Comparing Trump to a used car salesman is a bit disingenuous. At least a salesman honors the contract once made. For Trump, contracts are more like the shifting sands of the Sahara. Nice ideas, highly fungible. Thing is, we gave Ukraine a security guarantee of sorts with the 1994 Budapest Memorandum (UK and Russia also signed). Give up the nukes, we will recognize your sovereignty and assure some level of security. Forward to now. Ms Geddry captures it. Zelensky is a realist and a diplomat. Trump? No move without consulting Putin. As these “nearly 90%” progress, Putin saturates Kyiv air defenses with drones and missiles. Putin promises to rebuild what he destroys. To provide cheap energy from the very nuclear power plant he seized by force.
As for the price of things. I share my sticker shock. Off to see Avatar III on IMAX. Two of us with tickets & popcorn; around $90. Clearly disposable income (no more IMAX, I’m getting a large screen tv). But. These prices are across the board. So, I try to imagine a family of two earning a combined income of $30/hour. Annualized, around $60K—hardly pays the rent & groceries. As for healthcare? A hard choice—food or premiums—if ACA subsidies leave. Leading to a second anecdote: a family member on annual physical discovered a heart condition requiring surgical intervention. The procedure is quick, out patient. He is insured. Back to those without. No early detection. No timely intervention. Instead, the real potential of reacting to a medical emergency, not preventing. Healthcare by ER is not economic in both high cost and consequence.
In a time for Churchill, we have a Quisling. In a time for unity, we have president who denigrates by word and deed over half of the US population.
It makes me nauseous to think that right before Zelenskyy walks into the room, Trump is cooing into the phone with Putin. What the hell is an American president doing bowing down to a criminal dictator?
He was in Putin's pocket long before he ran for office. He is bought and paid for with oligarch $$ -and kompromat. Putin met with Epstein before his death, it's likely he has the files
Sorry, I should have looked deeper; "there is no evidence that Putin actually met with Epstein, However, newly released emails from Jeffrey Epstein indicate that he actively sought a meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, in 2018 to offer "insight" into then-President Donald Trump ahead of the Helsinki summit with Putin."
I have been thinking about the Epstein/Putin meeting all afternoon. Thanks for clarifying. I mean, wow, if it did happen. But really, Putin has something, maybe film from a Russian hotel but maybe something from the Epstein collection. Do you think that after 2005, Epstein wouldn't take a big payoff from ANYBODY for the materials he had? Putin probably threw into the deal some Moscow High School girls as well.
I keep thinking of the way Putin led the iDJT out on a leash after their secret meeting in Helsinki. He looked like a sad, beat hounddog. So many people must 'know something' yet very few say anything -out of fear. I understand.
Generally a very good piece - the reason I subscribe. But one thing: as an MBA in marketing, I have to disagree with "they aren’t listening, they’re marketing". Marketing is listening. Trump is no marketer. He's a pressure sales guy and a con man.
My favorite sentence today is about not trusting the DOJ with my library card. Very good. You know, library cards kill fascists, too.
While hokey and corny in the mid-century, Norman Rockwell has evolved to become one of America's greatest illustrators/artists. He showed us American life in a time of great change. He did not fight that change, rather, he, like so many Americans, embraced it. Some of us embraced the seismic cultural changes of the 60s and 70s with open arms, tired of not knowing anything about Americans outside our own race. We became a better country in my lifetime as society opened up to those other than white men.
Because I witnessed those changes, I was proud to teach American history. Now, I would have a difficult time defending our government in a room full of cynical teenagers. When I was their age, we marched for civil rights, women's rights, gay rights. We ended an immoral war through protest. We watched a corrupt president taken down BY CONGRESS. Now, what do they have? TikTok? Insta? The Kardashians?
Oh, yes, my daughter has a new mayor this week: Zohran Mamdani. The young people in New York achieved that.
And when someone says they intend to leave NY because of the new socialist mayor, we say, Hope the bridge doesn't fall while you're crossing it. Bye.
