Trumpie and the 3 Ring Circus

       The circus analogy doesn't play like it used to play: most folks 20-45 have never been to a circus(such as Barnum & Bailey of old). But, the Mayor of Tahoma is of the opinion that it still has some time to run. Trumpie willl give it his best go around. It has already started as the holidays approach. He has nominated a cast of characters right out of the circus tent-or Big Top if you will. The 3 ring circus had just that: 3 center circles of performance in the view of those in the tent. Each had its own performers: trapeze artists; trained animals including elephants, tigers, and bears. And another featured clowns and all their crowd pleasing antics.

       These days, US politics closely resembles these 3 circles of entertainment. However, we are paying for less than the best. Hmmmm. And why do we do this. Let's look at the performers nominated to entertain for the next 4 years or so on the public dollar(taxes).  But first, a few comments about the "Ring Master" in the center circle: Trumpie.

1. John Bolton: "Trump has the impression that foreign leaders hold him in high regard, that he's got a good relationship with Xi jinPing, Vlad Putin, Kim Un. In fact, the exact opposite is true. I have been in those rooms with him when he's met with those leaders. I believe they think he is a laughing fool."

2. James Mattis: "He is more dangerous than anyone could ever imagine."

3. Richard V. Spencer(former Sec. Nav): The President has very little understanding of what it means to be in the military, to fight ethically or to be governed by a uniform set of rules and practices."

4. H.R. McMaster(Nat. Security Advisor): Pres. Trump and other officials have repeatedly compromised our principles in pursuit of partisan advantage and personal gain."

5. Mike Pence: Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States.... Pres. Trump demanded that I choose between him and the Constitution."

6. Bill Barr, AG of US,  " He will always put his own interests, and gratifying his own ego, ahead of everything else, including the country's interest."

7.Mark Esper(Sec. of Defense): He puts himself before country. His actions are all about him and not about the country."

8. John Kelly, White House Chief of Staff/Homeland Security: "The depths of his dishonesty is just astounding to me... He is the most flawed person I have ever met in my life."

9. Rex Tillerson, (Sec. of State): "His understanding of global events, his understanding of global history, his understanding of U.S. history was really limited."

These are just some of the quotes from those who worked directly with Trumpie in the Oval Office.

Part II to follw

Health Insurance Fallout Continues

          The murder of United Health Executive, Brian Thompson on a NYC street in broad daylight continues to reverberate across the USA. Physicians, hospital staff, patients, and insurance companies themselves are reeling. And the politicians: getting ready for the upcoming transition that will reshape life in America.

       Evidently, they see their respective roles as caretakers of the nation, not just health care or health insurance. Of course, they have a separate health care system unavailable to us peasants. We are required to joust with the agents/coders/deniers, capitalists. Corporate medicine at its finest= bad medicine. Canada's system has issues, but it works for the 12+ millions of Canadians.

      Now a suspect is in custody after his arrest in Altoona, PA. Luigi Mangione, son of a very wealthy family, is going to fight extradition to New York. He is a highly educated graduate of U. of Pennsylvania in computer science. His whereabouts before the incident reveal that he was on the move, spending time in San Francisco and Hawaii. His mother had filed a missing persons report with the SFPD. It is known from friends and acquaintances that he's had recent health problems which restricted some activities. There's no known connection to United Health Corp. Insurance. Internet postings indicate certain sentiments about health insurance. Authorities found a "ghost gun" in a bag believed to be his.  

     So, here we have an other disgruntled young man who is accused of murder. It seems that his information about the world has come from the internet, the source of increasing amounts of fake news and conspiracies.  Governments are slow to respond to this problem, waiting and hoping it becomes a non-issue. Yeh, right.

Bye Bye Bashar-Hello Moskva

      When Bashar's houseman answered the front door, the staff security agent announced that the limo was leaving for the airport and there was little time to pack anything but the family jewels. So Doctor Bashar rounded up the missus and the kiddies and off they went to the getaway plaane. Next stop: Moskva. 

