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Thu, Feb 26, 2026

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From My Mind to....

by JACE says Thank You!

Rated: GC · Book · Personal · #1503918

A blog of no uncertain musings. What goes on in my mind is often a source of wonder to me.

My mind and my life are wondrous things ... as are yours, I'm sure. I have more slips of paper and pages of notebooks with musings and thoughts than I really know what to do with. Someone, actually several someones, have suggested I start a blog ... or a journal as a means of focusing some of this mental energy.

To be honest, I don't even know what the difference between a 'journal' and 'blog' is--or if there even is a difference. Read on, my friends, and you can judge for yourself whether it even matters.

And so ....

Mee at my daughter's wedding.

I'm JACE. Yep ... that's me! And somewhere in all my writings my last name may be posted. But I'll just leave it at Jace for right now. I'm 71 years old and heading full tilt to 72. It's strange that while I'm going through some rather serious medical issues, I still consider myself to be in the prime of my life--pretty good shape physically AND mentally, though I don't run for competition anymore

. I love to ... dang, if I put this stuff here, I won't have anything for my blog.

Guess you just have to be patient until such stuff leaks out.

Perhaps 2026, having embraced my retirement, will see more participation in my journaling efforts.

Well, one can hope....

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Elisa, Stik of Clubs

about 9 hours ago
In response to "The Political Future"

I think the last line also doesn't acknowledge how this kind of twisting of leadership has happened in the US before. I have found that reading The Edgy Optimist by Zach Karabell helps people in the US find parallels between the current state of affairs and past history. Seeing these parallels and recognizing we as a society have been able to deal with them in the past can ease any creeping sense of nihilism that the current administration find beneficial. Are things rough? They sure are. I still have aural hallucinations of helicopters flying over my condo building as a part of the surge. However, I know that keeping going is necessary and proper at a time like this. Doing our due diligence in the face of (potential) bleakness is a story repeated time and time again in our country's truly wild history. Sometimes we need reminders of that fact of life.

1 Like

JACE says Thank You!

about 11 hours ago
In response to "The Political Future"

Davy Kraken

- I had tried to soften my statement by using 'rather'--not perhaps the smartest use of my words. All is NOT lost, in my opinion. I believe the Dems will take the mid-terms, but not before Republicans wreak havoc on the country in ways we might not see now. The Constitution is a document that has been bent before. I just hope it will not be broken under the Republicans.

The Democrats who attended the SOTU were in an impossible situation. My wife and I argued whether the Dems should have stood at that point. I said no--they had to stick to their principles. Frankly, I thought Greene yelling at Biden two years ago, and the two Dem women yelling at Trump this year were all out of order. The American public should expect more decorum from their elected representatives. That especially includes the President.

Jim

- Every president has had shortcomings within their administration. You can't please everyone. But, I thought I'd mention a few bills under Biden:

1. The American Relief Plan, a $1.9 trillion COVID relief package passed in Mar 2021 designed to help every American.

2. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a $550 billion law designed to help all Americans by investing in roads, bridges, water systems, rail and broadband.

3. CHIPS and Science Act, authorized large federal subsidies and incentives for domestic semiconductor research and manufacturing.

There were other bills. My point is these bills were for the benefit of all citizens, not just the very wealthy. The Tax cuts in 2017 and in the 'Big Beautiful Bill' in 2025 arguably did little to help the average and lower income citizens.

I agree that both Trump and Biden added significantly to the National Debt during their administrations. That debt is already $2.2 trillion higher in Trump's first year of his second term.

2 Like

Davy Kraken

about 15 hours ago
In response to "The Political Future"

Jim

, when you state, “I can't say the Dems won any love from me by not standing last night,” you’re very likely referring to this line that Trump spoke, which is the one I’ve heard referenced the most in this regard:

“The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.”

Now, there are many things that I will criticize the Democrats for, but not standing and giving thunderous applause for this statement is not one of them.

The first duty of the United States government is—or, at least, should be—to uphold the Constitution; protecting American citizens is simply something that naturally follows from doing that. But just because someone is not an American citizen—even if they’re not authorized to be in the country—doesn’t mean they don’t have basic rights, like due process, that shouldn’t be protected when they’re within the United States borders.

