12th Street Church Of the Four Corners

As you approach 12th and Hamilton, although much money was spent on the Arc of Reilly, the corner is dominated by homemade tinfoil signs. The signs are religious in nature, and quite prevalent...They are what grabs your eye, not Reilly's arch.

Although I remain an outlander, I do occasionally communicate with the establishment. While the city is not happy about the display, it is like pesky bloggers protected by law. I also had a short chat with the pastor, who is steadfast about his mission.

Although much of my blog audience is distressed about my recent concentration on national issues, I do still patrol Allentown. Understand that as this blog approaches its 19th year, and I approach my cankerous 8th decade, I offer no apologies in regard to my blog topics.

The Arc de Trump

Trump's proposed arch is another example of mixing his pathological ego with bad taste. The arch at 250 feet tall would dwarf other structures in Washington, and have assorted gold gilded stuff on top. One hoped that destroying the East Wing with a giant replacement would have been enough for him, but with him it's never enough.

Trump has a model on his desk and said "... And this one is going to blow them all away. The one that people know mostly is the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France. And we're going to top it by I think a lot."

I noticed Republican partisans circling the wagons and referring to the Nixon era mad man theory. They might want to remember that things didn't end well for Nixon, nor did the next election for the Republicans.

We Have The Might, But Not The Leadership

Saudi Arabia is worried about Trump's blockade of the Straits of Hormuz. Their fear is that the Houthis in Yemen might constraint the Bab a-Mandeb Strait out of the Red Sea, where much of their oil is now shipping.

While we certainly have the most powerful military in the world, the leadership at the top is erratic at best. I couldn't imagine Trump and Hegseth navigating WW2 or any major conflict since. Neither one takes advice well, and neither one has the experience to lead.

In Trump 1, aka 45, the advisors had a short shelf life, but they were qualified. In current Trump-O-Mania, expertise was never sought, only blind ring kissing. The only constraints on the Trump show seems to be the stock market and the price of oil. Let us hope that we can muddle through until 2029.

The Gospel According To Saint Trump

I'm somewhat weak on my knowledge of the Bible, and refrain from evaluating Popes. President Trump on the other hand is apparently a biblical scholar, and wants Pope Leo fired. In Trump's post cage match sermon, he proclaimed that Leo isn't doing a very good job, and that Leo is a very liberal person.

Trump even released an illustration of himself laying his healing hands on a wounded man. As I've written before, I don't know what kind of psychiatric department Walter Reed has, but they might need to gear it up.

Susan Wiles, Trump's chief of staff, certainly is earning her pay, as is Karoline Leavitt. Explaining away Trump is no easy job. The apologists are sounding sillier every day. Imagine being a Catholic Republican incumbent running for re-election in November, and not speaking up?

ADDENDUM: By early Monday afternoon, Trump removed the image, explaining that it was meant to portray him as a doctor, and that he does make people "feel better". Unfortunately, I don't think that his explanation made anybody feel better about him.

Trump Tries To Buy Hungarian Election With Our Money

Either Donald Trump doesn't understand the concepts of democracy and diplomacy, or he thinks that as President he's above them. His wholesale attempt to influence the Hungarian election with his tweets should embarrass the Republicans, but they have become tone deaf to this administration.

A Trump tweet on his Truth Social, “My Administration stands ready to use the full Economic Might of the United States to strengthen Hungary’s Economy, as we have done for our Great Allies in the past, if Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the Hungarian People ever need it,” Before Sunday's vote Trump tweeted, “We are excited to invest in the future Prosperity that will be generated by Orbán’s continued Leadership!” 

Orban lost the election bigly, even after Trump's tweets and Vance's visit. That of course is the good news for the Republicans, come November the bad news.

shown above Bela Lugosi, who migrated to America in 1920 from Hungary.

Trump's Quagmire, Netanyahu

Trump's ceasefire with Iran has multiple stumbling blocks, but none as unmanageable as Bibi. Netanyahu's negotiations with Lebanon about disarming Hezbollah, but continuing attacking them in the meantime, does the Lebanese civilians no good. If the Lebanese government had such capability, it would have done so already.

With both Iran and Trump wanting an exit ramp, the Lebanese may become the victim of the contrived truce. If Trump exerts himself enough, he has the cards to restrain Israel. 

Netanyahu had been waiting decades to see Iran's capacities degraded. Trump's compliance with Netanyahu's agenda will be costly for the Republicans, but it wasn't Trump's first or last compulsive decision.

2028 Presidential Election

I saw mention by non-MAGA Republicans that they hope their party can come up with a viable candidate for 2028, assuming that anyone currently associated with Trump wouldn't fit the viable definition. Likewise, I hear Democrats complain that their party never fails to sabotage itself.

I can believe that those associated with Trump, like Vance and Rubio, will be contaminated beyond electability. However, the lesson of MAGA for Democrats is going more to the center, away from the progressive agenda. 

As an independent, I hope such a choice presents itself in 2028, but I'm doubtful. The primary/convention system, although good on paper, often elevates those candidates with the least universal appeal. Furthermore, after 2.5 more years of 47, everyone may need a break from drama.