   Bashar's long time supporter and confidant, Valdimir Vladimirovich Putin rolled out the red carpet for the incoming guests. The family was seeking asylum and they were given same according to the Federation's policy of offering this status to the one or two saps who would be dumb enough to want to reside in the one of the worst places in the world.

     As predicted yesterday by the Mayor of Tahoma, the rats leaving the sinking ship/cesspool once called Syria have landed in the Siberian wastes or western Russyan plain west of the Ural Mountains. Known for the winter cold(see Napolean and winter), another guest from the Middle East will be hard pressed to acclimate anytime soon. First, a shopping tour for furs, hats, sable coats, and of course, quality vodka to suppress anxieties that go along with last minute evacuations. Ol' Bashar knew what was coming ass his "loyal" supporters disappeared immediately when told to defend the country. They dropped their uniforms and sought a hiding place unavailable to the dictator. They also ditched their weapons so as to look like civilians not soldiers. Don't feel sorry for these rats, they've had their days in the sun enforcing the dictatorship. Now, they will face the scourge of the "new" rulers, whoever that y be.

      Some intelligence gatherers believed that other players nearby might seek to take control. American air assets bombed targhets inside the boundaries of Syria to thwart those efforts at this writing. Given the recent history of the situation, anything is possible in the chaos.

  Stay tuned. Bashar: a pox on your house.

Pardon, Pardon, Any Pardon Will Do

        So, a pardon has become the latest Christmas stocking item with some currency. Pres. Old Joe Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, not just for one criminal act, but a pass going back 11 years. Hmmm. Is that relly how far back Ol' Hunter was selling influence? It is sad when a grown man has to beg his Dad for a favor to get out of jail. Now the talk is that Jope is going to give pre-emptive pardons to his own inner circle of potential targets from trumpie, et. all. when they takeover in January. trumpie will probably pardon all the scum arrested after Janury 6th rioting in the Capitol. That move will certainly sink the GOP forever with the mark of Cain.

Sand in Glass Running Out for Assad

       The murderous tyrant kept afloat in Syria by Russya and Iran is on thin ice. Resurgent rebels are on the march and Putin's lackies and Iran's 'martyrs' are nowhere to be found this time around. The rapid deployment of the rebels caught all the opposition government troops asleep and not the least bit willing to stop the onslaught.

      What's Bashar to do now? In the past, he's used chemical poison gas against anybody nearby. He's employed Russyan air power to bomb anybody close to Damascus. He's assaulted any city or town where a rebel support team might be living. He scoffed at former US President Obama as he drew a 'red line' in the _____(fill in). Now, Ol' Bashar is ancient by Middle East standards. Those Syrians who could leave are long gone. Who is left? A few troops with nowhere to go, tethered by family and a paycheck. I'm sure Ol' Bashar is burning the midnight oil lamp trying to get a call through to the Kremlin. Nobody is answering. Maybe he should try someone in the Donets region in eastern Ukraine. Where is Yevgeny Prighozin? Dead, unavailable. Where is Dmitry Peskov? Asleep, unavailable. Where is Svetlana Dali? In jail in New Jersey waiting for someone to make bail.

      So, what to do, what to do. Not easy being a dictator/murderer, especially in his neighborhood where life is cheap and food is expensive. So, the rebels are rolling and will soon take Damascus as the rats flee the rat hole. Bashar will board a plane for Tehran, but won't be allowed to land as the IDF has the runway zeroed in and the Ayatollah wants to keep the runway clear just in case he needs it. So, Moskva; the plane will divert to Moskva. What will Vova do? He'll have to allow Bashar asylum or his coalition will recognize that the Federation is a 'Paper Tiger/ Bear/ Siberian rat'.  Perhaps Bashar can call Elon on his X page and beg for a handout, trip to Mars or another address in outer space. Bashar has no friends, like all rats, when the chips are down, rats generally die in the rathole. (see Saddam H. ).

Book Review: Skeletons on the Zahara, by Dean King.