This is a false dichotomy, the notion that protecting American citizens and protecting “illegal aliens” are somehow at odds with each other. It strongly suggests that unauthorized migrants are consistently, uniquely dangerous individuals. Are there some who have committed violent crimes, including murdering US citizens? Yes, and Trump cherry picks many of those instances to suit his narrative. But this is a huge country, and you will find some criminals among any demographic; it’s just much easier to stigmatize groups with smaller numbers and/or political power. The vast majority of unauthorized migrants are peaceful, hardworking people who are otherwise law abiding, and who would be happy to enter the country “legally” if we didn’t have such a complex, restrictive, broken immigration system. Data actually shows that immigrants commit fewer crimes than those born in the US.

Even if Trump had spoken this line in his address last year (which was not technically considered a State of the Union speech), it may have received similar silence from the Democrats in the chamber, but the fact that we have had over a year of Trump’s second term to see so many in this country brutalized by “immigration enforcement,” up to and including being killed by the federal government—even legal immigrants and, yes, American citizens too—makes the claim of just wanting to protect US citizens all the more hollow.

So, while Trump’s declaration may seem like self-evident “common sense” at first glance, something that only a person who doesn’t love America wouldn’t cheer, it quickly falls apart, especially after considering all the context. As I said to Jace, this administration wants us divided and weak, and this is a perfect example of a statement that’s meant to divide “us” from “them,” whether by its subject of citizenship status or the way people react to it, forcing everyone to “pick a side” by design. Well, I’ve chosen my side, and it's the side of the Constitution.

3 Like

Davy Kraken

about 16 hours ago
In response to "The Political Future"

Frankly, the political future of the US looks rather bleak to me.

I’m inclined to disagree. The special elections that have been held so far in 2025 and 2026 have shown voters shifting massively away from the current iteration of the Republican Party. In one Texas state senate seat, for example, the Democrat won by 14 points in a district that voted for Donald Trump by 17 points in 2024. That’s a swing of more than 30 points.

That doesn’t mean that I believe things are going to be great in the immediate future, and that it’s not going to take some time to build back a lot of international goodwill that has been needlessly squandered. But I believe that we can come back from this, perhaps even better than before, as long as we don’t lose hope and give up, which is exactly this administration’s goal: they want us divided and weak. I realize you’re not exactly saying “all is lost” here, but that’s the conclusion that many have arrived at when following this line of thought.

There are a number of organizations and publications trying to counter this and keep people talking to one another, such as Braver Angels, Leaving MAGA, or Tangle; I’m a paid subscriber to Tangle myself. MAGA is often painted as a “cult,” in the sense that so many people who follow it are believed to be brainwashed. But even when people in that environment start thinking clearly and want to escape that mindset, then just like a cult that made you cut ties with with the rest of your life, or other abusive relationships, it can be extremely difficult to dislodge oneself when most if not all of someone’s social support system—family, friends, church, etc.—are still in its thrall. So we—especially those of us who have been least directly affected by this administration’s policies—need to offer a place to land.

1 Like

Jeff

a day ago
In response to "The Political Future"

Last night's speech definitely veered into "who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?" territory. People see signs of the true state of the economy every day: when they buy groceries, or stop at the gas station, or get a bill from insurance for a medical visit. Historically speaking, presidents who tell people the economy is doing great when it doesn't feel that way lose popularity quickly. The last guy in the Oval Office made that mistake, and now Trump is making it too.

Jim

a day ago
In response to "The Political Future"

JACE says Thank You!

I agree about the Political Future of the US. It's been looking bleak for over 20 years now (or longer), IMHO. Politicians no longer look to serve in office. They view being elected as a road to riches. I won't quote anything here, but look at the wealth of some politicians before being elected, and look at it now. Yes, I realize some is due to wise investing, but geez, when can you stop believing that their wealth has been gained thru wise investing, instead gained by other means?

I saw a cartoon yesterday and should have saved it. It was something the whole world (Except the US) calls bribes, bribes. In the US though, it's called Lobbying. I agree 100% on that one.

I don't like President Trump as a man, he exaggerates all the time, and is a consummate liar. But I'd rather have him in office than his predecessor. I still try and think of one good thing Joe Biden did for us while in office, and draw a blank every time. Maybe the best thing he did was to take over a year of Vacation while in office! Which makes me wonder, who really ran the country during his term? I don't believe it was him, he was nothing more than a Puppet. Just MHO in all this.

