi liberal,” or even a “communist.”   And he will also call her “nasty.”
 
It seems as though an underwear model who is basically posing nude while in the full-flower of pregnancy is some sort of artiste, and a porn star spanking a flabby real estate developer and reality television personality with a rolled-up magazine is just a working girl trying to get by – but any prominent female who speaks forcefully and intelligently about things that Trump either doesn’t agree with or doesn’t understand is “nasty.”
 
"Nasty” is just a Trump shorthand to cover his inability to come up with something more clever.
 
Racism and rebellion have nothing to do with love, and most of Trump’s name-calling is just him projecting his own faults and shortcomings onto others.   Hillary, Kamala, and Michelle have never paid a porn star for a spanking – but guess who has.  And none of those fine ladies have ever boasted about grabbing another human being by the crotch!

We all know who the "nasty" person is, whether we will admit it or not.
 
Let this be your guide:  Would you trust Donald Trump to babysit your children or grandchildren – or even allow him to be in the same room with them without adult supervision?

And if he can't be trusted around innocent children, why the heck would we give him access to the nuclear codes and control of the United States Armed Forces?

Donald Trump is a very nasty man stumbling around in mine field of bitter darkness, and Kamala Harris is the bright beacon of the future calling us forward.

This election should be the easiest political choice that any of us will ever face.

Puerto Rico is Beautiful!

by Pa Rock

Tourist 

Tony Hinchcliffe is a not-so-funny, mean-spirited comedian who finally managed to get noticed while doing a stand-up set at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally Sunday night.   During his comedic tirade, Hinchcliffe took direct aim at the US Territory of Puerto Rico and its citizens.  “I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now,” he said.  “I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”  Before his set ended, the unfunny comedian had also made, according to ‘Fortune’ magazine, “lewd and racist comments about Latinos, Jews, and Black people.”
 
In addition to Hinchcliffe and Trump himself, the rally contained several speakers whose racist remarks seemed designed to make decent cringe or perhaps even feel threatened.    The tone of the event was so White-centric that it invited comparisons with a Nazi rally held at the Garden in February of 1939.
 
I have been to Puerto Rico twice in my life and would jump at the chance to go again.  It is one of the places that I seriously considered as a retirement option.  Last Friday night while we were in New York City, my friend, Carla, and I had our evening meal at “Junior’s,” a nice restaurant in the theatre district and only a block or so from our hotel.  While we were waiting on our meals, we struck up a conversation with our waiter, a man who appeared to be somewhere in his late thirties or early forties.  He asked where we were from, and we, in turn, asked where he was from.  “Puerto Rico,” he said proudly.
 
I told the man about my visits to Puerto Rico, a week each time, and how much I liked the massive Spanish fort, Old San Juan, and the rain forest.  “El Yunque,” he said – the name of the national rain forest that takes up much of the center of the island, and with that he seemed to visibly drift away toward another place and time.  “Si, it is very beautiful.”
 
El Yunque is very beautiful.  Both times that I was on the island I drove up into the forest passing through thick, lush foliage, waterfalls cascading down the mountain sides, and a cacophony of nature sounds weaving their way through idyllic vistas.  It is a beautiful natural reserve that is just minutes from the  picturesque beaches and commercial hubbub of San Juan.
 
The island also has many smaller towns and attractions that bring in the tourists who prime the pump of the local economy.  It was badly neglected during the two big hurricanes that occurred during the Trump presidency, neglect which, in hindsight, appears to have been intentional.   One of the ugliest scenes of those four awful years under Trump was him standing above a throng of storm-ravaged hurricane survivors in Puerto Rico playing the “Great White Father” as he threw rolls of paper towels to people whose homes had just been destroyed and lives upended.   They may have not had food, water, electricity, or shelter, and many did not, but by God they had paper towels – and Donald Trump to thank for it!
 
(After Hurricane Maria in 2017, one of the deadliest natural disasters in US history, the Trump administration blocked the delivery of massive amounts of hurricane relief – up to $20 billion – to the US Territory of Puerto Rico, and the island is still suffering from that intentional neglect and abandonment to this very day.)
 
But I digress.
 
Puerto Rico is enduring hard times which are rooted in actions – or non-actions – of the Trump administration, but the people of the island are proud and self-reliant – and they are survivors.  They are many things, but they are not “garbage” and neither is their island.
 
The Trump campaign staff realized immediately that Tony Hinchcliffe had made a strategic error in attacking Puerto Rico and its citizens, and the campaign quickly released a memo which said that he was not speaking for Trump and that Trump does not see the island and its inhabitants that way.  BUT, as of late Monday evening, Donald Trump has not bothered to make such a declaration himself.   Trump, in fact, seems to like the sound of the word “garbage,” and has recently described the United States as “a garbage can for the rest of the world.”
 
So, with Trump’s views on immigration and immigrants already so well known, Tony Hinchcliffe probably had no qualms at all about describing Puerto Rico as “a floating island of garbage.”
 
There are surely some people who would describe Trump Tower as a floating island of garbage in New York City, and I would be hard-pressed to argue with them.  
 
But Puerto Rico is beautiful, go and see for yourselves.  You will be glad you did!
 

Yes on Kamala, Yes on Reproductive Rights

 

by Pa Rock

Voter

Jimmy Carter and I now have some very important things in common:  we have voted in this year's presidential election, and we voted for Kamala Harris!  Jimmy got to take advantage of "early voting" in Georgia, but the Missouri state legislature seems to think that "early voting" is some liberal San Francisco plot that will make children want to change their genders, so we have "no excuse absentee voting" instead.

I just got back from voting a "no excuse absentee" ballot in the county clerk's office at the courthouse.  The place is hopping with probably a dozen people voting while I sat and slowly pored over every candidate and issue on my ballot.  I marked mine for Kamala and Tim at the top of the ticket, chose Democrats for every state office, voted for a Libertarian for Congress, and two Democrats at the local level - the only two running - for state representative and county coroner.  Seven Republicans ran unopposed for local offices.

I supported Amendment 3, a citizen's initiative to amend the state constitution to repeal our state's god-awful total abortion ban.  I even have a "Yes on 3" sign standing proudly in my front yard.   The government, and especially Missouri's crappy-assed state government, does not belong in our bedrooms or our doctor's offices.  It's a matter of freedom and personal liberty!

There were two gambling issues on the ballot, one to allow sports' betting - and another allowing a casino for Lake of the Ozarks.  I always vote against gambling initiatives because they damage and impoverish families, and casinos target senior citizens.  "Gaming" is bad business.

I also voted to not renew four justices to the state Supreme Court because that's just the way I roll.

As I was submitting my completed ballot by sliding it into the machine, a fellow senior citizen walked in and asked a lady at the counter if he could vote early.  "We don't have early voting in Missouri," she told him.  "But we do have "no excuse absentee voting."  

"What's the difference?"  he asked, cautiously.

"There ain't none," she admitted.

