REPOST: Nov 6, 2026: What A Trump Presidency Would Look Like

[I'm reposting this as the Guardian reports today:

"Trump administration pushing to hand parcel of Yosemite land to private developer – report"

The general predictions of Trump's behavior are pretty much spot on.  The specific predictions of actions aren't all right on the mark.  I predicted, for example, that Trump would build Trump resorts in National Parks.]

 

The Nov. 6, 2026 Post:

I suspect a Trump presidency would be worse than many imagine, and not as bad as some imagine.  After Bush v Gore I proposed that there be a cable channel that followed what happened with the actual winner and a channel that created a world in which the other won.  I'd really like the Trump supporters to see what a Trump-led US would really look like.  But neither candidate will actually be able to do much until members of Congress start breaking bread with members across the aisle again.

But here's a bit of prognostication based on what we do know about Trump.

Preface:  I’ve done a several posts about Donald Trump and what makes him tick.  There’s a post about his father and grandfather. There’s the post about his mentor, Roy Cohn.  And we’ve all seen his behavior on the campaign trail.  Using that history, I think we can predict how he will behave as president.  We can’t predict specific actions, but I think we can predict the kinds of actions he’s likely to take.  What he actually does will depend on events, on other people, and on Trump’s ability to figure out how to make the US government apparatus work. 

So, let’s start with his world view that underlies why he does what he does.  (A lot can be seen in his relationship with his father and with his brother who did not live up to his father’s ideal and thus was Donald’s first and closest example of a loser.  See the post on his father.)

Then we’ll look at the sorts of behaviors this world view leads to. 

Finally, I’ll give some examples of those behaviors once Trump gains the White House.   


Trump’s World View:

• Power is everything.
• Life is a long poker session and while you're going to lose a few games, at the end of the night you want to go home a winner.   Poker is about bluffing.  Poker-face means being able to lie without people reading your thoughts.  Honesty is a handicap in poker.  You can call people all sorts of vile names during the game yet go home as friends.
• The worst thing you can be is a loser.  Losers are contemptible.  Not being a loser is one of Trump’s key motivations to have power.  To do or say whatever to have power.  And he trashes his opponents. And when he doesn’t have power, he at least has to look like he does.   (Would those missing tax returns show us he isn't as wealthy as he claims?)
• With power he can do whatever he likes with impunity.  Rules don’t matter if you have power.  Reward and punishment are the basic tools.  
• You do favors for people who can help you.  You try to stay nice as long as they have something you need - prestige, support for your projects, fulfillment of your lusts.  You can take what you want from the less powerful and they don’t have the power to do anything about it.  You can take the women you want.  You can stiff contractors because  taking you to court will cost them more than walking away. You can pay off the rule makers, such as politicians,  to bend the law to your will.  
• But if they don’t cooperate, you punish them.  
• You hire lawyers to fix what you’ve broken.  Lawyers, don’t simply defend you, they are also attack dogs to destroy those who cross you.

Trump’s behavior based on his need to be the most powerful.

The need to appear powerful means:

• Honesty is a handicap.  He says whatever makes him look good.  He denies all allegations of  wrong doing.   He lies about opponents.   The only truth is Trump power.  Facts that don't support him are lies.
• The center of attention is the best place to be.
• Promoting his private interests and fulfilling his needs are the basic goals.
• Putting the Trump name on everything he owns and even things he doesn’t own.
• Attack, counterattack, never apologize. (See post on Roy Cohn.)

Trump as President

Applying  his world view and the behaviors they lead to, we can anticipate the kinds of things he's likely to do as president.

Center of attention - Winning the presidency will assure this goal for as long as he holds the presidency - which could be briefly for any number of reasons, or, if he has his way, could be for his lifetime.

He’ll want to be seen with the world’s most powerful leaders.  Putin may well be the first one to be feted at the White House.  Watch for opulent displays of power and wealth with the rich and famous and powerful leaders of the world. 

We can be sure his new Washington DC hotel will be the center of inaugural events as much if not more than the White House itself.   And we can assume that he will totally remodel the White House. Maybe a White Trump Tower?

