Algae in the reflecting pool

The black color absorbs heat. 

The optimal temperature for rapid algae growth is between 75 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit.

What is the algae, Cyanobacteria? 

Algae can be poisonous. Some algae are neurotoxins.

Propaganda really does work for those willing to hear it as fact.

The MAGA crowd is happier today than yesterday. Why? Because Trump continues to brag about the Iran peace plan supposed to be signed on Friday. Iran is still saying the plan is not complete without the removal of Israeli troops from Lebanon. I, more than anyone, hope the peace plan is signed and other issues can begin to be addressed between the USA and Iran, but, even if the peace plan takes hold and the Persian Gulf is again open to ship traffic the processing of any petroleum products will not take effect immediately. If there is a fall in price it is Wall Street adding impetus to Trump's plans for peace. 

The real concern today and beyond is the depletion of the USA Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the purpose of politics. This is worrisome and should not be considered a minor issue especially with Hegseth carrying on with the military as he does. 

June 16, 2026

After weeks in the doldrums, (click here) Donald Trump's job approval rebounded in this week's Economist / YouGov Poll to its highest level in three months — though he remains unpopular. 39% of U.S. adult citizens strongly or somewhat approve of Trump's job performance, and 56% disapprove, for a net job approval of -17. Last week, 35% approved and 60% disapproved for a net approval of -25....

June 15, 2026

By Matt Egan

The amount of oil (click here) in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve plunged last week to the lowest level since 1983 as the Trump administration continues to deploy emergency oil to minimize the damage from the war with Iran.

According to federal data released Monday, US officials released another 8.9 million barrels from the SPR last week alone.

That leaves the US emergency oil reserve with 340.3 million barrels of crude, taking out the prior low set in July 2023 under President Joe Biden after Russia invaded Ukraine.

The last time the SPR had less oil than today was July 1983, when the Reagan administration was filling the reserve for the first time and when the United States had a smaller economy....

Henry Morales Hernandez should be far more valued as an informant than a migrant.

What the heck are they doing? This man is in the USA because of the danger to his life by Maduro. He should be valued for the understanding he has about the Maduro regime. He should be protected as a federal witness in the case Trump's DOJ has brought against Maduro. Does anyone in this administration know what they are doing?

June 15, 2026

By Billal Rahman

Federal immigration authorities detained a Florida grandfather and former Venezuelan army major who had sought asylum in the United States after fleeing the government of Nicolás Maduro, family members said....

...The case comes (click here) as the Trump administration has ramped up immigration enforcement, increasing arrests and detentions nationwide under it’s flagship mass deportation policy. The administration has moved to narrow protections for some migrants, including Venezuelans, while tightening legal pathways for immigrants.

Esmeralda San Andres Morales, an American citizen, disputed the circumstances of the arrest, telling Newsweek her husband had consumed a small amount of alcohol and was not impaired.

“He was taken in based on false allegations,” she said, adding that a breath test showed a blood alcohol level of about 0.03, and that her husband had no prior criminal record....

This entire mess doesn't smell right.

Bosch is a privately held company in Germany (click here).

Normally, the profit structure is applied in charitable methods. If companies are leaving the USA it may very well be based in extortion by Trump. Just a guess.

The Robert Bosch Foundation (click here) is one of the largest corporate foundations in Europe. For 60 years, our work has followed in the footsteps of Robert Bosch, continuing his social and societal commitment in a contemporary way.

The Justice Department (click here) announced today that it has declined the prosecution of Robert Bosch GmbH (Bosch), thereby resolving its investigation into an alleged scheme to send products and software manufactured with equipment that was the direct product of U.S. software or technology to an Entity-listed company in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This decision was reached pursuant to Part I of the Department-wide Corporate Enforcement and Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy (CEP), after also considering the factors set forth in the Department’s Principles of Federal Prosecution of Business Organizations. Bosch promptly disclosed the misconduct to the National Security Division (NSD), fully cooperated, and timely and appropriately remediated — which qualified them for a declination under the CEP, given that aggravating circumstances were absent Bosch has agreed to disgorge the $11,430,098 in profits it made as a result of the transactions at issue — a portion of which will be credited towards the $36,184,680 fine paid in a parallel civil action by the Department of Commerce....

Congratulations Former President and First Lady Obama.

Your Presidential Center is opening and it is very exciting. 

I am so grateful for the Obama years. Our country was without a doubt an icon of peace and benevolence. There were also many wonderful goals achieved domestically. The First Couple served as an example and inspiration to an unshakable morality for the country.

Thank you. I look forward to the inspiration the Obama Presidential Center will bring to all those who visit.

And.

Oh, by the way, the nasty slurs in the air are somewhat expected, right? The current occupant of the White House with a destroyed East Wing doesn’t like to share the limelight. It is amazing to realize what a threat a magnificent President and First Lady brings to others lacking moral content in office. 

Thank you both. The girls and their 8 years of shared growth with all of us. And let’s not forget the dogs. They were great from the expression of friendship of the Late Ted Kennedy to their celebrity pet status that delighted us all.

Did I say thank you? Somehow it just doesn’t seem enough.

Lebanon

There can’t be all that many Hezbollah fighters left in Lebanon. The demise of Hezbollah goes back to the beginning of confrontation by Israel. September of 2024 thousands of pagers exploded killing and injuring thousands of Hezbollah and bystanders. 

(Click here)

Israel has tracked Hezbollah in Lebanon for as long as I can remember. Every once in a while the lone article appeared in the news that a truck loaded with munitions was exploded by an Israeli missile in southern Lebanon. So, the conflict has been an ongoing problem. But, continuous conflict in Lebanon is appearing to look like expansionism and not the removal of Hezbollah from Lebanon. 

Iran is demanding an end to the hostilities by Israel in Lebanon. For as unpopular as this will be, I think that is correct.

Hezbollah is not the only population in southern Lebanon. There are people called Lebanese now displaced from their homeland. If there is to be a true peace, one that settles the argument of Hormuz and ends the conflict between Trump and Iran, there cannot be another fighting force to pick up where the USA left off. 

There is also the issue of religious lineage of the Shi’ite faith. Nasrallah is dead. His neighborhood was destroyed. Israel is not contemplating spiritual genocide, is it? 

There are many reasons to end the hostilities. But, it must end even if there was no reason to end it. War becomes murder when it is endless.

imo.org

The commercial mariners caught in the middle of the war between Trump and Iran are suffering. They did not imagine such a thing could be their reality. They do not have food and water in sufficient quantities.

Iran knows the importance of charity among the Muslim faith. This is not fair. It is wrong to use innocent people as pawns in a very wicked set of circumstances. 

The agreement will be signed and it is important the mariners receive relief now. There are 14 dead already. This is a horrible tragedy especially to realize these mariners have families they support with their work on board these civilian ships. 

The waters where these commercial ships are currently hostage must be viewed as neutral territory to allow humanitarian efforts to bring relief to their suffering.

Please. No threatening moves, but, allow their companies and/or their countries to bring in food and clean water. These mariners are innocent. It is time to end any and all violence toward the ships and allow relief supplies to reach them. Allow them to send their sick to hospitals and their dead to their families for burial.

All I have is love for you brothers.

 Nothing but love.

Domestic Gun Regulations

(Click here)

It has always been a State's Rights issue. That is not politics. A state like Alaska people live at a distance from law enforcement. These folks hunt while among wildlife differently than someone in Los Angeles. In densely populated states such as New Jersey or Rhode Island the idea of an automatic weapon carried freely on the street is simply an outrageous danger to people. Part of owning a weapon is knowing how to prevent it from being used against you and others. Open carry invites all sorts of problems. 

It is unconstitutional but Trump unilaterally removed any and all gun regulations. That is going to include automatic weapons like the Tommy Gun, the most important arm of racketeers. Welcome to domestic terrorism.

Hegseth is toxic.

The thread was from yesterday.

Hegseth is destroying readiness through chronic fatigue both of the personnel and assets.

There was a “Major Accident Response Exercise” at the time of the deaths of the B52 crew. This is a chronic strategy to wear down the integrity of the USA military. The Stratofortress is a backbone of the USA nuclear triad. 

The Trump Administration is an enemy of the American people. 

A Stratofortress has crashed.

It is the same scenario has the Stratotanker that crashed in Iraq March 12, 2026. It crashed on take off. 

A through investigation into the crashes of these planes must eliminate the cause. There is something very wrong here.

Within three months Hegseth has managed to crash extremely important jets that have been in service since 1955. Those jets are part of the nuclear triad and nearly impossible to replace.

We lost six highly qualified crew members in March. How many this time? 

The crew is dead. The only thing left of the jet is ashes.

What kind of ordnance was it? Where was it headed. Was the crew under emergency orders? How much was it overweight on take off? All the safeties are removed by the Secretary. 

I congratulate Pakistan.

I am very please Iran is moving forward after tragedy it has faced over the past months. I hope the Shi’ites will find peace in their homeland and the Shia diaspora will think of Iran and Iraq as their homeland. The Shia need to think about moving out of the crescent into their most sacred lands. I believe the crescent causes Iran and the Shi’ite leaders problems best served by peace. 

I sincerely believe there are intractable tensions between the Sunni and Shi’ite faiths. Settling into Iran and Iraq as permanent homelands would help end some of those tensions. Iran is a settled homeland and has been for 70 years. Iraq has been freely Shi’ite since Saddam has been tried for his crimes. These are both large countries that can accommodate the people that grace them. It is time the Shi’ites have peace and security without the ravages of hatred. It is time for the diaspora of the crescent to come home and end the forever conflicts that give others a reason to hate. 

The girls paid a high price. It is time joy find permanence in the hearts of Muhammad’s  heirs.

The USA has no business being there.

 (click here)

US President Donald Trump said on June 9 that Iran had shot down a US Army Apache attack helicopter while it was on patrol over the Strait of Hormuz.

The following day, a pro-government Iranian online user shared a video on X allegedly showing the destruction of the aircraft. The clip garnered more than 5 million views. 

Iran has a right to defend it's territorial waters. This is also how Ukraine began it's defense of it's sovereign lands.

If Trump is trying to raise sympathy for his mercenary wars he is barking up the wrong tree. He will get no support for the presence of the USA in the Persian Gulf. The pirates will probably be pursued by the Iranians and Oman. The Persian Gulf has been reclaimed by Iran since the inappropriate warring by Trump in his mercenary wars.

DO NOT SEND ANY MORE USA MILITARY HELICOPTERS OR AIRCRAFT INTO THE PERSIAN GULF AS IT ONLY IS USED AS PROPAGANDA TO PROMOTE THE WAR. 

Trump is assaulting elections again.

This is a States Rights issue.

(Click here)

If there are issues in a state with supposed election integrity problems they should be referred to the State Bureau of Investigation. Removing ejection records from any state is unconstitutional.

This time it is the famously Middle Class state of Ohio.

Any records obtained by the FBI in regard to elections should be abandoned as fraught with handling errors due to the fact the state election security has been breached.

Trump’s mercenary war

For $100 million you to can buy the United States military.

Adelson gave Trump that much for his 2024 campaign. Now, she gets what she wants along with MBS and any other Sunni with enough money to gift Trump a palace in the sky.

Donald be sure and announce to the entire world your plan’s to decimate the Shi’ite homeland so no one gets in the way of Hegseth’s blundering.

How’s the World Cup coming?

Things quiet in Lebanon yet? 

No War Powers Act, huh? 

With any luck the stolen Iranian oil will make it to the market before the vote of 2026.

It is called racketeering.

Blaming the victim for a strategy of crime is a cover up. Scott Bessent is doing exactly that. He is attempting to deflect from Trump's abuses to blame Congress for bringing it up in the first place.

It isn't as though they don't know.

May 22, 2026

By Michael Scanlon

A Congressional Research Service (click here) report released this month tallied 42 U.S. aircraft lost or damaged during Operation Epic Fury, the 40-day campaign against Iran that began Feb. 28. It is the most complete public accounting of a war the Pentagon has yet to assess on its own terms.

The May 13 report, “U.S. Aircraft Combat Losses in Operation Epic Fury: Considerations for Congress,” draws on news accounts and statements by the Defense Department and U.S. Central Command to compile the list....

Is everything with Hegseth an emergency?

Watch a female U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III pilot perform a stunning emergency takeoff at full throttle, pushing this massive aircraft to its limits. With seconds to decide and no room for error, this thrilling moment demonstrates elite training, raw power, and incredible courage.

 But, how? Why?

Hegseth

 The USS Gerald Ford was on fire.