Whale-lovers Address Book

I thought that fellow whale-lovers might like to see my special address book.  Someone gave this to me some years ago, and I love it.  Take a close look and see if  you like it too.

The Front Cover

The Back Cover

The Inside Front Page

Susan Wallace Barnes is the fantastic artist who created this whimsical address book.  Google her!

I tried to get copies of this book to give out as gifts, but apparently it is out of print.  However, there are lots of other clever creations available from this artist.

I thought that I would share my treasure with you.  Every time I open the book, I smile, and, at this time, we all need a smile.
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Mr. President.... Notes .. Page 2

I found these items while reading the New York Times Book Review for 07/30-08/05 2017:

Hardcover Non-Fiction Best Seller List

#1 Al Franken, Giant of the Senate  by (who else?)  Al Franken

Elaine and I love Al Franken and I admit to sending him a few dollars for his Senate run.  I ordered this book from Amazon for Elaine a couple of weeks ago.  The day after I ordered it, it appeared on our front porch. (Match that, Walmart/Google!)

Yes... I hope that Al will put himself in the running for the 2020 Presidential election.  I wonder who the Republican candidate will be.

#4  Conscience of a Conservative  by Senator Jeff Flake.

Even though he stole the title from Mr. Goldwater and "is not a real Conservative," I'm glad that a Republican is standing up to Mr. Trump.  Mr. Trump, as expected, is bad mouthing Mr. Flake via TWITTER and is pushing his opponent in the upcoming Senatorial election.

I quote Flake:  "We pretended that the emperor wasn't naked, even worse, we checked our critical  faculties at the door and pretended that the emperor was making sense."

#5 Devil's Bargain  by Joshua Green

I quote:  "A deeply reported account of the relationship between Donald Trump and his chief strategist, Steve Bannon."\

I believe that if it wasn't for Bannon's slick plan to garner the most important electoral votes, Mr. Trump would not have won.  Trump owes him a lot.  But, as usual, Trump fires everybody, regardless of their loyalty to him at some point.  Consider: Chris Christy,  Jeff Sessions, and a host of others.

#7  The Big Lie  by Dinesh D'Souza.

I quote: "The conservative commentator argues that the American left is a fascist threat."

Come on, Dinesh, what are you smoking?

#8  Rediscovering Americanism  by Mark Levin

Mark doesn't like the size of our modern government.  I think it scares him.

#9  Understanding Trump  by Newt Gingrich

Hey, Newt, I think most of us do understand Trump.  And, guess what, we also understand you and your advice to the Republican party to denigrate Democrats.... by using the Adjective Democrat where Democratic would be the proper word... by adding hurtful adjectives to the names of Democrats... for instance:  Crooked Hillary.

#13  Dangerous  by Milo Yiannopoulos

I quote again:  "The alt-right provocateur criticizes political correctness."

Yesterday, while waiting for a carry-out order, I observed a young girl with a college shirt waitressing at the sit-down section of the shop, while reading this book.  College assignment?  Curiosity? Interesting.

Also in the Book Review:

While Fergus M. Bordewich was critiquing Wrestling With His Angel by Sidney Blumenthal,  he tells us that "At a time when Americans may fantasize returning to a kinder and gentler style of politics, (he) reminds us that every age has been fraught with anxiety and dread, and that in government, times are always tough, and the future uncertain."

Voting

The Funny Times for September 2017 lists a Harper's Index item that indicates that 52% of Republicans believe that millions of illegal votes were "probably" cast in last year's election.

Democracy

That same issue of the Funny Times lists some quotes about Democracy.  Here are a few:

Ambrose Bierce:  "Democracy is four wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch."

(Check out his Devil's Dictionary!)

H.L. Mencken (Baltimore's own):  "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard."

Robert B. Reich:  "A funny thing happened to the First Amendment on its way to the public forum.  According to the Supreme Court, money is now speech and corporations are now people.  But when real people without money assemble to express their dissatisfaction with the political consequences of this, they're treated as public nuisances and evicted."