Back in the Ozarks Again!

 

by Pa Rock

Traveling Fool

I arrived back at my little home in the Missouri Ozarks at 10:30 this morning following a four-hour (199-mile) trip from the burbs of St. Louis.  Sunday morning, so traffic was light the entire way.

For those who might be planning a trip to New York City and haven't been before, or haven't been in several years, here are some current prices to help with budgeting:

• A cab ride from LaGuardia Airport to Manhattan will run you about $100, tip included, each way - and it will take about an hour.  Traffic congestion in horrid.
• An economy room for two in a decent hotel will be in the neighborhood of $500 a night.
• Careful shoppers can get tickets to Broadway shows for $75 to $150 per ticket, and I heard of some going for as much as $800.  It depends on which play you select, the date of the performance, and the quality of seat you desire.
• Pedi-cabs, those pulled by a human, are generally priced at nine dollars per minute if you hail one on the street to use as a taxi.
• A sandwich and fries at any place with tables and chairs will run between twenty and thirty dollars.   (There are a couple of McDonalds, a Wendy's, a very large Krispy Kreme, and a Dunkin' Doughnuts in the vicinity of Times Square with more reasonably priced food options.  Of course, if you want to eat at a McDonalds, you can vacation in Joplin - or West Plains!)
• Pancakes at Friedman's Restaurant in the Edison Hotel are ten dollars each, and if you want two thimbles of syrup instead of just one, you will have to request the second one, firmly.
• Tips are expected for every service - take plenty of five-dollar bills.

There are people sleeping on the streets of New York.  Most are derelicts, but one wonders if some might be tourists who didn't realize how expensive a few days in New York City would be!

On the plus side, Carla and I felt completely safe walking the streets of New York, day and night, the entire time we were there.  Everyone should experience the Big Apple at least once in their lives if they can.

Rating the Plays

 

by Pa Rock

Traveling Fool

We managed to take in four plays during our three-day visit to New York City, and I was also in the audience for a performance of a 45-minute except from "The Brass Teapot," a Musial adaptation of a work that was originally written by may son,Tim, and with which he is currently involved.  That, of course, was the impetus for me coming to Gotham and the highlight of my trip.

"The Great Gatsby" was, in my jaundiced opinion, far and away the best of the four full-length plays that we managed to see.   It was a faithful adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel of life among America's nouveau riche in the during the "roaring" 1920's, just before the world stumbled into the Great Depression.   The story was Fitzgerald's, but it was the lighting, set designs, music, and acting that brought his timeless tale to life in all of its glorious noise and excesses.  Everything added to the author's work, and nothing on the stage diminished it.  "The Great Gatsby is a romping, stomping good musical that shows us how the other half lived and played a century ago.

Second on my list of favorites was "Our Town," a classic American play penned by Thornton Wilder in 1938 which went on to win the Pulitzer Prize.  It describes three days in a "typical" New England small town (a fictional place called Grovers' Corners, New Hampshire) at the turn of the twentieth century, and goes on to explain quite a bit about human nature and the essence of life and society.  This particular version of the play was star-studded, which  helped to draw in the crowds for the well known story, and it was promoted as being a contemporary interpretation of the material.  

The contemporary aspect of this version seems to rest on the fact that the cast is bi-racial.   The family of Doctor Gibbs is Black and the newspaper editor's family is White, and the story coalesces around the romance and marriage of the doctor's son and the editor's daughter.  A biracial marriage, of course would have never happened in any portion of early 20th century America, and was, in fact, illegal in most places.   But, it worked well in this adaptation and added an interesting twist to the story.

My third favorite play for the all-too-brief stay in the city was "The Roommate," a dialogue-driven story of two very opposite women who move in together to save money.   The play brings to mind Broadway's most prolific playwright, the late Neil Simon, and in particular his classic "The Odd Couple."   Stars Mia Farrow and Patti Lupone both give incredible performances and manage to stir a great amount of audience empathy for the flawed characters which they inhabit.

Last on my list is "Once Upon a Mattress, an old theatre comedy staple that stars Sutton Foster as Princess Winifred from the swamp.     I have seen the play several times over the last few decades which probably dampened my enthusiasm for this particular production, but it just did not feel as sharp to me as it could have been.  It was a Carol Burnett hit, and she is such an overpowering figure in American comedy that it is difficult to sit through this play without imagining how Carol would have said a particular line or sung a certain song.   But for those who haven't seen the play before or who grew up after the era of Carol Burnett, this show will brighten your day - or evening.

We would have liked to have seen "Suffs" and  "Sunset Boulevard" while we were in the Big 

Apple, but that didn't happen.  Maybe the next time I fly to this cultural Mecca, it will be to see a full Broadway production of "The Brass Teapot"!

I would come back for that - even by plane - but not on Delta!!

Saint Theresa of 42nd Street

 

by Pa Rock

Stranger in a Strange Land

Tonight we dined at Junior's - sandwiches and cheesecake - and then attended an evening performance of "The Roommate," a Neil Simonesque type of comedy with only two characters - an unlikely duo of an Iowa divorcee in her sixties and a somewhat younger New York City lesbian vegan as they embark on a social adventure of  learning to be roommates with one another.  The Iowa woman who owns the house they are occupying is played by Rosemary's baby's mother, Mia Farrow, and the New Yorker with the colorful past and present is given life by Patti  Lupone.  The playwright who put it all on paper was Jen Silverman.

(If Mia Farrow is Rosemary's baby's mother, does that mean that Ronan Farrow is Satan - or just one of his siblings?  Enquiring minds want to know!)

I laughed, a lot, and occasionally felt pangs of compassion for each of the characters as they struggled to overcome their own flaws while learning to adjust to life in the orbit of someone else.  It is a very good show, and I highly recommend "The Roommate."  And yes, it definitely has a strong Neil Simon vibe, but this lifelong fan of the Bard of Broadway has no problem with that.

But my real adventure this afternoon began in the hotel and played out on the streets of New York which, despite what Republican fear-mongers want you to believe, are absurd and noisy and busy, with many strange odors, but seem to be basically safe.  

(I did run into a group of elderly women while jaywalking this afternoon who were all wearing tiaras.)

Not long after that I was at the hotel, and, being tired-out from the walk over to Tim's production and back, decided to take a nap before heading out to dinner and the theatre.  Then, when I got up from the nap, I discovered that I had rolled over on my glasses while sleeping, screwed-up the frames, and popped the lenses.  They are my only glasses, and I really did not want to spend the last two days of the trip without them, and then have to drive home from St. Louis squinting through the windshield.

A member of the hotel staff used his phone to find an optical shop on 42nd Street, about a 20-minute walk from the hotel.  It was after four, and Carla found out the shop was open until seven - so I lit out on foot   - which I figured had to be quicker than trying to snag a cab.  Our hotel is on 47th Street.  First I hiked five big blocks to 42nd Street, but not having glasses I couldn't read the street signs which were posted at the far end of the intersection from where I was at.  I stepped up to a stranger, a woman who appeared to be in be in her late forties and was pushing a baby carriage, and asked her which street I was on.

