Speculation On The Origin Of Man…and Woman

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A fun thing about being old, modestly educated, not being in the early stages of dementia(??), and having enough fingers to type, is one can wonder about things without limits or critics. Language, for example, is so funny. Did I just type we can “wonder about things with no limits”, or “wonder about things, with no limits”? What did you think before the quotes and the comma? It is an example of how imperfect the world is, even with simple phrases.

Imperfection is what makes the world interesting. Couple imperfection with impatience and you’ll write a great novel, or make a great movie, or sing a great song, or kill yourself with mind-altering drugs.

But who wants to make the effort? Who decides if it’s a great anything, anyway? Who? Should that be “whom”? And who/whom ever found out/invented mind-altering drugs? Can you see the first man/woman/person who ate the first mushrooms? If he/she/they had any sense they would have kept it to themselves…for themselves, but word got out.

Picture the primordial planet millions of years ago with ooze, and mud and lightning and storms, and millions of types of crawly, icky little creatures slipping, sliding, and worming about the countryside. One of those ickys was our great, great, great, great, great, great grandparent(s), adding the plural in case the being wasn’t asexual….and hoping there are enough “greats”. Yes, we climbed out of the muck and ooze. Holy Crap, just asked Ai for “the history of living organisms on earth in two paragraphs”.  What a wonderful time to be alive. Ai gave two large paragraphs. Try it yourself, it’s cool.

Ai says life began with an opening line right out of any modern-day, science fiction novel: “Organisms developed on earth through abio-genesis, the process of non-living matter forming life, followed by evolution.” Did you know that? I didn’t but it makes sense, yes? One theory is the lightning shocks “kick-started” life and then evolution, the survival of the fittest, took over. A living bacteria survived longer than a soul-less protozoa? And reproduced better, as well? Gives sex a whole new meaning.

Getting from the very first abio-genesis to Donald Trump as President took over 3.5 billion years. That’s a whole lot of patience and perseverance, and yet, still not enough time to weed out all the imperfections. Survival of the fittest, my ass. Whose fault is it, now?

And who the heck is telling us all this stuff, anyway? Scientists are great, aren’t they? They deal in facts, but facts that can change with new information. Much like a doctor saying you have three months to live….and a new drug comes on the market so you live another 40 years.

It is so confusing. Almost disheartening.

But it’s life.

I’m turning in my science books and only reading romance novels for the rest of my life. Those books make sense out of imperfection and impatience and there are heaving bosoms.

This post got really lost but will not be corrected, amended, or censored. First Amendment!

It’ll be better next time when we explicate the delicate art of cross-stitching.

In a last minute, re-read…what happened to speculation?

OK, speculation: “woman” came from “Whoa, Man”, in cave man times when a pubescent cave man saw a naked cave woman for the fist time.

CORRECTION: Ai says the word “woman” came from the Old English “wifman”. Seriously. Ai it.

RICH PEOPLE ARE RUINING OUR WORLD

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It’s okay to be rich. America is designed to not only allow it but encourages it. A capitalist economy is the perfect system to reward ingenuity, inspiration, hard work, and dedication. In an ideal world. And without that “carrot”, we may not have many of the inventions making life easier and safer.

In a less-than-ideal world, however, it is the perfect place for greed and injustice to run amok, unfettered, destructive, and cruel. Think of a herd* of cute, rabid bunnies who have genetically developed to the size of Elmer Fudd. He used to call them “wascally wabbits” in the old days…when they were cute and small.

Baffling, related, but incomprehensible sidebar: The Board of Directors of Tesla have offered Elon Musk a potential (and complicated) compensation plan worth $1 TRILLION(sic).

In a macro (large) economic system, general rules apply like the relationship between supply and demand: too much demand for goods with too little supply of goods means whoever has that “supply” can raise their prices and make more money. Manufacturers, investors, consumers, the government, me, we all used to rely on this one, basic, fundamental rule. There are many more complicated rules concerning pools of money, interest rates, taxes, the size of several types of debts, and blah blah blah. It’s also enlightening to understand the costs of things, where they come from, and how long they last. At least it used to be.

In 2024 there were 23.8 “million millionaires” in the America, or 460,000 per state. We had 813 Billionaires, a record, in 2024.

