Ideas, Opinions, Genealogy, and Book Reviews
Ex-president Donald Trump has posted about a “united Reich”, I suppose it would be the Fourth Reich since Adolf Hitler had the third. It did not work out well for him If we have a fourth I suppose Donald’s hope is it would work better for him. I wonder if he thinks the “united” part is an improvement.
Continue reading “Fourth Reich”
This was one of those books and you keep talking about while taking breaks from reading. I loved this book but I’m sure my wife was tired of hearing about it. The approval to read the advanced reader came at the last minute. I believe it was just a few days before publication. The book is “Small Acts of Courage: Legacy of Endurance and the Fight for Democracy” by Ali Velshi
But since I like Ali Velshi’s reporting, I thought it would be worthwhile but almost certainly I would fail to review it before publication as I usually do, First I need to thank Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for a chance to read this.
Continue reading “Small Acts of Courage by Ali Velshi”
Amid all the news about various parts of Trump’s attempt to overthrow the results of the of the 2020 election, it is easy to forget about the fake electors part of the plot. Ironically this campaign’s rallying cry was “Stop the Steal” when their objective was to steal the election themselves.
For those interested in a refresher of this plot, Just Security has just published a Comprehensive Timeline on False Electors Scheme in 2020 Presidential Election
Should the President of the United States have immunity for criminal acts that seem to include murder and insurrection.
Forbes put it like this in their coverage of the Supreme Court hearings on Trumps immunity case:
Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked Sauer if that would include granting ex-presidents immunity for ordering the military to assassinate a political rival—after the attorney previously told a federal appeals court he believed that should be subject to immunity—and Sauer doubled down on his previous argument, suggesting it would be eligible for immunity “depending on the” circumstances.
I should add the Mr. Sauer is Donald Trump’s lawyer. The circumstances include not being impeached and convicted. That seems to be a very low bar which is easily reachable as a President has never been impeached and convicted in the history of the United States.
Continue reading “License to Kill and Rule”
It seems an unlikely combination. Nazis and World War 2 could be interesting but it could be very similar to something you already read. Throw in a bit about economics and the Treasury department and it certainly seems unique but probably less interesting. But you would be wrong.
The book is “The Wealth of Shadows: A Novel” by Graham Moore. I thank NetGalley and Penguin Random House for letting me read this before publication. The book is definitely historical fiction but also a very good mystery.
Continue reading “The Wealth of Shadows by Graham Moore.”
There has been much in the news lately about college campus protests. Some colleges seem to find a solution and end things peacefully. For example, Rutgers and Brown reached agreements and ended the protests peacefully. Many other colleges have done this and found a solution. Some have not and called in the police.
Why?
I was on vacation last week so I missed a shocker in the news.
There was an article Trump Respects Women, Most Men Say based on a recent poll. I found it shocking and a bit unbelievable that over half the men and almost a third on women believed former president Donald Trump respects women.
I guess they must think of respect in a different way that I thought normal people do.
Did he respect women by saying he could grab them by the pussy because he was famous?
Did he respect women by sexually assaulting them.
Did he respect his wife by having a sexual relationship with a porn star. This was shortly after his wife gave birth to his son. Of course, he denies the affair. But as Mitt Romney said:
I think everybody has made their own assessment of President Trump’s character. And so far as I know, you don’t pay someone $130,000 not to have sex with you.
This list of disrespectful things Donald Trump has done or said could go on much further but I think these examples should be enough to make those who find Donald Trump respectful of women to think a bit about their position.
I had earlier included Speaker Mike Johnson when posting about Putin’s pals. But now it seems he has grown into his job as a leader in a divided country by moving the Ukraine fund bill and others through the House I probably disagree with him on most issues but here he has done the right thing and I thank him for it.
A exceptional biography of someone I had thought I never heard of. I had read of an event in which he was a unwilling participant in. I had read something of the U.S. Senator who was badly beaten on the floor of the Senate but I did not remember his name, if I ever knew it.
Continue reading “The Great Abolitionist”
1864 was good for some people in Arizona. If you did not have family or friends who were killed or wounded in the Civil War or have some other tragedy, life was good. In 1844 it seems that only white men could vote. So maybe it was good for them but not quite as good for others. The state of medicine was not very good for anybody. There have certainly been a good number of advances since then in medicine, equality of the sexes and races, and many areas.
Why talk about his now? The Arizona Supreme Court reinstated a law dating to 1864. The law reads:
Continue reading “1864, it was a very good year”
Donald Trump is known for his lies. Now that he has finally made up his mind about his stance on abortion, he has chosen to suport it with another lie.
See the FACT CHECK on his wildly inaccurate claim:
https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/08/politics/fact-check-trump-abortion-roe-overturned-legal-scholars/index.html
Kate Schapira opened the Climate Anxiety Counseling Booth in Providence, RI. Inspired by Lucy of Peanuts comics fame, her sign read “Climate Anxiety Counseling 5 cents: The Doctor Is In.” This led to many conversations with people about climate change and related fears and anxieties as well as anxiety generated by other issues.
Continue reading “Climate Anxiety”
I’ve been writing about some Republican actions I find disturbing:
Putin’s Pals screw Ukraine and the border with a single move
The Appeasement Caucus
I thought I should update this blog on the status of some of Putin’s Pals. Since Mike Johnson has refused to let the House of Representatives vote on aid to Ukraine, we don’t know the views of all House members. But Speaker Johnson seems to be one of Putin’s Pals.
Continue reading “Putin’s pals – useful idiots or willing co-conspirators”
Speaking of Republicans worried about immigrants or even people who may not look like them, we have this:
There are problems with our immigration system but Republicans do not want to fix them. Republicans seem to want this as a campaign issue. They will continue to tell lies and attack immigrants whether is seems reasonable or not,
The latest example is blaming the Baltimore bridge disaster on immigration and diversity