Here There and Everywhere

Expat wanderer

Trump and Mail In Voting

The man gave us all the information we needed to see this coming. He claimed he won the 2020 election, losing by over 8 million votes.

He was filmed telling a gathering of Evangelical Christians in the 2024 campaign that if they voted for him, they would never have to vote again. (Even then, it sounded ominous.)

Once elected, his first day in office, he fired the Election Oversight executives. Then, he fired everyone working for the federal government in his power who certified that he had lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.

This man is corrupt. He has wrecked the guardrails that keep us from stepping over the lines of moral behavior. He has taken away penalties for law breaking. He has pardoned the very sort of people that he states he doesn’t want coming into our country.

But, most cynically of all, he works to deprive those of us who vote regularly, and vote by mail, of the very privilege he himself utilizes – voting by mail.

A selection of cartoon comments for your enjoyment:

August 25, 2026 Posted by | corruption, Crime, Political Issues, Quality of Life Issues, Scams, Social Issues, Statistics, Technical Issue, Transparency, Values, Women's Issues, Work Related Issues | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Just Kidding!

The hot steamy Fridays of summer are always a good time to watch for the news that the Administration does not want you to know.

This week, it is the admission made by the Trump DOJ that the damage to the Refection Pool was organic, related to the poor application of the reflecting pool lining, due to the rushed contract and and the no-bid contract to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago pool guy.

The waste, the sheer waste of this President, sickens me. Embellishments, fix-ups, gilded fixtures and statues are a WASTE. Washington DC was designed with a restrained style, a colonial style, not a mix of Saudi-gaudy and Western house of ill repute. And in truth, this administration has corrupted every corner of our devastated government and its bureaucracy, has created a national confederacy of ill-repute.

And all that fraud, waste and abuse is just wires and mirrors to distract us from this inadequate man’s maneuvering to be sure he stays in political power.

It’s tempting to look away from this endless, outrageous news cycle, so full of bad surprises. And it is beneficial for your mental health to relax, breathe, and think happy thoughts for short periods every day. And then, it is of dire importance to come back, catch up on the issues and use your voice.

If you are a protester, protest. If you are a telephone caller or texter, call or text your national and state representatives and tell them to stand up to this petit tyrant. If you are a voter, please vote, and help get out the vote to put these dangerously incompetent people out of positions where they can cause such great damage to our nation.

August 1, 2026 Posted by | Character, corruption, Crime, fraud, Leadership, Lies, Political Issues | , , | Leave a comment

Lest We Forget

A revered old friend from high school posted this on FB today:

Charles Mullins

AI content

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J͏u͏l͏y͏ ͏2͏7͏ ͏a͏t͏ ͏1͏0͏:͏0͏7͏ ͏A͏M͏

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Now would be a good time to remind everyone of these Trump facts, because apparently some people still need the refresher.

Ladies & Gentlemen;

Please meet the President of the United States:

Flew on Epstein’s plane at least seven times. Just friends, I guess.

Pleaded the Fifth more than 400 times in a single deposition. Nothing says “innocent” like refusing to answer a single question about your own business.

34 felony convictions. A record most people would call disqualifying.

91 criminal charges.

Accused of sexual misconduct or assault by at least 26 women. But sure, tell me again how he’s a great guy.

6 corporate bankruptcies. The self proclaimed greatest businessman alive somehow keeps running out of money.

5 draft deferments. Funny how the toughest guy in the room never actually showed up for duty.

4 criminal indictments. Not two. Not three. Four.

2 impeachments. A club of exactly one president.

2 of his own companies convicted of criminal tax fraud. Convicted. Not accused. Convicted.

1 fake university shut down. 1 fake charity shut down

Even his charity was a grift.

Paid 25 million dollars to settle the Trump University fraud lawsuit because scamming people who believed in you costs money eventually.

Ordered to pay 5 million dollars in the first E Jean Carroll sexual abuse verdict, then hit with 83.3 million more in the second. 

A jury said it twice so nobody could pretend it was a fluke.

Ordered to pay 2 million dollars for looting his own so called charity. 

Stealing from a charity with his own name on it.

Found liable for business fraud and originally slapped with a penalty topping 450 million dollars, later thrown out on appeal while the fraud finding itself stuck to him anyway.

