The Heck with 'Good Living' I'd Rather Enjoy Myself

Editor's Note: While I take a brief blog break, I've trotted out a decade old post that you may find entertaining.

Do you ever get tired of viewing stories like Centenarians Reveal the Secrets to Living A Long Life, or 31 Superfood Secrets for a Long and Healthy Life?

You know, the kind of articles that are packed with wisdom from near saints who have survived the decades through “good living.”

I don’t know about you, but I’ve yet to meet anyone who is perfect because they eat the right food and spend their lifetime training for the Olympics. 

Therefore, be wary of advice from centenarians – their memories aren’t really all that sharp after 100 years - and health nuts because they’ll eat nearly anything –regardless of how icky - to live longer (or be skinny).

I like to point out people like George Burns. He smoked cigars like a chimney and lived to a 100. Now that’s my kind of guy.

You’ve heard stories about amazing centenarians who remain spry well beyond their years. What’s their secret? Their daily constitutionals? Their teetotaling disdain for a drink or a smoke?

Well, a recent study indicates, surprisingly, that people who live into their 90s and longer have habits just as lousy as the rest of us. I feel so vindicated.

Nir Barzilai of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and colleagues interviewed 477 Ashkenazi Jews who were living independently even though they were at least 95 years old. Some were as old as 112.

They all joined the Longevity Genes Project, which is investigating why centenarians live so long.

The bottom line, I figure my chances of reaching an advanced age (I’m 75 now) are about as good as anyone’s. And I can tell you, without hesitation, that I haven’t been (nor will I ever be) a saint.

As it Stands, I may be a cranky old man who cracks bad jokes and ignores proper diets, but by golly I Yam who I'm Yam! (Apologies to Popeye).  

Helped Out by a Stranger: Kindness in a Stressed-out Society

Editor's Note: I'm on a brief blog break and thought it would be nice to re-post a post from my 2016 archives on kindness.

"I've always depended on the kindness of strangers."
-Tennessee Williams from A Streetcar Named Desire

Have you ever been helped out by a kind stranger?

If you have, then you know what a difference it can make in your day, and sometimes your life. 

It sure did for Mike McIntyre. He set out to walk from coast to coast without a dime in his pocket. He wrote a book titled - The Kindness of Strangers - that told the story behind his six-week adventure. 

Throughout his journey, the journalist became involved with people from all walks of life. He found out that sometimes those who give the most have the least to spare.

I've found that to be very true in my life. That's why I love reading about stories about positive experiences. Sometimes when we travel alone, we meet strangers who end up becoming confidants like this story: 

Google Two Strangers meet on an Airplane. Four Years Later They Fall in Love 

One of my favorite forms of showing kindness is when someone conceals their identity and helps out people in need. Here's a great example:

Google Mystery Donor Buys New Car for Paralyzed Mother of Three Kids, Helps Family Get Back on Its Feet

It's important that we don't condemn the entire population for perceived slights. Generalizing segments of society ends up being a negative narrative that will take you nowhere.  

Google 21 Acts of Kindness That Will Make You Believe in the Human Race.

Henry Jones wrote, “Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind.” 
As it Stands, remember, it doesn't have to cost you anything to be kind, and the rewards are endless. 

Time for a Blog Break Before I Break!

I'VE HAD ENOUGH.

Reporting on our nation coming apart daily at the seams has stretched my sanity to the breaking point. 

I have PTSD but most of the time I can overcome the negative effects and go on with my day.

However, there's times like this where I have to step away from my blog and reenergize myself with more peaceful pursuits. It's like doing maintenance on an old Ford truck that's run for 76 years with minimal challenges. Time to change the oil and recharge my battery.

Watching the corruption that seeps from the White House is like driving a truck with a smashed front window through a sandstorm without goggles.

Each new grift heaped on us by a convicted felon and sexual abuser takes a toll on one's mental health. The Trump regime has transformed our democracy into an idiocracy where scary stupidity reigns at all levels.

The reality that we have a demented president who openly lies against all evidence against him is shocking. George Orwell must be turning over in his grave.

I plan on resuming my posts on August 12th. A week from today. Hopefully my battery will be fully charged by then.

While you're here, I invite you to take a tour through past posts that are archived to the right of the page. It'll give you an idea on what to expect when you visit me in the future.

As it Stands, I want to thank all of you who take the time of day to stop by and see what I have to say.

GOP is Starting to See Trump is Crazy - It May Be Too Late

The Republican Party is facing the consequences of blindly following Dementia Don.

MAGA supporters have finally realized what the rest of the world knows... Trump lies about everything.

From no endless wars to having a thriving economy Trump shined them all on. The emperor had no clothes on, but his wide-eyed followers couldn't seem to see it...until now.

No one is safe from Trump's mindless wrath. Not even the sickophants he's appointed to government positions. Reality and Trump have become total strangers in his second term. Facts are swatted aside like flies.

Just look what he did to Jeanine Pirro who he appointed as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia because of her Fox News connections. 

She had to drop all charges against Olympian David Hearn for vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting pool because the case against him was bullshit spread by a rapidly deteriorating 80-year-old man.

When the Justice Department dismissed the case against Hearn it reported the damage to the pool "was the result of flawed installation by the contractor," which caused Trump to lose his shit.

