Gratitude, love, marriage, memories, politics, successes

November brings me some hope and plenty of gratitude…

Featured photo is from last year’s visit to Istanbul. I took the photo on my 9 year old Canon PowerShot, which has an “artsy” setting.

What a glorious Saturday we are enjoying in Germany today! It’s about 40 degrees Fahrenheit and brisk, but the sun is shining brightly, and we still have some striking fall foliage in brilliant oranges, reds, golds, and greens.

I do enjoy this time of year, although Monday is our wedding anniversary, and I’ll be spending it alone. Bill is going off on another business trip. But we do have plans to enjoy a nice lunch tomorrow afternoon, and then when he comes home from Türkiye, we will be heading off to Switzerland for a short anniversary break in Adelboden. I expect it will be significantly colder in Adelboden, so I’ve ordered a new parka. Hopefully, it will fit. 🤨

At this time of year, I usually feel pretty grateful. Historically, November is usually a pleasant month for me. When I was growing up, it meant visiting my family in Natural Bridge, Virginia for Thanksgiving. They were always mostly fun to be with, as a lot of them were funny and talented, even if they also had issues with depression and alcoholism. I could count on good food, excellent live music, and plenty of jokes. And, as long as I didn’t stay too long at the party, the psychic pain of visiting my family was usually minimal.

Since I got married, November means celebrating my wedding anniversary with Bill. We often do something for our anniversary, like take a trip somewhere or at least go out to a nice restaurant. These days, we are more likely to opt for lunch. Neither of us likes staying up super late anymore.

Last year, just as he does this year, Bill had to go to Istanbul. I joined him on that trip. This year, I’m staying home. But we’ll make up for it the following week, which will be Thanksgiving for most Americans, and party time at an expensive, but supposedly comfortable, hotel in Switzerland for us.

Thanksgiving used to be my favorite holiday, because I enjoyed spending time with my extended family. I still like Thanksgiving, but living in Europe means that we now celebrate it very differently. I don’t see my family… and I dare say, they don’t necessarily even want to see me. A lot of it probably has to do with Donald Trump and their devotion to being Republicans… and then claiming to be Christians.

I’m not a particularly devout Christian myself, but I really don’t like hypocrisy. When I read about people being rounded up by ICE, brutalized, and abused, it makes me feel ashamed. And when I see people claiming to be Christians celebrating that, it makes me feel disgusted. I feel like my family is disgusted by me… for many reasons, actually, but also because I am outspoken about my feelings regarding what’s happened in my homeland.

This year, there’s much to celebrate. Yes, we’re still being led by a criminal, and horrible things are happening every day. Trump is, quite predictably, claiming that the 2026 elections were “rigged”. 🙄 I would believe it was rigged if a bunch of MAGA Republicans had won. I think Trump has cheated in every election in which his name has been on the ballot.

As I pointed out in the post I wrote a year ago, narcissists always accuse people of doing things that they do. I do not think this year’s election involved any fuckery. I think people are rightfully pissed off and ready to get him and his THUGS out of power. So, to me, that’s a reason to be happy this year.

On the other hand, another thing I’ve learned after spending years in contact with narcissists is that leaving them is the worst part of the relationship. It’s also the most dangerous. When people leave narcissists, and they suffer that incredible narcissistic injury, they usually become enraged. We’re seeing that now, as Stephen Miller gets a more powerful position, and his ICE thugs continue to terrorize people.

But… I do think there’s reason for optimism. We might still have some hard times. As long as Trump is around, he will cause trouble. But Trump is clearly on his way out, and he’s causing MAGA people to worry. Just have a look at this video Mark Romano made about Ricky Schroder, former child star turned MAGA moron…

Good lord, he’s fallen way down the rabbit hole of idiocy. I’m glad I never had a crush on him in the 80s. 🤣

A lot of us are laughing at Ricky, though… and a lot of people who might have jumped on the bandwagon are deciding to jump ship, instead. Most of the people I’ve seen complaining about the election results are people who, let’s just say, aren’t very intelligent or particularly youthful. So, even though Trump is still here, I’m feeling somewhat better this year.

One other thing that came up this morning is a post I wrote three years ago, while we were visiting Armenia. As we were walking through the Frankfurt Airport, Bill was lamenting how “horrible” his teeth are. He had plans to go to the dentist, upon our return, and have a dental implant installed. I told him that his teeth are kind of a badge of honor. He survived a childhood in which he didn’t get the best dental care.

