June 19, 2020 --

President Pardons Cadets …

In the course of his remarks to the 1007 members of the West Point class of 2020, President Trump absolved, "effectively immediately," all cadets who had not completed walking off punishment tours for minor offenses.  The transcript of the speech indicated that this act of absolution was met with applause and laughter, not political protests.

President Lauds the West Point Class of 2020 on Athletic Accomplishments …

President Trump also congratulated the Class of 2020 on ending, in its first year, Navy's 14-year winning streak in the 2016 Army-Navy football game.  The president also noted that in the two succeeding years, Army won the Commander-in-Chief Trophy [the military academies' football trophy]. The president also congratulated the class on winning one thousand victories for the Black Knights, including three bowl wins, 13 NCAA appearances, and a Women's Rugby Championship.

A Military Milestone …

On June 9, the Senate unanimously (98-0) approved President Trump's nomination of Gen. Clarence Q. Brown as chief of staff of the United States Air Force.  Gen Brown will be the first African-American to lead a branch of the U.S. military.  LPR will note that Gen. Brown's nomination sharply rebukes those who maliciously accuse the president of being racist. Gen. Brown succeeds Gen. David Goldfein who was the second Jewish Air Force chief of staff.

LPR wonders …

Will the voters really elect a "hidin' Biden?"

Seattle's CHAZ Gets Renamed …

The occupied section in Seattle called the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or CHAZ, has been given a new name.  It is now called the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest, or CHOP.  LPR suggests that the occupiers might be called Chopniks.  In the old days, this type of resident would, LPR believes, have been called a "squatter."  LPR understands that the Chopniks have the tacit approval of Washinton Governor Jay Inslee and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan.  LPR understands, further, that President Trump is not amused by this occupation.

A Question from LPR as President Trump Resumes His Rallies …

Will the resumption of the president's rallies, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, June 20, be the significant development, while John Bolton's book is regarded, generally, as just a tempest in a teapot?

Maybe the president is making a mistake …

...by going to Bushie Karl Rove for campaign advice. LPR thinks he should stick with a "drain the swamp" campaign,  because he really hasn't drained it yet.

June 5, 2020 --

A Quick Note to Secretary of State Pompeo …

Thomas L. Friedman, in his New York Times column, May 27, called you "The Worst Secretary of State Ever." Please bear in mind that the Times is known for turning reality on its head. Accordingly, what Mr. Friedman is really telling readers is that you are one of the best secretaries of state we've ever had. You might want to tell the president about this upside down rule to understand what the Times is really saying. All those seeming insults directed at the president just about every day from Times reporters and editors? They're actually to be taken as compliments.

You would think …

... some of the worst case coronavirus scenarios would have it that we humans have become walking weapons of mass destruction.

People die every day in New York City …

LPR is hoping that Mayor de Blasio and Governor Como are not waiting till the day arrives when no one dies in New York City or State. That day is not likely to ever happen. The fact is, people pass away every day. Just check the obit pages of newspapers.  In New York City, according to  statistics at NYC Planning, there is one death in the city every 9.1 minutes.  The end of coronavirus deaths does not mean the end of deaths.  We are not immortal, even if, chronologically, some of is may seem ten years younger or more than persons their age, one or two generations ago.

A Killing Does Not Justify Arson or Looting …

The people who have turned to arson and looting in the aftermath of the terrible death of George Floyd in Minneapolis seem to qualify for the term "activist" in The New York Times,  They are not activists.  They are violent lawbreakers and nothing justifies their violent conduct.   The media, by the way, have reported, May 30, that Mr. Floyd was not killed by asphyxiation or strangling.  The issue must be decided in a Minneapolis courtroom, not by street violence and arson.  Not, that is, if we are to remain civilized.

Shouldn't Mayor de Blasio, for example, speak out against the Manhattan protests …

... on the George Floyd death by taklng note how they violate stay-at-home directives against mass gatherings?  Or is it okay for the mayor to keep closed houses of worship while people hold mass demonstrations in the streets?  One step further: if mass demonstrations against the death of Mr. Floyd are permissible, how about mass demonstrations against the continued lockdown in NYC?

Wouldn't you know it?

The weather in NYC has been wonderful these recent lockdown days.   Is Heaven spiting us?

Speaker Pelosi on ABC's This Week, May 31, 2020 …

"I kind of ignore what President Trump says." LPR says: This is not helpful.  And LPR asks: What is wrong with the speaker?