IMAGINING NO DRAGONS

UPDATED for today in Boulder, Colorado

I'm not a band-following kinda woman...unless it's the Misha Siegfried Band....for obvious reasons. I prefer singers (Sting, Billy Joel, Adele, Lewis Capaldi, Aviv Alush)  over bands, but I do have a few favorites and my playlists reflect that. Yeah, Beatles top that list, Steely Dan, Bonzo Dog, and until this morning, Imagine Dragons. I loved that they played in Tel Aviv in 2023 despite protests. I love their lyrics. And sure, I like watching Dan Reynolds prance about the stage shirtless. (What can I say? I'm not dead yet.) Three days ago, at their concert in Milan, Italy, Reynolds wrapped himself in and kissed a Palestinian flag. 

For a guy whose band members are HUGE supporters of LGBTQ+ rights, aligning with terrorists who advocate the killing of that very same community seems just too weird.  He kissed the damn flag and tossed it into the audience. I guess their stand with LGBTQ+ was performative, not sincere activism. Gone are the rainbow flags he once draped around his shoulders. I wonder how all those LGBTQ+ fans feel about that. Don't answer that. Lots of them are wearing the black and white kuffiyeh these days.

I don't understand how all these big celebrities have managed to miss the part about homosexuality being punishable by death in Gaza. What do they tell all those people who gave them money in support of their rainbow projects; that they no longer believe they have a right to live? Hmmmm. I don't wonder at all. All those LGBTQ+ FOR PALESTINE encampment and protest participants didn't get the memo about rooftop launch parties. 

Well, actually, I do. They don't do their homework. They believe what they see on X or Insta or whatever bubble they're living in.  They are all TSTL: Too Stupid To Live.

See, if they did their homework, if they actually googled something about world conflicts and famine, they might have noticed other places where slaughter goes unchecked and humanitarian aid is a joke.

This isn't really Gaza any more; it's the normalization of Jew hatred. There's the whole blood libel thing that keeps coming up....last week it was about Israel killing 140,000 Palestinian babies in 48 hours, and even though the BBC and everyone else walked that ridiculous story back, it was put out there by "reliable" news agencies. It doesn't matter if it was true or not, if they walked it back or not, it was out there and now it's fact regardless of the truth. Hating Jews is convenient. Hating the only country that is openly Jewish is convenient. Everybody's gotta hate someone and this particularly tiny little sliver of population wins that lottery time and time again. 

But I will tell you where babies are dying in droves and none of those Free Palestine lemmings give a shit about those babies: Sudan. From Rescue.org:

Before the war erupted in April 2023, Sudan was already experiencing a severe humanitarian crisis that left 15.8 million people in need of humanitarian aid. Two years of war have gravely exacerbated these conditions, displacing over 12 million people and leaving 30.4 million people—more than half of Sudan’s population—in need of humanitarian support.

Sudan now represents the largest and fastest displacement crisis in the world. It is also the largest humanitarian crisis ever recorded.

Did I miss all the kadamol wearing protesters caring about the death toll in Sudan due to a civil war? Maybe Dan Reynolds would like a RSF flag for the next concert, or don a kadamol like these guys. It's kinda dashing, dontcha think?

On October 16th, just 9 days after the attack on the Nova Festival and adjacent kibbutzim, the UN issued a report on Sudan:

Siobhán Mullally, UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, said unaccompanied children and children from poor families have reportedly been targeted by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia in the outskirts of the capital Khartoum and elsewhere.

They’ve forcibly recruited women and children especially, she warned. 

Girls have also reportedly been abducted from Khartoum to Darfur for sexual exploitation, including sexual slavery.

To date, an estimated 9,000 people have been killed, over 5.6 million driven from their homes in the civil conflict between military Government forces and the RSF, and 25 million people are reliant on aid.

“The deteriorating humanitarian situation and lack of access to food and other basic services make children, especially unaccompanied and separated children on the streets, easy targets for recruitment by armed groups,” Ms. Mullally said.

The UN Human Rights Council-appointed expert stressed that recruitment of children by armed groups for any form of exploitation, including in combat roles, is a gross violation of human rights, a serious crime and a violation of international humanitarian law.