But now, he can afford a trip to Armenia flying in business class, staying in a nice hotel for eight nights, and then getting his tooth fixed in a first world country. He’s successful. And in spite of his “crooked smile”, I still think he’s handsome and wonderful. I think he’d look weird with perfect teeth.

Three years later (knock on wood), he’s still successful. He still has a crooked smile, but I love him even more today than I did three years ago. And I think he loves me, too.

He’s not living in a house that needs gutting. He’s not being abused and harassed every day. He’s not living hand to mouth, trying to pay the bills while his wife entertains delusions of grandeur. And he has a daughter who loves him and now talks to him all the time, as well as five beautiful, healthy grandchildren to send gifts to from our travels. One of his grandchildren just celebrated her first birthday. So… that’s another reason to be grateful and happy this November.

I will miss Bill this week, though. I’m just glad he was able to get the hell out of the US last week, given that all of the airplanes were grounded on Friday afternoon of this week. Apparently, the flights have now resumed, but things are surely still pretty fucked up in the States. Thanks again, Sean Duffy, you Trump stooge. 🙄 But… you see… he’s on his way out, too. 🤭 Thank God for that!

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Official pinning a medal on a uniformed service member at a ceremony
Military, narcissists, politicians

Now he’s trying to save face after he acted like an ass… 🤔

AI image today…

So… yesterday, I wrote about what a disgrace Pete Hegseth is. Today–or actually last night– I read about Pete’s “reaction” to being scolded at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He gave a medal to the soldier who reprimanded him and his boisterous group.

Specialist Thomas Iglesias received the Joint Service Commendation Medal from Hegseth at a small ceremony at the Pentagon. Naturally, Hegseth posted photos of the event on his Twitter page (sorry, I refuse to call it X… 🙄).

I agree with Jo. Hegseth needs to resign.

It’s not that I don’t think Iglesias deserves the medal. And it’s not that I don’t think we shouldn’t commend Iglesias for upholding standards and doing his job at a high level. He absolutely does deserve to be commended. I’m pretty sure that in the Pentagon, there are many officers who could have done the commendation honors. I know this, because Bill used to work in the Pentagon. That’s where he was posted when we were first married.

It’s just that it’s plain to me that if it weren’t for the recent “Blunami” and increasingly louder calls for Hegseths’s impeachment and removal from his post, Iglesias would likely be getting punished for daring to publicly correct Hegseth. There is absolutely no way that Hegseth would have otherwise done this. He certainly would not have been rewarding a soldier for embarrassing him, even though maintaining respect and decorum at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is literally Iglesias’s job.

I don’t know Pete Hegseth personally, but I definitely know his type. He’s as narcissistic as they come, and he’s always very concerned about his image. Right now, with the extreme animosity many people have toward Trump and his cronies, and the very close impeachment vote Hegseth survived, he knows he has to mind his “p’s and q’s”, as they say. Aside from that, this incident happened on Veterans Day. The only way Hegseth’s and his entourage’s behavior could have been worse, is if this had happened on Memorial Day.

I’m sure Hegseth’s excuse for his atrocious, thoughtless, and disrespectful behavior is that he and his buddies were doing some quality control. You know, just “testing” to see if the good soldier knew his job and was brave enough to call out Pete Hegseth, himself. 🙄

If Specialist Iglesias hadn’t called out the group, I highly doubt anyone from Hegseth’s office would have counseled him for being derelict in his duties, although his duty sergeant very likely would have. Obviously, to Hegseth and his pals, Veterans Day is just any other day… even though Hegseth is, himself, a veteran who somehow made it to the rank of Major in the Minnesota Army National Guard and the District of Columbia Army National Guard. I don’t think Hegseth is a patriot so much as he’s someone who loves fame, money, and power.

I see that ol’ Pete is both a Princeton and Harvard alum, too. All I can say is that Hegseth’s affiliation with those two highly esteemed Ivy League universities just goes to show that their standards aren’t really all that high. Either that, or somehow, Hegseth somehow veered off the path of excellence and and has turned into a complete and total asshole.

But… I’m sure the Ivy League is full of talented, smart people who are also extreme narcissists. Narcissists, by and large, are also universally assholes.

