Three Things I Learned, June 21, 2025

When the price of dissent is high, we need to increase the supply. Miles Taylor, author of Blowback: A Warning to Save Democracy from Trump’s Revenge

I missed posting for the solstice. I was out having fun! Second hot day in a row ended the solstice early for us, so I have time for a quick post. Thankfully the music from the festival is simulcast on local radio, so we can still hear! And we’ll be back out on the grass tomorrow! A few bits of news from the world seeped through in phone notifications and talking with people….

1. I found out the NYT just likes to scare people. A big headline shouted, “Social Security’s Finances Erode Further, Risking Benefit Cuts.” Oh my! And then you read the article and find that if nothing is done (and there is a whole lot that can and hopefully in the end will be done if we vote and get our act together—stopping the upward transfer of wealth would be a start) they would have to stop paying 100% of benefits in 2034 instead of 2035. I guess there is nothing more pressing than what might happen in nine years…

2. I learned we may or may not be going to war with Iran. The felon will decide in two weeks…or not. Even the NYT is finally picking up on the fact that he always says he’ll decide whatever in two weeks and then never mentions it again, hoping whatever has gone away and moved on to the next crisis he himself has created. It was over seven years ago now that he promised to reveal his new health care plan in two weeks, and then never did. When finally confronted about it last year he whined, “I have concepts of a plan.” And no, we never found out what those concepts might be.

3. It seems like about 90% of District Court decisions go against the felon. Appeals court decisions feel like they’re about evenly split, and of course SCOTUS decisions tend to go in the felon’s favor. Go figure! After all, they are the ones who declared him a king above the law. An at least some of those court orders are being obeyed by the regime. From the NYT, “Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia graduate, had been held in Louisiana for over three months as the Trump administration sought to deport him. A judge found reason to believe it was retaliation for his pro-Palestinian speech.” So at least he is out on bail. Thank you, Judge Michael E. Farbiarz of Federal District Court in Newark. He said the regime must release him from custody, and they did.

Enough news! Here are a few pics from the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. (These vacation posts are not proofed as well as normal posts. Nor should they be).