Class in the White House?

The Week magazine for January 27, 2017 reported that "the Trump White House will have a designated 'glam room' to accommodate  'hair, makeup, and wardrobe' for Melania Trump and the first family.  It 'will make our jobs as a creative team that much more efficient,'  said Melania's makeup artist."

Will Donald be using this room, or does he have his own makeup room?

I'm reminded of when I ran a Computer Conference in Downtown Baltimore.  We paid big bucks for the use of the Conference Center's rooms, so I tried to keep room usage to a minimum.  However, the nominal political leader of the conference decided that she needed her own large (very expensive) room just for her own makeup.  (Forgive me for saying this, but even though she spent a lot of time in that room, it did not help;  she still remained a nasty and ugly bitch!)  Sorry about that, but I've been keeping it in for thirty years.. and I am definitely not a woman-hater.

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To be continued.

Mr. President ... Notes: Page 1

August 22, 2017

We have now survived another eclipse and it's back to Mr. Trump and his activity.  Last night he gave a speech about winning the war in Afghanistan.  However, he gave no details.  I felt bound to write a "Prepop sez" observation to Facebook this morning.  "History tells us that no outside army has ever been successful in Afghanistan."  The Russians licked their wounds and stopped their bleeding pocketbooks by getting out of that country.  They are probably laughing at us for still being there after 17 or so years.

Oh.. and by the way, El Presidente insulted the Pakistanis during his speech.  Diplomacy doesn't seem to be one of his strong points.

I have some political notes that I have saved over the years, some of which might be pertinent today.

Crazy Bosses

The Week magazine reported in September 2016 on a study of 261 senior U.S. executives made by Nathan Brooks.  The study revealed that 1 in 5 of the guys studied fit the psychological profile of a psychopath.  (Prison inmates fit the same profile.)

Mr. Brooks says:  "Typical psychopaths create a lot of chaos and tend to play people off each other."

Sound familiar?

Poor Baby!

In a The Week article for October 2016, Forbes magazine's annual ranking of the country's 400 richest citizens found that Donald Trump dropped 35 spots on the chart, to number 156.  A total of 14 immigrants outrank him in net worth.   I wonder how that makes him feel.

I have read some place that Mr. Trump may not even be a billionaire.  It would be fun to look over his IRS records for the last few years.  Might be a lot of surprises.  All of the other Presidents didn't mind a review... maybe our current President has something to hide.

God Told Me To

The Week for November 2016 mentions that a Buffalo woman filed a Federal lawsuit trying to block the Presidential election from happening.  God told her to do so because neither candidate met Presidential standards.  Too bad it didn't take effect.. maybe then Mr. Obama could have stayed on for another term.... wishful thinking.

Scaring the Kids

Around the time of the November 2016 Presidential election, the Southern Poverty Law Center published a booklet with the title:  The Trump Effect.  In it, the electioneering effect on children is mentioned. For instance:

"In Virginia, an elementary school teacher says students are 'crying in the classroom and having meltdowns at home.'"

"In Oregon, a K-3 teacher says her black students are 'concerned for their safety because of what they see on TV at Trump rallies.'"

"In North Carolina, a high school teacher says she has 'Latino students who carry their birth certificates and Social Security cards to school because they are afraid they will be deported.'"

"Some Muslim students think that, if Trump becomes president, they will have microchips implanted under their skin."

A middle school administrator from Washington state commented:  "Students do not understand why this has become such an angry and dishonorable campaign.  They are taught better behavior by their teachers, and then they see this mess on TV are are confused."

Another Washington state teacher commented: "One of the things that worries me is that this is the first Presidential campaign my high school students are old enough to understand,  I hope they don't walk away thinking this is what politics is all about."

Un-American Campaign Promises

On election day in November 2016, the ACLU listed some of the new President's campaign promises that will be challenged in court if they are fulfilled:

Amass a deportation force to remove 11 million undocumented immigrants.