The Trump name:  Look for the Trump name to appear on the White House and Air Force One.  If he can figure out a way to change  the name of the country to Trump’s United States of America, he will.  Maybe it will be on all passports.  On money.  On all signs for government buildings and national parks. How about Trump’s United States Marines?

Promoting his private interests, particularly his wealth:

Look for changes in the law that help Trump, starting with income taxes and deregulation.  He would find it useful to delete all the records of federal agencies that have records about him.  Again the IRS comes to mind and the court system. 

He’ll want to make government properties available to his real estate empire.  Or make arrangements that benefit him for other businesspeople to take over government property.  He'll be privatizing agencies and land.  He might want to make National Parks into Trump resorts.  As with his campaign, he'll have the government contract with various Trump businesses.  When challenged on this, he'll say he's saving the country money and attack the challengers.   


Attack, Counterattack, Never Apologize

Nixon had an enemies list.  It will look tame compared to Trump's list.  It will have anyone who has blocked his path toward something he wanted,  anyone who mentioned his small hands or didn't do his bidding fast enough.   Top on the list are the media who can expose his lies and constantly make his life miserable.  He’s already promised to change the libel laws.  He’ll change whatever laws he can to stop the media from saying bad things about him.

Those who block his policies will suffer merciless attacks in all the ways we’ve seen on the campaign, plus whatever levers of government power he gets access to.  Republicans (Paul Ryan is toast) and Democrats who stand up to him will be subject to withering attacks, both visible and behind the scenes.  Comey will become the new J. Edgar Hoover, using the FBI as Trump’s private mafia.  If Comey doesn’t cooperate, there will be a new FBI chief quickly.

The first foreign leaders - including terrorist leaders - to belittle Trump, will see massive retaliation.  If they are white, western nations, there will be vitriol and threats of economic sanctions.  If they are part of the rest of the world, don’t be surprised to see Trump USA Air Force jets unleashed on them. 


Surprises that shouldn’t be surprises

Given that Trump sees life as a game of negotiations, lots of what he's promised on the campaign is just bluffing.  Not everything will go as many expect. 

The Clinton's - Since Trump’s world is a series of poker games, once he wins, the election will be over.  All the anti -Clinton talk was bluster to win the election.  All he's charged her with, he'd do himself.  It was just competitive trash talking.  If he can find the Clintons and their foundation and allies useful, he could be gracious to them and find ways to use them to increase his own power. 

The Wall - I’m guessing there will be a symbolic move to start a wall along the Mexican border, but it might eventually evolve into a border-walk of casinos and hotels and a revised border patrol mission to help businesses get cheap labor and make deals with wealthy foreigners who can help the Trump mission. 

Trump Supporters - They’ll continue to be fed Trump’s racist, sexist, nationalist, anti-semitic rhetoric, but other than that, their lives won’t be better.  He was nice to them while he needed them.  To the extent that he will need them for his next terms, he’ll feed them the lies they love.  He'll rant to them about those blocking his reforms.   But he has no real interest in them other than what they can do for him and he has no idea of how to actually improve their lives.  Trump’s tax plans will cripple   the economy and the hollowness of making America great again will become obvious.  Except for the very, very rich.  But even they will be vulnerable to a failing economy. 


I could go on and on, but you get the idea.  These are the things that Trump would like to do if he could.  But I imagine he'll find the combined resistance of the Clinton supporters and the establishment Republicans he's displaced, of the bureaucracy which is intended to slow down despots, of the courts, and of women and  people of color will be overwhelming.   And don't forget the rest of the world.  Even his supporters will eventually figure out they've been had. 

Preferably, Clinton will win and the Trump presidency can be the basis of cable television series. 

The Payoff of Hate: Where We Stand Today

[Sort of a Synopsis:  This post covers a lot of issues that are entangled and usually handled separately, if at all.  But it does make it seem like I'm throwing in lots of different issues and can't get focused.  Let me try

Hate is the basic tactic and underlying disease of the Trump administration.  It's a symptom of how in "the greatest country the world has ever seen' something terribly wrong is happening in families and how kids are being raised.  Without the love and basic decency a happy society needs.  

Enough voters have been raised in dysfunctional families to elect a Trump.  (Assuming Trump's comments about Elon having fixed the election are just bluster.)  The leader of the kids raised without the love and approval all kids deserve is a terrible president.Iran is  like Trump University - it was a threat to something else Trump valued more:  an upcoming election.   

