Month: November 2025

Last Week At The Sh*t Show–30Nov25

The last Sunday of November and we move into the weird days of winter made even weirder by the fact that Donny and idiots are in charge.

AS per tradition Donny pardoned the WH turkeys….and then went on one of his incoherent rants…….

Gobble and Waddle won’t get gobbled this Thanksgiving — they’re waddling off to freedom instead after President Donald Trump granted pardons to those two turkeys on Tuesday.

During the traditional Rose Garden ceremony in which the birds get spared from the butcher, Trump also suggested a U.S.-brokered peace deal between Ukraine and Russia soon could come to fruition.

“I think we’re getting very close to a deal; we’ll find out,” Trump said. “I think we’re making progress.”

Trump also bashed former President Joe Biden, claiming that his predecessor used an autopen to sign last year’s turkey pardons, making them “totally invalid.”

Trump cracked that he has “officially pardoned” those other birds, Peach and Blossom, adding that he “saved them in the nick of time.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/25/trump-turkey-pardon-biden-ukraine-2025.html

Instead of offering the people of this country some words of confidence he goes off on one of his rants of insults and stupidity.

Uncle Don’s big deal for the week was the possibility of some sort of deal on Ukraine….but that seems to be sliding away….

Hopes of reaching a breakthrough in the war with Russia this week were quashed on Monday after a European proposal discussed by the United States and Ukraine was described by Moscow as “completely unconstructive”.

Washington and Kyiv said in a joint statement they had drafted a “refined peace framework” after talks in Geneva on Sunday. Although there were no specifics, the dialogue received a cautious welcome from some of Ukraine’s allies.

However, the Kremlin said that the European counterproposal to a 28-point US peace plan for Ukraine was not helpful.

“The European plan, at first glance … is completely unconstructive and does not work for us,” Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Moscow.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-trump-peace-deal-ukraine-european-proposal-geneva-b2871763.html

Sorry better luck next time….and the time after that….and…..

We know that Donny is destroying DC on piece at a time and now he has his sights set on another landmark…..he has already defaces the WH, placed huge banners with his mug, made the WH gaudy with massive gold trappings, wants to pain marble on government building and the list goes on…..now he wants to attack the Lincoln Memorial…..

Donald Trump said his next renovation project will be the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which he claimed has become a symbol of ‘Biden filth and incompetence.’

The President has already made waves with his construction of the ‘big, beautiful ballroom’ after tearing down the East Wing and his gilded renovation of the Oval Office.

He posted a video on Truth Social showing the state of the pool before announcing his intentions to clean it up.

He wrote: ‘This is the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool before Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and I fix it. Study it hard because you won’t be seeing this Biden filth and incompetence much longer!’

The half-minute clip shows ducks swimming in the pool, which is filled with dirty leaves and grime, before showing a sign warning people to stay out while cleaning is in progress.

It follows with a caption of ‘Make DC Beautiful Again’ before the animation shows a cleaned-up version featuring the Department of the Interior’s logo.

The pool, which was completed in 1923, is the largest reflecting pool in Washington.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15330143/Trump-reveals-DC-renovation-project-remove-Biden-filth-White-House-ballroom.html

And once again Donny lashes out at a reporter in his usually insulting way….

President Trump blasted a female reporter as a “stupid person” Thursday after she questioned his claims about the vetting process of an Afghan national suspected in the shooting of two National Guardsmen in Washington, DC. The exchange began when the reporter told Trump: “US officials say that the suspect worked very closely with the CIA in Afghanistan for years, that he was vetted and the vetting came up clean,” Mediaite reports. Trump dismissed the suspect’s vetting, saying, “He went cuckoo. I mean, he went nuts. It happens too often with these people.”

He said: “There was no vetting or anything. They came in unvetted and we have a lot of others in this country and we’re going to get them out,” per Newsweek. The reporter then cited a recent report from the Justice Department’s inspector general, which found that Afghans brought to the US had been thoroughly vetted by the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. She pressed Trump on why he was blaming the Biden administration for the suspect’s actions despite the vetting.

Trump responded sharply, “Because they let them in. Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person? Because they came in on a plane along with thousands of other people that shouldn’t be here and you’re just asking questions because you’re a stupid person.” Trump continued to criticize the process that allowed the suspect into the US, claiming it was “disgraceful” and that a law had been passed making it “almost impossible” to remove individuals once they were in the country. Rahmanullah Lakanwal came to the US in September 2021. He applied for asylum in December 2024 and it was granted in April this year, Newsweek reports.

It is obvious that he considers women who question his motives as inferior somehow….it is that simple.

This guy is a douche.

If you will recall that Christmas movie Home Alone 2 starred Donny and now he is demanding a reboot of the series….but that is not what he wants to revive….

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York star Donald Trump is reportedly leaning on one of his billionaire buddies to get his Hollywood studio to resurrect one of his movie favorites.

…

Ellison’s studio Paramount, which is run by his son David, is set to take over the Warner movie catalogue and production company. A new report in Semafor claims that Trump is already making suggestions about future Paramount projects—and one franchise in particular.