He can't admit when he's wrong. He won't admit it was a crony no-bid deal despite the evidence that his buddy didn't know crap about doing a job of that magnitude. The cost went from $1.6 million to over $15 million and counting.

Trump's lackey lawmakers are facing a real dilemma come midterms. Trump wants them to pass a voter suppression bill that they're afraid will cost them votes in November. 

When it comes to the Trump/Epstein war in Iran the GOP sees the jeopardy it's bringing to all Americans economically to emotionally. It's the most unpopular war in modern American history and was started by a man with advancing dementia.

For the record Trump's dad had dementia. At this point Trump is in the middle stage of dementia when family and friends notice confusion and wild mood shifts.

As of late Trump seems to be moving toward a more severe stage in his decline where he displays memory loss, increased trouble speaking, recognizing people, and total disorientation from reality.

If Trump thinks something is true, then it is in his sick brain. Despite all the evidence that his Mar-a-Lago buddy screwed up the reflecting pool up he held a press conference today to say Pirro "made a mistake" in dropping the case. Then he repeated his lie about vandals with box cutters assaulting his precious pool. 

I can't imagine how embarrassing it must have been for the Trump officials lined up behind him and listening to a blatantly provable lie while keeping supportive smiles on their faces. Then again, their all shameless - one of the prerequisites of belonging to MAGA.

As it Stands, it's hard watching Trump get away with more terrible things every day. He's managed to drag the most prestigious position in America into a polluted pool of propaganda and lies.

Wall Street/White House Grift: Trump Media Selling Inside Stock Market Info on His Truth Social Platform

Trump is so confident in his second term that he now openly flaunts his corruption by impudently defying all efforts to stop his presential crime spree. 

A day doesn't go by without Trump committing a crime somewhere or an international faux pas that ends up costing Americans millions of dollars.

Congress stands by and watches Trump's grifts grow in volume as spineless lawmakers kiss his ass in order to stay in office. 

Buckle up as we take a ride on the Wall Steet Trump train that was launched on August 1st. Trump's Media Company & Technology Group (responsible for Truth Social) is now capitalizing on inside stock trading. 

Our first felon is offering Wall Street firms a new specialty service, dubbed Truth API, which is designed to rapidly deliver and curate market-moving posts from his social media platform.

What Trump is selling for all intents and purposes, is advance previews to deep-pocketed financial institutions to allow them to see his declarations before the rest of the public.

It's no secret that Trump has been openly manipulating the stock market with his lies about the Iran war and the oil market. It's been a lucrative scam that is now being expanded to one of the biggest grifts in Trump's second term.

The Associated Press reported that the membership monthly fee is $100,000. Think about that. For a mere $100,000 corporate crooks will make millions. It's the granddaddy of cash grabs for CEOs worldwide.

Democratic Senators Adam Schiff and Elizabeth Warren have urged the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate Trump's latest rip-off. 

In a letter to the SEC they said, "This appears to be an outrageous abuse of the President's office for his personal benefit that undermines everyday investors and the integrity of our markets, while enriching Wall Street and other wealthy insiders," they charged.

I'm not confident that SEC Chairman Paul Atkins (a Trump appointee) will do anything about it. Meanwhile Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, launched an investigation into Trump's new grift last Friday afternoon.

To summerize we have a president with access to the ultimate insider information - his own next actions and policies as the Chief Executive of the United States - selling advance access to the market-moving information to the high bidders at the expense of all other investors who can't afford the steep $100,000 subscription. 

Rep. Raskin said, "This White House-Wall Street-Trump-Business feedback loop represents the depraved essence of insider trading." I couldn't agree more.

As it Stands, the sheer magnitude of Trump's grifts this term is stunning. There's no telling how many more crimes he will commit in the last half of his term. 

Capital One Shut Down 300 Trump Related Accounts in Money Laundering Probe

Well, we have another first for the felon in charge lounging in the Oval Office.

The story starts in March of 2021 when Capitol One gave notice of its plans to close more than 300 Trump-affiliated bank accounts because they suspected (after months of research) that Trump and associates were engaged in money laundering.

On Friday the Trump cartel filed a lawsuit - the 3rd one - against the bank's decision to oust them. Capital One Financial hit back against the lawsuit stating that it did so after a review by anti-money laundering experts.

The disclosure marks the first time a bank has formally tied money-laundering concerns to a sitting U.S. president. Capital One is seeking to dismiss the case by casting doubt on claims of illegally debanking - or denying services on religious or political grounds - against the Trump clan.

The last time Trump and cronies filed a lawsuit in a federal court, alleging the accounts were closed because of Capital One's "woke" beliefs and its desire to benefit from the political mood after the Jan. 6, 2021, assault against the U.S. Capital. That judge told Trump and his stupid son Eric to go pound sand.

But here we are again.

Since the start of Trump's second term, his regime has put pressure on some large banks, echoing conservative complaints that the institutions are deliberately targeting the political right. He signed an executive order in August 2025 barring discriminatory debanking. The executive order isn't worth the paper it's printed on.

Readers will remember Trump's first term when he sued Capital One and Deutsche Bank in an attempt to prevent them from sharing financial records with Congress as part of a probe led by Democratic lawmakers. 

Anti-money laundering professionals at Deutsche Bank reportedly flagged a set of transactions, but executives ignored them.

As it Stands, deplorable Don should get an award (after all he loves rewards and trophies) for being the most corrupt and dishonest president in American history.