First president in modern history to increase the deficit every single year of a full term. Fiscal responsibility, apparently, was always just a talking point.

Kept the debt to GDP ratio above 100 percent for his entire first term.

Presided over the largest single day point drop in Dow Jones history at the time. So much for the guy who claimed to be a genius with money.

Set the record for the longest government shutdown in US history in his first term at 35 days, then couldn’t resist beating his own miserable record in his second term with a 43 day shutdown, followed by yet another shutdown just months later. Encore nobody asked for.

Added roughly 2.25 trillion dollars to the national debt in his first year back in office alone, pushing the debt past 39 trillion dollars. 

Somebody remind me who the party of fiscal discipline is again.

Pushed through the largest defense budget increase since World War Two while the debt kept climbing anyway.

Purged more than 300,000 federal employees in his first year back. 

Efficient, if your goal is chaos.

Pardoned nearly 1,600 January 6 Capitol rioters on his very first day back in office, including Oath Keepers and Proud Boys leaders convicted of seditious conspiracy

Law and order, except when it’s inconvenient.

At least 40 of those pardoned rioters have already been rearrested, charged, or sentenced for new crimes since walking free. Shocking absolutely nobody.

His family’s crypto ventures, including a meme coin and World Liberty Financial, pulled in more than 1.4 billion dollars in disclosed earnings while he sat in the Oval Office. 

Draining the swamp was apparently code for filling his own pockets.

Sent the National Guard into American cities at a cost of nearly 500 million taxpayer dollars in 2025 alone.

His own tariffs are projected to cost the average American household more than 2,500 dollars this year. 

You’re paying for this. Not China. You.

Now sitting at one of the lowest approval ratings of his second term, stuck in the high 30s while inflation and gas prices make everyday life harder.

None of this is a conspiracy theory, a rumor, or something you saw in a group chat. 

It is the actual, documented record, sitting in plain sight for anyone willing to look. 

So the next time someone tells you to relax and give him a chance, ask them how many more indictments, judgments, and shutdown records he needs to rack up before that chance runs out. 

INTLXPATR: Wait! What about the wall that Mexico is going to pay for?

The tariffs that China will pay for?

The promise that he has nothing to do with Project 2025?

July 31, 2026 Posted by | Crime, Economic Issues, fraud, Law and Order, Leadership, Lies, Political Issues | , , , , | Leave a comment

Tightrope, No Safety Net

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It is astonishing and hiliarious what you can find on the internet these days if you look. I entered “image Trump on a tightrope” and came up with more than I had hoped for.

We are in dangerous times. Our President is reckless, and leaves a trail of wreckage. All the guardrails, so carefully set up to avoid corruption, abuse, waste and degradation have been dismantled. The watchers have been fired. The laws have been weakened, if not destroyed.

The relationships with reliable allies have been demolished with bravado, as if it were a good thing not to have cooperative friends.

A civilized society operates within constraints. It demonstrates self-restraint for the greater good of all. Have you ever heard this President exhibit a single concern for the citizens of the USA? Any note indicating a desire to serve and protect? You know, like the oaths of public service require?

The safety nets are gone. ICE operates with impunity; poorly trained, without accountability, preying on the most vulnerable among us. We are told in the earliest books of our religion to “welcome the stranger.” We are told by the crooks, rapists and bad people in charge that the immigrants are “crooks, rapists and bad people.” They have little protection, and, it seems, no longer have the rights guaranteed by the court system so carefully developed.

Our president and his family skim billions from the economy and deals made on the basis of presidential power. Croneys make billions from an endless war which serves no purpose and has no credible way of ending.

Our trusted institutions teeter on collapse.

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I pray for our country, as I watch with horror and anticipate the next outrageous proclamations of the president and his confederacy of dunces.

July 25, 2026 Posted by | Character, Civility, Community, corruption, Crime, Cultural, Financial Issues, fraud, Fund Raising, Leadership, Lies, Money Management, Political Issues, Quality of Life Issues, Stranger in a Strange Land, Survival | , , , , | Leave a comment

“Thieves, Radicals and Lunatics”: The Nation Laughs

The leader of our country describes his own crowd of fundamental ideologists, corrupt nepotism, the severance of watchdogs protecting the public, and broken promises about releasing incriminating Epstein files. He points his fingers at others, blaming them for violations evident in his own administration. He lies, and he doesn’t even care.