Addressing reports that children might be joining armed groups as a means of survival, Ms. Mullally emphasized that the consent of a child – defined as any person below the age of 18 – is legally irrelevant, and it is not necessary to prove the use of force.

She also voiced concern over lack of humanitarian access to children.

She called on all parties to the conflict to return to peace talks and reach a comprehensive ceasefire agreement that would allow for the safe delivery of humanitarian assistance and ensure accountability for alleged violations.

“Urgent action is needed to address these pressing concerns and take effective measures to prevent child trafficking and provide effective protection to child victims and children at risk, in particular displaced, unaccompanied and separated children, refugee children and children with disabilities,” Ms. Mullally said.

Where was the outcry? Where were the protests? Where were the demands for the release of girls and young women taken for sexual slavery? Those are Muslim babies, too. See, those people weren't Jews, so they didn't have anyone available to take the blame. There weren't any Jews involved at all, ergo, there was nothing to protest. For the record, Israel supplies humanitarian aid to Sudan. Just thought you'd wanna know that for your next protest rally.

We are .02 of world population....and it's still too many Jews left alive for some people. Certainly all Jews are murderers and baby killers because no Jewish institution is ever left unscathed. Last week, it was a museum in D.C. and synagogues in Paris. Or today, June 1st, in Boulder, Colorado where a man tossed molotov cocktails at demonstrators, including children, calling for the releases of hostages held in Gaza. It doesn't matter where the Jews are, or where the institutions are, or the real history of who belongs in Israel...although recently I'm hearing Jesus was a Palestinian....as if he wasn't at the Temple in Jerusalem....where Mohammed was at the time even though Mohammed wouldn't be born for a few hundred more years. 

We are all pretty much getting seriously sick of having to explain to people why Jews are indigenous to the area once again called Israel. Yes, that's right, it was Israel with the same language, culture, and religion for a thousand years before Jesus. We are the poster children for indigenous peoples everywhere because we came home, we built a new nation, and we thrived. Indigenous populations dream about doing what we have done. And what's more, they should be looking to Israel as what one can do with drive, education, and will forged in steel to survive. 

We will not apologize for surviving as a people. We will not apologize for the return to our homeland. If anyone ever read any version of the Bible, it's not like we ever stopped worked to go home. You don't want us in your country? Great. We'll take out brains, our innovations, our musical instruments, our medical advances, and our Nobel prizes to Israel. Our homeland. Our Motherland. Our Fatherland. Our whatever we feel like calling it. For 5,000 years it's been Eretz Yisroel where the natives speak Hebrew and practice Judaism. That's not exactly a surprise now, is it?

If you wanna talk about colonizers, you'd better start with the Mongols, the Ottoman, the British, the Spanish, and the Arabs. Especially the Arabs who have spread their tent over large swaths of Africa, Europe, Eurasia, and Asia. 

You don't get to call us colonizers in our own tiny homeland. We're like the folks who refuse to sell out to the big developers and we're just fine and dandy with that. 

In fact, Hey! Get Off Our Lawn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch.....Shavuot begins at sundown and I gotta get this sucker out the door!

With assorted lactose intolerant people, I decided, after considerable research, to make a vegan cheesecake for Shavuot that begins at sundown. I followed the directions closely, made all the suggested adjustments. The batter came out great, tasting just right. I looked perfect when I put it in the oven. I was so excited. 

Until I took it out. It did not set up the way I expected. It had a different aroma than what I'm used to. I haven't cut into it yet, so I can't tell you how it tastes. It'll be great....or an epic fail. Whatever. I tried. 

I have cut up fruit and a blueberry cobbler standing by just is case. They go just as well with Tuna Niçoise.

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

Redundancy.

The key to happiness?

Redundancy.

A Pig In A Suit Is Still A Pig In A Suit

President Woodrow Wilson

I had a very different Memorial Day episode in mind. In fact, I had planned to open with the words of another president, Woodrow Wilson whose 1914 Memorial Day address, delivered only months prior to his declaration of neutrality in World War I is worth remembering: 

I have not come here to-day with a prepared address. The committee in charge of the exercises of the day have graciously excused me on the grounds of public obligations from preparing such an address, but I will not deny myself the privilege of joining with you in an expression of gratitude and admiration for the men who perished for the sake of the Union. They do not need our praise. They do not need that our admiration should sustain them. There is no immortality that is safer than theirs. We come not for their sakes but for our own, in order that we may drink at the same springs of inspiration from which they themselves selves drank.  

