Time to Think

Interegnum #310

By Hank Silverberg

Commentary

When the election results were final last week, I started to think, okay, Trump doesn't take over until January 20, 2025, Biden is unlikely to anything controversial in the next two months and the holidays are coming. So, November and December are going to be nice, tranquil months. We can all sit back and relax with some eggnog, and turkey and a few hours of watching nestolgic classic movies like "It's a Wonderful Life" and forget all the nonsense of the last year or so.

My wife and I took a trip to DC this past weekend to see "A Funny Thing Happended on The Way to The Forum," and it was with a group on a bus, so I didn't even have to worry about driving. We have a lot of birthdays coming up in my family this month includindg mine, so lots of celebration should make the season bright!

All wishful thinking. The Donald has intruded again. His cabinet picks so far have been absolutely attrocious. Elise Stefanick might be okay at the U.N. and Mike Huckabee won't be a bad ambassor to Israel, but the rest of Mr. Trump's picks are not just bad, but downright scary.

Tulsi Gabbard, the former Hawiian Democrat, was once under scrutiny by the intellegence community as a possible Russian agent because of her contracts with authoritarian regimes around the world, including Vladamir Putin, and now Trump wants her as the Director of National Intellegence?

Matt Gaetz has been under investigation by the FBI and the House Ethics Committee for an alleged sexual encounter with an under age girl and possible drug use, and now Trump wants him to be Attorney General.

Folks, this is not just a conservative president picking conservatives to be in his cabinet. We could all live through that.

This is a man convicted of sexual assault and business fraud picking other shady charactors to be around him and making key decisions affecting everyone in the country.

Yes, the Senate does have to approve the cabinet picks. But will they simply rubber stamp what Trump wants out of fear or incompetance?

We could be settling into a long, cold, dangerous period in this country where wrong is right and right is wrong.

The country voted for it, right? Not really. The voters were conned into it by the world's best con man, Donald J. Trump. And it may take a while before they catch on. Watch your back. Trump is watching.

News You May Have Missed!

Drought and Forest Fires

You have probably already seen the dramatic pictures of forest fires and wild fires in California, and now in the forested areas of the New York/New Jersey border. Much of the country is facing some drought as we get deeper into winter (see link to interactive drought monitor https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/). But it's not just fires we have to worry about. Some Chrismas tree farmers in the Northeast have lost 25% of this year's crop, creating a future shortage

which will naturally raise prices. Fire and drought now moves into the future with farmers unable to plant new trees on dry, drought- plagued land.

And it's not just trees, either. It's affecting the food chain as well.

The National Integrated Drought Information System says 49.67% of the lower 48 states are in drought conditions this week, affecting 149.4 million people, and it's up since last month.

The impact can also be expected at the supermarket with 318.6 million acres of varous crops in the U.S. experiencing drought conditions, up 57.1% from last month.

A number of east coast communities have already announced water usage restrictions because of the drought.

The long-term impact could be unpredictable right now, but the U.S. Geological Survey says "climate change exacerbates droughts by making them more frequent, longer, and more severe."

https://www.drought.gov/current-conditions#:~:text=acres%20of%20major%20crops%20in%20U.S.%20are%20experiencing%20drought%20conditions%20this%20week.&text=people%20in%20the%20U.S.%20and,affected%20by%20drought%20this%20week.&text=U.S.%20states%20are%20experiencing%20Moderate,D1)%20or%20worse%20this%20week.

https://nypost.com/2024/11/15/us-news/christmas-trees-are-dying-from-severe-drought-in-northeast/

Dumbest Quote of The Week!

The dumb quote this week comes from Republican South Carolina Senator, Lindsey Graham. His first comment on the appointment of Matt Gaetz to be Attorney General:

"I'm predisposed to try to help presidents with their picks, But he'll haved to answer some tough qeustions in a hearing and we'll see how it goes."

But that was followed just a few hours later with this comments to Fox News:

"I think Matt Gaetz is very bright. I think he's qualified. He'll have a hearing and have some tough questions to answer. Give Matt a chance. "

As usual, Senator Graham wimps out after he hears what everyone else is saying.

(Your comments and suggestions are welcome)

My recent book "The Campaign" can be purchased at the links below. Or you can buy a copy by emailing me at: HankSilverberg@gmail.com for instructions on how to get a copy at a reduced price and with my signature)