Cruelty

Elon Musk, often described as the world’s richest man, has been leading a campaign to all but destroy the  federal government, as we know it.  He has been given free reign to accomplish this by POTUS 47.  I’ve often wondered whether this represents a quid pro quo for his rescue of Trump’s personal finances.  While Musk is a gifted entrepreneur and a genius at inventing and building stuff, his skill set does not translate to government.  His wrecking ball approach to “saving” federal government money has resulted in untold suffering and death for numerous people.

Consider: One of his first  targets was the U.S. Agency for International Development, a tiny outfit in the scheme of things.  Seems we have discontinued, among other things, distribution of a peanut butter-like rescue food, costing about 12 cents a serving, which had kept numerous of the world’s poorest citizens (mostly small children), from starvation.  Let’s see: The agency’s budget of several billion is what percent of the three trillion dollar expenditures? Do the math!

How about Social Security?  This 90 year old program has kept millions of our own seniors out of destitution.  What Musk has decried as a “Ponzi scheme” is administered by one of the most efficient federal agencies. By the way, Elon, IT’S OUR MONEY!

Capitalism is, for the most part, a wonderful economic system.  There are, however, many societal problems for which the profit potential does not exist.  That’s why we need a government – to fill in these gaps. According to Musk’s whiz kids, we waste too much money on, say, weather balloons.  I guess we don’t need to worry about storms until they are, well, there.  Wasn’t it Mark Twain who said something about everyone talking about the weather but nobody doing anything about it?

Oh, and while we’re reforming government, how ‘bout getting rid of crooked migrants? Why not put them on planes and ship them out? To Panama! We might make a few mistakes here and there, but we get a lot of brown and black people out of this fair and Christian land.  Oops, the White House admits to at least one mistake (what the hell, they’re only human).  Too bad we can’t rectify this; these folks now belong to the tin-horn dictator of Panama.  Nuttin’ we can do.  Sorry about that.  Oh well, it’s only one (that we know of).  What ever became of “due process”? Too inconvenient. Slows down our march toward a more perfect union.

Near the end of the first Trump presidency, a few (thousand?) of our citizenry held a demo at the Capitol.  They were, er, peacefully protesting the thievery of Trump’s free and fair election to another term.  They vented their anger in various ways (just ask the grievously injured police officers hastily assembled to restore order; at least the ones who survived).  Fortunately for citizens falsely convicted of some of these atrocities, The Donald was able to return mercy shown to him by pardoning them. Such a forgiving people are we!

A small ray of hope: Co-President Elon, apparently, needs to leave government service to save his flagship car company from bankruptcy. Can’t come soon enough.  Now, if we can persuade Co-President Trump to play more golf.  C’mon, Donald! Life’s too short!

Then and Now

My only grandchild, Davis McNulty, is about to turn 17 next month.  No rational person would deny that the world/nation/state has changed significantly in the 70 or so years of difference in our ages.

Davis is entering his senior year in one of our nation’s premier private schools.  He is doing course work in high school which barely existed when I was that age – Latin, Spanish, AP courses, along with calculus and the standard sciences – physics, chemistry and biology.  He’ll be going to Greece and Peru this summer. His grades are generally in the 90’s. He is a state-ranked varsity wrestler.

I attended a public high school in New York City.  There were no such things as AP courses.  The closest I came to varsity athletics? Sports editor of the school newspaper.  Summers following my sophomore, junior and senior years? Working as a dishwasher and breakfast cook at a French resort in the wilds of New Jersey.

Davis will be going to the college of his choice, unknown at this time.  What we do know is Davis can go anywhere he chooses.

I was not slated for college at an early age.  I did manage to win a New York State Regents scholarship; didn’t pay much, but would help with tuition.  I looked into an Ivy League school, Columbia, but the only way I could manage tuition was to join Naval ROTC.  Unfortunately, the vision requirement at that time was 20/20 without glasses.  So much for the Ivy League.  Fortunately, CCNY was available, and tuition free, for a world class education.  Oh yes, I lived at home.

