THOUGHTS About The News.

Previously posted on my Facebook Page.

Yahoo Finance: “Trump announces $8 billion for farmers to offset soaring diesel costs.” I feel for the “small farmers” but not for the ginormous corporations that own farms. They are not protesting about “diesel costs,” they are whining about the obvious loss of undocumented laborers on account of ICE pursuits. Loss of profit because overhead etcetera is back to legal/lawful systems. Need I expound? Nope, you know.

      Meanwhile, expect Iran to continue inflicting pain on Mr Trump’s political stock. Already, Tehran’s hardline leadership “gains” some via the anti-Trump media narrative. Wittingly or unwittingly, Left-wing journalism's war coverage beefs up Iran's primary geopolitical and economic leverage point: The Strait of Hormuz, although its strategic control has steadily waned following military and economic counter-pressures. Still, a complex animal. The Strait remains as the world's most critical oil transit chokepoint.

      Expanding this discussion. The fact is, neither Iran nor Oman "owns" the Strait of Hormuz. Both countries share territorial sovereignty over the waterway, which is governed internationally as a public shipping lane. Oman is a state party to the UN’s Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and recognizes the right of continuous and expeditious "transit passage" for all commercial and military vessels.

      Per Iran, it signed but never ratified the UNCLOS. It relies on a more restrictive "innocent passage" interpretation from its 1993 maritime laws, arguing it can regulate or require authorization, though international law limits a coastal state's ability to block or suspend traffic in an international strait. Yes, complex and complicated–but still, all these can be negotiated on the table, not fought in war. (Photo: Fortune.) 🏛🗽🏛

CNN: “GOP attacks on El-Sayed's Muslim faith come to a head in heated town hall exchange.” Of course, all these, whether the murk-throw comes from the Right or Left, is a typical election run-up murk-throw ruckus. Meanwhile, I am not saying Abdul El-Sayed is the less-qualified Michigan Senate candidate. Let the voters decide.

      But I am a bit uncomfortable with how he faced scrutiny and issued denials regarding alleged family ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist political and social movement founded in Egypt in 1928, that is tied to some terrorist acts. His biological mother, Fatten Elkomy, was allegedly a member of the Brotherhood. It’s either Abdul denied such a membership or, as he told the NBC News during an interview: “I wasn't raised by my mother.”

      Sure, we don’t categorically thumb-down a person to a bloodline or a kin’s past involvement with whatever. But the voting public out there decide per prejudice, fear, or traditional upbringing mores (you know what I mean). 🏛🗽🏛

Yahoo: “Apple's new $299 gadget has one big problem: Who actually needs it?” AppleHomeview is a 7-inch “smart” home display and central command hub. Sort of an upgrade of Siri, featuring Liquid Retina touchscreen paired with a speaker system supporting Spatial Audio for music, podcasts, and TV. 

       I honestly don't see the common sense of it. But we may have one soon to satisfy our voracious curiosity. (We already have 25 Alexas in the house, duh.) 

       Meanwhile, the (new) iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max cost $1,199 and $1,299 before tax. I wonder if there's an iPhone 18 Pro Max Premium+Plus or iPhone 18 Pro Max Premium+Plus Zero Sugar? LOL! 📱🧑‍🎤📲

NBC: “White House sued over Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner's role in government.”

Again, the news is angled as though a Trump move is unprecedented in U.S. history. Relatives appointed in high government positions is also a global fact, regardless of the legal/illegal debate. The judgment now rests on--if the appointee committed a crime or actually did a fine job.

       Throughout U.S. history, numerous presidents have appointed or retained family members to serve in official government positions. While the Postal Revenue and Federal Salary Act of 1967, modernly restricts presidents from appointing close relatives to agency or Cabinet positions, family appointments were incredibly common in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

       Two famous examples: <>Robert F. Kennedy was appointed by his brother, John, to serve as the U.S. Attorney General from 1961 to 1964. His high-profile appointment was the direct catalyst for Congress passing the 1967 anti-nepotism law. <>Orvil Grant served as a government-appointed superintendent over lucrative Indian trading posts during the administration of his brother, Ulysses S. Grant. 🏛🗽🏛

ABC: “2 people killed, including a 6-year-old boy, after mother drives into a soccer game.” Copy-pasted from AI Mode, what happened: <>A 34-year-old woman drove a pickup truck onto an outdoor turf field during a youth soccer game at the Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, Kansas. <>Casualties: A 6-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man (both from McPherson, Kansas) were killed. Eleven other people were injured, with ages ranging from 5 to 68 (including five children under 10.

      Police have not yet determined whether the incident was an accident or intentional. Sad, very sad. The obvious: Suicidal tendencies in today’s people. Extreme mental health ruin. 

      Before I moved to America, by cultural truth, I shrugged off the word “depression” or mental health issues. Coming from a “non-wealthy” country like the U.S. and Europe, I viewed all these as Hollywood dramas. Shrinks and Prozacs and stuff. Back home, once the basics are met, people are happy or not sad. No reason to get depressed, considering that family and community are always beside you.

      In America it is very complex and complicated. And I do “understand” it now. Somehow I feel/experience this human truth: Depression. Yet I have very glaring reasons to get depressed. I simply breathe and appreciate the blessings that are in front of me, and the silly and adorable dog and two cats that keep me “stayin’ alive.” Life. ☮️🗽☮️