I suspect that her initial thought was that I was just another NYC street weirdo, which maybe I was, but she looked me over and seemed to come to a decision to be of assistance.  "This is 42nd Street'" she said.  I told her that I was just another tragic tourist with a hard luck tale and looking for the optical shop.  It was undoubtedly obvious that I was rattled and in a hurry, but she was a very calming soul.  She told me that she lived on 42nd Street and thought she knew where the shop was at, a block or so beyond her apartment.  As we walked, we chatted, and she started telling me life's blessings would kick in and everything would be alright.  When she reached her destination, she pointed on down the street to my ultimate destination.

I thanked her.  "I'm Rocky," I said.

"And I'm Theresa," she replied.

My very good friend from Okinawa, Nefredia, came back to the states several years ago and was a social worker in Brooklyn until her recent retirement and move to North Carolina.  She often spoke of blessings,  Theresa reminded me of her.   Such nice ladies, helpful and caring.  I was truly moved by this close encounter with a stranger.  New York City is big and noisy with plenty of interesting smells, but the streets flow wide and deep with human kindness.  

A young man in the optical shop fixed and cleaned my glasses in less than five minutes.  When I asked about the cost, he said there was no change but that I could tip, and I did.  He had been one of my blessings that Theresa had foretold.

New York, New York, it's a helluva a great town!

The Brass Teapot Comes to the Big Apple

 

by Pa Rock

Proud Papa

My primary purpose in making this trip to New York City was to see an abbreviated version of a new musical stage production of "The Brass Teapot," a work rooted in a short story of the same title that my son, Tim, wrote in 2008 and published on the Internet.  It has since been the basis of an ethics class at the University of Kansas as well as two films, a short version in which Julia Roberts' husband, Danny Moder, was the cinematographer, and a feature-length film which premiered at the prestigious Toronto Film Festival in 2012.  The feature length version has run on Showtime and has been shown several times on Prime.

Tim collected me at my hotel this morning and we walked together down 8th Avenue to the venue where his work was playing.   He said just before we got there that we had crossed over into "Hell's. Kitchen," but it all looked, sounded, and smelled just like the rest of New York City to me!

The new musical version of"The Brass Teapot" was presented twice at the New World Stages here in NYC, once yesterday and again this morning.  I was at the morning performance, and it was dynamic and flawless.   The performance was introduced by four people:   Tim (and boy were my buttons popping!), Ramaa Mosley, the co-writer and the director of the film versions, Erik Kaiko, the producer who came up with he concept for turning the work into a musical, and Chaz Cardigan, a young dynamo of a musical talent who composed the music and wrote the lyrics.

The music was wonderful and added strength and depth to the material, and the professional actors who handled the dialogue and songs were absolutely amazing.  It was a thrill to watch.  The young lady who was sitting next to me whooped and hollered at the end of every number - and I really relished her enjoyment because in addition to being an exuberant theatre fan, she is also my grand-niece, Lauren, who is a sophomore here at Barnard College of Columbia.  Lauren is involved in theatre at her school and seems to be focusing in that direction for an eventual career.   It is always so great getting to see Lauren!

I also enjoyed seeing Ramaa Mosley again.  We first met at the film festival in Toronto when "The Brass Teapot" was released.   She was holding my granddaughter, Olive, who was about a year old at the time.  (Now Olive is thirteen and almost as tall as Ramaa!)   Ramaa and I met again when she came to my town of West Plains, Missouri, in 2016 where she directed the feature film "Lost Child" which was also written by Tim, and during that trip she even visited my humble abode, as well as invited me to sit in on one of the movie's production meetings.  And now we have also connected briefly in New York City.  Ramaa, we are going to have to quit meeting like this!

I was very pleased to meet the young man who infused "The Brass Teapot" with such fantastic music.   Chaz Cardigan gave me a big hug when Tim told him who I was, and then he told me how much he liked working with my son - and his manner and attitude clearly said that his sentiment was heartfelt    Such a nice young man!

Leaving the theatre I picked some SWAG, a "Brass Teapot" tote bag with big lettering on the side.  Later while walking down Broadway on the way back to the hotel, I heard someone behind me say something about the bag that I was carrying, and then a couple stepped up beside me and the gentleman asked if I had been to the presentation and had I enjoyed it.  "Yes" I told them, and added that I had loved it. I finished with a boast about my son being the writer, and they quickly told me that their son was the music composer for the show - Chaz's parents!  We had a very nice visit on the crowded sidewalk next to Broadway, and I left feeling that meeting those nice people was the perfect ending to a very special theatrical outing.

What a grand day in the city - and it's still just early afternoon!

More later!

Gatsby Is Greater than Ever!

 

by Pa Rock

Theatre Fan

I was in line for two hours this morning at the famous notorious well known TKTS sales area which blocks Broadway at 47th Street in New York City, waiting patiently to score discount tickets for matinee and evening Broadway shows for today.  Our plan was to see the suffragette play "Suffs" in the afternoon and the old Carol Burnett classic "Once Upon a Mattress" for this evening, but with TKTS, a person has to be flexible.  I came away with a pair of evening tickets for "Once Upon a Mattress," but had to settle for "The Great Gatsby" for the matinee.  (I have read the novel of the same name by F.Scott Fitzgerald twice, and seen the two most recent movie versions of the material, so I was not expecting to be impressed by whatever Broadway was trying to achieve with a staged rendition of "Gatsby," but boy howdy was I surprised!)

The current Broadway version of "The Great Gatsby" is a helluva a good show!  The sets and special effects are amazing, the singing and dancing dynamite, the acting first-rate, and the script and original music are woven together in such a way that they actually enhance and tell Fitzgerald's simple, yet complex, story in a more poignant manner than the author was able to achieve with just the printed word.

I wasn't familiar with any of the cast, but that did not hinder them from becoming, to perfection, the people that Scott Fitzgerald gave literary life to a century ago.   The players are all extraordinary actors, and each of the main characters belt out songs with enough force to  entertain passers-by on Broadway out in front of the theatre.

The production is a stunning visual experience with flappers and dandies dancing their way through the roaring twenties, classic cars driving across the stage and through the amazing sets, and even fireworks going off on stage!

It is such a damned good show.  Scott and Zelda would have loved it!

And Pa Rock certainly did!

Ellen's Stardust Diner and the TKTS Line

 

by Pa Rock

Line Member

Anything worth doing is worth standing in line to do, or some such horseshit.

The streets of New York are loud, and crowded, and almost totally out-of-control.  Some traffic does get through, but mostly it is just snarls of vehicles blowing their horns, with the occasional emergency vehicles inching by  blaring their sirens - and all the while people crossing against the lights, jaywalking, and zipping by on mopeds, electric bicycles, and motorized skateboards.  If you are old and frail and trip over trash on the sidewalk, or a beggar, you are likely to be ground into a grease spot by the herds of pedestrians who are searching for their hotel, or a place to eat, or just the meaning of life.

