From Grumpy's Garage

Every now and then I hear a Trump supporter explain why they voted for him: "Because he'll bring market discipline to running the government. He'll run it like a business." But is that really what we want? What would that look like?  Are we seeing that now (April, 2025)? What Trump, Musk, and DOGE Have Done So Far President Trump, "Prime Minister" Musk, and DOGE have:  Identified various divisions (bureaus, agencies, and departments) that they want to eliminate, such as USAID Begun massive layoffs of workers in those divisions Begun massive layoffs even of divisions they intend to keep Started consolidating functions of divisions they want to close with divisions they want to keep Started closing field offices and consolidating functions in larger regional offices Canceled leases and identified properties to later sell off Canceled labor union contracts, including for TSA Canceled contracts and programs that would provide "non-essential" services, ...

Designed by Wannapik Back in December, 2023, my eldest daughter bought me a subscription for my birthday. Storyworth would send me a writing prompt each week for all of 2024. The prompts were always framed as a question, and I was invited to login and write a short essay to answer it. At first, I was intrigued. My kids and grandkids might learn a bit more about who I really was.  While the prompts often seemed trivial, I often found it challenging to write a good answer. The first prompt was, "What are some of your biggest pet peeves?" I know that I have pet peeves. Lots of them. And anyone who spends much time with me quickly learns what they are. But sitting down and simply listing them is kinda hard. For starters, I had to look at my personality and habits from an external perspective. I had to put myself in the shoes of people around me. That requires a certain level of self-awareness that I don't often practice. As I identified some of my pet peeves, I found myself ...

Image: Leonardo.ai Whenever I hear that the Christian right supports Donald Trump, I cringe. Jesus didn't teach what Trump is preaching to the world. Even when he doesn't say anything, Trump's actions speak volumes about his worldview. Jesus called his followers to be humble, forgiving, generous, and loving to one another. He didn't call for followers to spend their time and energy preparing for life after death. Focus on the here and now, not the hereafter. It was about living what you believe by serving others. I especially appreciated how this was captured at the church I attended before COVID. Their motto: "Life is a gift, and love is the point." That pretty much summarizes what Jesus was getting at. Here are a few of Jesus' teachings from the Gospel of Matthew (with one deviation into the Old Testament Book of Leviticus). Compare them with how Trump manifests these Christian values: Turn the other cheek "But I tell you, do not resist an evil pers...

Robert E. Lee statue on a pedestel. Image: Public Domain I've just finished reading Chapter 5 of Naomi Klein's book, No is Not Enough . In that chapter, she outlines how Donald Trump leverages social divides in his predominantly white, sexist, bigoted voter base and the "others," those groups who have historically enjoyed less privilege. Klein, writing in 2017 about the rise of the MAGA movement in America, tries to paint a picture of why Hillary Clinton failed to win the 2016 presidential election. Clinton leaned into identity politics, explicitly calling out women, Black and Brown minorities, LGBTQ voters, and others who have been marginalized by the white majority. In doing so, according to Klein, Clinton alienated white, Christian voters who then cast their votes for Trump. But that's not what I found most impactful. At one point, Klein wrote something that struck me hard. In a section titled  "Racial Capitalism" , she describes how America's cap...

Image: Created by Google Gemini AI As I watch the news, I can't help but be overwhelmed by the leadership counterexample that Donald Trump is presenting to the world. He does not seem to be consulting with people around him. He does not seem to be taking the impact of his actions on other people into account. He certainly is not delegating power to others. (Exercising power is not an inherent attribute of leadership. Quite the opposite: exercising power is usually a sign of the absence of leadership.) Trump's actions as the "Leader of the Free World" are comical. When asked about the impacts of his recent tariffs on imported automobiles, he is quoted as saying, "I don't care if they increase prices on imported cars." No recognition of how this will likely result in somewhat higher prices for domestically manufactured cars. No acknowledgement that this will be a shock to the entire automobile market. No apparent realization that this will impact the lives...