So, who is going to come out ahead in the shut down, the Democrats or the Republicans? My guess is that the Republicans will wind up appearing better than they should, simply because they are better at appearing better than they should. The Democrats have a dilemma. If they continue to hold out, they will get more blame, but if they give in to the current bill, they will become complicit in the catastrophic rise in health insurance premiums that will hit so many the first of the year. I don’t think the Democrats can afford to do this, so I think they should hold the line, even though many federal employees and federal contractors are suffering. Those suffering have to think of it as if they were union members participating in a general strike. Of course, that’s easy for me to say.

In the meantime, I have reached a decision that Donald Trump may be the worst person in the country. Most other criminals have better excuses than he has for his actions. They are desperately poor. They are alcoholics or drug addicts. They were sexually abused as a kid. The only possible excuse Trump could have is mental illness, but as he has not been diagnosed, we can for now assume that he is not clinically mentally ill, and therefore we don’t have to excuse his behavior on that account. So he wins my vote. Day in, day out.

I am upset about so many things he does, as we all are, aren’t we? Okay, I know he still has his fans, but they all have their own problem, a strong case of gullibility. That may be a basic characteristic that is impossible to cure.

At any rate, I am thinking about the actions taken in the Caribbean that have knocked Venezuelan and now Columbian boats out of the water and killed their crew members (except for the two who were captured and then were extradited to Columbia and Ecuador). Those who still favor Donald Trump may say, “but he’s keeping us safe, keeping drugs out of the country”. I say that he is violating international law and committing murder and, Commander-in-Chief or not, he is giving illegal orders that should not be obeyed. Why is this? First, we have no proof, apparently, that these ships are carrying dangerous amounts of drugs. Second, we have no proof that these ships are heading for the United States. Third, we have no proof that these ships are sponsored by particular governments or by drug cartels. Fourth, the ships are in international, not American, waters. Fifth, the ships are given no chance to surrender, giving no warnings before they are shot. Six, even if the ships are running drugs to the United States, we have apparently no clue who the crew members are, or what their involvement might be. Seventh, by sinking, rather than capturing, the ships, we lose evidence. Eighth, because there is certainly no finding of guilt or due process given to someone believed to be guilty, if there is no trial. Ninth, because no one on the ship is committing a capital crime, no matter what laws they may be breaking (in fact, the people committing the capital crimes are Trump and the people under him following his illegal orders).

I am also wondering about Trump’s big, beautiful ball room. He has started this process by ordering the demolition of the East Wing of the White House. I don’t think that the East Wing has any particular historical significance or architectural significance. But it appears that the demolition, and the ballroom construction that will follow, is not being subjected to normal planning and approval processes for federal buildings. Of course, Trump says that he can do what he wants to the White House and no other approvals are necessary, but I don’t know why that should be the case. But it means that the design plans, and maybe the engineering details, are not being subject to the level of scrutiny other federal projects are subject to. Of course, this is in character with the probable worst man in the country, Donald Trump.

What else……

It looks like Portland OR is going to get some national guardsmen in their city. My suggestion is not to sweat it. They are normal folks, they won’t do anything bad, they will help the economy by buying lunch every day, and their activities are so limited that you won’t even know they are there. They aren’t going to be enforcing the law, or helping ICE, or anything like that. They will be standing around in clumps, talking to each other, looking at their phones, and wishing they were home with their spouses and children.

And I must say I am looking forward to the World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and the L.A. Dodgers, but sad that I will miss the first two games while we are involved in my reunion festivities in St. Louis. I do hope that I will be able to see (probably will not) a game where former Nat Max Scherzer pitches for the Blue Jays and Shohei Ohtani for the Dodgers. Who do I favor in the series? Toronto. No question.

At any rate, today we go on the road. Last trip, our first stop was Washington, Pennsylvania. It’s about four and a half hours away if you drive straight without stopping. We had two scheduled sight-seeing stops, plus a lunch stop, last time. We will obviously stop for lunch, but have no other scheduled stops, so our timing is pretty unclear.

Oh, yes, one more thing. If Donald Trump is the worst person in the country, who comes in second? I think it is a tie between Stephen Miller and Mike Johnson. Or is it Russell Vought? Behind all of them, there is another tie. Every Republican member of the House or the Senate. I lump them together.

What comes next? Not sure, except I think that, in my writing, I will stop being Mr. Nice Guy.