Taxpayers Fund Pathetic Big Brother
According to several news agencies yesterday, an ad promoting Trump began airing this week. It says it was paid for by the government, despite a law banning taxpayer funds being used for propaganda.
I find Trump vulgar. I find his AI productions of himself as Jesus, as himself in a military uniform (applying honors to himself which he never earned), and his glowering portraits from public buildings inappropriate. Pathetic. Distasteful.
I find his fripperies and vanity projects disgusting. The man has no taste. He is erecting monuments to himself. He would destroy the Kennedy Center because he is jealous – he wrecked it.
I’m careful with my money. What offends me the most is that I am not reluctant to pay taxes; we earned government salaries, we respect the need for a government to provide services, and that good citizens pay their fair taxes. I object to paying for self-glorification, or “love-me” ads. I believe this is illegal – just as I believe our fight in Iran is illegal, was not discussed with Congress, and that the citizens paying for this war should be given accurate information, such as the tolls taken on our servicemen and women and on our installations during this war.
Why do we continue to let this fraudster operate with impunity?
He dares to put his face on the corrupts Justice Department, filling it with loyalists who submit to Trump’s policy of vengeance against his perceived enemies – those who would disagree with him.
He puts his face on the Labor Department, at a time when mortgages are once again hitting an all time high, inflation is hitting food and gas prices, and our young people cannot find jobs nor buy houses.
His vanity knows no boundaries. His ignorance is wrecking our economy. His vulgarity shreds our efforts at civility. His greed takes the food out of the mouths of the hungry, and medical care out of the hands of the sick and dying. He refuses to disperse funds already allocated to the powerless. He sells off our National Parklands, or leases off lands, for commercial exploitation, and invalidates environmental rules put into place to keep our food, water, and emergency systems in place.
In the previous entry in this blog, we see Trump and Melania glaring suspiciously at the camera, and the President of China looking at Trump with a look that appears to be pity.
Pity instead the poor taxpayers, footing the bill for this monstrous, vain, big baby.
“But What If I Never See Pomegranate Syrup Again?”
I had a tough weekend. You know, one of those dealing with emotions kind. Exhausting.
I’ve been chasing moths in our pantry for weeks now, and AdventureMan has volunteered to clean out the pantry totally and get to the root of the situation. I am so grateful. He was soon so sorry he volunteered. It’s a mammoth job. I know, I’ve done it before to get rid of our last infestation.
Even that word is a trigger for me. We have a moth infestation translates to I AM A BAD HOUSEKEEPER. I hear my Mother’s judgement. She raised me better. I do the best I can, but . . . I have an INFESTATION. I feel like a failure.
So I listen to my husband huffing and puffing and even cursing now and then, and I don’t feel appreciation as much as I feel guilt.
It gets worse. He wants to have “a talk.” Just the words make my heart pound. But the truth is, he is very kind. He doesn’t blame me for this at all; he just wants to find where these beasties are coming from. We wash every crevice (there are cocoons), inspect every package, put all grains and open-package wares in glass or hard plastic containers, and we crush every sign of the beasties. Yet still they appear.
AnventureMan snuggles up and says “we are buying too much food. We have a pantry full of food, just for the two of us. We eat out often, and cook less. We waste food; we throw out bread that molds, vegetables that shrink, and foods that have expired. We need to buy less food.”
I agree. I know he is right.
“I know it is hard for you to break decades of behavior,” he says, “but we have changed our habits and now we have to change our shopping.”
I agree. I know he is right.
Living on a frugal island in Alaska, then living overseas where we couldn’t get many of the goods Americans take for granted, I lived by two rules:
- If you see it, buy it. You may never see it again. This was true in Alaska, Germany, Tunisia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar. During COVID it was briefly true in the United States, as the supply chain went off the wheel, and toilet paper was absent from the shelves as people bought it up like treasure.
- If you need it, buy a back-up. This explains why I have excessive amounts of peanut butter, mustard, relish, tuna fish, dish detergent and beans. It’s no longer a question of when the boat will come in, it’s also a question of if a hurricane strikes and we are on our own for days, or weeks, or months.
I agree with AdventureMan. I need to buy less; we need to waste less.
Today, with his felafel salad, he started to grab the pomegranate syrup from the pantry and I said “Stop! We have one open in the refrigerator!” I could see it was getting low, and mentally I was thinking “put that on the list, we don’t want to run out of pomegranate syrup.”
