Welcome to the Theatre of the Absurd

The Theatre of the Absurd is a dramatic genre that developed in Europe after World War II. It was particularly popular in France and was characterized by its exploration of the human condition through illogical and nonsensical scenarios. Characters were placed in meaningless situations, addressing the perceived absurdity and inherent lack of meaning in human existence.

If anything can be described as absurd with nonsensical scenarios, our current political theatre fits the playbill. Existential confusion exists within the deep polarization on both sides of the aisle as people feel they are caught in a deepening vortex of conflict without resolution. Our expanding division over issues such as immigration, healthcare, the economy, and national debt are discussed only as problems, and any discussion of resolution is meaningless rhetoric. Much like the theatre of the absurd, there is a complete breakdown of logical discourse.

The rise of misinformation, echo chambers of partisan gossip, and the fracturing of common ground are commonplace. Political speech seems disconnected from any shared reality. Tweets, soundbites, slogans, and name-calling serve to further polarize the nation, not illuminate it.

But perhaps that’s the point. What if it is all just a distraction to better serve a more simplistic goal? What if that goal is to enrich an elite group of lawmakers and the wealthy who support them in their objective of wealth accumulation? Now that is beginning to make some sense of absurdity. Political gridlock serves a purpose. We can’t get you “X” so you have to take what we give you. Accept your role in all of this, tighten your belts, and eventually you will see why this is the best outcome.

If politicians share a common skill, it is their ability to “spin” something distasteful in a way to make it seem more palatable. The metaphorical “don’t piss on me and telling me it is raining” is an expression that rejects the spin and calls out the lie. It would seem that far too many citizens are willing to accept the “warm yellow rain” theory if they are blinded by some other hatred or prejudice.

The only clear objective in the current “Big Beautiful Bill” is to extend the tax cuts for the wealthy, increase the national debt, and pay for some of it with cuts to social safety net programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, and SNAP (aka food stamps). Cuts to the Department of Education don’t hurt the wealthy, their kids are in private schools now subsidized with tax dollars. The tax cuts for those making under $35k will be around $150 [less than 1%] while cuts for those making over $200k will be around $12,500 [6.25%]. That latter group will be getting about 60% of the total tax cut benefits. Those making over $1.1M will get about 25% of the total cut benefits. The SALT or State and Local Tax deduction in the new bill expressly benefits those making between $200k and $500k in states like New York, New Jersey, and California.

Politicians have mastered the art of opposing a bill publicly while voting for it. Lisa Murkowski, for instance, found her vote to be crucial in this very tight conflict and obtained a “carve-out” exemption for Alaska. She then expressed her dislike for the bill in interviews after voting for it. Now that is a curveball that Clayton Kershaw would envy.

How can the current administration convince the people in the Republican strongholds of Louisiana, Kentucky, Arkansas, West Virginia, and Alaska that deep cuts to the Medicare benefits enjoyed by over 25% of their populations, is a good thing. It takes a special skill to rob the poor, give to the rich, and convince the poor that they are now better off. Now that is absurd.

Artificial Intelligence in Our Future

 

Contrary to the opinion of former wrestling promoter and current Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, AI is not a steak sauce. Our future with AI lies somewhere between Total Armageddon and Blissful Utopia. Given that its driving force is capitalism and is being steered under the watchful eye of government, what could go wrong?

While Armageddon, or the last battle between good and evil on the biblical hill of Megiddo, is a strong contender, I’m betting (hoping) for a better outcome. One thing is certain, however, it will be a double-edged sword. AI has the potential to benefit mankind with advances in such things as medical science, but it also will have an impact on how we work and live. I already see its influence on research and decision-making.

In my photography, AI is built into my camera’s autofocus system where it learns to recognize faces and track eyes with precision. Both Photoshop and Lightroom use AI to edit the raw images. My video editing software, Power Director, also makes extensive use of AI to enhance image quality and perform other complicated tasks. My new computer has a neural processing unit (NPU) to supplement the CPU and GPU to assist with handling AI tasks locally.

If you type the question, “How will artificial intelligence change the future,” the response from the Google AI Overview engine tells me:

“Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to significantly reshape the future across various sectors, including the economy, workforce, and daily life. AI is expected to drive economic growth by boosting productivity and efficiency through automation and improved decision-making. However, this transformation also raises concerns about job displacement and the need for workforce adaptation. AI's influence extends to healthcare, where it promises personalized treatments and improved diagnostics, and to transportation, where self-driving vehicles are becoming a reality. Ethical considerations surrounding bias, privacy, and transparency will be crucial in ensuring responsible AI adoption.”