In 1960 we had 306 millionaires and fewer than 10 billionaires. When America was Great, originally.

If we ignore the crippling concept of Gross Materialism** and simply focus on the amassing of wealth, what is the problem? In a real, free capitalist system, we tend to pay a price for an object determined by “what the market will bear” as long as it more than the cost of the product. (Again, an economic process simplified for this post.) The “market”, a micro system, is us: you and me. Normal people. Average Joes and Janes with “normal” pools of money. What do you think happens when millionaires’ pools of money becomes part of this micro “market”? Can millionaires “bear” to pay more than Joe or Jane?

Our economic system generates 400,000 new millionaires, or 8,000 new ones per state, yearly. That’s a lot of “money” capable of “flooding” markets with millionaires’ dollars instead of Jane or Joes. No judgement, here, but how many millionaires really care about efficient, cost effective, market-driven pricing? Yes, some do, but most don’t. If Jane and a millionaire wanted the same car, or the same house, whose offer would the seller accept? It’s a question of not only “demand” in the market, but also the available “pool” of money in that market, and the desire of all sides to be treated fairly and economically “equal”. To wit: who is in better position to pay what the seller wants, even if it is too much? Jane or the Millionaire? Imagine if you were the seller…who’s your best bet to pay the highest price?

This scenario has “trickled down” to communities in America where Janes and Joes who research and buy responsibly are being priced out of purchasing, or at last are forced to make purchases at higher prices in a competitive situation. It is evident in housing markets and subtly infecting grocery, gas, and living essentials markets. And try buying a ticket to a professional sports game.

There is nothing legally wrong with this trend. And it is only a problem if you are not one of the existing or new millionaires living in your area. America’s current birth rate is 3.6 million new Janes and Joes per year, so do the math.

It will be a huge problem soon because as the rich “strata” grows larger it sucks all the “value” out of the “poor” first, then the lower middle class, then the real middle class, then the upper middle class until every American will be one of only two classes: very poor or very rich. Eventually, even being a millionaire won’t be rich, enough.

There are many other factors in play: inflation, regulation, wealth transfer, taxes, the end of the world, history…but can we just let this “stratification” happen? Is it already too late? Who cares?

Prediction from an older post: Rich enclaves will return to a feudal society with the Lord and Master ruling over servant’s, vassals, slaves…all of whom will be well-paid but with no place—or time–to spend the money.

Ran out of room, here, but think about how much a professional athlete gets paid, then ask the same of your teacher, fireman, policeman, or doctor.

Anyone miss the days of 10 cent cheeseburgers and 15 cents a gallon gas? Make America Cheap Again. Please.

*Yes, a bunch of rabbits is a “herd”. Conjures up a strange image of cowboy rabbit drives in the old west. Rabbitboys, then, out on the range? Wascals.

**Google it. I dare you.

Labor Day Labors, Senior Version

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This isn’t really about any senior issues, but being a senior amplifies these problems everyone of us faces. Hopefully.

First, a complaint about my cohorts and their relationship to idiocy. Possible relationship. As retired seniors, we can do anything we want, anytime, anywhere, as long as it is within our physical and mental capacities. Experience taught me (firsthand and with observation) young people sleep late. Using genetically-gifted logic, I plan to do what I want, anytime I want, when said young people are still asleep, or recovering from the sudden shock of waking up. This planning allows free run of most fitness centers, grocery stores, and other retail or public places. Get in get out, go back to sleep, all before the motorcycles roar, the muffler-deprived cars cough to life, and general silliness ensues simply because there’s more humans moving about, causing chaos. So here is my latest conversation with an old friend about going to lunch. Me: “Let’s meet at 10am when they open.” Friend: “No. I’m not awake that early. Let’s do lunch time.” Me: “Ok. Applebee’s”? Friend: “No, it’s too busy there.” (Insert rimshot* here.) Note: many late-arising friends scoff at early morning activity. Yes, they actually scoff***, as if it is an insult. It’s okay, even fewer people getting in the way.

So I called the local fitness center Sunday since their website says they are “Open” on Monday, Labor Day, but “subject to holiday hours”. My call was during business hours Sunday and was not answered by a human but a “phone tree” offering an option to find out about “Holiday Hours”. After selecting the alleged option, it instructed me to call “the local branch for more information.” To their credit, the local branch called me back seconds later, apologized and listed the hours. Bless them, for they know not what they do. Actually, they did, so we can save Luke23:34 for the next Labor Day misadventure.

