Alexader Hurst trashes "Maga-Land" for the Trump-Deranged Guardian

 Of all the Trump-hating media outlets that hate Trump--and there are dozens of them--the Guardian is the most brazen and unprincipled. Thus, I was not surprised to find Alexander Hurst's Trump-bashing opinion piece on the Guardian's website. 

Actually, Hurst wasn't bashing Trump so much as the regions in America where Donald Trump is popular. Hurst was trashing Flyover Country, which he labels as MAGA-land.

Hurst's essay was inspired by a road trip he took with a friend from Washington, DC to New Orleans. He didn't like what he saw: the box stores, convenience stores, and gas stations —miles and miles of sprawl.

Indeed, Hurst despises America's urban and suburban sprawl, which he diagnosed as an expression of Trumpism. "Trumpism, too, has an aesthetic," Hurst writes. "Allow me to pretentiously, subjectively declare it not beautiful. The aesthetic of Trumpism is sprawl."

I found much of Hurst's essay incoherent, despite his inclusion of esoteric references to various sages, including Keats, Saint Augustine, Plato, John Dewey, and Plotinus. However, the essence of his thesis is contained in this condescending passage:

Perhaps there is something authentic to suburban sprawl when experienced as spectator and anthropologist. But as everyday life, sprawl is deadening, ugly, fake. Devoid of art, beauty and truth alike.

To all this blather, I have this to say: Get off the fuckin' Interstate. Yes, the gas stations and convenience stores clustered along the Interstate are unappealing, but where else can I get gasoline and beef jerky?

In any event, anyone who gets off the Interstate highways will find a lovely America, overflowing with charm, authentic regional culture, good food, and fascinating historic architecture. 

Suppose Hurst had explored the Heartland's byways and small towns. In that case, he might have visited William Faulkner's home in Oxford, Mississippi, the birthplace of Elvis Presley in Tupelo, or the site of the Vicksburg siege, where Grant split the Confederacy atwain.

If he had wandered into Texas, he might have viewed the eighteenth-century missions—great examples of Spanish Baroque architecture. Before leaving this old Texas City, he could have eaten barbecue on San Antonio's River Walk or Mexican food at Mi Tierra in the El Mercado District.  

Apparently, Hurst doesn't get out much. He needs to get in his Tesla and explore Flyover Country, which is the real America.

Elvis at 13

Atlantic Editor Inadvertently Included in Top Secret Group Chat of Trump Officials: A Mistake of the Head and not the Heart

If it is a mistake of the head and not the heart, don't worry about it. That's the way we learn.

Earl Warren

 In the evening of my life, I am painfully aware of the mistakes I made when I was young, and I've grown more tolerant of mistakes made by others.

A few weeks ago, someone in the Trump administration. Jeffrey Goldberg, editor of The Atlantic, was inadvertently included in a group chat attended by President Trump's top administrative advisors, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President J.D. Vance, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Security Director Tulsi Gabbard, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

This elite inner group of Trump's senior advisors was discussing military attacks on Yemen's pesky Houthis, and Goldburg had no business listening in. Oops!

This was a serious mistake, and Trump's enemies pounced. Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democrats' chief jackal, described the error as a "stunning" breach of military intelligence, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called for a congressional investigation. Jeffries also accused Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of being "the most unqualified person to lead the Pentagon in American history."

Like most Americans, I can distinguish a mistake of the head from a mistake of the heart. Someone obviously goofed in granting Jeffrey Goldberg access to a secret intelligence discussion, but good people occasionally make mistakes in military matters. The United States sent a ship packed with mustard gas to Italy during World War II, which was bombed by the Germans, leading to hideous injuries to American soldiers. Winston Churchill made lots of errors during that war, including a military misadventure in Greece.

When mistakes are made, we must soldier on. President Trump is on the edge of success in bringing the Ukraine war to an end, something President Biden never could have done. And he got American hostages out of Gaza. 

At the end of the day, what's more important, the security breach that allowed a Trump hater to listen in on sensitive military discussions or peace in Eastern Europe?

Slimy Chuck Schumer has one answer to that question, but I have another.

Note: Most of the information cited in this essay is from a Racket News report written by Greg Collard and James Rushmore, titled "Timeline: The Houthi Attack Chat on Signal That Includes a Journalist."

