By Bob Gaydos

      The weekly reminder.

Mitch McConnell
… still missing and presumed dead

      The lowest price I saw today for gasoline in our mid-Hudson region of New York was $4:16 per gallon. The Food and Drug Administration, its rank of inspectors sharply reduced by the Trump administration, announced that organic frozen blueberries are being recalled in several states because of the risk of e-coli infection, which has caused vomiting, diarrhea and, well, death. Measles cases are multiplying. The U.S. resumed military action in the illegal war with Iran by attacking a wedding, killing several people including a child. Trump proposed renaming the Strait of Hormuz after himself. He also had a sculpture in front of the Kennedy Center removed and said he still wants to put his name on it if he doesn’t just tear it down and build a better one. Trump also announced a quarter of a million dollar fix up of the White House bowling alley and the U.S. mint released a one dollar gold coin with Trump’s face on it, despite a law prohibiting likenesses of living presidents being placed on U.S. currency. The U.S. debt recently reached $40 trillion, a record. The 50 percent tariffs Trump placed on Canadian goods in his infantile war with our neighboring ally are set to take place next week and will be met dollar for dollar by Canada, sharply increasing the cost of automobiles and steel among other other things. The trade deficit shot up again reaching $88.6 billion in July and the energy secretary blamed Ukraine for high energy prices, ignoring the war in Iran. The secretary of the Army resigned, citing constant conflict with Pete Hegseth over military strategy and the firing of top generals and admirals. The deputy secretary also resigned. Credible reports say that Trump has increased his net worth by $4 billion since taking office last year through a variety of grifts, insider trading and other illicit activity while inflation continues to rise. Trump again tried to do away with birthright citizenship, but another judge rejected it. The Justice Department still has not released the Epstein files as required by Congress. Meanwhile, Mitch McConnell has not been seen in person by any living person for more than 80 days, but still remains a member of the U.S. Senate where Republicans have set a tentative session of three weeks of work between now and November. In the House, Speaker Mike Johnson said his body would be in session this week and the week of September 14 and that’s it until after the November election. The House has been in recess since August 11 and Johnson is clearly in no mood to hang around and answer questions about Trump, much less pass legislation to help average Americans.

    Yes, sadly, that’s what has become a typical week in the Trump administration. But that’s Trump — a new bottom every day. I do not blame him for being who he is; I simply detest him. In truth, I’m sick of him. I do, however, blame the Republican Party for infecting American society (not just politics) with this utterly despicable human being. I mean every elected Republican official, from the House Speaker, Senate Majority Leader, the entire cabinet, to every governor, senator, congressperson, state legislator, attorney general, county executive, county legislator, sheriff, mayor, supervisor, councilman, or candidate who has stood silently by, day after day, and let Trump make a mockery of our laws, our democratic system of government and lay waste to any sense of decency or decorum befitting the office of president of the most powerful nation on the planet. Ladies and gentlemen, you are him. You could stop this. Instead, you own this.

       This message will repeat as necessary. Vote for every Democrat in November.

By Bob Gaydos

Somewhere in the catering crate is Donald Trump.

   He really doesn’t care. Not at all. Not about anyone but himself.

    Two examples from last week should make that clear even to the most gullible Trump loyalists: The decoy plane and the aircraft carrier.

     — Decoy: Ok, so we all know by now that Trump left Turkey following the NATO conference in fear for his life from Iranians, thanks to a report from Israeli Intelligence. This caused him to get on Air Force One with the press and traveling administration personnel, then sneak out in a catering container and get in a somewhat smaller jet standing by. All this without anyone in the press or the rest of the world, except for those government officials, knowing. The press and some government folks would remain on the decoy plane, window shades down.

    Trump, Pete Hegseth and Trump’s “close, personal” White House staff (Natalie Harp for sure, but not Karoline Leavitt), all snuck on to the other plane.

   Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State, remained on the decoy plane, apparently not important enough to protect from a perceived threat, but prominent enough to have his presence avoid press suspicion of shady doings. That also applied to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. They stayed. For appearances apparently.

   Did Marco have a choice? Scott? Could either man have said, “No, I don’t want to die either?” Did other expendable staff, including Stephen Miller, know that Trump’s key Oval Office protectors weren’t aboard? And why did Trump go through this charade even though his own CIA doubted the Israeli report was credible?

   Guess when he thinks his butt is on the line there’s no limit to what must be done to protect it or to whom is expendable. It’s actually pretty much how he acts as president every day.

   — U.S.S. Lincoln Aircraft Carrier: This is unforgivable. When reports surfaced that the crew of the carrier, deployed in the Middle East because of Trump’s disastrous war with Iran, had been at sea for nearly nine months (a record) without seeing shore, were living on barely edible rations, were using filthy bathrooms and that some members were so depressed they had tried to jump overboard, Trump said the crew and members of their families reporting such conditions were lying. Think about that. Asked by a reporter if the crew and the ship had been deployed at sea too long, he said, “Not nearly long enough.”

    The bone spurs draft dodger, never-served-a-day commander-in-chief, embarrassed that Iran had managed to destroy the supply base in Bahrain that served the Lincoln, requiring that supplies be sent from Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, chose to talk tough and deny and lie.  Visiting the ship to check on conditions firsthand was apparently not an option. Of course, he and Hegseth had never told us about the damage to the Bahrain base. Trump had to protect his fragile ego and that made the crew of the Lincoln expendable.

      While all this was going on, Congress was in recess and Republican members were predictably silent even though social media commentary on both topics was plentiful and largely not favorable. Actually, it being primary time across much of the nation, most Republican candidates for any office were also silent or avoidant on the issue of whom Trump regarded as expendable.

   But that’s Trump — a new bottom every day. I do not blame him for being who he is; I simply detest him. In truth, I’m sick of him. I do, however, blame the Republican Party for infecting American society (not just politics) with this utterly despicable human being.

   I mean every elected Republican official, from the House Speaker, Senate Majority Leader, the entire cabinet, to every governor, senator, congressperson, state legislator, attorney general, county executive, county legislator, mayor, supervisor, councilman, or candidate who has stood silently by and let Trump make a mockery of our laws, our democratic system of government and lay waste to any sense of decency or decorum befitting the office of president of the most powerful nation on the planet. Ladies and gentlemen, you are him.

    And the mystifying, sad reality of it all to me is that, despite the long trail of supplicants left behind, none of these Republicans apparently realizes that, on any given day for any ego-protecting reason, Donald Trump would consider any one of them expendable.

By Bob Gaydos

Trump and Mohammad bin Salman in happier days before Abraham came up.

I can just see Marco Rubio running into the Oval Office waving a bunch of papers in his hand and screaming, “Steven, we forgot about Abraham!”

Miller looks up from the Resolute Desk he likes to sit at when Trump is not in the building and says in bewilderment, “Marco, there’s no way we have anyone named Abe in this office. Get real!”

“No, no, the Abraham Accords! The Abraham Accords! We forgot to put them in the deal we signed yesterday with Saudi Arabia for nuclear reactors! Trump is on social media saying the deal ‘is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords.’ ”

Or, as The New York Times bluntly put it in the headline on their lead story July 24: “Trump Demands Saudis Establish Ties With Israel.”

The art of the deal strikes again.

I’ve got to admit, I was more than mildly surprised when Trump announced the nuclear agreement with the Saudis since he was still stuck in a war with Iran. A war he started in concert with Israel, allegedly over Iranian nuclear power. Iran, of course, is the Saudis’ chief Islamic rival in the Middle East. The timing seemed a bit off.