But Iran - and the reflecting pool - another conspicuous and highly visible failure - are only diversions from the Epstein files.  The Epstein files themselves are a diversion from the far right conservative organizations that have filled the Supreme Court with their puppets and had the blueprint for dismantling the US bureaucracy.  

And finally, coming back to hate.  We need to recognize the source of MAGA anger and give them legitimate options to heal.  Many of them probably are too far gone, but fighting hate with hate is to lose to hate.  And to miss the power behind the throne.  

I hope that's a fairly reasonable overview.  The rest is basically the same idea with more detail.]

Post begins here:

Hate.  Slurs.  Constantly demeaning people who don't adore you.  You've heard enough of Trump's invective to know what I'm talking about, so I needn't repeat it.

We're basically shaped by our genes and our environment.  I would argue that it was the hate and nastiness experienced by tens of millions of US voters that drew them to vote for Trump.  People who grew up hating people whose skin color was darker than theirs.  People who watched their fathers verbally and physically abuse their mothers.  People who grew up in households where fights - verbal and physical - were the way to solve problems.  People whose religious leaders lashed out at people who were sexually attracted by people the church thought sinful.  People who suffered at the hands of their fathers, but nevertheless, copied his child-rearing practices.  

Such folks get both genes and environment pushing them toward a life of difficult relationships, lack of skills for peacefully resolving problems.  And that leads to hard lives, to feelings that one is on one's own, that no one will help you.  Some of these folks will lead an economically perilous life. Some will have skills and (maybe an inheritance) that allows them financial security, even serious wealth.  But they are all hurting.   Until a hand reaches out to help them - an addiction recovery group, an evangelical church, or a cult movement led by a bully.  

Despite the odds, not all those folks are fated to repeat what they learned at home.  Some may just figure it out.  That there's a better way.  That they don't want to inflict on their kids what they received.  They may have a teacher who shows them better interpersonal skills.  A pastor or other mentor who cares without expecting something in return.  Or in other ways, discover options they didn't learn at home.  

If I'm right on this, there are millions of women who were not treated well by their fathers, but through some twisted human flaw, seeing those traits in Trump draws them to him.  He may be problematic but he reminds them of their father, who despite his issues, was still their father.

And so today, we have a president who never gives up, never loses.  Heather Cox Richardson has pointed out that even though it appears that his name was taken down from the Kennedy Center, he's covered the space with a tarp so that his missing name is not visible.  Nor is Kennedy's.   He always tries to find a way pretend he didn't lose.  

But there are a couple of examples that would seem to belie this:  The Trump University $25 million settlement and the Iran War.  In both cases I think the same thing happened.  

Pursuing the issue further conflicted with something else he wanted more.  

The Trump University court case was threatening his presidential election bid.  By paying the settlement, he made it go away.  

The Iran War was crumbling Trump's ratings and promising to hurt him badly in the 2026  midterm election.  The blocking of the Strait of Hormuz was causing oil prices to rise and people could see it at the gas station.  He kept announcing victory and peace deals that weren't happening.  That too was getting humiliating (the worst thing that can happen to Trump).  So, like with Trump University, he instructed Vance (I think) to do whatever was necessary to make it go away.  

But even Republican politicians - usually Trump's most obedient sycophants - are pointing out that Trump's peace deal left Iran in a better position than before the war.  A more hardline leadership is now in place, Iran realized that control of the Strait of Hormuz was a great weapon, their nuclear capability was resurrectable, AND Trump was handing them $300 billion in taxpayer dollars to repair the damage the US did with the bombing.  [That's probably, in humanitarian terms, a reasonable thing to do.  After all the US did the damage.  Was it $300 billion worth?  That I don't know.  But it's a good international precedent for Russia when Putin's war on Ukraine is settled.]

But, of course we don't know that this war is actually settled.  Israel is not going to honor the clause that ends their war on Lebanon.  [Years ago when I mentioned how Israel's treatment of Palestinians was costing Israel world opinion, a strong supporter of Israel responded:  "We don't care.  The world will attack us no matter what we do."  And while there is probably some truth in that, it's not a long term winning strategy, but it does seem like it's part of Israeli leaders' thinking.]

