Pick your favorite analogy

Analogies. With an incumbent president prone to being untruthful, bullying, angry, autocratic, and fraudulent, analogies toward his behavior abound. Here are a few to consider:

Dress over head – this is a personal favorite. When the incumbent is on one of his tirades, to me it is akin to a little girl getting her dress stuck over head while trying to remove it without unbuttoning it. She becomes quite agitated.

Cookie jar – this occurs when he is caught in a lie akin to a little boy with cooke crumbs on his face, his hand in the jar telling his mother he did not take the cookies.

Sand toys – this occurs when he storms home angry with sand toys in hand after he ran off any potential friends by being a difficult play mate.

Queen of Hearts – this may be my favorite character reference for his bad behavior. Think of the Disney cartoon version of “Alice in Wonderland.” The Queen of Hearts would get red-faced and scream “off with his head!” To me, this is a good visual when he is screaming at people.

Mad King – for fans of “Game of Thrones,” there is consistent references to a Mad King who killed many, but also threatened to torch his own capitol city with a liquid accelerant buried beneath should he ever be cornered. As the incumbent’s niece Mary said of her uncle, he would burn it all down to avoid saying he lost the election. While her point was metaphorical, he did incite an insurrection to change the election outcome and tried to extort votes in Georgia.

Yertle the Turtle – another different character could represent the narcissistic nature of the incumbent. Dr. Seuss wrote about Yertle who felt as King, he would rule over all he could see. So, Yertle decided to stand atop a teetering stack of turtles. As yiu might guess, the stack would get too high and come tumbling down.

Wizard of Oz – the final analogy was my first one that came to mind. Don’t look behind the curtain was the mantra that resonated in the movie. A traveling salesman with cure-alls boards his balloon and is blown into Oz. With no managerial or leadership abilities, he masks his incompetence with fear. Think of that – don’t look at what I am really doing and acquiesce to the frightening figure of Oz.

Please note these are analogies of behavior. Focus on the behavior not the reference. What are your favorites?

Note to a Female Democrat Congressional candidate

I was included on a text by the campaign of Zelda Briarwood, a female candidate running for Congress as a Democrat in a different district. She has an interesting set of skills, but also noted she had seven years of sobriety as a former alcoholic. I sent her this note of encouragement.

“While I am not in your district, best wishes on your campaign. I am an independent voter, but encourage you to follow the template of other recent successful female Democrats like Abigail Spanberger in VA and Mikie Sherrill in NJ. Like you, they and others who have won, were credible candidates who focused on economic and healthcare issues. Republicans who still drum up Trump’s bogus election fraud, wokeness (which is a non-issue), and values (whatever that is) deserve to lose.

The US has become a rogue nation following this incumbent president, denigrating and attacking both other countries and our own people by not following due process or a sense of humanity. We have also made it easier for polluting companies to pollute. People who support this president cannot claim “values” in my view. Lying and bullying are not values.

Good luck to you. By the way, I am an alcoholic as well, but it’s been over 17 years since my last drink. If someone gives you crap on this, just tell them if you are looking for a perfect candidate, that is not me.”

Alabama tried this

A retired friend commented on an earlier post “Undocumented immigrants deserve some humanity” by citing his research into the poor treatment of migrant and undocumented immigrants harvesting crops. I mentioned to him an unsuccessful effort by Alabama to restrict employment in harvesting to citizens. Here is an AI search summary on the effort:

“Alabama’s 2011 HB 56 law, which aimed to make life untenable for undocumented immigrants, caused a massive, immediate, and devastating labor shortage in the state’s agricultural sector. Known for strict enforcement, it triggered a ‘self-deportation’ exodus of workers, causing crops to rot and creating intense economic distress for farmers.

Key impacts and details include:

Worker Shortage: Farmers reported that up to 50–60% of their labor force vanished within days of the law’s implementation.