Ban the entry of Muslims and institute aggressive surveillance programs targeting them..

Restrict a woman's right to abortion services.

Reauthorize waterboarding and other forms of torture.

Change our nation's libel laws and restrict freedom of expression.

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To be continued.

Sticks and Stones...

Yesterday, in a discussion group, we talked of many things.... besides "cabbages and kings"  we talked about how adjectives are used these days for hate.  Josef Goebels knew how to make people's brains turn off when they see constant references to "dirty Gypsies" or the more well-known words to dehumanize Jews.

Besides pushing for Democratic activity to be called the harsher term "democrat activity,"  Newt Gingrich also urged the Republican Party to use nasty words when referring to their "democrat opponents."

Mr. Trump has followed through with Mr. Gingrich's suggestion.  For instance, every time he spoke about his Presidential opponent, he called her "crooked Hillary."  As Josef Goebels and Adolf Hitler knew, after awhile, listeners begin to agree with such assertions.  This is a propaganda tool used very effectively by Mr. Trump.

How about:  "the failing Obamacare;"  "the failing New York Times;"  "the crooked illegal aliens;" etc.  Read the Tweets for more examples.

I would suggest that Mr. Trump's opponents start to plug some appropriate adjectives into his title and show him what it is like.  Some New York Times writers may help in that regard, based on articles they wrote this week:  and I extract and quote without attribution; read the Sunday August 13, 2017 issue.

"bumbling hothead"

"race-baiting"

"vacation-taking denier"

"chubby brat"

"reckless, lecherous"

"publicly unmastered and privately ignorant"

"xenophobic"

Obviously, people are saying these things... but separately.  Therefore, they don't get closely connected to the President's name.

When Mr. Trump became President, I was devastated and depressed.  I had followed his New York career for years, and never in a million years thought that he would become President.  But, after talking with some of his supporters, I decided to try to see what they saw in him and hoped that he would grow into the office.  That viewpoint lasted about a week into his Presidency.  Now, I believe that the only hope for this country is for  Article four of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution to be invoked.  (Unless Mr. Trump takes a good inward look and decides to retire for the good of the Country.)

Religion Notes

Let's try to forget about those two fat idiots and their yelling fits and concentrate on something a little less stressful....  our religious life.

Message from God

Dr. Wayne Dyer mentioned this, and it was written up in Readers Digest for July 2008:

Wayne's kids gave him a special card for his 64th birthday.  On the cover, it said:  "Inside is a message from God."

He opened it to read:  "See you soon!"

Christianity Promotion

The Week for November 13, 2015 reported on a Louisiana public school that insists on promoting Christianity.  The students are "drilled in Bible verses, warned against contraception, and taught Creationism..."   The school board says "Our history and traditions respect the freedom of religion, not the freedom from religion."

The ACLU doesn't think that their activity will win out at the Supreme Court.  But who knows, now that Justices are becoming political appointees.

Sunni vs Shiite

The New York Times for Valentines day in 2007, reported on a five-part radio series attempting to "explain the (Shiia) sect of 150 to 200 million of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims."

I'm sure that President Bush (2) had no idea about the difference between Sunni and Shiite.. and where each sect is dominant... also, I'm sure that he did not take time to listen to this radio series.

And, guess what?  Does Mr. Trump know the difference, or care?  Probably not.  Sunni's dominate governance throughout the Muslim areas, and the Shiia's seem content to let them do so, as long as they adhere to the Sharia Law.

The differences of these two sects may seem minor to us... but we should look at our own  beliefs... what about the differences between Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxism?  Or, between
Roman Catholicism and Protestantism?  The two sets of Irishmen?  White folks versus black folks?

Curmudgeon Thoughts

Jon Winokur compiled these "scoffers" comments for the February 2017 Funny Times:

Woody Allen:  "To you, I'm an athiest; to God, I'm the loyal opposition."

Heidi Joyce:  "I was raised an athiest.  Every Sunday, we went nowhere.  We prayed for nothing.  And all our prayers were answered."