My favorite grocery store’s website also listed Monday Labor Day hours as “Open, Subject to Holiday Hours.” A Sunday call to their phone number informs me “There will be signs in the store about Holiday Hours”.  As an effort, that is a good thing but why say it over the phone? Do we drive there, now, to find the Holiday Hours for tomorrow? (Second rimshot.) Oops, being patient and waiting a little longer the phone tree offers “Press Option 2 to hear Holiday Hours for your store.”. Ever the optimist (sarcasm), I pressed 2 and got this: “Call your local store for Holiday Hours that will be displayed on signs in the store.” Let’s not use one rimshot here but give them an entire drum solo. As a coherent finish to this anecdote, in a visit to the store on Monday I looked for signs about “Holiday Hours”. Go ahead, guess. I won’t insult your intelligence.** For real, this time: Luke23:34.

It’s not clear how much of these last two stories was caused by Artificial Intelligence, but we can be sure “Real Intelligence” was AWOL.

*Drum: “Ba-dum-tss”, phonetically. Also called a sting. Google it for fun.

** Apologies if inferring the obvious is also insulting. It’s a holiday: Happy Labor Day!

*** A very powerful word. Look it up.

The Dunning-Kruger Effect Presidency

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I know. Sorry. But this isn’t really about The President as much as it is his entire government, so this doesn’t count as Trump Derangement Syndrome. More like Derangement, period.

Ai states: “The Dunning-Kruger Effect (DKE) is a cognitive bias where people with low ability in a task overestimate their own competence and ability to do the task…this occurs because the less-skilled a person is, the less they possess the meta-cognitive ability to recognize their own incompetence.”

Pregnant Pause.

DKE was discussed in Trump’s first term, but back then he turned to established experts and administrators to fill the leadership slots in his administration. He fired most of them later, but not our point, here. This term he appointed cronies, sycophants, and Fox personalities to the leadership positions, often nominating someone just to piss off the democratic opposition. What he learned from the first term is he needed to appoint people dumber than him to run the government so he could tell them what to do. All of them. And they’d do it. He don’t need no stinking experts (sic) disagreeing with him. Ask RFK. The net result has been astounding.

DOGE “saved” tons of money. Programs and whole departments were cut, people were fired, and contracts cancelled. The Administration has been, is now, and will be sued until the cows come home*. But since nothing matters to the new administration but the Conservative Supreme Court, courts, judges, and legal actions in courts all across the country are simply the opening salvo of a legal war Trump knows his Supremes will help him win. Money, money, money, for lawyers, lawyers, lawyers.

In the meantime, the down-line ramifications of “The Doge Savings” (TDS??), means farmers, rural citizens, the poor, and anyone NOT rich are seeing services cancelled, important research ended, and entire communities thrown into chaos as properly legislated federal funding is “clawed back” to be used someplace else? Who knew all this would happen? The Heads of The Departments who fawn over Trump at their televised meetings? Ignorance is bliss.

Entire government departments are run, now, by people who have never run organizations so big and complex. Health and Human Services adjusts vaccination schedules for children in the middle of a measles outbreak. FEMA cuts funding and employees as floods and fires devastate red AND blue states. And the TDS appears to be used to send back ANY immigrant, not just the worst of the worst.

We shouldn’t be worried about DEMOCRACY as much as we should be worried about the entire country’s way of life. Farmers and small businesses, rural hospitals, cheap labor, food supplies, all in jeopardy due to this administration and DKE. Search how many times they have quietly backtracked on employee firings, program funding, and department missions. Waste??? You betcha.

Enough. If the US was your business, you’d trim the fat, not throw out the meat and bones. You’d look for savings that don’t threaten services, programs, and lives. You might even study and learn to understand the long-term effects of programs, instead of the immediate, short-term mirage-like savings. But that’s because you are smart enough to know you need help, you don’t know it all.

In another three months fecal matter is going to impact the air-mover and we’d better be ready. Personally. On our own. Our DKE government will not know enough to help. Or care.

