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From a Purged Female Pharaoh to an Erased Font for its Wokeness

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I really had to laugh the other day when I read that Secretary of State Marco Rubio rolled back the State Department’s use of Calibri as the department’s font. First, the Biden Administration changed fonts from New Times Roman, a font with serifs, to  Calibri, a sans serif font type.

According to DW.com “The US Secretary of State says the Calibri font, introduced under Joe Biden, is wasteful, confusing and degrades the department’s correspondence. The move is part of Trump’s bid to undo Biden’s pro-diversity policies.” I think Rubio is saying in a round-about-way that the pen, with the right style of font, is greater than the sword.

Let’s take the Declaration of Independence, one of our first historical documents issued before we were even a country, as an example. Thomas Jefferson is given credit for writing the Declaration of Independence but the task of actually putting the words to parchment using quill and ink was Timothy Matlack, the assistant to the Secretary of the Second Continental Congress. According to the National Archives Matlack “transcribe(d) the document using a patrician style called English round hand or Copperplate.

“Matlack’s handwritten document lends a sense of elegance, authority, and—most important—anonymity to the Declaration of Independence. The purpose of the document is to justify American independence and raise support for an independent United States, both within the colonies and abroad.”

Standardization and formality have long been hallmarks of official documentation, such as legal or government papers. For this reason, the mastery of fine handwriting became a profession itself, and the craftsmen who expertly transcribed texts for hire were called “penman.” The mark of “good” penmanship was its artful appearance. Fine letter formation instilled trust and so carried an importance equal to what the words actually said. –prologue.blogs.archives.gov

Timothy Matlack is the scribe whose impeccable handwriting adorns the official, signed parchment on display in the National Archives Rotunda.
Charles Willson Peale, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Rubio also proves, in a round-about-way that a font like beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Or in this case what is confusing and degrading. Now, using Rubio’s reasoning, the Biden administration switched to Calibri because the State Department thought it was easier for people with vision problems to read.

But here is the real problem with the current administration’s switch back to New Times Roman. The recommendations to shift fonts came from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Their decision was based on studies that Calibri was a cleaner font to read than New Times Roman.

Poor Calibri, erased by guilt from association, caught in the world of woke. Somehow the Trump State Department views Calibri as a woke font because it might be easier to read. However, readability had nothing to with Rubio’s change of fonts. Herein-lies the kicker. Anything with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion label sewed onto a government study, in this case the Calibir Font, is going to be sent to the Woke Second Hand Store found in the section of nonrenewable concepts of inclusion.

The definition of legibility is this: how easily individual characters or symbols can be distinguished from one another, how easy they are to recognize. If a font is legible, you can effortlessly distinguish between similarly shaped symbols even in small text sizes…Readability refers to the ease with which a reader can understand a written text. The definition in this context focuses on how easily the reader can scan or “glide” through lines of text without distraction or difficulty (ease of reading).—typttype.com

I personally don’t care what font the State Department uses. The State Department can hand write their correspondence using crayons from the classic 64 Crayola box. (I don’t think you would find them using “Colors of World Skin Tone” 24 color box set.) What I am getting tired of, and to paraphrase Trump’s “Russia, Russia, Russia” is “Biden, Biden, Biden” with an occasional Obama thrown in there. I would have been satisfied with we want a font with serifs and be done with it.

I think it really has more to do with purging “anything” to do with Obama and Biden. Just google Obama and Biden policies reversed by Trump. It is a long list ranging from environmental climate change initiatives dealing with clean air and greenhouse gases to fuel economy standards and federal minimum wage. Oddly we have not heard anything about the Administration’s victory over Trump’s war on water pressure. Ending this war is never included in the eight or so touted wars this Administration has ended.

But wiping out a predecessor’s legacy is nothing new. If we could travel back in time on Mr. Peabody’s Way Back Machine to Hatshepsut’s rule (c. 1479–1458 BCE) in Egypt, we would find the systematic eliminations of anything to do with her rule as pharaoh.. According to worldhstoryedu.com, “The motivations for erasing Hatshepsut’s legacy are complex and likely rooted in political, religious, and cultural considerations. First, her ascent to power was unconventional, as she took on the full role of pharaoh while a male heir, Thutmose III, was available, albeit a child at the time.”

Additionally, “Some historians have also suggested that Hatshepsut’s erasure may have been part of a broader ideological movement to purify Egyptian history. The pharaohs who followed Thutmose III, particularly during the reign of Amenhotep II, took further steps to restore a strict adherence to traditional roles and practices.”

Seated statue of Hatshepsut Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

It is interesting to note that according to worldhistory.org, ‘Women in ancient Egypt were regarded as the equals of men in every aspect save that of occupation. The man was the head of the household and nation, but women ran the home and contributed to the stability of that nation as artisans, brewers, doctors, musicians, scribes, and many other jobs, sometimes even those involving authority over men.”

Hatshepsut must have really ticked off Thutmose III; her purging was done so well she was forgotten to history. Egyptians had deep beliefs about the afterlife. They believed if one’s name was removed from history this would have serious ramification in the afterlife “…it is believed that whoever removed her from public knowledge did not wish her ill after death and so preserved her name in more secluded areas.” History is out there somewhere.

It wasn’t until the 19th century that archaeologists unearthed, “in the more secluded areas” her statues, monuments and other related long lost inscriptions. It was from these discoveries that archaeologists and historians were able to determine the great impact Hatshepsut had on the development of New Kingdom’s 18th Dynasty.

History is full of purges. We can look back to October 13, 1307, a Friday when King Philip IV and Pope Clement V decided to gruesomely rid themselves, and then avail themselves of the so called fortunes of the Knights of the Templar. Ironically no fortunes were found and people have been looking for buried treasure for centuries.

