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
Spectacle, for sure
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.
No school
Any time we had a snow day. There have been many others, but for some reason this bubbled to the surface first.
Historically, some things
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.
Not Exactly Obsessed
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.
Impostor
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.
Ahh…
It used to be Fall, for some reason. I think it was because of the colors, the smell of burning leaves, and relief from the heat of Summer. But it’s been Spring for a while now. Winter, with its bleakness and cold, is behind us, and we look forward to a stretch of moderating temps, lengthening daylight hours, and that sense of renewal and rebirth.
It’s Happening
The Project 2025 playbook is being followed. Anyone who still doubts this is kidding themselves.
Trump has it out for California and Gavin Newsom, so he creates a situation, sends in the ICE thugs, paints a more dire picture than what was actually happening on the ground in LA, looks for excuses, banks on a lack of restraint, on misbehavior from the inevitable hotheads and opportunists (and people who have simply had enough?!), who loot and turn to violence (or did Trump or someone send these in?), which in turn plays right into Trump’s hand and makes it look like he had no choice but to mobilize the Guard and tell Pete Hegseth to send in some Marines, just for good measure.
There’s nothing Presidential here. Trump is obviously crying wolf, looking for excuses, fabricating the next scenario for expanding his influence. He only loves the fact that he has such power at his fingertips.
Things are moving fast! Another great week for America coming up, topped off with a military parade for our very own Supreme Leader wannabe.
Keep The Feet Happy
Decent, comfortable– and often a bit more expensive– footwear. That’s about as close as I come to something luxurious.
Beware
So it begins, or so things descend to the next circle of hell. National Guard troops sent to LA to quell rioting over ICE behavior. Trump must be salivating over the opportunity to give California a hard time about yet another thing. It might make one wonder what the troops’ orders are, and why they’re being sent in the first place. Is there a legitimate disturbance that needs quelled, or is it just a convenient excuse for Trump and Noem and the rest to play enforcer, feel like tough guys, put the kibosh on legitimate anger, instill fear in the general populace?