Be that as it may, we are told that Energy Secretary Chris Wright, an energy nerd and entrepreneur, did indeed sign a deal with Saudi Arabia’s energy minister. Whether or not it includes Saudi Arabia eventually enriching its own nuclear material for non-civil purpose is also apparently up for debate. That’s because no one outside the White House has apparently seen this agreement, which, fortunately, must go to Congress for review. Even rubber stamp Republicans will want to see the details.

So, to review, Trump works out a nuclear energy deal with the Saudis, a favorite business partner of son-in-law Jared Kushner, and apparently doesn’t realize that Israel, his ally in the “nuclear energy” war with Iran, might object to the Saudis having access to nuclear material given the history of the region and the fact that Saudi Arabia doesn’t even recognize Israel. The Saudis say it’s because Israel won’t accept the concept of a Palestinian state.

Details, details.

Trump was obviously alerted to these oversights by news reports after the deal was signed and quickly jumped in to say there will be no enrichment of nuclear material allowed (although some officials say the deal allows for debate about it) and that the Saudis have to recognize Israel. Sign the Abraham Accords. Period.

Slight problem. Or two. Saudis in general are not happy with Israel’s waging of the war in Gaza or its refusal to recognize a Palestinian state. That puts Muhammad bin Salman, the crown prince, in a difficult position. Do the deal, sign Abraham, ignore your subjects and risk losing their support, or no deal.

This diplomacy thing can be pretty complicated when you ignore history and stuff like that and you also ignore people who know about that stuff and you’re only interested in distracting headlines and making a quick buck. One might have thought that Trump would have learned at least that much by now. More’s the pity.

Stay tuned.

***

Note: The following Arab nations have signed the Abraham Accords, negotiated in 2020 in the first Trump administration, which recognizes normalization of relations with Israel: United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, Morocco.

By Bob Gaydos

Champs!

    When there’s really too much news going on (which now is almost every day), I turn to the approach of one of my  favorite sports columnists in my early years. Jimmy Cannon had opinions on more than balls and strikes. So…

     — Maybe it’s just me, but: The devil is in the details. The so-called memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran allows Iran to enrich virtually everything (it gets hundreds of billions of dollars) but uranium, which it had already agreed not to do in a deal brokered by Barack Obama that was torn up by Trump in his first term. It also requires Israel to agree to stop hostilities, notably against Lebanon, a requirement that may prove hard to enforce since Trump started the illegal war against Iran at the prompting of Israeli PM Bibi Netanyahu, who shows no signs of wanting to end his military campaigns and face charges of corruption in Israeli courts. Sound familiar? A typical Trump “win.”

      — Maybe it’s just me, but: Kash Patel is pathetic. The make-believe director of the FBI proudly announced the bureau’s avoidance of a potentially deadly attack with the arrest of a group of anti-MAGA young men who planned to attack Trump’s birthday party brawl on the White House lawn. Turns out the suspects were actually disenchanted MAGA creeps who didn’t trust the government (ironically) and thought it was covering up the Epstein files story. It also turns out the suspects were turned in by the parents of one of them and were arrested by the Secret Service before the June 14 event, so no one was in danger.

     — Maybe it’s just me, but: More on Ka$h. He’s so out of his league, he’s reportedly paying his security detail an extra $4,000 a week apiece (unauthorized) not to tell the media that he drinks on the job, often doesn’t wake up for work and really has no clue what he’s doing. Somehow, we’re finding out anyway. If he were a woman, Trump would have fired him by now.

    — Maybe it’s just me, but: Trump continues to display cognitive decline, including at the G7 talks, where he was perpetually out of touch with what was going on. To him, it’s just one continuous con job. The other world leaders present were mostly polite, but could not help but notice Trump’s disconnect. It is a national embarrassment for the U.S. and a potentially dangerous one. I repeat, again: This falls on the Republican Party, which has the power within its hands every day to remove him from office and replace him with someone who is at least mentally capable to deal with the demands of the job. All it needs is the moral fortitude to do it.