A peculiar privilege came to the men who fought for the Union. There is no other civil war in history, ladies and gentlemen, the stings of which were removed before the men who did the fighting passed from the stage of life. So that we owe these men something more than a legal reestablishment of the Union. We owe them the spiritual reestablishment of the Union as well; for they not only reunited States, they reunited the spirits of men. That is their unique achievement, unexampled anywhere else in the annals of mankind, that the very men whom they overcame in battle join in praise and gratitude that the Union was saved. There is something peculiarly beautiful and peculiarly touching about that. Whenever a man who is still trying to devote himself to the service of the Nation comes into a presence like this, or into a place like this, his spirit must be peculiarly moved. A mandate is laid upon him which seems to speak from the very graves themselves. Those who serve this Nation, whether in peace or in war, should serve it without thought of themselves. I can never speak in praise of war, ladies and gentlemen; you would not desire me to do so. But there is this peculiar distinction belonging to the soldier, that he goes into an enterprise out of which he himself cannot get anything at all. He is giving everything that he hath, even his life, in order that others may live, not in order that he himself may obtain gain and prosperity. And just so soon as the tasks of peace are performed in the same spirit of self-sacrifice and devotion, peace societies will not be necessary. The very organization and spirit of society will be a guaranty of peace.

Well, we all know the US eventually joined the war. On April 2nd, 1917, Wilson addressed Congress to request a declaration of war, and on April 6th, 1917, Congress voted to join the war against Germany. The president's speech was a harbinger of the changes that would come with global warfare. His recognition of the price paid for our civil war played heavily in his reluctance to enter a world war. He was forthright about his fear, and his hesitation was respected,

Memorial Day these days is often conflated with Veteran's Day. Memorial Day is for those who have fallen wearing the uniform. Veteran's Day is for those who came home.  To set the stage for Memorial Day, President Felon addressed the graduating cadets at West Point. Here are a couple highlights from that speech:

But ultimately, the task of keeping America strong and safe in the years ahead is going to belong to you. Among you are the lieutenants, majors, colonels, and generals who'll lead the army for the next 10, 20, 30, and even 40 years. So as commander-in-chief, let me offer a few words of advice as you begin your army careers. And I thought I'd do this, and I can make this to a civilian audience or to a military audience. It's pretty much the same. And, uh, I did this recently at uh, Ohio State, and they really liked it. I gave them a little advice as to what I see for what you wanna do and some tips. And first of all, and you've already done it different from civilians. 

They're making their decision right now. You've already made your decision. I love your decision. You have to do what you love. You have to do what you love. If you don't love it, you'll never be successful at it. And you've done this, and you really, many of you in the audience, many of you that are graduating, uh, you come from military backgrounds or you love the military, it's what you want to do, it's what you want to talk about.

One thing I see about people that love the military, that's all they want to talk about. I'll be out to dinner, and generals if they, if they love their job, usually the only good ones are the ones that want to talk about it all the time. But if they talk, that's what they want to talk about. I rarely, really very rarely see somebody who's successful that doesn't love what he or she does.You have to love what you do. In your case, the military is what you chose. And I'll tell you what; you cannot go wrong. You're gonna see it too. You're gonna love it more and more with time. You know, I work all the time. That's all I do is I work, whether it's politically. Or before that, I did -- I was a very good businessman in case you haven't heard, really good.

He went on to ramble about about pro-golfer Gary Player for a while before he segued into William Levitt, the man who created Levittown:

I tell a story sometimes about a man who was a great, great real estate man.

He was a man who was admired for real estate all over the world, actually, but all over the country. He built Levittowns. He started as a man who built one house, then he built two, then he built five, then he built 20, then he built 1,000, then he built 2,000 and 3,000 a year. And he got very big, very big.

