Government for Sale

One of the most depressing things about an election season in the United States is the staggering amount of money being spent by those seeking office and those hoping to purchase favors from those seeking office.

Elon Musk alone has spent at least $276 million - that we know of - trying to prop up unpopular Republicans, in particular in Texas, where he seeks to buy compliant elected officials who will not interfere with his vast SpaceX empire. Der Furor has "suggested" that his Super PAC will spend at least $400 million by election day. Michael R. Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York, is said to be giving roughly $80 million to help Democrats. 

As of October 19th, the Federal Election Commission estimates that $1.83 billion has been spent on House races, and $1.03 billion has been spent on Senate races. And there's still two weeks to go until election day.

No one really knows the grand total that will end up being spent not only on the election, but on the near-certain flood of lawsuits that will be filed by losing candidates and by a GOP-dominated federal government desperate to somehow prove that Republican losses are the result of vast, imaginary fraud rather than public disgust at their ineptitude and blatant corruption.

This is obscene.

In the wealthiest nation on earth, ordinary people are being bankrupted by medical debt and crippled by the skyrocketing cost of food and fuel. Rural hospitals are closing or eliminating vital services like labor and delivery. Deadly diseases we thought had been eliminated are back and killing us. Infrastructure is crumbling. People are being sickened by products and foods no longer being tested by a government more interested in currying favor with corporations than in protecting our health. Money is being wildly wasted on gilding the Oval Office, building an unnecessary ballroom at the Gilded House, erecting a useless "triumphal arch," and replacing a popular public golf course complex in Washington with a single "championship-level" course real people will almost certainly never be able to use. We are spending vast amounts of money on a needless war against Iran, on testosterone screening and supplements for military personnel, and on tax cuts that benefit the wealthy and big corporations.

A lot of money is being spent on this election by those who want to keep feeding at the trough you and I fill with our taxes. Let them know what you think of them. Vote like your future depends on it, because it does.

Have a good day. Vote the bums out, and make sure the new bums you vote in work for you, not for Vladimir Putin and the Musks and the Bezoses and the Zuckerbergs and the rest of the wealthy elite.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Citizen Soldiers

The United States has a long tradition of "citizen soldiers" - ordinary men and women who step up and do the ugly job of soldiering when the nation is in need. That tradition began with the so-called "minutemen" of the revolutionary era, who stopped plowing their fields, picked up their muskets, and answered their nation's call, and it continues to the present day.

We do not, at least until the modern era, have a tradition of a large standing army ... indeed, the Founders worried that such a force could be used to oppress the citizens, rather than defend them. When we needed a big army, we built it, and once the need was gone, we sent the soldiers home and relied on a smaller force that could be augmented if needed. At the outbreak of the First World War, the U.S. Army (including the National Guard) had a strength of about 200,000 and was the ninth-largest army in the world ... vastly inferior to the armies of England, France, Germany, and Imperial Russia. At the outbreak of the Second World War, it ranked 19th in size, smaller than the army of Portugal and slightly ahead of powerhouse Bulgaria.

Of course, our armed forces grew dramatically with the introduction of conscription for the World Wars and continuing through Vietnam, reaching a strength of about 12 million at the height of World War II and 800,000 at the end of the Vietnam War in 1973. Disgust with Vietnam led to the end of conscription in January, 1973 ... since then, we've been an all-volunteer force that today consists of about 480,000 active duty troops and another 524,000 in the National Guard and Reserve, even as the nation fought new wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, and other places.

My point with this little, off-the-cuff history lesson is that we are now, as we have been through most of our history, a nation of citizen soldiers. 

Which brings me to the current Secretary of Defense (not War), who has a vision not of an army of citizens reluctantly but bravely doing a dirty job for a nation in peril, but of a supremely lethal force of clean-shaven, chiseled, testosterone-oozing giants unencumbered by useless distractions like law and morality. I am horrified at what he has done to the honorable tradition memorably documented by historian Steven Ambrose in his wonderful books "Citizen Soldiers" and "Band of Brothers." I am especially horrified that there appears to be actual discussion among our national "leaders" that our citizen soldiers might be employed to ensure the desired outcome of our elections - something we might once have thought happened only in the banana-est of banana republics. Indeed, there was consternation earlier this month in Washington, DC, when armed National Guard troops were photographed at an official ballot drop box.