And then my rational brain kicked in. How often do I really use pomegranate syrup? For Muhammara, which I make maybe once every three months. For Fesenjan, which I have made once, ever. And today AdventureMan wanted some for his salad. Our bottle in the refrigerator could last a year or more.
And my lizard brain screamed “But what if you never see pomegranate syrup again?”
Where to Start?
A President who won’t take accountability for his own policy follies? A President who fiddles (gilds the White House, demolishes a monument to former President Kennedy, starts a war without Congressional approval, gives contracts to his cronies without going through established processes, fires, and then re-hires critical bureaucrats, lies to the American public about election security, dabbles in trivialities) while Rome burns (gas hits record prices, allies are increasingly imperiled, national parks are starved for funds and broken apart, the education system tumbles and incivility reigns)?
A President who lies to the American people about just about everything AND who is trashing the American economy?
Poof! Environmental Protections Gone!
From this mornings 1440.com:
| Pollution Limits Lifted |
| The US Environmental Protection Agency yesterday said it is repealing limits on planet-warming pollution from coal- and natural gas-fired power plants, a sector that generates about 25% of all US climate pollution. The rollback follows previous moves by the Trump administration to eliminate or weaken policies aimed at restricting planet-warming chemicals and gases. The EPA says revoking the power plant regulations will save the industry over $300B and lower Americans’ energy bills. Environmental groups contend that rolling back the pollution limits could threaten tens of thousands of lives and exacerbate the impacts of climate-related natural disasters. The proposal is expected to face legal challenges, but if upheld in court, the rule could prevent future administrations from regulating power plants’ greenhouse gas emissions. If the US power sector were a country, its pollution production would rank fifth globally—behind only China, the entire US, India, and Russia (see greenhouse gas emissions on this globe). |
Greed wins. Science loses.
All the years of careful bi-partisan crafting of legislation to protect our air, protect our water, protect our medical advances, protect our food supply destroyed by this wrecking ball of an administration.
“Mirror, Mirror on the Wall… “
I have a mirror that makes me laugh. It also makes me happy.
I have a daughter-in-love I adore, who lived in this house before I did, and every time I came to visit, or babysit, if I saw myself in the hall mirror, I was surprised, I looked so thin!
Now I live in the house, and when we were moving in, I asked her where she had found her mirror because I wanted one like it. She told me it was from Walmart.
I found one just like it, and hung it in exactly the same spot, where I could see myself as I come down to hall.
I laugh because I know that because it is a cheap mirror, it is flawed, and that the flaw is to make me look taller, and thinner, than I am. I know this.
And I laugh again because I don’t care! I love the daily surprise of looking thin!
(As for the rest of it – Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” I don’t even ask. I’ll concede that to my much younger, prettier daughter-in-law.) 😊
Soused Apple Cake for the Fish Fry
It’s a three-day weekend, but I have things I need to do, so I am up at my normal time to bake while the day is still – well, not cool, but not so hot as later in the day. I need to make a salad; I need to bake a cake. We are invited to a fish fry – one of our favorite invitations. The host and his wife fry up a “mess” of fish, really good fish, and the rest of us are allowed to bring sides.
This cake, Soused Apple Cake, is easy, except for remembering to slice the apples a day before and soak the slices overnight in brandy. I could be like those famous cooks who tell you, “use a very good (olive oil, brandy, etc),” but honestly, here it would be a waste of good brandy because the brandy is a supporting actor and will be competing with cinnamon and nutmeg, so just use something you would use for cooking, not drinking.
It is also a very sweet cake. I have tried over the many years I’ve been making it, to make it healthier. It just isn’t the same. Today, I followed the original “can’t stop eating this cake” recipe.
Soused Apple Cake
4 cups sliced apples
brandy
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup salad oil
2 eggs
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans
Peel, core, and finely slice apples; put into bowl and cover with brandy. Let sit overnight.
Combine sugar, salad oil and eggs. Set aside. Sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Add to oil mixture. Drain apples, mix in, adding chopped pecans. Mix well (it will be thick) and pour into a greased and floured 9”x13” baking dish. Cook at 330°F for 1 hour.
Let stand ten minutes while you prepare topping.
Pecan topping
1 stick butter
2 Tablespoons milk
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cups chopped pecans
Combine butter, milk, and sugar in a saucepan; bring to a boil, then boil for one minute. Add pecans, mix well, and spoon over apple cake while it is still hot.
