Shooting the Messenger

 We witnessed an example of "shooting the messenger" yesterday.

Trump fires statistics chief after soft jobs report

The firing yesterday of the Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner is a classic example of shooting the messenger, but portends a more sinister and potentially devastating situation for our nation. 

What happens if, as Project 2025 describes, the federal workforce becomes staffed with people who are loyal to the president over supporting the Constitution? Will we be able to believe anything published by the government? That is my concern. When facts are no longer facts but become twisted to make the president happy while managing reality, the United States will become no better than a banana republic.

It is also clear that businessmen do not make good presidents. The idea that people can be fired because you don't like what they are telling you, if it is based in fact, is not good government. Period! Bad news is just as important as good news.

Trump said something the other day about the declining value of the dollar (down 10 percent since he took office)* that made no sense. 

"Well, you know, I'm a person that likes a strong dollar, but a weak dollar makes you a hell of a lot more money," Trump said in a media Q&A. (Newsweek)

If the dollar is worth less, then he has less economic power at the end of the day. Am I missing something here?

If the dollar is worth less then things like oil and imports cost more dollars and We the People certainly are not earning more. I know that my income has not increased by 10 percent this year. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

 *Note: The article says that the dollar is down 11 percent since the first of the year, but made the point that Trump was not president for the all of that time. I had heard it was down 10 percent since he took office, but I cannot find where I heard that. So, I went with 10 percent. 

Worse than Animals

Trump at Alligator Alcatraz
Somewhere in Florida
July 1, 2025

 It seems that we have becoming desensitized to the inhumane treatment that undocumented immigrants and citizens are receiving at the hands of law enforcement and ICE. 

I read an article in The Guardian this morning which is more than concerning. In addition to the obvious inhumane treatment by law enforcement, I was concerned about the mention of a bounty and the cavalier suggestion that some of them may be killed in the process of arrest. 

Video footage of the incident captured by Laynez-Ambrosio, an 18-year-old US citizen, appears to show a group of officers in tactical gear working together to violently detain the three men*, two of whom are undocumented. They appear to use a stun gun on one man, put another in a chokehold and can be heard telling Laynez-Ambrosio: “You’ve got no rights here. You’re a migo, brother.” Afterward, agents can be heard bragging and making light of the arrests, calling the stun gun use “funny” and quipping: “You can smell that … $30,000 bonus.”

In the video, Laynez-Ambrosio can be heard repeatedly telling his friend, in Spanish, to not resist. “I wasn’t really worried about myself because I knew I was going to get out of the situation,” he said. “But I was worried about him. I could speak up for him but not fight back, because I would’ve made the situation worse.”

Laynez-Ambrosio can also be heard telling officers: “I was born and raised right here.” Still, he was pushed to the ground and says that an officer aimed a stun gun at him. He was subsequently arrested and held in a cell at a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) station for six hours.

Audio in the video catches the unidentified officers debriefing and appearing to make light of the stun gun use. “You’re funny, bro,” one officer can be overheard saying to another, followed by laughter.

Another officer says, “They’re starting to resist more now,” to which an officer replies: “We’re going to end up shooting some of them.”

Later in the footage, the officers move on to general celebration – “Goddamn! Woo! Nice!” – and talk of the potential bonus they’ll be getting: “Just remember, you can smell that [inaudible] $30,000 bonus.”  (The Guardian)

Furthermore, the conditions where people are being detained are abhorrent. The administration has quickly moved to make the U.S. worse than authoritarian regimes. Responsible reporting on the conditions at Alligator Alcatraz continue to mention lack of water, food, protection from mosquitoes, and insufficient access to showers and sanitation facilities.

I believe the Humane Society would file charges against pet owners who did these things to their pets. Yet, we have become complicit with the inhumane treatment of those being prepared for deportation. I hate to remind us all, but everyone on U.S. soil has the rights granted in The Constitution, specifically, their 4th Amendment rights. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Finding Friday

Sidewalk Home
Tequesta, Fl
July 25, 2025

 Being on the cusp of the weekend again is amazing. It has been a busy week, even though I have not ridden since Tuesday. I'm not sure that I needed two days off. 