Anyway… I’m sure Iglesias appreciates the praise, and I hope it goes down in his permanent record (and of course it will). 😉 He does deserve the award. Obviously, he takes his job very seriously and is brave enough to confront everyone… including the much maligned, damnable, and beleaguered Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth.

And no, I will NOT refer to Hegseth as the Secretary of War, because that’s just stupid… like just about everything else he’s done in his unfortunate political career. It makes sense that he’d “get in bed” with Donald Trump. They’re birds of a feather. 🖕

May the pain and collective humiliation of this embarrassing administration end soon. 🙏

Hope you have a great Friday!

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condescending twatbags, Military, politicians, stupid people

Pete Hegseth is such a disgrace…

Featured photo is a good representation of who Hegseth really is… We can do better than this, America!

Good morning, y’all. It’s November 12th, the day after Veterans Day. I’m sitting here, enjoying a fabulous live album by the late, great Chet Atkins, and a great cast of friends. If you like excellent guitar, you might want to check this out… In fact, I just ordered the DVD. Granted, it helps to enjoy country music, although the musicians featured on this album are all first rate.

This was recorded in 1988, and it’s definitely stood the test of time.

Listening to Chet Atkins and his guest stars kind of soothes the irritation I felt when I read the news about Pete Hegseth, the so-called Secretary of Defense. No, I will NOT refer to him as the Secretary of War. That’s not a thing. 🙄

As y’all might know, soon to be former Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie launched a bid to impeach Hegseth. Sadly, his efforts to hold Hegseth accountable failed, mainly because a bunch of Democrats were not present for the vote. I don’t agree with Massie’s politics, but I admire him for trying to do the right thing. Hegseth is disgraceful on every level, and his time as the Secretary of Defense has been disastrous.

Hegseth’s track record as an alcoholic, philandering, misogynistic bigot would have been bad enough. But then he made a complete ass of himself with his entourage as they visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier yesterday.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is located in Arlington National Cemetery. It contains the unidentified remains of a soldier who died during World War I. After World War II and the Korean War, two more unknown soldiers were buried nearby. Another unknown soldier who died in Vietnam was also buried there, but his remains were later identified. He was subsequently exhumed and returned to his family.

The Tomb is guarded round-the-clock by members of the United States Army’s elite Old Guard. The Old Guard is tasked with maintaining decorum at this sacred site. Every half hour from April to September, there is a “changing of the guard” ceremony. From October to March, the guard changes every hour.

As you might realize, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a solemn place. Visitors are expected to be respectful. One would expect a man with Hegseth’s lofty military title to understand that it’s not appropriate to be loud, boisterous, or casual in any way when visiting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I mean, for God’s sake. Hegseth is the Secretary of Defense. 🤬

Well… apparently, Hegseth thinks he can behave in any way he wishes. He doesn’t honor veterans, even though he, himself, is a veteran– not even the ones who gave their lives for the United States and died alone, with no family or friends left to mourn them. Hegseth was anointed by Trump, and apparently, he thinks that means he can act like a fool whenever and wherever he wishes.

Give that Soldier a promotion, and protect him from Trump!

Fortunately, the Old Guard Soldier who encountered Hegseth and his entourage yesterday, still respects his job and honors the brave men who gave all. He scolded Hegseth and his buddies for their bad behavior, and it’s all over the news today. He bellowed, “All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence AND respect at all times!“

I’d drink to this…

You’d think that especially on Veterans Day, Hegseth and his pals would have known better. But what can we expect from Pete Hegseth, whose own mother expressed grief at having such a loser and abuser for a son. He is only interested in himself, just like his boss, Trump.

Hegseth is a total disgrace. I can’t wait until he is removed like the diseased, festering hemorrhoid he is. 🤬 Hopefully, the most recent impeachment attempt was just a warm up and he’ll get booted once the Democrats take over Congress.

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Comic cover reading “MEGYN KELLY: JOURNEY TO THE TRUTH!” with speech bubbles “WE NEED ANSWERS! THE TRUTH MATTERS!” and “REPORTING LIVE!”
celebrities, Republicans, true crime, YouTube

Megyn Kelly has such a hideous soul… 🤨

AI image today.

