Category Archives: Ranting

Grateful That The USS Lincoln Is Coming Home But What About The USS Spruance And The USS Michael Murphy?

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In a previous poast I wrote about how the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln has been out much too long and does not have adequate supplies. It left port in late 2025 and should have ended its cruise in May of 2026 but was delayed because it was still needed in the Arabian Sea.

Bowing to pressure it was announced that the USS Lincoln would indeed come home soon and be replaced by the USS George Washington. That’s good news for the USS Lincoln crew and we’re reading that they will stop in Thailand which will allow them a first port call since December when it stopped in Guam.

That’s good news for the USS Lincoln crew but there are three destroyers in the carrier group and two of them are staying. You can read here that while the USS Frank E Peterson Jr. will also return home the USS Spruance, USS Michael Murphy will stay. No word on when their cruise will end.

As I said last week these cruises are difficult and anyone who joins the navy knows that deployments often depend on decisions made by outside events. But this war has been plagued by a phenomenal and avoidable lack of planning. We owe them an explanation of why they are there and what objectives we seek. Right now they don’t know how long they’ll be there or what they are supposed to do.

Meanwhile their Commander in Chief is complaining about opposition to the construction of the White House Ballroom.

He famously avoided serving in Vietnam because of bone spurs. I hope this doesn’t prevent him from dancing when the ballroom opens.

The Trump Chronicles, Volume 186: And Now He’s Turning On Our Allies

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It’s known that President Trump operates in a simple us v. them world, friends and enemies. Since he first attacked Iran last February he has referred to them as scum and has threatened to end their civilization.

Vilifying your enemies is as old as warfare itself, and God knows Trump is good at this. But managing conflict also means supporting your allies and that appears beyond Don’s reach. He’s criticized NATO and even Israel.

But the last few days have shown an even higher level of crazy. Yesterday Trump announced that we would halt joint military exercises with South Korea, arguing that they “insult” North Korea. Except that we sided with South Korea in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. The war didn’t end with a surrender or peace treaty but a cease fire. Technically we’re still at war with North Korea.

Now let’s move on to the nation of Oman. They are on the Arabian peninsula, across the Straight of Oman from Iran. They are our ally and have been trying to mediate between the United States and Iran. But, again, Trump is angry with them and has threatened to bomb the shit out of them.

It appears Trump is frustrated with the lack of progress on the war. I get it, we all are. But turning on our allies only makes him look more unhinged and makes our world more dangerous.

Seriously, Don, seek help.

The Trump Chronicles, Volume 185: How Much Longer Mr. Trump?

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Virtually all wars begin with the promise that it will be quick and relatively painless.

The Civil War famously began with both sides expecting it would all be over in a few weeks or months. The Confederates didn’t believe that the Union States cared all that much about keeping states that wanted to leave and the Union states believed that their superiority in technology (railroad tracks, armaments) would force the Confederates into a quick surrender. It was only after 4 years and 600,000 deaths that the war ended.

In 2003, six weeks after our invasion of Iraq President George W. Bush proclaimed Mission Accomplished aboard the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln. By the time our last troops left Iraq in December of 2011 over 2,000 American troops were dead and we’ll never know how many Iraqi’s died.

Enter President Trump in Iran. Last month I wrote about how he promised a quick war. Obviously that hasn’t happened but now we’re seeing new problems that anyone could have forseen.

We’re seeing reports that we’re running low on munitions including Patriot Missiles. Between missiles we’re using in Iran and missiles we’ve sold to Ukraine in their war against Russia, we’re using them up faster than we can produce them.

We’re also getting reports that sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln are being strained. There’s an article about this that’s hard to read. The aircraft carrier was deployed in November of 2025 and was expected last until May of 2026. It’s tour has been extended with no end date.

Clearly deployments go longer than expected and these sailors knew what they were signing up for. But we’re also getting reports of shortages of food and other necessities to accompany the stress of a longer deployment.

When we send people into harm’s way we have an obligation to do all that we can to ensure their safety and to ensure they have what they need to complete the mission. Equally obviously our president is not doing this. As I said last month we entered this war with no justification and no path to its end. This needs to stop now.

