Dharma loves going outside just to relax on the deck. She doesn’t want to go inside and she thinks if she becomes one with her surroundings, her goal of staying outside will stand a better chance of being accomplished.
Today is the first day of pride week.
And here’s where I provide my opinion — and it’s one you may not agree with. I’m ok with that… just the same as you should be ok with my opinion too. 🙂
A consistent principle: treat people as individuals with equal rights; voluntary association and speech.
It’s easy, right? I’m not saying that people who are gay should hide behind leaves like Dharma. But I do feel that support erodes when tactics resemble reverse exceptionalism. Gay Pride originated in a context of real persecution and consisted of visibility tactics against majority norms. But in 2026?
It seems to me that these celebrations — especially those including nudity in public spaces (documented yearly) — contradict “just like everyone else” and signal ongoing grievance culture rather than integration.
Less friction — better traction.
Corporate rainbow branding, school curricula, and blah blah blah breeds backlash… and polls show that to be true. Gallup & Pew data indicates declining net favorability among younger demographics and independents, asserting these pride events are a spectacle.
Acceptance of orientation itself is high. Disagreements cluster around behavioral extensions and involving children. And that’s why you find me in the disagreement group. I don’t celebrate gay pride month and I don’t agree with naming June as such.
If the end-goal is acceptance (homosexuality as a neutral trait, no special stigma or elevation), ongoing emphasis on “pride” in the trait itself undermines it.
Now you know: The bald eagle holds the record for building the largest nest of any bird. The largest nest recorded was in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1963. Constructed by a pair of bald eagles, it measured 9.5 feet across, 20 feet deep, and weighed more than 4,400 pounds.
Recent events taking place within the Trump administration revived a memory from when I worked in a bank about 100 years ago. There’s no real correlation, but that memory still poked up into my thoughts. It sounds crazy, but most every time a person in management was terminated/fired, it was after they took a vacation.
Get out and don’t come back!
I have no idea if the same practices are implemented today as they were when I was employed in a bank, but back then, vacations were a curse. Why? Because that’s when all your stuff was audited. Employees — even tellers — weren’t allowed to step foot in their own branch during their time off.
You barely got out of the door before your customer files were being pulled and your digital transactions (accessing customer accounts even to assist them) were being scrutinized. If you made a single innocent mistake, that audit would reveal it.
I seriously kept a notebook where I recorded every single thing I did every single day.
I wrote down the time, who I spoke with, and the exact steps I took right down to the last 4 digits of their accounts. There was no way anyone was going to try to blame me for something I didn’t remember doing because I had a record of it — down to the minute. No vacation prep for me… and I didn’t want to go inside my branch while on vacation anyway.
Neither Perry nor I have that type of job, so all those rules don’t apply…
The Internet is ablaze with speculation.
Of course, that’s nothing new, but with Tulsi Gabbard’s resignation as Director of National Intelligence, there’s a whole lot of talk from people who basically know nothing. She put out a statement that she’s leaving because her husband has recently been diagnosed with a rare bone cancer. Many are saying it’s because she disagrees with Trump over Iran.
I wonder if she’s recently been on vacation. 😉
That’s still not as interesting as the accusations made against Fox’s guest, Retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward. Some say it was someone else in a realistic CIA type mask doing the interview because his neck shows a blatant flaw. Others, including Fox, claim it was a lighting issue or filter glitch.
Before you decide what you think, look at the image on the left from the recorded segment, and choose your answer from the list on the right:
Now you know: In 2017 Perth Zoo was put on lockdown when two orangutans briefly escaped their enclosure. A 5-year-old male orangutan fell over a barrier & into a garden bed outside the enclosure. His mom then simply went to retreive him before using the visitor boardwalk to go back to her exhibit voluntarily.
People sometimes want to criticize both action and inaction because the real target is the politician, not the policy itself. The latest in Iran is a perfect example of how public debate often rewards contradiction over consistency.
Critics that have been pounding the table spouting that Trump’s threat to bomb power plants and bridges in Iran would amount to war crimes — now say he chickened out because a cease fire agreement was reached.