I have read predictions that 30% of the current US workforce will be placed at risk in the next 5 years. This is not just factory automation but includes office worker tasks for data entry clerks, paralegals, financial analysts, and content creators. Adapting to this new world of technology will require changes in our education system and who better to provide such guidance than a wrestling promoter being guided by a reality show host.

I gave AI another chance to be insightful when I asked it to come up with a list of world leaders who were sociopaths with fragile egos. After a brief caveat that indicated difficulty with properly diagnosing psychological issues without a thorough examination, even citing the Goldwater Rule that prohibits psychiatrists from offering such opinions on public figures, it did come up with a historical list.

Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Zedong were easy examples of ASPD, or Antisocial Personality Disorder. One such query even suggested including Caligula, the Roman emperor, and his tyrannical reign of paranoia and cruelty. I guess Caligula’s ordering his legions to collect seashells and declaring war on the god Poseidon violated social norms and gave a vague indication of a break with reality.

AI responses seemed to avoid any current prominent figures that had not already been adjudicated in the courts. People like Bernie Madoff, Ted Bundy, and Jeffrey Dahmer were seen as deceitful and manipulative and the latter two had been officially diagnosed with ASPD.

Among the traits listed by AI associated with psychopathy and ASPD, were brutality and complete disregard for the feelings of others. Their inability to handle criticism and their demand for absolute loyalty are key traits. Knowing that AI has a good roadmap for such behavior, one name seemed to be conspicuously missing. It would seem that AI has learned some level of diplomacy and is loath to come up with a prominent name that would match these indicators. Current political figures seem to be off limits.

To test this AI hypothesis further, I specifically asked the question, “Does X suffer from ASPD?” The reply was very human indeed. AI said that, while some commentators, psychiatrists, and psychologists, “have raised questions about the mental health of X and whether he may have ASPD,” it went on to take cover in the Goldwater Rule, stating that it would be unethical to offer a professional opinion on the mental health of a political figure. I’m glad to see that AI considers itself to be “professional.”

So, for now, psychiatry seems to be one profession safe from the ravages of Artificial Intelligence. Now, if only we can get AI to develop fruits, nuts and vegetables that can pick themselves, place themselves on little trays, wrap themselves in plastic with a price sticker that can be read by the automated cashier, we can solve our nasty immigration problem. Until then our only hope is that X decides to take a trip into outer space, take a spacewalk outside the ship, get locked out, and when he asks the HAL 9000 computer to open the pod bay doors hears, “I’m sorry, Donald, I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

No Kings

 No Kings

I saw my first NO KINGS sign 22 years ago. It was at the FTAA Protests in Miami. I had a front row seat as my office was in the Miami Dade County Government Center, aka the Stephen P. Clark Center in downtown Miami. That “King” was George W. Bush in 2003, and the protests were decrying the Free Trade Area of the Americas meeting in Miami. The so-called FTAA agreement was proposed to establish a free trade zone for 34 Western Hemisphere democracies that would eliminate trade barriers and tariffs.

Now, two decades later we have another Republican president facing backlash for trying to do just the opposite. He too is trampling the free speech of those who would disagree with him.

In 2003, those protests were met with an overwhelming heavy-handed police presence.

Those police tactics became known as “The Miami Model” and exhibited distinctive features of crowd control techniques used in 2003 Miami, which included large scale pre-emptive arrests, heavily armed sometimes unidentifiable law enforcement, the collection of intelligence from protesters, and the "embedding" of corporate media with the police.

Using “The Miami Model,” the police successfully quashed the civil rights of American citizens. Free speech was not allowed and many protestors with permits were prohibited from even entering the area. Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami admitted wrongdoing in an out of court settlement agreement with the ACLU and Amnesty International.Amnesty International.

A suit was filed in 2006 by the ACLU of Florida in federal court, alleging that police officers from Miami-Dade and the City of Miami prevented members of the human rights organization from exercising their constitutional right to assemble and protest, despite having obtained a permit from the City of Miami Police Department. Members of Amnesty International's Miami Chapter had a permit to assemble, but police officers prohibited anyone from gathering or entering downtown Miami that day. While 300 people were there to attend, only 15 people made it through.

Whatever your feelings about free trade and tariffs, peaceful protest is protected under our constitution. The protests in 2003 didn’t end peacefully and that was in part because of The Miami Model of not allowing it a chance, spurred unrest. Both sides were to blame.