Watching the Republican Party implode over the Epstein files has been refreshing. It is weird that some try to blame the Democrats for the problem, but it is a self-inflected wound where many of the Cabinet-level leaders made promises to release the files before they wound up in their positions. It is almost funny if it weren't so tragic. 

I enjoyed a just short of 18-mile ride this morning. The wind from the East was tough, but I had a good time and crossed over 200 miles for the month. That is the most miles ridden in a month since I rode over 300 miles for the Cancer Society during October last year. 

And so, since it is Friday, Chris and I will be heading out to get some supplies for the weekend. That will be the big trip of the day, although we are looking forward to dinner tonight. We hope to try a new, as yet undecided, restaurant.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Texas Tragedy

Chris and I spent most of the day watching the TV coverage of the Texas flooding. The destruction is unimaginable.

 

I was a appalled that all Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House, could offer were prayers and platitudes. He is 3rd in line for the Presidency and he is not willing to promise to engage the federal government to assist and to also correct the situation that contributed to the destruction and loss of life.

Wow. What has our Congress become?

Our family tubed the Guadalupe River many years ago, while I was stationed in San Angelo, Texas. We met Pennie and her family along with Mom and Dad for a day of tubing on the river. I don't know where in relationship to the disaster we were, but I believe were just outside of New Braunfels, Texas. Place the date in the late-80s. We had our own near death experience there as members of the family got un-tubed in rapids and required some heroic measures to recover them. Fortunately, no 911 calls were made. Wait--we didn't have cell phones then. 

It was a dangerous river even on a good day. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Is the American Dream Gone?

 The Senate Republicans caved. 

If the House passes the revised Big Beautiful Bill (BBB, B3, or B-cubed), the American Dream is gone for at least a generation. I am saddened that the last thing of consequence that the Boomer Generation will likely do is to sell America to the Billionaires. That is not the legacy I had hoped to pass onto my grandchildren. 

The B3 transforms America from a country focused on assisting its people into a police state as funds are transferred from social programs to deportation programs, military, and immigration enforcement as well as what has been dubbed the largest transfer of wealth from the working class to the rich in history. 

The bill reduces credits for renewable energy and actually provides incentives for fossil fuel initiatives. There is a great legacy for our grandkids. Oh yea, and it will likely increase energy costs which violates a Trump campaign promise of inexpensive energy for all Americans. 

As one writer summed up portions of the bill:

The measure cuts taxes for the wealthy and corporations and offsets those cuts in part by slashing Medicaid and food security programs for low-income Americans.

But there is at least one aspect of American life on which the bill is lavishing money. While the measure slashes public welfare programs, it pours $170.7 billion into immigration enforcement. The American Immigration Council broke out the numbers today: The Senate bill provides $51.6 billion to build a wall on the border, more than three times what Trump spent on the wall in his first term. It provides $45 billion for detention facilities for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an increase of 265% in ICE’s annual detention budget. It provides $29.9 billion for ICE enforcement, a threefold increase in ICE’s annual budget. (Letters from an American)

But wait:

While all of this was playing out, did anyone notice that the economy contracted at 0.5 percent during the first quarter of 2025. Don't look now, but we may already be in a a recession. It takes a few months for the numbers to actually prove that but there have been two successive months of economic contraction. 

And the dollar has lost 10 percent since Trump took the oath of office. That is a hidden inflationary problem for imports. It will impact the economy. Fortunately, the U.S. is a net exporter of oil and so gas prices may not rise all that much--but it will hurt.

Do you know why the Fed is kept separate form the President? Because they are the ones keeping us afloat while the president would contribute to a more inflationary system by lowering interest rates. Presidents are not economists.

To summarize B3 provides: 

Increased funding to support a police state 

Cuts to programs that upon which regular Americans rely. 

Cuts to environmental programs.

Fossil fuels are not supported over renewable energy.

And this is only the beginning. . . 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

The Math is Wrong

 Alligator Alcatraz! 

Catchy name, but everything else about it is wrong. 

It seems that the governments (Federal and Florida) are excited about the prospect of opening an immigrant detention camp in the middle of the Everglades on an abandoned airfield. 

The worst to operate the facility annually will be $450M to house up to 5,000 immigrants pending deportation. 

I did the math. 

It comes to $90K per year per person (a/k/a detainee) housed at the facility. 

