November 5, 2025 - Tale of Two Cities, Election Comments, Presidential Approval, and Animals

 

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Tale of Two Cities

Some Democrats, while pleased by their fine showings throughout the nation on November 4, keyed to both moderation and opposition to Trump, might be somewhat distressed by the election of leftist Social Democrat Mohran Mamdani as New York City’s Mayor. 

In 2016, Londoners elected their first Muslim mayor, Sadiq Khan, also a ‘soft’ left-wing Social Democrat, buoyed by the votes of that city’s working-class majority. Since then, he has moved toward the center and has been re-elected twice. Look for Zohran Mamdani, newly elected Mayor of New York City, also carried into office by working-class voters, to follow the same path.  What it takes to govern differs from what it takes to be elected. 

Khan and Mamdani

If the buses and daycare are to be ‘free,’ and rents frozen, the costs involved in accomplishing these things have to come from somewhere, and saying just ‘increase taxes on the rich’ isn’t enough and can itself have serious economic results, including an exodus of businesses and individuals.  Both Mayors recognize things like that. 

Mamdani’s election, unfortunately, will give an unjustified talking point to some bigoted Republicans in the United States, including the President and his kind. 

JL

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Voters Validate  the President’s Plummeting Approval Ratings 

But they still are not in the sewer where Tuesday’s election results suggest they are heading. Single digits! That’s how low the President’s approval ratings will have to sink before the still silent Republicans in Washington, most of whom really know better, turn on both him and on his appointees starting with the likes of Peter Hegseth, Stephen Miller, RFK Jr, and Russell Vought, who may be the worst one of them all. 

Truth will triumph but not necessarily today. Democratic governorship sucesses in Virginia (expected), New Jersey (not even close, as was expected), and California redistricting aren’t quite enough. 

The President claimed the Republicans’ sorry performance on November 4 was because (1) ’he’ personally was not on the ballot and (2) the government was still shut down, blamable on the Democrats. Both are very flimsy excuses but too many voters are still being conned by such Trumpian lies. Far too many! If you want to know why the government is ‘shut down,’ look to both Houses of Congress, the presidency, and the Supreme Court, all of which are controlled by Republicans. They’re the ones who refuse to negotiate and the ones at which to point a finger. 

How long do we have to wait before history assigns President Trump and such appointees to its dustbin (or to the Lincoln bathroom as described below)? 

It appears that the lower his ratings sink, the greater Trump’s dependence on unconstitutional, law-breaking, and totalitarian measures becomes. The nation’s armed forces, including State National Guards, Border Control personnel, and Immigration Control & Enforcement personnel, often masked to prevent identification, were never intended to be used against our civilian populations, unless an insurrection were occuring, which is happening only in the diseased minds of the President and those who are willing to march over the cliff into dictatorship along with him. Of that, we must be aware, and more importantly, afraid. Yes, afraid! 

I fear that this will not end well. The best that we can hope for is that the refurbished White House ‘Lincoln’ bathroom, now redone in Trumpian marble and gold, has commodes wide enough to accommodate those mentioned above when the voters of the United States, including Republicans, finally wake up, and push the lever to flush all of them down. They reached for it on November 4. 

And there’s so much more for which this irresponsible president is responsible: Rising prices and unemployment due to illegally imposed tariffs (Paul Krugman can explain that to you), alienating long-time allies, attacks on our best educational institutions, loss of government subsidies for those who cannot afford health insurance nor properly feed their families, castigating judges for doing their job, and of course, the destruction of part of the White House to be replaced by a garish ballroom to massage his insatiable and tasteless ego. And you cannot ignore the politically motivated pardoning of convicted criminals, including the mob he inspired to attack the Capitol in 2021 in an attempt to cancel a presidential election. Is there no end to it? Yet, he still has supporters. Unbelievable! 

Concerned Americans should be aware of this. The old Boy Scout motto, ‘Be Prepared,’ applies today (even though that organization’s name has this year been changed to ‘Scouting America’). ‘Be Prepared.’ 

For precisely what, I am not certain, nor do I know what actions on your part, other than voting, ‘being prepared’ involves, but in any event, ‘Be Prepared.’ 

JL 

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Recognizing our Non-Human Neighbors

Maybe it’s my imagination, but I see an increasing number of television commercials directed toward dogs and cats, rather than their human owners. Perhaps it is because we now recognize that ownership in any form of another living and breathing creature is slavery. 

And if you look to the comic pages of your newspaper for wisdom, you will see that an increasing number of strips are devoted to such non-human creatures there too. 

The religiously inclined might check out what was created on the fifth and sixth days of Genesis. Homo sapiens was not always the dominant species on Planet Earth, and although that seems to be the case right now, that is no guarantee of its future pre-eminence. The odds are against it. 

