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Here's Something Trump Can Hang His Name On

8/30/2026

Now, it's pretty clear that Donald Trump doesn't much care about inflation,

...gas prices,

...the housing affordability crisis, the health care affordability crisis, our strained and aged electrical grid, citizens' concerns about the proliferation of AI and data centers,

...the plight of the sailors suffering horrendous conditions on board U.S. Navy vessels,

...or, really, any of the issues that are currently impacting the lives of Americans.
But it's crystal clear that what Donald Trump dearly cares about, what he cares about above all else - besides accruing personal wealth, that is - he's doubled his fortune to six and a half billion dollars during the first year of his second term - is seeing his name, image and likeness on things.
It wasn't enough for Trump to stick his name on his condos, hotels, resorts, golf courses, and the countless gewgaws he's come up with and continues to come up with to put his name on and hawk to the American public.

But since his return to the White House Donald Trump has been using the power of the Presidency and wasting mind-boggling amounts of taxpayers' money to plaster his name and image on U.S. government documents, programs and buildings.
There's Trump Rx and Trump Accounts and the Trump Gold Card that grants a U.S. Green Card to anyone willing to fork over $1 million for one.

There are the forthcoming projects that Trump has named after himself: the Trump-class battle ship, the Boeing F-47 (get it? 47?), the Arc de Trump, a massive structure that would destroy the Washington D.C. landscape,

...and, of course, his notorious mess of a 90,000 square foot, 400 million dollar Donald J. Trump Ballroom that already has.

 Then there are the banners of himself that he's hung on federal buildings,

...and the pictures of himself he's put on our U.S. park passes,

...passports,

...and his signature that will soon replace that of the Secretary of the Treasury on our U.S. currency.

And there are Donald Trump's attempts, aborted so far, to get New York Penn Station and Dulles International Airport renamed for him, and, what must be a dreadful disappointment, a judge's recent order that Trump's name had to be removed from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

But here's an idea. How about if, in exchange for taking Trump's name off the Kennedy Center, his name be put instead on something else, something very much a part of the contemporary American experience that deserves without a doubt to bear Donald Trump's name:
A Food and Drug Administration Food Traceability Rule was scheduled to go into effect last January. This law would have required all food-related businesses to track the supply chain of high-risk foods, such as leafy lettuces, in order to immediately remove any contaminated food from the system and prevent outbreaks of food-borne illnesses.
But Donald Trump put that rule on hold until mid-2028. This move, in addition to the rolling back of food safety regulations, the cutting of food safety programs, the laying off of food inspectors and the wholesale gutting of the Food and Drug Administration under Trump's Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,

...is the reason that the United States is currently experiencing the largest outbreak of Cyclosporiasis in our country's history, with tens of thousands of Americans sickened so far.
And so, in honor of their roll in the outbreak and continuing proliferation of this illness, I hereby move that its name be changed from Cyclosporiasis to Trumpkennedyasses.
And there can even be a commemorative banner available at The Trump Store for $99.99.

References:
https://www.newsweek.com/cyclospora-lettuce-update-fda-issues-strongest-warning-adds-3-more-states-12378332

https://www.fox13news.com/news/lettuce-linked-cyclosporiasis-outbreak-expands-3-more-states

https://www.npr.org/2026/08/20/nx-s1-5930462/trump-health-foodborne-illness-outbreak-cyclospora

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/15/health/cyclospora-invesigation-fda.html

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We Can't All Do What Dolly Parton Did, But...

8/26/2026

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We can't all do what Dolly Parton did.

 We can't all sing. We can't all play the guitar. We can't all compose music.

We can't all act.

We can't all write books.

We're not all gifted with a galaxy of desirable talents driven by a prodigious capacity for work. We can't all earn hundreds of millions of dollars and we can't all build commercial and philanthropic empires.

We can't all give away as much as we earn.

We're not all wired to be kind, generous, and perennial spreaders of joy.

We don't all have superstar charisma.

We don't all have the support, the brains, the confidence, the inner fire, the opportunity and the magical, metaphysical, indescribable secret sauce to reach our highest potential. We can't all work until the day we die.