He was great at what he did. You see them all over the country still, Levittowns, so a long time ago. But he was, uh, the first of the really, really big home builders. And he became very rich, became a very rich man, and then he decided to sell. He was offered a lot of money by a big conglomerate, Gulf and Western, big conglomerate.

They didn't do real estate, they didn't know anything about it, but they saw the money he was making; they wanted to take it to a public company. And they gave him a lot of money, tremendous amount of money. More money than he ever thought he'd get. And he sold this company and he had nothing to do. He ended up getting a divorce, found a new wife.

Could you say a trophy wife? I guess we can say a trophy wife. It didn't work out too well. But it doesn't -- And that doesn't work out too well, I must tell you. A lot of trophy wives doesn't work out, but it made him happy for a little while at least. But he found a new wife. He sold his little boat and he got a big yacht.

He had one of the biggest yachts anywhere in the world. He moved for a time to Monte Carlo and he led the good life. And time went by and he got bored. And 15 years later, the company that he sold to called him and they said, "The housing business is not for us." You have to understand, when Bill Levitt was hot, when he had momentum, he'd go to the job sites every night.

He'd pick up every loose nail, he'd pick up every scrap of wood. If there was a bolt or a screw laying on the ground, he'd pick it up and he'd use it the next day and putting together a house. But now he was spoiled and he was rich, he was really rich. And they called and they said, "This isn't for us, this business.

We need to do other things. Would you like to buy it back? We'll sell it back to you cheap." And they did. He bought it, he bought it. He thought he made a great deal and he was all excited. But it was 15 years later, he lost a lot of momentum. Remember the word momentum, and he lost everything, it just didn't work, he lost everything.

And I was sitting at a party on Fifth Avenue one night a long time ago, and you had the biggest people in New York, the biggest people in the country, all in that party, and they were all saluting each other, how great they were, they were all telling each other, "I'm greater than you." It gets to be really, gives you a headache sometimes, but they had all these people telling their own stories about how fantastic.

A cocktail party, and I looked over, and I was doing well, I was, I don't know, I was invited to the party, so I had to be doing well. I was very, very young, but I made a name in real estate. And I looked over, and at the party sitting in a corner all by himself, nobody was talking to him, was Mr. Levitt.

He had just gone bankrupt, lost everything, he had lost everything, his home, everything. And I went over and talked to him because he was in the real estate business and I loved real estate, and I said, "Hello, Mr. Levitt, how are you?" He said, "Hello, Donald, it's nice to meet you." He knew me from being in the business.

I said, "Uh, so how's it going?" He goes, "Not well. It's really not going well, as you've probably read, it's been a very, very tough period for me, son." And I said, "So what happened? it's just, anything you can do?" He goes, "No, there's not a thing I can do." He said, I'll never forget, he said, "I've lost my momentum, I just didn't have it. I used to have it but I lost my momentum." So it's a story I tell, and you have to know when you have the momentum, but sometimes you have to also know when you've lost the momentum and leaving a field, sometimes leaving what you're doing sometimes is okay, but you gotta have momentum, but you have to know if that momentum's gone, you have to know when to say it's time to get out. 

I have no idea what message was supposed to be conveyed in that speech. Of course, he does not mention the number of trophy wives he collected, but hey! Who's counting right?

What we might count instead are the number of top brass women he has fired since I guess no of them qualified as trophy officers. Purged from service are 

• Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Linda Fagan
• Chief of naval operations, Admiral Lisa Franchetti
• Vice Admiral assigned to Nato, Shoshana Chatfield.

Currently, Colonel Bree Fram of Space Force, facing removal not because she didn't do a spectacular job, but because she is transgender.

So, he talked to a class of 1002 graduating West Point Cadets of which 274 are women. He already made it very clear to all women in service that they are not merely not equal to the men, they are a subclass, unfit for leadership. I'm sure that made all the girls just giggle. Right?

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

To kick off Memorial Day, President Felon posted the following on Truth Social

This is what he told the crowd at Arlington today:

We're gonna have a big, big celebration, as you know, 250 years. In some ways I'm glad I missed that second term where it was because -- [Laughter] -- I wouldn't be your president for that. Most important of all, in addition, we have the World Cup and we have the Olympics. Can you imagine? I missed that four years and now look what I have, I have everything. Amazing the way things work out. God did that, I believe that too. (laughs) God did it. 