The original recipe invites you to serve with whipped cream, but I find it to be overkill.
The End of an Era
“Mr. Adventureman, the papers you have ordered have come!” the manager of the Sultan Center would say, exultantly, to my clueless husband.
“I ordered papers?” he might croak.
“Sir! It is the coated paper for you to use in the microwave!”
“Aha! ” AdventureMan thinks, “my wife has ordered this.”
“Thank you so much!” he responds brightly to the store manager. “We will pick it up shortly!”
Raised with Alaskan frugality, storing for the future, letting nothing go to waste, never knowing when we will ever see (fill in the blank) again, I store my treasures, using them sparingly. Today, I smile ruefully as I use the last of the last roll of waxed paper from Kuwait.
I think microwave technology has improved. I don’t seem to use waxed paper to defend against food explosions as I once did. Or maybe I’ve just gotten smarter?
I’m not buying waxed paper – or a lot of things – the way I once did. I’ve never lived in one place for this long – a place where, if something runs out, I can get a replacement within an hour, or at worst, a couple days. It’s not like when taco chips completely disappeared from every restaurant in Doha for a month, or cream sold out in Tunis as the big Eid approached. The closest we’ve come to a shortage is during COVID, when people hoarded toilet paper for a short time. The lasting result is that my friends discovered the blessing of bidets.
Last month, I actually came close to running out of dish detergent. I have to laugh at myself; in my own funny way, I’m making progress.
Do We Want a Bonehead Military?
Interesting article from AP today about a military unit no longer creating, practicing, working with drones, at the direction of the current leadership.
A strong military relies on capability. Capability relies on adaptation, mastering new strategies (and equipment), as well as intent, and will. You can only go so far on physical strength; today’s military challenges require mental agility and a big picture of the kinds of ways wars will be fought in the future.
We have recently witnessed The Mouse that Roared, a small, smart country that has stymied a giant for six months. When you don’t listen to your most experienced advisors, this kind of situation happens. When you fire your most capable leaders because they have the courage to disagree with you, and you don’t like people disagreeing with you, these things happen.
Lawmakers ask Army to explain why it told a military unit to stop specializing in drone warfare
BY KONSTANTIN TOROPIN AND BEN FINLEY
Updated Wed, September 2, 2026 at 9:10 AM CDT
19
WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is pressing the Army to explain why it told a unit based in Europe to stop specializing in drone warfare, an order that comes as the world’s battlefields rapidly evolveand military tactics increasingly rely on uncrewed systems to fight.
The 173rd Airborne Brigade was building its own drones and practicing the kind of warfare that Ukraine has pioneered against Russia and that Iran has fought against the U.S. — warfare that has killed and wounded American troops. The brigade of 600 soldiers was set up in November to be deployed anywhere that drones were needed.
“We have deep concerns that eliminating this specialized drone unit will limit our ability to learn from allies, particularly the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and hinder our efforts to modernize drone warfare at the speed necessary to compete on the modern battlefield,” the lawmakers said in a letter shared with The Associated Press.
It requests a briefing from the Army to explain its decision and was sent Tuesday to departing Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the Army’s acting chief of staff. It was signed by Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, independent Sen. Angus King of Maine and Republican Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio.
“This specialized unit was a prudent response in a moment when the character of warfare is changing faster than a conventional formation’s ability to adapt,” the lawmakers say.
They said they were particularly keen to understand the data, analysis and process behind the change after less than a year of the drone unit being active. They also want to know if the decision was based on guidance from Pentagon leadership or made internally by the Army.
LaNeve, who is filling in as the Army’s top uniformed officer, recently ordered the battalion to refocus on its core mission of being an airborne infantry unit. The move followed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s sudden ousting of the Army’s prior chief of staff, Gen. Randy George.
Integrating drones into the Army’s tactics was a major focus for George. Last year, he and Driscoll had rolled out what they called the Army Transformation Initiative, which pushed to add “modernized (unmanned aircraft systems) into formations.”
George, who became Army chief of staff under President Joe Biden, regularly spoke about the need to accelerate development of new drone systems and get them in the hands of regular soldiers, not just specialized units. Driscoll supported such efforts and focused on cutting the red tape for military contractors to quickly develop more drones.
After George was ousted by Hegseth without explanation in April, he was replaced by LaNeve. This week, Driscoll submitted his own resignation and later said on social media that Wednesday would be his final full day on the job. A reason for his departure was not publicly revealed, but he was an ally of George, and his tensions with Hegseth have been widely reported.