  • As an old farm boy, I know what it means “when the cows come home”, which they always did. But Ai says: “it is an idiom meaning for a very long time, often with the implication something will be lengthy, tedious, or even pointless.” Huh. Pertinent?

Peckish or Puckish? The Senior Single Can Be Both

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Living alone? It’s not a bad thing. You come and go whenever you want. Eat whenever you want. Clean (or not) whenever you want. You control the temperature of your home. And imagine the video/music/tv viewing freedom!

So what could go wrong? Old Age.

All those freedoms are fantastic for mobile, alert, supple people, with great vision. Young people. When you’re an older person, these are the pertinent freedoms:

  1. You can dig out your own slivers, wherever they are. If you can reach…or find the tweezers…or see the sliver…
  2. Same with toenail clippings. Woo hoo! Chiropractor, anyone?
  3. You get to answer the door even if you are mid-stream your third morning urination.
  4. You wash the dishes. All of them. Yourself. You can still do them anytime you want, though. And you have the freedom to make as many dirty as you want!
  5. You get to remember the last time you vacuumed. Doing it the same day every week helps if you can remember to write the day down someplace easy to find. Dirt is not as easy to see, these days.
  6. Same with laundry. The less active older person needs laundry less, so it’s a little easier to forget, but if you’re looking for your glasses when they’re on your head…
  7. You can rest on the floor whenever you want. If a senior falls in an empty apartment, does he make a sound? If only we made a special sound. But the lonely senior better have a warning system with younger people in the loop.
  8. You get to quietly fume when the toilet roll runs out and the new rolls are in the front hall closet. Bonus: you get to be the one who put them there.
  9. Lonely? What senior living alone is lonely? Who needs the touch of another human being? Not me, I prefer being able to drink right out of the juice container.

That’s enough. Living at both ends of the spectrum of life and negotiating each stage of existence from one end to the other is challenging, but what else is there? It’s not fair when that understanding only comes with the wisdom of age.

Unfair, but true.

September is not National Be Kind to A Senior Month. There is no such month. There is a Senior Citizens Month, established in May 1963, by John F. Kennedy.* If you’re young and didn’t know, hope it makes you feel better I didn’t know either.

Can’t wait for May 2026!

Hope I make it…

*Please. Google it

PS For no good reason: “What the Puck?”

A Little Big Mistake or A Big Little Mistake?

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I made one of those, yesterday. A huge one or as our leader likes to say a “Yuuugee one.”

To be honest for you, it was an accident of intellectual gravity: I fell into the mistake while looking somewhere else, somewhere mundane.

The internet is a wonderful/crappy place, depending on what you’re looking at or for or…

See? It happened again, And exactly the same way: how can one thing be more than one thing or less than one thing, and not just ONE THING.

Walmart would not accept my credit cards online so I (logically) assumed an answer to the simple question “why?” could be found in the spider web/internet/darkweb world. On the Network. In the ether. Floating in space. Wherever it is answers live. My local Walmart had an object I wanted so I placed it in the cart and proceeded to check out…four different times. Four different credit cards were used, and each time Walmart immediately accepted the order, accepted the payment, gave an order date, listed pick up instructions, and then cancelled the order saying it “exceeded stock limits”***. All within minutes of each other. Maybe Ai was practicing, working out, building up its circular processing muscles? The first three times I went back and confirmed the number “in stock” at the store before repeating the process. As would any intelligent individual, the frustration ended at four tries. (Oh, you would have stopped at two? Right.)

Curiosity not only kills the cat but routinely kills hours of my life as once a mind is opened to the “wonderful/crappy” internet there is no anticipating where said mind will end up.

Mine ended up mired in the swirling, exciting, puzzling, enigmatic world of Quantum Mechanics (QM). This sub-atomic Rubik’s Cube of a land has snared my prying synapsis’ more than once, but this particular trap was set and tripped by the clickiest click bait of all time: “How to understand Quantum Mechanics in 5 Minutes.”

See? Again. Big/Little Mistake. You’re making one, now, by reading further. (PS NOT “farther”. Look it up.) Back to the article: was it click bait just to make me look or was it real, someone really explaining QM in 5 minutes? I was now entangled (remember that word from previous QM posts?) in the perfect QM Schrodinger’s Cat dilemma. Do I look or not? If I did would there be a truth or a scam? Enlightenment or disillusion? Knowing what little I already know about QM, (the “little”: NO ONE understands it), why was the decision a hard one to make? What was pulling me closer and closer to the event horizon of a clicked link?

