Newport, Oregon, June 14, 2025. No Kings Demonstration On June 14th, I attended the “No Kings” demonstration in Newport. It was deeply gratifying to see so many members of our community show up — nearly 1,000 people strong. I was especially impressed by the creativity and passion reflected in the signs people carried. They addressed... Continue Reading →
From “Golden age” to “Recession”: Trump’s First Fifty Days
It is only about 50 days into the new Trump administration, and we can already see dangerous trends. In that short time, we went from Trump’s announcement of a “Golden age” to his warnings of “recession.” The best analysis of the current state of affairs I have seen came from former republican congressman, David Jolly,... Continue Reading →
The Main Issue is Trump’s Unfitness
Vinnie the Vulture, Ceramic sculpture by Gilbert Schramm Until a few months ago the common view was that this election would be about inflation, the economy, and immigration. Things have changed. People have wised up. It is clear that this election is essentially about one thing: Trump's basic unfitness for office. His unfitness is obvious... Continue Reading →
The Election, GOP Rhetoric, and the Fate of NOAA
Billy the Buzzard, Ceramic piece by Gilbert Schramm Back in the 1980s someone described Republican rhetoric as “An army of empty slogans marching over the landscape in search for an idea.” In retrospect, that seems pretty insightful. Trump’s rhetoric today is more like an army of falsehoods, fictions, and grievances marching in smaller and smaller... Continue Reading →
GOP Falling Short: Behind the Curve and Way out of Line
One of the most absurd things I have seen in several years of remarkably ridiculous things is Ron DeSantis standing in front of his campaign banner. The banner reads “AWAKE not Woke." Apparently, DeSantis does not realize that “woke” is the past tense of “wake.” To be “woke”merely means you are “awake” and woke up... Continue Reading →
Trump Leaves US in a Sad State
Today is Pearl Harbor Day. On this day in 1941, 2403 Americans died. On 9/11/2001, about 3,000 Americans died. In both cases, Americans pulled together to make sure this could not happen again. Huge effort and trillions of dollars were expended. How times have changed. Now, with a daily death toll rapidly reaching 3,000, we... Continue Reading →
QAnon: An Ugly Silhouette of Fear and Hatred Against the Surge of the Pandemic
Bird of Ill Omens (aka Vinnie the Vulture, Pandemic Pal) On October 22, 2020, the US saw the largest reporting of new Covid-19 cases since the start of the pandemic. Over 77,000 new cases were reported. In the Presidential debate that same evening, Trump once again repeated the falsehood that American had “turned the corner”... Continue Reading →
Viral Misinformation: Trump as Super-spreader
A recent research survey of the sources of misinformation about the Covid-19 Coronavirus determined that the number one culprit in spreading misinformation was US president Donald Trump. That being true, it is hardly surprising that it now appears that he might be a super-spreader of the virus itself. He has certainly sponsored super-spreading events. He... Continue Reading →
Proud Boys: Useful Idiots (The Other Problem with Racists)
Very recently a former high-ranking foreign service professional referred to Donald Trump as Vladimir Putin’s “useful idiot.” Every dictator needs useful idiots. Putin has Trump. Trump has the “Proud Boys” and other racists. Mussolini had “Black Shirts,” Hitler had “Brown Shirts,” Saddam Hussein and Slobodan Milosevic had their goons and thugs- all aspiring and practicing... Continue Reading →
If Only Trump…
It is supremely ironic to remember Trump’s repeated claim that “only he” could solve this country’s problems. Many Trump supporters join Trump in blaming Obama for everything that has gone wrong—after 4 years that lame excuse is growing thin… What if Trump had simply followed Obama’s quite reasonable advice? That would have eliminated some of... Continue Reading →
Mind-Cast 