As for the choice of what font the State Department uses I ask: Does anybody really care?

Don’t let a Dime hold up a Dollar

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In my younger days I worked during the summer for my Uncle Don as mason’s tender. A fancy word for a laborer. As teenager working among men I found out the different styles of foremen and bosses. Some were great yellers throwing off epitates on your job performance as fast as a dog can shake off water. A throwback to the old straw bosses overseeing a bunch of gandy dancers working on the Union Pacific Railroad.

Uncle Don was different. He was always good for the quick witty, some might say sarcastic jab aimed like a rabbit punch to the gut. He let you know right away on how well you were doing your job. At the time I didn’t particularly care for the jabs. One day I overheard him say to another laborer that he was dime holding up a dollar. Basically, whatever the laborer was doing at the time was not as important in keeping bricklayers laying bricks.

Now that we are in the midst of government shutdown, I believe we can apply the dime holding up a dollar to what is happening in our nation’s Capital. It just seems to me that we are hung up on a paltry number–$350 billion. That is not even close to the top Powerball payout of $2.04 billion in November 2022. According to Economics Insider, for 2025 the US federal “government plans to spend a total of $7 trillion.” Seven trillion in the general number scale is not a paltry number. But for the moment let’s just think about what $7 trillion does and consider all of the things that are not getting done during the shutdown anything from say cleaning toilets to training air traffic controllers.

And now let us turn our attention to what I have been able to glean out of the nonsense and obfuscation being pushed upon us from on high. The best I can determine is that the Democrats want to extend tax credits for the Affordable Care Act enacted under the Biden Administration. The GOP and Trump not so much, particularly if it has anything to do with Biden. The Congressional Budget Office says by “Permanently expand(ing) the premium tax credit structure as provided in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and later extended through calendar year 2025 in the 2022 reconciliation act—increasing the deficit by $350 billion from 2026 to 2035 and the number of people with health insurance by 3.8 million in 2035…” The CBO lost me somewhere back in 2022 with a reconciliation act, which is whole different bowl of Congressional gumbo. And it is here is things get sort fuzzy quickly. Watching Congress do its thing is not as simple as watching a Pickleball match or Scottie Scheffler lining up a putt. For the average person it becomes hard to mix and match years and money let alone what is going to happen in 10 years.

But let’s just hold things static for one second. We are talking about a country that spends $7 trillion dollars and we are going to shut the government down for a measly $350 billion because it might increase the amount of people by 3.8 million to the 40-50 million already getting coverage from “Obamacare.” There are 330 million people living in this country and we are going to shut the government down because about 15 percent of the population is getting some sort of tax break for health care. Talk about a “dime holding up a dollar.” It seems to me that we are talking about a 10 year rounding error. Even if you compare the $350 billion to the $1.8 trillion deficit it would be like trying to calculate Mercury’s gravitational impact on the Sun.

Losing the tax credit would have an immediate impact. According to CBS News, “The cost of premiums for people who buy their insurance through the ACA marketplaces could more than double, rising from an average of $888 in 2025 to $1,904 in 2026.” Another four million people would likely drop their insurance.

It seems as if extending tax credits for healthcare to middle-to-lower income families is too high a hurdle for the government to jump. It knocks the pinions right out from under the government–the proverbial straw, the want of a nail. One really has to wonder about the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law on July 4, 2025. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a non-profit, non-partisan think tank based in Washington, D.C said, “The predominant feature of the tax and spending bill signed into law by President Trump on July 4 is a massive tax cut for the richest 1 percent — a total $117 billion benefit to the wealthiest people in the country in 2026 alone.” I am not sure, but I think the $350 billion healthcare tax credit is spread out over 10 years is meager compared to nearly $120 billion to millionaires and billionaires in one year.

If anything can be said about our government they sure know how to make numbers crow about something. Congress is like a murder of crows, you have no real idea what all the squawking is really about. But they are squawking nonetheless. Here is where logic breaks down.They have no problem giving 3.3 million people $117 billion tax break. It is just a toss of a stone in a game of hopscotch. But giving $350 billion to 40 or 50 million people is game of Deal or No Deal.

My Uncle was full of poignant sayings. Once there was a man sitting down on the job. When my Uncle showed up and saw him sitting he told the man he had a job as long as he was sitting down. When he stood up he was fired. Of course he didn’t fire the man but my Uncle got his point across. Maybe we should address the Congress and the President in the same manner. You have a job as long as the government is shutdown. When you open it back up you are all fired.

“Oh with your fussin’ and your fightin’,” Trump’s Tonkin Gulf Moment

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It would be hard to find a time when we as a nation were blessed without all “your fussin’ and your fightin’.” I think the key word in this is “your.” How easy it is to get dragged into someone else’s fussin and fightin’ that then has you hip deep into their feud. If you are one with a limited amount of common sense, to often you gladly jump into the melee feet first; if you are lacking common sense, you dive in head first. This the way I see the immigration nonsense taking place in LA.

I will admit that this country’s immigration policy is out-of-whack, but hardly a Mars Attacks assault. This so-called immigration invasion in Los Angeles has stirred up a lot “fussin’ and fightin’.” Immigration Customs and Enforcement agents are rounding up day laborers at Home Depot–the low hanging fruit of snatch and grab–has gotten a lot people excited, particularly those at The White House. In fact, they got so excited they decided, not only to call out the California National Guard, but the Marines. Who better to call out then the Marines. Marines have a history of dealing with Central American insurrections that goes back to the early 1900s, the National Guard not so much. And who better to guard our streets against an immigrant insurrection of landscapers, dishwashers and a hodgepodge of day laborers then those who cleared the streets of Fallujah in 2004. This is Trump’s domestic surge to push back alien invaders from our streets. It may literally become overkill.