Crop Losses: The lack of labor meant crops like tomatoes, peaches, and cucumbers were not harvested, causing significant financial losses.

“Hard” Labor Shift: Efforts to replace undocumented workers with local citizens largely failed, as farmers reported that U.S.-born laborers were not accustomed to or willing to perform the demanding, labor-intensive work.

Legal Challenges: Following legal challenges, particularly by the Southern Poverty Law Center, many of the most severe provisions of HB 56 were blocked or settled in 2013.

Economic Impact: The law was criticized for potentially costing the state’s economy millions of dollars in lost agricultural revenue.

While some provisions were scaled back, the law’s initial impact in 2011 is frequently cited as a major, albeit chaotic, anti-immigrant action in the U.S.”

I won’t add too much only to say undocumented immigrants have been hired in more than a few industries and in some cases bolster those industries. This was just one failed example. Right now, the hospitality industry was recently reported as suffering as are other industries. A heavy dose of humanity and due process are needed, but so is a lot of planning. Rash, heavy handedness accomplishes little other than notoriety.

Undocumented immigrants deserve some humanity

I wrote the following as a comment on Jill’s blog to rebut a comment that undocumented immigrants deserve no quarter here and should be denied entry and removed forcibly if here.

“Regardless of how one feels about undocumented immigrants, there are three key points that concern me as an Independent and former Republican voter:

-people are owed due process within the borders of our country;

-many undocumented immigrants have been hired by managers and owners of all political persuasions to bolster numerous industries – construction, roofing, landscaping, food processing, restaurant, hospitality, healthcare, crop harvesting, etc. (transition planning would have been helpful);

-people deserve a less heavy handed approach than has been used. To me, it seems we have done a disservice by being harmful as we round up folks.

If the mission is to exit undocumented immigrants, I understand that, but the process could have been far better planned and executed, in my view.”

The one point I will add is this. Managers and owners who hired all of these undocumented immigrants were not necessarily altruistic. The reasons were varied and several. They hired them to fill jobs that others did not want; they hired them because they could pay them in cash with not added benefit costs or FICA taxes; they hired them because if they were injured on the job, they did not have to pay workers compensation; and they hired them because they were as close to slave labor as they could get.

If we did not want undocumented immigrants, then why did elected officials turn a blind eye and let these managers hire them for multiple decades. Let me close with a true story – when a major textile company declared full bankruptcy, federal officials spoke to an auditorium of workers to tell them how they could be helped. They said if you don’t have a Social Security number, we can’t help you. 1/3 of the audience stood up and left.

A few old series

In the midst of watching two major older series – The Sopranos and Game of Thrones – as we passed on them the first time through, we have been watching a few good series that are lesser known. More on those two at a future time. Here are four series to consider.

Line of Duty – is one of the better police shows we have seen, with multi-faceted plots and a season long guest star who brings gravitas. Its focus is an Anti-Corruption unit that investigates bent cops. The three recurring stars are Adrian Dunbar, Vicky McClure and Martin Compston. Keeley Hawes played a key role of a possible bent cop over two seasons and Thandie Newton does the same over one. The show can be intense leaving you ill-at-ease until the next show. The cops being investigated are quite adroit at their job, so are good at shifting the blame. Often, their mistakes are poor judgement, but sometimes they stretched the envelope to cover something up. The relationship between McClure and Compston is a key to the show.

Spooks – is also good, but its focus is on MI-5. It has a stellar line-up of future stars such as Keeley Hawes, Matthew MacFadyen, David Oyelowo, Peter Firth, Nicola Walker, and Rupert Penry-Jones. The show reveals the emotional toil spy work takes on its agents. MacFadyen and Hawes leave the show in the third season, but it continues on for seven more seasons. These are imperfect people trying to do their jobs and live reasonable lives. The love interests of the agents have to put up with a great deal.