In fact, none of us can do everything Dolly Parton did.
But there is one thing Dolly Parton did that we can all do, something Dolly in her own words directed us to do, the one thing that ultimately directed her own life:
"If you are in a position to help someone, you should do it."
From now on I'll try, Dolly.

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The 2026 Ohio State Fair Was Better Than Ever

8/21/2026

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There's much to love about the Ohio State Fair, cumulatively speaking. That is to say, there's such a constellation of exhibits,

...entertainment,

...food fare,

...commercial buildings,

...and other Ohioesque displays and offerings,

...that there's something for everybody to love, whatever their persuasion.

This year though, I think anyone who visited the State Fair would agree that this year's Fair was better than ever. This was thanks to a number of upgrades had been added, mayhaps in honor of 2026 being the country's semiquincentennial, a theme that played out around the fairgrounds.

There were several major additions and renovations, foremost being a new building called Ohio Showcase,

...which housed a theater that offered a little promotional film about our state,

...and an exhibition hall of Ohio's contributions to the nation and the world.

The exhibition hall presented a panoramic view of the fairgrounds from behind black-dotted safety windows.

In the building there was also a food court of Ohio eateries.

There was a new Ohio Agriculture Center, this one open and bright,

...and air-conditioned for the comfort of the young animals,

...and likely for the comfort of the plants and vegetables, too.

Next to the Agriculture Center was another new building, the Taste of Ohio Food Court.

Smaller but much appreciated additions were the handwashing stations located around the fairgrounds,

...and an even more greatly appreciated upgrade this year was the proliferation of a traditionally scarce Fair commodity: seats and picnic tables,

...which can now be found all around the grounds.

Best of all were the new many-seater picnic tables shaded by giant umbrellas that lined the food midway, so that there was now plenty of seating and shade for everyone.

There were other additions here and there, like bubble tea stands,

...and finally, one quite noticeable subtraction.
For the past few years there's been lots of Donald Trump merchandise for sale in the commercial buildings.

But this year I didn't see one piece of Trump merch anywhere.
This may actually have been the biggest improvement of all at the State Fair.

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A Good Day For A Party

8/17/2026

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A Good Day For A Party

We celebrated Theresa's birthday on Saturday, August 1.

This date was not Theresa's actual birthday, but it was close enough, and since we had some out-of-town relatives visiting, we figured this would be a good day to invite the in-town relatives and some friends, too, for a birthday party. The guest list included a total of 18 adults, kids, and babies.
Since our out-of-towners would need to leave by 4 pm, I wanted to have the party start by noon. But what kind of meal to serve for a crowd at that time of day on a Saturday? Early lunch? Late brunch? I was leaning towards a brunch, but then I remembered that it was just back in June that we'd thrown a birthday bash for Tom,

...and that one had been a brunch,

And with a number of the same relatives in attendance then who would also be coming to Theresa's party,

...I didn't feel that I could in good conscience hoist the same food on the same relatives twice in a row.
And so for this birthday I decided on an early-in-the-day cookout.
With lots of family help we put together a menu of:
Hamburgers
Veggie Burgers
Hot Dogs
Baked Beans
Tater Tots

Macaroni and Cheese

Potato Salad

Black Bean and Corn Salad

Guacamole and Chips

...and Veggies and Dip.

For dessert I ordered a couple of cakes from Giant Eagle, and one of Theresa's friends brought two beautiful pies, a strawberry and a mixed berry crumble, from Westerville Bakery Just Pies.

When the guests had arrived and all the food was set out, we sang Happy Birthday in advance (to indicate that the cakes were fair game from the start), and we dug in.

Earlier in the day we had set up tables and chairs in the backyard so that we could eat outside, but a little before noon the rain started. It was no problem, though, as we sat around the house and ate,

...and played.

Then the rain let up and some of the youngsters dove into a soccer game.

By evening the guests had gone home, and all that was left was a little cleaning up,

...and the memories.