Mary Geddry posted an excellent piece two days ago about vaccinations and how the US and other country’s collective efforts saved millions of lives. It highlighted for me the truth that solutions to complicated problems, whether they are diseases or wars, are never solo efforts behind closed doors. Several of Norman Rockwell’s paintings show this. The bravery of a young black girl on her way into a segregated school. Or a doctor giving an infant a vaccination while the anxious parents look over his shoulder. Such Rockwell paintings , with permission, could be used again to show us today the way life was.
Every morning I count on hearing from you. In all of this hopeless morass we find ourselves in, you always seem to notice a flower struggling to bloom.
And, it does not surprise me in the least that our Administration would plagiarize Norman Rockwell. And... its comforting that his granddaughter is not having any of it!
Thank you for not forgetting Ukraine. Europe has not (although I think, they've tried really hard). The current Administration seems to only notice Ukraine whenever we as citizens start to notice too much.
But,Vladimir Zelensky is hard not to notice. Like you said, he shows up. Whether it's Mara-Lago or the front lines in Doniesk, he shows up. No suit, no excuses, no fanfare, and always the same message. He could very well be the Winston Churchill of our generation...
I feel some relief that the Europeans, Zelensky and Canada know exactly what Trump and his mob buddies are up to. They are just humoring him now while idiots like Kushner and Witkoff think they are deal-making to enrich themselves. These 20+ point deals are a joke, just making Trump feel powerful while Ukraine continues to beat Russia, a story no one covers. This war is a disaster for Putin and Trump, no matter how many staged meetings they try to trot out. It's all a fraud, like everything Trump does.
Hats off to anyone going to the DHS social media platform. I’ll go off and on and can only take in so much.. Whoever does these posts has a huge mental health issue. All of them. It’s just so warped that they try to bring up the nostalgia concept. Not just Norman Rockwell but from the 1960’s.
As a person who was born in the late 1950’s and raised in the 60’s that calling for Americans drafted to go off to Vietnam and families believing it their patriotic duty. We all now how conflict turned out… It’s the tugging of an era that was so misinformed on purpose. Heaven forbid this regime connect those dots… The Uncle Sam of him pointing “We want You” let’s just say is a little over the top.
Will say find that some of their posts are very similar to Hans-Otto Schweitzer: A prolific artist for the German Ministry, creating political and antisemitic posters, and designing national symbols. In Germany 1935- 1939.
The question of "how did we get here" looms over me as each treacherous day of trump antics unfold. But, in reality, I know it was done slowly and the American people were too busy doing the activities of this life after 1970 to repave the way to prosperity. We just thought things were "right" and they would go on forever with good intentions. We were profoundly wrong. We took our eyes off the future and settled for the mere crumbs of the good life. Now, here we are. We've been bamboozled by everyone from politicians to corporations to billionaires and we are left renting or leasing or paying on time to the company store. It's going to take a lot of strong will, new ideas, and realized goals to put us back together. That fall from the wall really broke our spirit and splattered our good intentions for a long time. Maybe trump's failures and over reaching will inspire us to really be American again! Here's hoping ! Thanks, Mary!
I sure hope Zelenskyy had a hidden microphone so he didn't lose any of the b.s. that Donny gave him. Stand your ground, sir. Do NOT trust anything Trump-Putin tells you. I sure hope they paid for your airfare to Mar-a-Lago. (The ocean levels cannot rise fast enough to ruin that place.)
I don't have any degree in marketing, but I do disagree with Jack. 'Pressure sales' is also marketing especially these days...everything is pressure, repeat, created influencers and in your face blatant lies. Ads are made to sell something and a lot of times, it is to sell something people didn't know they 'needed or wanted'. It's frequently embarrassing to witness what people will fall for...impulse purchasing...that means without thought. Much too much of that in these modern times.
More enjoyable to me and I think Mary will agree...It's been clear now the last couple mornings where I live and I have been able to see Jupiter off to the west in the dark o'clock morning. Lovely.
There's irony that trump meets with Zelensky and pushes land grabs after missiles and killings and before he's finished his coke, greets bibi for a chat.