The publication cites someone directly familiar with the conversations saying that Trump “personally pressed” Ellison to revive the Jackie Chan/Chris Tucker buddy-cop franchise Rush Hour.

The first Rush Hour was released in 1998 and grossed $245.3 million worldwide. It was followed by Rush Hour 2 in 2001 and Rush Hour 3 in 2007.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-79-demands-reboot-of-retired-movie-franchise/

Seriously?  This country more problems than we can shake a stick at and this fool is worried about a movie franchise….what a total idiot.

WE are told almost daily what a wonderful job this idiot in charge is doing for this economy….if true why are the economic reports so slow in being released?

The Donald Trump administration keeps cancelling key economic reports and everyone is concerned.

On Monday (24 November), the US Bureau of Economic Analysis cancelled the release of its growth estimate report for the third-quarter GDP.

Before it was cancelled, the report had already been pushed back once, as it was scheduled to be released on 30 October. According to the department, the cancellation was due to the government shutdown, which recently ended.

The GDP report joins a list of other economic reports that have failed to be released, including the October jobs report and the October inflation report.

https://www.indy100.com/politics/trump/trump-administration-gdp-report-cancelled-economy-2674350008

It appears that things are not as rosy as he would have us believe.

Donny orders troops in Chicago to protect a mall…..

President Donald Trump has called for U.S. troops to protect a Chicago shopping center, but there’s one major problem: The mall doesn’t exist.

According to Trump, Chicago’s Miracle Mile Shopping Center — “once considered the nation’s top best” — now has more than 28% of its space vacant and risks shutting down if crime isn’t stopped.

He urged on Truth Social, “Call in the troops fast, before it is too late!”

News organizations quickly pointed out that no Miracle Mile Shopping Center exists in Chicago.

While cities like Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Monroeville, Pennsylvania, reportedly have malls by that name, Illinois does not.

https://knewz.com/trump-orders-us-troops-to-defend-mall-that-doesnt-exist/

Yeah this guy is wrapped real tight.

Finally the US taxpayer is on the hook for Donny’s many, many golf trips since becoming supreme leader…..

Donald Trump has already spent $70 million of taxpayer money on golfing in less than a year as president. If this pace keeps up, he will spend $300 million playing golf by the time his second term ends.

HuffPost reports that the president on Wednesday made his sixteenth trip this year to his Mar-a-Lago estate and went golfing. Each trip carries a $3.4 million bill in travel and security costs. If Trump decides to go to Mar-a-Lago twice more before the end of the year, he will have spent a total of $75 million on golf, which, repeated each of the following three years, would result in $300 million spent on the trips.

Donald Trump has already spent $70 million of taxpayer money on golfing in less than a year as president. If this pace keeps up, he will spend $300 million playing golf by the time his second term ends.

HuffPost reports that the president on Wednesday made his sixteenth trip this year to his Mar-a-Lago estate and went golfing. Each trip carries a $3.4 million bill in travel and security costs. If Trump decides to go to Mar-a-Lago twice more before the end of the year, he will have spent a total of $75 million on golf, which, repeated each of the following three years, would result in $300 million spent on the trips.

https://newrepublic.com/post/203739/trump-golf-tab-taxpayer-money

I am so glad the he finds the time out of his busy schedule for some relaxation  (and that is sarcasm)…..

This fool gets more insulting, more disgusting and more incomprehensible by the day.

That Was The Week That Was….

I hope everyone is recovering well from the holiday…..go out and enjoy your Sunday before returning to work….and as always….Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“Lego ergo scribo”

IST Saturday News Dump–29Nov25

It is the last weekend of November and the Christmas shopping madness has begun…..

I had much to do over Thanksgiving so this week’s post is a bit thinly sourced….I apologize.

Local–With just two days left of this hurricane season it looks like we dodged a bullet again this year….a wonderful thing but we cannot help but dread next…..we have gotten some cooler weather as a relief from 80 and humid.

Personal–Not much just a wonderful T’giving day get together.

Moving on the the meat of the post….

Since my cancer diagnosis I have read just about everything on the disease and want to pass on to others that may be in the fight

Some think they have found the root cause of cancer….

Cancer is one of the biggest health problems in the world today. Almost every family has been touched by it in some way, either directly or through a loved one.

Cancer happens when cells in the body start growing in an uncontrolled way. Instead of growing, dividing, and dying in a normal and balanced way, cancer cells keep multiplying and can form tumors or spread to other parts of the body.

For many years, doctors and scientists have known that some lifestyle choices, such as smoking, spending too much time in the sun, or being exposed to harmful chemicals, can increase the risk of cancer. At the same time, aging itself also plays a major role.

…

A team of researchers from Yale University wanted to look more closely at this question. They carried out a large and detailed study to understand where cancer-causing changes in DNA come from. DNA is like an instruction book inside every cell that tells the body how to grow and function.