"Social Security is beaking down," claims the Washington Post: Ain't necessarily so

 "Social Security is breaking down," the Washington Post cried out yesterday, and the Democratic National Committee joined in the alarm. "Long waits, waves of calls, website crashes," reads the WaPo subheading. Chaos reigns is the implicit message, all inflicted by Elon Musk.

The WaPo article was an exercise in fear-mongering, intended, I believe, to undermine public support for Elon Musk's efforts to make the federal government more efficient. As one of the millions of older Americans who rely partly on Social Security, I can attest that Social Security is not breaking down.

My wife and I receive our Social Security checks on time every month, and we can easily check our account status on the government's website. What's the problem?

Earlier this month, the Social Security Administration demonstrated its efficiency by the speed with which it implemented the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA), which Congress passed last December. 

My wife and I are among the 3.2 million retired Americans who contributed to state-sponsored pension plans that did not participate in the Social Security program. Consequently, we were both unfairly penalized when we started drawing our Social Security benefits. 

The Social Security Fairness Act canceled those penalties, and the Social Security Administration distributed our refund checks earlier this month, depositing them directly into our checking accounts. Next month, my wife and I will be receiving our enhanced benefits. 

I was pleasantly surprised by the SSA's alacrity in implementing the SSFA, which was apparently accomplished with a reduced staff.

Some Americans have occasionally been irritated when dealing with the SSA's bureaucracy. Still, I doubt that their frustration was any greater than that of many Americans who stand in line at the Post Office during the Christmas season. All in all, the Social Security Administration probably functions as well or better than other federal agencies.

That is not to say that the Social Security program is without problems. As many commentators have pointed out, the SSA faces a massive funding shortfall in the coming years because Americans are living longer than they did when the Roosevelt administration created the program in 1935.  Sooner or later, Congress will need to find new sources of revenue to support the program.

Nevertheless, the Social Security program is not breaking down, and it was irresponsible for Washington Post reporters to suggest otherwise. 

Image credit: Right at Home

Trump moves student loan administration to the SBA. You got a problem with that?

 Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that 43 percent of borrowers who owe on their student loans weren't making payments. According to the WSJ, that's about 9 million people.

How about the 57 percent of borrowers who aren't delinquent? Are they faithfully making their monthly loan payments and whittling down the principal of their loans?

Not all of them. Approximately 2.5 million borrowers have economic hardship deferments that exempt them from making their monthly loan payments, and millions more are enrolled in Income-Based Repayment plans (IBRPs), which result in payments so low that they don't cover accruing interest. 

The General Accounting Office recently reported that 4.5 million borrowers who were current on their income-driven repayment plans were paying zero on their loans due to their low income. 

In 2018, Education Secretary Betsy Devos gave a speech comparing the federal student loan program to a looming thunderstorm. Only one out of four borrowers, Devos said, were paying down the interest and principal on their loans.

Do you think student loan repayment rates have improved since Secretary Devos made that speech six years ago? No, they haven't. In fact, almost no one paid on their college loans for three years due to the COVID crisis.

Indeed, the federal student loan program is in disarray, mainly due to the Department of Education's mismanagement.  DOE couldn't do a competent job when it was tasked with designing the standardized financial aid (FAFSA) application

Now, President Trump has transferred the administration of the student loan program to the Small Business Administration. If Trump hasn't been sued yet for this move, he will be soon. After all, his administration has been sued more than 100 times during the first two months of Trump's presidency.

Critics should refrain from slamming Trump's efforts to reform the federal student loan program. The only sector of the American economy benefiting from the status quo is the higher education industry, which charges students an exorbitant price for college degrees that often fail to prepare graduates for the world of work. 

Working harder than a one-legged pole dancer: Life in my corner of Flyover Country

 Wilkinson County, Mississippi, is a beautiful part of Flyover Country. Bounded on the west by the Mississippi River, its alluvial soil is incredibly fertile. Trees grow fast here, providing the lumber industry with an endless supply of hardwood timber.

Woodville, the seat of Wilkinson County, is the county's only incorporated community, with a population of under 1,000 people.  Founded in 1811, before the nation was torn apart by the Civil War, it is a classic Southern town. The stately courthouse, with its impressive cupola, sits in the middle of the town square. To Kill a Mockingbird wasn't filmed here, but it might have been.

Woodville boasts the state's oldest newspaper and some of Mississippi's oldest churches. Antebellum homes line Church Street, mostly built in the Greek Revival style, evoking serenity, grace, and understated dignity.