Listen to the radio, talkin’ ’bout the last show
Someone got excited, had to call the state militia–Creedence Clearwater Revival: Travelin’ Band

I am not condoning violence and the burning of driverless cars or surrounding federal buildings. But if there were a Richter Scale for measuring riots what is happening in LA is a 1.0: A microriot not felt, but recorded by main street news (and other bloviators). Take Detroit in 1967, that was a riot. That five-day riot was a magnitude 8.0 Riot: More than 40 people were killed, 1,100 injured (figures for injured vary), 7,200 people arrested and 2,000 buildings damaged or destroyed, its tremors were felt across the nation. Ironically, this riot started with similar early morning police raid on an after hours-bar that went amiss. A side note, the 1992 LA Riot was a 9.0 Riot.

The 1967 Detroit Riots were among the most violent and destructive riots in U.S. history. By the time the bloodshed, burning and looting ended after five days, 43 people were dead, 342 injured, nearly 1,400 buildings had been burned and some 7,000 National Guard and U.S. Army troops had been called into service.–History.com

The Paramount Riot seems like Trump’s Tonkin Gulf Resolution to escalate his deportation war. The big difference is there is no Congressional authorization, which today is a wink and a nod and a hardy “go for it!” It is a hyped up reason to bring out Title 10 U.S.C. 12406 and the military, which says “the president may call into federal service members and units of the National Guard of any State in such numbers as he considers necessary to repel the invasion, suppress the rebellion, or execute those laws.” In other words, the Administration just put a hiring freeze in Home Depot parking lots across the nation. Some poor drywaller is going have a hard time finding locals to carry in sheetrock up to the second floor addition. Boards that can weigh from anywhere from 30 to 100 pounds depending on the size, and usually bundled in twos.

Our immigrant problem began when the first European immigrants in 1617 brought in African immigrants to pick tobacco. (Native Americans’ immigration problems started in the early 1500s.) On a more positive note, in the late 1600s William Penn actively sought out Europeans to settle in Pennsylvania. According to The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, “William Penn had proselytize among Rhine Valley dissenters and invited them to settle in his colony…Between 1727 and 1775, approximately 65,000 Germans landed in Philadelphia.” And they had to travel hundreds of miles just to get to a ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Benjamin Franklin wrote “that at least one-third of Pennsylvania’s white population was German.”

Immigration is a part of our natural history as a country. We cannot deport our way out of 400 years of immigration. It runs as deep in our veins as tax avoidance; both have been necessary to sustain the growth and expansion of our country. It is interesting, however, to note, that the current Administration is trying to tackle both issues at the same time with The One Big Beautiful (tax cut) Bill and rounding up 3,000 immigrants a day–but not to carry drywall. It will be interesting to see if this administration can walk and blow bubble gum at the same time.

If our country is a melting pot of culture, our immigration policies have been a recipe created over time reflecting the singular view of White Anglo Saxon beliefs of race, religion and economics at various points along our history. According to heinonline.org, “The Naturalization Act of 1790 established that foreign-born residents of the United States could apply for citizenship provided they had lived in the U.S. for two years, had remained in their current residence for one year, and were free, white, and of “good moral character.” If we went by “good moral character” for being a citizen today, we might easily lose half the currently elected and appointed members of our government, to include Supreme Court justices–they could easily be DOGE(d).

Since then we have had a twisting immigration policy that has encouraging Chinese laborers to work on the railroads to then outright excluding them in 1882 from not only becoming citizens but denying those that were here the path to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Exclusion Act was renewed every 10 years until it was finally repealed in 1952. In 1980 immigrants could now claim refugee status and could enter the immigration maze. And, In 1986 the Reagan Administration basically outsourced the control of immigration to business.

Prior to Reagan, Congress had created a niche out for businesses. According to The Congressional Quarterly Almanac, “it was illegal to enter or work in the country without proper papers, did not make it illegal for employers to hire undocumented workers.” It seems the government closed the front door but left the back door wide open to hiring immigrants no matter what their status was. In reality it is an economic problem of supply and demand in getting the cheapest labor possible.

That changed with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. It was now illegal to hire illegals “knowing that such person is unauthorized to work…without verifying his or her work status.” Employers could now be subjected to fines and jail. The new law also allowed a pathway for amnesty and legal status for undocumented aliens. Since then we have had Dream Acts that set requirements and conditions for illegal immigrants to apply for residential and permanent status. And of course there has been wall building and border openings and closings along with barbed wire across the Rio Grande. But that has not stopped businesses from hiring illegal immigrants.

A major problem with immigration is that we have had a Congresses that is too cheap to buy new underwear. But not so for foreign owned 747s. Our policies in dealing with immigration has a time-worn elastic band, it is ragged, and it is full of holes. You dare not put it in the dryer and you damn sure don’t want to hang it out on the line to dry after washing it in the sink.

“If you have a problem you can solve by throwing money at it, you don’t have a very interesting problem.”— American novelist and nonfiction writer Anne Lamott.

For the better part of 40 years Congress and various Presidents have created a very interesting political/economical problem” out of immigration. Businesses like agriculture, meat packing and construction run on cheap labor immigration provides. Employment for immigrants for decades was wide open. As a nation we have not invested the necessary money to control and accommodate business needs nor screen immigrants at the border. If we did, why are we deporting so many now? Instead, We have allowed our country to become a Walmart on Black Friday every day.

What I am sick and tired of is the political extremes on both ends of the spectrum creating all the insane fussin’ and fightin’. Without a doubt we have had a long running challenges with immigration. But now we have a president that has decided that things are out of hand. Have things drastically changed from 1980 to the present? If so, it is because immigration is part of our historical DNA. The problem today, is that this administration’s policy on immigration could be compared to a doctor using a guillotine to treat patients suffering from migraines. It is a bit radical and obvious not the best solution for the patient or his family.