Last night, while I was watching Hawk on YouTube, I happened to catch former Fox News pundit, Megyn Kelly’s, comments about the sentence British actor, comedian, and convicted rapist, Russell Brand, got this week in a London courtroom. Brand, who was found guilty of rape and sexual assault last week, was sentenced to ten and a half years in prison. Megyn Kelly says the sentence is much too harsh, and Brand is being targeted because he’s “conservative”.

Really, Megyn?

I don’t actually know much about Russell Brand or his court case. I believe I saw him in just one movie, the remake of Arthur, which came out in 2011. I watched that movie, which was a huge mistake, since I love the original, which starred the late Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli. Russell Brand’s performance as Arthur really paled in comparison to Moore’s, although the story was slightly different in the remake. Brand is also notable for being singer Katy Perry’s ex husband. They were married for about two years.

Fifteen years on from his starring role in Arthur, Brand has become a conservative icon who rubs elbows with other conservatives and pushes conspiracy theories. He attended Turning Point USA events, the Republican National Convention, and seems particularly aligned with Robert Kennedy Jr.’s ridiculous healthcare schemes. And now he’s a common jailbird. Apparently, the shock of incarceration has hit him very hard.

Megyn Kelly openly states that Brand, who was convicted in Great Britain, was unfairly targeted due to his conservative political leanings. She says he’s a victim of a “witch hunt”. And, if you can stomach listening to her shrieking about this, you will hear her say that non-consensual anal sex is no big deal. Or, at least she’s implied it. 🤬

I look at Megyn Kelly and see a woman who is very wealthy, accomplished, well educated, and objectively beautiful. She’s almost 56 years old, which makes her older than I am. She has three children, including one daughter who is 15 years old. In many conservative circles, Megyn’s daughter is at the prime age of irresistibility for certain men.

You’d think, under the circumstances, that Megyn Kelly might be more sensible about sexual assault and consent. But no… Megyn is on Russell Brand’s side, even though his victims have described the torment he put them through when he assaulted them. That trauma doesn’t just go away, even after the perpetrator gets sentenced to prison.

I know some people might disagree that Megyn Kelly is “beautiful”. Personally, I think she’s physically very pretty. But she has an extremely unpleasant personality and she says absolutely horrific things. It seems like she’s gotten much worse in recent years. I think the first time I ever saw her, she was interviewing members of the Duggar family, after it came out that Josh Duggar had molested his sisters. I didn’t think she was nearly as terrible in that interview.

But now, she says things that are shockingly cruel and tone deaf. She attacks women all the time. And I just don’t know how she manages to maintain her career in the public eye, physical beauty notwithstanding. Plainly put, she’s a total bitch. Besides Russell Brand’s victims, she has attacked and vilified Christina Applegate, Olivia Rodrigo, and women in the Epstein Files.

I don’t know what her issue is, but she’s a symptom of the worst problems we Americans have these days. She has no empathy, no decency, no class, and no right to be as vile as she is. And really, she should not have a platform… but she probably maintains one because her messages appeal to entitled white, conservative, Christofascist type men, who think she’s easy on the eyes. Her misogynistic opinions are like music to their ears. They keep the money and the notoriety rolling in. 🙄

It’s really a shame. Especially for her family members, who have to be around her… She’s definitely what Trump would call a “nasty woman”.

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blog news, work

Today’s micro posting…

I’m just dropping in to write that I’m gonna take today off from heavy blogging. I’m working on a new song parody that is proving to be challenging, and will probably keep me busy today, and possibly tomorrow. The song itself isn’t very easy to sing, mostly because of its rhythm, and it will require a couple of parts. And then, the video that will accompany it will also take at least a couple of hours to make.

I’m not even sure if I’ll finish the parody today… I’m kind of not in the mood to mess with it. But I’ve already spent a couple of hours on lyrics and revising them. Tomorrow is Veteran’s Day, so Bill will be at home.

Right now, I also have the theme song from The Judge stuck in my head… 🤨 I also have an annoying cough.

I don’t have to make parodies, but they kind of keep my mind sharp and give me a chance to exercise my wit. It’s not always easy to do that on social media, because there are a lot of dullards posting there.

Anyway… I hope you have a nice Tuesday. Over here, at least the sun is out, and the temperature is basically mild. It’s about 50 degrees Fahrenheit, which is not so chilly. I’d rather it be 50 degrees than 80 degrees, especially in November.

Until later…

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