Alarums and Excursions

Okay, that’s two mornings (Friday last and then this morning) when either my alarm didn’t go off, or else I turned it off without noticing. I strongly suspect the former. I must remember to research the matter tonight.

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***Dave Does the Mastodon

4 hours ago

I am not a fancy-talking diplomat or politician, but this sure looks like a shake-down to me -- basically, charging all shipping through the Strait of Hormuz a 20% tariff to pay for the costs of keeping the Strait open which were largely necessitated by Trump's actions in the first place.

Must be nice to have a great big navy to extort people with.

#trump #hormuz #usnavy #iran

2 days ago

Strawberries Romanoff https://hill-kleerup.org/blog/margie/strawberries-romanoff.html

3 days ago

#Trump continues to fire anyone who's not a zealous supporter or deep-pocket contributor, as enabled by #SCOTUS. In this installment, he's basically emptied out the #ElectionAssistanceCommission leadership. That "independent" agency certifies voting machines, maintains the national mail voter registration form, etc.

Gee, why would he be doing that just a few months before a critical #midterm?

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/trump-terminates-election-assistance-commission-members-2026-07-10/

5 days ago

Getting things, and people, and places mixed up is, I speak from experience, a not-so-early sign of some form of #dementia.

Recalling the dictum that everything about Team #Trump, including the boss, is about #projection, it's illuminating how much effort they put into asserting Biden's mental unfitness and how it was being covered up by his cronies and power-mad hangers-on.

https://crooksandliars.com/2026/07/trump-mixes-zelenskyy-putin-japan-and-iran

5 days ago

A good friend of mine spent several patient minutes explaining, procedurally, how Trump's call could have had no effect on the re-evaluation of #Balogun's red card.

Even granting that, the stench of corruption around both #Trump and #FIFA make even ultimately disproven accusations seem credible.

Ironically, the best thing that happened to the US #Soccer Team was losing the Belgium, as any overall wins would have been tainted by Trump's inappropriate actions.

#worldcup #football

1 week ago

"Will no one rid my team of this troublesome Red Card?"

The #Trump claim that he didn't tell #FIFA what to do regarding #Balogun doesn't pass the laugh test. *Making the call* is influencing. As he well knows.

But, then Trump is an entitled brat who exercises power -- hard and soft -- without a care for how it looks, just so long as he gets what he wants.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2026/07/06/trumps-request-before-reprieve-us-star-casts-pall-over-world-cup-match/

1 week ago

Blue Cheese and Basil Dip https://hill-kleerup.org/blog/margie/blue-cheese-and-basil-dip.html

1 week ago

How incredibly fragile #MikeJohnson 's sense of citizenship must be if folk who look or sound or act differently from him being still considered citizens weakens the meaning of being an American.

Frankly, I find Johnson himself more of an insult to what means for me to be an #Americam #citizen than some kid born here of unlawful immigrants.

"Mike Johnson says Congress should look at birthright citizenship bill" https://share.google/ZHqHXXwROV1ivAmmh

1 week ago

The #DearLeader 's plans are, of course, genius, perfect, divinely inspired, so anything that goes wrong must, by definition, be the plotting of the tools of the Great Antifa Satan. QED.

#Trump #ReflectingPool

"Burgum doubles down on blaming vandals for reflecting pool woes - POLITICO"
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/05/burgum-vandals-reflecting-pool-00987197

1 week ago

Mud Hen Bars https://hill-kleerup.org/blog/margie/mud-hen-bars.html

1 week ago

RE: https://friendica.world/display/84b6ef2b-176a-47ee-cd27-bf2451052013

#JohnAdams was aware that then, like today, keeping the principles of the #DeclarationOfIndependence alive would be a difficult, perhaps bloody, task -- but that it would be worth it.

1 week ago

A thought for the Fourth ...

#Independenceday #fourthofjuly #declarationofindependence

2 weeks ago

#Trump cares nothing about the hoi polloi, even if he supposedly depends on their support and worship. Picnics? Fishing? Enjoying cherry blossoms? Insignificant against being able to create a #golfcourse for him and his cronies.

And I'll wager the place ends up with his name on it, or a gaudy-ass statue to him, or both.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-d-c-golf-course-164253445.html

2 weeks ago

That these same #conservative #Christians will turn around and claim God is punishing our nation for the actions of some of its individuals, shows that they actually get this. They just don't want to admit it applies to them and actions they don't want to take.

2 weeks ago

It is a wild cop-out for Evangelical GOPers like #MikeJohnson to recast #Matthew25 as solely an individual call to care for the poor. If legislation has nothing to do with individual moral decisions, why do Johnson and his cohort pray together before big votes?

Actions one takes as a political leader, or a business leader, or in a voting booth, or in any group setting, are still *individual* actions, with an inevitable moral dimension. Denying that is wrong.

https://religionnews.com/2026/07/01/in-congress-a-growing-divide-over-matthew-25/

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