The Justice Chronicles, Volume 46: Thoughts on Birthright Citizenship, Trump And The Supreme Court

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I have a running joke that I read Supreme Court opinions so you don’t have to. If a decision comes down that I find interesting I call the Supreme Court and have them send me a copy of the opinion (and yes, America, your tax dollars pay for this). I did this back in May when I wrote about Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump on tariffs.

On June 30, 2026 the court wrote their opinion on Trump v. Barbara. A quick synopsis: on July 28, 1868, in shortly after the Civil War the 14th Amendment was added to the U.S. Constitution. It states that “[a]ll persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

This has become known as “birthright citizenship” and the most proximate purpose was to grant citizenship to newly released slaves. But the understanding also normally expanded to anyone who was born here and this became an issue as we saw huge numbers of people immigrate to the United States in the decades since. Ellis Island opened in 1892 and from then to 1954 about 12,000,000 men, women and children came through their gates. Immigrants weren’t automatically made citizens but any children born here were.

The Supreme Court affirmed birthright citizenship in 1898 in the case of United States v. Wong Kim Ark. Mr. Ark was born in San Francisco around 1870 to Chinese immigrants. In 1882 Congress passed (and the President signed) the Chinese Exclusion Act which prohibited Chinese people from becoming American citizens. Mr. Ark sailed back to China to visit his family and, on his return in 1895, was denied readmission into the United States. He went to court, arguing that he was made a citizen at birth. By a 6-2 margin the Supreme Court agreed with him and he was allowed reentry.

In 2025 President Trump issued Executive Order 14160 refuting this. He argued that the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” denies citizenship to anyone born in the United States to a mother who is unlawfully here (and whose father isn’t a citizen) or anyone born to parents who are in the United States temporarily (e.g. on a student or tourist visa).

Ok maybe this wasn’t a quick synopsis. But the court ruled that the Executive Order is unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment and birthright citizenship remains the law of the land. So here’s my interpretation:

Both sides honed in on the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” As an aside President Trump believes that the 14th Amendment was meant only for the children of former slaves but the Court didn’t even mention that.

The majority held that the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” applies only to four categories:
  1. Children of diplomats: If your mother is in the United States only because she is a diplomat working for a foreign government, you’re not automatically a citizen.
  2. Children born on foreign flagged ships in an American port: If you were born aboard a foreign ship in American waters.
  3. Children born to foreign occupiers: If your mother was in the United States as a member of a foreign army occupying land in the United States.
  4. Children born to Indians (Native Americans) on a reservation: If you were born on a reservation you were considered a citizen of that nation; it was called a “domestic dependent nation.” This became moot in 1924 when the Indian Citizenship Act was signed into law.
The minority opinion argued at great length that you cannot automatically become a citizen unless your parents were “permanently domiciled” in the United States, that is, owed no allegiance or loyalty to any other nation or sovereign and had no intention of returning. Only by proving absolute and eternal loyalty to the United States could your children be granted automatic citizenship. “Subject to the jurisdiction thereof” means that any interest in or loyalty to another country of sovereign, no matter how small, bars your children from being citizens. Furthermore, if you are not here legally there is no way you can be loyal to the United States as you have already shown a disregard for our laws.

OK, so this is my blog and it means I get to write my opinion. This should surprise nobody but I agree with the majority and am frightened that this wasn’t a unanimous decision. Here are my reasons:
  • Let’s begin with the case of undocumented persons (ie here illegally). I hold that people who came here without documentation didn’t come here with the intent of breaking our laws. They came because they were hungry, or fleeing violence, or just hoped to make a better life for themselves and their children. I think this calls us to reform our immigration system, not to exclude good hardworking people.
  • Immigrants came to our shores for different reasons and had different views on their homelands. In the 1970s many Americans of Irish descent supported the Irish Republican Army in their quest to break free of British rule. According to the minority opinion these Americans would be denied citizenship because of their support of Northern Ireland.
  • I live in the same neighborhood as the University of California, San Diego. Many are here under student visas and wish to stay here after they complete their studies but have difficulty navigating the Byzantine process of gaining permanent residency. They are bright, motivated, hard working and would greatly benefit our nation. Their status has nothing to do with them and everything to do with our broken immigration system.
  • As a subset we also have people who come here intending only a temporary stay but change their mind when they see the possibilities that not available to them in their home countries. Again, this says more about us than about them.
Finally, on a personal note. My father’s parents were both born in Canada and arrived here shortly before 1918. They came because they knew they would have more opportunity for a good life here and they were right. They had 7 children between 1920 and 1931. Five of them were sons. Of the five sons, four served in World War II or Korea or both. One of them served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. And while they loved the United States they never stopped caring about Canada; one of my favorite childhood memories took place the summer of 1973 when we took my grandmother back to Canada to visit her surviving siblings. If you believe my grandparents weren’t true Americans don’t tell me. I won’t take it well.