That money comes through Medicaid cuts and other programmatic reductions for Americans! This makes no sense. Are we becoming a country of prisons and camps. 

The airfield was abandoned for a good reason some 50 years ago: to preserve the environment. Reactivating the airfield and housing people there is a bad decision made by people who have no regard for either less fortunate Americans or the environment.

The math is not good for the economy or the environment. 

Who comes up with these crazy ideas? 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Follow the Bouncing Ruling

 The battles playing out in the courts right now are as compelling as the Super Bowl. 

Seriously.

I mean really, it's serious. 

Watching the judicial system work to uphold the rule of law when the Executive Branch is intent on usurping authorities form the other branches and exceeding the provisions The Constitution can at times be mind numbing, but it is critical. 

The spin doctors of the Executive Branch are trying to paint the judiciary as left-wing radicals while stealing for themselves authorities they do not have. 

The gambit Trump used successfully during the four years of the Biden administration was to claim he was being targeted. He is using that now by himself targeting the judiciary. Now that he is back in The White House, it is clear which family is the crime family. Nearly every deal with another country has a sub-plot whereby the Trumps get richer and the U.S. pays the freight. And when I say the U.S., I mean US, the taxpayers and working people of America. For instance, I saw that the trade deal with Vietnam also contained  Trump family project.

Poor me (Trump) has become at least $2B richer since becoming president and openly ignores the ethics regulations that public servants are bound to follow. WAIT! Did I write public servants? Well of course I am not speaking of the president, because we all know he is not a public servant, he is in it for himself alone as he continues to make deals that benefit his family and not the U.S.

We are engaged in a struggle to determine whether, as has been true for the previous 46 presidents, presidents  are bound to follow the Constitution and laws of the land or whether they, as 47 would have us believe, have absolute authority.

Support the judges, they are apparently our only hope.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Atop the Slide into the Abyss

These are the times that try men's souls. - Thomas Paine

This statement was true in 1776, and scarily enough it is true today as well, almost 250 years later. 

We are facing half-truths, lies, and the outright trampling of the basic rights protected in the Constitution.

The latest "I can't believe they said that," revolves around the right to due process.

I read a statement from a congressman which (this is paraphrased) If they are here illegally they should be deported. 

Marco Rubio our Secretary of State suggested, on Sunday, that illegal immigrants can be deported outside of the protections of the Constitution. He said that immigration law requires deportation and that they are not entitled to due process, I'm guessing, because he feels immigration law supersedes the Constitution. 

“Once you come into our country illegally, it triggers all kinds of rights that can keep you here indefinitely. That’s why we were being flooded at the border, and we’ve ended that,” Rubio said.  

We've ended that--and "that" is the Constitutional right to due process. The Constitution applies to EVERYONE within the borders of the U.S. and territories--no matter how they've managed to get here. That fundamental principle is what has made America Great! And now it is being cheapened and we are becoming a laughing stock.

What happened to "innocent until proven guilty?"

We have begun the slippery slide into the abyss of authoritarian chaos where even the Constitution is subject to reinterpretation. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL 

Can't Be Bought

 I was encouraged about Harvard University's response to Trump. No--we won't be bought. 

According to Reuters:

April 14 (Reuters) - Harvard on Monday rejected numerous demands from the Trump administration that it said would cede control of the school to a conservative government that portrays universities as dangerously leftist.

Within hours of Harvard taking its stand, the administration of President Donald Trump announced it was freezing $2.3 billion in federal funding to the school.

What the Trump-led Executive Branch is doing to private educational institutions is wrong! Using the power of money to stifle freedom of education goes against the very core of what makes us Americans--education free from political dogma to foster diversity of thought. 

Freedom of education is what made America great. Yes. we may not agree with everything being taught, but that is a good thing because being exposed to diversity of thought helps us better understand and appreciate the freedoms that we have especially when we see such freedoms stifled in other countries.

Maybe money can't buy everyone?

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Do we have to do it all over again?

 

Chaos and confusion. That pretty well sums up the week we just managed to live through. 

It is apparent that there is no master plan, the White House is just throwing stuff against the wall and hoping it will stick. And if it doesn't, they are denying that it happened.