“We are supportive of the transformative initiatives the Army has taken under Secretary Driscoll’s leadership in this area and would like to see that momentum maintained even as uniformed leadership changes,” the lawmakers wrote.
___
Toropin reported from Nuremberg, Germany.
One Compassionate Captain Changed Lives
From today’s Lectionary readings:
DAVID PENDLETON OAKERHATER
DEACON AND MISSIONARY (1 SEP 1931)
David P. Oakerhater (born around 1850) was a warrior and leader of the Cheyenne Indians of Oklahoma, and led a corps of fighters against the United States government in a dispute over Indian land rights. In 1875 he and 27 other military leaders were taken prisoner by the U S Army and sent to a military post in Florida. There, thanks to the efforts of a concerned Army captain, they learned English, were encouraged to earn money by giving art and archery lessons to visitors, and encountered the Christian faith. David and three others were moved to become Christians and to go north to study for the ministry. David was baptized in Syracuse, New York, in 1878, and ordained to the diaconate in 1881. He returned to Oklahoma and there founded schools and missions, and continued to work among his people until his death on 31 August 1931. When he first returned to Oklahoma in 1881, he said:
You all know me. You remember when I led you out to war I went first, and what I told you was true. Now I have been away to the East and I have learned about another captain, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he is my leader. He goes first, and all He tells me is true. I come back to my people to tell you to go with me now in this new road, a war that makes all for peace.
by James Kiefer
Note: the “military post in Florida” is Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, now a National Monument. Should you visit, you can learn more about his imprisonment there.
Intlxpatr: One brave captain, unnamed, had compassion on a group of indigenous Americans and encouraged them to earn with their skills. He treated them with respect and won their respect in return. Such gentility influenced them to adopt and spread the Christian faith to others. One unnamed captain, reaching out his hand in loving charity, produced more influence than government policies.
Friday Date at Joe Patti’s
Joe Patti’s is a gem, but not an undiscovered gem. We like Joe Patti’s for a lot of reasons, not least because of their great variety of seafood. It is also our go-to for a quiet Friday evening supper of clam chowder or gumbo, fresh-baked sourdough bread, a smoky tuna dip, and assorted gourmet items we love.
Joe Patti’s has been around for a long time, with a prime location on the Pensacola Bay waterfront, a huge pirate ship and a huge-er American flag facing Main Street road, and a genuine Joe Patti-made fishing boat parked next to the store, great for photos. I’ve never seen that ship leave the dock.
It isn’t just tourists and out-of-town guests who get a kick out of Joe Patti’s. I learned on my first Christmas Eve in Pensacola that getting there at 6:30 a.m. was not early enough; most of Pensacola had representatives already in line to pick up seafood they had pre-ordered for Christmas weeks ago. I knew another Patti outlet, which saved my Christmas. The lesson stuck. I order ahead and pick up before Christmas Eve day.
Joe Patti’s has a lot of touristic memorabilia, a deli, a great selection of spices, herbs, condiments. charduterie items, a dessert section, all kinds of frozen delicacies and – an ice cream and coffee bar. And that is where Adventureman and I head after we pick up our chowder and sourdough bread for supper. My first time at the ice cream bar, several years ago, I tried the raspberry sorbet, and was blown away. It was so tasty. I did not let the taste blind me to the sweetness; I watch my sugar intake. I ordered a small cup, and only one scoop. It’s enough. Joe Patti’s charges for ice cream by the weight – Adventureman and I each get a cup of ice cream and we never spend more than $5. What a deal.
Joe Patti’s also has small sample sizes of ice cream free for children – this isn’t just a spoonful; it’s maybe a couple of ounces of ice cream.
You can pay for your ice cream right at the coffee/ice cream counter, and not have to wait in the lines waiting to pay for fresh fish on ice.
We take our ice cream out to the car, which we park on the dock, and eat it as we look out over the inlet, the fishing boat, and the new land fill being created just a short distance across the water from Joe Patti’s.
Friday, we watched an oil services boat come in – holding our breath that a storm wouldn’t blow up suddenly; the circular thing towers over the boat, making for a top-heavy load. Someone knows how that circular wheel functions, but not us. It’s just a novelty, scrolling across our view, entertaining us as we finish our ice cream. Normally, we only see herons and egrets and assorted small water birds flying in and out.
Always worth a trip:
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Early Voting in Florida