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JoeFest, A Cat Story, Part 3

8/14/2026

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JoeFest, A Cat Story, Part 3

...Continued from yesterday:
My mate Tom and I arrived at Whetstone Park in Clintonville on Saturday at 3:30 pm laden with the corn hole and giant Jenga sets that it had been our job to pick up from the friends of the friends (see previous post).
We wound our way through the park, making a couple of false turns before we finally found the picnic shelter set back in a pleasant grove of shade trees,

Now, the JoeFest committee had been told that another party had reserved the picnic shelter until 4 pm, the time JoeFest was scheduled to start, causing the committee to angst over the prospect of not having the venue ready before folks started arriving for JoeFest.
But to Tom's and my surprise, when we arrived at 3:30 members of the committee were already at work setting up the shelter.
Steph, Michelle, and Theresa, below.

The band, a bluegrass group called The Other Brothers who had generously volunteered to play for the event, was also there warming up,

...and the local Cat Welfare Association was there, too, with their tent and display all in place and ready for visitors.

Apparently the previous group scheduled to use the shelter had either left quite early or cancelled. And so, with the perfect weather and plenty of prep time, JoeFest was off to an auspicious start.
Theresa brought a custom-made string of Joe heads with which to decorate the shelter.

She also brought some Joe coloring pages and crayons,

...kitty stickers,

...and a Joe cutout.

Committee member Steph brought bubbles and little figurine give-aways,

...sidewalk chalk and shiny tabby-orange tablecloths.

Local artist Ryan LaFever made a splendid pastel portrait of Joe for the event.

However, earlier in the day Theresa decided that the Joe portrait needed an easel, so she took it to the local Michael's to see if she could find an easel of the proper size. The framer there informed her that an easel wasn't enough; this being a pastel piece, it shouldn't be exposed to the elements and the public without being enclosed in a glassed-in fame. The framer then was kind enough to do a beautiful emergency framing job for a very reasonable price.

By 4 pm the shelter was decorated, games set up on the grass, and friendly film makers (and spouses) Ian James Milheim and Justine Hope (see previous post) were there to get footage for their current work in progress, a movie about Joe to be called Joe Public.

Allie Vugrincic, afternoon radio host on WOSU, the local NPR affiliate, also showed up to cover JoeFest.

( Here's the link to Ms. Vugrincic's JoeFest segment:
https://www.wosu.org/arts-culture/2026-07-29/absurd-and-wonderful-joe-fest-celebrates-walhalla-ravines-favorite-wandering-orange-cat).

Soon afterward folks began arriving,

...and JoeFest was in full swing.

Then came the much anticipated moment: the arrival of Joe with his cat dad.

Nick Fancher, cat dad of Joe.

Joe, who stayed for about 45 minutes, appeared altogether chill and in his element being surrounded by his admirers.

After Joe left people stayed to enjoy the music and a balmy summer evening in the park.

As it turned out, Theresa's GoFundMe raised enough to cover expenses,

...with enough left over to pay the band and make a contribution to the Cat Welfare Association.
Amazing what a wandering cat can do.

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JoeFest, A Cat Story, Part 2

8/9/2026

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JoeFest, A Cat Story, Part 2

...Continued from yesterday:
When my daughter Theresa first told me several months ago about Joe the cat and JoeFest, a Clintonville community event she was helping organize to celebrate Joe, my first thought was...well, actually, I didn't have any first thought. My brain drew a blank. I was struck thoughtless.
I mean, I couldn't wrap my cerebral cortex around the idea of a party in honor of...a cat? A cat that wanders around the neighborhood? Who would care? Who would come? To me this sounded pretty...unconventional. Even for Clintonville.

But then, I obviously didn't know Clintonville as well as I thought I did. And I didn't know Wanderin Joe the Ravine Cat at all.