Wilkinson County is the last place one would expect to find a strip club--much less a strip club where the dancers are both topless and bottomless. Yet, until recently, Illusions, a gentlemen's club, did a thriving business on Highway 61, just outside the Woodville city limits.

According to local lore, investors in the club circulated a petition in support of an application for a resort license, which would allow the establishment to sell alcohol. Imagine the townspeople's surprise when they discovered that their signatures had paved the way for commercial nudity!

Several sources confirm that one of Illusion's strippers had a prosthetic leg, which gave her pole dances an especially exotic appeal. Did she do lap dances? No one  I talked with has given me a definitive answer.

Not surprisingly, Woodville's religious leaders were scandalized. I am told that a Protestant preacher read the names of people who signed the petition in support of the new business, which included several church deacons. A Pentecostal group picketed the club for a time, apparently without discouraging its customers.  

The East Coast elites are contemptuous of Flyover Country, which they consider to be a wasteland of Trump supporters and utterly devoid of culture. But they are wrong. 

Woodville has its own brand of diversity, encompassing diversity of race, diversity of religion, and diversity of culture. Lake Mary, where I live, is home to some of the world's most beautiful waterbirds, including white ibises, wood storks, green herons, snowy egrets, and many more.

Illusions closed before I had the opportunity to see the Pentecostal pickets or the one-legged stripper. Yesterday, however, I spotted a bald eagle while driving along Route 24 west of Woodville. The majestic bird was on the wing, fending off an aerial attack by crows. Yes, according to the Audubon website, crows are known for harassing bald eagles.

I once lived in Greater Boston, the epicenter of East Coast snobbery and elitism. I attended Harvard to get a doctorate and often walked the streets around Harvard Square.

I expected Harvard to be a glittering intellectual Camelot, which would open new vistas of opportunity for me. I was surprised by the grubbiness of the neighborhoods around the university and the town of Boston in general. I was shocked by the provincial perspective of most Bostonians, who seemed to prefer a leftist political viewpoint to independent thought.

How impoverished are the lives of the Bostonians! I'll bet most of them have never seen a one-legged pole dancer or a majestic eagle fighting off crows over the hardwood forests of the lower Mississippi Valley. 

I pity the coastal dwellers who disparage Flyover Country; they may never know the richness of life in the real America.

Why Kindness Might Be the Secret to Your Next Big Breakthrough: Guest essay by Steve Rhode

Why Kindness Might Be the Secret to Your Next Big Breakthrough

The smallest act of kindness—whether given or received—can change everything. Here’s why your next big breakthrough might be just one kind moment away. 

We’re often told that breakthroughs come from hard work, persistence, and never giving up. And while that’s true, there’s another key ingredient that doesn’t get nearly enough attention: kindness. 

Not just kindness to others, but also kindness to yourself.

The Power of a Single Act

This isn't some feel-good lecture. It's just an observation. I have seen kindness work in my life and in the lives of others, and I know it makes a difference. No guilt trips here, just something to think about.

Think about a time when someone’s unexpected kindness changed your day or even your life. Maybe it was a stranger who covered your coffee when you forgot your wallet. A mentor who gave you a shot when you did not have the experience. A friend who sent a message at just the right moment to remind you that you were not alone.

One small act. One moment of human connection. And yet, it shifted everything. Like the time I was having a terrible day, and a complete stranger held the door for me, smiled, and said, "Hope your day gets better." In that instant, the weight I had been carrying felt just a little lighter. It was such a small thing, but I carried that warmth with me all day. Sometimes, it really is the little things that make the biggest difference.

But here is what everyone misses. We think success is all about pushing forward, but what if the real breakthrough comes from pausing and offering kindness instead? The biggest breakthroughs do not always come from hustling harder. Sometimes, they come from the simplest act of grace, either given or received.

We Have All Been Through Tough Times

It is easy to assume that kindness is something extra, something reserved for when life is going smoothly. But the truth is, we have all lived through tough times. Mine might not have been worse than yours, but they sure felt pretty bad at the time.

I once lived in a mobile home in Louisiana, sitting in a field with no power. The place was not level, so everything rolled off the counter. Looking back now, it does make me chuckle, but at the time, it was not so funny. It taught me something important though. Hard times do not last, but how we treat ourselves and others during those times stays with us. Even in the middle of frustration, a little kindness, whether from others or from myself, helped me keep going.

