Category Archives: Cheating

Two headlines

Posted on by
3

Happy Saturday and as my grandmother would say “Happy Easter Egg.” Please enjoy your weekend. And, take your antihistamines for the pollen if you are in the northern hemisphere.

Here are two humorous headlines courtesy of those infernal talk show hosts that Trump wants to silence.

“Jimmy Kimmel on (Speaker of the House) Mike Johnson’s new award for Trump: ‘You can almost feel his spine exiting his body’

Jon Stewart on Trump: less war leader, more ‘grandpa who’s lost his filter.’”

I would argue that Trump is more like that crazy uncle your mother told you must be invited to holiday dinners. Even though mom has passed, he still gets an invite because you promised. I could see the host asking the crazy uncle every so often, Uncle Donald, are you ready to go back to your home?

Happy Easter Egg and bless ol’ Uncle Donald’s heart. Just give him extra servings of turkey and stuffing which cause drowsiness.



A focused petition to restore government of the people

Posted on by
10

Our blogging friend Dr. John has prepared an excellent ten point plan to restore government for the people. Please link to it below. His premise is if you agree with seven of these ideas, please sign the petition. It is not lengthy, but is impactful. These are nonpartisan ideas, several that have been bandied about for years, but not seriously pursued. They are even more needed today.

https://agingcapriciously.com/2026/03/27/12586/

Character matters

Posted on by
10

Three retired acquaintances. Three perspectives on why character matters.

A retired attorney’s perspective: When will we ever learn? Character is so important! Yes, we live in a time when money is king and, unfortunately, it drives most decisions. But even when under the influence of outlandish money, character has a place in decision making. Examples abound. The obvious example is Donald Trump. Never has such a character challenged person been elected to the Presidency. His lack of character has been a disaster not only for us but for the world. As millions gathered this past weekend in NO KINGS protests, let us finally resolve to learn the lesson that CHARACTER MATTERS!

A retired businessman’s perspective: My friend recently wrote about the Trump comment following the death of Robert Mueller. I wrote him about an afternoon I spent with Robert where we talked about our mutual beliefs and eventually about our time in Viet Nam. His tour of duty was more dangerous than mine and he is rightly recognized as a true hero. My friend spoke about the difference between the two men and I couldn’t resist adding an observation. I said, “Trump’s insult to Mueller will go down as yet another of his pathetic insults. Mueller will always be remembered as a hero and honorable man, while trump will be remembered as an abused child who never acquired the character traits necessary to be a mature adult.” He was and is a president so confirmed in the history books, but in my view that’s not what will define his image.

A retired banking friend: Thanks for sending the note on the No Kings March – awesome that you have participated in the walk for three times – the guy is such a creep and messing with the country.  (I believe a creep would not be of good character).

Note, a key line from Michael Douglas and Annette Bening’s “The American President,” is during Douglas’ big speech where he said “Being president Is entirely about character.” If that is the case that confirms what we already know about Trump. He was voted the worst president in US history by 154 historians from multiple parties.

Third No Kings March

Posted on by
14

No kings. The United States of America was created when it rebelled against a king. Now we have an incumbent president who is peeing on our Constitution. It does not work with his autocratic construct. Every week, sometimes every day, he usurps authority not given to the position he holds. And, his sycophants in Congress turn a blind eye much of the time.

Earlier today, I attended my third “No Kings March,” this time with my youngest son. It is even better attended than the last one, with many more younger people. My son is well read and pays attention to global news. He knows the world is largely not high on the incumbent president. He knows the people who primarily like the incumbent in power are those who also are bullying and lying leaders or they are those who see how they can use the incumbent’s chaotic and denigrating behavior to their benefit.

To me, the march is a way to stand up for all of the citizens of America. It is a way to stand up for the citizens of our planet. And, Republicans may not realize it, it is a path forward to more rational conservatives to reclaim their party. The Republicans must realize their figurehead is an anchor. They need to continue to lose elections and their majorities in both houses.

So, I strongly suggest people get out and vote. The rules may change under this incumbent as he must tilt things in his favor, so know the voting requirements, make sure you are eligible and vote.


“Democracy is not a spectator sport”

Posted on by
9

The following was sent to me by a former multi-term Mayor of Charlotte, Jennifer Roberts. I know her from past dealings on human services issues and she is a very informed person, taking time to educate herself on issues.

“From WFAE’s Steve Harrison:
‘More than 800,000 people voted in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary Tuesday, where Roy Cooper easily defeated five candidates with 92% of the vote. Despite the low stakes – how many people in the state could name one other person on the ballot? – Democratic turnout was up more than 30% compared to 2022.

On the Republican side, only 626,000 people voted in the GOP primary this year, with favorite Michael Whatley getting 65%. That’s an 18% drop from the number of voters who cast ballots when Ted Budd won the Republican primary four years ago over Pat McCrory.

Four years ago, that enthusiasm gap in the primaries held through the general election in November, when Budd defeated Beasley.

This year, Democrats and some unaffiliated voters are furious about President Trump and they seem eager to show that anger at the ballot box.’

Many thanks to all of you who turned out to vote on March 3!”

I think it is a good time to remind people of the third “No Kings March” on Saturday. I have made the first two and also went on the Women’s March” sans pink hat in Trump’s first term.

But, the more important message is above – get out and vote. Don’t be a spectator. And, vote for people who are speaking to real, economic and healthcare issues and not contrived ones.

Nobody else is responsible

Posted on by
28


An article by David Smith in The Guardian called “‘Nobody else is responsible’: Trump to blame for Iran crisis, ex-CIA chief says” caught my eye. The subheading elaborates further: “Leon Panetta calls president ‘naive’ over strait of Hormuz closure and says ‘the chickens are coming home to roost.’” Panetta has a lot of gravitas, far more than the incumbent president and his direct reports. Here are a few paragraphs:

“Donald Trump is stuck between ‘a rock and a hard place’ after three weeks of war in Iran and ‘sending a message of weakness’ to the world, Leon Panetta, a former US defence secretary and Central Intelligence Agency director, has told the Guardian.