Many of the actions of this administration are visible to a relatively few people who are directly affected and the media are doing a terrible job of rooting them out and making them better known.  And they are relatively abstract.  Hard to comprehend. There are so many of them every day that they are quickly forgotten as new outrages replace them in one’s awareness  

But the Iran War has dominated the news and its consequences are clear.  

Trump promised not to start any wars.

Trump criticized Obama for paying Iran $1.5 billion in frozen Iranian assets when they agreed to limit their nuclear program and allow international monitors.  

So now Trump is paying them $300 billion, not in frozen Iranian assets, and there is no real agreement on nuclear weapons.

And the Strait of Hormuz is under Iranian control.  And gas prices have spiked.

All pretty visible.  

Trump started a war at the behest of Netanyahu, and has lost badly.  

Getting out of the war and making it go away was better than letting it drag on through election season.  It's just that Mr. Art of the Deal came out with the short end of the stick.  

And while the Iran War diversion is crumbling, we get the most concrete (as in the opposite of abstract) example of Trump's incompetence, as the blue paint peels off the bottom of the reflecting pool and the pool itself fills with green algae.  This is a relatively cheap (in Trump terms) boondoggle.  

Except.  Except that Trump told us himself that he knows the pool guy and he does great work. [I've tried to change the coding so that it just covers a short portion of this long video.  If it didn't work, I'll try again.  If it does, I'll delete this note.] [It did work, but I'll leave the note anyway because the video on the embed from Bluesky doesn't seem to work here.  But you can click on the Bluesky icon in the lower right and see the video on Bluesky.  He shows us the algae in the pool and pulls out a piece of paint that peeled off the bottom.]

But now, about 49 years and 355 days sooner than Trump predicted (his low end estimate of 50 years) in the video, the pool is covered with algae and the paint is peeling off the bottom in large chunks..  

New blue paint appears to be peeling from the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. So far the algae seems to be winning.

[image or embed]

— Mickey Kuhns (@mickeykuhns.bsky.social) June 18, 2026 at 8:05 PM

I've added the reflecting pool example because this is so very tangible and no one can get lost in the complexity.  "I'm going to fix this pool that no one else has been able to fix and it will last for fifty to one hundred years" and then we see the algae and pieces of the 50 year paint floating in the pool days later.  (Though Trump supporters can claim the algae and paint video is fake, in their heart of hearts, they know it isn't.)

This post started with focus on hate.  Trump and the Republicans have been spewing hate and stirring fear among the MAGA.  And in contrast to Trump's ridiculously expensive, testosterone dripping  cage fight, yesterday's opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago was an example of hope and caring and decency.  

I'm just hoping that even those attracted to Trump because of the hate, can see the utter failure of the Iran war and the reflecting pool paint job.

Afterward:  There is enough content already and this post should end already  so consider this post finished.  But everything is connected  - and that’s partly why it’s so hard to comprehend how terrible the Trump presidency is.  

But as satisfyingly understandable as the Iran war and reflecting pool debacles are, they’re just distraction from Epstein.  

And Epstein is just a distraction from the structure hiding behind Trump that is dismantling our democracy and installing themselves as the new rulers of the United States  Organizations like the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society, the billionaire oligarchs.  

Chris Hedges makes this point when he criticizes the late night satirists for heaping scorn on Trump and ignoring the power brokers behind him.   Not only does bullying the president move the focus from the people who will take over when Trump is gone, he asserts, it also makes his followers support him more. Clinton wasn't wrong when she called them deplorable, but by insulting them collectively, she united them even more behind Trump.  And that's why I think recognizing them as troubled rather than deplorable is a better approach.  Bernie Sanders and Pete  Buttigieg seem to better understand the pain of the working class and the need to include them in the Democratic messages.

After afterward:  For the folks who want to jump all over me for mentioning Sanders and Buttigieg, I'm just saying one thing about them.  Don't leave messages about them unless it's to provide evidence to disprove the point that they have recognized that Democrats haven't taken working men's grievances seriously.  Thank you.

