Some coincidences are just coincidences. One of those facts is that (1) Pam from Florida and (2) Beach in Sydney are both named Bondi, and that both signify considerable tragedies. I am actually surprised at the press that Pam Bondi, no longer Attorney General, is getting. Not that it is positive press, but it isn’t as negative as I would have expected. I found Pam Bondi to be just a horrible public person, lying without shame, avoiding answering any question asked her at Congressional oversight hearings, and insulting members of Congress as if she were Donald Trump incarnate. “Good riddance”, I say. (I think someone else said that, too, but I don’t remember who. Could have been anyone.)

There is a rumor that there are going to be Cabinet level firings, perhaps even Kash Patel, the Junket King, or Howard Lutnick, Mr. Laugh and Smile.

None of this would surprise me. It also would not surprise me to see old Sam Alito and old Clarence Thomas resign very soon. Yes, they are the most reliable votes for Donald Trump, and this might give him pause. But if there is a chance that the Senate will flip Democratic in January, there might be a reason to get some 40 or 50 year old Federalist Society nominees into the Court while he can. And of course, this deadline would also hold for replacement Cabinet members, and other presidential appointees who must go through Senate confirmation.

Trump has himself in quite a box these days, and when he gave his prime time nothing-burger speech on the war in Iran the night before last, he looked very tired and old. The war is a quagmire. He wants help from NATO countries for an offensive war, not a defensive war, and while the Arabian gulf countries are being hit by Iran, he has not asked them to step up and help. His war has led to the virtual closure of the Strait of Iran, which as of today has raised worldwide oil prices to over $110 a barrel. Many of our foreign military bases are in danger, and we still do not know what goals of this war are in his thinking. Our last successful war, World War II, ended with a total, unconditional surrender of our enemies, and with a years long occupation of both Germany and Japan. World War I ended with a total, unconditional surrender, with rigid restrictions on German militarization, and with a treaty with all neighboring countries, closely policed. Our more recent wars have not ended with “victories”, but were with opponents who were not, in any event, looking to control or infiltrate neighboring countries, or develop nuclear facilities. The case with Iran appears to be much different in this respect, and when you add the connection between Iran’s oil production and world oil production, you get a completely different situation.

It would seem that continuing this unpopular war, especially if a ground invasion of any sort is added, would be very difficult politically for Trump, and it would seem that any abandonment of the war would be equally difficult. So, it is a quagmire.

And, for Israel? And for the U.S./Israel relationship? If the U.S. decided to pull out of Iran, it leaves Israel in a place where it would not want to be. The war may be unpopular here, but it is very popular in Israel, where they are working hard (whether they are working appropriately is a question for a different post) to rid themselves not only of a dangerous Iran as an enemy, but to rid themselves of Iran’s proxies in Gaza, Lebanon and Yemen, and their own enemies in the West Bank. Their actions in Gaza were controversial at best, and their current actions in Lebanon may wind up the same (it’s a knack that Israel seems to have perfected), and whether they will be successful, who knows? But, at any event, this is the policy now being pursued, and while it may lead to short term disasters, the hope is that for the long term, it will bring regional stability. But Israel probably needs American support, just as we may need Israeli support in this effort. A break between the U.S. and Israel would have repercussions that we would like to avoid, but the Israeli aggressiveness certainly bothers many here and, with control of Congress changing, we may find a breach in the alliance. This may be painful in the short term, but again may be helpful in the long run. Hard to say.

And, for reasons that no one can possibly understand, the funding of the Department of Homeland Security (minus TSA and portions of Border Control) continues to be held up. At first, it was because the Republicans in the House of Representatives wouldn’t agree to the bill passed unanimously by the Senate (Democrats and Republicans), with Speaker Johnson calling it idiotic, or nonsensical, or something like that. But then, Trump told Johnson to accept the proposal and get beyond this problem and, like the good soldier he is (maybe “good” is not the right word), Johnson spun around and said OK, only to find that one or more conservative (maybe “conservative” isn’t the right word, either) member of his pack has blocked the bill from coming to the House floor. What does this show? Among other things, it shows that Trump’s power over the entire GOP Congressional membership, like the old gray mare, ain’t what she used to be.

As if this isn’t enough, after two seders (one here, one at Hannah’s), we can’t even take the full day off, because we have been joined by a plumber here to fix the two toilets (of five) in the house that have been on the fritz. One of them, in our downstairs powder room, has actually been leaking, and we did not know it. The other, our guest second floor bathroom, had the toilet repaired about six months ago, and conked out again.

I am not very good on home repairs. I put things off, and then when something needs to be done, the last thing I want to do is get three estimates, dicker about the price, and so forth. Our long term plumber aged out, and since then we have tried a couple of others, but not successfully. One of them, I am sure, has a drug problem, as every time he was scheduled to come, he would call to postpone, giving reasons that were hard to believe. Our current plumbing company gets a 4.9 Yelp rating, and I am relying on the Yelp rating more than anything else as to their qualification.

What I do know (that’s wrong: what I do think I know) is that we are overpaying them for what they are doing. But that is what I do. But at least, when they are done, we won’t have to tell guests, when they ask where the bathroom is, to find a secluded place in the back yard.

The good news? Only 6 more days of Passover, and then things can back to normal. The bad news? It must be one more sign of aging, but I don’t even like whole wheat matzo any more.