Thursday Trees

It's time once again to draw peace and joy from trees as we crack open the door to the temporary home of Mike's Thursday Trees.

This week, we look not up at the leafy crowns, but down at the twisted artistry of the roots ...

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I hope you enjoyed this week's collection, after all the time I spent ... rooting ... them out for you.

Have a good day and enjoy the shade. Before long, you'll be complaining about having to rake the leaves.

More thoughts tomorrow, when Great Moments in Editing and Signage takes a brief hiatus so we can remember the terrible day that set us on the road to a terrible present. See you then.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday - Special Edition

Yes, I know today is Wednesday, but I feel the need to have another Cartoon Saturday Special Edition (the second this year) in derisive recognition of the garish, self-promotional "triumphal arch" Der Furor wants to erect in front of Arlington National Cemetery. It's a useless, gaudy, overly-expensive, and utterly unnecessary blot on the landscape and a waste of money that could be used for much better purposes in service to the American people.

It's not just my opinion ... let's bring on the Cartoons -

The Epstein Files are a common theme for the design ...

A servile GOP Congress and a rigidly conservative Supreme Court majority are two of the main supporting columns - 

It represents the crushing burden of this regime ...

How about you ... do you get immunity from tax audits and a memorial arch? 

Yes, it's important to put the accent on the correct syllable ...

Well, it definitely would celebrate a triumph over all these things ...

If Der Furor could have his way, I'm sure this would be a top design contender. He'd want more gold, but the giant mouth would be a masterful monument ...

There are a number of other, less traditional design options available ...

Given Der Furor's emphasis on monetizing his office, this would be a likely option. Don't ask where the coins removed from the fountains end up ...

If you can't have a victory over Iran, you can have a victory over something else ...

In case you didn't pick up on the subtle signals, I'm opposed to the arch ... and you should be, too.

Have a good day. As you get ready for the midterm election and the 2028 presidential pageant, think carefully about what your leaders choose to spend your tax money on.

More thoughts tomorrow, when I calm down enough to enjoy the peace and quiet of Thursday Trees. See you then.

Bilbo

Gummipuppen!

German is a wonderful language that can create marvelous compound words for new things and concepts. It's deservedly famous for its amazingly long words and for its abbreviations so long that they require abbreviations of their own. This is a story about an interesting German word ...

When the Allies were planning the invasion of Normandy in 1944, among the diversionary tactics they employed was the dropping of hundreds of dummy paratroops over the battle area. The puppets were designed to explode in bursts of gunfire when they landed, simulating the arrival of a much larger force.

In the classic 1962 film "The Longest Day," there's a great scene which follows the reactions of puzzled German generals as they receive reports of exploding rubber dummies - Gummipuppen* in German - falling across the Normandy region, and asking each other "Gummipuppen?" ...

Although the scene was deadly serious, to this English speaker, groups of confused generals muttering Gummipuppen? to each other sounded funny.

Of course, there are other sorts of Gummipuppen, too, which don't themselves explode, but can cause explosions of a different sort in careless users.

Caveat emptor.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* It's pronounced GOO-me-POOP-en.

Monday Mountains

In a world as ugly and dispiriting as it's become, I draw peace and calm from beautiful mountain vistas ...

1 - I've never been jealous of a cow before ...

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5 - I think this is called Mount You've Gotta Be Kidding Me ...

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8 - The sight of some snow is pretty welcome during this miserably hot summer ...

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10 - One more blast of snow ...

I hope this gave you some peace and calm at the start of another crazy week.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

Musical Sunday

As I've written about before in this space, the true foundation of the American economy is not manufacturing or small business, trade or agriculture - it's lawsuits. Hundreds of millions - if not billions - of dollars are spent every year, many of them (directly or indirectly) by you and I as taxpayers. Can you imagine how much of your money is being spent on Der Furor's employment of the law as a deadly weapon, and on the law as a shield against other lawsuits being filed to try to rein him in? How much money are we spending on a Supreme Court that is largely proving to be an enabling function for Der Furor's dreams of monarchy supported by unconstrained wealth and power?

This classic tune by Warren Zevon should be the anthem for this sad time in our history ...

Here are the lyrics, if you're interested ...

I went home with the waitress

The way I always do

How was I to know

She was with the Russians too?

I was gambling in Havana

I took a little risk

Send lawyers, guns, and money

Dad, get me out of this

Ha!

I'm the innocent bystander

And somehow I got stuck

Between the rock and the hard place

And I'm down on my luck

Yes, I'm down on my luck

Well, I'm down on my luck

Now I'm hiding in Honduras

I'm a desperate man

Send lawyers, guns, and money

The shit has hit the fan

Send lawyers, guns, and money

Send lawyers, guns, and money

Send lawyers, guns, and money

Yeah

The shit has already hit the fan. Send a really big cleanup crew to aisle 250, stat.

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

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

Geez, we're not even a full week into September yet ...