Epstein Files - An Archeological Find That Will Be Dissected Forever

There are so many pages of documents in the Epstein files that have been released so far, that any kind of definitive conclusions are a long way off.  They have to be read, put into some kind of context, and links between documents have to be figured out.  Then links between the Epstein files and other data bases - court records, news articles, and other breaches like the Panama Papers.  Plus, many released files are still redacted and unredacted in ways they shouldn't be (hiding names other than victims, not hiding all the victim data.) 

What's public so far is about 50%. There are millions of files left,  which the administration seems to hope they won’t have to release.  People speculate these have more damning information in them.  That’s one logical train of thought.  Another is that the DOJ staff aren’t that organized that they can separate out the worst.  Another strategy would be to have them be nothing revealing as a way to tease, and then shut this all down.  That doesn’t seem too likely either.  

When I looked into one set of the Epstein files - court documents - there were hundreds of pages of routine court documents as lawyers made motions and set deadlines that seemed to be of little consequence, with a few more substantial documents about the specific court case (Epstein suing someone, Wexner?,  but nothing terribly revealing stood out to me at first glance.  Boring procedural motions and rulings mostly.  

Some online commentators are writing breathtaking headlines, overusing words like "BREAKING" and "BOMBSHELL" (all caps in originals) pointing to a newly revealed name, or evidence of the very sexual nature of Epstein and his clients/friends.  

Whether there is an important story or it's just more clickbait can be discerned by whether the 'punchline' is revealed in the social media post or whether you have to click to find out the allegedly important nugget.  Most of those nuggets will be micro level news.  

The meaning and context of everything will take a while to tease out.  After all, historians are still finding new twists to justify new biographies of people like Abraham Lincoln and there is far less actual information about Lincoln than there is, probably, about Epstein and his buddy Donald.  

The Bigger Picture

It’s clear to me that there is a bigger, complicated web of connections, influence, and crime.  Some sex trade related, some financial, some political, some national security related.  And while I write ‘some’ as

though these are all separate categories, I’m sure the Venn Diagrams will show a lot of overlap.  

I’ve seen several story lines that seem pretty likely and worth thinking about already:  The first is the idea that the culture of male power (sexual and otherwise) over young (and even older) females is not restricted to Epstein’s island and other properties or Mar-a-lago.  

1.  Rather it IS the culture of the US and probably most of the world.    

From Carole Cadwalladr's Substack, How to Survive the Broligarchy, We all live in Jeffrey Epstein's world , here are a couple of excerpts to give you a sense of her story (and which will come as no surprise to most women and the men they trust to talk to):

“Epstein has given us an extraordinary portal through which we can now see how hostile state influence, criminality and the impunity of the billionaire class are intimately enmeshed. That’s the piece I still want to write. But we can’t understand any of this until we realise that Epstein isn’t just a doorway, he’s also a mirror.  His culture is our culture.

The latest tranche of Epstein documents made it obvious. Consider all the “contrarians” and “anti-woke” warriors who show up in the latest dump: Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Larry Summers, Steve Bannon, and of course, Donald Trump. With apologies to George Carlin: It’s a big club, and the worst people are in it — because their interests are all aligned. Pushing back on social justice, it turns out, was coordinated.

Being able to see their emails makes something very clear: The “anti-woke” movement was not a genteel intellectual inquiry, made by disinterested parties who cared deeply about free speech. It is a social circle of powerful people who feel threatened by #MeToo. Reading through the emails, it’s possible to see that Epstein himself coordinated pushback against #MeToo. Looking back, it seems obvious that sinking #MeToo also led to where we are now: a place where laws simply don’t apply if you have enough money and power. The same players are involved.”  (Emphasis added)

2.  "kind of a super concierge"  In this one, Epstein is a fixer for powerful people, to the point that a lot of people owe him favors.  This one gets into financial issues (to an extreme with Wexner) and politics

Molly Jong Fast's New York Times opinion piece, says the Epstein files show that it's more than just sex, "Mr. Epstein won favor and friendships by acting as a kind of superconcierge."  Here's an excerpt:

"Many people stuck with him even after he had gone to jail in 2008 in Florida for sex crimes, and in some cases even after he landed in jail again in 2019 on sex-trafficking charges. Back then, the plight of the victims often seemed to be an afterthought. That’s most likely because whatever they received from him in the past — access to career-enhancing people, access to young girls and an endless supply of freebies — might still be on offer. This is the nature of the Epstein files: It’s the record of what a global class of very privileged, accomplished and self-important people want to get gifted.