Sadly, this post is about how we exist in macro and micro worlds (MM Universe? I like it.) I needed help with a macro Walmart Card issue and stumbled into the unsolvable micro world of the small and mysterious. Bet Andy Griffiths or John Wayne or John Wick or Liam Neeson never have this problem, at least the guys still alive, anyway, a clause added to make the preceding verb tense correct. Macro or Micro?

And it brings to mind another duplicitous word that lives dual lives (lives and lives, get it?) in the MM Universe: Faith. Every scientist/physicist worth his salt is aware of QM. But since it is so small, and so hard to observe and quantify, do the men of science have faith in what they see? What they think? What they theorize and postulate? Or do they just believe without proof?

Amazing. All this in one day. Thanks for coming along for the ride, but it’s time for a macro nap. In a few hours neurons will be calmed and all will be right with the MM world, again. Have faith.

Micro world? See ya next time and say hi to the Ai bots.

***I drove to Walmart and purchased the item earlier today and posted a strongly worded Macro letter to Walmart.

Three Sentences…Again

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The Texas redistricting story highlights the idiocy of modern politics since every state and party gerrymanders at a certain, justifiable time. Modern Republicans see the handwriting on the wall and will do anything, now, to change the inevitable future, including tying themselves in knots to justify their actions. Their Prime Directive**, misunderstood by a Texas politician: “We’re doing it now because we can.”

I’ve often postulated America is 30% Conservative, 30% Liberal, and 40% Independent. Trump was (mainly) elected by his motivated Conservative 30%. Wonder if the other 70% of America will be motivated in the 2026 elections…

One More Trump, thing and this sentence doesn’t count. He is building a 90,000 square-foot ballroom addition to the White House, has already gilded most of the White House offices, and paved over the Rose Garden. Joni Mitchell’s “Big, Yellow, Taxi”** comes to mind. Is there anyone other than his 30 per cent that thinks these are good things?

A recent conversation with a friend reminded us both of how prescient Star Trak was and is, even now. My friend recounted*** an episode where Chekhov, the engineer, had trouble communicating with an “older” computer system on an alien planet. “Ancient Aliens”**, anyone?

Another old friend helped me remember an old plan I had for America. The Retirement Years are ages 20 to 25 when we don’t need to work and can do whatever we want. At age 26 we enter the workforce and work until we die.

In trying to understand the recent political scene, it appears conservatives are inspired and motivated to be Republicans even though they don’t fully understand the Party. Democrats become Democrats simply because they don’t want to be Republicans. In a two-party system, what choice is there?

My opinion (as stated years ago) is the Republican Party is the party of GMGA, or “Got mine Go Away” and includes several “ladder pullers” like Clarence Thomas. The Democrats acronym will be “YHTMGSTSE”, or “You Have Too Much Give Some To Someone Else.” Yikes?

A sentence no one pays attention to anymore, should be drilled into all our heads as soon as possible: “No one is perfect.” As noted above, when we segregate (and hate) over party lines instead of human issues, our entire world suffers. It’s past time for good republicans, good democrats, and good independents to put the world back on track.

Nothing will come from the above 3 sentences until females take over the world. Men are too caught up in being men to see we need males to be good citizens, not power brokers and Alphas. If you want to see real male heroes, watch old TV Westerns like “Tales of Wells Fargo” or “The Lone Ranger” and watch characters Like Matt Dillon, Jim Hardy, and even 1960’s Andy Griffith.

Unrelated to anything, there is an Andy Griffith Show episode, “The Manicurist”, (Season 2 episode 16) featuring a young Barbara Eden. The episode highlights the power females have over males. And you don’t have to be old as me to appreciate real beauty.

** google it, google everything. Ai, too…just for fun. Its free, so…

*** It is always amazing to hear how avid fans of Star Trek, Star Wars, and other programs remember their favorites, even after many years. The Human Brain. Wow.

PS Everything is three sentences but this post should be better. Spent too much time on structure and not enough on content. Sue me.

Faith? Why?