However, I kept my misgivings to myself and told Theresa that, sure, I'd come to JoeFest, and certainly, I'd help in anyway she needed me.
As the weeks went by, though, it seemed that what my daughter most needed from me was to be a silent listener upon whom she could bounce the committee's ideas and concerns. Where would they hold JoeFest? On a blocked-off neighborhood street? In a park? In a picnic shelter? Should it be pot luck? Food trucks? BYOFood? Should there be entertainment? Decorations? Games? Would there be costs? How would they finance it?
But week by week JoeFest appeared to be coming together. The event was scheduled for Saturday, July 25 from 4 - 8pm in one of the picnic areas at Clintonville's Whetstone Park of Roses (see previous post). Folks could bring a picnic if they wished. A band had offered to come and play for free. Some friends of friends would lend corn hole sets and giant Jenga blocks. And Theresa launched a Gofundme to cover expenses.
Still, the week before JoeFest was to happen Theresa was having some nerves. On Sunday, July 19, as she, her dad, and I drove for eight hours home from a family reunion on the East Coast, Theresa spent much of the ride ruminating over the details.
Prior to JoeFest there was a party scheduled to use the picnic area from 1 to 4pm. What if they weren't out with the area cleaned up by 4? How would she and the committee even have time to get set up before people started showing up for JoeFest? What if nobody showed up for JoeFest? What if 500 people showed up and it got all crazy? And, worst of all, what if Joe's cat dad wasn't able to get Wanderin Joe to the park? What if there was no Joe at JoeFest?
Furthermore, local filmmakers Ian James Milheim and Justine Hope were working on a documentary about Joe the Cat and were intending to come to JoeFest for footage.

But what if JoeFest was a bust?
Finally I counseled my daughter that sometimes in life you have to just do your best then wait and see how the thing plays out.
As it turned out, a week later this particular thing played out more wonderfully than the JoeFest committee could have hoped.
To be continued...

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JoeFest, A Cat Story: Part 1

8/8/2026

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JoeFest, A Cat Story

 Today being International Cat Day,

...I thought that it would be a fitting day to tell the story of JoeFest.
To understand the story of JoeFest, I think one must first know about Clintonville, the neighborhood north of downtown Columbus, Ohio, where JoeFest took place,

...and where my daughter, Theresa, happens to live.

Now, the main thoroughfare through downtown Columbus is High Street,

...which, as it continues north and becomes North High Street, is also the main thoroughfare through Clintonville.
But, having left the city skyline behind, in Clintonville North High Street is lined rather with a mélange of historic buildings,

...charming eateries, interesting shops, and other business establishments that reflect the community's arty, progressive, bohemian vibe.

Once off North High Street, Clintonville is a tight-knit community of classic houses on tree-lined streets.

Clintonville is also home to lovely outdoor spaces, including the Whetstone Park of Roses,

...and the Walhalla Ravine.

Some residents have turned their yards into nature preserves.

The local deer make themselves perfectly at home in Clintonville,

...as does a certain cat named Joe, who is the principle character of this story.
Joe is a 9-year-old orange tabby and Clintonville resident with a distinctive expression and style.

He is a former indoor cat who one day zipped out of his owners' house and ever since has been spending his days wandering the Clintonville area.
Joe regularly wanders into people's yards,

...and houses.

He wanders into businesses,

...and the local elementary school,

...where he got his picture in the yearbook.

He's crashed music sessions,

...and a wedding.

Folks out walking may find they have a companion,

...and Joe is glad to stop for pettings at every opportunity.

 Joe is basically friendly with everyone.

But apparently what Joe likes best of all is to wander around the Walhalla Ravine,

...sidling up to the Ravine's visitors,

...and occasionally to a Ravine resident.

It became such a source of delight among the Clintonville locals to encounter Joe that someone made a Facebook page entitled "Wandrin Joe the Ravine Cat" to give Joe's followers the opportunity to share their Joe encounters.

Joe currently has 3.2K Facebook followers.
A few months ago several of Joe's followers, my daughter among them, came up with the idea of having a community event to celebrate Clintonville's love of Joe. A committee was formed. "JoeFest" was soon in the planning stage.
To be continued...