In 2003, I took video and stills and put together movie set to music.

Music

 Music

Just as air, water, and food are essential for the survival of the human body, music is essential for the nourishment of the human soul. It is music that creates neurological and emotional pathways that can evoke memories, enhance learning, and recall, and is now used in therapeutic interventions for cognitive decline. There is a unique interplay of emotions and personal significance associated with music. Music feeds the human spirit.

I am an omnivore when it comes to music and my eclectic tastes run through rock, folk, blues, country, classical, jazz, and several others, albeit with a certain selectivity within some genres. After I graduated from my early children’s music that included the traditional stuff along with some folk and Disney inspired classical stuff as soundtracks for their animation, I was introduced to rock and roll. Elvis Presley was one of the first to be allowed to cross from rockabilly to that new rock and roll. He was first only because he was white and previous “rock” entertainers were segregated to venues outside the reach of a young teenager. I still own some of my original 45 rpm records of the 50s.

It was not until the 60s that rock and roll gave way to a broader range of a youth culture that would embrace soul, folk rock, and psychedelic rock. Part of this began with the British Invasion of the Beatles and similar groups. The early evolution from blues-folk-soul to the Motown Records of pop and rhythm and blues brought us The Supremes and The Temptations. Folk music was represented by Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Pete Seeger.

While I appreciate much of what was to come in the decades that followed, it was the 60s that most strongly influenced my musical memories. When it comes to cognitive decline, there is an old saying that goes, “If you remember the 60s, you weren’t there.”

I bring all of this up as I was recently moving to a new computer and would need to eliminate my oldest pc with its five hard drives. I yanked the drives and donated the remains. As I began salvaging files of value that were decades old, I came across a video of one of the greatest music concerts of all time. While many would say that would be the August 1969, Woodstock festival, only a few might remember the concert that inspired that watershed moment. That concert would be The Monterey Pop Festival heldtwo years earlier in June 1967. Who played at that festival? Yes, they did. Sorry for the Abbot and Costello segue, but The Who did play at Monterey.

See if you know any of the featured acts from Monterey 1967. There was Scott McKenzie, Mamas and Papas, Canned Heat, Simon and Garfunkel, Hugh Masekela, Jefferson Airplane with Grace Slick, Big Brother and the Holding Company with Janis Joplin, Eric Burdon and the Animals, The Who, Country Joe and the Fish, Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, Ravi Shankar, Buffalo Springfield, The Grateful Dead, The Association, Lou Rawls, Johnny Rivers, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Steve Miller Band, The Byrds, and Booker T. & the M.G.’s with the Mar-Keys.

My video includes many of these groups. It was shot by D.A. Pennebaker on 16mm film just like Woodstock1969 would be filmed by Michael Wadleigh with Martin Scorsese as his assistant. My digitized copy of the Monterey Pop opens with an interview of a young girl of the “flower child” persuasion who gives her ecstatic hippie-like description of what she expects to see. The lead-in to the flower child was Scott McKenzie’s "San Francisco" telling us to “be sure to wear some flowers in your hair." One of my favorite moments in the film comes when Janis Joplin is belting out the bluesy vocals of Ball and Chain, and Mama Cass Eliot turns and you can read her lips saying OMG.

Over 200,000 attended the 3-day Monterey Pop 1967 event. It was the “Summer of Love.” The 60s music scene closed out with Woodstock in 1969 at Max Yasgur’s farm, but it was the year I graduated college that Monterey Pop would mix the soul of Otis Redding, the sitar of Ravi Shankar, the trumpet of Hugh Masekala, the screaming blues of Janis Joplin, and the flaming guitar of Jimi Hendrix.

I used my new computer to clean up and restore my digital copy of The Monterey Pop Festival of 1967. It has to be one of my favorite concert films.

 A Solution Nobody Wanted

I wonder what the MAGA Right-To-Life crowd thinks about their president’s actions placing pregnant women* and their unborn at risk? How do the religious-right feel about sexual assaults at ICE detention centers? I pick on those who should be most outraged except for their hypocrisy, while knowing that we should all feel the outrage about the lack of humanity being exhibited in the name of political theatre.

When marauding gangs of thugs were given governmental approval to strike terror into the immigrant community of America, what did the president and the former governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem, think would happen? They were the ones who gave carte blanche to these ICE agents and others quickly recruited into service. Their rush to chaos with the illusory goal of “solving the immigration problem” was nothing more than political shenanigans played out at the expense of a vulnerable community.