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Faith is a strong word, one of those single syllable words which are hard to mispronounce and carry a lot of weight. Love. Hate. Peace. Death. Whoever invented these words tried to make their meaning clear and unambiguous, for all to see and understand.

Right. (Sarcasm.) Ai was asked for a definition of Faith. The sultry, English voice (my choice) offered two types of Faith: Religious and Secular. Paraphrased, Religious Faith is the firm belief in something for which there is no proof. My bet is most of us think of this definition when we hear the word “faith”. It is often debated as a complex issue but really, the bottom line is you believe or not. You have faith or not. True, unshakeable Religious Faith is one of the major wonders of the world. You’re lucky to have it.

We use a different faith all the time in the real world. On my drive to the fitness center this morning my 3,000 pound, gas-powered missile passed 12 other missiles, often within feet of each other, and at high speeds. It is a life or death situation we face every day where we do not even think about the “faith” we have in the other driver being competent, enough, to not kill us both. When I get in my car I have faith it will start. When I wake up I have faith my lungs will fill with air. I even have faith there will be air. These are secular faiths we employ—and believe in—every minute of the day. They might even be called “communal faiths” because we all believe in these daily miracles as we fill our daily, minute-by-minute days. Imagine if we lost faith…

Carpe Diem is a favorite phrase bandied about—ad infinitum–when talking about how to enjoy life. Seize the Day. Why don’t we, instead: “amplectere fidem?” google it.

If we could find a way to note and appreciate our daily, secular faith, how might it affect malaise and depression? Unhappiness? The holy grail of well-being? So many of us work so hard to be something, be someone, be somewhere, when we should have faith in who, what, and where we are. And why, too, though that one is trickier.

Secular faith even helps pessimists. Don’t they firmly believe without proof something bad is going to happen? This might be a Religious Faith for them, by the way.

There are miracles every minute of every day, some, maybe even sent by your actual God, whichever one in which you have Faith. Think about your own faith when you have the time, not just when you narrowly avoid getting hit by the dump truck that didn’t see you. Plus, contemplating faith may take your mind off other things.

The best part of having both Faith and faith (if you’re lucky enough) is when you can’t find one, the other will be there to help you get back from whatever misguided but utterly human misadventure you’ve foisted upon yourself.

You have faith in oncoming anonymous drivers so have faith in yourself, and in the world.

Atheists are the ultimate in faith groups, by the way. They have enough faith in themselves to reckon they don’t need any Divine Help.

PS I am entirely aware this short outpouring of words and platitudes in no way compares to a dusty, detailed, and annotated debate about Faith, faith, life, religion, and the meaning of life. So what?

Older Things Young People Don’t Care about and I’m Not Holding My Breath

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In the last month I purchased a new tv, picked up some medications, added some shelving to the bedroom, and transferred a CD at my credit union. There wasn’t a single document for any of these transactions that could be read with the older, naked eye… even with “readers”* and a hand-held magnifying glass. It’s possible my checking account now contains a vitamin D supplement. Assembling the shelf required a chair, three light sources, the magnifying glass, and an hour nap upon completion. My particular situation may be different from others due to The Calamities, but it needs to be asked: Why is print so small, and getting smaller? And does anyone know what contrast means? Often light black type is used with a light gray background, especially online. It is aging, I know, since after typing in size 12 Times New Roman for 60 years, the size of this post is 14 Liberation Serif…at least until published.** But size 20 is easily “seen” (pun?) in the future.

I need a pill cutter/splitter. Never has there been a need, urge, or even a mistaken opportunity to use that phrase until August 17, 2025. Good or bad? Since it’s such a new subject, wonder if any young person DOES need a pill cutter/splitter…for any legal reason, anyway.

Altering any physical position is an adventure. Political, emotional, and life positions are still very welcome to change, and often do, without warning. But—in old age–arising to the vertical from a horizontal requires timing and advance preparation if a smidgen of grace and personal honor are to be maintained. (Or artfully exhibited?) Even going from vertical to horizontal is a challenge, too, if in public or anyone is watching. What is done in the privacy of one’s home need not be revealed, but the word “plop” may convey an accurate image. Even then, good eyesight and correct aim are required. (See first paragraph.) And—for the readers sake—there will be no mention of public toilets.

