More Bizarre Info Than You Could Ever Want

photo of Jon:
Gage Skidmore

I've been a busy human these past few weeks. First I went to hear Peter Himmelman speak about his new book, SUSPENDED BY NO STRING. I've been a fan for a while, but this was the first time I'd heard him speak in person. It was revelatory and I'm so glad I went and finally got to meet him. A week later, at the same venue, I went to a lecture on Ladino culture and its innovations given by Dr. Devin Naar of the University of Washington, Seattle. A while back I'd written to Dr. Naar while researching the book I'm working on now, and we have a lively correspondence about where I was going wrong. Whether he realized it or not, he fundamentally changed an important event in the book. Being a great lover of Ladino culture, especially the food and the music, I was totally absorbed. When it turned out we have peeps in common, that was even better! 

The last person I heard in this chain of talkers, Jon Lovett, one of the hosts of Pod Save America, was a total surprise. Seems he's engaged to someone from my shul, and their aufruf was on Shabbat. It was a lovely family event with both sides present, and yes, there was lots of candy thrown at the happy couple after their aliyah. 

Look, you can't have Jon Lovett in shul and NOT let him talk, so after kiddush lunch, he talked about comedy and politics. His is an insider perspective, having worked as a speechwriter for President Obama. His observations about what "works" and what doesn't work struck home for me. I may not write comedy, but his discussion of how one writes was particularly important for me to hear. Plus, he answered my questions about censorship and television. 

So, let's just say my brain-rolodex is full and the brain itself is operating on overload.

Which is why I'm gonna write about what's not funny these days. 

We have a president who, as Mom would say, suffers from diarrhea of the mouth. There is absolutely no accounting for the tasteless, crude, hateful, mean-spirited things that fall out of his pisk. He embarasses not only himself, but the entire nation with his incredibly stupid comments on Truth Social and at the microphone. 

Aaron Schwartz/UPI

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met with President Felon last week in the Overdone Office, and while the lady was obsequious in her flattery of his orangeness, he was deliberately cruel as he used Pearl Harbor as a punch line. Responding to a reporter's question why the US's allies were not notified of the attack, he replied:

We didn’t tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise. Who knows better about surprise than Japan, OK? Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor, OK? Right? You believe in surprise, I think, much more so than us.

Other than widening eyes and a deep breath, Prime Minister Takaichi did not react, a feat I don't think many could have managed. That she didn't rise from her seat, thank him for his time, and walk out of the office was a testament to her grace under spitball fire. 

Of course, the Toddler-in-Chief could not remain at the Gold House while a war is being waged. No. He wanted to play golf. He was at Mar-a-Lago when word reached him that Robert Mueller had died. Granted, there was no love lost between the two men, but his Truth Social post was unbecoming a public official no matter how he felt about this man who had spent his life defending the Constitution of the United States:

Robert Mueller just died. Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people! President DONALD J. TRUMP   Mar 21, 2026, 12:26 PM

Today's narishkeit was top notch. He claims he had productive talks with Iran over the weekend and he was holding off obliterating them. The only problem with that is Iran doesn't recall having any talks with him. According to the BBC:

At an event in Memphis later in the day, Trump said Iran had "agreed that they will not have a nuclear weapon". There has been no confirmation of this from the Iranians.

"I think there's a very good chance we're going to end up in a deal," he said. "And so we're giving it five days and then we're going to see where that takes it."

The US president has repeatedly told reporters that multiple tiers of Iranian leadership have been wiped out, and at a Friday event at the White House said that it is "hard to find leaders in Iran to talk to because they keep getting killed".

In a brief telephone interview with CNBC reporter Joe Kernen immediately after Trump's post on Monday morning, Trump said that Iran has representatives left, contradicting his own previous public statements.

He suggested they were behaving differently than their predecessors. Kernen said Trump was "insisting" that the change constitutes a form of regime change.

Iran's denial that any talks have taken place, however, complicates this narrative for the administration and will likely make for awkward questions.

Already, an unnamed Iranian source quoted by Fars News Agency, affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), characterised Trump's statement as something of a victory for the regime, claiming Trump "backed down" after Iran's threats to launch retaliatory strikes against energy infrastructure across the region.

Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf. Meanwhile, denied the talks had happened and called it "fake news".

The talks could also be something of a ruse - as was the case last summer when talks with the Iranians were reportedly still progressing right up until US bombs struck Iranian nuclear facilities during Operation Midnight Hammer.

Trump, after all, often reminds reporters that his decision-making process or thinking on a particular topic is a mystery to almost everyone.

 The last line is priceless.

Between his 24k gold coin, and the new attempt to deface what's left of the White House by tearing down the Ionic columns of the North Portico to replace them with schmaltzy Corinthian columns, We, the People had better get used to an Imperial Presidency where Feckless Leader aka President Felon has his face plastered on everything. 

Every day, there is something else on which his image is enlarged. And the bigger it gets, the smaller, it would seem, his winkie gets. Maybe it really is dementia and his cabal is trying to cover it over with absurdity. Do I really need to post Charles Durning doing the Texas Sidestep again? I mean, I love watching that, but these days, it's hitting a little close to home. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch.....

...across the United States, Cesar Chavez's name is being removed because of the recent exposure of his sexual misconduct. How can you idolize a man who groomed and abused young girls? 

MAGA does it every day and in every way. From the very beginning of his political aspirations, they have shielded his aberrant, deviant behavior when it came to women. So let me ask you all, when was the last time you heard anything about significant Epstein-related evidence being published? Where are the files about the underaged girls who testified that President Felon forced himself on him? This is beyond guilt by association; these are crimes. 

The midterms are in jeopardy. Some people claim ICE at the airports is merely practice for voter suppression. I'm not of that mind, but I can see why that gets traction. The SAVE Act will do a pretty good job of keeping women from voting. And rural citizens. How do you prove you are who you say you are in this day of photoshop, AI, and visual manipulation? Beats the hell outta me. I have no clue. 

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

If you ever have the opportunity to see

Peter Himmelman in performance
or hear Dr. Devin Naar talk about Ladino culture,

jump at the chance. 

Jon Lovett? You can hear him on Pod Save America!