Sometimes it was a Prada bag. Other times it was a flight on Mr. Epstein’s jet, or a weekend at his island. Sometimes it was a donation to a charity or school. Or a job for their kid working on a Woody Allen film, or a shortcut for Mr. Allen’s own kid to get into Bard. Sometimes it was a “tall, Swedish blonde.” Other times it was a young woman who might be a “a little freaked by the age difference.”

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In writing about an earlier tranche of emails, in The Times, Anand Giridharadas asked: “How did Mr. Epstein manage to pull so many strangers close? The emails reveal a barter economy of nonpublic information that was a big draw. This is not a world where you bring a bottle of wine to dinner.”

Inside dope wasn’t the only thing Mr. Epstein had on hand. The picture provided by the latest files shows how Mr. Epstein won favor and friendships by acting as a kind of superconcierge. Sometimes that meant sending the helicopter to pick up guests, as Mr. Epstein offered to do for Elon Musk in a 2012 email, writing, “How many people will you be for the heli to island?” On another occasion, Mr. Musk asks his concierge Epstein, “Do you have any parties planned?” Mr. Epstein provided private plane trips, internships, Apple Watches, Hermès bags, extra-large zipper sweatshirts (those went to Steve Bannon), nearly $10,000 worth of boxers and T-shirts (Woody Allen) and an XXL cashmere sweater (Noam Chomsky). And then there’s the resistance Substack star Michael Wolff, who is all over the Epstein files, who emails Mr. Epstein, 'Shoes are very nice. Thanks.'”

3.  Epstein's Russian connections  - This one takes us into national security and politics

From Phillips P. O'Brien's Substack, Phillips's Newsletter, we get: "Why Does A Narcissist Accept Humiliation? Epstein Might Be The Answer."

"... another batch of millions of documents from the Jeffrey Epstein files were released and they made a very strong case that Epstein was closely linked to elements in Russian intelligence. There were trips, emails, and other assorted hints that Epstein was associated with and even coordinated activities with members of the Russian intelligence service. The evidence was strong enough that Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a man not prone to histrionics or overstatement, said that the Poles were investigating whether Epstein had been a Russian agent. Tusk’s exact words in a government meeting were:"

Even if the next set of documents released by the Department of Justice includes a video tape with a naked Donald Trump humping a 14 year old, that won't be the end of the insights we learn about the United States, about the very rich, about male privilege, especially while male privilege, about the network of ultra rich, and even international links to nations that are not considered our friends that amount to serious breaches of national security.  

It's going to take many years to map out all the connections and how those connections set up a class of people who, for the most part, have been above the law, and have perverted democracy in many ways.  

Stay tuned.  But don't hold your breath.  This is not a television mystery that ends with a neat conclusion after 90 minutes.  This is more like an archeological dig that will take decades to tie up the many threads and loose ends.

What's Keeping Me From Blogging?

So much . . .

Weekly trips to pick up our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) [It's a USDA website so go quick before the regime either takes it down because it's too 'woke' or it crashes from neglect or incompetence.]

They use salt - some Alaska salt - and mix it with things for use in cooking, eating, and making your house smell better, like in the simmer pots.  

I've highlighted soap artist (seriously, what she does is art!)  Kit before.  She showed me a prototype of a soap she's working on that will have a Rorschach test on it.  I asked if there are psychiatrist interpretations included.  Those, she assured me, would cost a lot more.  Learn more at MirthAlaska.com. 

There was a long line at the WIC table.  This market is in the lowest income area of Anchorage and the Grow North Farm here - sponsored by RAIS (Refugee Assistance and Immigration Service), a part of Catholic Social Services - is an urban farm worked by refugees.  

It was gray and threatening, but not raining all that day, but it finally came down on the ride home.  It was so light it really only got my clothes slightly damp.  And my odometer with drops.

I've gone past my 1600 km goal for the summer - one reason I guess I haven't blogged as much.  All that biking along Anchorage's green bike paths has been good for my physical and mental health during this disastrous time in US history.  