      — Maybe it’s just me, but: Jimmy wouldn’t let me finish without congratulating the New York Knicks for winning the NBA championship, despite Trump. Also, congrats to the current champs on rejecting the Trump invitation to have Big Macs in the White House in favor of a ride in the Canyon of Champions in NYC. Well done.

      — Maybe it’s just me, but: Sometimes patience is rewarded. On a personal note, fifty-three years ago, I got to watch the Reed, Bradley, DeBuscherre, Frazier, Monroe, Barnett, Lucas, Meminger, Bibby, Jackson group that won the last team title. Nice seat in the Garden press box during a brief stint as a sports editor. Gotta remember the good times when the other stuff piles up.

                                     — 30 — 

By Bob Gaydos 

Don Sr., Don Jr. and Bettina, the new Mrs. Trump

RSVP: I regret that I will be unable to attend your wedding because the timing is bad and I have a lot of important stuff to do at home and people would be angry if I took the time away from that stuff.

Love, Dad

       No, he didn’t write that email to his first-born son, named after him. He just said it out loud for the world to hear. At least he didn’t say, “Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

        Donald Trump Jr., also known as “Dumb,” from the Dumb and Dumber duo, was married Friday on a small island in the Bahamas. His second marriage. A small, intimate affair. Just 50 family and close friends. Daddy, who once said, “The family is really the foundation of a prosperous and good society,” couldn’t make it. He was, he said, too busy. 

        Trying to wreck the New World Order. There was this annoying war thing in Iran. And, you know, that 30-year-old murder charge to file against Raoul Castro. Maybe even invade Cuba for some reason. And the Congress wasn’t buying his slush fund for the criminals who invaded the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2020, trying to overthrow a newly elected government

        Stuff.

        It was simply too much to deal with just for a second marriage of your oldest son. Besides, there wouldn’t really be any voters there to try to impress. And the Bahamas have some kind of silly law about being able to deny entry to anyone convicted of a serious felony. And there was that speaking appearance in the Hudson Valley to support a loyal congressman who was elected by a small group of enthusiastic, well-organized supporters apparently pretending to be Democrats.

       Important stuff.

       Funny coincidence: Don Jr.’s new wife, Bettina Anderson, described as a “sociaIite,” is the daughter of the late Palm Beach banker, Harry Loy Anderson Jr., who had a mutual friend with Trump Senior — Jeffrey Epstein. The banker reportedly socialized with and helped Epstein get major tax breaks for his own special island.

       Talk about synchronicity. It’s too bad Trump had too much important stuff to deal with to attend his son’s wedding. Dad might have had some stories to share with his new daughter-in-law about her father and their fun days with Epstein. 

        Better luck next time.

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping stand together as they tour the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, China,

By Bob Gaydos

   Donald Trump cut his trip to China short, returning to America with his planeload of billionaires, family and sycophants with no obvious “deals” on the war in Iran or commercial trade while also saying he had not made any commitments on Taiwan one way or the other in his private talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping, which surely worried residents of that independent island who have received guaranteed U.S. military support for more than seven decades, all of which made most Americans wonder what the heck was the purpose of the surprise trip in the first place other than for Trump to marvel at the number of Chinese restaurants in America and be impressed by China’s great hall (See?) which all took place while the Justice Department back home was talking about indicting Castro — Castro!? — no not that one, the brother, Raul, former Cuban leader who is 94 years old, for his supposed role as defense minister at the time in shooting down two civilian U.S. planes carrying a humanitarian group, over Cuba in 1996, the murder indictment to serve as a warning to the communist country (like China, by the way) that the U.S. might just have to take over control of the energy-starved Caribbean island, apparently because Greenland is too big and well-defended and China is really strong and still lusts for Taiwan and the U.S. might consider not stopping all the oil tankers from Venezuela from making deliveries to Cuba, which depends on those shipments to function, or just taking over the island, if Cuba would accept $100 million in humanitarian aid and allow U.S. economic and security investments in the island, a mixed message delivered to Cuban leaders personally by whomever is now head of the CIA, all of which happened as Rudy Giuliani, yes that Rudy Giuliani, was having “a very serious spiritual experience” while in a coma due to pneumonia, in which he said he was in a line leading to a “trial by St. Peter” but was saved when his friend and former deputy NYC mayor Peter Powers intervened, saying some “very significant words,” thereby apparently saving Rudy’s soul, allowing him to survive to talk about his ”miracle” on his broadcast show, which few people knew existed until now, and which apparently is not housed off the parking lot at the Four Seasons Total Landscaping business in Philadelphia, where Giuliani, now 81, previously was in a coma but didn’t know it … all of which happened in a couple of days and is proof positive that the world is totally out of sync.