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Dr. Fauci In The Hyenas' Den

8/3/2026

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Anthony Fauci, born in 1940, grew up in Brooklyn, New York in an apartment over his parent's drug store where he and his sister helped out. He was the captain of his high school basketball team.
In college he studied Greek and worked summers on a construction gang. He graduated first in his class from Cornell Medical College where he focused on infectious diseases and the immune system.
After finishing his medical residency in 1968 Fauci joined the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, of which he was Director from 1984 to 2022. In 2023 he joined the teaching staff of Georgetown School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, where he still teaches.
According to Wikipedia, among his vast body of work and contributions to the fields of science and medicine:
"Fauci has been at the forefront of U.S. efforts to contend with viral diseases like HIV/AIDS, SARS, the Swine flu, MERS, Ebola, and COVID-19. He played a significant role in the early 2000s in creating the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)[24] and in driving development of biodefense drugs and vaccines following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.[25] Fauci has been a visiting professor at many medical centers and has received numerous honorary doctorates from universities in the U.S. and abroad.[26]
He developed therapies for formerly fatal diseases such as polyarteritis nodosa, granulomatosis with polyangiitis, and lymphomatoid granulomatosis.
Fauci discovered how to re-dose cancer drugs in a way that turned a 98 percent mortality rate of the disorder vasculitis into a 93 percent remission rate.[14]"
And it was Dr. Fauci who who led our country's response to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

And though Anthony Fauci is among the world's most respected, prolific and cited scientists, last Wednesday, July 29, the United States Senate Chamber was transformed into a Roman Circus Maximus where the day's scheduled blood sport spectacle was the tearing apart by Senate Republicans of 85-year-old Dr. Fauci.
The crowds who cried out for Dr. Fauci's blood were still enraged six years later that at the height of the 2020 pandemic and before a COVID vaccine had been developed, Fauci advised wearing masks, social distancing, and temporarily shutting down non-essential public gatherings in order to fight the wildfire spread of the disease.
But what truly ignited their rage was his crime of inciting the ire of Donald Trump and, by extension, the ire of the whole of Trump's MAGA world base.
Fauci dared to speak out during the pandemic against Trump's promotion of scientifically unproven and dangerous snake oil cures for COVID, such as ingesting a livestock de-wormer, taking an anti-malarial drug, injecting or drinking household disinfectants like Clorox, and exposing the body's internal organs to high doses of ultraviolet rays.

And for that offense Trump and his minions and sycophants spent years attacking, harassing, deriding, and threatening Anthony Fauci to the point that, for his safety and the safety of his family, Fauci had to hire private security. And Joe Biden, before he left office, issued Fauci a preemptive Presidential pardon, also for his protection against any political retribution.
But the day of political retribution arrived anyway, and last week there he was, alone in the center of the arena while Republican Senators on a special committee, small men immeasurably far beneath Anthony Fauci in stature and intelligence, attacked him like a pack of unloosed hyenas miraculously granted the twin gifts of speech and melodrama,

...mocking him, deriding him, belittling him, accusing him of being responsible for the COVID pandemic, of being in league with a Chinese laboratory they claimed leaked the virus, calling him a narcissist, a megalomaniac, a liar, a disgrace, a criminal, a self-dealer who used his office to enrich himself during the pandemic while millions were dying; they asked him if he was sorry for what he'd done, demanded he apologize, laughed at him, spit personal insults and even obscenities at him, grinding out so much red meat to entertain and excite the MAGA voting base while thrusting themselves into the spotlight.
Anthony Fauci sat through the ordeal in silence except to invoke his right to remain silent while these shameless human hyenas performed on and on for the pleasure of their MAGA base and their MAGA master.

I read that Anthony Fauci was raised a Catholic but also considers himself a humanist who has faith in the goodness of mankind.
I pray that last Wednesday's crucible was not enough to make him lose that faith.

References:
https://www.c-span.org/program/senate-committee/dr-anthony-fauci-testifies-on-origins-of-covid-19-pandemic/683492

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/29/us/politics/fauci-testifies-rand-paul.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Fauci

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​A Good Day For A Party

​JoeFest, A Cat Story, Part 3

​JoeFest, A Cat Story, Part 2

​JoeFest, A Cat Story

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A Good Day For A Party

JoeFest, A Cat Story, Part 3

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JoeFest, A Cat Story