* [Footnote: The reports of a pregnant woman (Monterroso-Lemus) writhing in pain and vaginal discharge on a cement floor of a detention facility for three days without care and later transported to a Monroe, Louisiana hospital where she gave birth to a stillborn child under the watch of two federal agents, are unconfirmed by Snopes. They are attempting to confirm the information from the woman who has been deported to Guatemala. A similar story about a Honduran woman during the first Trump presidency who lost her baby in ICE custody was reported by the NY Times in 2019.]

--------------------------------------

The following is a copy of an article outlining the depravity with which this president is “solving” a problem. It is from a Wired article of June 25, 2025, titled They're Not Breathing: Inside the Chaos of ICE Detention Center 911 Calls

On April 28, a nurse at the Aurora ICE Processing Center near Denver called 911. A woman in custody, four months pregnant, had arrived at the facility’s medical unit, bleeding and in pain. As the staff rushed to get vitals, the dispatcher rattled off questions: How old was she? Was the pregnancy high risk? The nurse hesitated: “She just came to us three days ago.”

On 911 audio obtained by WIRED, the dispatcher’s voice cuts in:

“Is there any sign of life?”

“Have we heard a heartbeat?”

“Does she feel any kicking?”

“We don’t have the equipment to do that,” the nurse replies.

It was just one incident in a spike of emergencies playing out inside Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers nationwide.

A WIRED investigation into 911 calls from 10 of the nation's largest immigration detention centers found that serious medical incidents are rising at many of the sites. The data, obtained through public records requests, show that at least 60 percent of the centers analyzed had reported serious pregnancy complications, suicide attempts, or sexual assault allegations. Since January, these 10 facilities have collectively placed nearly 400 emergency calls. Nearly 50 of those have involved potential cardiac episodes, 26 referenced seizures, and 17 reported head injuries. Seven calls described suicide attempts or self-harm, including overdoses and hangings. Six others involved allegations of sexual abuse—including at least one case logged as “staff on detainee.”

WIRED spoke with immigration attorneys, local migrant advocates, national policy experts, and individuals who have been recently detained or have family currently in ICE custody. Their accounts echoed the data: a system overwhelmed, and at times, seemingly indifferent to medical crises.

Experts believe the true number of medical emergencies is far higher.

The records WIRED reviewed capture only the medical emergencies that resulted in a 911 call—typically made by facility staff. Experts say many serious incidents likely go unreported, citing years’ worth of reports and independent medical reviews. Even among those that did prompt outside help, a third of all the calls had vague or nonexistent descriptions, with details often withheld by authorities.

For example, on March 16, a woman identifying herself as a detainee at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, called 911. Communication was strained: The dispatcher spoke no Spanish, and the caller only a little English. "I need help,” the woman said. "I need … ayuda." The line goes abruptly dead, triggering a follow-up call from the emergency operator. A staff member at the facility answers the phone: “We're at a detention center, and the detainee called 911, I'm sorry.” The woman's voice is still audible in the background, still pleading. Records indicate no ambulance was dispatched.

ICE detention facilities are operating over capacity. Detention has surged by more than 48 percent since January, pushing the detained population to over 59,000—an all-time high, according to available data. The 2025 emergency call data also reflects conditions before ICE’s latest enforcement surge—a May directive from Department of Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem and White House adviser Stephen Miller to triple daily arrests. Accordingly, the crises documented here are likely to deepen.

In pursuit of its eventual goal of detaining 100,000 people simultaneously, the agency is targeting not just high-priority criminal offenders, but those who report, check in, and otherwise follow the law. The result has stretched the detention system to its limit. ICE has responded by offloading detainees into federal penitentiaries and tent-like barracks in detention camps, while issuing a wave of no-bid contracts—financial windfalls for private prison giants like The GEO Group and CoreCivic, which operate the vast majority of the facilities named in this report.

The human cost of ICE’s strategy is increasingly visible. Dispatch data from 911 calls reveal how quickly medical emergencies can spiral inside these remote, crowded facilities—places where urgent care delivery is often delayed, falls on overworked staff, or is hindered by “insufficient or malfunctioning” equipment.

The DHS and ICE did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

American Hospitality?

 

As America and the world react to Trump's recent decision to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities, the hospitality industry faces challenges from two other Trump policies. This sector, worth about $250B, is a key employer in restaurants, hotels, and entertainment.

This year we have taken two short vacations in Florida, one to Vero Beach and a second to Key West. The first was a birthday celebration and the second was in conjunction with a funeral. Anecdotally, I saw the devastation wrought by two events in which Donald J. Trump played an important role. Those were either initiated, exacerbated, or had a greater impact on American life as a result of Trump actions. The first was the Covid pandemic and the second, the crackdown on immigrants.

