Tag: humor

The State of Trumpland

First, a fine summary about the state of things:

States of things.

I read an article in “The Independent” about World Cup fans’ American experience. This, though, contains a critical observation to me. I added some emphasis.

“Many landed expecting the politically fractured country frequently highlighted in global headlines. Instead, they found Uber drivers brimming with recommendations and locals willing to open their homes to strangers. Even as game attendees grappled with the sticker shock of ticket prices, some Americans they met didn’t even know the World Cup was happening, or simply didn’t care.“

Honestly, I knew the World Cup was going on. I see news stories about the games and tournaments. But I am one who doesn’t care about it. Yet, I’m not surprised that some Americans were unaware of the World Cup going on; some of them emerged to vote, unsure about what’s going, back in 2024.

Then there was this from the same article:

“That felt like a proper American experience in Dallas,” Reader said. “He had, I would call it like a proper American setup, like a TV outside, a beer fridge, massive fly zappers, and then massive fans as well.”

Damn, I haven’t been exposed to that proper American setup yet.

Meanwhile, on Fox News, they’re puzzled: how can Iran be fighting back against the United States?

“I don’t understand how it’s possible that Iran has the capabilities to fight this way and continue to try to lash out at Gulf countries and U.S. military bases because the U.S. has obliterated Iran’s military, and the president continues to reiterate that,” Bartiromo said Sunday on Fox News.

Gosh, yes, it IS a mystery. How, how, how? Can it be that Trump, the person who told us prices would go down 100s to 1000s percent, Trump who claimed Mexico would pay for the wall, Trump, who was documented lying and is widely perceived as dishonest, is LYING?

The inanity of this Blue Sky post rocked me:

WTF? DEI Bike Lanes? SMFH.

Seriously, these are the idiots Trump selected to run his administration.

Enough said department:

1

Worst Places to Live in the US — 2026

CNBC released a ranking of the ten worst states to live in within the United States.

Only Republican-led states — ‘red states’ — are on the list.

“CNBC’s bottom 10 states for quality of life, from lowest-scoring upward, were:”

  • Tennessee (64 out of 290)
  • Texas (78)
  • Indiana (82)
  • Louisiana (89)
  • Georgia (89)
  • Utah (95)
  • Missouri (98)
  • Alabama (99)
  • Oklahoma (103)
  • Arkansas (103)

Oh, my.

I’m not a fan of these lists. I don’t think that the best place or the worst is the same for all of us. Too many variables are embedded in our experiences for such a monolithic list to be presented. This list addresses a specific situation; another list previously issued by CNBC had several of these states listed as one of the best places for business.

I still read these articles, though. I read this one somewhat gleefully because ‘red states’ in the Trump era are often espousing values that are opposite of mine.

Then, even more fun, I read the reactions.

‘Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, called the ranking “nonsense” in a post on X.

‘“If Tennessee was really the worst state to live in people wouldn’t be moving there in large numbers, which they are,” DeSantis wrote.’

I researched and confirmed, Gen X and Millennials are moving to Tennessee in great numbers in 2026. The irony of it is that they’re going to Tennessee to work in the healthcare industry, but Tennessee is ranked very low for their healthcare system.

This is a fragile, short-term model for growth. Tennessee has an aging population. They need a lot of care; hence the growth in that industry.

But, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed last year by the Republican-controlled Congress and signed into bill by Donald Trump let ACA premium subsidies expire. That triggered an average premium increase of 32.6% for Tennessee Marketplace enrollees. That high increase is expected to drive up the number of uninsured people, placing a huge strain on Tennessee’s burgeoning healthcare industry.

Ironically, too, because Tennessee faces a shortage of healthcare workers, wages for them are being forced upward, causing more strain on the system. Additionally, Tennessee is one of the states being hardest hit by the ongoing rural hospital crises.

It’s a classic FAFO situation. As with many of these developing matters, we’ll need to wait a year or two to see what happens next in Tennessee.

4

The Naha Dream

Another dream from last night found my wife and I arriving on an island – not deserted but civilized, part of a nation.

We were younger, in our thirties. Don’t know why we were there, but we were returning.

After disembarking from a red and white ferry, we found our car, got in, and began driving home. Leaving the port parking area, we were behind a small, old, Army-green bus. I knew that the driver – a man about my age – had been on the same boat as me, along with a group of quiet, sullen children.

Both of us drove over and parked at a little office to get cleared to go. I arrived there, went in, got my paper and got clearance.

Back in my car with my wife, we prepared to go on. Watching that slow-moving old green bus, I said, “Oh, no, don’t get in front of us.”

He did, pulling slowly onto the narrow, paved road. The road had a few potholes and high berms where the shoulders had crumbled and the dirt washed away. The green bus belched dark smoke.

I figured I was in for a long, slow trip behind that bus. My wife and I talked about the bus. But the bus pulled over to the right. Getting out of the bus, the driver waved us down.

He asked, “Do you know how to get to Naha?”

“Naha?” My wife and I were surprised, taken aback.

He continued on his own, explaining, “I’m going to go fishing there.”

I thought, fishing at Naha? “Yes,” my wife and I answered, talking at the same time. I took the lead. “Keep going on this road. There’s a intersection where you go right. There’s a brown sign that says ‘Naha’ on.”

“Is it a big sign?” he asked.

I laughed. “No, it’s one of those little military signs.” He looked military so I guessed he would understand that. “It’s brown but it’s by itself. You won’t miss it.”

He walked away and my wife and I drove on. “Fishing at Naha?” we said back and forth, wondering, is he taking the children to go fishing at Naha? We could think of better places to go but that was his business.

Dream end

0

Cat Video

I saw this video on Youtube. This cat is wandering his routes. He talks to himself a lot, it seems. It also seems like he’s looking for someone or something in particular from the way he arrives at places and then says something. Like others, I thought he hurried a little when the police car cruised by and shifted closer to his left.

I like the video because Papi sometimes wanders and I worry, where’s he going, what’s he doing? Also, it’s funny to me that this cat is ‘chatty’. I’ve had several chatty cats in my life. Papi is not one of them. He’s more likely to just give a nod when you ask him something.

Hope you enjoy this as much as I did. Cheers

1

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