The Art of the Deal????

It's being reported this morning that the US and Iran have reached a "deal" in the conflict started by the Melon Felon two or three months ago. The details have not yet been released as of this morning but it appears that there will be a cease fire for 90 days to allow time to work on an actual treaty instead of the "Memorandum of Understanding" or MOU that this is. Bear in mind that President Obama, along with a number of other leaders, had negotiated a deal back in July 2015 called the JCPOA or Iran nuclear deal for short. By all indications, this was working in keeping Iran for manufacturing a nuclear weapon and had achieved some form of uncomfortable peace in the Middle East. In 2018, Trump removed the US from the deal and it fell apart. According to him, the Iranians were ignoring the deal anyway, Obama had negotiated it so it had to be horrible, and only he could fix it. He never got around to doing so in his first term and had to wait until now to take charge. According to intelligence sources, Iran was nowhere near a nuclear warhead. According to Trump, it was imminent - within 2 weeks! - and he had to do something. So, he and Israel decided to completely set the Middle East into turmoil. (Oddly, 2 weeks is what he said it would take to come up with a new healthcare program; that was about 6 years ago, during his first term. Should be here any day, now!) It appears that the terms of this new deal with Iran will not be as favorable as Obama's deal was. And there you have it! Just so much winning! 7,000 dead, including a lot of kids and innocents, about $40 billion spent on munitions, 13 dead soldiers, gas over $4 a gallon, and inflation at the highest rate since during the pandemic. Why do we even have a 25th Amendment?

So, we're at war...

So now, we’re at war… I was born a few years after the end of the Korean Conflict, a war that my father served in. (In Germany, not in combat, mind you.) It was also a few years before the start of the Viet Nam war, another horrible war that ended up killing over 58,000 US service members. I remember one time, a cousin visited us in Arlington during the Viet Nam days. She and her brother were both in the Army at the time. Watching the news in the evening, she was physically disturbed at the reports of service members dying that day and that week. It made an impression on me. It would have made a bigger impression if I’d been drafted but the war ended before I was at that age. My father told me, once, that he’d have told me to go to Canada if I had been drafted. That also made an impression on me. Here we are again, having entered a completely avoidable conflict all because one man – President Donald J. Trump – wants to show the world how strong he is and how strong the USA is. He claims it’s because the Iranians were “weeks away” from having nuclear weapons, something that intelligence sources say is highly inaccurate. Other sources believe it’s to take away interest in the Epstein Files, in which he’s named over 3,000 times. (The FBI apparently has reason to finally believe a woman who testified, under oath, that Trump sexually abused and beat her at 13 of age. Nice.) His Secretary of Defense – Pete Hegseth – a former Fox News weekend host, alcoholic, cosplaying Army wannabe, is directing the military festivities with help from his self-appointed cronies. To say it’s a shitshow is about the nicest way to put it. It’s costing $1 Billion a day and all it’s done so far, is kill the ancient leader of Iran, get his son elevated in his place, drive the price of oil up about about 50% in a week, and get a couple of dozen US service members killed or badly injured. Winning! Hegseth appeared on 60 Minutes last night and gave an incredibly pompous account of what had happened so far and what we could expect. It allowed me to confirm that he is no more qualified for that role than I am to be competing on the PGA Tour. He’s lost and he knows it but he puts up a brave front, tying everything back to the incredible leadership of dear leader, Trump. At a solemn occasion of “dignified transfer of war dead” this past weekend, Trump appeared wearing one of his signature baseball caps that are part of his merchandise sale offerings. I’ve not seen anything so disrespectful in my life; and I’ve watched Congress in action for over 6 decades. The man has zero respect for anything but himself, truly. What’s next? Look, I know that the moral arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice. I so wish it wouldn’t take so bloody long! In only 13 months, this administration has embarrassed the US on the International stage, turned our allies into standoffish observers, set fire to the financial works all over the world economy, and driven prices into the stratosphere for all Americans. If this isn’t stopped, or at least inhibited, by the various checks and balances that are in place, we may not recover in my lifetime. And I don’t want my kids having to clean this up because the public was stupid enough to elect this assclown twice! For me, I’m going to keep doing what I can to keep the pressure up. I’ll keep writing my Congresspeople, keep posting on social media, continue to debate the cult members when I get the chance. I do this not because I think I can change other’s opinions it’s to ensure that I don’t change my own from being beaten into submission by them. I know this much. We can’t continue down this path, not if we want the great American Experiment to continue. Not if we value our freedoms. Not if we value our country. And certainly not if we value life. Do not give up the fight!