   I needed the break.

J.D. Vance

By Bob Gaydos

J.D. Vance never had a chance.

From Budapest to Islamabad,

the cards were stacked

in advance.

He campaigned for Viktor Orban,

a fool’s errand to be sure.

Bringing Trump’s blessing to a similar man

whose people had had more than enough.

“It takes one to know one!” cried the Hungarians.

Their anger was pure, their answer tough.

“Be gone, oh messenger of gloom.

And Orban, go to your room.”

Onward pressed Vance,

with a war to be won or at least settled or ended … or somethinged.

Off to Pakistan to meet

with some men from Iran.

As a writer of fiction parading as truth,

he seemed the perfect man.

Forsooth!

But the men from Iran refused to surrender.

This meeting would be no war ender.

They stuck to their guns, their missiles, their drones

and their Strait of Hormuz.

They were winning a war

Vance said they were s’posed to lose.

What to do? What to do?

Jared, what say you?

Your father-in-law won’t be pleased

if the fire hasn’t been ceased.

Nothing. … Nothing?

After a long day of talking,

the negotiations

officially ceased.

Daunted but unbowed by his lack

of good news,

J.D. returned home …

to a chorus of boos.

From, of all people, the Catholics, his adopted faith brethren.

They were saying he should go to a place

that wasn’t called Heaven.

It seems they were angry

that this eyelinered mope

had rubber-stamped Trump in threatening …

The Pope!

Ex-communicate this sinner! The social media sites clamored!

A hillbilly phony pretending again!

They were not enamored.

And so it went for J.D.,

a lost weekend

with no sleep.

For the Bible says,

and as he should know:

Whatever the dateline,

You shall reap as you sow.

By Bob Gaydos

    It was about 3 in the afternoon Tuesday when I saw the New York Times update on the looming deadline Trump had set for the annihilation of Iran. Pakistan (Pakistan?) was acting as a mediator in peace talks between the U.S. and Iran.

   Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said meaningful progress had been made in negotiations between the two parties and had asked Trump to extend his deadline for the annihilation of Iran by two weeks. In that time, Iran would also agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

    I actually felt my body relax. After 10 years of living with and writing about Trumpian insanity, I knew Trump finally had his offramp. All he had to do was ignore the bloodthirsty Pete Hegseth and accept it. Which, of course, he did.

    Like much of the rest of the world, I have grown accustomed to Trump plunging the country headlong into one crisis or another through pride, arrogance or sheer stupidity, or usually all three, but this one worried me a bit more than the rest. Thinking about a world war starting in the Middle East with nuclear weapons possibly involved can do that.

    With the relief, almost immediately came the question, “Why Pakistan?” How did they get involved? OK, neutral party with no dog in the fight. Still …?

    Then I remembered who we were dealing with. Trump. What’s the deal here? What does Pakistan get out of doing something all of Europe and, indeed, the rest of the world refused to do – try to save Trump from starting a world war?

     I did a quick Google check on Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. I learned “Islamabad is a planned city built in the 1960s to replace Karachi. It officially became the capital on August 14, 1967. It is known as a green, modern city nestled in the foothills of the Margalla Hills.”

