I Could Be Wrong.

  Forty years ago, there was a mini-series on ABC called The Winds of War. It was the dramatization of events leading up to our involvement in World War II. People tend to forget that World War II had been raging for a couple of years before the United States entered the war. Even though we were supposedly neutral, the mini-series showed how we were definitely on the side of the Allies, assisting them with goods and raw materials as much as we could. We didn’t enter the war until we were attacked by the Japanese on December 7 th, 1941. Today, I fear we are now seeing the “Winds of War” happening again. The Middle East is a powder keg just waiting to blow, and I am afraid that you will see us involved in War again. Israel has attacked Iran while it is still fighting Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon. This has led to concerns about a wider regional conflict. Hamas is partially funded by Iran and Qatar. Hezbollah is also partially funded by Iran. There have been tens...

  Political violence is not new in America. I will say in some respects, you can say Political Terrorism is not new in America because I feel all political violence is meant to terrorize.   We have now witnessed political violence in Minnesota. Saturday. A man, Vance Boelter, disguised himself as a police officer and shot and killed Democratic State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark at their home. He then drove over to State Senator John Hoffman's home, shot the Senator and his wife, seriously injuring them. He then fled the police, which resulted in a two-day manhunt until he was taken into custody. From what I have read, he had a manifesto with a lot of names he intended to kill.   I have also read he had visited other elected officials in Minnesota who were not home at the time, so that the carnage could have been much worse. It has also been reported that the shooter was a conservative and huge supporter of Trump. After the shooting, Mike Lee, the ...

  Protests are happening all across America. I have not seen anything like this since the Vietnam War. The chant at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago was “The whole world is watching,” and that is true today. The Whole World is Watching!   I grew up just about 50 miles north of Chicago, and the images of the 1968 Democratic Convention are etched in my memory. After 1968, I have always thought it was a turning point in public opinion against the War in Vietnam. Are we seeing the same thing here in America? Is this the start of a turning point in history, where the masses stand up to the injustice and suppression by our federal government? I am 71 years old, and I have been participating in the protests. Why?   For the future, of course, the future we are leaving for future generations. The chant again should be “The Whole World Is Watching” because they really are. When I was young, there was no such thing as cable news. We didn’t have this 24-hour news channel t...

  Something I have written many times on social media is that when our Justice Department becomes a tool of the oppressor, we are losing our Democracy. Dictators have always used the Justice Department to oppress the people. Germany had its Gestapo and the SS, which were used to kill millions. Stalin had his NKVD, which would later become the KGB, that he used to kill millions and consolidate his power. China has its Chenguang, which is known for its violent methods. That is how things work in a country that is run by a dictator.   They use their personal Justice Departments to suppress and eliminate threats to their power. Is that now what is happening in this country? I swear, Trump wants to be just like the Communist and Fascist dictators. Trump seems to want to use our Justice Department more as his personal goon squad than a department that serves the people. He is starting with ICE. ICE is an agency that was formed after 9/11 and put under the Department of Homeland Se...

  There has been a falling out at the White House. I know, shocking. What I am surprised at is that there hasn’t been more. In this case, the fallout is between Elon Musk, Trump's former head of the Department of Government Efficiency, which, by the way, is a made-up department, and Trump himself. What they are fighting about is what surprises me. They are fighting over Trump's “Big Beautiful Bill”. Now, don’t start thinking that Musk has seen the light. Musk’s big complaint with the bill was that it is going to increase the deficit. People have been talking about that all along. That is what giving to billionaires does to the deficit: it makes it grow. It has been that way since Reagan, and it is still that way today. It will also be that way tomorrow. They have tried to tell us they will pay for themselves. That has never happened. They have said that it will create jobs. That has never happened in the numbers we were led to believe. What it has created is a group for people ...

  Trump is showing the world how to destroy a country through Executive Orders. He is using Executive Orders to weaken us in many areas that made America Great or could make America Great. He has hit our country from multiple directions simultaneously. I swear it looks like his Executive Orders are meant to destroy our environment, destroy our alliances, destroy our economy, destroy the rule of the law, and destroy our standing in the world. He has shown the world that they can’t depend on America. He has shown that you can’t trust America. He has shown that he will put profit ahead of the future of our children and grandchildren. He has demonstrated that his hatred, racism, and bigotry are what will be driving the nation while he is in power. He has shown that he will defy the courts. He has shown he doesn’t believe in our Constitution. In reality, he has shown that he doesn’t believe in America. What saddens me even more is the number of people who think just like him. They will ...

  Do Trump and the Republicans believe in the rule of law? They always seem to like to bill themselves as the party of law and order, but talk is cheap, and what I think we are experiencing is some pretty cheap talk. The President of the United States has the power to pardon people who committed a Federal Crime. Trump is using that power like no President has before. I know the first thing you are going to point out is that Biden pardoned his son. Yep, he did, and if I were in the same boat as he was, I would have done the same thing. Biden also issued pardons for all those who were going to be targets of Trump's retributions. Again, I would have done the same thing. I believe by doing that, Biden spared the country from many of Trump's retaliations and Trump's ability to weaponize the Justice Department against those who investigated Trump's crimes. I believe we would be in a bigger political mess if Biden had not done what he did. Trump is still weaponizing the Justic...

  Trump now has his Big Beautiful Bill . Who talks that way? The only people that come to mind are people like carnival barkers and con men trying to sell us snake oil. Is this what the Republican Party has become? A bunch of Snake Oil Salesmen? One thing I am sure of is that Snake Oil Salesmen were more interested in making a sale and turning a profit than they were in selling you something that would actually help you.   That is how I look at the Republican Party and Trump's Big Beautiful Bill . I looked at what is being said about the bill, and the first thing that jumped out at me is the 5 trillion tax cuts. Spending cuts are intended to mitigate some of the debt these tax cuts will cause, but the cuts will still add approximately $3.6 trillion to the National debt, which is already at $36 trillion. Who benefits from these cuts? A whole lot of rich people will. There is a provision where overtime will not be taxed, and neither will tips, but those are temporary cuts that...

  It is another Memorial Day weekend; to me, it is a time to honor or at least acknowledge the sacrifices of those who have fought and worked to keep us safe. When I was a boy, I lived right next to Greenridge Memorial Cemetery in Kenosha, WI. Every year, they would have a ceremony at the Veterans Memorial section of the Cemetery. It would start with the Colored Guard, the Rambler Band marching down 7 th Ave., followed by dignitaries entering the cemetery through the main gate, taking a left, and marching to the Veterans area. Every year, my friend Jim and I would ride are bikes along with them, feeling like we were participating in the ceremony. We knew the day was more than just a day off from school and backyard barbeques. It was a day of remembrance for the people who sacrificed not only for the nation, but also because I was there participating in the ceremony, I always had the idea that they sacrificed it all for me, for my freedom.   The City of Kenosha used to have ...