Has anyone given thought to the possibility that the reason Iran can still be a thorn in our side militarily is because it is receiving weapons and intelligence from Russia and China?

Has anyone given thought to the likelihood that civilian and military leadership, starting with the President and the Secretary of Defense, is dangerously inadequate and clueless?

Has anyone lent any credence to the notion that our entrance into war with Iran was done pretty much on a whim, as someone’s bright idea to create a huge distraction? Well, that and making Bibi happy.

It’s enough to get one thinking that Donald Trump and the rest are just blowing smoke, stringing us out, keeping the wolves at bay and the markets buoyant by saying things that aren’t true—like talks are progressing, or Iran will soon be out of ammo, or tariffs are a cure-all for whatever ails us and they won’t piss anyone off.

Oh, and anyone who doesn’t like Donald won’t be able to vote in November.

Every now and then, I’m tempted to change the tag line, or whatever it’s called, underneath the name of my blog.  

“Just a little more than usual” is what I decided on. I look at that sometimes and I’m embarrassed. I wonder what I was thinking, what that even means. Was I being presumptuous, a bit cocky, trying somehow to distinguish myself and tell any prospective readers that they could expect something more from me in the way of depth or style or insight? Probably.

Except I’ve come to realize that maybe I should have cooled my jets a bit, and titled the blog with some other name—maybe Two Cents’, or Another County Heard From, or maybe One Cent.

I’ve been posting for a bit over nine years now, and some of what I’ve written I consider decent prose—thoughtful, reasoned, and honest. But there is also a fair amount of drivel, I think—reactive, shallow, repetitive, hardly worth a reader’s time. My goal is usually to write something worth reading, but I often use this as a forum for just getting things off my chest, or I’m trying to keep my Activity Streak going with a piece that turns out to be less than substantive.

The challenge I’ve given myself is to simply write something that I hope folks will want to read, and I appreciate everyone who regularly checks in or takes a first look, maybe even offers a like.

As I mentioned a while back, it is exhilarating to know that people from all over the world have read this blog– not many, but the fact that there is a connection with people from faraway places makes this a worthwhile endeavor.

Anyway, I’m contemplating changing the title and tag line of the site. Maybe to something that reflects a bit more humility and a more realistic assessment of my gifts, or lack thereof.

Of course it’s unconstitutional!  Pretty much everything Trump has tried or succeeded at is either unconstitutional, bordering on unconstitutional, or just plain infantile and foolish. Anything he tries from here until November 3 should be viewed with suspicion.

Of course he’s up to something, and of course it’s likely to be some nefarious plan to screw somebody.

If it was anyone else trying this shit, they most likely wouldn’t get away with it or get this far, but Trump is banking on the power of his office and some apparently slick lawyering and people he assumes are in his pocket to make it further than most others would. Clamping down on mail-in ballots is of course intended to suppress Democrats’ votes. What else could it be?

The fact that he himself uses mail-in voting is not at issue—he’s Donald Trump and POTUS, unfortunately. He turns a blind eye to hypocrisy, so he has nothing to worry about on that front. But he and the rest of the posse of lowlife ass-kissers are seeing the writing on the wall and what may await them on the other side of November 3, so it’s no holds barred the rest of the way until Election Day.

Of course it’s unconstitutional or at least reeking with shady intent.

Take your pick of any multi-syllable word in that previous sentence, or string ‘em all together. It’s not a complete sentence, but you get the idea.

“Hey old man, how can you stand to think that way?”

It’s an old Bruce Hornsby lyric with staying power, written back in the mid-80s. It has stood the test of time and has come around again, since it currently applies to Donald Trump and the Heritage Foundation and their To Do List (i.e. Project 2025) that includes discounting the value of science and scientific theory and research, along with reading, and education in general.

Paula Poundstone, who is to be commended for being a thorn in this administration’s side since at least January of 2025 and probably long before, reminded her viewers in a recent post that the whole antisemitic excuse Trump rolled out in his threats against Harvard and Columbia and other universities is really just a means to dumbing us down.

The method to the madness is that if the means of learning and critical thinking are curtailed or removed, what will develop is a population of brainless sheep who can be told anything—that war is good, that vaccines are horrible, that any person of color is a lazy, criminal lowlife, or that old crock of shit about Donald being the only one who can fix things.

The idea is that if the means of maturing one’s thought processes are taken away, then people will be reduced to uniformity and ignorance, looking to their fearless leader for everything– guidance, answers, even sustenance. How messed up is that?!

That’s just the way it is? Better not be. Ever.

Such a person is like a good mechanic, or a good doctor—they don’t exactly grow on trees and one hopes they’ll be around for a while.

I’m talking about someone who tells the truth, who’s capable and reasonable and trustworthy.

One minute, for example, AI is amazing and the wave of the future. But now it’s the villain, frightening, apparently out of control already. And the brains behind it are portrayed as self-interested ogres willing to sell their souls for a hook, line, and sinker buy-in and silk glove treatment from Congress.

Not long ago in our neck of the woods, several families realized an influx of life-changing cash because they sold their property for data center construction. I imagine it being a case of taking the money and running, but I wonder if they have any regrets or give any thought to the transaction at this point—what they’ve wrought by having a hand in facilitating what once was a godsend but is now more of a boondoggle.

Our Governor here in PA has even changed his tune– since earlier this year!

Who do we believe regarding these data centers? Are they all for AI, or are they also being built to handle existing and future demand for streaming services and YouTube and cloud storage and internet capacity in general?

Who do we believe?! The ones who are warning about Big Brother, the ones who have nothing good to say about the demands of these facilities in terms of water and electricity use and the effect they will have on our own electric bills, opportunities for employment, and quality of life? Or, the ones who tell us to calm down, not to worry, that there’s a lot of misinformation out there?

It’s getting more difficult to tell the difference between good and bad information. And that’s a lousy place to be.

If there is indeed a blue wave in November, I hope Democrats don’t waste their mandate going after people. That would be a disservice to us all. There are way bigger fish to fry—righting the economic, cost-of-living ship, repairing relationships with allies, once again addressing climate and environmental concerns, shutting down the warehouse prisons and developing, somehow, workable immigration policy, among so much else.

Hearings and investigations and even another post-term impeachment trial would be unforgiveable wastes of time and effort. Someone has to put a stop to this endless cycle of tit-for-tat, retributive “justice.” Let it be the Democrats.

Well, except for a pursuit of Trump. He deserves to spend the rest of whatever time he has on this earth tied up in court until he expires, wondering the whole time if it’s all finally gonna catch up with him, and disturbed to his core about why he lived his life the way he did. He deserves no sympathy, no peace. And the same for the Heritage Foundation crew.

Not exactly Christ-like sentiments, but oh well…

Rahm Emanuel in 2028? That has a certain ring to it.

He’s pretty intense and comes across as a bit manic, but he’s smart, experienced, he actually loves America, and he’s brutally honest in a good way.

I suspect he’d be Republicans’ worst nightmare, and would probably have his share of detractors in his own party, but what’s new? Some might say he’s old guard, but he’s still young and fiery enough to make a difference. Again, in a good way.

I don’t know if it’s just a rumor, and I didn’t stay up long enough to watch Jen Psaki ask him about it, but I kinda hope it’s true. One could get the feeling that he would be way more than a “glad he isn’t Trump” placeholder.