    Sounds lovely and probably an ideal location for a Mar a Lago East or some other variation on a Trump golf course. Maybe with a hotel attached. Maybe Pakistan agrees to rename them the Mara a Lago Hills. Certainly a golf course somewhere in Pakistan, but not close to the border with India because, you know, border wars.

      I haven’t seen anything on who was negotiating peace terms for the U.S., but if Jarod or the Trump boys were involved, history says you can bet on it. In fact, as I recently wrote, you literally can, on the Prediction markets. Some people probably did.

     Meanwhile, back in reality, I have yet to see any evidence that a single Republican member of Congress urged Trump to call off his threat or questioned his mental stability. Quiet, meek and out of town. Considering all the generals Hegseth recently fired, I have to think there was some resistance to Trump’s plans for Iran.

      And for now, or theoretically two weeks, in which U.S. troops don’t have to worry about orders from the commander-in-chief to blow up power supplies, bridges and anything else that allows the ordinary citizens of Iran to go about their daily life. To commit war crimes, in other words.

    Instead, according to what I read in the papers, there’s a proposed plan in place for Iran to have all sanctions on it lifted, reparations paid for the damage done to it by American missiles, and the Strait of Hormuz reopened for oil traffic for those willing and able to pay a fee to Iran. It’s also supposed to not develop nuclear weapons, which it already had agreed to not do when Barack Obama was president.

  The U.S. apparently gets to not send young Americans to die in a trumped up war because the president wants people to stop talking about him raping young girls. The art of the deal.

    And yes, let us never forget, the Republican Party owns this entire mess lock, stock and barrel for continuing to allow Trump to take an ax to everything America once proudly stood for.

     If they can somehow find the guts, they can rescue the country from this insanity by invoking the 25th amendment and removing him from office. No deals. It’s their only offramp now.

“Football, beer, and above all, gambling filled up the horizon of their minds. To keep them in control was not difficult.” George Orwell, 1984 

By Bob Gaydos

  If I were a wagering man, and having missed out on the Pam Bondi firing, I would lay a few sheckles on the likelihood that Trump will flush Pete Hegseth next and label him an ineffective Secretary of War.

   You can do that legally. I just found out. Somehow, the presence of so-called Prediction Markets escaped my attention as I struggled to maintain my sanity in a world going mad by design. Ironically, these markets are prime evidence of that phenomenon.

     And it has been happening for some time, starting with legalized sports betting. In my opinion, the emergence of legalized sports betting, not only on game outcomes, but specific moments within the game, has seriously eroded the simple enjoyment, never mind the credibility, of sports. The lure of big gambling money has made sports more profitable and players understandably want and deserve a share of the added money. Bigger contracts then mean higher costs at the stadium. Betting on a field goal or strikeout holds the lure of quick money to pay for the beer and hot dogs.

    It’s all about the money.

    But apparently it’s no longer energizing enough for people looking for an escape and maybe some easy money to just place a bet on whether some college or pro player will make or miss a foul shot. Now apparently you can bet on whether the coach will be fired and arrested at a DWI Checkpoint on the way home. Maybe he’ll run over someone.

   What are the odds? Who cares? What have you got to lose? If he makes it home safely, you can always bet on when Trump is going to lower tariffs again. That’s a surer bet.

    It’s also one of the things wrong with prediction markets. Never mind manipulating the stock market, people in positions of power can affect world events. People in power, if they choose to, can manipulate world events. And people in power, if they are of a mind to do so, might let someone know when to expect some unexpected event.

   Like the United States attacking Iran. While Trump was killing 168 Iranian school girls by giving the order to attack, someone betting on the prediction market was making a killing by predicting the attack would happen on the day it would happen. You may recall that Trump had just previously said talks between the U.S. and Iran were moving along on the nuclear weapons issue and no military action appeared to be imminent. No hints. No warning. Just bombs and a financial bonanza for someone.