Meanwhile, those of us that are in the middle looking for real solutions to immigration watch the ends never meet.

Pardon my French but you can…

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Many years ago I was taken aback when a female coworker admonished a colleague in a loud and brusk way. It seems that the colleague was getting on her for some work-related mistake. I was not privy to the conversation until the woman in question, a big ole country gal, boldly and loudly said, “If you ain’t ever made a mistake then I’ll kiss yar ass.” A creative statement that puts a lot to imagine.

You must pardon my retelling of this tale. I normally try to shy away from “fruity language.” It is not that I am against somebody cursing a blue streak. It is so many of us do it with little tact and grace. It usually is, as the above example, the closing statement to a forgone conclusion. However, I can really appreciate those who can poetically string together obscenities. They can be pearls on a necklace worn on the right occasion. And that is the point. If one wants to learn how to use profanity I would suggest a good primer is the movie The Big Lebowski. Jeff Bridges and John Goodman thread the pearls of profanity as if they were knotting The Barado Pearl Necklace. But it is not the profanity I want to address. It is the pardon, or the reason for the profanity; or the lack of contrition that brings on the profanity; or being the first to throw the proverbial stone.

 A perfect judge will read each work of wit
With the same spirit that its author writ,
Survey the whole, nor seek slight faults to find, –Alexander Pope An Essay on Criticism

The word pardon is being thrown around lately as if it was some sort of profanity. People are up in arms chucking rocks one way or the other about President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter. Republicans are losing their minds on setting free a key member of the Biden Crime Family; and Democrats are flopping around like a hooked bass on the bottom of the boat, gaffed upon ethics that only they follow. For them the worst thing that Old Joe did was telling a simple lie when he said he would not pardon his son. It’s not like he was selling cigarettes without the Surgeon General’s warning on the pack. Lying to the public is nothing new, and lately it has been elevated to a national past time. Organizations have made a living counting public lies. To paraphrase the lyrics to the theme song of the TV show Psych: I know you know I am not telling the truth. But yet here we are.

 Avoid extremes; and shun the fault of such,
Who still are pleas’d too little or too much.
At ev’ry trifle scorn to take offence,
That always shows great pride, or little sense; –Alexander Pope An Essay on Criticism

Biden did nothing wrong. Article II Section 2 of the Constitution gives Old Joe the power to pardon. It says nothing about family and relatives or the qualifications for a pardon. It simply states: “and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.” I wonder if we ever have a female president the phrase and he shall would exclude a “she” and God forbid a they, it, them from pardoning somebody. Something that slipped the framers mind in 1787. Strict interpretation of the Constitution, right up to where the First Amendment delineates money is free speech.

The other thing that has the Dems going is that the pardon sets a bad precedent. The pardoning of a convicted felon, by-passing the legal system. A president doing something that “bends the law.” Come on man, the Supreme Court has taken care of that. A president can now break the law with impunity. Biden could send in Seal Team Six to bust Hunter out if he wanted too. The Glorious Era where the rule of law really matters is over. The rule of law is now just a lukewarm suggestion and only applies to those who can’t afford a well paid team of legal assassins. If anyone making under $50,000 a year was convicted of three felony tax offenses and six misdemeanor tax offenses; or 34 felony convictions on falsifying business records, they would have already been fitted with the orange jumpsuit. They would be well into the first year of their sentence. Let’s get real on governmental norms and precedents, that rocket left the solar system at warp speed when it was launched from a golden escalator in 2015.

But most by numbers judge a poet’s song;
And smooth or rough, with them is right or wrong:
In the bright Muse though thousand charms conspire,
Her voice is all these tuneful fools admire, –Alexander Pope An Essay on Criticism

The MAGA crowd on the other hand sees the pardon as a reason to set free the January 6 storm troopers. I hate to tell them but when President Elect Trump takes office he doesn’t need a reason to pardon that crowd of tourists. He claims that they have been subjected to America’s twisted legal system. I would say manipulated legal system. So don’t be surprised when he pardons the 1,000 or so people who have pleaded guilty or convicted in crashing the Capitol gates. These J-6 Patriots that were armed with hockey sticks, fire extinguishers, knuckle gloves and even a pitch fork were not looking for the District’s Pickle Ball court. And yet somehow they were ensnared in a weaponized and very corrupt legal system.

And if the means be just, the conduct true,
Applause, in spite of trivial faults, is due.
As men of breeding, sometimes men of wit,
T’ avoid great errors, must the less commit: –Alexander Pope An Essay on Criticism

But this is not the first time a president has pardon a group who could have easily been convicted of treason. Trump’s pardon would fit right in with President Andrew Johnson’s end-of-term blanket pardon of ex Confederates. According to usnews.com, “Andrew Johnson, on Christmas Day 1868, granted full pardons and amnesty to soldiers who had fought for the Confederacy against the Union in the Civil War. Critics say President Johnson was being too lenient with traitors, but Johnson argued that it was time for a massive gesture of reconciliation.”

On the other end of the gun in 1976, President Jimmy Carter pardoned 200,000 Vietnam War draft dodgers “in still another bid for reconciliation.”

According to NPR President Biden “announced he is commuting the prison sentences for nearly 1,500 people and pardoning 39 others in what the White House says was the largest act of clemency in a single day in modern presidential history.” But this in not the first time Biden has had a mass pardon. He issued a presidential proclamations pardoning thousands of people convicted for attempted marijuana possession, simple possession of marijuana and for using marijuana. Talk about rigged system. I think the Feds pulled pot laws right out of the Catholic Church’s “Bless me father” playbook: It is against the law for wanting to smoke pot; it is against the law for having (and not smoking) pot; and it is against the law for smoking pot. The problem, it was not three Hail Marys and an Our Father as penance–and you are back on the streets, as George Carlin joked about confession.