Since we have the power to end civilization with weapons of war, Davis does not need to concern himself with a draft.  My  son-in-law, Ed, is a retired Marine colonel.  While his father graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, I don’t think Davis is considering this as a college option.

Like most males of my time, I faced a six year “military obligation”.  Couldn’t get any physician to attest to fallen arches (unlike a recent and current Commander in Chief), so I had to select a means to address this.  After enduring two years in Army ROTC, I decided the Army was not for me.  With the draft bearing down, I enlisted in the U.S.Naval Reserve, and ultimately received a commission.  Although this was the beginning of our involvement in Southeast Asia, I was assigned to ships in the Atlantic, and never went anywhere near the war.  Was never shot at, and, in retrospect, had a fabulous time.

Our grandson’s generation is going to have to deal with the mess my generation has made of Planet Earth.  Even if I could afford it, I can’t imagine taking out a 30-year mortgage on anything near oceanfront property.  I’m sure these kids will come up with mitigating solutions to at least some of the existential problems we are leaving them with.   I sure hope so.

Existential threats, then and now.  Back in the day, we faced them, too.  My childhood home was located within 5 or so miles from Ground Zero (thought to be Times Square in midtown Manhattan).  The Soviet Union had become a nuclear power, and we school kids had to practice “Take Cover” drills.  This consisted of crouching under our desks, covering our heads with our hands.  Never mind that the typical classroom had an exterior wall which consisted of single-pane glass, almost floor to ceiling.  I think it enjoyed western exposure…in the general direction of , yeah, Ground Zero! Oh, well….

Chaos

Donald Trump loves chaos.  Several weeks into (hopefully) his final term, he has solved numerous personal issues: no prison term for inciting an insurrection; having what should have been crushing debt apparently taken care of.  It’s pretty plain to me that Elon Musk has quietly done this for a price: having numerous outfits of his that do business with the federal government profit handsomely.  Does this sound like a quid pro quo?

In the meantime, Musk seems to be having a grand old time taking a wrecking ball to the feds.  As a federal retiree, I am absolutely disgusted with his latest outrage: Justify your existence by writing down what you have accomplished in the last week.  He has no line authority over any federal worker.  

For some reason, the wreckers have zeroed in on the US Agency for International Development, at the expense of some of the world’s poorest souls (this, from the planet’s richest man – or is he?) Well, close enough. How does he sleep at night? 

I can’t help thinking Trump is, as we used to say, ROJ (Retired on the Job).  Hell, he’s just north of 78, and if he survives to the end of his term, well, he’ll beat Biden’s record.  One TV commenter reported that he played four days of golf last week.  I draw no comfort from this – if he can’t finish his term, we get Hillbilly Elegy.

We have close friends here, who emigrated decades ago from Taiwan.  They are aware of nervous Chinese immigrants who staff some area restaurants.  Also freaking out are Spanish speakers, frightened of La Migra, aka ICE.  Some of them are “legal”, some, not so much.  

Meanwhile, it’s getting downright scary.  In the Washington Post (March 3, 2025) appeared a Page 1 above-the-fold story of Musk and his Whiz Kiddies getting rid of several hundred (or was it thousand?)  employees of a small agency which has the job of watching over our nuclear weapons, trivial stuff like monitoring radiation leaks, maintaining bombs, etc.  Never heard of them? Well, after they received pink slips (or emails) firing them, some nuclear stuff happened; the agency had to hastily rehire some key personnel, whoever they could find.  Oops! 

Hey, I’ve got a cool idea! Why don’t we start a Go Fund Me for The Donald, so he can pay Elon what he owes him for winning the election! It just might save what’s left of the federal government.  

How ‘bout the shouting match in the Oval between Trump and Zelensky.  Are we really ready to side with Putin? Let’s make a deal! First move: give away the store.  This from the best selling author of “The Art of the Deal”.

Head of State

 

Saying from the 1950’s: Roosevelt proved that only he could be President.  Truman proved that anybody could be President.  Eisenhower proved that we didn’t need a President.  