The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling largely along ideological lines (though Chief Justice Roberts sided with the liberal wing), has allowed construction of Der Furor's gigantic ballroom at the Gilded House to continue, ruling that historical preservationists opposed to the construction lack standing to oppose the project while avoiding ruling on the project's legality ... Interior Secretary Doug Burgham also announced that construction of the massive, garish Arc de Trump will begin within two weeks, regardless of lack of formal approvals; the House passed a stopgap spending bill, preventing the embarrassment of a government shutdown before the November midterm elections and postponing it long enough to threaten Christmas; famed feminist activist and author Gloria Steinem passed away at age 92; three California college students had to be rescued from Mount Shasta after relying on questionable advice from an AI tool to plan their climbing route and supply requirements; and in Houston, Texas, a homeowner was shocked to see that the DoorDash driver delivering dinner to his home was stark naked. His money was refunded.

This week, in remembrance of the late Dolly Parton and her dedication to promoting reading for children through her Imagination Library, I thought a collection of cartoons about books and reading would be appropriate. 

He's got a point ...

It always works for me ...

Sometimes, you've just gotta take the win ...

It's the 21st century version of the faux-intellectual home library ...

I think all the librarians would agree with this one ...

When a book is really interesting, it's tough to interrupt it for anything else ...

I think this one is my favorite of the week ...

It's a common-sense rearrangement ...

I understand the dog ...

Wolf as MAGA ...

And that ends our first Cartoon Saturday of the month, and our tribute to one of the last of the truly great Americans.

Have a good day and a great weekend. Read a good book, and encourage your children to do the same. They'll thank you for it one day.

More thoughts coming tomorrow, when Warren Zevon presents the ballad for modern political America. See you then.

Bilbo

The Right-Cheek Ass Clown for September, 2026

It gets harder all the time to write these awards, given the historic levels of incompetence and corruption in government and the perversion of the generosity and goodwill that once made the United States the envy of the world. It's a depressing task, particularly since those who most need to understand the reason for the awards are the most likely to forgive the behavior upon which they cast light.

I was conflicted more than usual for this first award of September, because the behavior of so many people both in and out of government made them prime candidates for public condemnation. I considered various types of group awards, but finally decided on a simple dual presentation to the top two miserable specimens of ass clownhood.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, I have decided to present the joint award for

The Right-Cheek Ass Clown for September, 2026

to the extraordinarily well-qualified

Secretary of Defense (not War)

Pete Hegseth*

and

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

John Roberts**

Pete Hegseth was as close to a no-brainer for this period's award as it gets, largely on the basis of the extraordinary damage he has done to the professional United States Army. His focus on implementing a MAGA agenda of toxic masculinity and lethality-above-all has led him to fire or force into retirement many of the service's most experienced and combat-hardened general officers. His purge of the Army has been so sweeping that, with the retirement this week of Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll, the military’s largest service has no top civilian leader, no Senate-confirmed Chief of Staff, no Senate-confirmed  general in charge of operations, and no Senate-confirmed commander of Army troops in Europe. Mr. Hegseth's purge has left the Army, with more than 450,000 active-duty soldiers stationed around the world, with fewer experienced senior leaders than at any point in recent history. 

Some of Mr. Hegseth's actions, such as his performative (and incorrect) physical fitness demonstrations with soldiers and his order to implement testosterone screening of military personnel to ensure suitable manliness, are just silly. Far more serious are his wholesale firing of senior personnel and his utter failure to plan for and execute Der Furor's ill-considered war with Iran. When called to answer for his missteps, whether by members of Congress or reporters seeking clarity, his only response is bluster and insults, accusing questioners of insufficient patriotism and support of the military.

The second award recipient today is Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, whose award is based on his pusillanimous dissent in the case brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation against Der Furor's destruction of the East Wing of the former White House and construction at breakneck speed of a gigantic, gilded ballroom. While the Court ruled (5-4 along largely partisan lines) that construction could continue because the National Trust lacked standing to bring the case, Justice Roberts noted timidly that the construction was "likely unlawful" in response to the majority's cop-out that "... we do not pass upon the legality of the government’s East Wing project." I guess it was just too much to ask that the Chief Justice exercise some leadership and suggest - however weakly - that his fellow justices enforce the law.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, the award for the Right-Cheek Ass Clown for September, 2026, is shared by Secretary of Defense (not War) Pete Hegseth and Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. We depend upon our military to defend our homeland and the Supreme Court to uphold the law. On the leaders of these two vital organizations, we depend in vain.

Have a good day. Be sure to come back tomorrow, when Cartoon Saturday celebrates the start of a new school year. Hope you remembered to buy those back-to-school clothes in a kevlar blend.

More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* Eighth award, three of them shared.

** Fourth award, three of them shared.

Thursday Trees

The way the weather has been this week, the world cries out for shade. It's Thursday Trees, so we've got it - this week, featuring a few pictures from my personal collection.

1 - I took this picture in a Boston park a few years ago. I feel like that tree sometimes ...

2 - along the Allegheny River near Franklin, Pennsylvania ...

3 - in the Virginia horse country ...

4 - another horse country vista ...

5 - and a third ...

6 - Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, Virginia ...

7 - I took this picture at the National Botanic Gardens in Washington a few years ago. The Capitol Building is quite scenic, if no longer functional ...

8 - a mystery tree at the Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (one of my favorite places) ...

9 - the "Witness Tree" at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania ...

10 - I think this tree changed its mind about which way it wanted to grow ...

And that's it for September's first edition of Thursday Trees. Enjoy the shade.

Have a good day, and come back tomorrow for the announcement of the Right-Cheek Ass Clown for September ... you know you want to!

More thoughts then.

Bilbo