Of all the causes which conspire to blind
Man’s erring judgment, and misguide the mind,
What the weak head with strongest bias rules,
Is pride, the never-failing vice of fools. –Alexander Pope An Essay on Criticism

I am not sure if English poet and satirist, Alexander Pope, realized the conundrum he would create in the future when he wrote in 1711, “To err is human; to forgive, divine.” Back then the clergy had the power to forgive or sell an indulgence. Indulgence was based on the belief that in purgatory one could do a little time and wipe out their earthly transgressions. Then they could climb the stairs to the Pearly Gates with their Get Into Heaven Card. Forgiveness is also couched in Jesus asking a group of men who had already passed judgment on woman with questionable credentials. They were ready to exact the needed social religious punishment. With stones in hand, Jesus simply asked the men, who here has not sinned? Jesus did not ask them to pardon her. The thud of rocks hitting the ground followed.

But forgiveness is not the same as a pardon. Jesus made the stoning of Mary Magdalene personal. The men had to search their concessions in regards to their actions, not hers. A pardon is not personal. It is a government legal decision to overturn another government legal decision, for whatever reason or no reason at all. It could be argued in Biden’s case, the pardon was personal; for him but not for me. I did not have a rock in the fight.

As long as humans are around someone is going to trip over the rules; someone is going to deviate from the norm; someone is going to hop the fence and find themselves trespassing on Mr. Gilmore’s property. Hunter Biden is that someone. I know he tried to manipulate a weaponized legal system; but I don’t recall him saying, boldly and loudly: “If you ain’t ever made a mistake then I’ll kiss yar ass.”

He didn’t have to. His Daddy did, figuratively speaking that is.

Mars Attacks! Alien Invasion at the Border

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The 2024 Presidential election has opened up a new topic for squawking heads, political pundits, and anybody with a social media account as how the Democrats lost to Donald Trump for the second time.

Since I fall in the “anybody” category I, too, have a reason why the Democrats lost. Many believe it was “the crisis” at the border that shifted just enough voters across the spectrum into believing we were being invaded. Trump said that Harris had “unleashed an army of migrant gangs who are waging a campaign of violence and terror against our citizens.” And, if enough people believe that our country was a “dumping ground” or “garbage can for the world,” then maybe we are. So it is settled, immigration and not the economy stupid that tipped the election to Trump.

The GOP campaign made good use of the collective consciousness. They utilized the natural fears of invasion and immigration that lingers in the depths of every human. It is the visage of Mongol Hordes streaming across the steppes of Eurasia. But for us, it was much more subtle. The GOP was able to frame it not as an invasion, but a “Crisis at the Border.” This, despite the fact that “this crisis” has been going on in some form or another since the Reagan Administration. Additionally, they were able to give Joe Biden and Kamala Harris each a violin to play Cotton-Eyed Joe at the border, much the same way Nero fiddled away as Rome burned.

The GOP kept it in the realm of reality without creating mass hysteria like Orson Welles’s War of the Worlds. Immigrants at the border were not carrying ray guns. They were just plain old common everyday thugs, murderers, rapists and the criminally insane. According to Reuters, Trump in a campaign speech in Wisconsin said, immigrants “who had committed violent crime (were) “monsters,” “stone-cold killers” and “vile animals”. Anybody who watches the myriad of Law and Order or CSI shows can relate to the vile scum that walks our streets. Despite some of the harsh rhetoric and images, the GOP did kept it comical with hungry dog-eating immigrants chowing down in “Oh me-o, oh my-o, oh” Springfield, Ohio on all sorts of stray pets. These comments create graphic images.

The Democrats, on the other hand, put to much emphasis on Democracy and Fascism. Fascism is real life crisis but a nebulus one at best. I ask, how many fascist are crossing the Rio Grande? My only real understanding of fascism is a graphic picture of Benito Mussolini hanging upside down with his mistress and two other unfourtants in Milan in 1945. Without a doubt fascism played a huge part in World War II. And in the wrong hands, it is a form of government without checks and balances. Collectively speaking, about 80 million Italians and Spaniards were under fascist rule. Americans: zero. Hitler and National Socialism is a whole other political animal. That’s a topic I will leave to the Tiki Torch Brigade.

The Democrats, with their Hollywood connection should have dipped into the movie vault to combat the Trump campaign’s attacks. They should have taken their cue from hundreds of alien invasion movies. They should have embraced holding the borders as if it were the last line of civilization. Harris and Walz should have been channeling President Thomas Whitmore and General William Grey in the movie Independence Day. With the world in flames they were marshalling every available resource to avoid the eradication of the human race.

To many voters Harris did very little to halt the “crisis” at the border. It never reached her to do list. If I was in the inner sanctums of Harris campaign I would have strongly suggested that they watch Mars Attacks! They should have seen the disastrous effects on how not to handle an alien invasion. Although Earthlings were able to beat back the Martians, it took a toll on our government. As President James Dale said after the Martians blew up Congress: “I want the people to know that they still have two out of three branches of the government working for them, and that ain’t bad.” Something that we can attest to now. The real question is which branch is falling to the ground at any given time.