When this instruction book develops errors, or mutations, the cell may start to behave in a dangerous way and turn into a cancer cell. The Yale scientists examined DNA mutations found in tumors from 24 different types of cancer. By studying these mutations, they were able to look back in time and estimate what might have caused them.

https://knowridge.com/2025/11/research-finds-root-cause-of-cancer/

There is some good news on the fight against cancer…..

Nearly one in 10 American adults now report having been diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives—a notable jump from 7% in 2008-2009, according to the latest data from Gallup. Gallup says 9.7% of around 41,000 people surveyed in 2024 and the first three-quarters of 2025 said yes when asked, “Has a doctor or nurse ever told you that you have cancer?” The survey shows the rate of reported lifetime cancer diagnoses has been rising steadily over the last decade, even as the rate of new cancer cases in the US has edged downward by 4% over the past 10 years.

That means the increase in lifetime diagnoses is not due to more new cases. Instead, experts say, it’s largely because people are living longer after a cancer diagnosis, thanks to better treatments. The percentage of Americans who have had a cancer diagnosis at some point is highest among older adults—now at more than 21%, up from 18% in 2008-2009. As the US population ages, the total share of Americans with a history of cancer is expected to keep climbing.

The report also notes that cancer death rates have continued to drop, declining by nearly 2% per year over the last decade, and the five-year survival rate has improved to 69%. Some cancer types, including breast cancer in younger women, are becoming more common. Researchers have found increases in 14 kinds of cancer among Americans under age 50, though across ages, genders, and races, the only decline in cancer diagnoses between 2008-2009 and 2024-2045 was an 0.2% drop from 2.6% to 2.4% among people 30 to 44. Among people 18 to 29, the rate was unchanged at 1.1%.

The overall picture, Gallup concludes, is a mixed one: More Americans are surviving cancer, but the health care system will face increasing pressure as the population ages and more people live years or decades after a diagnosis. Harold Wimmer, the president and CEO of the American Lung Association, said advancement in research and early detection have dramatically improved lung cancer survival rates in recent years, but he’s worried about budget cuts, reports Axios. The “CDC is critical in helping to prevent lung cancer by funding programs to prevent tobacco use and help people quit, and the research done at NIH has led to 73 new treatments for lung cancer in the last decade alone,” he said in a statement. “The cuts to programs and research are devastating.”

How long will this trend continue especially now when the government is stripping any research top the bone?

These GOPers are really sick people…..

Are abortions poisoning us all? That’s the latest line of attack from Republicans in Wisconsin and elsewhere, with lawmakers arguing that women who take abortion pills must prevent their blood and fetal tissue from contaminating the water supply.

It’s hard to even know where to begin with this one. Maybe we should just start in Wisconsin, where some GOP lawmakers are looking to make doctors who prescribe abortion drugs send patients home with “a catch kit and medical waste bag” and instructions for its use. For physicians, failing to do so would be a crime punishable by up to $10,000 and/or three and a half years in prison, according to the Green Bay Press Gazett

https://reason.com/2025/11/24/catch-kits-for-fetal-remains-are-republicans-latest-dystopian-plan-to-punish-abortions/

Are you a donor?  Well there is more you can do….

When most people think about donating body parts to science or medicine, they might think of life-saving donations of organs, tissues or blood. But you can also donate your poo.

The idea is to use it for poo transplants, otherwise known as faecal microbiota transplantation. That’s when poo products made from healthy donor poo are transplanted into another person to improve their health.

Scientists like myself rely on poo donations to run clinical trials into this type of research. Some clinics rely on poo donations to treat patients.

To put it bluntly, we rely on people having a shit for science or medicine.

Here’s how to get involved and become a poo donor.

https://theconversation.com/how-to-donate-your-poo-to-science-or-medicine-266361

What’s that in your pants, sir?

An alleged would-be smuggler faces a hefty fine and a long stretch behind bars after authorities say they found two sedated parakeets in his pants at the US-Mexico border. Federal prosecutors say 35-year-old Jesse Martinez, a US citizen who lives in Mexico, was indicted Friday on a smuggling charge in the bizarre case. Martinez allegedly tried to cross from Mexico into Southern California in late October, but customs officers noticed a suspicious bulge in his trousers, reports the New York Times. At first, Martinez claimed it was, er, natural, but finally admitted he had birds in his groin area.

Officers discovered two orange-fronted parakeets—a protected species native to Mexico—unconscious but alive inside brown sacks, per the Washington Post. Martinez said he didn’t have the right paperwork to bring the birds into the US, claiming they were pets from his uncle and that he planned to keep them in a shoebox in his van. Court records indicate this was not his first attempt: He’d previously been caught in September trying to smuggle a parrot, which was later euthanized. The parakeets are now in quarantine at a Department of Agriculture facility in New York.

The lengths to go to for a cheap thrill.

The lengths some will go to to see their name in lights….

A Swedish father’s quest to impress his kids has landed him a world record, for the most matches stuffed up someone’s nose, reports UPI. Martin Stroby, 42, tells Guinness he was inspired after his children became fascinated with the Guinness World Records book and encouraged him to try to break a record himself.

