It has been an interesting, challenging, and soul-searching time since I last wrote for my blog, Flying with the Crow. As many of you know, back in April I fell and broke my left hip. This break required a partial hip replacement, so I went to surgery the next day. I had also hit my head and my left shoulder, the former requiring some stiches and the latter having had a couple of cortisone injections. I spent 8 days in the hospital and then was transferred to what was described as a rehabilitation unit in a local nursing home. Referring to it as a rehab unit is a bit of a stretch. I was amongst some elderly folks who would make a racquet during the night and isolate themselves during the day. I was there for 2 weeks. I did receive some therapy from a physical therapist and an occupational therapist. They were quite helpful in getting me to where I could walk a little bit with a walker. When I returned home, I could not drive and started out with a walker, graduated to a cane and am now able to get around without any aides. I do still take my cane when I am somewhere unfamiliar, and it helps with my balance. I depended on my wife Carolyn, for a lot of transportation and visits to doctors. She has been phenomenal with her patience and support. Could not be where I am without her encouragement and assistance.
I am still not back normal and probably never will be, but much better than I was for several months. Upon my return home I went to physical therapy a couple of days a week and did this for a couple of months. It was very helpful and the staff at the facility were great. As getting older has its challenges, it also provides the opportunity to continue to interact with family and friends. Recently, both Carolyn and I have had hearing tests and both of us now have hearing aids. We have not had them for long and are not impressed, yet. We have a great ENT Physician and a very responsive Audiologist. We are hopeful when we go for follow-ups that adjustments can be made to improve the results. We’ll see!
In addition to what has happened, personally, there have also been developments throughout the country and world. Astronauts circled the moon and went further into space than any previous missions. There continue to be major issues between Trump and the Irian leaders. A war that was to be over in a matter of weeks has now dragged on for over 6 months. Eighteen American service members have lost their lives in a war that has little meaning and no plan for bringing it to an end. Trump avoids referring to it as a war, but semantics do not mean crap when we are taking the lives of countless Iranians and the service members. As a country we have Dumb and Dumber making the decisions. Neith Trump nor the ass he put in as Defense Secretary have any clue what to do. To note that they are over their heads is a gross understatement. They brag about the destruction that has been the result of the American assaults. Recently, in response to a reporter’s question about the end of the war, our dumb-ass president compared it to the length or time we were in Viet Nam. Here we go.
Let me share some figures that are appalling and are attributed to Trump’s lone decision to attack Iran. Consider the following:
Pentagon Tally: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reported a $37.5 Billion figure to the Senate Appropriations Committee, noting it accounts for operations, military pay, and heavy use of munitions through the first five months of the war (Do keep in mind that we need to add at least another month of expenses based on the current length of the war.)
Independent Tally: Independent defense analysists and think tanks suggest the true upfront and short-term operational cost is higher-ranging, between $80 Billion and $100 Billion, when factoring in unacknowledged base repairs, damaged aircraft, and immediate resupply of depleted high-end interceptor missiles.
Wider Economic Impact: including broader tracking, which includes domestic spikes in fuel and energy prices for U.S, households, places total economic costs well past $120 Billion to $130 Billion.
The Trump’s administration war in Iran is weighing heavily on American households. Up to this time, the cost of war per household is $1,200 with no end in sight. These costs together with Trump’s inane tariffs continue to be impacting the middle class with impunity. He and his minions have no empathic understanding of what individual households are confronted with day-after-day. Decisions are being made to cover basic costs such as food, shelter, health care, and clothing for those who have lost any semblance of a safety net provided by the federal government. Program after program have been cut or eliminated, yet Trump and his allies have realized record earnings. Recently. it has been revealed that Trump earned a $2.2 Billion windfall. Further, it has been reported that Donald, Jr., has net worth more than $300 Million. It is certainly a mystery that those who are suffering the most continue to support this fool as president.
Previously, I noted that the decision by the Supreme Court in the Trump v. the United States, the court gave unbridled immunity to the president. This decision will forever haunt the country because it gives license to the president to do whatever he considers presidential business. We have seen result after result of this president making inane, illegal and innocuous decisions that cannot be challenged. The ridiculous ballroom at the White House, the farcical redoing of the Reflection Pool, the granite driveway and heliport at the White House, and the myriads of Executive Orders that he has passed are examples of a president going berserk and out of control. During this term in office, he has signed 281 of these Executive Orders. It is his way of avoiding going through the proper channels to enact various actions.
The national debt has reached a milestone of $40 Tillion under this Trump Administration. Consider that this is equal to $2.08 Billion per day. These are numbers that I have no understanding of but reflect the out-of-control actions of Trump. In the past few weeks, he has stated that Canada has used the United States as its piggy bank. What hypocrisy. As president he continues to spend taxpayer dollars for frivolous, unnecessary and often illegal purposes. Members of his party make no effort to control his actions, and the immunity decision allows him to continue. About a week ago the Republicans held a convention in Dallas, and the minions were front and center in their adulation for this dumb ass. I will not bore you with all that took place, but the speech by Kennedy and included in Dana Milbank’s article in the Washington Sun, is ever so telling. Let me share that nonsense with you: “Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. might have topped them all (previous speakers) by calling Trump a ‘self-effacing man of superior intelligence, of empathy and compassion, with an encyclopedic grasp of issues in molecular detail.’ gushed Kennedy. ‘I’m so grateful to God for giving us a leader like this.” So, so much crap. Empathy and compassion are foreign to Trump as evident by the number of citizens who are truly suffering. Note that Trump bragged over-and-over about the large crowd in the arena and the thousands who were outside the building. Milbank sat through five hours of this mess and during that time counted at least 5000 empty seats in the main floor of the arena and no people in the upper areas. We are all too familiar with Trump’s affinity to lie and make up information and people believe it as truth. Such a blatant pity that he is in the office.
Let me take a bit of a different direction. The decision by the NCAA to allow former NFL players who still have some eligibility left at the college level, to return to play for college teams. How ridiculous is this decision coupled with the NIL actions that are making kids multi-millionaires? An example is the quarterback at Auburn who followed his coach from the University of South Florida for a tidy sum of $3 Million. Similarly, the quarterback for the undefeated national champions last year making $2 Million as the quarterback for the Indiana Hoosiers. There is virtually no control over these out-of-control decisions, but they are making a mockery out of the amateur concept of college sports? Where will all this end or when will some common sense begin to prevail?
Hopefully I will get back on track with sharing some of my thoughts with you through Flying with the Crow.