Strong Medicine – is a hospital show focusing on a women’s free clinic run within the umbrella of a non-profit hospital in Philadelphia. It has the heft of Whoopi Goldberg as a co-producer who also appears on occasion. It stars Rosa Blasi as the lead doctor for the clinic, with Janine Turner and eventually Patricia Richardson as the head of the non-profit side of services. Key roles are played by Joshua Coxx as a nurse and mid-wife, Jenifer Lewis as the lead administrative person. The show covers a wide range of issues females face both in child birth or everyday life. Blasi’s relationship with Turner and Richardson are the principal reason for the show, but Coxx and Lewis often steal the scenes. Philip Casnoff and Brennan Elliott play good roles. A favorite part is the opening where a women’s support group speaks with Blasi’s character about relationship or family issues.

Killing Eve – is the bizarre series on the list. It stars Sandra Oh as Eve, an investigator who has picked up on an assassin who works for a secret cabal of the wealthy across Europe. The key story twist is the most colorful assassin, who goes by Villanelle, played by Jodie Comer, has a crush on Eve and vice versa. Fiona Shaw plays Eve’s on and off again boss. Kim Bodnia, with his huge laugh, is Villanelle’s on and off again handler. Comer, though, is the show. She is a psychopath trying to become better, but is a free spirit with a rashness that gets her in trouble. Eve is scared of her, but speaks up when needed.

The last show is unusual, so it may be an acquired taste. We like hospital shows, so we seem to have one or more in our rotation. Line of Duty gets high ratings given its scriptwriting. Tell me what you think if you have seen these.

A quick conversation on diversity

I am headed out the door, but here is a quick conversation between our friend Jill and me.

Jill commented: “I read yesterday that federal agencies have been ordered by Trump to ensure that contractors and others they do business with have no history of DEI or any programs that support anti-discrimination! And the Department of Education now has a website for the public to report anything remotely resembling DEI in schools! Jim Crow has been reincarnated by this fascist, racist regime.”

I responded: “Quite simply, diversity is strength of America. If we let regressive, narrow-minded elected officials like Trump squelch access to talent, experience and ideas, we will hasten our decline.”

Ideas are precious. They come from all over and from all kinds of people. Often, those closest to the customer or production may have elegant ideas to improve things. If we limit idea creation, then we are only shooting ourselves in the foot.

Four Presidents comment on Reverend Jesse Jackson

An American icon and a first hand link to the teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr. – Reverend Jesse Jackson – has passed. Per The Guardian, “Three Democratic former presidents led a wealth of tributes to Jesse Jackson, a ‘titan’ of the civil rights movement and ‘one of America’s greatest patriots’ who has died at the age of 84.

Joe Biden said history would remember Jackson as ‘a man of God and of the people’, calling him in a social media post: ‘Determined and tenacious. Unafraid of the work to redeem the soul of our Nation.’

Biden added: ‘I’ve seen how Reverend Jackson has helped lead our Nation forward through tumult and triumph. He’s done it with optimism, and a relentless insistence on what is right and just.’….

Barack Obama called Jackson ‘a true giant’ in a statement posted on Instagram.

‘For more than 60 years, Reverend Jackson helped lead some of the most significant movements for change in human history. From organizing boycotts and sit-ins, to registering millions of voters, to advocating for freedom and democracy around the world, he was relentless in his belief that we are all children of God, deserving of dignity and respect,’ he said….

‘Michelle and I will always be grateful for Jesse’s lifetime of service, and the friendship our families share. We stood on his shoulders. We send our deepest condolences to the Jackson family and everyone in Chicago and beyond who knew and loved him,’ he said….

Bill Clinton said he and former first lady Hillary Clinton were friends with Jackson for more than five decades, and were ‘deeply saddened’ by his passing.

‘Reverend Jackson championed human dignity and helped create opportunities for countless people to live better lives,’ he said in a statementon Instagram.

‘[He] never stopped working for a better America with brighter tomorrows, including his historic campaigns for the presidency in 1984 and 1988 in which he championed the concerns of Black, Latino, Asian, and lower income white Americans.’….