Mark Twain:  "One of the proofs of the immortality of the soul is that myriads have believed it.  They also believed the world was flat."

Camille Paglia:  "I do not believe in God, but I believe God is man's greatest idea."

 Bill Maher:  "Faith means making a virtue out of not thinking.  It's nothing to brag about.  And those who preach faith and enable and elevate it are intellectual slave holders, keeping mankind in a bondage to fantasy and nonsense that has spawned and justified so much lunacy and destruction."

Traffic Stops for God

The Week for April 22, 2016 mentioned that an Indiana State Trooper has been fired for preaching Christianity to motorists stopped for traffic violations.  As he pulled each one over, he asked them what church they attended and whether or not they had been saved.  The officer says:  "If the Lord tells me to speak about Jesus Christ, I do.  You can't change what the Lord tells you to do."

Attendance

I read somewhere that a church was having trouble keeping deer from visiting their vegetable garden every night and eating their fruit and veggies as they matured.  Based on a suggestion from a church member, the pastor sprayed the deer with a hose, while saying,  "I baptize you in the name of Jesus Christ, and you are now members of our church."

An onlooker asked why the pastor was doing that.  The pastor replied, "Well, now that they are members, they will only show up on Christmas and Easter."

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Go in peace, and sin no more!

Prepop Sez Words for July 2017

These are my Prepop Sez posts to Facebook for 20017.  Nobody else should be held accountable for them.

2017

July 1  enough!  (Why is Mr. Trump still president?)

July 2  unhealthy-obsession  (Mr. Trump's rants against "Morning Joe")

July 3  kid-stuff  (The President continues his childish tweets.)

July 4  undermining-T-Rex  (Trump and Tillerson are way apart on Qatar.)

July 5  missile  (North Korea successfully launched another intercontinental missile.)

July 6  obzust  (President Trump is visiting Poland.  This is the Polish word for "con-man.")

     July 7  delivery  (Eagerly awaiting the birth of my granddaughter, Peanut.)

     July 8  anticipation (Still waiting.)

     July 9  welcome!  (Granddaughter, Cassidy Rose, has arrived!)

July 10  family-ties  (Donald Jr is in trouble.  Father will write explanation for Jr.)

July 11  Office-of-Governmental-Ethics  (OGE head honcho resigns because of Trump.)

July 12  illegal-solicitation  (Trump Jr solicited damaging information about Clinton from a foreign national.)

July 13  transparency (Trump says he wants transparency, but really doesn't.)

July 14  elephant-hunter  (Jr's photo showing that he shot a giraffe.  He also holds the tail of the elephant he shot.)

July 15   fracas  (Trump's problems:  son, Congress, investigation, and noise from CNN and the public.

July 16   meeting-crowd  (We now know that lots of people were in Jr's meeting with the Russians.

July 17  FIRE!  (At last, the fire is showing through the  Trumpster's smoke;.)

July 18  failure  (Once again the GOP fails in their legislative activity.)

July 19  frustration (Trump says he is frustrated.)

July 20  misgivings  (Trump says: "Why did I appoint Sessions?")

July 21  pardon-me  (Trump is looking into his pardoning ability.)

July 22  Goldman-Sachs  (Another GS person gets to join the  Trump team:  Mr. Scaramucci.)

July 23  tweet-storm  (DJT tweeted 10 times yesterday.)

July 24  closed-session  (Kushner was quizzed by the Senate.)

July 25  hot-seat  (Kushner is also quizzed by the House,)

July 26  bad-management-action  (Good managers don't bad-mouth employees in public like Trump does.  Management 101.)

July 27  mis-management  (The President's idiotic management style.)

July 28  "shiv each other"  (Trump's advice to his White House staff.)

July 29  finger-pointing (President and GOP members blaming everybody for legislative defeats.)

July 30  Gotcha!  (Senator McCain's payback for Trump's demeaning comments about his service.)

July 31  The-Manic-Tweetster (Who?  Mr. Trump.  That's who.)

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