We have to laugh. It is that or cry.

July 4, 2026 Posted by | Bureaucracy, Character, corruption, Crime, Economic Issues, Financial Issues, fraud, Fund Raising, Leadership, Lies, Political Issues, Scams, Values, Women's Issues | Leave a comment

“You Watch, Gas Prices Will Drop Like a Rock!”

I filled my tank this morning with gas about 60 cents cheaper than last week.

I am very puzzled; gas prices fell “like a rock” the day after Trump said that as soon as peace was achieved, prices would drop like a rock. So quickly! I’ve seen prices go up overnight, but I have never seen prices go down so quickly!

We have a Memo of Understanding, not a peace treaty. We have identified areas of discussion (undisclosed) that the US will negociate with Iran over. We are in a poor position for negotiating.

From Wikipedia: Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of the United States from the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), on May 8, 2018.

Which Iranians? Are they all on board? Are they the leaders of the country?

How will this treaty be any better than the Obama treaty Trump withdrew from in 2018?

How much will this cost the American taxpayers?

Who has made money off of this war? Who has been hurt?

How much has this war cost the world? How has it damaged our Trump-punched alliances?

I filled my tank because I know our strategic reserves are nearing depletion. I filled my tank because I don’t believe the truce will hold – it hasn’t held so far – and I filled my tank because I believe it is more wires and mirrors, trying to fool us into thinking things are better than they are.

June 16, 2026 Posted by | Crime, Financial Issues, fraud, Interconnected, Iran, Leadership, Lies, Marketing, Political Issues, Stranger in a Strange Land | , , , , | Leave a comment

When Lies Control the Narrative . . .

Truth disappears.

Today, National Pulic Radio reports the following:

The Trump administration has mass-deleted information regarding prosecutions related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, including cases involving defendants who assaulted police officers. This move marks the latest attempt by Trump to alter the narrative surrounding the violent riot. Last week, Justice Department news releases that detailed guilty pleas, jury verdicts and prison sentences disappeared from government websites. An NPR review found that the deletions included information about some of the most serious assaults on law enforcement that happened that day.

We all watched the attack on the Capitol happen in real time, with our own eyes, and much of it filmed by the insurrectionists who had been told the election was stolen. Mike Pence didn’t believe it and did not do as he was instructed to do. He supported the truth of the 2020 election of Joe Biden,

And now, we have a Trumpian edict of “non-disclosure” for all Federal Employees.

We used to take pride in the transparency of our government – not even that long ago! Less than one presidential administration ago! What happened to oversight (DOGE’D out of existence) and whistleblowers calling out corruption?

Calling out corrution is inconvenient for this regime. Bringing corruption into full view should make the corrupt squirm, but this administration has no scruples, no embarrassment.

And now, we have a new corrupt senatorial candidate out of Texas, Ken Paxton. Paxton has been charged with scandal and corruption by his own fellow Republicans, and is a welcome addition to the shameless corruption of the Trump Administration, bellying up to the trough, feeding off the taxpayers.

Did you know that “Tromper” in French is to fool? Si je ne me trompe pas.

May 27, 2026 Posted by | Character, corruption, Crime, fraud, Free Speech, History, Interconnected, Law and Order, Lies, Political Issues, Stranger in a Strange Land | Leave a comment

Crying Out Loud

May 24, 2026 Posted by | Bureaucracy, Character, Civility, corruption, Crime, fraud, Free Speech, Law and Order | Leave a comment

A Lawless, Authoritarian Regime

Today, Robert Reich puts into words the outrage that chokes me. When accusing only blue states of fraud, and withholding government funds, when accusing universities of discrimination, and withholding funds, the leaders overstep. We saw it coming from the first day – when you fire the watchmen, you can say anything. The watchmen are there to document and hold accountable those who violate the law. This regime excels in violating the law, making a joke of the law and demeaning the Department of Justice with vengeful, retaliatory cases instead of upholding the stated will of the people.

Robert Reich:

Friends,

Words matter. When describing a government, they inevitably carry moral weight.

Over the last 16 months, Trump and his appointees have so profoundly undermined the United States government that we should use different words to describe these people than we’ve used to describe all previous administrations.