Donald Trump, in a post on his Truth Social social media platform, called Jackson ‘a good man’ and a ‘friend’, also noting he had provided office space in New York for Jackson’s Rainbow Push Coalition.

Trump’s post, as is often the case, quickly turned political, and about himself. The president attacked the ‘scoundrels and Lunatics on the Radical Left’ who, he said, ‘falsely and consistently’ called him a racist, and sought recognition for ‘funding Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), which Jesse loved’.“

It should be noted that Trump gave a Presidential Freedom medal to a famous radio broadcaster who routinely mocked Jesse Jackson on his show. Why this divisive broadcaster was so honored is another story. Many have come out with plaudits for the life of service for Jackson. Unlike the incumbent president, these commentators did not denigrate others in so doing. I include his message because he did say a couple of kind words for Jackson before he segued.

Jackson stood up for people. We should never forget that key. To some critics, his oratory deflected from his messaging, but at his heart he was a preacher, so speaking poetically should not be frowned upon, in my view. May he RIP.

Consummate actor Robert Duvall passes away

Per The Guardian, “Robert Duvall, the veteran actor who had a string of roles in classic American films including Apocalypse Now, The Godfather, M*A*S*H and To Kill a Mockingbird, has died aged 95.

‘Bob passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by love and comfort,’ wrote his wife, Luciana Duvall, in a message on Facebook.

‘To the world, he was an Academy Award-winning actor, a director, a storyteller. To me, he was simply everything. His passion for his craft was matched only by his deep love for characters, a great meal, and holding court. For each of his many roles, Bob gave everything to his characters and to the truth of the human spirit they represented. In doing so, he leaves something lasting and unforgettable to us all.’

Duvall was perhaps best known for his role as the cavalry-hatted Kilgore in Apocalypse Now, released in 1979, which yielded two of the most frequently quoted lines of dialogue in cinema history – ‘Charlie don’t surf!’ and ‘I love the smell of napalm in the morning’. But he also made an immense impact as the consigliere Tom Hagen in The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, the reclusive Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird at the start of his career, and many supporting and character roles throughout the ensuing decades. He was nominated seven times for an Oscar, winning once, for best actor in 1984 for Tender Mercies as a country-music singer trying to overcome alcoholism.”

I remember all of these movies and more. “A Civil Action” with John Travolta was an excellent movie on a company who knowingly poisoned the water supply, but bankrupted the attorney pursuing them. “Secondhand Lions” with Michael Caine was about tall-telling retirees who make you smile with their pearls of wisdom. I had forgotten he was in the movie “Mash” playing Frank Burns opposite Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould. And, I had forgotten he was the bad guy Ned Pepper in “True Grit,” opposite John Wayne, Kim Darby and Glen Campbell.

But, as Boo Radley in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” he saved the lives of Scout and Jem from the man who wanted to punish their father for trying to save a Black man from conviction for a crime the assailant committed. Duvall played the learning disabled Boo to perfection.

Let me close with a favorite scene as the family attorney in “The Godfather,” as he quickly eats his dinner before the film director (who is black balling Vito Corleone’s God son) erupts in anger at his request. My thinking is he knows he won’t get to eat before his flight back as well as anticipating the director’s eruption. Fans of the movie know what happens after he leaves.

Dr. Oz contradicts boss pleading for Measles vaccines

Whether one likes Dr. Mehmet Oz or his politics, he is a real life doctor of medicine. In an article in The Guardian by Marina Dunbar called “‘Take the vaccine, please,’ Dr Oz urges amid rising measles cases in US” he makes a straightforward request.
The subtitle adds context: “Health official’s endorsement comes as South Carolina faces hundreds of cases and US risks losing elimination status.” It should be noted that last winter, Texas alsi had a measles outbreak.