The picture below was on an earlier ride on the Campbell Creek south trail.  And I'm delaying today's ride to get this post up.

The mushroom isn't connected to anything else in this post, but of course mushrooms and fungus in general are connected to everything underground.  You can't really tell but this one was five or six inches across.  Growing right next to the compost pile.  

  
                                                                      

Again, a somewhat random picture here.  Walking down the steps after a routine doctor visit at Providence, I was greeted with the lovely sounds of live piano music.  The acoustics in the huge atrium entrance are great and the notes pulled me over to listen to the end and thank the musician.

Our power, phone/internet went out during the windstorm a week ago Friday.  This downed cottonwood was the culprit.  Chugach Electric had the power back on the next morning when we woke up.  Alaska Communications took until Tuesday or Wednesday to come out and then they didn't have the equipment to fix it right, so while the phone line and internet are back on, the wire is lying on the ground and about two feet off the ground in some places I have to walk.  In what world is that acceptable?  Alaska Communications is so terrible!  The techs I have to call now and then and those who come out to the house are generally very good.  It's just the management that has promised me fiber every summer since 2023 and not delivered that pisses me off.  And the website that has the circle of death spinning hopelessly when I try to pay online, and then they charge me a %25 late fee because I couldn't pay online.  With no grace period.  None.  Visa emails me three days before to remind me to pay my bill.  ACS emails three days after it's due to say, "We screwed you again."  I'm ready to cut that cord forever.  

Got that off my chest.  

Our neighbor did hook us up to his power with a series of extension cords to power the refrigerator since we didn't know how long it was going to take to get the power back.  We decided to go to Queen of Sheba for dinner that night.  Here's David, the owner and chef, chatting with us after our meal.  

Ethiopian food is truly special and delicious.  Anchorage folks, go eat there and keep them in business.  The prices are reasonable for this day and age.  

It's between Northern Lights and Benson - on Dawson.  

So, probably this should have been three or four blog post spread over the week.  

But I'm not done.  I've been reading several books at once, but I'll just highlight Caraval.  This was a recommendation from my 12 year old granddaughter.  When I told her I was number 25 on the waiting list at Loussac Library, she said, "I told you that you'll never get it."

But I got an email saying it was mine to pick up.  I understand why people read it.  Each chapter ends with a cliffhanger of sorts.  And I think the author has synesthesia, because every feeling is associated with a color, some vibrating.  Lots more descriptions of odors than you normally see too.  And I don't think Nancy Drew ever had chills from the touch of a young man's bare chest leaning against her. 

I'd say this teen fiction is the gateway drug to adult romance fiction.  

Moving along - I'm still overwhelmed with the barrage of outrageous statements and actions spewing from the White House.  Here are a few images that I've saved as I try to find new ways to ask my junior US Senator how long he thinks he can wade in this filth before he is sucked under completely.  He gleefully points at what he sees as 'wins' for Alaska, while the president tramples the constitution by kidnapping people off the streets, invading US cities with our military, ignoring judge's orders, bombing boaters in international waters, gerrymandering Texas to squeeze out Democratic house seats, and on and on and on.  I didn't even mention Epstein.  And Dan Sullivan turns a blind eye to all of that in exchange for some oil drilling permits.  

My previous post was on the normalization of the word normalization.  Nothing could illustrate that point better than this post by His Travesty.   

What previous president could have done something like this and not been impeached?  Some say it's just 'a humorous bit' but I did a paper on government humor once.  What I learned was that government humor that is self deprecating is fine, but government humor that punches down is NOT fine.  

And then his Vice Travesty defends another military operation off the coast of Venezuela:

Has anyone seen any evidence that these are cartel members (just like we haven't seen any evidence that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was a member of Tren de Aragua gang)?

I copied this one for Labor Day.  We're back to the time when business owners could call on the government to bring in troops to break up labor unions.  And when I say 'break up' I mean that literally.  But they stood in solidarity until they won their rights which have benefited most of us.  (You know, 40 day weeks, paid overtime, health benefits, the right to grieve bad treatment, etc.)  We have to be as brave and persistent now to prevent what's happening today.  

I don't believe ignorance is greater now than it was.  But the propaganda forces of the fascists have powerfully taken advantage of that ignorance, and the latent fears of white America.  They've taken all the damage to the working classes done by exporting jobs and increasing the income gap and blamed it on Black people and immigrants.  