The pandemic changed a great deal about how Americans, work, and play. The hospitality industry suffered its first financial blow with the Covid pandemic which decimated its workforce. Then it suffered through the resultant travel restrictions. Once those restrictions were lifted, the hospitality industry was unprepared for the return to normalcy. Many employees had sought other jobs, reducing the size of the workforce.

Then came the second blow when Trump’s secret police ran out of “immigrant thugs” to arrest/deport, and began rounding up the easier low-hanging fruit. This refers to individuals with uncertain immigration status who were employed in various jobs with low wages, many of whom were in the hospitality industry. Such jobs were often less desirable particularly when other options were available.

In Vero Beach this past April we had discussions with several waiters, bartenders, and hotel staff who shared a common lament, “We can’t find people to hire.” They didn’t say they couldn’t find “good help” but that they couldn’t find “any” help. Several years ago when we noticed these problems, the universal excuse was to blame everything on Covid. Then, just when things started to improve, Trump began his crackdown with ICE raids.

Our trip to Key West this past weekend involved a stay at a nice resort. We requested an early check-in to accommodate our timely arrival at the first of two funeral related events. Normal check-in was 4 p.m. and that was cutting it close. We arrived at 2:30 and notified them that we were waiting for our room and they told us they would text us as soon as the room could be occupied. We drove around town, located our two event addresses and returned around 3:30. We got the same “not ready, we’ll text you” response. We decided to park the car and wait in the lobby for the normal 4 p,m, check in.

While waiting for our room in the lobby, we noticed several other groups that looked to be in the same predicament as 4 p.m. came and went. With the normal check-in long past due by 5 p.m. discussions between management and many others indicated that we weren’t alone. More and more people were arriving and getting a similar management reply. The lobby began to fill. One of the people who seemed to be in charge came by the remote part of the lobby where we were seated away from “the others,” and we had a conversation.

It was only after we asked the specific question about his being short staffed in housekeeping and gave him assurances that he wasn’t speaking to Trump supporters, did he admit that his and several other hotels in the area had been hit in recent weeks with ICE raids. He mentioned three establishments in the immediate vicinity had been hit and said he knew of others. He said that around 200 or more people had been “captured.” He knew of our need to get changed to make a 7 p.m. viewing at the local funeral home and he went to get housekeeping to hopefully prioritize our room.

We made it to our room by 6:20 p.m. and were late to our event. Our hotel manager gave us a $100 voucher for their restaurant and waived the daily parking fee for our troubles. During our two day stay we had occasion to talk to two other hotel workers, one in maintenance and one our waiter. As both spoke with foreign accents I wondered how they had faired so well in the recent ICE raids. It turned out that one was Russian and the other Hungarian. Not to start any conspiracy theories here, but I’m guessing that Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orbán would be in agreement with ICE that Russians and Hungarians should be exempt from the immigrant purge.

The next thing to happen during our Key West adventure was that the hotel restaurant, according to their website, served breakfast, lunch, and dinner. As breakfast was served from 8-11, we went down around 10. It was then we found out that, due to staffing shortages, they only had a pastry chef and the traditional eggs, toast, pancakes, bacon, etc. was now reduced to a self-serve pastry display and coffee. While it looked delightful, we wanted a real breakfast.

The hospitality saga continues at Denny’s. After a short drive down Roosevelt Blvd we stopped at Denny’s. We arrived and found we would need to wait for a table. We got there just in time before several large groups filed in. The three of us were seated after a brief wait and we were soon greeted by our server, Melody. She took our order of a Grand Slam, a veggie omelet, and a grilled chicken skillet that came with broccoli, potatoes, peppers, and onions. Simple, right? Not exactly. Melody was cute as a button with a bubbly personality and gave all the appearances of someone who might know what she was doing. I would be speculating here if I told you she was a new hire and only got her job when “Maria” with five years of experience was hauled away by ICE.

That which followed would vie to compete with the scene where Jack Nicholson’s character Bobby Dupea in Five Easy Pieces tries to get a plain omelet, with tomatoes instead of potatoes, coffee, and a side order of wheat toast. If you don’t know the movie, this scene is such a classic as to be easily found on YouTube. Ours was not to be one of ultimate chaos but just another chapter in the trials and tribulations of travelers in Everywhere USA for the immediate future.