As you head to the polls on November 3rd (if you didn't vote early), think about the type of nation you want to live in, and ask yourselves how comfortable you are with the idea of our citizen soldiers being used to still your voice.

Choose wisely.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Monday Mountains

For those of you who asked, the wedding was great fun, nobody dropped the cake, and I learned that too much dancing on two artificial knees is not for sissies. Buy your stock in Tylenol now.

Time to start the new week with your mountain fix ...

1 - Someone knew how to frame a photo ...

2 - Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada ...

3 - The Bavarian Alps, with the castle of Hohenschwangau in the foreground ...

4 - Chugach Mountains, Alaska ...

5 - Colima volcano, Mexico ...

6 - autumn in the French Alps ...

7 - I could wake up to this vista every day ...

8 - If you look up "rugged" in the dictionary, this might be the illustration ...

9 - Whoever sited this castle knew what he was doing ...

10 - in the Peruvian Andes ...

That's your Monday Mountains fix for this week ... I hope you enjoyed it. 

Have a good day and as good a week as the social and political hysteria will allow. More thoughts coming. 

Bilbo

Musical Sunday

Our salute to Halloween continues on this Musical Sunday with the admonition from Billie Eilish that "all the good girls go to hell" ...

The lyrics:

My Lucifer is lonely

Standing there, killing time

Can't commit to anything but a crime

Peter's on vacation, an open invitation

Animals, evidence

Pearly gates look more like a picket fence

Once you get inside 'em

Got friends but can't invite them

Hills burn in California

My turn to ignore ya

Don't say I didn't warn ya

All the good girls go to hell

'Cause even God herself has enemies

And once the water starts to rise

And heaven's out of sight

She'll want the devil on her team

My Lucifer is lonely

Look at you needing me

You know I'm not your friend without some greenery

Walk in wearing fetters

Peter should know better

Your cover up is caving in

Man is such a fool

Why are we saving him?

Poisoning themselves now

Begging for our help, wow!

Hills burn in California

My turn to ignore ya

Don't say I didn't warn ya

All the good girls go to hell

'Cause even God herself has enemies

And once the water starts to rise

And heaven's out of sight

She'll want the devil on her team

My Lucifer is lonely

There's nothing left to save now

My god is gonna owe me

There's nothing left to save now

I, personally, disagree with Ms Eilish, but we all have our opinions.

Have a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

We're just a few weeks out from the midterm elections. Geezo, peezo, can we just speed things up a little?

Because we're on the road today for our niece's wedding, I don't have time to do the usual news summary this week. It's okay, though, because all the news is depressing, anyway.

For the third Cartoon Saturday of the Halloween month, let's take a look at the lighter side of The Invisible Man. 

I have to say that I agree with her ...

There are a lot of dog owners around here who would love to have that formula ...

Good point ...

Uh, oh ...

It sort of defeats the purpose of the invisibility, doesn't it? 

It apparently does not please the court ...

When you're The Mummy, your Halloween costume party options can be a bit limited ...

Busted!

I've got his number ...

Cue the bwa, ha, HAAAA ...

And that's it for our Cartoon Saturday visit to The Invisible Man - I hope it gave you a laugh to help recover from the week.

Have a good day and a great weekend, and be sure to come back tomorrow for another Halloween-themed Musical Sunday, this time featuring Billie Eilish.

More thoughts then.

Bilbo

The Left-Cheek Ass Clown for October, 2026

Earlier this week, I presented an out-of-cycle Special Award to Secretary of Defense (not War) Pete Hegseth. I noted in that post that I find it increasingly depressing to note the vast number of people in today's America who deserve these awards. In times past, I was able to reach down into the ranks of everyday Americans to find awardees whose behavior reflected the broad range of social, political, religious, economic, or simple everyday buffoonery that was sometimes funny and frequently harmless, but rarely dangerous.

Nowadays, the ass clownery has gone from funny or harmless to definitely dangerous.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, with a sense of true, utter horror, I designate as 

The Left-Cheek Ass Clown for October, 2026

Der Furor

with special recognition in a supporting role to

The GOP Congressional Delegation

While I appreciate the legitimate criticism that he represents the lowest of low-hanging fruit, having previously won this award 22 times (including two Ass Clown of the Year designations and a Lifetime Achievement Award I have since withdrawn), his behavior in the last week has so far overshot the bounds of dignity, propriety, and respect for the office of the Presidency that I can think of no one more deserving of condemnation by all good Americans and people of good will everywhere.