And lines!  God Almighty, there are lines everywhere!

Last night we stood in line at Ellen's Stardust Diner for about an hour waiting to relive old memories with a meal in  in fun atmosphere served by the singing waitstaff. The last time I had been there was fifteen years ago and it was really a memorable experience - but last night, not so much.     The place was more crowded and less appealing than my memories had led me to expect, and loud, golly damn was it loud!  The food was less than memorable this time around, and so was the entertainment.  But a meal's a meal.

We also stood in line on the sidewalk to get into "Our Town" yesterday, and that was worth the wait.  Today I sat in line for two hours on a marble bench at the infamous TKTS stand in order to get discount tickets for shows this afternoon and tonight.  The good news was I got there early and was first in line.  The bad news was that as the booths were ready to open, suddenly there was a fast-pass line that opened next to me and I had to wait for the special people to go through.

Standing in lines is part of the price you pay for certain rewards in life, I understand that.  But lines should be fair.  

After finally getting served in the TKTS line, I came away with tickets for "The Great Gatsby" this afternoon, and "Once Upon a Mattress" tonight.  Anxious to see both.

Tomorrow morning is Tim's production/workshop of a portion of the new musical version of "The Brass Teapot," the purpose of my trip to New York City.  That will be the highlight of the trip.  Go, Tim!

More later.

New York, New York! It's a Helluva Town!

 

by Pa Rock

Weary Traveler

It's been a long day already, and there is still quite a bit of daylight left to burn.  Everyone at Carla's house was up by 2:30 a.m,  and by 6:30 a.m we were in the air headed toward the Big Apple.  We rode in on Delta.   I am not a Delta fan ever since they stole the price of a KC to Boston round trip from me during the pandemic.  Today we got a deal and flew First Class on a small commuter jet - the price of the ticket were about the same as regular tickets.  Of course, it all evened out in the wash because the only extra that came with the First Class ticket was a seat that was a little more comfortable than a regular seat - no piping-hot breakfast, mimosas, or warm towels to wash our dirty hands and faces.  A protein bar and a small glass of tired orange juice was the extent of the pampering.

Delta Airlines, you still suck!

The cab ride from LaGuardia to our hotel, the Edison in the theatre district, was memorable.  Our driver, a Jewish man in his forties, was very verbose and entertaining and pointed out some of the sights as we worked our way into town.  He had a degree in education, but came from a family of cabbies and decided that is where the big bucks are at.  He must be doing alright because twelve years ago he was trying to decide between buying a sports car or spending a month in Greece, and decided to do both!

We arrived at the hotel at about 10:00 in the morning, but could not check into our room until 3:00 p.m., so we sought out a diner recommended by some of the hotel staff.  The food was lousy, but on the way back to the hotel we stopped by the Ethel Barrymore Theatre to see about getting tickets for a contemporary version of "Our Town."  I love "Our Town," a great play by Thornton Wilder.  Tim and I were in a production of that play at Crowder College many years ago.  I was Doc Gibbs, and he was Walter, the newspaper editor's son.

The man in the box office sold us two front row seats for this afternoon's matinee, and we have just recently gotten back to our room from that outing.  Front row is not ideal seating at the Barrymore because the patrons are close enough to the stage to rest their feet on it should they take the notion, but it was a great experience, nevertheless.  Richard Thomas (John Boy Walton) played the role of the newspaper editor, and Katie Holmes was his wife.  Jim Parsons (Sheldon from "the Big Bang Theory") was the stage manager.   When Parsons took his curtain call at the end of the production, if he had reached out his hand - and I had reached out mine from where I was sitting, we could have easily shaken hands.

Our room at the Edison is on the 6th floor and overlooks the front of the theatre where "Our Town" is playing.

Fun times!  We may catch one more show tonight.  Also talking about trying to have our evening meal at Ellen's Stardust Diner if we can get in.  That was one of my favorite stops during my only other trip to NYC.

More later!

Off on Another Adventure!

 

by Pa Rock

Traveling Fool

Today I am on the road heading to suburban St. Louis, Missouri, to meet up with Carla, a close friend from college in the 1960’s.   Carla and I lost contact for quite a few years after graduating from what was then called Southwest Missouri State College in Springfield, Missouri.  Today it is known as Missouri State University.  We reconnected fifteen years or so ago when we helped to sponsor a college trip to New York City in January of 2009. We were there when Captain Sullenberger landed his passenger jet in the East River.
 
That was my first and only trip to the Big Apple, but Carla has been a couple of times since.  Tomorrow morning we will be boarding a flight in St. Louis to revisit that amazing city.  The primary purpose of this trip will be to see a portion of a stage play that my son, Tim, has been working on.  The play is being workshopped at a large New York City theatre and presented to theatre professionals and potential backers.  I was able to see the entire play performed in Chicago this past July - and it's a good one - a musical version of "The Brass Teapot," based on the movie of the same name - which was based on a short story that was written by my very talented son!
 
Carla and I hope to see some Broadway plays while we are in NYC.  On our last trip we saw five plays in seven nights, including Lin Manuel Miranda starring in his first Broadway production “In the Heights” – back in the days before his other smash hit, “Hamilton.”   We also attended a taping of "The David Letterman Show” and were outside of ‘The Today Show” at 30 Rock where we mugged of the cameras and waved to our friends back home.  Then there was the boat ride around the Statue of Liberty, the visit to Ellis Island, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, dinner at Tavern on the Green in Central Park, a visit to the “Strawberry Fields” memorial in Central Park, and aggravating the doorman at the Dakota trying to get him to show us where John Lennon was shot – which he finally did.  
 
This time we hope to see a few more plays and explore some of the places that we missed on the last trip.   As luck would have it, Game One of the World Series between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers will be played in New York City on Friday night – our last night in town.  That should add even more excitement to our adventure!
 
We had a great time in New York City in January of 2009, and I am sure that this trip will also be memorable.  I will be posting updates from the trip in this space, so check back!

The Musk Sweepstakes

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

In a stunning display of game show mentality, South African native and billionaire Elon Musk has begun a sweepstakes directly tied to the upcoming presidential election.   The Musk sweepstakes, funded by his "America PAC" (an organization that he has stuffed with at least $75 million dollars) is promising to award a million dollars each day to one lucky winner chosen randomly from signers to Musk's on-line petition supporting the First and Second Amendments to the US Constitution.   The winners will be selected from among petition-signers who are registered voters in one of the seven key swing states in the upcoming election:  Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina.

Here's the legal rub:  Musk's sweepstakes requires signers to be registered to vote in order to be eligible for the big cash prizes - so if Billy Bob wants a shot at Elon's million bucks, first he has to go register to vote.  It is illegal in the United States of America to pay people to vote or to pay people to register to vote.