Reflections On The Reflecting Pool

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It appears that the Reflecting Pool saga is coming to a conclusion. If you’ve never seen it, it’s a pool between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument and was built completed in 1922.

It’s not designed for any type of recreation but, like any pool, requires some maintenance. Water is pumped in from the Tidal Basin (Potomac River) and it’s filtered to cut down on the algae but there’s no chlorine and upkeep is not for the neighborhood pool guy.

This past April President Trump announced that the pool needed to be renovated and he hired American Industrial Coatings. Even though AIC had never done work for the government and even though they didn’t go through the normal process of bidding on the job, they got the job. Trump said this: “I have a guy who’s unbelievable at doing swimming pools. He looked at it. He called me up. He said: Sir, we can do something on it.” Did anyone else notice that the Reflecting Pool isn’t a swimming pool?

The next part was predictable: AIC botched the job. When the pool was filled with water in June it filled with algae which made the pool look and smell bad. It was then treated with hydrogen peroxide which caused the liner that AIC put down began to peel.

Trump, being Trump, refused to admit his mistakes and insisted that the lining began to peel because of vandalism. A man named David Hearn came to the edge of the pool and dipped his hand into the water. He was then arrested and charged with felony property destruction and was accused of “violently and forcefully” ripped the liner off the floor of the pool.

Turns out that was a lie too far. Turns out there was no evidence of this, despite government claims of proof. Last week the charges were dropped. You can find a timeline timeline here.

So if Mr. Hearn sues the government for prosecutorial misconduct where do I apply to be on the jury?

The Trump Chronicles, Volume 182: Watch Out Statue Of Liberty: You May Be Next

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President Trump likes to build things. Or at least he likes to admire what he’s built. Or things someone else built that he can claim credit for like Mar A Lago which was built in the 1920s.

His time in office has shown us that he has no ability to hire good people, or manage the economy, or win a war. Most people, when faced with the fact that they’re not up to the job, will retreat to something they know how to do.

Enter the White House ballroom. Last year Trump ordered the tear down of the East Wing of the White House to build a 90,000 square foot ballroom for entertaining. In an attempt to justify this he added an underground bomb shelter (even though there has been a bunker under the White House since 1942).

Not surprisingly there is a lawsuit claiming Trump doesn’t have the authority to do this. Now here comes the fun part: in a recent article the administration now claims that since construction has already begun, it’s too late to stop it.

In response, Judge Patricia Millett asked a hypothetical (as judges often do). She asked if Trump decided to bulldoze the Statue of Liberty on his own and started the job before telling anyone, the courts couldn’t stop him. The lawyer for the Department of Justice said he could.

Watch out Lady Liberty, you could be next.

The Trump Chronicles, Volume 181: Remember When Competence Mattered?

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So when you’re the CEO, who do you hire? Well, if you care about the company you hire people who can do the job. Unfortunately we’ve all had the experience of working for someone who hires his buddies, supporters, or those who pledge absolute loyalty. When it becomes clear that this new hire just can’t do the job, the whole company suffers. Enter President Trump.

From his first day in office he’s used his appointment powers to hire (at our expense) his cronies and he’s gotten rid of people who sought to do the job well even when they clashed with the president. Think Rex Tillerson, John Kelly and Mark Milley.

Perhaps more troubling is his tendency to put people in important jobs when they have no experience or expertise. Today Trump announced he’s appointing Bill Pulte to be the Director of National Intelligence. Bill currently heads the Federal Housing Finance Agency and apparently will keep his old job. Bill’s background is housing, philanthropy and persecuting Lisa Cook.