Comparing Trump to a used car salesman is a bit disingenuous. At least a salesman honors the contract once made. For Trump, contracts are more like the shifting sands of the Sahara. Nice ideas, highly fungible. Thing is, we gave Ukraine a security guarantee of sorts with the 1994 Budapest Memorandum (UK and Russia also signed). Give up the nukes, we will recognize your sovereignty and assure some level of security. Forward to now. Ms Geddry captures it. Zelensky is a realist and a diplomat. Trump? No move without consulting Putin. As these “nearly 90%” progress, Putin saturates Kyiv air defenses with drones and missiles. Putin promises to rebuild what he destroys. To provide cheap energy from the very nuclear power plant he seized by force.
As for the price of things. I share my sticker shock. Off to see Avatar III on IMAX. Two of us with tickets & popcorn; around $90. Clearly disposable income (no more IMAX, I’m getting a large screen tv). But. These prices are across the board. So, I try to imagine a family of two earning a combined income of $30/hour. Annualized, around $60K—hardly pays the rent & groceries. As for healthcare? A hard choice—food or premiums—if ACA subsidies leave. Leading to a second anecdote: a family member on annual physical discovered a heart condition requiring surgical intervention. The procedure is quick, out patient. He is insured. Back to those without. No early detection. No timely intervention. Instead, the real potential of reacting to a medical emergency, not preventing. Healthcare by ER is not economic in both high cost and consequence.
In a time for Churchill, we have a Quisling. In a time for unity, we have president who denigrates by word and deed over half of the US population.
It makes me nauseous to think that right before Zelenskyy walks into the room, Trump is cooing into the phone with Putin. What the hell is an American president doing bowing down to a criminal dictator?
You could also ask, Where the hell were the collective minds of Americans to think it was ok to elect a felon?
He was in Putin's pocket long before he ran for office. He is bought and paid for with oligarch $$ -and kompromat. Putin met with Epstein before his death, it's likely he has the files
Sorry, I should have looked deeper; "there is no evidence that Putin actually met with Epstein, However, newly released emails from Jeffrey Epstein indicate that he actively sought a meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, in 2018 to offer "insight" into then-President Donald Trump ahead of the Helsinki summit with Putin."
I have been thinking about the Epstein/Putin meeting all afternoon. Thanks for clarifying. I mean, wow, if it did happen. But really, Putin has something, maybe film from a Russian hotel but maybe something from the Epstein collection. Do you think that after 2005, Epstein wouldn't take a big payoff from ANYBODY for the materials he had? Putin probably threw into the deal some Moscow High School girls as well.
I keep thinking of the way Putin led the iDJT out on a leash after their secret meeting in Helsinki. He looked like a sad, beat hounddog. So many people must 'know something' yet very few say anything -out of fear. I understand.
That is the “million dollar” question. It isn’t even subtle or one time.
Well said, David.
Generally a very good piece - the reason I subscribe. But one thing: as an MBA in marketing, I have to disagree with "they aren’t listening, they’re marketing". Marketing is listening. Trump is no marketer. He's a pressure sales guy and a con man.
My favorite sentence today is about not trusting the DOJ with my library card. Very good. You know, library cards kill fascists, too.
While hokey and corny in the mid-century, Norman Rockwell has evolved to become one of America's greatest illustrators/artists. He showed us American life in a time of great change. He did not fight that change, rather, he, like so many Americans, embraced it. Some of us embraced the seismic cultural changes of the 60s and 70s with open arms, tired of not knowing anything about Americans outside our own race. We became a better country in my lifetime as society opened up to those other than white men.
Because I witnessed those changes, I was proud to teach American history. Now, I would have a difficult time defending our government in a room full of cynical teenagers. When I was their age, we marched for civil rights, women's rights, gay rights. We ended an immoral war through protest. We watched a corrupt president taken down BY CONGRESS. Now, what do they have? TikTok? Insta? The Kardashians?
Oh, yes, my daughter has a new mayor this week: Zohran Mamdani. The young people in New York achieved that.
And when someone says they intend to leave NY because of the new socialist mayor, we say, Hope the bridge doesn't fall while you're crossing it. Bye.