Musk, who seems to have become a de facto resident of the swing state of Pennsylvania of late as he works to put Trump back in the White House, has handed out million dollar checks over the past two days, both at events in Pennsylvania, and he says he will keep giving them out on a daily basis until Election Day.    Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania called Musk's sweepstakes scheme "deeply concerning" and seemed to be encouraging law enforcement to take a look at it.

Politics in the United States of America and one more ugly example of the ultra rich trying to feather their own nests through the outright purchase and corruption of democracy.

This sweepstakes is being sponsored by the world's richest human, and it feels very, very dirty.

Enough already!  Play fair or go home, Elon!

A 78-Year-Old Obnoxious, Overweight Adolescent

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Donald John Trump, a 78-year-old obnoxious, overweight adolescent and a person many evangelical Christians regard as their own personal savior, continues unchallenged on his quest to be the most embarrassing national politician ever to foist himself on the United States of America.

Latrobe, Pennsylvania, is the hometown of golf great Arnold Palmer, and the local airport is named for him.  Yesterday Trump gave a speech at that airport, and he began by paying homage to the legendary golfer - as most prominent visitors to the community routinely do.  Trump, who spent over 300 days of his one-term presidency playing golf, mostly on his own courses and all at significant public expense, seemed to enjoy talking about the professional golfer from Latrobe.  Trump, in fact, got so carried away in his praise of Arnold Palmer that he even delved into discussing the professional golfer's genitalia, saying this:

"Arnold Palmer was all man.  And I say that in all due respect to women and I love women.  But this guy, this guy, this is a guy that was all man.  This man was strong and tough.  And I refused to say it, but when he took showers with the other pros, they came out of there, they said, "Oh my God, that's unbelievable!"

(Is that what Stormy said about yours, Donnie, before laughing?)

It's unclear as to why Trump thought that anecdote was appropriate for an address by a presidential candidate, even in Arnold Palmer's hometown, but Trump's fascination with another golfer's equipment might serve as grounds for barring him locker rooms.

(Trump, of course, also had a genitalia episode during his 2016 campaign when a tape of his discussing "grabbing" women by their vaginal area was released to the public.  Melania Trump reportedly came up with a plan to minimize the damage by referring to the comment as "locker room talk.")

Later at the airport rally Trump made a statement directed at his opponent, Kamala Harris.   After intentionally mispronouncing her name, he added this bit of projection, "You're a shit Vice President."

The Washington Post characterized Trump's speech at the Pennsylvania airport thusly:

"Trump's speech was filled with asides, abrupt changes of subject, and profane and personal attacks."

All of that, and Arnold's putter, too.

(Wherefore art thou, Tony Perkins and Franklin Graham.  Whyfor art thou not cleaving to the rafters and shouting to the heavens about the outrageous manure spilling from the lips of your golden calf.   What if a child, God forbid, were to overhear some of his salacious slobberings! Why surely a drag queen reading a banned book would offer a stronger moral compass to the children of America than Donald John Trump and his disgusting fantasies!  Get your own houses in order before you come criticizing mine - or anyone else's!)

Garland Macy at the Century Mark

by Pa Rock

Proud Son

My father, Garland Eugene Macy, was born one hundred years ago today in rural Newton County, Missouri, to Charles Eugene and Hazel Josephine (Nutt) Macy.  He was the second of five children, only four of whom survived to adulthood.  The family lived in a two-room shack on a forty-acre hard-scrabble farm that was either sold or gifted to them by Charles' father, William S. Macy.  At some point as the family increased in size, Hazel's father, Thomas "Tom" Franklin Nutt, who was a carpenter and cement mason, added another much-needed room to their house.

The family never had a car and when they needed to go into town (Seneca or Neosho - each eight miles away) either rode in on their horse-drawn wagon or stood along the side of the road and hitchhiked.  Dad's father made a meager income with a few head of dairy cows whose milk he sold to a local dairy, and my dad, as a very young child, began making his own income by trapping and selling wild rabbits (25 cents each) and selling "the Grit."  Dad's mother gardened and then canned her produce, much of which was stored under the parents' bed, and made the clothes for everyone in the family.

Plenty of Americans were experiencing the good times of the "Roaring Twenties" when my father was born in 1924, and they had no clue about the hardships of the "Great Depression" that would befall them five years later.  But rural Missouri was already depressed and the jolt of Wall Street collapsing in 1929 was not as impactful to the people who lived there as it was to most of the nation.  By the time the Great Depression kicked into gear, my dad was already hustling and beginning to make his way in the world.

My father was a child of the Great Depression, but he came of age during World War II.  After moving to Neosho on his own to complete high school (his rural school had only gone through grade ten), Dad went to St. Louis where he enlisted in the newly formed Army Air Corps in the winter of 1942.  He trained and served in several locations in the United States before being sent to England to be a part of the preparations for the Allied Invasion of Europe (D-Day).  His work centered around aircraft maintenance, and he eventually was promoted staff sergeant, the highest rank achieved by any of the Macy cousins who were serving in the war.  Dad was seriously wounded in a training exercise in France and was returned home to a convalescent hospital shortly before the end of the war.

After the war Dad met and married a waitress, Ruby Florine Sreaves (my mother), who had worked in an Army Post Exchange (PX) and a munitions plant during the war.  They both worked for wages for a couple of years after the war before deciding that their talents were more attuned to the field of business.  Together they formed a business partnership with Mom's sister and her husband, Christine and Bob Dobbs, and opened a new truck stop on busy Highway 71 which ran from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico.  A few years later my parents sold their interest in that business to the Dobbs' family and moved 20 miles on south to the tourist town of Noel, Missouri, where they bought a small cabin court on the Elk River.   My parents remained in Noel the rest of their lives and successfully navigated their way through the ownership and management of several businesses, as well as quite a few rental properties.  

It was as business people that both of my parents really shined.   They successfully rode the post-war wave of entrepreneurship as it swept across America and managed to raise two children (me and my younger sister, Abigail) along the way.   My parents each met all seven of their grandchildren, and Dad, who outlived Mom by 23 years, was around long enough to see all of his grandchildren grown - and to have met a few of his great-grandchildren. 

Dad passed away on Christmas Day in 2009.  He was a well-loved figure in his community who had excelled in business, served on the school board, been a member of the local bank's board of directors, served multiple terms on the city council, and was even the Grand Marshal of the "Christmas City" Christmas parade the year before his death.

Happy one hundred, Dad.  We are thinking of you on this very special day!

Disney's Lightning Pass: The Rich Win Again

 

by Pa Rock

Proletariat Citizen Journalist

I have spent an hour or more standing in line on a hot summer afternoon waiting for a five-minute ride at an amusement park, many times, but it's been a while, a good, long while.