JL

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Housekeeping on Jackspotpourri

Your comments on this ‘blog’ would be appreciated. My Email address is jacklippman18@gmail.com. 

Forwarding Postings: Please forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it (Friends, relatives, enemies, etc.) If you want to send someone the blog, you can just tell them to check it out by visiting https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com or you can provide a link to that address in your email to them. 

There’s another, perhaps easier, method of forwarding it though! Google Blogspot, the platform on which Jackspotpourri is prepared, makes that possible. If you click on the tiny envelope with the arrow at the bottom of every posting, you will have the opportunity to list up to ten email addresses to which that blog posting will be forwarded, along with a brief comment from you. Each will receive a link to click on that will directly connect them to the blog. Either way will work, sending them the link to https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com , or clicking on the envelope at the bottom of this posting. 

Email Alerts: If you are NOT receiving emails from me alerting you each time there is a new posting on Jackspotpourri, just send me your email address and we’ll see that you do. And if you are forwarding a posting to someone, you might suggest that they do the same, so they will be similarly alerted. You can pass those email addresses to me by email at jacklippman18@gmail.com

More on the Sources of Information on Jackspotpourri: The sources of information used by Jackspotpourri include a delivered daily ‘paper’ newspaper (now becoming the South Florida Sun Sentinel) and what appears in my daily email. Be aware that when I open that email, I take these steps: 

 1. I quickly scan the sources of the dozen or two emails I still get each day at my old email address to see from where they are being sent. Most are from vendors which I may have used years ago. Without reading 99% of them, I usually immediately delete them. 

 2. I then go to the email arriving at jacklippman18@gmail.com. Gmail enables ‘Promotion’ emails to be so designated and separated out. I believe their criteria are whether or not they end up asking for donations or if they are no more than advertisements. I ignore most of these ‘Promotion’ emails without reading them, deleting them. A very few, perhaps one or two a day, get moved over to the two or three dozen other emails which I will actually open. 

 3. Then I read my email. 

Besides email, my other source of information is the Google search engine (or other search engines) where I can look up any subject I want. Lately, these search results have been headed by a very generalized summary clearly labeled as being developed by AI (Artificial Intelligence). On occasion I might use such search results, but when I do, I will say that I am doing so. Generally, however, I try not to use such summaries in preparing Jackspotpourri. 

After such ‘AI’ search results, there follows the other results of my search. Unlike the anonymous AI-generated summaries, the sources of these results are clearly indicated, giving them a greater credibility than the AI summary. I feel that It comes down to who YOU want to be in the driver’s seat in seeking information: yourself or something else (Artificial Intelligence), the structure of which somewhere along the way had to have been created by others, with whose identity I am neither familiar nor comfortable. At least when I read a column by Timothy Snyder, for example, I know from where it comes, and to some extent, what to expect. 

Caution should be exercised in using Artificial Intelligence. 

JL

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October 30, 2025 - Upcoming Elections, Reading, Trumpian Lies, Usurper Vought, and Other Stuff

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November 4 is Election Day Somewhere 

The President is not on the ballot in November but some candidates who support his attempts to be a tyrant are, and they ought to be defeated, particularly in races for seats in the House of Representatives that have become vacant in the middle of terms that are slated to expire next year. Governorship races in Virginia and New Jersey are also similarly in the spotlight. (There are no such contests on the ballot in Florida, vacancies already having been filled through ‘special’ elections or appointments by the Governor.) But it’s still a good time to make certain that your ‘vote by mail’ choice is preserved for future use by contacting your County’s Supervisor of Elections. See the preceding Jackspotpourri for an appropriate link to her office. 

Elsewhere, If there is a race occurring in your State or Congressional District, your vote might be the best way to rid the nation of its 'wannabe' tyrant. And there are many important contests elsewhere though! 

Keep an eye on them as precursors to 2026 when the entire House of Representatives and one third of the Senate will be up for grabs in addition to important governorship races. The Ballotpedia site lists the most important of next week’s contests. Check them out by clicking here or copying and pasting https://news.ballotpedia.org/2025/10/10/top-10-elections-to-watch-this-nov-4/ on your device’s browser line. 

JL 

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Read, Read, and Read Some More 

The following comment appeared in the ‘free’ introductory part of the ‘Free Press’ newsletter on October 24:

‘James Marriott (a contributor to that site’s posting) explains why the stakes couldn’t be higher. Our liberal democracy, he writes, was built by widespread literacy — the same widespread literacy that is now being dismantled by screens. Unless we start reading again, he says, our civilization may not survive.’      

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When was the last time YOU read a book, a printed one, not an online version on a screen as the writer mentions? When?                      