One of the most concerning occurrences this past week was the refusal, in court, to correct the injustice done to the Maryland father illegally sent to El Salvador AND the continued refusal to find a way to allow those deported to the prison in El Salvador their due process. 

Wait--destroying the world trade markets without a cogent plan--or any plan is a close second. 

One writer sums up some of the week's happenings as follows:

On Friday, China imposed 125% tariffs on goods from the U.S. A spokesperson for the Chinese Finance Ministry said that Trump’s tariff machinations “will become a joke in the history of the world economy.” At 9:20 a.m. President Trump posted: “We are doing really well on our TARIFF POLICY. Very exciting for America, and the World!!! It is moving along quickly. DJT.” The new tariffs had badly threatened Apple Inc., and at 10:36 p.m. the U.S. Customs and Border Protection posted a notice that various electronics, including smartphone and computer monitors, are exempt from the tariffs.

When economist Justin Wolfers commented: “I just want to tip my hat to the crack team of White House economists who were able to discover—in just a few short days—that the U.S. is dependent on China for smartphones, computers and semiconductors.” Dr. Soumya Rangarajan noted that “a basic medicine we use 1000x per day in the hospital, heparin, is also dependent on China, and people will die without it.” As Sabrina Malhi of the Washington Post explained, about 12 million people hospitalized in the U.S. need heparin every year, and it is only one of the many medications that will be affected by Trump’s tariffs on goods from China.

(Letters from an American)

It is clear that there is no plan and that we are living at the whim if a president who has visions of grandeur, but has no comprehension of the second and third order effects from whipsawing leadership. 

Sadly, the week ahead looks to be as turbulent and unconstrained as the week past. Maybe the Easter holiday will bring redemption and sanity. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Bait and Switch

Hands-off Day Protest Sign
April 5, 2025

American voters been duped by a classic Bait & Switch.

The chaos and confusion we are experiencing and which has now expanded to include nearly the entire world was born out of the election lies told by Trump. 

That may be harsh, but I clearly remember his promise that on day 1 he would lower prices and reduce inflation for working families. That is far from what is actually happening. 

Trump claims a mandate from the voters--but he misunderstands the mandate he had which was to reduce living expenses for working families. He did not have a mandate to destroy the economic system of the entire world while pushing the limits of democracy in America. Yes, he said he was in love with tariffs, but targeted tariffs which have been used by nearly every president are very different from what we are experiencing now. 

I fear that destroying the strongest economic system in the world is designed to allow the uber-rich to swoop in and buy companies when the stock is down and thereby further pad their fortunes. This is, of course, at the expense of those of us who have worked and saved for years and invested our retirement accounts as the government advised through 401Ks and the TSP. 

We have been duped!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Programming Note: Because tomorrow is a travel day, Monday Musings will not be published. Hopefully there will be an update from the highway.

Chaos, Confusion, Disaster

 There is so much happening in the U.S. right now that it is almost impossible to remember events are underway around the world. 

I maintain that a myopic, inwardly focused view is unhealthy as it provides fertile ground for strategic surprise. We are so busy dealing with the day-to-day crises that we don't have time to consider the effect of our actions on the other countries and for that matter, to consider how what is happening in places like Turkey potentially affect our country. 

And then there is Signal-gate. How many supposedly brilliant people does it take to realize that admitting to a problem and fixing it is smarter than doubling down. And that begs the question--how many other Signal-chats are there out there which present a clear and present danger to the United States? 

Did I mention that the stock market, which holds not only my retirement savings but many other people's, is falling like a rock due to the insane application of tariffs and the lack of strategic fiscal vision in the White House?

Why do we need a trade war with the world? That is going to help us, how? 

I wonder which billionaire owns stock in bicycle companies since cars are going to be priced out of existence. 

Why are the things Trump was elected to do being left undone?

I'm really looking forward to not paying federal income tax on my Social Security benefits--no wait, am I actually going to continue receiving benefits? But Musk said I would get more! And lower food prices--where are they?

What about Musk?

My thought is he has too much money and no political smarts.