To begin with, they shouldn’t be called an “administration” at all. They should be referred to as a regime.

The Trump regime has flagrantly defied court orders. In February 2026, a federal judge (appointed by President George W. Bush) identified approximately 200 orders from the District of Minnesota alone that ICE had ignored since the start of the year, concluding that ICE had “likely violated more court orders in January 2026 than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence.” The regime has also vilified judges who rule against it and demanded their impeachment.

The regime has usurped Congress’s powers to declare war, issue tariffs, and appropriate public funds. It is using tariffs as cudgels for Trump’s political aims. The regime is seeking to stifle speech and silence criticism — in universities, law firms, and the media.

Secondly, this regime is not headed by a “president,” as the Constitution of the United States and our laws and history have designated the head of the executive branch of the U.S. government. To put the term “President” before Trump’s name defiles the Constitution. He is an authoritarian.

Trump has illegally fired more than 300,000 career civil servants. He has fired inspectors general who are charged with holding political appointees accountable. He punishes whistleblowers who protest abuses. He attacks marginalized groups and foments bigotry. He is openly persecuting political opponents. He has given out pardons to convicted felons who are political supporters or financial contributors — including nursing home fraudsters, a Honduran president who smuggled 400 tons of cocaine into the United States, and January 6 seditionists. He has sent federal troops into states and cities headed by Democratic officials.

Thirdly, Trump has no interest in governing. He wants only to impose his will and make money from his office. His regime’s disregard for law is so monumental that it negates what we have come to understand as a “government of laws.” A better word for it is lawless.

During the first 16 months of Trump’s lawless regime, immigration agents have shot or killed 16 people, including three U.S. citizens.More people died last year in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement — a total of 32 — than in the preceding 20 years. People only suspected of being in the U.S. illegally have been detained or deported by masked and armed immigration agents, without a hearing. People only suspected of smuggling drugs have been murdered by the U.S. military in international waters, in violation of international law.

Meanwhile, Trump is accepting gifts from foreign powers. He blatantly promotes his family’s crypto business and implements policies favorable to it. He has sued the Internal Revenue Service for $10 billion and is now in settlement negotiations with his own Justice Department, which reportedly has offered to drop any future IRS audits of Trump, his family, or his businesses.

Finally, the true test of a successful president of the United States and his (eventually her) administration is not how much power he accumulates or how much he gets done. The real test is how much better off are the American people and how much stronger is our democracy. By these measures, Trump and his regime are not just lawless. They are a catastrophe.

May 15, 2026 Posted by | Bureaucracy, Character, Civility, corruption, Crime, Financial Issues, Law and Order, Leadership, Living Conditions, News, Political Issues, Social Issues, Transparency, Values, Women's Issues, Work Related Issues | , , , , , | 2 Comments

“And Some, I assume, are Good People”

Today’s Washington Post gives the following information:

Since Trump returned to office: Nine out of every 10 deported immigrants have been men, most without criminal convictions. Many of them had lived in the U.S. for years.

In 2015, when first running for President, this is what Trump said:

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” 

Nine out of ten of those targeted by ICE for deportation are good people, the same kind of people as my ancestors, and, unless you are born a Native-American, yours. They are people here, willing to work long, hard hours doing jobs none of us original immigrants want to do, even our unemployed. They have families. They have children. All they want is a living wage, a roof over their heads, food on the table, and an opportunity for their children to have a better life – just as our ancestors did. They believe in the American Dream, and many risked their lives to get here. They pay taxes (Yes! They do!) They contribute to our national GNP.

Nine out of ten. Deported for NO reason. Not given the same chance our families were given. Many of these are people who have gone through legal channels, and are on the way to citizenship.

I have lived in countries that have different levels of citizenship. What is it in our meager hearts that wants hierarchies that make one better than another? We believe – or so believers claim – that we are created equal. What worm in our hearts will shove others aside to achieve an ephemeral wealth or glory?

May 12, 2026 Posted by | Community, corruption, Counter-terrorism, Crime, Economic Issues, Heritage, Interconnected, Law and Order, Lies, Quality of Life Issues, Social Issues, Stranger in a Strange Land, Work Related Issues | , , , , , | Leave a comment