It is interesting that the movie is based on Topps Trading Cards, the same company that gave us Baseball Cards. In 1962, the year after Maris and Mantle were swinging for the fences, Topps released a 55-card set Mars Attacks! Today it would be a graphic novel. The Democrats could have taken a cue from Donald Trump. Trump has his own brand of trading cards and other marketable collectables like Bibles, watches and top secret documents. Dems could have gotten into the collectables business. They could have marketed immigration. They could have gone to Topps Trading Cards to get them to reissue the 55 card collection and handed the cards out at every Harris/Walz rally. They could have enhanced the cards by saying collect them trade them; collect all 55 and you can set yourself in a sub level Cabinet position, or become an ambassador to one of the many “shithole” African countries.

Every generation dating back to the Irish Potato Famine to Cubans fleeing Castro has dealt with some sort of alien invasion. But nothing brings a chill to the spine then movies like the 1951 hit The Day the Earth Stood Still, the 1996 film Independence Day to the 2024 Alien: Ramulus, a continuation of the 1979 movie Alien. People get the idea of Arnold Schwarzenegger battling an outer space predator with his bare hands. The Democrats failed to depict Harris as battling to save our country. Instead, Harris let Trump paint her as being “mentally impaired.” Democrats should have headed General Decker’s advice to President Dale in Mars Attacks! when Dale’s aides were advocating negotiating with the Martians, “They don’t know what the hell they’re talking about.” Decker ranted. “Liberals, intellectuals… peacemongers, idiots!!” Decker encapsulated the John Birch society’s mantra that has resonated through the conservative soul for decades.

Whatever your views are on immigration, Trump played Harris like a set of bongos. Harris, much like President Dale, who did nothing to stop the invasion, ended up supine on the floor.

Ironically, the movie ends with a Mariachi Band playing The Star Spangled Banner on the steps of the destroyed Capitol. There is some interesting symbolism there.

Mars Attacks Cards: The Ultimate Collector’s Guide

The MAGA Drama Continues with The Return of Trump

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In August of 2018 I made a political prediction that Trump would win the 2020 election. It was 20/20 that Trump would win in 2020. I was wrong. However, I am double downing on Trump. I predict Trump will return for the final MAGA Saga act. In 2018.

I felt that all the drama that Trump created would propel him to another four years. in 2020. Instead viewers, and make no mistake we are no longer voters, canceled Mr. Trump goes to Washington after six seasons. Season one premiered with the Golden Escalator ride in June of 2016: Gold Digger of Manhattan. It ended dramatically with lost tourists storming the Capitol in quest of public restrooms in “Who left the Dump Cake?” So much of the saga was left untold. And here we are eight years later anxiously awaiting Trump’s Washington return.

The shocked Trump, and the GOP, was surprised that a show with such a large following was canceled. So many questions. How did a bunch of pointy-headed liberals turned woke warriors manage to pull off an Ocean’s Eleven stealing millions of votes in so many swing states? How could a vast empire be brought down by just several million viewers scattered in key swing slots? How did they turn off the MAGA channel? It had to be election legerdemain. It is impossible to dupe so many Americans.

However, there was still a well-funded PAC production companies a (Fox) studio and plenty of advertisers to keep a Trump show on the air. Undaunted, the GOP tried several Trump spinoffs that flamed out: Dr. Oz Medicine Man bombed in Pennsylvania. And in Georgia the remake of the movie Running Man starring Hershel Walker had a good opening in Georgia but could not get enough market share in Atlanta to get a coveted Senate seat. Other spin offs never got beyond the pilot production.

Despite losing Washington DC production rights, the GOP decided that what MAGA needed was slight face lift, a new location, like so many CSI spinoffs. It needed some glitz beyond the Trump Tower. And despite Trump’s cancellation for a second running, the GOP looked at is a stolen victory. They decided that Mr. Trump goes to Washington would be the first show in the trilogy of The MAGA Saga. Production moved to South Florida and within weeks the second series, It’s Always Sunny in Mar-a-Lago became a hit. But despite the cheery title the show is film noir. The writer cast Trump as the the cynical hero seeking out retribution, a hero standing up for the common man who can take the law into his own hands.

The plot is loosely based on the 1956 film The Searchers starring John Wayne. In this classic John Ford Western, Wayne is searching across Texas for his niece kidnapped by Comanches. In this remake Donald Trump portrays a modern day Ethan Edwards seeking revenge on raping, pillaging and dog eating immigrants. Writers of the show do not deviate from the main themes of Mr Trump Goes to Washington. By now that Trump is unbogged from the Washington swamp, he can now show how truly the demented liberal agenda is in turning the United States into North Mexico.

The final series in the trilogy is The Return of Trump, MAGA Strikes Back. It is set to premiere in late November. The GOP has combined two Star Wars film titles for dramatic cinematography effect. It begins with the triumphant Trump returning to Washington with galactic powers. Backed by a Supreme Court that, in its judicial wisdom, has bestowed total immunity for Trump. He is finally allowed to rule as a modern day Caesar. Who needs executive orders when laws become mere suggestions. Most of the scripts are still works in progress but episode one: Mass Deportations will be followed by the creptic: “Tales from the Swamp: How Federal Bureaucrats Resisted President Trump.” Cut loose of the bothersome bureaucracy America will finally be able to embrace its true conservative, Christian values.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Running_Man_(1987_film)

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-searchers-1956

Trump was Turned Inside Out

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Like 50 to 60 million other Americans, I watched the Presidential Debate between former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. I also watched the first Presidential Debate where Joe Biden’s political career dissolved much the way the Wicked Witch of the West fizzled away in The Wizard of Oz.

To many MAGA people, and many on the right, there was reason to cheer the demise of the leftist leader. “Socialism is Dead,” “Hail to Trump!” Trump was all set to grab the burning broom and fly into history. The polls were tight but Trump seemed to have a solid edge in the presidential grudge match. Biden’s quick exit from the ring was like some sort of pro wrestling cage match where the loser leaves. And this could literally be true. With Trump in control of the broom, and the Ruby Slippers, most of the criminal charges against him go away, along with his political antagonists. Trump has made it clear retribution will be swift, unlike his court cases. And sticking with the movie theme, Trump may start to channel mob boss Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather: “Revenge is a dish best served cold.”