We have long known that Der Furor has an embarrassingly fawning relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin, but that relationship this week broke all restraints of propriety, responsibility, and respect for our international standing when - after more than a decade of pretending that he would honor American support for Ukraine and our European allies, he openly embraced Putin and accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of responsibility for his country's invasion and devastation by Russia. He also announced an agreement unilaterally to drop Congressionally-mandated sanctions and purchase hundreds of thousands of tons of Russian oil ... a move that will provide a funding windfall for Putin's aggressive war while providing virtually no impact on supplies of diesel fuel for American consumers.

The full history of Der Furor's entanglement with Putin and Russia was clearly and comprehensively laid out in Professor Heather Cox Richardson's "Letter from an American" on October 10th. I encourage you to read it and consider the treasonous behavior of a man twice elected to the presidency by Americans who believed he shared their values and would do right by them. He has shamelessly, brazenly sold out his followers, the nation, and our allies. I can express my thoughts no better than Professor Richardson did in the final paragraph of her essay: 

"... at this point, how much more evidence is necessary to assess that [Der Furor] has undermined U.S. national security and is working for Russia? And how much longer will Republicans in Congress continue to protect him as he does it?"

And speaking of Republicans in Congress ...

The abject failure of Congressional Republicans to hold Der Furor to account for his brazen self-enrichment, flouting of the law, and seizure of powers specifically granted to Congress by the Constitution, has created and fed a monster they can no longer control, even supposing they wanted to. The occasional pusillanimous, tentative objection to Der Furor's worst excesses is almost always provided by individual Republicans when it is safe to do so and will make no difference in the outcome. Indeed, the House of Representatives, under the "leadership" of Speaker Mike Johnson, has a well-documented history of simply running away into recess rather than risking the chance that Der Furor and his party could face the consequences of their actions. Congressional Republicans, both in the Senate and the House, are of use only for casting fact-free, innuendo-laden sound bites at witnesses unable to protect themselves.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, the Left-Cheek Ass Clown Award for October, 2026, is presented to Der Furor, whose stain on the honor and dignity of the presidency and the nation will take generations to remove, and the Congressional GOP Delegation, which continues spinelessly to protect and enable the steady destruction of the nation it has sworn to serve.

Have a good day. The 2026 midterm elections are only 18 days away - your chance to bring sanity, decency, and accountability back to Congress and let Der Furor know that his days of unchecked corruption and abysmal leadership are numbered. Make sure you are registered and that you make your voice heard!

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Thursday Trees

We're halfway through October, and it's time once again for Mike's Thursday Trees!

1 - This picture reminds me of the shadowy road to Election Day ...

2 - Wouldn't you love to lounge in the shade beside this pond with a good book? 

3 - Now, those are some really talented beavers ...

4 - This looks to me like trees growing out of a hibernating bear ...

5 - The chicken wire gives protection from gnawing animals ...

6 - Interesting colors ...

7 - This is a great climbing tree ...

8 - This tree looks like an ad for the local chiropractor ...

9 - Your "start getting ready for winter" reminder ...

10 - This looks to me like a real Halloween tree ...

And that's it for this week's edition of Thursday Trees ... I hope you enjoyed it.

Have a good day and come back tomorrow for the announcement of October's Left-Cheek Ass Clown ... more thoughts then.

Bilbo

Vote the Bums Out! Then What?

There's a popular comment that shows up around each election that goes something like this: "[The party out of power] complains bitterly that the government doesn't work. Then we elect them, and they prove it."

The current "leadership" (I'd use more quotes around it if I could) in this country is, indeed, corrupt and inept in the extreme. The party out of power (the Democrats) is campaigning relentlessly by pointing out this obvious fact. The party in power (the MAGA Republicans) are campaigning relentlessly by painting the Democrats as wild-eyed monsters anxious to destroy the historically unprecedented paradise - the envy of the world, like nobody's ever seen - that Der Furor has created.

Well, it's true that insults and fearmongering are about all the Republicans have to campaign on any more, but Democrats need to do more than point out the disastrous effects of the GOP's policies. They have to show that they can do better. They have to explain what they'll do differently, how it will make things better, and - most importantly - how they'll pay for it.

This election is the Democrats' to lose. Unfortunately, the Blue Team has a depressing record of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, leading to this satirical headline from The Onion, which is a lot funnier than it ought to be: DNC Releases Preemptive Autopsy Into Why They Lost Midterms. 

