Two things to consider when voting for the President

 Welcome to the first day of summer. Six items to share with you this weekend, none of which warranted a full essay at this time.

1. Two things to consider when voting for the President of the United States:

• What issue are you most in agreement with each candidate on? Assume they'll do the opposite of what they promised.

• What issue are you most in disagreement with each candidate on? Assume they'll do their utmost to keep their promise.

2. What was the most agreeable thing about Trump?

During the 2016 Presidential campaign, I appreciated some of what Donald Trump said regarding foreign policy, particularly after 15 years of failed wars. I supported his diplomacy with North Korea and Russia. Unfortunately, he cluelessly brought on John Bolton as National Security Advisor even though Bolton was an extremist of the bloodthirsty John McCain/neoconservative wing of the Establishment. Trump also failed to pull out of Afghanistan and continued the bombing campaigns of his predecessors.

That said, Trump was still insufficiently hawkish, according to the Establishment. The Democrats - every bit as hellbent on global domination as the neocons -  tried to bring him down with Russiagate and other questionable accusations. (I thought Trump was bad, but not for the same reasons the Establishment thought he was bad.) 

After losing re-election in 2020 and regaining the White House in 2024, the new Trump got "wiser." His voting base can't do anything to him, but the Democrat-Neocon Establishment can still destroy him. So, Trump may very well do the one thing his "America First" base doesn't want him to do, but precisely what the neocons have demanded for 20 years: go to war with Iran.

Another war, particularly an Iran war, could throw America into greater chaos, which would lead to the next point.

3. Last Saturday, I showed up at the nearest "No Kings" rally. 

We are in a new kind of Constitutional crisis – a planned one, a revolution from the top. The Trump Administration is sowing chaos in many areas of American life, from immigration raids to trade disruptions to taking us to the brink of a new war. Create numerous "emergencies," each of which will invite protests, ultimately leading to riots. Start classifying more and more people as "domestic terrorists." The purpose is to set the stage for imposing martial law by November 2028 in an attempt to circumvent the Presidential election and keep Trump in power.

I think Trump has surrounded himself with advisors who hate "The Left" more than they support the Constitution. These advisors will tell Trump what he wants to hear, that there is a path to a third (or indefinite) Presidential term. They feed him false information and affirm his opinions, regardless of facts. 

I showed up to the No Kings protest prepared to say these things just in case a news reporter would stop and ask me why I was there. None did, but it was a pleasant, peaceful day anyhow.

I came with nothing, but a young lady offered me this sign. To be fair, one of Trump's three wives was American-born. (The other two are what we called not too long ago "ethnic white," as undesirable to the Ku Klux Klan 100 years ago as Middle Easterners and Latin Americans are to the Right today.)  Nevertheless, lots of people at the rally liked the sign: 

4. I liked someone just for their looks. What's new?

There was a television host and commentator who I thought was smart and funny. However, she bounced from network to network, show to show. Recently, I've heard her as a sometime sidekick on a podcast I've listened to a few episodes of. (By podcast, I mean the old definition, something to listen to rather than watch.)

She's energetic on the podcast, but I've come to realize that I liked her because she's pretty. She's not particularly interesting and doesn't add much to the show. It must be said that the other sidekick and the host, both men, aren't great at banter either. 

I think she got onto television primarily because of her looks, but she also had the personality to make people think, "Not only is she smart, she's also beautiful!" That's what beautiful people can fool you into thinking. Take away the looks, which is what I do when I listen to an audio podcast, and I'm led to conclude she has the job because of name recognition.

(Oh, and this person is by no means dumb, it's that she's smart enough and witty enough that, because of her looks, I thought she was even brighter and funnier than she is.)

There's nothing wrong with television featuring beautiful people, unless there is a comedic or dramatic reason for someone on television not to be attractive. But, because of good looks, we might overestimate someone's overall talent. 

I wonder how this works for singers, if you saw one perform a song first on the radio, or first on television, and how long it took to shake the first impression.

I'm not calling this person out publicly because I'm not a paid critic and see no need to be hurtful. However, if you'd like to know who I'm thinking of, become a paid subscriber. Then ask me, and I will tell you.

5. How the godawful version of David Bowie turned him into a god.

Although I don't call myself gnostic, I'm a regular listener to Miguel Conner's Aeon Byte Gnostic Radio podcast. Conner is authoring a book about David Bowie, and in the June 11, 2025 episode (11:30 mark), Conner mentioned the different bodies that Bowie wore, such as Ziggy Stardust and the "godawful" Phil Collins-esque crooner of the 1980s.

That made me wonder: How would David Bowie be remembered if not for his Let's Dance hits in the MTV rotation? 

In the 1980s, MTV was for kids, for tweens and teens who would not have known about or listened to Bowie's 1970s work. And although Bowie had several platinum albums in the UK during that time, those were "only" gold albums in America (if Wikipedia is accurate). What Bowie accomplished in the United States in the 1980s was to win over a whole new audience, who began buying his old albums and became devoted fans. 

Because Bowie became part of 1980s nostalgia, his legend grew, and his back catalog went along for the ride. I wouldn't call the 1980s work godawful, and I don't dislike Phil Collins either. Although if I think about it, probably only "Modern Love" would be among my 100 favorite songs of the 1980s. Perhaps also "Absolute Beginners." But to Miguel Cooner's point, they are probably the two most Collins-esque of Bowie's hits.

In the 1960s, Louis Armstrong had hits like "Hello, Dolly! " and "What A Wonderful World," which aren't representative of Armstrong's contributions to jazz (although there's great trumpet in "Dolly"). But, Louis Armstrong is still the most famous name from jazz because of his not-so-jazzy mainstream success.

The 1980s were similar for David Bowie. His fame grew exponentially, and he became permanently famous. That is, he went from being respected and revered to being regarded as a god.

6. Reeling in the years.

Speaking of the 1970s-80s, my Facebook algorithm is giving me several videos from Generation Xers trying to explain what things were like when they were young. I watched a couple, but am consciously avoiding them, hoping they'll go away soon.

I recommend the film The Bad News Bears (1976) for young people to get a feel for the era. Some aspects are exaggerated for comedic purposes, and the actors are several years older than I, but it captures childhood in a way that is similar to what I remember.

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James Leroy Wilson writes The MVP Chase (subscribe) and JL Cells (subscribe). Thank you for your subscriptions and support! You can contact James for writing, editing, research, and other work at jamesleroywilson-at-gmail.com.