Blog: If I understand this

After the stock rise on Wednesday, after the tariff reversal announcement, From Robert Reich: “The reversal prompted the S&P 500 stock index to climb over 7 percent in just minutes.  Traders with inside information about what Trump was about to do — some of them, presumably, Trump family members and cronies — just made a fortune.” — And there it is!

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There are many Trump supporters who speak Spanish, especially Cuban-Americans in south Florida.  The Trumpers want to stop the weather bureau from translating weather warnings (like for hurricanes) into other languages.  After all, Trumpy did an Executive Order about English as our official language.  Maybe that’s like Americans who travel overseas and tell people to “speak English!”

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Silly Realization Dept.:  If you type the word “abut” when you mean “about,” the spell check will not usually correct it because “abut” is a word.

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 When it comes to trains, and funding Amtrak:

There is no mode of transportation anywhere in the world that is not subsidized.

Privatization advocates refuse to look evidence in the face that privatization fails most of the time.

There’s not a single example anywhere in the world of an airline, a transit agency, or a railroad making enough money (just) from tickets to pay for all the infrastructure it needs to run.

When passenger trains stop at a town, it helps its economy.

And yes, for decades, our Congress has been giving the private, for-profit airlines billions in subsidies, while squeezing Amtrak as much as it can.  Gee, Congressmen and Senators fly most everywhere, right?

And, don’t forget:  Freeways aren’t free.

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From CNBC:  Companies are facing a new threat: Job seekers who aren’t who they say they are, using AI tools to fabricate photo IDs, generate employment histories and provide answers during interviews. – I am guessing this is mostly in “work from home” jobs?  The article said this will become a large issue.

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I get sad about Gaza, and how that is still a war, basically.  So many kids killed. And some kids (they are to me, anyway) in colleges here protest about it, and because the Trumpers say they are “anti-Semitic” and their student visas or whatchacallit, can be revoked and they get deported?  How nice.  Free speech?  Bill of Rights?

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Yeah, Trump is trying to revive the dirty coal industry, but:  For the record, two-thirds of Americans want the United States to transition away from fossil fuels like coal (the dirtiest fossil fuel) toward cleaner energy sources. And even some coal-loving Republicans concede that Trump’s executive order won’t bring back coal production, Politico reports.

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And yes, I am likely the only person you know who has both a Donald Trump and a Sigmund Freud action figure.

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While TV toy commercials are ubiquitous today, they were virtually unheard of before April 30, 1952. That day, a television ad for Mr. Potato Head aired for the first time.  And at first, kids got parts of him to put into real potatoes!   Plastic potato heads came later. I wonder if they peeled the spuds, or shaped them?

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Paul Krugman: “Trump Is Stupid, Erratic and Weak” – sums it up.

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And about coal as an energy source:  As late as 2007, America got half its electricity from coal; that figure is now down to 16%. MSNBC Opinion:  We are never going back to the days when hundreds of thousands of people worked in the mines, and anyone who says we can — including the president — is lying.

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There is this:  Service industries, including financial and legal services, health care, education and accounting to real estate, tourism, information technology, software development and media and entertainment, make up 70 percent of the U.S. economy. – so, it is not coal mines and manufacturing so much.

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And some good news from the Supreme Court:  Supreme Court upholds order requiring Trump administration to return Maryland man from El Salvador.

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Monarch butterflies can fly as high as 10,000 feet. Provided by FactRetriever.com

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HHS Lays Off All Full-Time Cruise Ship Health Inspectors Amid Illness Outbreaks: — Huffpost.  Wanna take a cruise now?

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The Trump administration intends to eliminate the research arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, close all weather and climate labs and eviscerate its budget along with several other NOAA offices, according to internal documents obtained by CNN.

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In an ABC online news story: “Eduh then located a male acquaintance within the store, and fatally shot them, according to the sheriff’s office.” – Lemmee guess, the victim had a multiple personality disorder . . . them?

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. . . Referring to the president’s 1987 book, The Art of the Deal that details his supposed business savvy, recall that he has filed for bankruptcy six times. This includes a casino — that his Dad gave him $7M to build, and another $3M in a sneaky business deal, to prop it up. How do you lose money in a casino?

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For encouragement, perhaps, this:  Winston Churchill failed sixth grade. And, he did not become Prime Minister until the age of 62.

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Even after Trump gave  some tariffs a 90-day pause, this:  Yale University’s Budget Lab estimates that the tariffs will still cost the average household $4,700. 

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Social Security Administration Reportedly Switching All Communications to X – and who owns that?  Hint: Rhymes with Elon Musk.

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U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon twice referred to artificial intelligence — AI — as “A1.” – Ah, so our kids are in good hands as she dismantles the DOE . . . maybe she was thinking of A1 steak sauce?

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Every day at about 6:15 to 6:20 p.m., the Catalina Express ferry is in view here coming in.  It is the largest and fastest vessel (about 30 knots if seas permit) that docks here.  We have taken it twice, and yes, to Catalina Island.  I guess it is all my years at sea, but I enjoy being on the deck and watching it come in.  We have a tall ship here that is, well taller, because of the masts, but I was a power-driven vessel mate and I like the Express. Gotta take it again sometime.

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Like, who voted against National History Day? More than half a million students work to qualify for the national history competition each year. – Trump just cut off funding for this.  I guess he needs more money for golf.

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And the “their” problem is also on HuffPost: “There’s the conservative who is fearful of losing their job after their company warned of mass layoffs thanks to Trump tariffs.”

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In sports:  I played one season of rugby while taking courses at the University of Texas, Austin, in 1969.  I am lucky I wasn’t very good or able to play more, to wit:  PARIS — Rugby star Sébastien Chabal won two Six Nations titles with France, reached a World Cup semifinal and played 62 times for his nation as a powerful forward. But he does not remember any of it due to memory loss stemming from the concussions he sustained as a player.

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If you have not checked the Big Bear Eagle camera lately, the two chicks are getting bigger, being left alone in the nest more, and flexing their soon to be large wings.  I think they fly at about 10-12 weeks old.

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We are going to the local “fancy” movies Monday to see The Amateur.   Likely a blow em up, but I liked the trailer, which is not always a true indicator.  Will review next week.

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All take care,

Kevin