Here are a few paragraphs: “A senior US public health official called on Americans to get vaccinated against measles as outbreaks continue in multiple states and concerns grow that the country could lose its measles elimination designation. Dr Mehmet Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon, spoke in support on Sunday of the measles vaccine.

‘Take the vaccine, please,’ said Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. ‘We have a solution for our problem.’

‘Not all illnesses are equally dangerous and not all people are equally susceptible to those illnesses,’ he told CNN’s State of the Union. ‘But measles is one you should get your vaccine.’

His boss, health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, has a long history of questioning both the safety and necessity of vaccines.

The remarks come as South Carolina is experiencing an outbreak involving hundreds of cases, exceeding the number recorded in Texas’ measles outbreak earlier in 2025. Another outbreak has been identified along the Utah-Arizona border, and several additional states have reported confirmed cases this year. Children have been the most affected.”

Measles was pretty much eradicated in the US for many years until the anti-vaxxers blew up data points to paint a much riskier image. Folks like RFK, Jr. used his name to push this overstated risk. No vaccine is perfect. None. But, the number of bad outcomes is quite small relative to the great number of exposures.

Kennedy Center – another death by Trump?

Rick Wilson, a Republican strategist, wrote a best selling book called “Everything Trump touches dies.” One of the more visible deaths may be the Kennedy Center. David Smith penned an article in The Guardian called “Seized, subverted, shuttered: a year in Trump’s assault on the Kennedy Center” that is a sad story about this American institution.*

Here are a few paragraphs from the piece starting with its subtitle:

“Since a presidential post on Truth Social the Washington DC arts hub has lost its leadership, had its name changed and will now be closed for years.

The Brentano String Quartet had finished their performance when a special guest dropped in backstage: the US supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. ‘We thanked her for everything she had done for our country,’ recalls violinist Mark Steinberg. ‘It was a nice moment.’

The year was 2016 and the place was the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. Fast forward a decade and old certainties have been shaken: Ginsburg is dead, Donald Trump is president and the Kennedy Center has become a case study in how a seemingly solid American institution can quickly unravel.

The Brentano String Quartet were due to perform there last week but cancelled their show, citing Trump’s hostile takeover of the complex. Steinberg explained: ‘I would have felt ashamed to walk out on stage there. I can’t quite bring myself to go into the building at this point.

‘It would be such a luxury to make art in a vacuum and that’s what I yearn for but that’s not possible right now. Had we appeared there, in my eyes, that would be a way of condoning everything that’s happening and I couldn’t stomach that.’

…. During Trump’s first term, he ignored the proudly non-partisan complex and did not attend the annual Kennedy Center Honors. But, as in so many other ways, his second term is very different. His takeover of the centre began, perhaps inevitably, with a Truth Social post one year ago, on 7 February 2025.

Trump wrote that he was immediately terminating ‘multiple individuals’ from the center’s board of trustees ‘who do not share our vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture.’ He said he would soon announce a new board, ‘with an amazing Chairman, DONALD J. TRUMP!’

He also criticized the centre’s past programming. ‘Just last year, the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth – THIS WILL STOP. The Kennedy Center is an American Jewel, and must reflect the brightest STARS on its stage from all across our Nation. For the Kennedy Center, THE BEST IS YET TO COME!’”

Many artists have been voting with their feet, in essence, telling the “amazing “Chairman “no thank you.” Given their artistic nature and collaborative bent, entertainers tend to be more accepting of diversity. So, they do not like the anti-diversity thinking wielded by the incumbent president. And, when you cannot schedule the best talent, there is not much of a show to watch.

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* Per an AI search summary: “As of February 2026, the Kennedy Center has not yet been shuttered, but President Trump announced on February 1, 2026, that it will close for two years starting July 4, 2026. The planned closure is for, in his words, a ‘Construction, Revitalization, and Complete Rebuilding’ of the venue into a new entertainment complex.”

 Note: This two year close came as a surprise to the Board as the institution has been scheduling acts.