Are we supposed to be impressed by the tie choices?

You know, I got the World Cup and I got the Olympics. The 250 years was not mine, I'd like to take credit for it. But I got the Olympics. I got the World Cup when I was president and I said, boy, it's too bad I won't be president then and look what happened. I -- it turned out that we're gonna have a great time. We're gonna have a great celebration. But most important of all is the 250th anniversary that blows everything away, including the World Cup and including the Olympics, as far as I'm concerned.

REALLY? That's what you consider your crowning achievement? Not thousands of people losing health care? Not millions of kids losing school lunches? All those children you demanded women carry to term left without food or medicine? You, President Felon, are devoid of any humanity whatsoever.

After that, he beat feet outta there to go play a round of golf. Were we really expecting anything else?

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

You certainly can put lipstick on a pig,

and you can stuff said pig into a suit,

but neither makes that pig anything besides

a pig with lipstick in a stuffed suit, 

It does not make them a leader of anything,

certainly not the free world,

The Long Con

Remember this date: May 16, 2025. It seemed like an innocuous enough day, but there was a little Easter egg that went largely unnoticed except in the wrong context. 

On the last day of his Gulf tour, as he was leaving Abu Dhabi laden with all manner of anticipated grift, President Felon told reporters:

We're looking at Gaza. And we're going to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving.

While President Felon played huggy-bear-kissy face with the Saudis, and the Emirates, he basically sidelined Israel and, no surprise, Netanyahu, Why no surprise? Netanyahu doesn't have two shekels to rub together for baksheesh. The others have offered him caskets of gold, fancy airplanes, and real estate deals. Even Syria's new leader, Ahmed al-Shara got a promise of lifted sanctions for a "chance at greatness" when he showed up in Riyadh to kiss President Felon's ring. 

Why Riyadh and not Damascus? Well, lifting the sanctions, it turns out, secured an $600 Billion dollar deal with the Saudis for investment in the US. But here's the punchline:

"Oh what I do for the crown prince."

It got a laugh. I just wanna know at whose expense? Syria is a long time sponsor of terrorism directed at Israel.  Since Israel was denied a place at this table, I wanna know what exactly President Felon gave them....because you know damn well he gave them something.

As per the New York Times:

During his flight on Air Force One from Riyadh to Doha, Mr. Trump dismissed concerns about sidelining Israel.

“No not at all,” he told reporters. “This is good for Israel, having a relationship like I have with these countries, Middle Eastern countries, essentially all of them.”

But Mr. Trump’s five-day tour through the Middle East this week underscored a new dynamic, one in which Israel — and Mr. Netanyahu, in particular — is something of an afterthought. In Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Mr. Trump has sought to negotiate peace deals in Iran and Yemen and cut trillion-dollar business deals with the wealthy nations of the Persian Gulf.

He did not make a stop in Israel.

“The overall sense is of shifting attention and perception of interest, mainly to the Gulf States, where the money is,” said Itamar Rabinovich, a former Israeli ambassador to the United States.

Read that statement carefully in case you missed what Rabinovich said: "...mainly to the Gulf States, where the money is." 

Ya' think?

But wait! There's more!

President Felon has finally figured out the only way he's gonna get real estate anywhere near Israel is to "get [Gaza} taken care of." And that was not the first time he flew that trial balloon. On February 4th, 2025, he mentioned that idea during a joint press conference with Bibi. From TIME Magazine:

The President proposed on Tuesday that the U.S. should “own” the Gaza Strip, “level the site” and develop it, explicitly calling for displacing 2 million Palestinians from their homeland as the region’s leaders struggle to maintain a fragile ceasefire.

 

During a wide-ranging press conference with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump laid out a sweeping plan for the U.S. to colonize Gaza and build resorts there. “I don’t want to be cute. I don’t want to be a wise guy, but—the Riviera of the Middle East. This could be so magnificent,” Trump said.

Since Plan A failed spectacularly, the devoted minions slaving away in the White House  came up with an even "better" idea:  relocate a million Palestinians to Libya for permanent resettlement. 

