Just a little more than usual
Japan, South Korea, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, the British Isles, especially Ireland, and the Scandinavian countries– Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. I’d love to see Machu Picchu, in Peru, along with that spot that has the expanse of shallow water that looks like a mirror and offers amazing views of the sky– Salar de Uyuni, in Bolivia.
And maybe Northern India or Nepal, where I could catch a glimpse of the Himalayas.
So, did Trump leave the G7 summit because he needed to return to DC to be present for urgent discussions re Israel and Iran, or was it because he felt unloved and unappreciated amidst all the leaders he’s alienated since taking office?
He picks his battles poorly sometimes, and pursues feckless, fruitless courses of action. Canada as the 51st state? Of course not. Greenland annexed? Of course not. Take over the Panama Canal? Doubtful. How much of what he bellows is mere distraction from something else he’s actually doing?
Stop being ridiculous, Donald. You’ve lost our trust, which, for many, you never had in the first place. You’re a paper tiger, hot air. And you’re making a gargantuan mess we may or may not be able to clean up.
He is the poster child for awfulness. What good is he, and what the hell is he doing in the Oval Office?!
I’m already retired, but I wish it could have been with a bit more financial freedom, a bit more wiggle room, instead of looking forward to the end of the month each month. I guess we’re doing OK, in a relative way, but I look around at what other retirees are doing, and realize there’s no way we could do much of anything similar, or at least with such regularity and ease.
A bit of unsolicited advice to all who are still working: enjoy this life along the way, but have a financial plan for when your working days are over– so you can facilitate other hobbies and activities and be happily (and more selectively) occupied and engaged.
Or not… some days it’s looking like the future isn’t all that bright for any of us, so live while you can, and take care of each other.
Between the weather and the circumstances, it maybe wasn’t the big celebration some were hoping for. It didn’t help to have a President who wanted to make it all about himself, who wanted to emulate North Korea with his very own birthday celebration, complete with hardware and thousands of troops marching by in review.
I’m not a fan of glorifying war, but the Army has been around for 250 years, and remembering the sacrifices of those who have served over the years seems appropriate. All the other hoopla in honor of a weak President’s birthday is beside the point, unnecessary, ridiculous, wasteful, embarrassing, and shameful, the opposite of Must See TV, whatever that is.
Maybe this laptop, or my car– an 11-year-old Camry I’ve had since 2017.
I’ve inhabited this body for 71 years– does that count?
2000
Big day today, folks. Flag Day here in the states, the Army’s 250th anniversary, and also Donald Trump’s birthday. The little boy turns 79. He’s gonna get the military parade he’s apparently always dreamed of. Unless there’s lightning.
It won’t be canceled, just postponed, because someone has paid big bucks to ship all those fancy implements of war to D.C.—of course the parade will happen at some point! Anyone who chooses to waste time tuning in will see marching troops in period fatigues, some animals, and all those big, beautiful tanks tearing up the macadam.
It promises to be quite the show, and a great day for America. Because war and testosterone and emulating dictatorships seem to be what we’re all about, lately.
Any time we had a snow day. There have been many others, but for some reason this bubbled to the surface first.
Since it’s only 5:40 AM, not much has happened yet. I woke up, got out of bed, didn’t drag a comb across my head… poured some cold brew, and now am writing in here.
If you’re asking what happened on this day, June 13, in history, Miranda rights were established in 1966; the Germans started launching the V-1 bomb into London in 1944; Meriwether Lewis reached the Great Falls of the MIssouri River in 1805; Lafayette arrived in 1777 to assist George Washington with the war effort; Thurgood Marshal was nominated to the Supreme Court in 1967; and Pioneer 10 crossed the orbit of Neptune in 1983.
Being alive; trying to understand human nature, i.e. why we seem to have a penchant for making life miserable for people we decide we don’t care about, why we can’t just get along, why we elect “leaders” like many we currently have here in America.
Trying to get my head around flight- as in air travel; looking up, looking around, coffee, music, hitting a decent tee shot, cracking an egg without breaking the damned yolk.
He likes the idea of king, or some sort of monarchical, authoritarian ruler, but it’s not his idea. Trump is not that skilled at things he or those around him say he’s skilled at. He just likes to run his mouth, instigate, latch onto, talk big. He has no skills to do much else.
No doubt, he has a nose for something—how else could he stick around for so long—but since when is overstaying one’s welcome an admirable trait?
He’s twice been elected to the highest office in the land, and each time we’ve had to hold our breath and our nose as the inner circle of “idea” people prop him up, feed him the poison they want him to regurgitate, all the while making inroads on weakening institutions and lulling people to sleep with empty promises. When he’s left to his own devices, his own words, he’s woefully, embarrassingly bereft of inspiration or wisdom or good decisions. He easily gets off on inane tangents during speeches, because in his mind he feels like he has a swooning audience of admirers who are hanging on his every word.
Trump is reactive, immature, affectively challenged, and overmatched by just about every other world leader, yet he wields power merely because of the office he holds. It’s difficult to imagine that many other leaders respect him. It’s more likely they view him as a loose cannon, a dangerous fool. Or maybe just an impotent figurehead.
3 Cents' 