But not so fast, as different as the two debates were, there are some stark comparisons. The two debates could have similar endings. After Biden’s debate, I would say crash and burn but that would mean he actually left the runway and got airborne. The Democratic Party pulled Biden out of the pilot’s seat and managed to park that plane quickly showing Biden the door. Biden was Chauncey Gardiner, Peter Sellers, in the movie Being There, leaving the garden he worked in most of his life. Whatever your political bent is, it was sort of sad to see Biden’s slow, mental meltdown, like a bowl of ice cream in a sauna. I believe it surprised Trump that after 90 minutes he was debating a man who could have been described before the debate as Rocky Road but was now just warm, sticky, mushy Cookies and Cream.

The Trump/Harris debate was different. As the debate went on I thought Harris was channeling Bugs Bunny, leading Trump down a series of rabbit holes as if he were Elmer Fudd wondering if he should have taken a left turn at Albuquerque. To some, Trump is a Looney Tune, but no Elmer Fudd. The longer the debate went on the more he reminded me of Anger, the Lewis Black character in the movie Inside Out. I could visualize a blue blaze of jet flame shooting out of the top of Trump’s head. The only time he opened his eyes was when he was mad.

As for Harris, when she added to the Bugs Bunny rif, she expanded her persona. If we stick with the Inside Out motif, I would say she added equal parts of Fear, Disgust and Joy. During the debate she may have been short on specific policies, but she played upon the Democratic Party’s anti-Trump emotions: Fear, if he gets reelected and the disgust of actually having to live through another Trump administration. But most of all the joy if he loses.

In the first debate we saw President Biden fall off the stage and carried away. In the second debate we may have just witnessed another president exiting the stage. It is hard to judge the impact of the debate on November’s election today. The question is: Will the debate be a reason American voters shove Trump off the stage for good.

Trump: the Nation’s Sweet Tooth

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Way back in August of 2018 I wrote, “Its 20/20: Trump in 2020.” I was wrong. Or maybe I was just off by six years.

And here we are in 2024 watching an election rerun like it was an old TV show canceled by one network now being picked up by a another–or so it seems. The 2024 election is like the animated Fox comedy Futurama, a TV show that aired on Fox from 1999 to 2003; but found new life on Comedy Central, where it lived on until 2013.

I am not sure anyone thought former President Donald Trump would just fade away and settle for reruns of his show. Without a doubt the Trump brand has unique selling and staying power. Unlike Enron it is a brand that defies all economic and social laws. In fact, it is beginning to have a shelf life like a package of Hostess Twinkies.

Like everybody, Trump knows that Twinkies hit the sweet spots. We also know, intrinsically, that something that tastes that good has to have some serious downsides. A package of Twinkies has 32 grams of sugar. And according to Eat This, Not That!, of those “32 grams of the sweet stuff, 31 grams are added sugar.” The American Heart Association recommends that men consume about 36 grams of added sugar while women should keep it to around 25 grams. Just do the math. Scarfing down that much added processed sugar adds no nutritional value to the diet.

I have seen cooking shows where a stick of butter was melted with a cup of sugar and then added to the mixing bowl. I could make the A Section of The New York Times taste palatable with a stick of butter, a cup of sugar and several teaspoons of vanilla extract–even the for most hardcore MAGA-man. (It is probably the only way MAGA would consume the NYT) We may be to the point where we are over indulging in Trump. There is no nutritional information coming from his campaign; and that is saying something when talking heads do not stray far from their talking points.

The former president, in reality, is peddling Hostess Twinkies to the American public in double doses. He knows he has hooked the American people, and in particular the media into delivering Twinkies on demand. We are, as a viewing nation, consuming a package or more of Twinkies a day. We are addicted. We have gotten fat for his crazy, zany antics. In fact, we crave them, hunger for them. We have become obese from Trump sugar nuggets. He has created the ultimate media show and it is presented across multiple media platforms. A show that is impossible to cancel, despite its lack of informational fiber.

Netflix originally introduced streaming in 2007 and debuted its first inhouse-produced programming in 2013; that show, House of Cards, exploded in popularity. While not true crime, its success — and the spotlight it shone on the appeal of binge-watching a series — helped open the coffers for Netflix-produced true crime content to come.

Sheila Flynn Independent

Because Twinkies lack fiber, which helps in digestion, gives us a fuller feeling and can help keep sugar levels stable, we remain in this fiberless hungry state craving more. Cable news networks, social media, late night talk shows, ego bloated bloviators and advertisers adding their own sugar to the mixing bowl of so-called news. They are the sugar delivery device–they package the Twinkies. It makes no difference if you are MAGA, A Never Trumper, a RINO or a far left socialist; there is a good chance you are addicted to cable news or scrolling about on social media for Trump Twinkies. We are like sugar-starved humming birds flapping around a feeder.

The Trump saga has way too much drama to walk away from. And this is not by accident. Particularly now with so many court cases. Cable news and social media have their very own Law & Order Trump spin offs. According to NBC “Law & Order dramas have a decades-long legacy. There are seven U.S. shows total in the franchise, which translates to well over 1,000 episodes — with more on the horizon.” America loves crime stories. The more morbid the better, especially if some celebrity is involved. The OJ Simpson case is an example. Accused of a double murder, Simpson’s trial lasted the better part of eight months. People were riveted to evening news shows for the latest up date. Today, Trump has multiple trials in various stages starting with state cases and federal cases with appeals reaching the Supreme Court. You want drama? Tune into Fox and Friends or Morning Joe.