Our order went in around 10:45 a.m. Melody served us ice tea and water and around 11:15 she stopped by to tell us that it would be just a few more minutes. At 11:30 Melody assured us that it would just be a “few more minutes.” At 11:45 Melody returned with a look of terror on her ashen face and a trembling voice told us that she had been “slammed” and, holding a fistful of handwritten order slips, explained that she had somehow misplaced our order and it had never been put into the kitchen. She offered to pay for our meal and resubmit it. While we decided what to do, she went to another nearby table and repeated her tale of woe to a couple who just stood up and stormed out of the place. They left just ahead of one of those large groups of people who had arrived after we did as they had already finished their meals.

In my best “Bobby Dupea” imitation I calmly asked Melody if she could get the manager to prioritize our order and get it out quickly. She said she would try. We were served our meals by 12:15. Melody admitted that she had to confess her error to the manager to get our order moved ahead, and again that the meal was on her. In the end, fearing this poor girl would be the one out the $45 bill, we insisted on paying and we left her a tip. She looked visibly relieved. There was a certain irony that, in a restaurant that features the Grand Slam, a waitress would be the one to use the excuse that she had been “slammed.”

We will never know if Melody was a “Maria” replacement, but our recent experience with businesses in the hospitality field tell me that, while Covid may have started things on a downward spiral, unchecked immigration enforcement without a plan will be devastating. Couple this with our isolationist white nationalism attitude that has pissed off most of our former foreign allies, only to ingratiate totalitarian regimes, and losses of both domestic and international travelers will further damage an already suffering industry.

Our Key West trip ended on a more pleasant note when we made it to the hotel restaurant where they actually do serve dinner. It was outstanding. Our waiter was great. He was from Hungary and my brother Rick, who had dated a Hungarian girl, was able to dust off his Hungarian phrasebook. There was live entertainment, cocktails and good food. Perhaps there is still a bright light at the end of the tunnel for the hospitality industry. For the immediate future however, I believe we need to, “Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy night.” That bright light in the tunnel is the headlight of the oncoming Trump Train.

Fortunate Son

As most people know, Trump was a wealthy draft dodger during the Vietnam War. His sudden onset of bone spurs was diagnosed by Dr. Larry Braunstein, a podiatrist who rented his office from Trump's father, Fred Trump. This “medical favor” got The Donald out of his obligation of military service. As a member of the Vietnam draft era, I saw several “fortunate sons” of wealthy parents skip their military obligation with similar convenient ailments. I ended up serving four years in the Navy. As a friend said of his time in the military, I wouldn’t do it again for all the money in the world, but I wouldn’t trade the experience for that same amount.

It would seem that the Army’s official rock band (who knew?), Downrange, has a sense of humor. In their setlist for the recent Trump parade, was a song with special meaning for President “Bone Spurs” Trump. Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son,” a song about wealthy draft dodgers, was played during his military themed birthday celebration.

Fortunate Son was written by John Fogerty (pictured from my shot at the 2014 Jazzfest in New Orleans), and the irony is that it was all about the Donald Trumps of the period. Fogerty was condemning those who used their power, wealth, and privilege to dodge military service. John Fogerty wrote in his memoir:

“You’d hear about the son of this senator or that congressman who was given a deferment from the military or a choice position in the military. They seemed privileged and whether they liked it or not, these people were symbolic in the sense that they weren’t being touched by what their parents were doing. They weren’t being affected like the rest of us.”

Here are some excerpts from the lyrics:

And when the band plays "Hail to the chief"

Ooh, they point the cannon at you, Lord

It ain't me, it ain't me

I ain't no senator's son, son

Some folks are born silver spoon in hand

Lord, don't they help themselves, Lord?

I ain't no millionaire's son, no, no

It ain't me, it ain't me

Trump did, in his defense, suffer the trials and tribulations of his own “personal Vietnam” as he called it in a 1997 interview with Howard Stern. He claimed during that exchange that he felt like “a great and very brave soldier” by avoiding STD’s while sleeping with so many women in the ‘90s and that this was his “personal Vietnam.” Clueless statements such as these are indicative of the true nature of the man. While serving now as the “Commander-in-Chief” of our military, he is the very antithesis of the spirit of those who sacrificed and proudly served in our military.

Kudos to Downrange for their CCR song selection. Trump can’t blame them as he had the same song played at his campaign rallies. He remains clueless and still considers dodging the draft as one of his personal victories. His reference that American soldiers who died in combat were "losers" and "suckers" would seem to indicate that he really was unfit for military service, just as he is unfit now to serve as its chief.