This morning [yesterday], Wisconsin Democrats issued a press release noting that Musk had “committed a blatant felony,” directly violating the Wisconsin law that prohibits offering anyone anything worth more than $1 to get them to “vote or refrain from voting.” Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler said that if Schimel “does not immediately call on Musk to end this criminal activity, we can only assume he is complicit.” (Letters from an American)

And then consider the Presidential Oath of Office. I reread it this morning and I have questions as to whether the oath has been and is being violated. And I don't even mean the part about supporting the Constitution. It is the faithfully part, because it sure seems to me that everything being done right now will improve the financial bottom line of the president while harming the citizens. To me, that does not seem to be faithfully executing the Office of the President. 

How is sending people being evicted for the country to a prison in a country not their own without due process and no prospects for redress a deportation? Doesn't deporting a person mean sending them back to their country of citizenship? And furthermore, if there is no due process who is making the decision to deport? That people, is unconstitutional. Everyone setting foot on American soil has rights despite what certain people would have us believe. The Constitution and our laws do not differentiate between citizens and non-citizens. We are on a very slippery slope.

Finally, I am tired of hearing how much money DOGE is supposedly saving the country, because too much of it is at the expense of the citizens. If they save $1 trillion, but we are left with no healthcare, no research, a broken education system, and a defense industry in tatters I am not sure that is better. And if DOGE is saving so much money, why do we have a looming debt ceiling crisis?

Some much to ponder and so little time. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Neophytes in Government

 I was appalled when I read that senior government officials planned the March 15th Houthi attack using a tool called Signal and invited a reporter from The Atlantic to be part of the process. 

The story in the New York Times starts as follows:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth disclosed war plans in an encrypted group chat that included a journalist two hours before U.S. troops launched attacks against the Houthi militia in Yemen, the White House said on Monday, confirming an account in the magazine The Atlantic.

The editor in chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, wrote in an article published on Monday that he was mistakenly added to the text chat on the commercial messaging app Signal by Michael Waltz, the national security adviser.

It was an extraordinary breach of American national security intelligence. Not only was the journalist inadvertently included in the group, but the conversation also took place outside the secure government channels that would normally be used for classified and highly sensitive war planning. (New York Times)

I remember when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was accused of possessing sensitive material on an unsecured phone. Trump wanted her jailed. Why is it that he is so quick to move against others, but never take responsibility for himself or his people? I wonder what the results of this incident will be? 

And accidentally including a reporter? Nothing is an accident. The whole incident smells of neophytes who do not begin to grasp the importance of operations security and the proper use of secured communications. Additionally, it seems obvious that they believe that rules are made for others and not themselves. 

The Washington Post version of the story additionally has the following:

Senior Trump administration officials have warned in recent days that they will investigate unauthorized leaks to journalists, citing reporting in a number of publications. Several of them also for years criticized the handling of classified information by Democrats in other cases. (The Washington Post)

I'm waiting for the spin doctors to move in on this one. I am sure they will blame the entire incident on Biden. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Saturday--is the week really over?

 It was a bit of a rollercoaster ride this week.

It is clear to me that neither the president nor vice-president understand the Constitution and the role of the judiciary. When the Vice President makes the statement that: “judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,”  (NY Times) It is clear that he does not understand that it is the judiciary which gets to decide what are legitimate powers!

Talk about either trying to confuse the issue or being ignorant of the Constitution.

And then the president called for impeaching a federal judge because a ruling didn't go his way. I loved Justice Roberts' response: “For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” he said in a statement. “The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.” (The New Republic)

I am greatly concerned about the deportation of Venezuelans without due process. And the president and vice president think this is OK. The 4th Amendment to the Constitution is pretty clear--this can't be done. And the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 probably does not apply in this case and even if it does, there are other requirements. One discussion, from the Brennan Center for Justice is as follows:

The president may invoke the Alien Enemies Act in times of “declared war” or when a foreign government threatens or undertakes an “invasion” or “predatory incursion” against U.S. territory. The Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to declare war, so the president must wait for democratic debate and a congressional vote to invoke the Alien Enemies Act based on a declared war. But the president need not wait for Congress to invoke the law based on a threatened or ongoing invasion or predatory incursion. The president has inherent authority to repel these kinds of sudden attacks — an authority that necessarily implies the discretion to decide when an invasion or predatory incursion is underway.

