Author’s note: I will be on a little trip later this week and will NOT post next Sunday, the 22nd. Should resume the next week.
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Nothing makes Americans want to gamble like the Super Bowl. Every year, the game is reliably the biggest day for sports betting: On platforms such as FanDuel and DraftKings, people are already putting money down on which team will win the opening coin toss, how long the national anthem will be, and what color of Gatorade will be used to douse the winning head coach. – From The Atlantic
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The odds of being captured by the enemy in World War II were 1 in 100. In the Civil War, they were 1 in 5. As Brundage observes, three times as many Union soldiers died at the Confederate camp in Andersonville, Georgia, as at Gettysburg. Overall, approximately 10 percent of the war’s deaths occurred in prisons. Years ago, I read a book about the confederate camp at Andersonville, perhaps the worst of the civil war prisons. It wasn’t, like you might imagine, some fortress; it was basically open ground with no services. People starved or got sick with no care.
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Less than 14% of those arrested by ICE in Trump’s 1st year back in office had violent criminal records, document shows — February 9, 2026 / 12:17 PM EST / CBS News
Recall Trump’s promise to go after serious criminals?
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CNN Headline: Maxwell can clear Trump’s name in Epstein probe in exchange for clemency, attorney says – Gee, is that such a surprise that it is news at all? I suppose she did not have the required millions to buy a Trump crypto/pardon with . . .
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More and more I tend to agree with those who say that Trump already has dementia, or worse. Yesterday, he ranted about how (magically?) the Chinese would end hockey in Canada and they would not have a Stanley Cup. On top of his “windmills cause cancer,” “I won the 2020 election,” or saying he could “deflect a hurricane with an atomic bomb,” there is his inability to put three sentences in order on one subject. His mind is not right. His narcissist personality causes some of it, but not all. Then, there is the corruption and the incompetent cabinet, but I’ll leave that for now.
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More of my usual “to go to” news sites online now require membership and payment to read articles. You can see headlines, but when you click on a story, you have to sign in. CNN and BBC, two of my favorites, now do this. There are still plenty of other “free” ones, but the trend is clear. Sooner or later, I will have to choose, and give in. Except for the Washington Post – no longer any reason to even try them.
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Fact about beef prices: Average ground beef prices around the U.S. reached $6.69 a pound in December, up 19% from a year ago, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Five years ago, consumers could buy a pound of ground beef for $3.95.
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I’ve read some disturbing stories of Trump people monitoring things like emails, then showing up at the door of writers they don’t like – no warrant, and info provided by Goggle. Stay tuned on this stuff. And, in border areas of California, “they” are apparently hiding cameras in traffic cones to read license plates and look for suspicious patterns. Why am I thinking of a book entitled, It Can’t Happen Here? (1935, by Sinclair Lewis)
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Dad Joke:
Why did the stadium get hot after the game?
All the fans left.
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So, Trump is issuing “orders” to basically stop climate change measures. He wants to fire up coal plants, too. Folks, there is no such thing as “clean coal.”
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This, on the continued attack on everyone voting: Kristi Noem Wants ‘Right People Voting, Electing the Right Leaders’ – Are you one of the “right people?”
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Again, most countries are not like this: In 2024, in a perspective piece for KFF Health News, Elisabeth Rosenthal reported that “medical expenses” is GoFundMe’s most common fundraising category.
There’s an obvious reason why. In the United States, medical debt is the leading cause of personal bankruptcy.
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From CBS: The greenhouse gases emitted from sources like cars, trucks and power plants, major contributors to climate change, will no longer be regulated by the federal government, following an announcement Thursday by President Trump and Lee Zeldin, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
The administration’s action formally repeals what is known as the “endangerment finding,” which provides the legal and scientific underpinning for the federal government to regulate the emission of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere.
And further in the article: Dr. Gretchen Goldman, CEO of the Union of Concerned Scientists, called it “an obvious example of what happens when a corrupt administration and fossil fuel interests are allowed to run amok.” — Well, hell, y’all don’t believe in all that climate crap or evilution and such, do ya? Jus’ trust the gas companies!
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Your president, hard at work; or too many cheeseburgers?
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“There will be Voter I.D. for the Midterm Elections, whether approved by Congress or not!” Mr. Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
He said there should also be proof of citizenship and a ban on mail-in ballots, with some exceptions.
It appalls me that Republicans will not speak or act out in defense of our voting rights. Of course, voter suppression has been a long-time tactic for them. If everyone votes, they lose, and they know it.
Some of you know that I spent 8 years working for one of the largest elections departments in the country – Maricopa, Arizona – which includes the whole Phoenix metro area and more. We had 1,000 precincts spread out over 9,000 square miles. I remember hanging chads, and was one of the first to transmit data directly from a voting machine to the central tabulation computers “downtown.” Trump’s attacks on voting are most disturbing. It was amazing, though, in 2024, when he won, he did not accuse any one of cheating . . .
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A valentine’s day card I got says that I am “one in a melon.”
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Not every Trump supporter is a racist.
But every racist is a Trump supporter.
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Remember, no blog from me next Sunday. Should be back in action the week after.
All take care,
Kevin
Blog: If I understand this 
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