“Preventing wars is cheaper than fighting them,” goes an old saying. I would say a similar thing about health care, or you can remember an old quote: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Hint to the younger folks – Medicare is rather generous with things like Physical Therapy, I assume because they understand that is cheaper than surgery or long-term care.
……………………………………..
A New York City hip-hop artist who appeared next to President Donald Trump during a rally in the Bronx last year has been sentenced to five years in prison for gang-related activities, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced Wednesday. Gee, Trump likes hip-hop that much?
……………………………………..
From a comic strip I read: Kid wakes his mom up in the middle of the night to say this:
Kid: “Isn’t it weird that if you go north long enough, you’ll be going south, but if you go east, you will always be going east?”
Mom: “See you again in a couple hours.”
……………………………………………
Most of you know that I played the drums in school – started in 3rd grade and kept it up through college. I became damn good at it. I didn’t play much after that – difficult to take a drum set to sea, heh heh. But I did sit in with some groups in my travels. A jazz quartet in Beirut, a rock band in Santos, Brazil, and I did a drum solo for my 50th high school reunion (it looked like a spur of the moment thing, but no, I had practiced it). What’s odd, or maybe usual with drummers, is how many drum cadences I can remember. Many. Could play them today, although not as well. The one that haunts me a bit, was the one played, on “muffled drums” as per tradition, for the funeral march in DC with JFK’s casket, the riderless horse, and all that, in 1963. Same thing. Simple — over and over. Very military. That, and taps, especially at a military funeral, still “gets me” a bit. Of course, taps was/is traditionally played at the end of every day. We heard it for 4 years at Kings Point. And there are words to it, about “Day is done, gone the sun . . .” stuff like that. But it is a bugle call, so no official words.
…………………………………………
A Dem California rep posted this: “As Republicans hide from voters, Democrats cannot remain passive and squander this moment. We must acknowledge voters’ fury, help them organize and offer concrete policies for a better country. That is how we build a movement, defeat the far-right and overcome the deep political nihilism in our country.” – Seems right to me.
………………………………………….
Voice actors in Hollywood are having some trouble with having their voices being digitally copied and reproduced. Per the LA Times: The L.A.-based performer is one of many voice actors reckoning with AI’s industry disruptions. Voice cloning has become much easier, requiring just seconds of audio. This poses a host of challenges for actors who have found their voices replicated online without their consent, knowledge or compensation, reducing paid job opportunities and stripping them of their agency.
…………………………………………….
One thing, among many, that conservatives don’t know: The Department of Education doesn’t actually handle what’s taught in schools (curricula).
……………………………………..
From Ali Velshi at MSNBC: “Dictators fear freedom of speech more than any other right because it is the beating heart of a free, democratic society. People who are free to speak are free to challenge authority, share ideas and organize, all of which undermine tyranny.”
………………………………………….
In case you thought having RFK Jr. in the admin was a good idea: Peter Marks, the top official overseeing vaccines for the Food and Drug Administration, has been forced to resign, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post reported on Friday. And: A Texas children’s hospital is now treating children for vitamin A toxicity after RFK Jr. touted the vitamin as a measles treatment.
……………………………………….
WASHINGTON — American taxpayers have now spent more than $26 million in Donald Trump’s second term so the president can play golf at one of his own courses. So, lessee, about $12M a month, so for a four-year term it could be $576M! and, yes, I recall Trumpy saying that Obama played too much golf, and he, Trump, would be working on weekends and not have time for golf . . .
………………………………………………
Didja Know Dept.: Columbus was not alone in understanding that the earth was spherical — most educated people of his time knew that. What they did NOT know was how big it was, i.e., the circumference. Hence, it was a real risk to sail beyond the sight of shore. And yes, Columbus was a murderer and a terrible person, more on that some other time.
…………………………………………
And remember, kids . . . if you’re having a down day, there is always the eagle cam at Big Bear Lake! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4-L2nfGcuE
………………………………………..
An animal lover, Lincoln owned dogs and cats throughout his life, and he let his sons Tad and Willie keep rabbits, turkeys, horses, and goats at the White House. He even let his cat eat at the dining table!
……………………………………..
In addition to being in hot water for sending sensitive national security information via Signal chat, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing criticism for selecting his younger brother Phil Hegseth for a key role at the Pentagon, and for bringing his wife — a former Fox News producer — to two meetings with foreign military counterparts where sensitive information was discussed. – MSNBC
………………………………………..
Trumpy has said publicly that he “could run” for a third term. This is forbidden by our Constitution. But one way I read they could try it is that Vance is the R nominee in 2028, with Trump as his VP; after they are sworn in, Vance resigns, Trump becomes president again; no doubt gives Vance any cake job he wants (plus, perhaps some cash from Muskrat). This one scares me. Someone convince me this is not possible! I did find this: The major problem is that the 12th Amendment clearly states that “no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.”
Twice-elected Trump is constitutionally ineligible. But if he was Speaker and the President and Vice President both resigned . . . dunno.
………………………………………….
Perhaps interesting fact: Just over half of all the shares of stock owned by Americans are held by the richest 1 percent. Over 90 percent are held by the richest 10 percent.
……………………………………………..
Didja know this Dept.: The feathers under a flamingo’s wings are black. You typically see them only when they are flying. Provided by FactRetriever.com
……………………………………………..
I like this quote:
“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe Didja know Ashe was from Richmond, Va.? and that when the confederate statues were removed from Monument Street, one of him remains!
……………………………………………
This from Huffpost, In part: The letter from Harvard law professors acknowledged that many international students on U.S. college campuses are living in “fear of imprisonment or deportation for lawful speech and political activism.” The First Amendment, they wrote, “was designed to make dissent and debate possible without fear of government punishment.” — Do Trumpers not “get this?” Or how dangerous this is? Or similar to what dictators do?
…………………………………………..
About the pipeline from Fox News to a Trump admin job: The New York Times published a tally and found 19 “former Fox News hosts, commentators, on-air medical experts, producers and other personnel” who’d landed jobs in the Republican administration. How about the Ttump kids, aren’t we going to pay them again too?
……………………………………………..
That’s that for today. Will be about 60 and sunny here.
All take care,
Kevin
Blog: If I understand this 
You must be logged in to post a comment.