No. I am not kidding. According to NBC news dated today, May 19th, 2025:

The plan is under serious enough consideration that the administration has discussed it with Libya’s leadership, two people with direct knowledge of the plans and a former U.S. official said. 

In exchange for the resettling of Palestinians, the administration would potentially release to Libya billions of dollars of funds that the U.S. froze more than a decade ago, those three people said.

NBC reached out to the State Department for comment, but their response came only after the article was published, saying the "reports are untrue." Keep in mind, this is the same very unstable Libya President Felon tried to send deportees. They sat on a plane on the tarmac in Texas waiting for clearance that Libya refused to provide. But President Felon thinks they're gonna okay taking a million Palestinians. Right.

Believe whatever you want on this one....but just know the question was asked and the baksheesh from the US was offered. 

He claims he's securing cease fires with Russia and Ukraine and with the Houthis in Yemen. Both wars continued unabated, He claims he's close to a deal with Iran. He claims all sorts of stuff because what he really wants is the Nobel Peace Prize. He is the Cowardly Lion yearning for a medal to proclaim his braverism. 

I hope the Swedes are smarter than that. And sure I hope the Israelis and the rest of those who believe President Felon is their friend wake up and smell the coffee before Israel is betrayed in the worst possible way....not to mention the American Jewish community.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch....

If you watched Eurovision on Saturday, you know that Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the Nova massacre, represented Israel. Two terrorists attempted to get to her onstage, but were quickly thwarted by security. Despite boos and Palestinian flags, she delivered a powerful performance. 

Rumors floated around saying no country would give Israel their 12 points, but they ended up with only 60 jury points  in 15th place. 

Only when the public voting reached Israel, did my smile and millions of other smiles break out. In the individual popular vote, Israel got 257 votes, leapfrogging it into first place. At the very end, when Austria, who had a substantial lead in the jury votes, did they retake first place. Israel finished 2nd which, of course, caused great teeth gnashing and outcry in parts of the world. 

If you don't know Yuval's story, this is the short version. She was at the Nova Festival. Hiding in a small space with as many as could fit,, the terrorists found them and shot up the bomb shelter. 40 were hidden there, 11 survived beneath the other bodies. When they left, Yuval managed to call her father who said to stay under the dead bodies until it was over. She did. 

                      She lived. 

                      She sang. 

                      In three languages. 