The Great Replacement Theory

The Great Replacement Theory is a sociopolitical concept asserting that native populations in a given country, are being systematically replaced by immigrant groups through demographic changes. The far-white-right in America are claiming the existence of an unchecked immigration plot that is being used to shift political power away from them. These fears are then used to justify exclusionary or xenophobic policies. We are seeing almost daily evidence of this with armed and masked police units, often of undeclared authority, trampling on the civil rights of immigrants and citizens alike.

When the original arrests of new immigrants were being made near the border, there was not much vocal protest. When those arrests began grabbing the friendly waffle house waitress in a hometown of over 80% Trump voters, that’s when people got upset. It seems that Carol, a local Kennet, Mo. resident of over 20 years and mother of three children, was not who the town thought would be the target of Trump’s vowed deportation of 20 million immigrants. Now, instead of wearing MAGA hats, they are wearing “Bring Carol Home” tee-shirts.

Much like his unwitting supporters, Trump’s act first and think later mindset is having consequences for everyone. He is having second thoughts about his ICE raids on farms, hotels, and restaurants and has now paused them. I say “second thoughts” when it is clear he never had the first thought. He now sees what most thinking people knew all along, America needs immigration. His pause of immigration enforcement in select industries began when he saw how it was hurting key industries. These industries are in blue and red states. Wow, who could have seen that one coming? Helen Keller, Mr. Magoo, and Stevie Wonder saw it, but not DJT.

It seems that Mr. Trump suffered the same problem faced by Rick Blaine in Casablanca who, when asked why he came there said that he came “for the waters.” He was then reminded that Casablanca was in the desert. Rick’s response, “I was misinformed.” Apparently, there is a lot of that going around these days. Trump didn’t realize that many key industries only function with the help of immigrants and their “green card status” is often of secondary importance. Some of these immigrant-dependent industries are are suffering substantial losses and those, in turn, have a domino like impact on other industries and businesses.

The Great Replacement Theory in America originated in white supremacist circles and like most conspiracy theories, has little foundation in fact. Widespread immigrant voting to the advantage of Democratic candidates was never found even after expensive and extensive investigations of recent elections. Trump saw this conspiracy as opportunity and he echoed the depiction of immigrants as “invaders.” This is all part of a much larger plan to erode basic civil rights using this “invasion” as an excuse to implement an American dictatorship. This is the same dictatorship Trump promised to only use on “day one.” If anyone is counting, day one ended months ago.

Immigration raids and the tariff roller coaster have created the distraction of chaos, now we need to be wary of his next diabolical moves. He was embarrassed by his faux military birthday celebration and blamed the low turnout on the weathermen predicting rain. Meanwhile, the rest of the nation turned out tens of thousands in cities across the country to show our discontent with King Trump and his clown car court of inept miscreants.

None of this is to say we should open our borders. We just need a sound and properly functioning immigration plan that meets the needs of this country and which is run with some thought to common decency. Carol of Kennett, Mo. is not alone.

Crossroads

Our nation is at a crossroads in history. Sadly, our president, vice president, attorney general, and most of the appointed cabinet members, never studied American history or world history for that matter. The true genius and mastermind of this regime is Stephen Miller. He is the puppet master and the man behind the curtain. His evil genius has found the perfect storm. But for his religion, he would have been an ideal fit in the Third Reich.

It was George Santayana who said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". He was also responsible for a comment on fanatacism and described it as, "Redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim."

It was February 27, 1933, when the Reichstag fire broke out in the parliament building of Nazi Germany. While the true cause of the fire was of some debate, it was blamed on the “communists” and used to justify a consolidation of power. The German Nationalist coalition partners and the Nazi leadership used this event to issue a decree, The Reichstag Fire Decree, to suspend the right to assembly, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press. The police had all restraints removed for any investigations they deemed necessary and basic constitutional protections were suspended.

With the formality of the decree, political opponents were arrested without charge, political organizations were dissolved, and opposition publications were suspended. The central government now had the authority to overrule state and local laws and to overthrow state or local governments.

In summary, a boogeyman had been found and was used as an excuse for a suspension of civil rights to the cheers of the German people who now thought the nation had been saved from the Bolsheviks. The fact that no such plot was afoot by any organization to overthrow the government was of no consequence, the damage had been done. The cost for this miscalculation by the German people was 8 million of their lives. On the German side of this two ocean war, a total of 30 million people would lose their lives on this, the Eastern Front of World War II.

