Anybody remember Stephen King's book, Dead Zone

and the movie made from it? Not the TV show, which did not seem to folllow the plot line of the book.

I am NOT suggesting that ANYBODY should follow the decision made by the main character, Johnny Smith. There are other ways to deal with the situation than the one that he chose. I am only thinking of the similarities in character (or lack of it) and political career of the antagonist, Greg Stillson.

Stillson reminds me of Trump, or, vice versa. Anyone familiar with the book or movie will understand the comparison.

I am not a military strategist, but

if you plan to attack a country, don't you consider the risks and plan in advance how to reduce them?

Example, in an attack on Iran, it was predictable that the Strait of Hormuz would get blocked, leaving ships bottlenecked with repercussions around the world on oil supplies and other goods. The result of that is inflation and shortages.

So is there a way that the Strait of Hormuz could have been protected in advance of the bombing? If not, what about detouring ships to a safer route before bombing? That would be an inconvenience and extra cost for the ships and their cargo companies but it's costing them to sit still, too, and is creating shortages.

Wouldn't it have been prudent to protect our bases in Middle East countries against Iranian counter attacks prior to bombing Iran?

As I said, I am not a strategist. I have never been in the military although my father, 2 brothers, nephew, and cousin were. So maybe I'm misguided about advance planning and protections.

Anti war music

I live in a small purple city surrounded by a deep red rural area. For the past week, a conservative local radio station has been playing anti war music from the 60s and 70s. This has included:

War! What is it Good for?
Lay Down (Candes in the Rain)
Country Joe and the Fish -- What Are We Fighting For? (I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag)

Also. -- For What It's Worth -- Buffalo Springfueld

Cats and children

Can you guess which nation is glad to see the US fighting in Iran?

So long as the US is involved in a war with Iran, and using up weapons, Cuba is not being attacked.

Oh my. Ember asked me (sort of) to fix something for her.

Ember has a comfort toy known to her as Chickie. Whenever Ember feels stressed, she carries Chickie around with her. Chickie is a little fuzzy windup chicken with a plastic nose and plastic feet.

Whenever I leave, she grabs Chickie. I know this because I find Chickie in different places when I come back, usually wherever she drops it when she hears me approaching the door. Occasionally, I come home to find Chickie in Ember's water dish, or inside one of my shoes.

So, when I came home earlier, Ember met me at the door. She does not always do that. She walked into the kitchen, right up to Chickie, who was lying on her side, minus the feet, which were lying next to it. Ember looked pointedly at Chickie, then at me, I guess to let me know that Chickie was ailing.

Chickie's feet are set together on a little plastic bar with a tab that inserts into the body. So I picked it up and inserted the feet back inside. Ember watched. When I was done, she gave me a "wow" look of amazement. Then she gently picked up Chickie and put it at the base of her cat tree, where I keep her toys when not in use.

Maybe Ember decided that Chickie needed a recovery nap.

Animals and language

I've been thinking about animal communications and have a few thoughts on it. What do you think?

We humans think that we are the only living beings who talk, but that's not true. Animals might not have as complex of a language as we do, but they talk vocally to each other. Sometimes they vocalize to people. And like us, they also communicate through body language.

Birds have songs that have meanings for other birds. Some can imitate human language. .

Chipmunks and squirrels chatter. Only they know what their sounds mean.

Dogs bark at each other, at other animals, and at people. Anyone who has lived with a dog recognizes their different kinds of barks and their meanings.

Adult cats usually don't meow at each other, but they do at humans. That means that they comprehend that humans communicate that way and so they try to do it, too. Siamese are just naturally talkative

I once encountered a very distressed mama duck on a city street. There was a river nearby. She had been walking with her ducklings and the little ones fell through a drain grate. Mama was squawking anxiously at every person she saw. She waa "talking" to us and we understood her anxiety. Somebody contacted the city's public works department and they sent a guy out to remove the grate and pull out the ducklings. Mama duck watched until every one was retrieved, then took them to the river. Her distress calls were understood, but the surprising thing to me was that she deliberately sought human help by "speaking" to us.

Animals learn their names, which suggests to me that they are hard wired for some degree of language comprehension. Could it be that their mother's vocalizations to them vary slightly enough between them to distinguish one from the other? Then the puppy or kitten transfers that to living with humans who use a specific sound -- their name -- to call them?

We communicate beyond species. Our pets comprehend our tone even when they don't know the words, and vice versa.

I will shed no tears at the demise the fascist president, but

when it finally comes, I dread the weeks of publicity about him that will drag on and on and on.

RWers will hail him as a saint, to join ranks with St. Ronnie. Sts. Ronnie and Donnie.

The left will celebrate, of course.

And through it all, while attention is on his demise, the fascist backers who kept him propped up with drug cocktails as their front man for so long will be planning and implementing the next steps in destroying democracy.

The battle to maintain democracy will not end with Herr Drumpf's departure. Stay vigilant.

Is the Iran war going to make Trump's Gaza resort safe?

Trump has his eye on Gaza for a resort. Hamas was not the only threat there. Iran and irs surrogates supported Hamas.

The Trump family cannot safely begin construction until all potential terrorist attacks are eliminated.

Members of Trump's BOP (Board of Peace) have paid $1 billion for membership. Is that membership an investment for the Trump resort?

Perhaps not the sole motive for the war, but a factor. The timing also distracts from Epstein.

If the war leads to terrorist attacks within the US, Trump gets the bonus of having a reason to declare national emergency and take over the midterm elections, maybe cancel them.

What is that $1 billion membership fee for BOP being used for?

Huffpost is reporting that Israeli strikes on Iran

killed Iran's Defense Minister and the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard.

Also reports:

Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz which will affect oil delivery to Europe.

Iran has launched retaliatory strikes in Israel and in Gulf countries.

Iran claims to be in close contact with allies -- Russia and China.
.
UN Secretary General condemned the attacks for creating additional discord in a volatile region.

Remember when Stephen Miller and Trump campaigned on fear that Harris would cause WWIII if elected?