It’s been 20 years since more than 150 million viewers —57% of the country — tuned in to watch the verdict in the O.J. Simpson trial at 10 a.m. on Oct. 3, 1995. The massive viewership of the verdict’s live broadcast was a fitting end to the saga that had captivated the entire nation since the infamous white Bronco chase of the previous June, and its legacy in the media still lasts today.

Time Magazine

We have been led to believe that the Trump drama will end with a conviction in at least one of his trials. But don’t bet on it. So far, Trump’s lawyers have managed to push every trial into the future. And with each court appeal or Supreme Court ruling Trump is creating more processed Twinkies for the American public to feed on. Whether it is additional drama by talking smack about the judges or looking into the sexual escapades of prosecutors it creates more melodrama for all to feast on. Trump may shoot your blood pressure up several notches or flood your brain with dopamine, we are all hooked in to see the next Trump sugar nugget drop–and he knows it.

And if you think the election is going to settle anything, you are wrong. The Trump Saga could run 10 more years with multiple spin offs and thousands of episodes playing across multiple media platforms. There is no cancelation in sight.

 

Caution, Federal Cases at Work–Let the Dunking begin

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Former President Donald Trump is often going on about his legal troubles as if it was a witch hunt. At first glance when somebody says witch hunt they probably think of America’s most famous witch hunt: The Salem Witch Trials. These trials took place in 1692 and according to the The National Endowment for the Humanities, “19 (people) were hanged, one pressed to death and five others died in jail.”

According to NPR the last known witchcraft trial was in Virginia in 1706. Grace Sherwood was subjected to the only known way, at the time, to determine if she was a witch. The locals tied her up, and tossed her into the Lynnhaven River. Unfortunately for Sherwood, she floated, “which meant that the devil must be supporting her and therefore she was guilty as charged.” As far as I could tell that is still the only method around to determine if someone is a witch.

Since Trump has repeatedly called his legal woes a witch hunt, it might be reasonable to assume he is trying to avoid some sort of skulduggery that is akin to witchcraft. I have never witnessed a witch hunt but I am willing to bet that most witch hunts have been unsuccessful in actually bagging a real witch. It is like someone saying they rode a unicorn. This may be a good legal tactic on the part of the former president. If he can keep his legal woess in the realm of witchcraft, it is highly unlikely he will be convicted. Unless prosecutors are able to tie him up and chuck him into the Potomac to see if he floats.

But to think that Trump’s attorneys would play the witch card is ridiculous. It is more likely he is going to pursue a different definition of a witch hunt. The one we are more familiar with in modern times. Cambridge Dictionary states that a witch hunt is “an attempt to find and punish people whose opinions are unpopular and who are said to be a danger to society.” This definition is more akin to Senator Joseph McCarthy’s shaking the apple tree in the 1950s trying to see how many delicious pinko reds would fall to the ground.

That definition definitely works for some people. However, I think Trump is using the  Merriam-Webster definition that states a witch hunt is “the searching out and deliberate harassment of those (such as political opponents) with unpopular views.” This definition fits Trump better as he campaigns around the country. He can cast himself off as a victim of socialist regime hell bent on purging the country of people hell bent on making America great again. I think this definition is the paranoid Orwellian looking over his shoulder. What are you hiding in your basement?

The former president is facing some serious federal criminal indictments. Mixing federal cases and witchcraft makes little sense at first glance. But it really is ingenious. The last convicted witch was at the turn of the beginning of the 18th century. Federal cases, however, are a different matter.

Many years ago I heard a lawyer say if the Feds want you the feds will get. Trump has to realise this. He has mentioned Al Capone several times in speeches. Capone, one of the notorious and vicious mob bosses of the 1930s, gets convicted on income tax charges. Really. At least Hunter Biden has some gun charges thrown in with his tax fraud case. FBI.gov says, “Capone was convicted after trial and on November 24, (1931) was sentenced to eleven years in federal prison, fined $50,000 and charged $7,692 for court costs, in addition to $215,000 plus interest due on back taxes.” And to add a cherry on top, the feds threw in an extra six months for contempt of court.

In the past decade sports analytics have been used to improve teams performance on and off the field. I am sure high-priced law firms have an analytics department. “Legal analytics,” according to LexisNexis.com are “tools (to) help lawyers make data-driven decisions on which to build their legal strategies. That could mean things like knowing the probability of a specific motion outcome, how seemingly unrelated cases connect, or how much a settlement award could be.” A little bit more sophisticated than seeing if a person accused of witchcraft floats or not.

What is interesting is that Trump’s lawyers have to be aware of the success rate the Feds have when they go to trial. First off it appears that the Feds are always the home team. It is their ball, their court and their rules. According to pewresearch.com they have a huge winning percentage, too. “In fiscal year 2022, only 290 of 71,954 defendants in federal criminal cases – about 0.4% – went to trial and were acquitted, Another 1,379 went to trial and were found guilty (1.9%).”

But here is the kicker, almost 90% of defendants in 2020 didn’t even go to trial. They pleaded guilty “while another 8.2% had their case dismissed at some point in the judicial process.” Just looking at the percentages less than 9% of those defendants in a federal criminal case came out on top.

Witch hunts hardly, if ever, turn up a real witch let alone convict someone of some sort of sorcery. However, a witchcraft trial is an iffy outcome. If you float you are guilty. And, well, if you don’t, you drown. Despite the 50-50 odds of winning neither verdict generates a positive outcome. Analytics can’t be telling Trump’s lawyers to take those long shot odds in Federal court. Whichever course he takes it looks like he is going to get dunked in the Potomac River; or spending time in Secret Service protection, just not in the Oval Office