Occupation of Independence

I insist on staying interested in geopolitical events in the world.  Even if I am right about that, some allowance must be made to human nature.  A human can only look at ultra-serious, grim news so much before they need some psychological relief. I got some relief by reading a book about the Battle of Midway, when America was on the way up in the world.  (The Battle of Midway, by Craig Symonds.)   The Battle of Midway occurred early in the Pacific war of World War II, and turned the tide of war in America's favor.  It offered me some relief to think that most Americans believed the newspapers, in that era.  They thought their institutions were basically sound and non-corrupt most of the time.  Americans had a bright future! a It is especially fun for a baby boomer to think back to what America was in 1945. More recent histories of World War II do a better job, I think, at emphasizing the decoding of messages.  Americans  had a great advantage in knowing what Japan was up to, prior

If you want to get out of bed in morning and feel that all is right with the world, a nice rain shower at night is the way to do it.  There is supposed to be a secondary rainy season in the Sonoran Desert in mid-winter.  Some years it is a dud.  But this year the rains are glorious. But don't say that out loud to your camping neighbors if they are northern snowbirds.  They think, "I didn't drive all the way here just to look at clouds and to feel cold.  I demand that it be warm and sunny everyday.  I dream of playing golf in shorts in January." Well, that is their problem.  They probably think that the following photo shows the "beauty of the desert."   Ghastly!  Teddy Bear chollas are the apotheosis of Evil.  The northern snowbirds probably think the non-blue sky is. But let's wallow in paradise while it lasts!

Oh why didn't I react quicker with the phone and camera!  Four of us were riding around the neighborhood in a camping area in southwestern Arizona.  It was fun to stop in and visit the neighbors when they are outside their rigs.   I was amazed at how my little dog glowed and gushed when she got attention from people who were completely new to her.  Small dogs can get some love off of people who aren't even 'dog people.' What a look on her face!  It is too bad I can't get enthused so quickly with my 'fellow camper.'  It is hard to shake the notion that they are 'here today, gone tomorrow,' so why put a lot of effort into charming their socks off?  That is why I have always liked the idea of traveling with other people in loose caravans.  And yet it hardly ever happens, probably because everybody has different preferences and calendars. Anyway, if I had to relive my RV career, I might be tempted to buy a rural property, and breed miniature poodles.

  I have never understood why Trump is so popular.  Did any of the people who voted for him in Iowa really think he is going to "drain the swamp?"  If reelected he isn't going to do anything in office other than shoot his mouth off in bombastic speeches, act like an octogenarian kindergartener, and visibly age in front of the camera. He will nominate a soft-money Federal Reserve.  Inflation will remain persistently high during a second Trump regime. He won't stop Israel from slaughtering Gazans.  He sucks up to Israel as bad as anybody. On the other hand, he might end the slaughter of Ukrainians in that war. Does Trump really have any serious political principles?  Does he have a lot of knowledge or interest in the world?  Or does he just see the presidency as a branch of the entertainment industry? Conversely, I have never understood the Trump Derangement Syndrome.  Many of the people who suffer from this disease are the same sort of people who would put a "No