Just Ask the Secretary

 

I'm tired of the Epstein mess, too.  By now this isn't a matter of which side, Republican or Democratic, finally decided to DO something about the predator, but more about watching our President squirm his way out of his lies.

I don't believe Donald penned the note or drew the doodle.  Why not?  Because, based on personal observations from that time period (and surely today, too), no 'boss' would have put that together on his own - he'd have shifted it to his Secretary or Assistant to prepare; based on, perhaps, his guidelines or notes.

I'm an artist, but I doubt I could have drawn the woman's outline as symmetrically as it looks.  In my old company, whose owners were as sleezy as Jeffrey (the stories I could tell!), the Secretary would have gone down to the Art Department for one of the guys to draw the outline.  Then, if (she) couldn't do it herself, yet another person would have inserted the typed words - in just the right position to fit in the sketch.

Whether or not Trump signed it, he surely would have APPROVED of its insertion in the book.  No assistant would make that sort of unilateral decision if (she) wanted to keep (her) job; not to mention asking the obvious:  Could our President really have accomplished all that by himself?

Did he sign it?  Don't screem FORGERY without showing differences in curvature, letter-leanings and then similarities.  But hell, cursive isn't taught anymore, so how could most people tell the difference?  

Listen hard to their suggestive words denying the deed:  "HE didn't draw or write it."  You see how that can be true and not-really.  And they've twisted the "That's NOT the way he signs things."  Haven't we all seen enough TV where signatures have been compared?  Look at the FORCE used in those signatures for proof, if you don't believe the distinctive up-down with the Sharpie.  I've tried forging signatures - my parent's for a school note; my husband's if he wasn't available.  It's not that easy.

But the birthday book looks damned close, considering it would have been the first time Trump's forged signature was attempted; or was it?  Maybe someone else was signing all kinds of documents for him.  I was told plenty of times, 'Go ahead and sign it' when my boss was out of the office.

Consider:  what if someone else WAS pretty good at forging his signature to the extent that Trump passed off a portion of his inane correspondence, or something which might possibly incriminate him?  That would certainly explain why, if there ARE two distinct signatures from that time frame, we see others like this one, and some which are like his current signature.  I think that's a pretty good possibility.

I don't like him, but I don't think Trump engaged in pedophilia.  He seems to prefer more developed anatomies; plus he's got daughters - not necessarily a deterrent, but it would have at least given him pause, one would hope.  Epstein seems to have had no one but who?  His Assistant Ghislaine.

I suspect that was pretty much their relationship after he tired of her sexually; although she can, now that Jeffrey's dead, portray their relationship any way she chooses.  Again, I saw that in my old company in Manhattan (and Yes, I told Sis everything, every night on the hour-long bus ride home.  She was simultaneously amused and appalled.)

Owner Mike kept his Secretary/Lover, Susie, close by for decades.  Susie remained single and infatuated with Mike; and who, over the years, became complicent in Mike's sleezy, behavior: using-then-tossing some young Receptionist or other.  Ghislaine (likely) arranged Jeffrey's calendar, made travel arrangements, went to the bank, forged his signature when necessary - so my original point still stands:

ASK TRUMP'S THEN-SECRETARY OR PERSONAL ASSISTANT about the Birthday Book.  If not bound by any non-disclosure agreement, (as I witnessed; accompanied by a nice fat check), I'd bet (they've) got lots to say,  Office workers gossip, period.  

Go talk to THEM.

A Few Thoughts

Manager Rhonda recently forwarded this cartoon - said she immediately thought of me, she knows me pretty well by now.  Here goes:  Everyone I've spoken to has said they avoid the news, either entirely or for several days, to save their sanity, myself included.  That works for a bit, but then I've got to say something about some things.

I feel very badly for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, et al, who bravely went to Washington to represent their masses; knowing full well the abuse they would receive.  It's not their fault that our wishy-washy President flipped his view on releasing the documents.  Why doesn't he Sharpie-sign an approval already? 

Based on the law of averages, I'm wondering how many girls Epstein attempted to accost but who managed to escape the predator?  I'll ask you women:  how many times have YOU had some jerk grab a handful, or suggested a benign encounter which turned ugly?  JE couldn't have gotten lucky with EVERY child or young woman he tried to f__k - where are they, and why aren't they speaking out?

Fear.  That's what's gripping our nation everywhere - fear of one bully?  What the hell happened to people's resolve?  What if this was your daughter, sister or by-now mother?  Unfortunately, in general the status of women is deteriorating, and I've heard more than one man express their sorrow at what's happening to the rights of women.

I hope Ghislaine receives the same treatment child molesters receive in regular lockups; that would be fair, no?  If it wasn't for her father Robert, Ghislaine would likely not have been in such high society, and she's counting on her snooty friends to help get her off. She did nothing, knew nothing, could only praise our President's gentlemanly behavior, Pa-LEEZE!  And now they're claiming Trump was an FBI informant?  Where's that bridge?

Origami 101, and Other Things

You may recall from my cruise last year that I participated in two Origami sessions on the ship, and I was hooked.  Regardless of my gnarly fingers, I was able to manipulate the paper to create several incarnations, particularly pleased with my Frog, a good luck symbol for travelers.

So when, months ago, Manager Rhonda was jotting down ideas for activities for the park's 25th Anniversary in August, I volunteered to teach an Origami class.

"I didn't know you knew Origami," hairdresser Katy exclaimed.

"I don't - but we all learned those paper-folding-finger-things in grade school (remember?), so how hard can it be to teach?"

I generally leap before looking, so this wasn't an unusual action for me.  Whenever I'm teaching myself something new I generally purchase more supplies than necessary because I hate discovering mid-stream I'm missing something.  I did the same thing with the Origami.

Over the months I ordered a half-dozen types of paper, a couple of books and got crackin' until I had my supplies and 'lesson plan' together.  Spoiler:  the class was well attended, and a good time was had by all.

But in the meantime, I also agreed to make Cake Pops for the dessert buffet, paint some signs for the park and learn new Ukulele tunes for the staff meeting.  Definitely learned a lesson:  Sure, I'll get everything done, but at 69 why should I overextend myself like that?  Nobody really expects anything out of people my age anymore anyway.

I only have to do this ONCE, a statement I remind myself whenever I'm tackling something difficult, unusual, or just a pain in the ass.

First came Ukulele Time, I can't figure out how to upload the video; but I performed, "On Top of Spaghetti" for my co-workers, who cheerfully joined in.  I'm developing a repertoire, should I need to perform on the street some day.

I also played a bit of, "Tiptoe Through the Tulips," a special request from Bill, that was fun, too, even without mimicking Tiny Tim's falsetto voice.

The Best of Lifelong Friendships

My dear friend, Inga, passed away this morning in Germany, her daughter Rega informed me, and I'm heartbroken.  I want to mark the day for my friend.

I previously wrote a story about Inga, if you haven't read it, feel free, she was a dear friend and saved my sanity plenty of times.

Rega and her husband, Mathias, came to visit in June, following the funeral in Arlington for step-father Tommy, who passed away last year.  R&M flew afterwards to step-brother Boris's home in L.A., then flew up to San Francisco, rented a motorcycle, and after riding around some of our country's most beautiful spots in California, Nevada and Oregon, they stopped here for several days.

It was an unexpected, pleasant surprise, for it's been 30 years since I've seen Rega.  Prior to then my visits were with her mother; and, well, Rega just happened to be in the room.

Sarcasm aside, I've always loved Rega and still cherish the little gifts she made for me when she was around 10.  Our reconnection in June was fabulous for us both, and a new kind of bond developed between us, gives me warm fuzzies. 

Bread dough ornament

There's not much to add my original story besides this anecdote which occurred one time while drinking strawberry champagne (me) and Bernkastel-Kues (the best wine from the Mosel) for Inga.  The fact that it was her birthplace had nothing to do with it.

So from my first draft of the story of our friendship, written and sent to her in 2015 but not included in my 2022 piece:

Bet You Can't Guess, "What's a Nabelschnur?"

"We talked about all kinds of things, and found similarities in odd places.  During one of our Mother conversations, I repeated a line my mother told me dozens of times as a young bride:

“Once you got married I cut the umbilical cord.” 

Inga laughed and said her Mom also fibbed about Snipping the Nabelschnur; and some words just stick with you.

So as you can imagine, there is sadness today but also joy for having known such a wonderful woman.  There's no underestimating lifelong friendships.

My heart goes out to you, dear Rega.  Thank you for the open invitation, and I will see you again soon.

From my lips to God's ears.

Trump's 'Pot' Calls Pritzker's 'Kettle Black'

The Pot calling the Kettle Black means a hypocritical situation where someone criticizes another person for a fault that they themselves also possess.  Trump called Pritzker a SLOB who should go to the gym.

I began this post the morning the FBI raided John Bolton's home.  Of course it's payback; Bolton's one more Trump's crossing off his list, he's such a vindictive Toddler-in-Chief.  You may not have heard much of what I'm about to report, primarily because the White House has been systematically relegating reliable news organizations to the cheap seats.  He may allow them (for the moment) to attend his news conferences, but always makes a point of deriding the corrupt/horrible/fake news reporters.  He passes them over while calling on his social media sycophants to ask fluff questions.  No wonder you're not concerned.

I heard a story the other day regarding a Victim Advocate office in Portland which is closing their doors because of budget cuts.  A five-year old girl was to testify in court about what her father did to her; but she was so frightened and traumatized she couldn't even speak her name.  An advocate spoke with her until she was finally able to receive some justice, but now that advocate won't be there for others.  So the victim loses; the advocate's out of a job so their family suffers; the owner of the building needs to find a new tenant; local businesses lose customers; and finally the banks foreclose.  It's easy to scream, "Budget Cut" and "Fire Them" when you don't think past your nose.

That's just one example of what Trump/DOGE is accomplishing while transferring money to the Uber-Wealthy.  My groceries haven't gone down and I'm still paying around $4 a gallon for gasoline.  Now he's trying to get rid of mail-in ballots, something which didn't bother Trump back when HE voted that way; but Putin put a bug in his ear about the subject and whaddaya know?  Trump suddenly does a turn-around, echoing Putin's words like a ventriloquist's dummy.

Trump's turned the country into a place where his 'subjects' are meant to fear his Pretorian Guard. I'm waiting for him to send troops to Portland, as soon as he's finished militarizing Chicago and New York (while ignoring crime in Red states).  We Oregonians won't go down without a fight.  If you're against him you're in danger of something.  In my case I figure it'll likely be censorship.  Once the White House send out little spiders to locate derogatory words or themes deriding the Grand Master, my little blog will simply disappear, like people on the streets.  No use getting upset, and until that time I'll continue to voice unpopular, or Revolutionary, opinions.

My tipping point came last month when I understood that Trump, et al, aren't worried about the next administration reversing their restrictive changes in government, education, legal and business sectors...because they have no intention of going anywhere.  Adding 5 more Republican seats in Texas will help assure that, in case we DO have elections again.

It's happening - we're really becoming a divided nation again.  I hoped that wouldn't happen, but people will start moving en masse to live amongst 'their own'.  However, there's still a bit of hope left in me when I watch Pritkzer and Newsom fighting back; and when I saw a bit of OR Republican Cliff Bentz's 'By Invitation Only' Town Hall.  I'm sure he went in feeling confident touting Trump's Big Beautiful Bill among 'his kind'; but do you know when his loyal constituents turned on him?

While discussing the end of funding for Public Broadcasting, of all things.  His constituents live in very rural areas which depend on PBS for local information.  You know, the little guys. 

Prez is So Full of...

I won't swear...how about Full of HIMSELF?!  Trump did not look like a happy player sitting with Putin, who looked positively giddy.  To me that speaks volumes, as to who came out on top of today's summit.

Maybe Trump can trade Alaska for a cease fire - he'd still call it a Win, as he's calling this wasted trip...how much did that cost the American public?  I'd bet money that any 'deal' he made with Putin has to do with building future Trump Worlds in the soon-to-return USSR.

Trump's not going to do anything to Putin; at least nothing painful.  He doesn't mind playing strong-man to his own citizens, but towards a foreign dictator...a lesser member on the political stage than our own man's supposed to be?

He's selling us all down the river, not just Ukraine.