Panetta, who served in the Bill Clinton and Barack Obama administrations, recalled that national security officials were always keenly aware of Iran’s ability to create an energy crisis by blocking the strait of Hormuz. That very scenario is now unfolding, leaving Trump with no exit strategy beyond wishful thinking.

‘He tends to be naive about how things can happen,’ Panetta, 87, who supervised the operation to find and kill Osama bin Laden, said by phone. ‘If he says it and keeps saying it there’s always a hope that what he says will come true. But that’s what kids do. It’s not what presidents do.’

Trump’s war began on 28 February with what it hoped would be a knockout blow. A surprise strike by Israel killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The US and Israel soon gained air supremacy. But the longer the conflict has raged, the more that initiative appears to be slipping away.”

These few paragraphs capture what is needed to be known. Words like naive and kid-like are evoked by this piece. And, what further interests me is the risk of the strait of Hormuz being squeezed was known long before. My guess is military leaders told Trump and Hegseth this beforehand, but they chose not to listen. War is hard enough when you plan ahead, but harder still when you don’t. One thing is for certain and it has already started, any success will be claimed by Trump; any failure will be blamed on others.

Hegseth tells stories like his boss

Posted on by
18


In an article by Richard Luscombe in The Guardian called “Father of killed US military member disputes Hegseth’s claim he said to ‘finish’ the job in Iran” yet another story by a Trump direct report comes to the forefront. They seem to be following their boss down the rabbit hole.

The subheading speaks to the refuted claim: “Defense secretary had said relatives of service members killed in refueling tanker crash told him ‘do not stop until the job is done.’” Here are select paragraphs.

“The father of a US military member killed in the Iran war has contradicted Pete Hegseth’s claim that bereaved families urged him to ‘finish’ the job in the Middle East.

Hegseth, the defense secretary and a former weekend Fox News host, told reporters at a Pentagon briefing on Thursday that he had spoken with relatives of all six service members killed in last week’s refueling tanker crashduring a ‘dignified transfer’ of their remains at Delaware’s Dover air force station the night before….

However, on Thursday night, Charles Simmons, the father of Tech Sgt Tyler Simmons, 28, from Ohio, said he had no such conversation.

‘I can’t speak for the other families. When he spoke to me, that was not something we talked about,’ he told NBC News.

Simmons said he had spoken separately with Hegseth and Donald Trump at the military base, and was grateful for the ‘warmth’ he said both men had shown him. But he recounted his meeting with the defense secretary differs.”

While I am glad Mr. Simmons felt warmth from Messers. Hegseth and Trump, it continues to puzzle me why the latter two are prone to embellish stories when they really don’t serve a purpose. Trump is well known to lie and embellish. Since employees take cues from leaders, Trump staff tend to lie and embellish as well.

Find him guilty of the con

Posted on by
20

The following is the latest email from my retired attorney acquaintance. As usual, he cuts to the chase as if he was convincing a jury to find the incumbent president guilty of conning Americans. Note, he was a litigator.

“Now that Trump has DISGRACED himself in every way imaginable including war crimes in Venezuela, Iran and now threatening to do so in Cuba; what will it take for his MAGA supporters to finally realize they have been CONNED. He repeatedly promised them he would focus on reducing prices and inflation in America and NEVER engage in foreign affairs abroad. He lied!

Plus he has catered to the super rich by giving them a massive tax break while viciously taxing the MAGA faithful with tariffs. Will they ever decide enough is enough? Will Tucker Carlson, Megan Kelly, Joe Rogan or Steve Bannon ever wake them up? If they ever did, it would expose Trump as the fraud he has always been. He would lose his power and his fall would be a beautiful thing to behold. Don’t hold your breath but GODSPEED!”

Tell me your reaction to my friend’s thoughts.

A transactional president

Posted on by
10


Several bloggers and I have touched on the observation the incumbent president focuses more on short term transactions rather than long term relationships. Relationships are built by trust over time and must be nurtured to be enduring. Sadly, the incumbent president does not have the patience or temperament to nurture relationships.

As a result, an article by Peter Walker in The Guardian caught my eye the other day called “UK not obliged to support every demand of ‘transactional’ US president, minister says.” The subheadline reads: “Pat McFadden says UK relations with US remain strong despite Donald Trump’s threats to Nato allies.”

Here are a few paragraphs that tell some of the story: “Donald Trump is a ‘very transactional’ president, whose repeated demands on Iran must be seen in this context, one of Keir Starmer’s most senior ministers has said in an unusually blunt UK assessment of relations between the countries.

Asked about the US president’s threats of some sort of retaliation against allies who do not supply ships to try to free up the strait of Hormuz, Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, said the UK was not obliged to agree to every US request.

After Trump again criticised the UK for a perceived lack of enthusiasm in helping the US-Israeli war against Iran, McFadden said it was important to separate the US president’s ‘rhetoric’ from the more important issues.”

As Ronald Reagan was famous for saying , “There you go again, Donald.” Bless his heart, Trump just can’t help himself . Trump does something rash, it blows up in his face, and them he asks for help. So, now it is their fault for his not getting their sign off beforehand. And, it is not like some of his more knowledgeable staff did not forewarn him. Plus, he trusted another rogue like person in Netanyahu. So, acting roguish in a rash manner is not a good recipe.

The End of Ethics

Posted on by
14

Please take a few minutes to watch the link. She is a former Department of Justice employee. The first few minutes will give you the gist. Let me know what you think.