Could Los Angeles be the Reichstag fire for the Trump regime? Could Trump's evil genius Stephen Miller, be so deviant to try to use this minor outbreak to justify the suspension of habeas corpus that President Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem say is, "a constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country and suspend their rights". I won't justify her idiocy with an explanation of something she should have learned in high school.

The fictional world of Lewis Carrol’s Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There, would be a wonderful place for Ms. Noem. There, to reach a destination your walked away from it. Left is right, and right is left. Text must be read in a mirror. As noted by the Red Queen, "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"

In this, the Red Queen has the final word, “You're right, Stayne. It is far better to be feared than loved.” It reflects Machiavelli’s idea that a ruler can maintain power more effectively by inspiring fear than by relying solely on love.

 I found a little story that should alter MAGA opinions of Jan 6 being peaceful. This was from sworn testimony.

U.S. Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards was the first of many law enforcement officers injured during the violent January 6, 2021 insurrection against the Capitol. While stationed at the Capitol Building, Edwards was assaulted when rioter Ryan Samsel pushed over a bike rack barrier, causing it to hit her head. The impact made her fall backward, striking her chin on a handrail and cracking her skull on steps behind her, resulting in a concussion that rendered her unconscious. Despite this traumatic brain injury, Edwards regained consciousness minutes later and continued defending the Capitol, engaging in what she later described as "hours of hand-to-hand combat."

Although Edwards was the first police officer assaulted by the violent rioters, she was far from the last -- 140 police officers were assaulted during the attack on the Capitol building. As one of his first acts as president when he was inaugurated on January 20, 2025, Donald Trump granted full pardons to all those convicted in the January 6 attack, over 1,500 rioters in total, including the 123 individuals charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to a police officer.

Among those pardoned was Samsel who had been convicted on all charges, including felony civil disorder and assaulting a police officer. The Department of Justice sought a 20-year prison sentence in their sentencing memorandum, describing how Samsel, who had previous multiple convictions for assaulting women, "was the first rioter to breach the restricted perimeter on January 6, 2021." Justice was never served, however, due to Trump's pardoning Samsel for his violent attack on Officer Edwards and his other crimes.

Born in 1991 in Atlanta, Caroline Edwards graduated cum laude from the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication with a bachelor's degree in public relations. She joined the United States Capitol Police in 2017 and had worked on "hundreds of civil disturbances" prior to January 6, 2021. As a member of the first responder unit, Edwards had training for riots but was not equipped with riot gear on that fateful day. Edwards comes from a military family and has spoken about her grandfather who served as a Marine in the Korean War, saying she hoped "he would be proud of me, proud of his granddaughter that stood her ground that day and continued fighting, even though she was wounded."

In her testimony to the House January 6 Committee on June 9, 2022, Edwards provided a harrowing account of the violence she witnessed: "What I saw was just a war scene. It was something like I had seen out of the movies. I couldn't believe my eyes. There were officers on the ground. You know, they were bleeding. They were throwing up." She continued, "I saw friends with blood all over their faces. I was slipping in people's blood." Edwards also described seeing fellow officer Brian Sicknick looking "ghostly pale" after being sprayed with a chemical agent. Sicknick would later collapse and die following the attack.

Beyond recounting the physical violence, Edwards reflected on the emotional toll of being vilified for defending the Capitol. "I was called Nancy Pelosi's dog, called incompetent, called a hero and a villain. I was called a traitor to my country, my oath, and my constitution. In actuality, I was none of those things. I was an American standing face to face with other Americans asking myself many, many times how we had gotten here." For her heroism, Edwards was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Joe Biden in 2023. For months after the attack, she experienced vertigo and fainting spells, and was initially bedridden due to the severity of her traumatic brain injury. Even several years after being assaulted, she was still suffering from migraines due to her brain injury and required monthly medication to manage the ongoing effects.

In a deeply troubling indication of his priorities, Trump made pardoning the January 6 attackers one of his very first acts upon returning to office, signaling his willingness to absolve violent extremism in service to his own political interests above all else. Following Trump's mass pardons of January 6 defendants, former Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell described the pardons as a "miserable" injustice that removed accountability from rioters who did "irreparable damage to our nation."

Similarly, police officers who were injured by the rioters condemned Trump's action as a "betrayal," with Gonell adding, "All this hard work, all these investigations, all the efforts to bring justice and accountability have been erased." In stark contrast to this betrayal of justice, Edwards' powerful testimony reflects her unwavering commitment to her country: "I am a proud American and I will gladly sacrifice everything to make sure that the America my grandfather defended is here for many years to come."