Bill will now lead an agency that was founded after the attacks of 9/11 to coordinate the intelligence we gain from several agencies (e.g. CIA, NSA, FBI and others). He will find himself surrounded by career public servants who are much more knowledgeable about these issues. But he’s shown his only concern is loyalty to Trump.

It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

The Trump Chronicles, Volume 180: Who’s Weaponizing Justice Now?

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During President Trump’s 2024 Presidential campaign he announced that he will be “your retribution.” That is, at least, one campaign promise he’s kept. A few days ago we learned that the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation against E. Jean Carroll.

In 2019 she accused Trump of raping her in 1995. Because of the statute of limitations she couldn’t file a criminal complaint but she did sue him in civil court and was awarded $83.3 million. The case is still under appeal.

The current investigation claims that she lied under oath when asked if she was getting help in paying her legal bills. She said she wasn’t but it was later found that she was getting some funding from American Future Republic, a nonprofit that gives aid to left wing causes. Trump’s lawyers complained but an appeals court ruled that “litigation funding was not relevant to the case at hand.” In other words this was matter between American Future Republic and her law firm, Hecker & Fink and had no bearing on the case.

So why is the Justice Department pursuing this case? Clearly they are doing this at Trump’s instruction. He is using them to warn people about what happens when people seek justice against him. I wrote a similar post in Trump’s obsession with James Comey.

Can someone please explain to Trump that the Justice Department works for the American people, not him?

The Trump Chronicles, Volume 177: He Really Doesn’t Care About Your Financial Situation

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When President Trump was running in 2024 he promised to tame inflation and keep us out of “forever wars.” So far he has done neither.

His invasion of Iran and their decision to close the Strait Of Hormuz (or at least attack ships attempting to pass through) has led to a dramatic rise in oil prices which affects nearly everything.

A few days ago, on his way to China, he was asked to what extent “Americans’ financial situations” were motivating him to make a deal with Iran. He responded: “Not even a little bit. The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran — they can’t have a nuclear weapon. I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing — we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all.”

And while I’m not convinced Iran ever posed a nuclear threat to us, I do understand that he’s concerned about national security.

That said, his remarks are nothing short of stunning. Inflation hurts everyone but it disproportionately hurts those who live paycheck to paycheck or on a fixed income. It forces them to make difficult choices (gas vs. food, medication vs. rent, etc.).

He and his supporters claim that he was taken out of context and he cares deeply about Americans’ financial situations. But remember, this is a man who means what he says and says what he means. His comments have never been nuanced or had hidden meanings. There are no layers of complexity.

Remember this on your next visit to the voting booth.

The Trump Chronicles, Volume 174: Threaten, TACO, Repeat

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When President Trump returned to the White House last year he generated all sorts of chaos by promising dozens of tariffs on multiple countries and multiple products, only to walk them back after a day or two. Eventually someone came up with the acronym TACO meaning “Trump always chickens out.”

In late February he began a campaign against Iran and it appears he’s TACO’ing again. He’s been famously all over the map in what he hopes to achieve, but that’s grist for another day. Most of his bombing targets have been military facilities in Iran but earlier this week he promised a major escalation warning that a whole civilization will die tonight.

This was widely interpreted to mean that he would target civilians, a clear war crime. But the next day he walked it back announcing a two week cease fire.

He claimed this was the result of Iran agreeing to negotiate but Iran denies these negotiations are even happening. One of Trump’s conditions is the opening of the Strait of Hormuz; it’s a narrow sea passageway where 30% of the world’s oil passes. It’s still effectively closed.

So where do we go from here? Hard to say. Much like his actions around tariffs he may again threaten to escalate the war. This makes everything more difficult. Our allies are being told they need to step up and “retake” the strait. Trump also claims we don’t need the oil that passes through the strait.

All we really do know is that he’s unpredictable and therefore dangerous. By the way, while it’s true that we produce more oil than we consume, oil prices rise and fall globally. We’re paying more money for gasoline regardless of where the oil comes from.

Stay tuned.