Wake up! Trump is a negotiator… and a blabbermouth. 😉
I’ve never negotiated anything remotely similar to war, but I have negotiated with clients/prospects for decades. Negotion is negotiation, right? It’s all about coming to an agreement that both parties can live with — both sides feel they get a win considering the options they have before them. That’s the GOAL — demand what you want, but agree to less if the outcome is still desirable.
A lot of people — like me — feel exhausted by how everything gets filtered through a political lens, whether it’s social media, mainstream media, or even everyday conversations.
social media algorithms amplify the most emotional and absolutist takes
mainstream outlets often highlight conflict because it drives engagement
Criticism is great — inconsistency is bad.
In a democracy, it’s completely legitimate for political opponents, journalists, and citizens to strongly criticize a president’s choices. In fact, scrutiny is part of the system, and most Americans still say media criticism helps hold politicians accountable.
Where it becomes especially maddening is when criticism feels reflexive rather than principled—when the same people would likely praise the exact same move if their preferred leader made it. That inconsistency is what many people react to, regardless of party.
The bigger challenge in today’s world…
Honestly, the bigger issue may not be left vs. right so much as everyone increasingly living in separate information ecosystems.
We all need less of that… and more of this…
Now you know: Washington State was originally going to be named “Columbia” but it was feared it would be confused with the “District of Columbia”, so the name was changed to “Washington.”
I know, no one is actually listening to me, but I can’t help repeating over and over again how major media outlets continue to frame headlines and reporting to influence readers to believe their narrative. Good grief, I’m so very sick of it!!
Social media is different, you guys. You have a bajillion people spouting their opinions and exercising their 1st amendment rights. Normal people already understand the commentary is skewed per individual.
Major media outlets SHOULD BE HELD TO A HIGHER STANDARD!
A few examples from major media and social media…
The screenshots from The New York Times are self-explanatory.
The Thomas Massie screenshot is obvious too if you remember that we are not actually engaged in “war” with Iran. We’re in a major undeclared armed conflict with Iran, yes — but Massie’s wording was intended to manipulate the poll to his advantage. After I captured the screenshot above, the “No, trust the President” percentage of votes surpassed the “ending the war” percentage of votes so he closed the poll and removed the post.
The Internet is forever, don’t forget.
The Ilhan Omar screenshot is circulating as fact that she warned Iran before the attack. Many say that’s an act of treason. Common sense says she’d find a different way to pass along intelligence besides her certified X account.
It’s too hard in today’s times to get unbiased information.
Hugo tried to sniff out some unbiased reporting, but he couldn’t find a single major media outlet that didn’t smell like manipulation.
I’ve had decades of experience reading our local paper where news is reported, and opinions fall under a heading that indicates exactly what is to follow. I guess it’s too much to expect the same from major news outlets. 😞
Now you know: The original iPhone that Steve Jobs famously showed on stage in 2007 barely worked and could only just get through the keynote. A stable, final version of the iPhone was not developed until just weeks before global release.
I’ve never traveled to the Middle East, but I have booked speeches there for my favorite brother. I’ve worked with those coordinating events — from one of the largest communications companies in Bahrain — to a world tour partnering with companies in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and other locations in the UAE.
Of course, I’m thinking about the people I know that live in these areas, and praying for their safety.
Everyone has an opinion on the current military action in Iran.
I understand that Iran has been building ballistic missiles at an alarming rate, and the sooner they are shut down the less effort it takes. Other than that, I’m certainly not privy to information that those currently in power have, and it doesn’t matter if you or I agree… it’s happening.
Crazy that we can watch live cams of the areas in real time and hear the sirens warning of launches from Iran in Tel Aviv, Central Israel, and Jerusalem.
My strongest opinion is this: Any foreign student tweeting “death to America” should be deported immediately.
My 2nd strongest opinion is that Rachel Maddow is goofy and should get a job as a dog walker. I have one hound that could use the exercise, but doubt I’d trust her to even handle that. Her theatrics are pathetic… too over the top for my smart canine.
Since it’s out of our control…
I’m all for being informed on current events and what’s going on in the world in which we live, but I realize that we can not allow things out of our control to consume us.
Looks like I’ll be walking my own dog. 😉
Now you know: In 2016 researchers observed a female orangutan enlist the help of a male to kill another female. This is the first time a female orangutan has been observed killing another female. It’s “highly unusual” that the female enlisted the help of only one other individual & also one of a different sex.