A New Day Will Rise

And even if you say goodbye

You’ll never go away

You are the rainbow of my sky

My colours in the grey

My only wish upon a star

Sunshine in the day

The only song that my piano ever plays

And even if you say goodbye

You’ll always be around

To lift me up and take me high

Keep my feet close to the ground

Are you proud of me tonight

Dreams are coming true

I choose the light

Nothing to lose if I lose you

New day will rise

Life will go on

Everyone cries

Don’t cry alone

Darkness will fade

All the pain will go by

But we will stay

Even if you say goodbye

‏Et même si tu dis adieu

‏Tu ne partiras jamais

‏T’es l’arc-en-ciel de mon ciel bleu

‏Mes couleurs dans le gris

‏Et mon seul souhait sous un ciel d’art

‏Un rayon dans ma journée

‏La seule chanson que mon piano peut jouer

New day will rise

Life will go on

Everyone cries

Don’t cry alone

Darkness will fade

All the pain will go by

But we will stay

Even you say

New day will rise

Life will go on

Everyone cries

Don’t cry alone

Darkness will fade

All the pain will go by

But you will stay

The love of my life

מים רבים

לא יכבו

את האהבה

ונהרות לא ישטפוה

New day will rise…

Everyone cries

Don’t cry alone

Darkness will fade

All the pain will go by

But we will stay

Even if you say goodbye

A new day will rise

New day will rise

And even if you say goodbye

You’ll never go away

You are the rainbow of my sky

My colours in the grey

My only wish upon a star

Sunshine in the day

The only song that my piano ever plays

And even if you say goodbye

You’ll always be around

To lift me up and take me high

Keep my feet close to the ground

Are you proud of me tonight

Dreams are coming true

I choose the light

Nothing to lose if I lose you

New day will rise

Life will go on

Everyone cries

Don’t cry alone

Darkness will fade

All the pain will go by

But we will stay

Even if you say goodbye

‏And even if you say goodbye

You’ll never go away

You are the rainbow of my sky

My colours in the grey

My only wish upon a star

Sunshine in the day

The only song that my piano ever plays

New day will rise

Life will go on

Everyone cries

Don’t cry alone

Darkness will fade

All the pain will go by

But we will stay

Even you say

New day will rise

Life will go on

Everyone cries

Don’t cry alone

Darkness will fade

All the pain will go by

But you will stay

The love of my life

Many waters cannot quench love

Neither can the floods drown it

New day will rise…

Everyone cries

Don’t cry alone

Darkness will fade

All the pain will go by

But we will stay

Even if you say goodbye

A new day will rise

New day will rise

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

SING

If we keep singing, at least our hearts win.

America For Sale - Buy Now & Get Photo Op With #47

Imagine, if you will, Hillary Clinton had used a public chat to discuss current/ongoing military maneuvers with a circle of correspondents that included journalists, Bill and Bill's brother, Roger. They wanted to lock her up for wedding plans she didn't even keep in the bathroom!

Imagine, if you dare, Hunter Biden creating a meme coin. $BIDEN,  offering it for sale, and then offering a meeting and private White House tour with his dad for the highest meme coin buyers, raking in millions of dollars for the family. Man, Congress woulda had a heyday with that one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Imagine, if you will, the royal family of Qatar presenting President Felon with brand new Air Force One jet worth over $400,000,000 with all the bells and whistles. I wanna know what kind of bells and whistles are on the plane. Gift-giving in the Arab world is rife with bakshish... a kind of quid pro quo where the gift is a way of greasing the wheels to make something happen. Some would call it a bribe to expedite a transaction. The Qataris want something....access to the Oval Office? Access to the president? A blind eye turned away from other sorts of activities? A highly favorable trade deal that freezes out other states? It could be anything. But it will be something because that's how that part of the world traditionally conducts business. 

And in case you forgot, one of the 9/11 masterminds, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, slipped away from US custody thanks to a tip from the Qatari government. 

Toon smash-up by Rob Benson

President Felon has lined his own pockets with these $trump and Melania meme coins. Now, they're planning a big dinner to auction off access to the White House and the President to a select crowd of his meme coin purchasers.

“If you are one of the Top 220 $TRUMP holders, you’ll receive an invitation with details to confirm your attendance at the Gala Dinner. Join President Trump on May 22, 2025 at his private Trump National Golf Club in Washington, D.C. for a once-in-a-lifetime evening. Learn about the future of Crypto!” 

The Posts also points out the top 25 Trump meme coin owners get an exclusive private event with the president. The website states, “Trump is appearing at the dinner as a guest and not soliciting any funds for it.”

Sure, he's not. Do we all look like we fell off the turnip truck this afternoon??????? Let's be real: President Felon never does anything unless there is something in it for his pocket. 

Meanwhile, back on the tarmac, The Hill reports:

Trump insisted the gift would be received by the Defense Department “in a very public and transparent transaction,” as he pushed back on criticism from Democrats who described the arrangement as a grift.  

The luxury jet would temporarily replace Air Force One and then be transferred over to the Trump presidential library at the end of his term.

Well, that sorta sounds like it's not being given to the US Government, but rather it's a private grift...I mean gift...to President Felon. In other words, this is not a gift to the government of the United States, this is a personal gift to the grifter-in-chief...something the Emoluments Clause seriously frowns upon. I wrote about said clause back in February, but in case you forgot what it says, Article I Sec. 9 of the Constitution states very clearly:

Article I, Section 9, Clause 8:

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State. 

I may be about as far away as Mars for being Laura Loomer's biggest fan, but she does happen to agree with me and makes a valid point for her own position. From the same article in The Hill: 

“I love President Trump. I would take a bullet for him,” Loomer wrote in a post on the social platform X. “But, I have to call a spade a spade. We cannot accept a $400 million ‘gift’ from jihadists in suits.

“This is really going to be such a stain on the admin if this is true,” I’m so disappointed. It’s going to be hard for the admin to designate the Muslim Brotherhood and obliterate Iranian proxies in Hamas and Hezbollah when Qatar funds the Muslim Brotherhood, harbors HAMAS, and the US just accepted a $400 million jet from Qatar, The biggest lobby in DC is the Qatar lobby. We are watching an Islamic takeover of our country in real time."