As far as Democrats or Republicans go, I don't know who to believe anymore. I can't say the Dems won any love from me by not standing last night. Everyone else did, except the Dems. It was toward the end, that's all I remember. I didn't watch it all though, Kathy did. We don't want to get her going though, she is a staunch Republican, I'm sort of on the fence. I guess you could say Libertarian since I'll vote for who I want. No party lines for me.

StephBee

Feb 23, 2026 at 10:25am
In response to "I Won a Quills Award"

Congrats Jace! Well earned! Ditto what Amethyst Agape Angel ♡

said. Your presence here on the site has profound and felt.

1 Like

Amethyst Agape Angel ♡

Feb 23, 2026 at 9:12am
In response to "I Won a Quills Award"

All honors to you, sir, and to the Quills Team for their excellent choice. You've been here far longer than most of us, and have shaped the course of the site in ways we don't even realize.

StephBee

Feb 19, 2026 at 1:58pm
In response to "Genre Settings Are Three"

I try to use all 3 as well, but sometimes I come up short. Most of mine have 3. Good tips, Jace!

BIG BAD WOLF is Lucky

Feb 19, 2026 at 9:34am
In response to "Genre Settings Are Three"

Personally, I use all three to try to get views and reviews. Of course, most of my stories have been placed in an anthology-like book lately....

1 Like

February 25, 2026 at 11:40am

#1109240

The Political Future

I admit it! I didn't watch all one hour, forty-eight minutes of the State Of The Union (SOTU) address last night. I mean there's only so much abuse one's mind can accept. I applaud those who watched the entire debacle.

I'm pretty sure the forty-five minutes I watched could have be placed on a loop and a viewer would have seen nothing new.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said in an interview after the SOTU that a Democratic victory in the mid-term elections would in effect mark the end of the Donald J. Trump presidency. While I will embrace that potential result, I fear the "scorched earth" policy sure to happen among what powers the President and his Cabinet are sure to seize and implement. More than they're doing currently.

Permit me to unpack a few of the president's untruths:

Gas Prices: He said: Prices are "now below $2.30 per gallon in most states, and in some places below $1.99."

Reality: As of Feb 24, only four states--Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi and Kansas--had a statewide average gasoline cost at or below $2.50, with Oklahoma at $2.37. According to Gas Buddy only five of 150,000 stations had a price of $1.99.

Grocery Prices: He said: Costs are down, including several grocery prices, like beef."

Reality: Costs are up across the board. Some grocery costs, like orange juice are up 30%, beef up 15%, coffee up almost 20%, and frozen fish up almost 9%. Food prices are expected to rise in 2025 by 3.3-3.4%, more than last year.

Medicare: He said: "I will always protect Medicare and Medicaid."

Reality: His 'Big Beautiful Bill' stripped away funding to Medicare, resulting in some 14 million people losing healthcare coverage. Millions more have seen their healthcare coverage costs double or more. Rural hospitals have closed because they have no funding.

In truth, I'm relying on the fact-checking of other agencies with these figures. Some of them I looked up online; some of these prices I've seen first-hand, such as gas and groceries.

Yesterday alone, I saw gas prices here jump from $2.35 to $2.69 per gallon ... in ONE DAY. And that was in an area from Lebanon to Springfield, MO. Not just 5 or 10 cents. Prices certainly don't come back down by 35 cents a day. Now I can't say that the prices jumped like this because of the SOTU address.

But I can't think of any one thing that happened to cause such a jump.

Oh, wait a minute--how about the US seizing oil tankers from Venezuela. Or, staging a military force in the Middle East at a level not seen since the Gulf War in 2003. Or, watching the European Union and Canada shut the US out of any trade deals by finding alternate sources. Or, the President throwing a fit because the Supreme Court stuck down his tariffs as a tax on the people, resulting in him imposing 15% tariffs on global imports to the US. (Note: he actually reduced that to 10% today.)

Guess who's going to see a reduction in the items we get from abroad, and an increase in cost of those items we get?

Until about 2015, I considered myself a Republican. I didn't agree with every tenet of the Republican Party. But I embraced most of them. But there was something about Donald J. Trump I didn't quite believe. Perhaps it was his TV show. He didn't come across as 'presidential.' Not then, and certainly not now. Color my kids very surprised when I voted Democrat.

Lately, I've seen some spine in some of the Republican congressional members. Not as many as I'd like to see. But it gives me hope that the Republican party may still exist. The party as it exists now is a non-starter for me.

Frankly, the political future of the US looks rather bleak to me.

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