The USA, arguably the world’s oldest democracy, has yet to elect a female President.  We got close twice this century: Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2016 and Kamilla Harris in the most recent election.  Both were defeated by Donald Trump.  For what it’s worth, Clinton got several million more popular votes than Trump, but it’s the Electoral College, stupid.  Harris, arguably, was dealt a bad hand: by the time Joe Biden dropped out, it was too late. Whatever.

A Google search of female heads of state reveals more of them than you might imagine.  Among the major powers, women leaders are numerous – U.K., India, Pakistan, Israel, Germany, Italy, Mexico, South Korea, Argentina, Chile.  So, what’s with the USA?

Ironically, both women were defeated by Trump, rated by most historians as the worst chief executive ever.  How much better off we’d have been if The Donald had been finished off in 2016, we’ll never know.  Looking at the dynamite start of this administration doesn’t provide much hope for the future of this experiment in self government (we have a republic…if we can keep it).

The rest of the world seems to better utilize half of its populace than we do.  India, the world’s most populous nation, was ruled by Indira Ghandi.  Israel, the dominant power in the Middle East, by Golda Meir.  The U.K. has had three female heads of government (not counting a few queens), which included Margaret Thatcher.  Remember? The Iron Lady?  Another powerful woman, Angela Merkel, was Chancellor of Germany for 16 years.  And the list goes on.

By contrast, we have just elected a 78 YOA retread to succeed an octogenarian, both white guys.  Old white guys.  Camilla Harris wouldn’t have been nominated as VP, were it not for Jim Clyburn’s rescue of Joe Biden’s faltering 2020 bid.  This is the demographic cohort who should not be running things in this  country anymore.  Take it from one who knows.

It is hard for me to believe we can’t find a suitable woman.  Wouldn’t Amy Klobuchar or Gretchen Whitmer, besides Harris, be an improvement over the clown show currently running things (into the ground)? I am, admittedly, a “blue dog Democrat”, but even Liz Cheney would be better. 

Here again, one wonders what President Doofus owes to Elon.  This Republican bid to slam a wrecking ball to the federal government is a bit much.  How much of this is POTUS really in favor of, as opposed to debt repayment to Musk and other billionaires.  We aren’t likely to find out anytime soon.  But, it seems to me that he’d prefer to run the show from a golf course.  The old guy could probably use a rest!

It Is My New Years Resolution

Title borrowed from lyrics by Spike Jones, circa 1945, or so. (Who was Spike Jones, you ask? Well, you had to be there….).

How’s this for resolutions:

  • Do something you really enjoy
  • Eat a meal with your family
  • Listen to others
  • Watch the clouds roll by
  • Take a nap
  • Get in touch with friends
  • Read a book
  • Discover something new
  • Laugh
  • Pray

These were suggested at our Bible Fellowship meeting here at the Home.  Notice the complete lack of self-improvement vows.  Seems just fine with me.

This is an entirely unsuitable occasion for new beginnings.  For one thing, the weather, basically, sucks.  How about August, or September, when a new school year begins.  Isn’t the weather better, at least?

I am a “cradle Catholic”, probably not in good standing.  I’m in with southern Baptists (some of whom hail from Minnesota and upstate New York, go figure).  Our pastor is what used to be called a “Renaissance Man”.  He seems to do it all: accomplished musician, fluent in Spanish, brilliant theologian, and one of the finest homolists I’ve heard in years.  His wife is also a minister, and a woman.  Can’t have those in the Catholic priesthood (can’t imagine why not).  Being just a dumb chemist, I’m not in a position to judge these matters, but there doesn’t seem to be much difference between their brand of christianity and “THE ONE TRUE CHURCH”.   One might imagine Heaven to be a lot of things, but to me, it might reveal  what this religion stuff really is.  Did any sect get it right?

We also tend to forget that the USA is not, and was never intended by the Founders, to be a Christian nation.  We need to be welcoming to Bhuddists, Hindus, Sikhs, Jewish people, and, even, atheists and agnostics.