All things considered, Qatar is not exactly Switzerland in this game; they are hardly a neutral power. They housed and fêted the upper echelon of Hamas in Doha, providing them with a base of operations from around 2012 forward. The Wikipedia article on Qatar and State Sponsored Terrorism will give you a quickie overview. None of this is news. More recently, they are  openly and not-so-openly funding pro-Palestinian actions in the US, including but not limited to the encampments and the non-student leadership of the movement. 

And they're gonna give POTUS a plane. There are so many What-Ifs in that fuselage that someone would have to take the whole thing apart to find all those bells and whistles. Since the Muskrat has already removed all technology experts from the intelligence agencies and has fired all the significantly smart brass, there's no one left to do that level of work. He even fired the librarian at the Library of Congress....and everyone knows librarians know to find out everything! 

Makes me wonder how much the Qataris are paying Muskrat.  And speaking of Muskrat, how 'bout them South African refugees? How much and who did they pay to get their special refugee visas? 

Or, come to think of it,  what deal the Syrians are trying to cut. According to Reuters:

DAMASCUS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) — A Trump Tower in Damascus, a detente with Israel and US access to Syria’s oil and gas are part of Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa’s strategic pitch to try to get face time with US President Donald Trump during his trip to the Middle East, according to several sources familiar with the push to woo Washington.

First, it was Gaz-a-Largo, then it was Schuss-Greenland, now it's Damasminster Golf Club. I just wanna vomit. Is that graphic enough?

Breaking news: from the Washington Post:

Trump announces U.S. will remove all sanctions against Syria to give the country ‘a chance at a greatness’ President Donald Trump’s remarks, delivered from Saudi Arabia, garnered a standing ovation from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and others. “Oh, what I do for the crown prince,” Trump mused after some of the applause had died down.

The real question is what is the Crown Prince doing for him? 

 

On a more personal note, I want to write a bit about this past weekend. Whoever said "You can't go home again" wasn't a New Yorker. As the plane began its descent into JFK (no, never Newark) I could feel the tension roll off me as I watched waves rolling toward the beach. My intrepid cousin found me at the curb, and we headed into Brooklyn. My documentary producer came to get me for lunch, and we had the best pizza in Brooklyn (documented) at De Fara's. Falafel and all sorts of stuff for dinner and I thought I had died and gone to food heaven.

Thursday, we unveiled Aunty Gladknit's headstone. The last of my folk's generation to leave the building. That was harder than I anticipated. We stopped to see my folks down the block, and painted Minnesota stones went on every headstone.  Ambiance -10 but food +20 at Central Perk Cafe. Kosher, vegetarian, but really good. The poutine is incredible. And then, we baked. At least we made a quick stop at Brighton Beach so I could put my feet in the Atlantic.

Friday, despite the pouring rain, we managed to reach Little Miss et al in time to walk with her into the Metropolitan Museum. My turf. When she saw me, her face was priceless. I was over the moon to be doing this (L to R) Diz, me, Little Miss, Cousin Perdie, and Mrs. Junior Son.

Giving them Grandma Don't's Mandelbrot made by her only two granddaughters was a total hit. And we had a riot making it. We'd never baked together before. Doing this whole shleppy thing?  Best idea ever. Then we left them to their adventure. Perdie went off to work and Diz and I went off on an adventure.

Second best idea ever was running through the pouring rain to visit Adele Bloch-Bauer at the Neue Galerie, We were two drowned mice! But, oh, to see Adele up close and personal! Breathtaking! If you've never seen her, you should. The Galerie was marvelous and so was lunch at Le Pain Quiotidien. We laughed and caught up, talking about all things that matter to us. (JP, I know you're reading this....we missed you sooooo much! Your ears shoulda been burning!) And I managed to navigate the subway back to Brooklyn! It all felt so right.

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

If you've never experienced a regular ol' Shabbat in Brooklyn,

find someone to invite you.

This was truly an island in time,  refreshing and renewing. 

I highly recommend it.