Standing in line sucked and nobody enjoyed it, but it was something that we all suffered through together, regardless of the economic strata that we occupied in real life outside of the park gates.  As far as the ride operators were concerned, me and my ragamuffins were no better or no worse than anyone else impatiently waiting to ride the Billy Bob's Insane Cycle of Doom.

But leave it to capitalism to rush in and "fix" the unfairness of rich kids and their parents having to stand in line with poor ones.  Several years ago many amusement parks began offering special passes that would allow the elites, for an extra fee, to go directly to the front of the line and ride  - while the poor goobers stood sweating in the sun and watched.

(It was crap like that which made guillotines so popular during the French Revolution - but I digress.)

Now Disney has announced a special "lightning pass"  that will get guests at the various Magic Kingdoms into a "lightning lane," where they will presumably get "lightning service" and be hustled onto a ride. The lightning passes will vary in cost depending on the park at which they are purchased as well as the date of purchase, with prices (in addition to the regular park entry fee) ranging from over a hundred dollars to over four hundred dollars - for a single person, one-day pass.

(In what is perhaps a nod or a feint to fairness, Disney will limit the use of the lightening passes to one time at each ride in the park.  Of course, that policy will also drag more wealthy people through the park faster and stuff more money into Mickey's fat pocket.)

Special kids from the wealthy suburbs will have special perks, while parents who live and work in the inner cities or the rural backwaters and have saved all year to give their kids one special day at the park, will stand in the sun and watch.

I read a statement on the Internet today which said, "Dignity means healthcare, housing, and education for everyone, no matter who you are."  This is just me talking, but I also think that dignity encompasses an inherent right to the pursuit of happiness, no matter who you are - especially for kids.  Riding the rides at an amusement park makes kids happy, but standing in line watching the rich kids fly by on the rides is not so much fun.

You seem to be ignoring your historic core values, Mickey.  Uncle Walt would not be pleased!

A Torch has been Passed

 

by Pa Rock

Observer of History

 

Jimmy Carter, the man who along with his wonderful wife Rosalynn, set a very high bar for public service by former First Couples, has been in hospice care for twenty months.  He turned one hundred just over two weeks ago on October 1^st, but reaching the century mark was not the former President’s primary motivation for hanging onto life.  He told family members that his goal was to live long enough to vote for Kamala for President.
 
And yesterday he did that very thing.  His grandson confirmed that Jimmy Carter cast a mail ballot early Wednesday – and that he definitely voted for Kamala Harris for President.  The fact that Carter cast his vote in his home state of Georgia, one of the few hotly contested states in the nation, well, that’s just gravy!
 
If Jimmy Carter, a centenarian in hospice care, can summon the strength and resolve to vote in this very critical election, then dammit, we all can!
 
Vote as early as you can, and vote like democracy depends on it – because this time it really does!

Three Generals Dump on Trump

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Donald Trump, a man well-known for his authoritarian tendencies, likes to surround himself with the trappings of power and to be served by powerful people.   During his term as President, Trump often turned to the military to fill important roles in his government as a way of emphasizing his strength as the leader of the nation.

(Donald Trump never wore his country's uniform - nor has any member of his family - but he is reportedly very proud of one that he did wear at his private high school.)

But while Trump saw the military leaders whom he brought into the inner-circles of power as symbols of his strength, they were taking the measure of their boss and forming their own opinions as to his personal strength and character - and now they are talking.

Three United States Generals, all of whom were elevated to their highest positions by Donald Trump, are now speaking candidly and contemptuously of their former commander-in-chief.  They were literally at the heart of American government during the Trump years and had unique and clear insights into the mind of the man who was leading our nation.  The recollections and reflections of General Jim Mattis, General John  Kelly, and General Mark Milley with regard to their boss, Donald John Trump, are deeply disturbing and unsettling.

General Jim Mattis, now retired from the Unites States Marine Corps, was Trump's first and longest serving Secretary of Defense, managing to hold the office just short of two years before resigning in protest to Trump pulling US forces out of Syria.   A year after Mattis left the administration, many Americans took to the streets to protest the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.  Mattis referred to those widespread demonstrations and the administration's combative response as "the result of three years without mature leadership."   He called Donald Trump:

"The first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people - does not even pretend to try.  Instead he tries to divide us."

General John Kelly, also retired from the United States Marine Corps, was Trump's longest-serving White House Chief of Staff, the man responsible for making the White House operate in an efficient manner.  Kelly is the person who eventually brought to light many of Trump's disparaging and disgusting remarks about America's military veterans.

In an interview with CNN last October Kelly des described Donald Trump as:

"A person who thinks those who defend their country in uniform, or are shot down or seriously wounded in combat, or spend years being tortured as POWs are all 'suckers' because 'there is nothing in it for them.'   A person that did not want to be seen in the presence of military amputees because 'it doesn't look good for me.'  A person who demonstrated open contempt for a Gold Star family - for all Gold Star families - on TV during the 2016 campaign, and rants that our most precious heroes who gave their lives in America's defense are 'losers' and wouldn't visit their graves in France."

(General Kelly is himself a Gold Star dad, having lost his 29-year-old son to a landmine while he was fighting with US Forces in Afghanistan in 2010.)

General Kelly, who worked as the gatekeeper for the Trump administration for multiple years, went on to describe Donald Trump in that same CNN interview as:

"A person who is not truthful regarding his position on the protection of unborn life, on women, on minorities, on evangelical Christians, on Jews, on working men and women.  A person who has no idea what America stands for and has no idea what America is all about.   A person who cavalierly suggests that a selfless warrior (Gen. Mark Milley) who has served his country for forty years in peacetime and war should lose his life for treason - in expectation that someone would take action.  A person who admires autocrats and murderous dictators.  A person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, the Constitution, and the rule of law."

Ouch!

And last, but certainly not least, is General Mark Milley, now retired from the U.S. Army and the man Trump appointed to oversee the operations of the entire US military as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  Milley, a former Army Chief of Staff, served as Chairman of the JCS for the final fifteen months of the Trump administration and continued to serve out the remainder of his two-year term in the Biden administration.  After he had been out of office for nearly three years, Trump suggested through Truth Social that Milley had behaved in a traitorous manner by informing Chinese authorities that the American government was stable and functioning during the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol - and the former President insinuated in the same post that death would be an appropriate punishment for that call - a call which had been authorized by members of the Trump administration.

Excerpts from Bob Woodward's newest book, "War," which were recently released by the publisher, reveal that General Milley described Donald Trump to Bob Woodward as "fascist to the core," and then added, "Now I realize he's a total fascist.  He is the most dangerous person to this country."

Three Generals, a total of 12 stars, and a big pile of damning allegations by exemplary military leaders, men whom Trump trusted and placed in pinnacle positions in the military and the government.  They observed him at close range, day-in and day-out, and now they are sharing their observations with the rest of us mere mortals - and what the Generals have to say about Donald Trump, the petty autocrat and dictator wannabe, is alarming.  These Generals recognize Donald Trump's ability to wreak havoc on order and democracy, and they want us to recognize it too.  