Ship of Fools

Title of a novel by Katherine Anne Porter, made into a film in 1965, which garnered numerous Oscars for its distinguished cast.   The plot involves a voyage from Mexico to Bremerhaven, Germany during the run-up to WWII.  Somehow, the title calls to mind (to me, at least) the current process, such as it is, for the Republican Party to assemble a cabinet.  

Overall question: What is he thinking?  His first attorney general nomination (trial balloon?) was a classic fox-in-the-henhouse thing.  I find it hard to believe Trump was totally ignorant about at least some of the stuff attributed to Gaetz.  Then, we have the clown nominated to lead the Pentagon and all those ships at sea.  Apparently, he can’t organize a two car funeral, let alone probably the most massive, complex cabinet department, with somewhere north of three million people – even when sober.  Well, they are mostly suckers and losers, anyway.

Then there’s Tulsi Gabbert.  Russian asset? Maybe not, but to place her as head of the intelligence community at the cabinet level?

Foreign intel services might withhold sensitive information out of concern for her, er, judgment. Would love to know what Vladimir Putin has on POTUS-elect…….

As Secretary of Health and Human Services – drum roll – RFK, Jr.  A vaccine denier, heroin addict (former, we hope), and all-around nut case, he has no legitimate medical bona fides, but does have a law degree, I suppose.  Oh well, that confers on one instant wisdom on just about anything. Doesn’t it?

Kash Patel as FBI Director.  Following the reign of J. Edgar Hoover, FBI Directors have been, for the most part, former police chiefs or other genuine law enforcement executives.  Kash is none of these.  He seems to be mostly a crackpot who seeks to destroy the Bureau, rather than to head it.  In this dangerous world, do we really want to emasculate the agency that has been able to prevent numerous threats to the safety of Americans? Again, what is Trump thinking??

One ray of hope: Trump’s seeming lack of understanding of simple arithmetic – he has nominated several House and Senate members to cabinet positions.  This has effectively “tied” the House, and thinned out the slight Senate GOP majority. For what it’s worth. 

So we have this Ship of Fools steering the Ship of State through the next four years.  Hopefully, we’ll have fair winds and a following sea – but don’t count on it!

What Did You Do in the War, Daddy

No, I don’t recall my kids ever asking me this, but it was a sort of anti-war saying back in the day (for me, the 1960’s). This was a bitter time in our history when servicemen were advised to wear civvies, when traveling, whenever possible.  I was quite gung-ho back then. I now feel that our time in Vietnam was an unnecessary waste in blood and treasure.  Little did I know what would follow in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Here at “The Home”, we have a prominently displayed “Wall of Honor”, consisting of photos of folks like me – men and women who answered the call and served.  Here in the Tidewater area of Virginia, there is a significant active duty presence in the  Navy, Army, Marines and Air Force.  The local culture is deferential to service people (we hear “Thanks for your service”; there are parking spots for vets), and other kindnesses.  Quite a contrast from what I experienced in the 60’s.  I can’t help wondering how society writ large will see things, as we die off, and are not replaced – and the percentage of the citizenry represented by military people and veterans continues to drop.

Our vets served in various roles.  Wayne was a helo pilot in ‘Nam, later had a long career in law enforcement.  Jean was a combat nurse, also in ‘Nam.  Mike did some time in Korea after graduation from VMI.

Bob was a fighter pilot in Korea.  We recently lost Angelo, also a Korean War soldier.  I did a stint in the Navy, laying SOSUS cable and training reservists.  None of us suffered from flat feet, bone spurs, or whatever our commander-in-chief to be was afflicted with.

We also had Jack, who had careers both in the Navy, and the Hooligan Navy, aka the U.S. Coast Guard.  We lost him recently, in his 99th year.  Also leaving us: Butch, who jumped out of planes, and Karen, a nurse in the Marine  Corps.  She is survived by Dave, a Naval officer.  This is only a small part of the honorees on the Wall.