Mary Geddry posted an excellent piece two days ago about vaccinations and how the US and other country’s collective efforts saved millions of lives. It highlighted for me the truth that solutions to complicated problems, whether they are diseases or wars, are never solo efforts behind closed doors. Several of Norman Rockwell’s paintings show this. The bravery of a young black girl on her way into a segregated school. Or a doctor giving an infant a vaccination while the anxious parents look over his shoulder. Such Rockwell paintings , with permission, could be used again to show us today the way life was.
Every morning I count on hearing from you. In all of this hopeless morass we find ourselves in, you always seem to notice a flower struggling to bloom.
And, it does not surprise me in the least that our Administration would plagiarize Norman Rockwell. And... its comforting that his granddaughter is not having any of it!
Thank you for not forgetting Ukraine. Europe has not (although I think, they've tried really hard). The current Administration seems to only notice Ukraine whenever we as citizens start to notice too much.
But,Vladimir Zelensky is hard not to notice. Like you said, he shows up. Whether it's Mara-Lago or the front lines in Doniesk, he shows up. No suit, no excuses, no fanfare, and always the same message. He could very well be the Winston Churchill of our generation...
I feel some relief that the Europeans, Zelensky and Canada know exactly what Trump and his mob buddies are up to. They are just humoring him now while idiots like Kushner and Witkoff think they are deal-making to enrich themselves. These 20+ point deals are a joke, just making Trump feel powerful while Ukraine continues to beat Russia, a story no one covers. This war is a disaster for Putin and Trump, no matter how many staged meetings they try to trot out. It's all a fraud, like everything Trump does.
It sounds like you listen to the Ukraine The Latest Podcast 🇺🇦.
Hats off to anyone going to the DHS social media platform. I’ll go off and on and can only take in so much.. Whoever does these posts has a huge mental health issue. All of them. It’s just so warped that they try to bring up the nostalgia concept. Not just Norman Rockwell but from the 1960’s.
As a person who was born in the late 1950’s and raised in the 60’s that calling for Americans drafted to go off to Vietnam and families believing it their patriotic duty. We all now how conflict turned out… It’s the tugging of an era that was so misinformed on purpose. Heaven forbid this regime connect those dots… The Uncle Sam of him pointing “We want You” let’s just say is a little over the top.
Will say find that some of their posts are very similar to Hans-Otto Schweitzer: A prolific artist for the German Ministry, creating political and antisemitic posters, and designing national symbols. In Germany 1935- 1939.
The question of "how did we get here" looms over me as each treacherous day of trump antics unfold. But, in reality, I know it was done slowly and the American people were too busy doing the activities of this life after 1970 to repave the way to prosperity. We just thought things were "right" and they would go on forever with good intentions. We were profoundly wrong. We took our eyes off the future and settled for the mere crumbs of the good life. Now, here we are. We've been bamboozled by everyone from politicians to corporations to billionaires and we are left renting or leasing or paying on time to the company store. It's going to take a lot of strong will, new ideas, and realized goals to put us back together. That fall from the wall really broke our spirit and splattered our good intentions for a long time. Maybe trump's failures and over reaching will inspire us to really be American again! Here's hoping ! Thanks, Mary!
I sure hope Zelenskyy had a hidden microphone so he didn't lose any of the b.s. that Donny gave him. Stand your ground, sir. Do NOT trust anything Trump-Putin tells you. I sure hope they paid for your airfare to Mar-a-Lago. (The ocean levels cannot rise fast enough to ruin that place.)
Had to get his instructions from Putrid, didn’t he? Loathsome waste of space (both of them, come to think of it.)
I don't have any degree in marketing, but I do disagree with Jack. 'Pressure sales' is also marketing especially these days...everything is pressure, repeat, created influencers and in your face blatant lies. Ads are made to sell something and a lot of times, it is to sell something people didn't know they 'needed or wanted'. It's frequently embarrassing to witness what people will fall for...impulse purchasing...that means without thought. Much too much of that in these modern times.
More enjoyable to me and I think Mary will agree...It's been clear now the last couple mornings where I live and I have been able to see Jupiter off to the west in the dark o'clock morning. Lovely.
There's irony that trump meets with Zelensky and pushes land grabs after missiles and killings and before he's finished his coke, greets bibi for a chat.