Donald Trump seeks to divide us and keep us fighting among ourselves.  He has a very limited understanding of our country's history and almost no appreciation for the tremendous amounts of sacrifice that went into the establishment of America - especially the sacrifices of our military - and he looks to the world's absolute worst autocrats and dictators as his personal role models for how to lead a nation.

Jim Mattis, John Kelly, and Mark Milley are not political hacks - they are highly regarded military leaders who have more than a century of combined service to our nation, its Constitution, and democracy.  They are fully aware of the threat Donald Trump poses to our future and our freedom, and they want us to be aware that danger as well.

When people like General Mattis, General Kelly, and General Milley speak, we all need to listen.

The Reality of Retirement

 

by Pa Rock

Shaky Senior Citizen

To all the young whippersnappers out there who think you will live fast, die young, and leave a beautiful corpse:  good luck with that.  The chances are far greater that you will hang around a lot longer than you intended, put on weight, suffer through thinning hair and failing eyesight, and go through multiple life partners and all manner of social and physical indignities as you age.  

The reality of aging is that is that is a a long and drawn-out process that seems to fly by.   One day you are master of the universe going in six different directions at once as you storm through life, all the while planning and yearning for those golden days of peace and tranquility that will be your retirement - recreation, and travel, and fun in the sun, oh my!  And the very next day, almost literally, you are awash in unsolicited advertisements for Medicare supplements, Part-D prescription drug plans, and burial insurance.  As a retiree, much of your day involves appointments with medical providers and trips to the pharmacy, and much of that centers on sitting patiently while waiting to be served.  (Old people have nothing but time on their hands, so why rush to serve them?)

I saw two medical providers last week and this week I have already seen three - and it is only Tuesday.  I am headed to the pharmacy as soon as today's very late blog is posted, and on Thursday I have a doctor's appointment a hundred miles away that will involve nearly four hours on the road.  I have been to the local emergency room three times since June and to an "Urgent Care" once.

That is the reality of retirement.

If you are dreaming of a retirement on a beach somewhere sipping Pina coladas at sunset, just know that there is probably a snake waiting patiently to slither across the sand and bite you in the ass.

If it weren't for medical providers and pharmacists I would have almost no social life.  The secret to a good retirement is to find ones you like and will enjoy getting to know because they are going to be the people with whom you spend most of your time.

It's Time to Save Democracy

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Donald Trump is in a steep and rapid mental decline, and anyone who fails to see that is either not paying attention or has so much riding on the election that they feel they nave no choice but to deny reality and cheer on their impaired candidate.

When Trump gives his long-winded speeches he spends his time at the microphone either wallowing in obsessions or wandering off on tangents.  Immigration is a primary obsession with Trump.  It riles his base and gets them stomping and clapping while giving Trump a chance to exercise his race-baiting skills.  This week he even veered into the dark and deeply disturbing topic of eugenics as he claimed that immigrants are genetically predisposed to commit violent crimes.  He said that many murderers had immigrated to the United States, and then went on to say "I believe this, it's in their genes.  And we've got a lot of bad genes in our country right now."   As he talked about the impact of race on society, the elderly politician seemed to be channeling Nazi talking points from the 1930's.

Other recent Trump obsessions that have literally no relevance to his or anyone else's ability to run the country (and are generally lies) include Kamala Harris's work history (Did she or did she not work at a McDonalds while she was putting herself through college?), Kamala's "low" IQ and general mental ability, election fraud, the crowd size at his rallies, bitcoin, tariffs, the coming Great War and/or Depression, government hurricane relief efforts, and electric vehicles.

Trump gets distracted by his obsessions when he is giving a speech and may switch topics almost at mid-sentence.  But he also tends to mentally wander down smaller paths and rabbit holes and begin talking on things that just happen to cross his mind.  A few times during the last several weeks mentions of the fictional cannibal, Hannibal Lecter, popped up in Trump's speeches - something about Hannibal having a friend over for dinner - a joke, one supposes, though not necessarily appropriate or funny enough to be included in a speech by a serious presidential candidate, and each time Trump told it, he seemed to be suffering under the delusion that it was fresh material.

Donald Trump has also gone off on recent tangents about sharks, batteries, the word "grocery," paper clips, "dumb women," and artificial intelligence - to name but just a few.

In addition to Donald Trump getting mentally lost in his obsessions and tangents, he also has a very bad habit of saying things that aren't right, occasionally through not knowing and just letting words fall out of his mouth, but often times through intentional lying.  He tends to get confused such as when he mixed up "mental asylums" with "asylum seekers," or when he switched Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi,  or when he said that he had almost been killed in a helicopter crash with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown - who claims to have never been in a helicopter with Trump.

Those are all misstatements of one degree or another, but Donald Trump also lies with a complete disregard for both the truth as well as public safety.    His continued lies about immigrants from Haiti in Ohio eating cats and dogs have stirred hate, placed people in danger, and interfered with the functioning of schools and local government.  He has also said that schools are sending children for gender-affirming surgeries without their parents' knowledge, a complete and total lie designed to destabilize public education in America.  Trump has even said on multiple occasions that doctors are committing abortions at nine months of pregnancy - at the time of birth - or, more plainly, killing living, breathing babies - another complete lie and one designed to increase the level of danger that doctors and their patients already face.

It is mean, it is disgusting, and it is done with an abundance of malice aforethought. 

But all of that is just preamble to the Trump we are faced with today, at this very moment.

Trump has said that he is going to "fix" our country's military by establishing a commission to identify and remove "woke" military leaders (those who have dared to express progressive views on anything), and replace them with uniformed human automatons who will do his bidding - and now he is saying that he will use the National Guard and the military to quell the "enemy within."  Trump says:

"We have some very bad people.  We have some sick people, radical left lunatics.  And I think it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or, if really necessary, by the military because we can't let that happen."

And there we have Donald Trump's framework for a peaceful America:  cleanse the military and create an officer corps in his own fascist image - and then turn it loose on the people who show their disloyalty to America by daring to disparage Donald Trump.

That's his plan, and I believe him.   Dementia will not be a hinderance.

There is a true "enemy within," and he can only be stopped at the ballot box in November.   It's time to purge our political system of Donald John Trump and save democracy!

Gypsy's October Surprise (Ode to Joy)

by Pa Rock

Dog Valet 

It was still dark this morning when my son let the big dog, Gypsy, out for her morning constitutional.  Gypsy likes to take a brisk run around the property before doing her business in order to learn whether any of her friends have visited during the night and peed on the rosebushes or vehicle tires - and to make note of any other changes that might have occurred since she was last outside the previous evening.  This morning she encountered a new creature on the back five close to where the groundhogs like to play during the day.  Gypsy didn't know what this little guy was.  It looked sort of like a black and white striped cat, so she walked in close for a good sniff.

