A Bob's Life: Monday Musings

Monday, July 14, 2025

Monday Musings - July 14, 2025

Happy Bastille Day!

Vive la France

Bastille Day Celebrations
Paris, France

1. Welcome to the second Monday of July. Today is also my second favorite foreign holiday: Bastille Day. There are 24 Mondays remaining in the year.

2. It has been an exciting and busy week in the rearview and Chris and I are anticipating a continuation this week. The weather may even be conducive for a boating adventure!

3. Fumbling the Ball. On July 5, the day after the Texas floods hit, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) received 3,027 calls from survivors and answered 3,018 of them, about 99.7%, according to Maxine Joselow of the New York Times. But that day, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem did not renew the contracts for four call center companies that answered those calls. The staff at the centers were fired. The next day, July 6, FEMA received 2,363 calls and answered 846, or about 35.8%. On Monday, July 7, FEMA received 16,419 calls and answered 2,613, around 15.9%. (Letters from an American)

4. The Orioles stumbled into the All Star break by losing their last two games and managing only 1 run. They have improved to 9 games under .500, but the other day they were a competitive 7 games under. Hopefully the break will allow the team to rest and heal. The second half push is about to get underway and it's serious.

5. There is a lot of swirl in Washington right now over the Epstein files and tape. Maybe there isn't a Deep State? You know, if they are alleging it, they're doing it. Notice how when things get too close for comfort, there is a massive redirection in the churn? Last week we were into immigration and the 4th amendment. Now it is Epstein! Keep the swirl going. Oh yes, and blame Democrats for everything. If Democrats were as nefarious as they allege, then how did Trump get elected?

6. Tom Homan, the Border Czar, demonstrated a total unfamiliarity with the law when he said: "People need to understand ICE officers and Border Patrol don't need probable cause to walk up to somebody, briefly detain them, and question them ... based on their physical appearance." (MSNBC) If the leaders don't understand the Constitution and the law, how can their agents be expected to abide by the law? If you think ICE is not being developed as a secret police, look again.

7. Today in History. July 14, 1789. The French Revolution lasted from 1789 to 1799, during which revolutionaries overthrew the monarchy of the Ancien Régime, ruled by King Louis XVI. Government efforts at reform had failed. When Louis XVI convened the Estates‑General in 1789, the Third Estate (or class of common people) broke away to form the National Assembly and called for a new constitution.

The full-scale revolt began in July 1789 with a surge of popular unrest when Parisians stormed the Bastille, a symbol of royal authority. This event led to the abolition of feudal privileges and sparked uprisings across the country. The newly formed National Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, enshrining the principles of liberty, equality, and legal protection under the law.

Initial moderate attempts at governance gave way to fragile tensions and violence, setting the stage for a period known as the Reign of Terror. Led by Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety, tens of thousands were executed as suspected enemies of the revolution.

After Robespierre's fall in 1794, political infighting, corruption, and continued warfare eroded the new government’s authority. In 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte seized control in a coup, ending the revolutionary era.