We live in a part of Virginia with generations of service people.  The percentage of military people far exceeds that in much of the country.  There are a lot of shipyard workers here, many of whom suffered from mesothelioma after inhaling asbestos fibers (who knew?).  Lawyers (ambulance chasers)  make a living from this unintended consequence.  You can sort of tell – there are more TV commercials selling these services than you would see in, say, the D.C. suburbs.

As Veterans Day approachs, I often wonder how much longer the nation will commemorate vets.  Will there be any left? Yes, we need a shop-till-you-drop holiday in November, I suppose.  Beginning of Xmas season.  It can always be repurposed.  The holiday was called Armistice Day when I was a kid.  Remember? “The War to End All Wars”?  I’m sure some future generation will find some money-making purpose.   It’s a shame to waste a federal holiday.

Interregnum

Defined as the time period between the declaration of the winner of a national election, and the time he/she is sworn into office.  In this nation,  Election Day is generally the first Tuesday in November of an election year.  Inauguration of the incoming President and Vice President is usually on January 20 of  the following year.

This is, of late, a fraught passage of time, well suited for the mischief which seems to occur these days.  Two and a half months.  Following the declaration of Joe Biden as President, we had numerous plots and lawsuits, culminating in an insurrection in our halls of Congress, which, by all objective standards, seems to have been instigated by the election’s loser, the 45th President.  He has, of course, been indicted for this crime, but it has been kicked down the road (our system of justice, gotta love it).  

If this seems like a long time, it’s better than it was.  Until the 1930’s, inauguration took place on March 4 of the year following the election.  Although we had survived  as a republic for  more than two centuries, there were a few quirks along the way.  President-elect Franklin Roosevelt survived a near asassination in Florida in 1933, when a bullet meant for him instead fatally wounded Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak.  Abraham Lincoln narrowly missed a similar fate while travelling to Washington for his swearing-in in 1861. 

Let’s consider a few scenarios as to what might go wrong during this period.

Scenario 1.  Kamala Harris is elected President-elect.  President Biden dies.  Harris succeeds to the Presidency, serves out remainder of Biden’s term, then is sworn in January 20 to her own term.  Simplest outcome, but not immune from Trump shenanigans, particularly if election is close.  Remember: the presidency is his get-out-of-jail free card.

Scenario 2.  Donald Trump is elected, but dies before the end of 2024.  Election is thrown to House of Representatives.  Since Republicans control House, JD Vance is elected (or, is he)?

Scenario 3. Trump is elected, but dies in January before the 20th. Democrats control House as a result of election.  New Congress sworn in on first business day of 2025.  Who becomes President?

I am not an expert on these matters (heck, I’m not even an attorney).  Just an (aged) citizen.  Attempts have been made (cf. The 25th Amendment) , which, to my knowledge, has never really been employed.

These are, by no means, all that could happen.  This is too important to be left to Murphy’s Law (its simplest iteration: If it can happen, it will happen).  By all accounts, the election will be very close, adding to the peril, and the possibility of mischief.

Equal Justice Under Law

Equal Justice Under Law.  Is this aspirational or for real? Justice, at least for criminal infractions, is theoretically dispensed through trials.  The vast, vast majority of miscreants, however, never see a courtroom or undergo a trial.  “Justice” is usually rendered through plea deals of one sort or another.

Equal Justice Under Law.  How about egregious violations which practically solve themselves.  Consider what might be an open-and-shut matter: agents of a federal agency, executing a legitimate  search warrant on a (sort of) private dwelling, discover numerous classified documents, some bearing a Top Secret label.  The documents are found sitting around, totally undefended, with no attempt to conceal them.  Meanwhile, he had staff changing the hiding places! The alleged violations probably took place  almost four years ago.  The perp (alleged) is not only still walkin’ around, but in his spare time is running to become President, again.

Equal Justice Under Law.  Since there are a lot of things we don’t know, why don’t we try a thought experiment.  Former POTUS employs lots of lawyers to defend himself. While we don’t know too much about his legal fees, consider that the average billable hour in most states approximates $320 per hour.  If he has, maybe, 5 working on this case, and they charge him 100 billable hours times five, we may be looking at, ka-ching, ka-ching, about $160K.  This is, of course, not his only rodeo, so it’s a good thing he is a billionaire (or is he)? Not to worry; he has plenty of rich folks willing to pay the freight (for a price TBD later……..).  

