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.

I didn’t get one.

By Bob Gaydos

This will be short and maybe a little personal because it’s Monday and it’s hot and buggy outside and I’m still brooding over not being invited to the Bezos wedding in Venice.

I mean, yeah, it was ostentatious and not that I would’ve known how to socialize with Oprah, the Kardashians, Tom Brady, Bill Gates and a bunch of influencers I never heard of, but I don’t cause trouble, I do have Amazon Prime and it would’ve been nice to see Venice.

It certainly would’ve been more fun than following the daily doings of Trump and the dumpster fire that is the Republican Party in the Congress. The big story of course is this big, awful budget bill that Trump wants passed in one shot, instead of holding hearings on budget proposals from various departments the way Congress usually does it. Get all the lies in one basket, pass it and go home. That’s the plan.

So far, it’s not working because it’s such a cruel bill, skewed to take from the poor and give to the rich that even a few Republicans have had to say so. There’s several thousand inches of copy on it in The New York Times if you want to know all the details. Basically, poor people lose healthcare and very rich people get very richer and ICE gets to build a big special prison all its own.

All it needs is a couple more Republican senators with a bare minimum of decency to kill it, but so far there don’t seem to be any. The Trumper likes holidays, so he wants the bill passed by July 4 so he can celebrate. He’ll probably invite Bezos for a big Mac.

Oh yeah, the prison that ICE would get to build, Trump and the MaGAs would no doubt love to use as a new home for Zohran Mamdani, the Muslim Democratic Socialist who just won the Democratic primary for mayor in New York City. Trump‘s already called him a communist. A Republican senator suggested he was a terrorist. The president’s press secretary suggested he might be worth investigating since he’s a naturalized citizen. I’m surprised the men in the masks haven’t already shown up.

This is not how I like to start my week. I mean, I would’ve gone out and rented a tux if Bezos had invited me.

Too hot and buggy. Talk to you tomorrow.

I Do
Oil on canvas, 16×20

By Carrie Jacobson

I was driving by the courthouse in Accomack last summer, when I saw this wedding happening, under the shade of the big trees there on the lawn. The groom was clearly a soldier, and I imagined that he was about to leave for a tour of duty. But who knows?

I am just starting to try painting people, and I like this painting. I think it has a real feeling, tells a real story. Peter and I have been married since 1988, and I am thankful every day that we found each other.