                      

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This reminds me of the famous quote by John Cotton Dana, founder of the Newark Public Library. It was included on the inside of the cover of every book in that massive library in the town where I grew up: 

1. Read

2. Read 

3. Read Some More 

4. Read Anything 

5. Read About Everything 

6. Read Enjoyable Things 

7. Read Things You Yourself Enjoy 

8. Read and Talk About It 

9. Read Very Carefully Some Things 

10. Read On the Run Most Things 

11. Don’t Think About Reading, But 

12. Just Read

JL 

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More Trumpian Lies – East Wing Destruction and More 

When President Trump announced he was adding a ballroom to the White House, he specifically said that its East Wing, which would be adjacent to that addition, would remain as it is. That was a lie, par for the course for him. The first thing that the contractors who would build the new ballroom did was to demolish the East Wing of the White House. 

Destruction of East Wing of White House
and the President who couldn’t care less 

 According to both the New York Times and MSNBC postings, the East Wing was first built in 1902 under President Theodore Roosevelt as a relatively modest entryway for guests to the White House. The edifice was greatly expanded in 1942 during World War Two, in part to cover up the construction of a bunker beneath the White House. The excuse given was that it would be used for offices purposes. 

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, never one to miss an opportunity, used the newly constructed wing to support her expanded operations, host events with key constituencies and hold press conferences. But it was Rossalyn Carter who first set up the official Office of the First Lady on the second floor of the East Wing. Carter organized the office into a home base for the political power, an influence that first ladies have learned to wield, each in their own fashion alongside their usual social responsibilities. The silence of the present First Lady on the East Wing’s destruction speaks for itself.

Supposedly the new ballroom was to be paid for by those loyal enough, or dumb enough, or seeking the President’s favor, to make donations for this project, but few, if any of them, knew it would involve desecration of a major part of the White House in use for the past 123 years. 

It should be noted that previous architectural changes of the White House over the years have all been ‘constructive’ ones approved by Congress or federal commissions. This latest one, however, making room for the addition of the President’s ego-building ballroom, starts off with destruction of a useful and historic part of the White House, ‘destruction’ being a hallmark of most of what the President and his administration have accomplished. 

They are still busily involved in destroying the Constitution and the nation’s democratic institutions through the President’s often illegal Executive Orders and illegal actions carried out by the Office of Management and Budget whose head, Russell Vought (author of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025), has led the usurping of the House of Representatives’ historic ‘power of the purse,’ even preventing Congressionally-approved government funding from being spent! 

To find out more about Vought’s background and activities from a recent New Yorker magazine artilcle, click here or copy and paste https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/10/27/russell-vought-profile-donald-trump on your device’s browser line. 

The best aspect of these despicable acts on the President’s part and those of his appointees is that they serve to awaken many Americans to the fact that Donald Trump is no more fit to be president of the United States than he was while he was heading up his many enterprises that ended in bankruptcy.

Have you ever wondered why Trump paints everything ‘gold,’ including the fixtures and trim in the Oval office? Think back to the Greek myth about foolish King Midas.  Who does that kind of thing, other than someone seeking a synthetic mantle of royalty? 

Bravo, ‘No Kings’ demonstrators! You hit the nail on the head! 

Millions of those who voted for him are already suffering from political ‘buyer’s remorse.’ Even though there is a Constitutional two-term limits for presidents, Trump is already hinting about finding a way of circumventing that.  Even rock-solid Republicans are coming to believe that Donald Trump is the greatest foe of American democracy since George III. They are correct. Democrats already know that but are having difficulty doing much about it. 

JL 

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A Change I Am Considering

On most, but not all, days I find that Boston College history professor Heather Cox Richardson’s daily ‘Letters from an American’ (Usually sent out late the previous evening) has touched on most of the topics I try to reach on Jackspotpourri. 

I am considering limiting Jackspotpourri to matters on which Professor Richardson DOES NOT COMMENT and linking this blog to her daily ‘Letters from an American’ for everything else. 

There’s no ‘paywall’ to surmount in order to access its text and audio postings unless you choose to be able to exchange thoughts with other commenters. Richrdson’s footnotes always include links to the sources of the many topics about which she writes, so it offers more than merely her thoughts. ‘Letters from an American’ can be reached at https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/ . I usually agree with what she posts there so this can save me a lot of work. I am getting lazy as I grow older. 

JL 

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Update 

Dr, Howard Olarsh’s letter, included in Jackspotpourri on October 18, was published by the SunSentinel on October 25. Hurrah! 

JL 

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Sports Gambling 

I’ve been planning to include in Jackspotpourri my thoughts on sports gambling, particularly the online sites where all that is needed to bet, including on some ‘exotic’ wagers, is a credit card and access to sites like Fanduel, DraftKings, and many others. 

Their ads on telecasts of athletic events tempt people who cannot afford to wager to do so and imply to children that gambling is an acceptable ‘fun’ pastime, which it isn’t. 

The scandal I fear has now occurred, and I hope it results in strict regulation of online wagering and the television advertisements promoting it. More later! 