Equal Justice Under Law.   Several decades ago, I was a junior officer in the Navy, assigned in the operations/communications division.  One of my collateral duties was custodian of registered publications.  I was subject to at least annual audits.  Woe betide me if even one page of these documents went missing.  Yeah, I know there were much fewer docs than the stash at Mar a Lago.  It might have cost me a couple of grand to keep me out of prison at Fort Leavenworth, but, rest assured, it’s quite a bit more than I had at the time.

Equal Justice Under Law.  I chose this because, of his many (alleged) crimes, this is the easiest to prove in a court of law, in front of a competent, unbiased judge.  Unfortunately, this is not the case here. If this were a military action, it might be called Operation Kick the Can Down the Road.  The attack on the Capitol was even worse, considering the loss of life.  How this clown is still walking around free (not to mention running for President) is, at best, a miscarridge of justice.  Oh, by the way, have there been any fatalities due to “blown” covers? We’ll never know.

Equal Justice Under Law.  The only trial that has been brought to a conclusion has been a relatively benign matter involving Stormy Daniels, which resulted in conviction under New York State law of 14 felonies.  Justice awaits the forthcoming election.  Yeah, it may be trivial compared to, say, insurrection, but he can’t make it go away by pardoning himself, since it doesn’t involve federal law.  Am I the only living soul who thinks, maybe, he just wants to be elected in order to accomplish this?

Equal Justice Under Law.  So, if you’re rich and can afford the representation, not to mention having the power to nominate the judges, you can slo-walk the whole megillah, until you are reelected back to the Presidency!  How Sweet It Is!

A Straaange Election

The election season began with two old goats – one was President and the other had been.  Although there was only about three years difference (the ex was younger), the Donald projected an image of a considerably younger man than Biden.  The (first?) turning point occured  during a debate.  Biden appeared to be “out of it”, for the most part.  So much so that the Democratic party leadership (along with rank-and-file Dems reached by pollsters) concluded that Joe must go.  Understandably, Biden insisted he was staying, until he wasn’t.

Meanwhile, Vice-President Kamala Harris stayed out of the fray.  Immediately following his withdrawal from the race, Biden endorsed Harris as his successor, and, in a breathtaking set of maneuvers, Democrats fell into line.  The party’s convention functioned, effectively, as a coronation.  Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota was selected as Harris’ running mate.

These events effectively turned the race on its head.  Trump, who even took a bullet and became the odds-on favorite (it didn’t miss by much), found himself almost speechless.  The jolt of energy to the Democrats was unreal.  The Republican Party added to its dysfunction by selecting JD Vance as VP running mate (what does JD stand for? Apparently, John David.  Why hide it? Vance seems to have trouble selecting names for himself). 

On to Phase Three.   Trump needs the election to stay out of prison.  With momentum shifting to Harris, he decided to debate her.  Big mistake.  While he mostly sulked on the sidelines, Harris landed blow after blow (she should know how. She was, after all, a prosecutor).  A highlight of the debate? We learned all about Haitian migrants eating cats and dogs.  Doesn’t appear to be true, but there are many who buy into it, anyway.

So.  The beat goes on.  Things seemed to go on their nasty way, until the Secret Service, while on patrol at a golf course near Mar A Lago, discovered an assault rifle pointed at Trump!  No shots were fired.  The shooter was apprehended nearby.  Alive, for a change. 

Almost a fortnight has elapsed without anything overly  strange happening – at least at the top of the tickets.  Oh, did you hear? Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is being considered for a sort of health gatekeeper in a Trump Administration.  Hope it doesn’t cause too many premature fatalities (this is the antivax guy, after all).  Speaking of deaths, we are hearing about quite a few among women since the Dobbs decision.  Same old, old story: if you can afford it, you can even survive bad law.