       Every now and then, a nugget is discovered after being in retreat for decades. Such is this account of a true story, originally told almost 200 years ago. It is a story often told of a shipwreck and survivors and the aftermath. The story recounts the ordeals of captain and crew after being tossed ashore on the Atlantic Coast of North Africa, not far from the Canary Islands.

      The  Commerce was an American sailing vessel, rigged as a brig, twin masts, and a crew of 12. She was a trader, filling her hold with various product and rounding the Atlantic rim for her owners. Her captain, Mr. Riley, was an experienced sailor/navigator, and was in the opinion of peers, a good leader who took care of his ship and its sailors.  The ship was from New England, Massachusetts to be exact, and most of the crew came from the area near or on the Connecticut River. These sailors knew about river navigation and the tidal flows. Sailing north on the river from Long Island Sound was a challenge for any ship and the crew.  Sailing across the Atlantic had its own difficulties going east or west. The Gulf Stream helped going east, and the Equatorial current helped on the return.

       The year was 1815 and the War of 1812 between the United Kingdom and the young country of the United States had concluded with the Treaty of Ghent. (Too late for the Battle of New Orleans). So the American flag was now a more common sight in European ports and in the Mediterranean Sea, the Barbary pirates notwithstanding.  African ports and the African coast had been a topic for sailors for over 2 centuries as the slave trade was drawn to conclusion by the banning of such traffic by Great Britain and the US. It would take a Civil War to end slavery itself in the US. Navigation was still more art than science, but the chronometer was only a couple of years away from universal acceptance. Finding one's latitude was well known practice with a sextant, longitude, still a guessing game.

       At sea and sailing southward, the  Commerce set a course that would skirt the Canary Islands and carry her west to the Caribbean Sea. While an experienced navigator, Riley misjudged the strong currents off of the African coast which pushed his ship into shoal waters off southern Morocco. There the ship wrecked, placing the crew in an untenable, unlivable environment, and the beginning of their collective ordeal of survival against the harsh desert and its inhabitants.

Read it.

Journalist Calls Out Gavin Newsom

      Ah, California: Land of Golden Dreams. Now, the reef of Broken Dreams, hulls shattered by budget busts and rivers of red ink. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the local boy made good, has appeared all over the country in the run-up to the recent presidential election. Now that contest is over and the dems are licking their collective wounds as the Trump trifecta ascends, again, to the White House. 

       Dan Walters has been writing on government dealings and goings on for over 60 years. He and his staff keep the feet of the legislature to the fire, which it needs.  With a super majority in the Legislature, the Dems have run wild around Sacramento, passing this giveaway and that giveaway, plumping up the liberal agenda, reveling in their own largesse. But Mr. Walters knows how things work or don't work in California.  While the Dems preach about the "Big Tent" and the "All Inclusive Party",  Mr. Walters follows the money, which in California goes to "Big Farming", "Big Tech", "Big Utility", and "Big Government".

       In 2022, as Covid-19 pandemic effects retreated, Newsom declared that the state had a huge surplus of tax dollars in excess of $200 billion dollars. And it would continue  ad infinitum. This camer from his Dept. of Finance which counted recently received receipts from taxpayers, many of whom sold stock at high price evaluations. Then, bad news arrived. Newsom had his budgeteers write new spending i\above $300 billion in 2022-23. These funds would go to the darlings of the Blue Coasties: health and welfare and cash payments to poor families. Now, 2 years later, the budget states that projections were woefully wrong and projections will be well under the $200 billion projections to the tune of $165 billions over the next 4 years. Hmmmmmmm. What does this mean, really, to you and me? BELT Tightening. 

     The Legislature's own budget analyst, Gabe Petek, released the 2024-25 projections and show that spending will out pace income. The State's economy is sluggish and outside of government and healthcare, no new jobs have been added. Businesses like Wells Fargo, are walking away from California to New York and North Carolina(of all places).  Nobody likes paying more and more taxes for less and less. But California's Dems don't seem to be bothered by the exodus of taxpayers.

     Newsom's legacy will still be here in 2027 when he departs for his new $9 million dollar home in Marin County, Ca . Taxpayers will be stuck with the remains. Thanks for the reportage, Mr. Walters.