Initially skeptical about his own talents, Stroby eventually decided to target a category he thought was within reach: the most matches held in the nose, a record that at the time stood at 68. That record was held by Peter von Tangen Buskov of Denmark, until Stroby came along, per the Daily Guardian. After a few trial runs, Stroby realized he could tolerate the discomfort and found he had a natural knack for the odd feat.

The main challenge, he said, was keeping the matches from falling out, but after some experimentation, he developed a technique that minimized the spillage. Stroby ultimately managed to fit 81 matches in his nostrils, securing the record and earning some serious bragging rights at home. “As a father, I want my children to look up to me in the same way I look up to my father, who has taught me more than I can write down,” Stroby said.

Finally a tale from the crypt….

A woman in Thailand shocked temple staff when she started moving in her coffin after being brought in for cremation. Wat Rat Prakhong Tham, a Buddhist temple in the province of Nonthaburi on the outskirts of Bangkok, posted a video on its Facebook page, showing a woman lying in a white coffin in the back of a pick-up truck, slightly moving her arms and head, leaving temple staff bewildered. Pairat Soodthoop, the temple’s general and financial affairs manager, told the AP on Monday that the 65-year-old woman’s brother drove her from the province of Phitsanulok to be cremated. He said they heard a faint knock coming from the coffin.

“I was a bit surprised, so I asked them to open the coffin, and everyone was startled,” he said. “I saw her opening her eyes slightly and knocking on the side of the coffin. She must have been knocking for quite some time.” According to Pairat, the brother said that his sister had been bedridden for about two years and that she appeared to stop breathing two days ago. The brother then placed her in a coffin and made the 300-mile journey to a hospital in Bangkok, to which the woman had previously expressed a wish to donate her organs.

he hospital refused to accept the brother’s offer as he didn’t have an official death certificate, Pairat said. His temple offers a free cremation service, which is why the brother approached them on Sunday, but was also refused due to the missing document. The temple manager said that he was explaining how to get a death certificate when they heard the knocking. They then assessed her and sent her to a nearby hospital. The abbot said the temple would cover her medical expenses, according to Pairat.

That does it for this Saturday….I do hope everyone has a great Saturday and as always…..Be Well and Be Safe……

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The “Fart Walk”

Thanksgiving is done for now and onto Christmas.

To close out this week of enjoy and family I saw this report and wanted to add it for a little humor.

This FYI is a bit late for T’giving but there is another big meal coming in less than a week…..

There is a thing after the big holiday meal…..a “fart walk”…..

After your Thanksgiving meal, you might want to consider taking a post-dinner “fart walk”—doctor’s orders. Gastroenterologists say a light stroll after a big holiday feast can help ease bloating and gas, according to experimental research that found mild activity such as walking or gentle cycling helps the body expel not only gas from one’s last meal but also gas “hanging around even at baseline,” leaving you feeling “better off than you started,” per the Washington Post.

The recommendation is backed by an unusual study where researchers infused gas directly into volunteers’ intestines and measured what happened during rest and exercise. Sitting upright is also found to be better than lying down, with any movement helping to move things along. For those prone to bloating or conditions like IBS, gentle exercise also reduced uncomfortable symptoms.

The science behind this is simple: Our guts generate about half a gallon of gas daily, most of which is efficiently removed. A big meal, however, can tip the balance. A brief walk not only helps with gas but also tamps down on the rise in blood sugar that follows a meal, per the Post. If bloating is a constant companion, doctors say it’s worth checking in with a physician to rule out other issues.

“Fart walks” aren’t a new thing: People noted last year that the term was coined by wellness influencer and author Mairlyn Smith, and there’s even now a Wikipedia page devoted to the post-turkey regimen. The Wall Street Journal, meanwhile, has more on what’s known as the holiday “cousin walk”—when certain relatives dip out of the house to secretly smoke pot.

Just a suggestion to help one make it through the over-eating of the holidays…..and after I read this I knew I had a post waiting to inform and entertain.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and can bounce back after the holiday meal and heavy shopping….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

MTG: The Game Is Afoot

This stuff is just fun.

I have been fascinating at the complete reversal of her firebrand over the last few months….and now she goes even further and is busting on GOP men…..

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene delivered a fiery and expletive-laden rant on social media Wednesday, targeting Republican men while defending her decision to resign from Congress. The Georgia Republican’s outburst came after her Tuesday post, describing X as a “toxic, hateful, and divisive” space, received a one-sentence response from right-wing internet figure Mike Cernovich: “You need to serve out your full term.” Greene, who has spoke of facing threats and personal attacks, shot back, “Do I have to stay until I’m assassinated like our friend Charlie Kirk. Will that be good enough for you then?”

Greene said she’d suffered enough fighting her fair share of political battles and accused Cernovich of armchair criticism, per the Independent. “S— posting on the internet all day isn’t fighting. Get off YOUR a– and run for Congress,” she wrote. “Put down your little pebbles and put your money where your mouth is.” Greene escalated her criticism an hour later, posting a screenshot of her earlier post and accusing “Republican men” of sexism and complacency.

“Typical of Republican men telling a woman to ‘shut up get back in the kitchen and fix me something to eat.’ F— you in the sweetest most southern drawl I can enunciate,” she wrote. “Get off your a– and fix your own damn food and clean up the kitchen when you’re done.” She then blasted the way men “continue in the two party toxic political system that acts like college football playoffs yet is burying you and your children and their children and their children in a pine box in a shallow grave.”

Is she being dramatic of an alarmist?

I will say that her turn around has taken most of us politician watcher off balance…..so far her change has caught most of us off balance and we are still trying to wrap our head around the directional change.

Even some of my readers have offered up an opinion….this one is from a loyal visitor Calico Jack…..

Comment on This: Mad Dog Greene is pulling a Palin

Would anyone like to comment on this continuing saga?

This story just keeps getting better and better…..at least for me.

What is her game?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

A Black Friday Warning

Just another FYI from your friend at IST…..

I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable T’giving…..

Thanksgiving is done and now we move onto the Christmas portion of the season and it begins traditionally with the Black Friday sales and ensuing madness.

Kids have made it known what they want and not it is up the Santa’s little helpers go out and find the requested things.

A warning has been aired…..if you are thinking about one of the AI enhanced toys….then think again….

They’re cute, even cuddly, and promise learning and companionship—but artificial intelligence toys are not safe for kids, according to children’s and consumer advocacy groups urging parents not to buy them during the holiday season.

  • These toys, marketed to kids as young as 2, are generally powered by AI models that have already been shown to harm children and teenagers, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, according to an advisory published Thursday by the children’s advocacy group Fairplay and signed by more than 150 organizations and individual experts such as child psychiatrists and educators, the AP reports.
  • “The serious harms that AI chatbots have inflicted on children are well-documented, including fostering obsessive use, having explicit sexual conversations, and encouraging unsafe behaviors, violence against others, and self-harm,” Fairplay said.
  • AI toys, made by companies including Curio Interactive and Keyi Technologies, are often marketed as educational, but Fairplay says they can displace important creative and learning activities. They promise friendship but disrupt children’s relationships and resilience, the group said.
  • “What’s different about young children is that their brains are being wired for the first time and developmentally it is natural for them to be trustful,” said Rachel Franz, director of Fairplay’s Young Children Thrive Offline Program.
  • Fairplay has been warning about AI toys for years. They just weren’t as advanced as they are today. A decade ago, during an emerging fad of internet-connected toys and AI speech recognition, the group helped lead a backlash against Mattel’s talking Hello Barbie doll that it said was recording and analyzing children’s conversations.

Thanksgiving–2025

Happy Thanksgiving!

This will be my only post today for I will be out of pocket with cooking, eating, napping…..

Since traffic is down on this day of days….I will keep it short and sweet….after all I do not want to interfere cooking, eating and napping…..

Today I will be preparing Roasted  turkey, mac and cheese and yeast rolls….my daughter will be cooking the bean casserole and sweet potatoes and preparing the appetizers….and peach cobbler will be dessert.

And since I enjoy history I thought I would pass on some to my readers…..

Thanksgiving Day is a federal holiday in the United States, and in 2025, it falls on Thursday, November 27. In 1621, the Plymouth colonists from England and the Native American Wampanoag people shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.

For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held on the last Thursday in November. Americans have collectively observed the holiday ever since.

Thanksgiving is not without controversy. Many Americans—including people of Native American ancestry—believe Thanksgiving celebrations mask the true history of oppression and bloodshed that underlies the relationship between European settlers and Native Americans.

In November 1621, after the Pilgrims’ first corn harvest proved successful, Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory feast and invited a group of the fledgling colony’s Native American allies, including the Wampanoag chief Massasoit. The three-day festival is now remembered as America’s “first Thanksgiving”—though the Pilgrims might not have used the term at the time. No record exists of the first Thanksgiving’s exact menu. Much of what we know about what happened at the first Thanksgiving comes from Pilgrim chronicler Edward Winslow, who wrote:

“Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together, after we had gathered the fruits of our labors; they four in one day killed as much fowl, as with a little help beside, served the Company almost a week, at which time amongst other Recreations, we exercised our Arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five Deer, which they brought to the Plantation and bestowed on our Governor, and upon the Captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful, as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.”

Historians have suggested that many of the dishes were likely prepared using traditional Native American spices and cooking methods. Because the Pilgrims had no oven and the Mayflower’s sugar supply had dwindled by the fall of 1621, the meal did not feature pies, cakes or other desserts, which have become a hallmark of contemporary celebrations.

https://www.history.com/articles/history-of-thanksgiving

There is always more to the story than the little plays by school children.

I’m done trying to educate for the day….

I am most thankful for the great people that have taken time to visit and comment here on IST……Thank you all so very much…..

I hope everyone has a wonderful day of food, family, fun and if you are a sports fan, football….please also to always Be Careful and Be Safe….

Peace out my friends.

I Read, I Write, You KNow

“lego ergo scribo”

Free Speech….Where Does It Go?

Most all Americans cherish our rights under the Constitution and among those rights are religion, protest and free speech…..but the one that is our biggest advantage is that of free speech….but is it?

It appears that many Americans think the whole right to free speech thing is headed in the wrong direction….

An overwhelming majority of Americans believe freedom of speech is headed in the wrong direction, according to a new poll.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), through its National Speech Index, tracks attitudes toward free speech on a quarterly basis. The latest tracking shows that 74% of Americans believe things are headed in the wrong direction when it comes to free speech. Only 26% believe things are headed in the right direction.

The group says there has been a 10% increase since July in the number of Americans who believe free speech is headed in the wrong direction.

The index, which began tracking attitudes toward free speech in January 2024, has shown political shifts, where Republicans’ attitude shifted in a positive direction around the time President Donald Trump was elected for a second term; however, they have dropped from 69% in July to 55% in October, believing free speech was headed in the right direction.

https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/poll-majority-believe-free-speech-us-headed-wrong-direction

It appears that we all love the right to free speech that is until someone uses it and then all Hell breaks loose.

Personally I believe that this country needs free speech and any effort to curb that right needs to be shutdown immediately.

We need that right to survive.

For at least the past half-century, Americans have been committed to a “free speech principle,” holding that speech is to be encouraged because it serves to produce knowledge, to enable the development of personal autonomy, and to facilitate the self-governance of the nation. In this essay, I argue that any such abstract free speech principle is fundamentally misguided. The value of speech is instead the value of the social practice within which speech occurs. Speech is to be encouraged when it advances the purpose of the social practice in which it is embedded. For constitutional purposes, the most important social practice established by communication is the public sphere, whose development in the eighteenth century made possible democratic self-governance. The health of a democracy depends upon whether its public sphere can produce a public opinion capable of legitimating the state. This turns on the quality of a nation’s politics, not on the quantity of its speech. Americans who conceptualize the current crisis as requiring rededication to the free speech principle thus essentially misdiagnose the nature of our contemporary emergency. We need to repair our politics, not our speech.

https://www.amacad.org/publication/daedalus/unfortunate-consequences-misguided-free-speech-principle

What do you think is happening with our right to free speech?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Ukraine Back In The News

AS this year draws to a conclusion and all the work being done with the conflict….is there any hope of some sort of deal before Christmas….a Christmas miracle if you will.

Some say we are closing in on a deal….but how many times have we heard that particular piece of manure?

Ukrainian officials made significant changes to a US-drafted peace deal during negotiations with their US counterparts in Geneva on Sunday, The Guardian has reported.

The original 28-point plan leaked to the media was substantially altered during the talks, led by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the US side and Andriy Yermak, a senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on the Ukrainian side, and was reduced to 19 points.

“As of now, after Geneva, there are fewer points, no longer 28, and many correct elements have been incorporated into this framework,” Zelensky said on Monday.

It’s unclear exactly what changes were made to the plan, but the main objections from Ukrainian officials and their European backers were the provisions requiring Ukraine to cede territory it controls in the Donbas to Russia and the guarantees that Ukraine won’t ever join NATO.

According to a report from the Financial Times, the US and Ukrainian officials left the most sensitive details, including territorial lines and Ukraine’s relationship with NATO, to be decided by Zelensky and President Trump, who are expected to meet soon.

(antiwar.com)

Ukraine will head to DC to meet with what-his-name soon…..according to reports….

It looks like a deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war is genuinely close—at least on Ukraine’s end. CBS News and the BBC report that Ukraine has agreed in principle to a US-brokered peace deal after lengthy talks. The development comes after the US and Ukraine “significantly changed” the original 28-point plan, which was widely seen as favorable to Russia, per the Washington Post. The question now is whether Moscow will accept the new terms. No details were released on the latest version of the peace plan, particularly on the thorniest issue of all: territorial concessions.

However, “many of the controversial provisions were either softened or at least reshaped,” Oleksandr Bevz, part of the Ukrainian team, tells the Post. A US official tells CBS that “there are some minor details to be sorted out, but they have agreed to a peace deal,” referring to Ukraine. Meanwhile, US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is reportedly in Abu Dhabi to meet with Russian officials about the deal.

Of course his majesty has to weigh in…..

President Trump announced Tuesday that his administration has made significant progress toward a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, with only “a few remaining points of disagreement” to be resolved. Trump said he has dispatched special envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, while Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll will meet separately with Ukrainian officials, CNN reports. Trump indicated he may meet with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but only when a deal is nearly finalized.

  • “I will be briefed on all progress made, along with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “I look forward to hopefully meeting with President Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but ONLY when the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages.”

Trump highlighted the progress on a US-drafted 28-point peace plan, which he said has been “fine-tuned, with additional input from both sides.” “I think we’re getting very close to a deal. We’ll find out,” Trump said during the White House turkey pardon on Tuesday, per the AP. “I thought that would have been an easier one, but I think we’re making progress,” he said. One key sticking point appears to be Ukraine’s potential NATO membership, a demand the initial proposal asked Ukraine to abandon.

Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told CNN that Ukraine may need to signal it won’t seek NATO membership for now but warned that peace should not come “through surrender.” He said Ukraine will join the European Union instead, “which probably makes more sense at this point.” Ukrainian officials have called the NATO demand unacceptable, though Panetta believes a workable compromise is possible.

  • Zelensky, for his part, said his country’s negotiating team is making progress but that Russia’s war against Ukraine continues. “Every day, Russia kills our people on the front lines and attacks our cities and energy infrastructure,” he said in a post on X after at least seven people were killed in strikes on Kyiv.
  • European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron echoed concerns about Russia’s intentions, with Macron accusing Moscow of “pretending it wanted peace” while continuing attacks.
  • Russia, meanwhile, signaled that it might resist changes to the plan, with foreign minister Sergey Lavrov saying it would be a “fundamentally different situation” if the changes “erased” the agreements made during Trump’s summit with Putin in Alaska, New York Times reports.

I hope that they are truly finding a path to end this conflict….but we have heard too many times that a deal was close…..so please forgive me if I await a signed deal before I give anyone an ‘ata boy’….

I Read, I Write, You KNow

“lego ergo scribo”

Uncle Don On Healthcare

The GOP has no idea or inclination to do anything about the shoddy healthcare here3 in the US….but never fear Uncle Don has a plan (he always has a plan)….

The White House is circulating a proposal that would extend subsidies to help consumers pay for coverage under the Affordable Care Act for two more years, as millions of Americans face spiking health care costs when the current tax credits are set to expire at the end of the year, the AP reports. The draft plan suggests that President Trump is open to extending a provision of Obamacare as his administration and congressional Republicans search for a broader policy solution to a fight that has long flummoxed the party. The White House stresses that no plan is final until Trump announces it. The subsidies were at the heart of the Democrats’ demands in the government shutdown fight that ended earlier this month. Most Democratic lawmakers had insisted on a straight extension of the tax credits as a condition of keeping the government open.

Eligibility for the Obamacare subsidies, which were put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic to help people afford health care coverage, would be capped at 700% of the federal poverty level, according to two people with knowledge of the proposal. The baseline tax credits that were originally part of the Affordable Care Act were capped at 400% of the federal poverty level, but that cut-off was suspended because of the temporary COVID-era credits that allowed middle- and higher-income people to benefit from subsidies too. The White House would also require those on Obamacare, regardless of the type of coverage, to pay some sort of premium for their Obamacare plans. That would effectively end zero-premium plans for those with lower incomes, addressing a concern from Republicans that the program has enabled fraud.

As the White House worked quietly on its plan, led by the Domestic Policy Council, key lawmakers on Capitol Hill have drafted their own proposals. For instance, Florida Sen. Rick Scott, Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy and others have proposed various ideas for redirecting the program’s spending on federal subsidies into health savings accounts that enrollees could use to shop for plans or defray out-of-pocket costs. Scott’s plan has been discussed with the White House multiple times since it was released Thursday, according to a person familiar not authorized to discuss the private conversations. Sources tell CNN that some Republicans are “balking” at Trump’s plan even though it has yet to be officially released, and that the administration delayed announcing the plan due to the GOP pushback.

Cool.

Buy why the push back on the ACA after demonizing it for years?

I think the two big issues in the upcoming mid-terms will be healthcare and economics….so is Donny trying to get a jump on the competition?

I see the GOP is pouting that Donny has de4cided to travel this route….will the party of hate win in the end?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Continuing Saga Of MTG

I have been watching and writing about the 180 turn by conservative firebrand, Georgia’s MTG….and new over the weekend has come with a bit of surprise.

MTG and Uncle Don have been sniping at each other for about a month and now he, Donny, may soon be rid of the thorn in his butt.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a once-loyal supporter of President Trump who has become a critic, said Friday she is resigning from Congress in January. Greene, in a more than 10-minute video posted online, explained her decision and said she’s “always been despised in Washington, D.C., and just never fit in.” Greene’s resignation followed a public fallout with Trump in recent months, reports the AP, as the congresswoman criticized him for his stance on files related to Jeffrey Epstein, along with foreign policy and health care.
Trump branded her a “traitor” and “wacky” and said he would endorse a challenger against her when she ran for reelection next year.

Greene said her last day would be Jan. 5, 2026. The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Friday night. Greene had been closely tied to the Republican president since she launched her political career in 2020. In her video, she underscored her longtime loyalty to Trump except on a few issues, and said it was “unfair and wrong” that he attacked her for disagreeing. “Loyalty should be a two-way street and we should be able to vote our conscience and represent our district’s interest, because our job title is literally ‘representative,'” she said.

Greene swept to office at the forefront of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement and swiftly became a lightning rod on Capitol Hill for her often beyond-mainstream views. As she embraced the QAnon conspiracy theory and appeared with white supremacists, Greene was opposed by party leaders but welcomed by Trump. He called her “a real WINNER!” Yet over time she proved a deft legislator, having aligned herself with then-GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, who would go on to become House speaker. She was a trusted voice on the right flank, until McCarthy was ousted in 2023.

More news on this front….https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj4qx1lenvjo

I will be sorry to see her go for she was the only thing in the GOP that was interesting.

I seldom agreed with her on much but at least she took a stand and it has cost her.

She could have been the voice of reason (I know it is hard to say that) maybe even led the anti-Trump movement….

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Trump acolyte-turned-nemesis who bested him over the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, stunned the political establishment again. In what should have been her hour of triumph, the Maga star abruptly announced that she was quitting the House of Representatives.

Everyone seemed surprised but one man was very happy. “I think it’s great news for the country,” Trump told ABC News. “It’s great.”

It was also great news for a president having the worst month of his second term. Trump’s approval rating is in freefall. Democrats romped to victory in elections. Unthinkably, even the Republican party is finding a spine, defying him on the Epstein files, Senate filibuster and congressional redistricting in Indiana.

They know that every day takes Trump a little further away from his epic comeback victory in 2024 and a little closer to the status of a lame duck. Watching the limelight and cameras shift from the Oval Office to his would-be successors may be too much for him to bear.

But Greene’s departure shows all that may be wishful thinking for now. In one timeline, she could have used the Epstein win as the foundation of an anti-Trump resistance in the Republican ranks. The party has spent the past decade demonstrating that cowardice is contagious; perhaps the courage to reassert congressional autonomy would be too.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/22/marjorie-taylor-greene-anti-trump-republican-analysis

After her ‘come to Jesus’ moment and decided that Donny was not all that she decided to resign…..but why?

Greene resigned for various reasons, but in her lengthy statement, she cited Trump’s recent attacks against her, the recent 43-day government shutdown and the failure of both parties to lower the rising costs of living in America behind her decision to step down.

“I have too much self-respect and dignity, love my family way too much, and do not want my sweet district to have to endure a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the president we all fought for, only to fight and win my election while Republicans will likely lose the midterms,” Greene wrote, in part. “And in turn, be expected to defend the president against impeachment after he hatefully dumped tens of millions of dollars against me and tried to destroy me.”

She continued, “No matter which way the political pendulum swings, Republican or Democrat, nothing ever gets better for the common American man or woman. The debt goes higher. Corporate and global interests remain Washington’s sweethearts. American jobs continue to be replaced, whether it’s by illegal labor or legal labor by visas or just shipped overseas. Small businesses continue to be swallowed by big corporations. Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars always fund foreign wars, foreign aid, and foreign interests.”

Forgive me but I am not buying this excuse….there is something more to this situation than we know….but what is it?

I am not saying I disagree with her statement….just why did it take so long to come to that decision?

There is something more afoot with this….could it be a presidential aspiration?

Marjorie Taylor Greene’s surprise decision to leave Congress in January has prompted an obvious question: So what’s next? In her announcement video, the Georgia congresswoman insisted her decision is all about her disillusionment with politics and is not a “4-D chess game,” per the Georgia Recorder. Not everybody is so sure.

  • Time, quoting five sources, reports Greene has told allies she is considering a presidential run in 2028. Two of the unnamed sources say Greene has spoken to them directly about it.
  • It’s way too early to suss out her prospects, but the story suggests she could follow the model of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the last campaign: “a candidate capable of siphoning off votes from the GOP nominee, positioning her to leverage that political capital into a possible role within a future Republican administration.”
  • Greene’s move comes after her very public rift with President Trump, whom she has accused of betraying his base on a range of issues. Though the president publicly disowned Greene and called her “wacky,” he sounded a somewhat different note on Saturday. Trump told NBC News he would “love” to see Greene revive her political career after January, though he added that “it’s not going to be easy for her.” In the meantime, he said, “she’s got to take a little rest.”
  • Some Democrats see a 2028 Greene run as a realistic possibility as a post-Trump Republican party begins to take shape. “If you’d asked me three months ago, I would have said JD Vance is going to be the nominee of the Republican Party, and now, I think, it could be Marjorie Taylor Greene and it could be Marco Rubio and it could be someone we aren’t even talking about,” Rep. Ro Khanna tells the New York Times. “They have gone from a consolidation around Trump to a serious consideration of a post-Trump future.”
  • Vanity Fair was wondering about Greene’s future days before her resignation announcement. Greene was asked directly three times in the interview whether she was planning a 2028 candidacy. She provided indirect answers the first two times, including, “I have never said I was running for president.” Asked the third time, she responded, “Uh, I am not considering running for president. I’m literally trying with every soul in my body to just do this current job.” That will no longer be a concern in two months.

MTG has generated more press  lately than she has over her tenure of hateful politics…..

I still think there is more shoes to fall.

Thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”