Gypsy won't be doing that again any time soon.    The skunk raised its fluffy tail and managed to spray the big dog right in the face!

Oh, the joys of country living!

Nick, who was in a rush to get to work, managed nevertheless to give his dog a good scrubbing before he left, but remnants of that appalling odor are still lingering in the house three hours later - though it is not nearly as bad now as it was at 6:00 a.m.

Oh, the joys of having pets!

Actually, people don't "have" pets, it's the other way around!

Oh, the joys of being owned by domesticated varmints!

Imagine having pets that would do the shopping, make the meals, look after all of your personal needs, and clean up your messes.   Now that would be the life!

Pa Rock is going to quit typing now and go light some incense.   It's almost time for him to start preparing his masters' lunches and then take them for their midday walks.  A pet's work is never done!

Oh, the joys of knowing your place in the world and accepting your lot in life!

Olive at Thirteen

 

by Pa Rock

Proud Grandpa

I have known all day that it was my oldest granddaughter Olive's 13th birthday, but the thought didn't occur to me until just a few moments ago that I had forgotten to wish her a happy birthday in this blog, like I do for each of my six grandchildren every year.  Olive, that's an 'old age' thing, and I am truly sorry for getting this posted so late in the day.  In fact, darkness is falling as I sit here typing.

Olive is in eighth grade this year and will be entering high school next year at the very tender age of thirteen.  She skipped sixth grade entirely which put her on a faster track educationally.  Don't hurry too fast, Olive.  Life isn't a race, it's an adventure and well worth slowing down to savor along the way.

I did get to see Olive and her little brother, Sully, earlier this week when I visited in their home near Kansas City, but both youngsters are extremely busy and I didn't spend as much time with them as I would have liked.  But I understand the social demands that come with growing up - and especially for a teenager -  and I am glad to see both of them adjusting to school and peers and life beyond the house.

Olive, congratulations on becoming a teenager.   Enjoy eighth grade and all that comes with being in Middle School.  I know you are a good student, and I am very proud of the hard work that you put into school.  I look forward to seeing you and your family in New York City in two weeks!

Happy, happy birthday - with much love from your grandfather, Pa Rock!

Whoopi Wallops a Whiner

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

In an effort to reach voters who aren't regular consumers of the mainstream news sources, the Harris campaign has been booking Kamala and Tim and their spouses into some non-traditional news and information sources.  On Sunday Kamala Harris was a guest on the podcast "Call Her Daddy," a show directed toward young, adult women with an estimated following of five to ten million members in host Alex Cooper's "Daddy Gang."  Almost the entirety of that show focused on women's reproductive health care and abortion access.

Tuesday Harris was on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" where she and the host each cracked open a beer which they enjoyed as they discussed the election, Donald Trump, and world affairs.   Harris wisely chose a "Miller High Life" which is brewed in the politically important swing state of Wisconsin. 

Also on Tuesday Kamala Harris appeared on ABC's "The View" and participated in a political discussion with the show's multiple female hosts.  For some reason that appearance seemed to really get under Donald Trump's skin, and the next day he lashed out at Harris as well as two of the show's hosts.  While campaigning in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, Trump verbally assaulted Harris calling her "grossly incompetent" and "totally ill-equipped" to be President.  Then he went after two of the show's hosts, both women of color.

In attacking Sunny Hostin, who is Black and Latina, Trump said, "That is one dumb woman.  Sorry.  I am sorry, women, she's a dummy."  (Psychologists call what Trump did there "projection," as he projects his own shortcomings onto others.). 

Trump attacked Hostin in Scranton.  Later in the day in Reading, Pennsylvania, he turned his fire on another of "The View" hosts, actress and comedian Whoopi Goldberg.  Trump called the Black Ms. Goldberg "demented" and "foul mouthed."  Trump said he had hired the Academy-award winning actress once for a comedy event at his casino in Atlantic City, but said "her mouth was so foul" and her comedy set was "filthy, dirty, and disgusting."

The next day - Thursday - the hosts of "The View" fired back at their attacker, and Whoopi Goldberg in particular, directed some very pointed remarks at the politician.  She said:

"I was filthy and stand by that fact.  I have always been filthy, and you knew that when you hired me.  I headlined, babe, at your casino, which I might have continued to play had you not run it into the ground.  How dumb are you?  You hired me four times."

It sounds like Trump was a fan of Whoopi Goldberg's plainspokenness until she turned it on him.  

The needle on Donald Trump's moral compass also seems to be bent.   A recording of him talking about grabbing women by the genitals has been circulating for several years, last year he was found liable for sexual assault of a female newspaper columnist by a jury in New York, and this year he was convicted of 34 felonies in charges related to paying hush money to a porn star to cover-up an affair in order to keep it from impacting his election prospects in 2016.

But he who bellows loudest . . . 

Trump Bibles Printed in China for $2.85 Each

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

The Associated Press and other news sources began reporting this week that the now infamous "God Bless the USA Bible," aka "The Trump Bible," has been being printed in China, a country at which Donald Trump routinely wails over its "unfair" trade practices.  An investigation by the AP has revealed that at least three shipments of the Bibles totaling 120,000 arrived in the United States from Hangzhou, China, earlier this year, and that the Bibles had an estimated cost of $342,000 - or $2.85 each.  Here in the United States they retail for $59.99 each.  (That is a very sweet markup of 2,004.91%!)

(Note:  Not being a mathematician, I arrived at that figure by posing the following to ChatGPT:  "If something costs $2.85 to manufacture and sells for $59.99, what is the percentage of markup?"  My AI good buddy says it is over 2,000 percent.  If you disagree, shoot him, not me!)

"The God Bless the USA Bible," aka "Trump Bible," was the one the state of Oklahoma seemed hellbent on buying for its public school students in grades five through twelve just a couple of weeks ago - one in a leather or fake leather covering that contained the King James Versions of the Old and New Testaments, the US Pledge of Allegiance, the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, and the US Bill of Rights.  Oklahoma revised its bid specifications last week in what appears to be an effort to stem criticism and open the bidding process to more vendors.

So what does a $2.85 Bible look like? 

Reverend Tim Wildsmith, a Baptist minister with his own YouTube channel, reviews Bibles, and he ordered a copy of the "God Bless the USA Trump Bible" to review it.    Rev. Wildsmith described it as a "cheaply made book" and reported that the cover was faux leather, the words were "jammed together" on pages making it hard to read, some pages were stuck together and ripped when pulled apart, and that there was no copyright page or information about who printed the Bible or where it was printed.  Reverend Wildsmith concluded, "I was shocked by how poor the quality of it was.  It says to me that it's more about the love of money than it is for the love of our country."

The latest version of the Trump Bible was printed after the July 13th assassination attempt on the pitch man / politician and bears this stamp on the cover:

Donald J. Trump

45th President

of the

United States of America

The Day God Intervened

July 13, 2024

Hurry!  This offer won't last long!  Get yours today while supplies last - and before the price goes up!