   Some governors have sued to ban prediction markets as a form of legalized sports gambling, which their states do not allow. Democrats in Congress have introduced legislation to simply ban prediction markets in this country, but the White House, of course, has no problem with them.

  With Trump, a former casino owner in charge, the house can literally fix the game. Like kidnaping the Venezuelan president, also apparently a coincidental lucky big payoff for some anonymous bettor. And it’s probably not a coincidence that Trump’s sons, Eric and Don Junior, have a major stake in a prediction market and Don is an advisor to another one, Kalshi. No likelihood of collusion here.

    But really, forget the fact that America is losing jobs, prices on everything, not just gasoline, are rising daily, young men are struggling to find work and hoping the draft isn’t reinstituted, farmers are being bailed out by the government that killed their markets and millions can’t afford healthcare. That’s just the day-to-day reality in Trump’s America. Prediction markets drag everything down to a lower level of humanity.

   Betting on war, assassinations, or some other form of others’ misfortune for personal financial gain is a dehumanizing activity. It’s immoral. A perverted version of no pain, no gain. As Orwell foresaw, it’s surrender disguised as entertainment. It’s like saying, as long as the world is so screwed up, I might as well try to make some money off it. 

    Forget it, pal. That game is rigged for the House, too.

By Bob Gaydos

Deepak Chopra, friend of Jeffrey Epstein?

When the world starts to run away from me and there’s too much to comment on but I know more is coming fast, I turn to the late, great Jimmy Cannon’s approach. So,

• Maybe it’s just me, but: A president who has said, “We are not looking for regime change. We’ve learned that lesson a long time ago.“ And, “We must abandon the failed policy of nation building and regime change.“ And, just in June of last year when asked about regime change said it “leads to chaos,” but has now said in a space of a few months, “We are in charge“ with regard to Venezuela and “regime change in Iran seems like the best possible outcome“ and, noting that he’s still a little busy with Iran, did say that the fall of the Cuban regime was just “a question of time,” is basically dangerous, power-hungry and not to be believed any time he opens his mouth.
• Maybe it’s just me, but: I get a little worried when one mega corporation starts buying up all kinds of media outlets, threatening the diversity of opinion and trustworthy newsgathering. So, I’m not happy that Paramount, which is in the process of turning CBS into a clone of Fox News, is reportedly ready to do the same with CNN and also owns Paramount Pictures, Skydance Media, HBO, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, HGTV, TLC, Discovery, Paramount+, Pluto TV, Oracle (which owns 15% of TikTok) CBS Sports and the Cartoon Network, outbid (with a big nudge from the White House) Netflix to buy Warner Brothers Discovery. This has monopoly written all over it and the FCC should carefully review this deal. But this is Trump’s FCC and it’s Trump’s buddy who owns Paramount, which means Congress should really look at this closely. Which is why it’s really nice to have a true two-party system. Remember?
• Maybe it’s just me, but: I’ve become somewhat numbed to the steady release of names of prominent, influential or just plain rich people in the Epstein files. I mean, the man formally known as Prince Andrew was not a surprise, nor was Woody Allen, Bill Clinton or even Bill Gates. Their names had been out there a while. But I have to admit Deepak Chopra stopped me in my tracks. Is this a construct? Or did the wellness guru have something else in mind when he e-mailed Jeffrey to “bring your girls” and commented on the sounds young girls make? Something to meditate on.
• Maybe it’s just me, but: I’m only mildly surprised that the inevitable Trump purge of disposable sycophants has begun with the kiss off of Kristi Noem from Homeland Security to some other phony organization with a fancy name Trump has cooked up. You can only embarrass the Donald … well, actually you cannot embarrass the Donald and run a scam funding operation that doesn’t include him and get caught doing it. Eventually, Noem needs to be held accountable for her criminal behavior running Homeland Security. And lose those hair extensions.