Lifting Others Lifts Us Too

I have found that my life is richer when I get paid in smiles. The smallest acts, a kind word, a quick compliment, or just being present, can be priceless.

We have all been down, but that does not mean we cannot lift people up every opportunity we get. Simple things can make someone's day. Yesterday, I offered up a nice hat comment to a guy who was looking pretty sad. He gave me a big smile and a heartfelt thank you. The little things can matter more than we realize.

Can you think of a time when someone lifted you up for free when you least expected it?

The Downside of Kindness?

You might be thinking, "What is the downside of kindness?" After all, it is free, it feels good, and it helps others. But here is the twist. Kindness can sometimes go unnoticed, unappreciated, or even rejected. You hold the door for someone, and they do not say thanks. You compliment a coworker, and they brush it off. Does that mean it was not worth it? Not at all.

I remember a time when I went out of my way to help someone who was struggling. I offered advice, checked in, really tried to be there for them. And you know what? They never acknowledged it. No "thank you," no sign that it even mattered. At first, I felt a little stung, wondering if I had wasted my energy. But looking back, I realize that kindness is not about the reaction, it is about the action itself. Maybe they were not in a place to receive it at the time. Maybe it meant more to them than I will ever know. Either way, I know I did the right thing, and that is what counts.

Kindness is not about keeping score. It is about showing up in a way that reflects who you are, not how others react. Sometimes, the people who need kindness the most do not know how to receive it. And that is okay. Because at the end of the day, every act of kindness, whether acknowledged or not, adds something good to the world. And that is never wasted.

Kindness as a Writer

Kindness is not just about what we do in person. It is something we can extend through our words too. As a writer, a single sentence can change someone’s perspective, offer them hope, or make them feel seen. Think about the books, articles, or even comments that have stuck with you over the years. Odds are, they were not just full of information. They carried a sense of humanity and understanding.

Even a simple message, like telling a struggling writer that their work matters, leaving a thoughtful comment on someone’s post, or sharing an encouraging story, can have a bigger impact than you realize. If you have ever received a kind word at just the right time, you know how powerful that can be.

Here is a challenge. Take a moment today to write one kind comment, on a blog, social media post, or even in a message to a friend. See what happens. You might just make someone’s day.

Kindness as a Catalyst

• Kindness opens doors. People remember those who treat them well. A single moment of generosity can lead to opportunities you never saw coming.

• Kindness builds resilience. It is easy to be hard on yourself when things are not going right. But offering yourself kindness, accepting that you are human, helps you keep going.

• Kindness heals. Whether it is past wounds, self doubt, or strained relationships, kindness has a way of softening the edges and creating space for growth.

What If Your Breakthrough Is One Kindness Away?

If you feel stuck right now, ask yourself.

• Who in your life needs encouragement today?

• Where can you show unexpected kindness?

• Are you being as kind to yourself as you would be to a friend in your situation?

So many of the life changing moments we crave, new opportunities, deeper relationships, even a sense of peace, are not just about grinding harder. They are about slowing down long enough to extend kindness.

And sometimes, that one moment of kindness is the very thing standing between you and your next big breakthrough.

Who needs your kindness today? Maybe it is the barista who looks exhausted, the coworker drowning in stress, or the neighbor you barely know. A simple "Hey, I appreciate you" or "That is a great shirt" might be all it takes to turn their day around. Try it and see what happens.

And if you need a little bit of kindness right now, if you are reading this, you are taking a moment to invest in yourself and seeking a way to be better. That is pretty damn terrific. Good for you.

*****

Steve's essay was originally posted on Get Out of Day. I recommend that you subscribe.

Louisiana executed Jessie Hoffman Jr. last night: The State killed him twice

 The State of Louisiana executed Jessie Hoffman Jr last night in Angola Prison's death chamber. He was killed with nitrogen gas after his lawyers lost a last-minute appeal arguing that the execution method was cruel and unusual.

If anyone deserved the death penalty, it was Mr. Hoffman. He kidnapped, raped, and murdered a young woman in 1996.

Nevertheless, it is unconscionable for Louisiana to confine someone on death row for decades before killing him. As Pope Francis observed, a life sentence is a death sentence. 

In essence, then, the state of Louisiana executed Hoffman twice: First, by confining him for more than a quarter of a century as a death row inmate and a second time by injecting him with nitrogen gas.

In my humble opinion, that's a cruel and unusual punishment.