As the Supreme Court and past presidents have acknowledged, the Alien Enemies Act is a wartime authority enacted and implemented under the war power. When the Fifth Congress passed the law and the Wilson administration defended it in court during World War I, they did so on the understanding that noncitizens with connections to a foreign belligerent could be “treated as prisoners of war” under the “rules of war under the law of nations.” In the Constitution and other late-1700s statutes, the term invasion is used literally, typically to refer to large-scale attacks. The term predatory incursion is also used literally in writings of that period to refer to slightly smaller attacks like the 1781 Raid on Richmond led by American defector Benedict Arnold.

I think, and this is my opinion, that given the sense from Town Halls around the country that the electorate believes that Trump was elected to do something different than what he is doing and that the "mandate" he believes he has was far more limited that he understands. I believe that those who voted for him wanted him to lower prices and inflation and not start a global trade war, or withdraw support our allies around the world, or even cozy up to Putin. And as for reducing the Federal Government--I don't think mass firings instigated by a non-elected and not confirmed by the Senate billionaire were in the mandate. 

And don't get me started on where our support for medical research is headed and the fact that there won't be a likely viable flu vaccine next year. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

I Saw Them

Winn-Dixie
Hobe Sound, FL
March 12, 2025

 
Shopping yesterday in a local market I saw, for the first time, eggs marked at $10 per dozen.

I actually could not believe it.

There was a deal on a dozen-and-a-half at $13.89, which works out to $9.26/dz.

Winn-Dixie
Hobe Sound, FL
March 12, 2025

We did not buy the eggs.

That along with so many other things just highlights the disastrous times in which we live. And this administration is not yet two months old!

There is so much happening that I can only shake my head at. 

A measles outbreak in Texas--we had that disease beaten and now children are dying, again.

What is next? The return of polio? Smallpox, the sequel?

And shutting off grants to hospitals which are on the forefront of research is going to make America healthy again? 

We are not headed for the Golden Age of America--this is the stuff of the Dark Ages when much of the accumulated knowledge in Europe was lost and had to be rediscovered during the Renaissance. 

Here is how one writer characterized what is happening:

The wholesale destruction of the U.S.A.’s advanced medical research, especially cancer research, by firing scientists, canceling grants, banning communications and collaboration, and stopping travel is also radical and seems unlikely to leave Americans healthier than before.

Yesterday, news broke that the administration canceled $800 million worth of grants to Johns Hopkins University, one of the nation’s top research universities in science and medicine. Meanwhile, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has cast doubt on the safe, effective measles vaccine as the disease continues to spread across the Southwest. (Letters from an American)

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared to suggest getting measles is the best defense against the disease, as a Texas outbreak spreads across the U.S. (The Daily Beast)

I remember having the measles--I have never been sicker in my entire life. I vividly remember hallucinating  and running a really high fever. It is no joke. 

And don't get me started on the stock market.

We are mere pawns in a great money grab the likes of which have not been seen, ever. Our lives and fortunes are in play for the rich and unscrupulous to take.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

As Nero Played

 Something about yesterday's stock market downturn and the fable about Nero playing the fiddle while Rome burned hit me when I read: 

“We’re seeing a strong divergence between animal spirits of the stock market and what we’re actually seeing unfold from businesses and business leaders,” said the official, who was granted anonymity, according to CNBC. “The latter is obviously more meaningful than the former on what’s in store for the economy in the medium to long term.”  (The Daily Beast)

It has become clear that The White House does not want to be confused with the facts. Just wait until the March employment and inflation numbers come out in April--I'm not sure how that is going to be blamed on Biden. 

I have written my Congressman about the impact of federal firings on veterans, maybe he will finally stop towing the party line. 

We can only watch from the sidelines.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL 

And it Rambled

 I felt that it was my civic duty to listen to the President's address to the joint session of Congress last night. 

All of it, to the end. 

It was long--far too long. And rambling.

I was appalled to see a member of the Congress removed for doing the same thing that Marjorie Taylor Green did to President Biden during his last address. Where is evenness? 

I was saddened to see that the small-minded man with the frail ego who was speaking could not get over blaming everything on the last president, but took credit for some things the last president accomplished. 

And as for the economy--his blatant lies that he was handed a sack of feces are just not true, but it plays well to the bandwagon followers. 

It is politics after all. 