So, here's my free advice to the Democrats ... 

Don't let the crazies of the party be the tail that wags the dog. Let the voters know you are ready to seriously address real issues like affordability, the housing crisis, the appalling graft and corruption of Der Furor and his regime, the tattered shreds of our foreign policy, the savage weaponization of the "Justice" Department and the Department of Homeland Security, the undeclared war with Iran, and the blatantly criminal flouting of the law and inconvenient court orders. Don't immediately move to impeach Der Furor if you win ... heaven knows he deserves it, but nothing will rally his die-hard base more than the thought that their beloved, innocent Furor is being persecuted. If you need to impeach someone, go for dangerous incompetents like Pete Hegseth and - especially - Todd Blanche. Concentrate on a few important things and get some concrete accomplishments early. Don't get sidetracked by issues that affect virtually no one (anything dealing with "transgender" comes to mind). Explain what's wrong and how you'll do better.

In short, Democrats, don't f**k it up. 

You're welcome.

Have a good day. Vote the bums out, and demand more of the bums you vote in.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Ass Clown Special Award

I have been presenting Ass Clown Awards for more than 15 years, since presenting the first award to Der Furor in April, 2011. I find it depressing that I so frequently have a hard time selecting a winner from the swirling cesspool of eligible recipients, that so many recipients have received multiple awards, and that the number of potential recipients makes it necessary occasionally to present out-of-cycle Special Awards. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, I share that depression with you today as we present the latest 

Ass Clown Special Award

to

Secretary of Defense (not War)

Pete Hegseth

Mr Hegseth, arguably the least-qualified and most incompetent Secretary of Defense ever to hold the office, is receiving his ninth Ass Clown Award today, a record exceeded only by Der Furor (with 22 awards, including two Ass Clown of the Year designations) and Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell (with thirteen awards, including three consecutive Ass Clown of the Year designations). Today's award recognizes not the incompetence and national embarrassment we have come to expect, but a descent into behavior that is noteworthy even in an administration that routinely plumbs the depths of moral bankruptcy. 

Last week, Mr Hegseth announced that former Army Major Nidal Hassan, convicted of murdering 12 fellow soldiers and injuring 32 others at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009, would be executed by a military firing squad, and that the execution would be live-streamed.

Just to be clear: while I oppose the death penalty in general, I have absolutely no objection to the execution of a man who deliberately murdered his fellow soldiers in cold blood. My objection is to the reduction of the death penalty to a form of cheap entertainment for the masses. 

The U.S. military has not carried out an execution since 1961, when Army Private John Bennett was hanged for rape and attempted murder, and there has not been a public execution in the United States since at least 1936. No civilized nation in the 21st century makes public execution a national spectacle. Not only this, but live-streaming the execution of a man in a wheelchair (to which Hasan has been confined since being shot by a police officer during his rampage) provides a grotesque image that will be a propaganda godsend to those who share Hasan's twisted religious motivations.

I have no issue with putting this man to death for his heinous crime. But to make his execution a public spectacle for the benefit of the MAGA masses is beyond despicable. That Mr Hegseth has proposed, and Der Furor has approved such a spectacle surrenders what little remains under this regime of the moral high ground we once enjoyed. We join the august company of such paragons of dignity and human rights as North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Afghanistan.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, we present this Ass Clown Special Award to Secretary of Defense (not War) Pete Hegseth. I am thankful every day that my military service came to an end before he had the chance to bring shame on a noble profession.

Have a good day. Demand more from this regime, but expect less. You will not be disappointed.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Monday Mountains

It's a new week, and that means it's time once again for Monday Mountains! Let's get climbing ...

1 - A wonderful mountain valley to explore ...

2 - It looks as if this mountain is proclaiming that it's Number 1 ...

3 - Blue and white mountains, blue and white sky ...

4 - Mountains reflected in the water are always beautiful ...

5 - Nice framing of the mountains by the trees ...

6 - Reminds me of the Great Pyramid ...

7 - I love this beautiful mountain vista ...

8 - I wonder if this is what Tolkien had in mind when he dreamed of the Misty Mountains ...

9 - Another awesome wall of majestic mountains ...

10 - And finally, courtesy of NASA, we know that there are mountains of ice on Pluto ...

I hope that some inspiring mountain scenery has inspired you to great things in the coming week. 

Have a good day and a good week to come. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo