This page stores miscellaneous thoughts and items until we decide where to put them.
Site Improvement
Devin Duke Bluesky page contains wonderful images that radicalLeft.site would happily use. One such image is epsteinMentions.jpg. It shows a beaming donald trump holding a huge golden cup on the base of which is a plaque: "Most Mentions in Epstein Files (38,000!)" Unfortunately, radicalLeft.site has been unable to figure out how to contact this Devin Duke, PhD, to seek his permission to use those images.
"Murder"
On our Luigi page, we state that Luigi is not a murderer because murder is a species of homicide that first requires the verdict of a jury and a sentencing by a judge. Yet, on our Weather Report page (and possibly elsewhere), we characterize convicted felon Trump as murderer when he has never been convicted of such. Isn't it somewhat inconsistent (you may wonder) that we label convicted felon Trump as a murderer, but decline to so characterize Mr. Mangione? The answer is, yes, it is inconsistent. That inconsistent treatment does not bother us.
Convicted Felon Trump and Ancient Rome
The Teaching Company produces many recorded lectures under its banner The Great Courses®. One of its courses is entitled The History of Ancient Rome. It focuses on the period from about 200 B.C. to about 200 A.D. We purchased that course and have listened to it several times.
The course is fascinating. (The Teaching Company does not pay us for this plug.) It is also very depressing. What makes it depressing is that the history of ancient Rome is fraught with wars. War after war after war. We suppose that the history of any empire would be incomplete without a recounting of its wars. Nonetheless, we found the endless succession of wars tiresome. If the United States and the world can survive the endless wars upon which this nation embarkes (oops, here comes another), future students of American history may have to endure a similar litany of battles and wars.
We marvel over how the convicted felon solely responsible for this newest war whines over not having received the Nobel Peace Prize.
Funding for Homeland Security / Partial Government Shutdown
The Department of Homeland Security ran out of money in mid-February 2026. Democratic votes in the Senate are needed in order to restore funding. Senate Democrats are conditioning their votes upon provisions that would curb some of the Department's Gestapo-like tactics. The Department continues to operate, but employees are not getting paid.
On March 12, the New York Times reports:
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In trying to shift responsibility onto the Republicans, the Democrats (as usual) are shooting themselves in the foot. Democrats' demands are extremely popular. They should be broadcasting without shame their desire to curb MAGA fascism. Explained clearly, their position is a vote winner.
When Presidents were Statesmen, and not Assholes:
In calmer, more rational times: Kennedy's perspectives
More Kennedy perspectives
Congressman John F. Kennedy on Iran, 1951
Facism, Tyranny, and Freedom: It's been suggested that most young people today couldn't define the term, "fascist." That may be true. But they know tyranny when they see it. They've watched movies like The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner; films where young people stood up to ruthless dictatorial regimes. Dystopian movies such as these have taught them to recognize evil and resist it. And they are. There are news accounts of teenagers making grocery runs for immigrant families who are fearful of leaving their homes. Now in addition to studying history, they are making it.
Steven Franklin