But my stomach turned when it was revealed that American citizenship could be bought! Really? People die to get here to become Americans the old-fashioned way--but rich people can just buy their way in? That is wrong!

And the confirmation that Musk is, in fact, in charge of DOGE was interesting considering the recent court case where the DOJ assured the court that he was not in charge. It is all very confusing and it is clear that no one can keep the story straight. 

But at least the news can keep the story straight. I usrge a reading of the Fact Check of last night's address. 

I am worried that someone so out of touch with truth and reality is trying to run the country. 

It all reminded me of an old joke: "How can you tell a politician is lying? Their lips are moving."

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, MD

Keeping Focus

 There are so many distractions, especially in the news. It can be hard in this era of chaos and confusion to keep an eye on the important stuff. 

Usurping peoples rights constitutes important stuff. 

Leading America into a Middle East quagmire in order to gain personal wealth is important. 

The transgender Executive Order is an example of people rallying to usurp individual rights. It has become a holy war because thousands of young boys are lining up to have gender affirming surgery so they can play girls sports, right? 

This is one of those "common sense" things that is just plain wrong. Someone needed to get the facts.

In truth, according to the NCAA president, ". . . there are ‘less than 10’ transgender athletes in college sports."

". . . Gillian Branstetter, a spokesperson for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), who told Newsweek that Save Women’s Sports, a leading voice in the bid to ban transgender athletes from competing in girls’ sports, identified only five transgender athletes competing on girls’ teams in school sports for grades K through 12." (The Pink News)

I do not know how this became both an important campaign issue and now an Executive Order, but it certainly is distracting and has successfully obfuscated important issues.

For instance--

How many American citizens have been illegally detained or deported during ICE operations? We should be concerned about that. 

Who came up with the idea that America should rebuild Gaze, relocate almost 2 million people and let the Trump crime family develop the area into another Atlantic City?

And what about the multitudes of Federal Workers being dismissed without due process. Who is protecting their rights? 

And Congress remains silent.  

But, now our leaders can clap themselves on the back and pretend they actually did something to make life better in American. Except, did they? 

Whose rights will be taken away next?

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL 

On the Waterfront

Pelican Duo
Blowing Rocks Marina
Tequesta, FL
February 4, 2024

 With daytime highs in the low 80s, South Florida is perhaps the best place to be living in the whole nation. Chris and I joined friends at our favorite watering hole last night for Happy Hour. It adjoins a marina where there always seems to be a lot of activity. 

Last evening in addition to people, pelicans were monitoring the comings and goings at the marina. They were magnificently perched atop some of the pilings and with the color of the reflected sunset adorning the sky, I could not help myself but to snap an image. 

By way of an update:

My truck has returned from the repair shop with two more tires, a four wheel alignment, stainless steel muffler and pipes, and new back brakes. Hopefully, it is ready for another 100,000 miles! We took out the resonators that were on the tailpipes and the truck has a bit more throaty sound--which I like. 

And in the news:

Is anyone else concerned that the fox is in the henhouse with Elon having access to the entire U.S. payment system? 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Allies don't do that to Allies

 I have been reading to and listening to the president-elect's desires to invade the Panama Canal and Greenland, and annex Canada. 

Are we crazy?

Do we not remember that the U.S. is the cornerstone of NATO and that Article 5 stipulates that an attack on one is an attack on all? That article had been employed only once in history--after 9-11 when our good friends and NATO allies supported the U.S.

What is our president-elect thinking? If he takes Greenland by force, as he has suggested, he would make the U.S. one of the worldwide oppressors and the NATO allies would have to defend Denmark employing Article 5. 

Even a tariff war could be considered an attack--an economic attack. 

And then . . . 

Annexing Canada? Really? We invaded Canada once (War of 1812) and lost. We have no business annexing Canada.

And then there is the Panama Canal. Treaties were written and signed. It is estimated that the U.S. has broken more than 370 Treaties over time. It might be construed that our word is not our bond.

Allies don't do this kind of stuff to allies. 

Invading Greenland would make us the same as Russia in Ukraine and China in the South China Sea. 

I don't think this is the mandate that Trump was given. How is he planning to lower gas and grocery prices? I'm not hearing much about those campaign promises from the guy who said he would keep every promise. 

-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD