Well, there he goes again. 47 came out and embarrassed himself and this country in front of Xi Jinping. 47 kept on about the great friendship between China and the US. Xi pointed out that CHINA, and not the US, is now the world’s leader. He told Donny just to accept his new position and they could avoid the “Thucididas Trap,” an academic theory that competition between a rising power and an established one often results in war. Donny just sat there, grinning like the idiot he is. He’s been voluntarily surrendering US leads in pretty much every area, though, so it’s easy for him to sit quietly while Xi tells him to sit quietly.

Donny said the Chinese leader is in full agreement with him that AI doesn’t need no stinkin’ regulation, just before Xi emphasized the need for human control. I wasn’t there, of course, but it looks from the outside like very little got done. Donny had a chance to publicly swoon over Xi and try to fluff him a little. Xi mostly looked like a bored little Winnie-the-Pooh. I’m not sure more got done than pageantry. That’s the Drumpfster all over, though, isn’t it? All pageantry, no substance.

There was a state dinner which the big tech bros all attended, likely the true reason for the summit in the first place. Hyper rich people got to meet Xi. A little glad-handing, a little profuse fawning, maybe some casual talk of business. Opportunities, people. I suppose it doesn’t hurt to have a relationship with the new leader of the world…

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It feels like Starbucks’ vicious management techniques are having an effect on the Starbucks mystique. Their workers, “Baristas,” felt the need to unionize. They voted on it. The union won. Starbucks has pretty much refused to negotiate with the workers. That information started becoming public. Last September, Starbucks closed 627 stores. This September, they’re closing 250 more. As far as I’m concerned, if they’re not going to take care of their employees, they can close them all…

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Gavin Newsom gave an interview in which he said Americans have to come out to vote in such overwhelming numbers that the National Embarrassment “couldn’t possibly contest” the outcome. I’m not sure Newsom is paying attention. The election could go 174 million to one and Donny would STILL contest the outcome and cry and whine about all the cheating. To be clear, the only cheating that will be occurring in this upcoming election will be done by Republicans, for Republicans.

And Donny sure is trying, isn’t he? His buddies on the Robert’s Supremely Corrupt Kangaroo Court have done what they can to help him, though, admittedly, it hasn’t been much. The Demented Dotard wanted to eliminate mail-in ballots or at least as many as he could. He has never tried to eliminate his own mail-in ballot. The way high court wouldn’t let him. But they have let him use a database to determine whether a given voter is a citizen or not. That was hailed as a “big win” for the Dumbass, but was it?

It’s expected that the ruling likely will have limited impact on the November midterms. Federal law, you see, restricts most states from systematically removing voters from rolls within 90 days of an election and the election is only 38 days away. Besides, the use of this database is voluntary for states. Oh, but he’s trying.

38 days away. The closer we get, the more desperate he gets. I can’t help but think he’s got something up his sleeve. I’m not saying whatever he tries will work, but he’ll try something. He has very little choice. I should be comforted, knowing a Democratic House can stop (or at least slow) the trump crime family. But Donny’s desperate and the more desperate he becomes, the more dangerous he becomes…

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Today in history, Thomas Jefferson was appointed the first US secretary of state in 1789. George Washington was setting up the first government under this constitution. I just thought I’d mention it as we watch our once-great nation circle the drain toward it’s ignominious end.

Speaking of Jefferson, a letter he wrote a friend in 1787 has been offered for sale. In it, Jefferson writes, “Peace should be our plan, and the payment of our debts, improvement of our constitutions and extension of agriculture our principal objects.” That’s kind of slap in the face to Donny, isn’t it? He doesn’t do ANY of those things and, oh, hey look – the nation is failing. Pretty prescient, there Thom…

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When the House first finally settled for the duplicitous MAGA Mike, the Johnson – after trying almost anybody else – he went for an interview with Fox Not-News’ Sean Hannity where he said, “People are curious, ‘What does Mike Johnson think about any issue under the sun? I say, ‘Well, go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it. That’s my worldview.'” That statement, on it’s own, kind of proved that the Bible does NOT represent his worldview.

It was a lie and according to the book he referenced, one is not supposed to lie. I mention it because of this: if the Dems go ahead and win the House in the upcoming mid-terms, we not only interfere with the trump crime family, we get rid of MAGA Mike, the Johnson as House Speaker. It’s a two-fer.

I’ve long held that over time in any hierarchy, the very worst people move to the top. The reason is simple. Decent people tend to self-select out. If I have ethics (and I do) and someone asks me to do an unethical thing in return for some consideration, I’m passing on the consideration. I count my ethics more important. But not everybody feels that way.

And people who don’t feel that way just think me a fool and do whatever they need to do to gain that promotion or payment or whatever other consideration was promised. Only the worst people are willing to do whatever it takes, good or bad, to get ahead. Because the worst people are the most willing, they tend to rise higher than others.

All one has to do is look around. You can see it everywhere. MAGA Mike is one very prominent example. Currently, what is thought of as the highest office in the land, the Oval Office, is occupied by possibly the worst human being alive today. That’s a tough call. There are plenty of bad people. He’s certainly the worst President the nation has ever suffered, by far. And he has achieved that lofty goal because he has no shame.

Sadly, it’s an extremely solid observation. The worst people rise to the top of hierarchies. It happens over and over and over again. The thing is, I’ve never figured out a way to stop that from happening. That’s a rather frustrating quandary. But we have a chance to get rid of at least one of these horrible humans in this next election. I sure hope we can do it…