Writing a post like this could happen daily, if one lets it. Seniors are the most persecuted, ignored, and scammed cohort of people in America, and possibly the world. (With the exception of maybe, babies. Is that spoonful of mashed peas really an airplane coming in for a landing?) So letting others know how bad we have it becomes a daily routine, as if it never happened to anyone before and the challenges are all new, seen by us for the first time in this world.

But nothing is ever new and neither are our complaints. The only comfort we can take from our constant listing of grievances is that even those who don’t listen to us will understand eventually, if they’re lucky enough.

So why still complain? As the great Doctor Wright says: “If everything seems to be going good, you have obviously overlooked something.” And I needed to post a piece. It’s been awhile. And I’m tired of Trump stuff. Aren’t you?

*eye helpers placed all over the places we occupy because we can’t keep track of one pair.

** I’ve no idea the size or readability of this post after publication, when you read it. My laptop is set to enlarge everything, and my phone display only goes so big, so…if you have a complaint about readability, sit on it. No one cares.

Whims and Ghosts and Perceived Slights, oh my…

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“When you die people cry and beg for you to come back, but when you do, there’s the running and the screaming.”-Facebook someone.

“Whim: a sudden desire or change of mind, especially one that is unusual or unexplained.”-Oxford English Dictionary.

“Perceived Slight” per Ai: “It’s about the FEELING of being slighted rather than the objective reality of an intentional slight. These feelings arise when someone believes they’ve been treated with less consideration or importance than they deserve.”

America has become the land of Whims and Ghosts and Perceived Slights. Our current governing philosophy is do whatever we want and if things don’t work out, blame it on some “others”, some dead, some alive. The Epstein Files story is a perfect example. If you don’t know it, imagine a rich man doing what he wants with sex, drugs, lots of free time, and lots of young ladies. Some very young ladies. And imagine, the rich and powerful friends who help him and/or play with him. Then imagine the crap hitting the fan years later and the rich man dying. The MAGAns in our country are right to be offended by this story but what part? It appears the “participation” of many rich and famous people in the past was not what you think…or was it? Daily reporting of this saga reads like a whimsical cavalcade of saucy but unreasonably innocent comments, denials, and blame for an individual unable to say anything about it. Imagine “the running and the screaming” if his ghost came back to set the record straight.

And what does it mean to “set the record straight”? With a Department of Justice doing what our insecure and petty President tells it to do, we appear to be enforcing the law by the Power of His Whim, a whim informed by his perceived slights. In fact, it appears everything our government does these days is whimsical, depending on who is not obeying the Whim of the moment or not “working hard” enough to correct a past slight. Example: 14 immigration judges are “fired” while 3 million immigration cases (or more) need adjudication, and the Big Beautiful Bill allocates billions to the immigration brain trust to hire and train new judges. Why did they fire the old ones? Whim? Ghosts? Perceived slights?

Sadly, the biggest loss surrounding Government by Whim, Ghosts and Perceived Slights is The Truth. In the Whim System nothing is true except what we say is true, a remarkably fun way to govern, if you think about it. Imagine doing anything you want, to anyone, anytime, especially those who you perceive slighted you.

 The entire charade is supported by new people in power who feel the same. Whimsical Purity. Entire Departments of the Unted States Government, established well over 100 years ago, gone by whimsical and revengeful fiat.

It leads to the rest of us, and even some MAGAns, now, wondering “What’s Next”? Who will be the current government’s target in an hour or two? Next week? It is a tough time when the smartest man in the world gets to make all the decisions about everything, no matter science or history. Trump wants to change an entire, historical White House to add a…ballroom. Someone call DOGE, unless the dance hall really will be financed by “private money”. Shouldn’t we call that a “bribe”? Ah, it’s just an example of rich people satisfying a whim instead of fixing a country, Or lowering prices. Let them eat cake…google it.

Who cares, anyway. 77 million people voted for and “mandated” this type of government. They knew who he was. The 250 million people, otherwise known as the rest of us, should just sit back and enjoy it.

Buyer’s remorse? The Texas redistricting ploy is a sign maybe someone cares, after all, even if The Rest of Us don’t. Texas’s plan isn’t a whim but a hysterically desperate effort by the Modern Republican Party Grievance Machine (MRPGM) to change the future.

Will American Voters let MRPGM get away with it?

My not-so-whimsical guess is yes…