 I remember when the first polio vaccines became available and we got poked at school.  My small pox vaccine scar no longer really shows, but I was inoculated.  

Public health programs have saved more lives than medical treatment of individuals.   As I look for good links to explain the importance of public health to society, I see that some of the most important public health initiatives - clean water and sewage systems - are so taken for granted that they aren't even mentioned.  But we haven't always had clean water and sewage systems.  And parts of the world still don't have them.  

President Nixon famously had an enemies list.  But no president has ever, so blatantly used the powers of the federal government to go after his perceived enemies.  The president is publicly telling the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute people who oppose him.  And as a blogger, I found this cartoon a bit close to home.  

I tell myself I'm just a tiny voice out in the wilderness and they have much bigger targets than me.  But I also notice that Google says my recent posts have way more hits that I usually get.  Stat Counter has always shown far fewer hits than Google, but they also track individual visitors.  I can't tell if I really have more hits or whether there are more bots.  In times past when there were lots more hits, it looked like someone scraping my blog for content, and more recently for AI.  But when that happens you can see a single user going to thirty or more different pages per day.  So many hits on a single page is different.  

In any case, I want people to stay strong and be engaged in fighting this regime to preserve our democracy (not to mention our health and economy and general well being.)  Do what you can.  And take breaks to laugh, enjoy nature, good friends.   Find like minded people.  And know your rights.  

And a teaser for a post I hope to put up this week.  

From Animalspot.net

Anchorage Stands With Ukraine As Trump and Putin Seem To Be Heading Here

I say seem because so many people think that one or the other or both will pull out at the last minute.  But the first protest (that I know of) was this afternoon.  Lots of peoples, lots of rumors, lots of questions, lots of noise, lots of cars and trucks honking with the protestors, cars with Ukrainian flags. 

You'd think that Putin and Trump meeting in Alaska to discuss a cease fire in Ukraine would be at the top of the news, but Trump leaves so much debris in his wake, that there are a dozen stories competing.  And so none get the attention and outrage they deserve.  

• Texas redistricting and California's response.  
• Federal troops taking over Washington DC.  
• Masked and armed thugs claiming to be ICE continuing to sweep up dark people without regard to their legal status, including US citizens, and shipping them off to distant detention centers, and possibly off to countries which apparently are getting payoffs to take them from Trump, 
• The massive wealth vacuum in the White House, cementing the Rose Garden and making the East Wing of the White House into a glitzy ballroom
• Shaking down universities and other institutions that pursue truth
• Firing the head of the BLS because he doesn't like her employment data
• Leaning on institutions to erase all history of people who aren't white

I could go on, but you get the point.  But much of what Trump does these days is terrible by itself, and a distraction from releasing the Epstein files.  Is that what this trip to Alaska is?  

It was supposed to go from 4:30-6;00 on one of the busiest corners in rush hour Anchorage - Northern Lights and Seward Highway.  I got there about 5:20 after picking up our weekly CSA vegetables at Grow North Farm in Mountain View.  

I couldn't tell you how many people were there altogether - 500?  1000? 1500?  Couldn't say.  Lots.  Planning really started at a meeting on Monday!

There were lots of rumors flying and I'm going to check out one right after I post this.  That rumor was that the Russian delegation asked for 400 visas and then for rooms.  They finally got put up at the University of Alaska Anchorage dorms.  I'll go over there shortly and see if I see any Russians.  

Rooms are scarce.  It's high tourist season.  So pictures for now and I'll fill in when I get back from the UAA dorms.  

[UPDATE: 11:10pm - Back from campus. The rumors are true.  See the next post for more details and pictures.]

This is an Estonian journalist.  Estonians have a strong interest in what happens in Ukraine.  They have lots of Russians and are a very small country that borders Russia.  

And below a Polish journalist asked my friend John some questions.  

Her 

I understand that this flag was sewn here in Anchorage this week.  It has a lot of smaller pieces sewn together sort of like a quilt.  

This guy was still there well after six when most folks had gone home already.  

This is Erin Jackson-Hill who heads Stand Up Alaska and was the driving force at the center of this rally.