JL 

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Misleading Auto insurance Ads 

And speaking of television ads, a major auto insurance provider instructs viewers to ‘only pay for what you need.’ That is terrible and misleading advice.

In the State of Florida, for example, 'what you need’ to register your car is only $10,000 of property damage coverage and $10,000 of personal injury protection. That is far, far, less than you might need if you get into an accident and find yourself as the defendant in a lawsuit. It is why so many Florida motorists drive around in underinsured vehicles. 

At best, that company’s agents should point that out and try to sell them what they really need, coverage for far more than their dishonest TV ads suggest. 

JL

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Housekeeping on Jackspotpourri 

Your comments on this ‘blog’ would be appreciated. My Email address is jacklippman18@gmail.com. 

Forwarding Postings: Please forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it (Friends, relatives, enemies, etc.) If you want to send someone the blog, you can just tell them to check it out by visiting https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com or you can provide a link to that address in your email to them. 

There’s another, perhaps easier, method of forwarding it though! Google Blogspot, the platform on which Jackspotpourri is prepared, makes that possible. If you click on the tiny envelope with the arrow at the bottom of every posting, you will have the opportunity to list up to ten email addresses to which that blog posting will be forwarded, along with a brief comment from you. Each will receive a link to click on that will directly connect them to the blog. Either way will work, sending them the link to https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com , or clicking on the envelope at the bottom of this posting. 

Email Alerts: If you are NOT receiving emails from me alerting you each time there is a new posting on Jackspotpourri, just send me your email address and we’ll see that you do. And if you are forwarding a posting to someone, you might suggest that they do the same, so they will be similarly alerted. You can pass those email addresses to me by email at jacklippman18@gmail.com

More on the Sources of Information on Jackspotpourri: The sources of information used by Jackspotpourri include a delivered daily ‘paper’ newspaper (now the South Florida Sun Sentinel) and what appears in my daily email. Be aware that when I open that email, I take these steps: 

 1. I quickly scan the sources of the dozen or two emails I still get each day at my old email address to see from where they are being sent. Most are from vendors which I may have used years ago. Without reading 99% of them, I usually immediately delete them. 

 2. I then go to the email arriving at jacklippman18@gmail.com. Gmail enables ‘Promotion’ emails to be so designated and separated out. I believe their criteria are whether or not they end up asking for donations or if they are no more than advertisements. I ignore most of these ‘Promotion’ emails without reading them, deleting them. A very few, perhaps one or two a day, get moved over to the two or three dozen other emails which I will actually open. 

 3. Then I read my email. 

Besides email, my other source of information is the Google search engine (or other search engines) where I can look up any subject I want. Lately, these search results have been headed by a very generalized summary clearly labeled as being developed by AI (Artificial Intelligence). On occasion I might use such search results, but when I do, I will say that I am doing so. Generally, however, I try not to use such summaries in preparing Jackspotpourri. 

After such ‘AI’ search results, there follows the other results of my search. Unlike the anonymous AI-generated summaries, the sources of these results are clearly indicated, giving them a greater credibility than the AI summary. I feel that It comes down to who YOU want to be in the driver’s seat in seeking information: yourself or something else (Artificial Intelligence), the structure of which somewhere along the way had to have been created by others, with whose identity I am neither familiar nor comfortable. At least when I read a column by Timothy Snyder, for example, I know from where it comes, and to some extent, what to expect. 

Caution should be exercised in using Artificial Intelligence. 

JL 

                                                         * * * *

October 22, 2025 - Your November Weapons, the Unsworn-in Congresswoman, No Kings, A Wannabe King's Reaction, and Winning and Losing on the Gridiron

 

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Your Weapons - The November Elections 

The November mid-term elections are almost upon us! Make sure, RIGHT NOW, that you are properly registered to vote, and that you can do so by mail, postage-free. I just did so myself. 

The rules for doing so (at least in Florida) have changed. You must vote … and urge your friends, neighbors, and relatives, wherever they may be, to do the same. 

In Palm Beach County, your Supervisor of Elections’ office can be reached by clicking here or copying and pasting https://www.votepalmbeach.gov/#gsc.tab=0 on your device's browser line. It’s a simple website where you can get the necessary things done!  Their phone number is (561) 656-6200. In other locales, just contact your Board of Elections. 

JL 

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The Congresswoman-in-Waiting 

As of this moment, the House Speaker still has not enabled the swearing in of Arizona Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva to take place.  She has access to what would be her office, but she is still not sworn in.

Congress is on a long vacation, made possible by the party that controls the presidency and Congress. The President likes it that way, knowing her presence will reopen still hidden parts of the Epstein story. The longer the government remains shut down and unfinanced, the more it makes his administrative actions likely. Be alert for them. Many are unconstitutional. 

The shut-down is over continued financial support of health care programs included in Obamacare, programs that many millions of Americans below Medicare age depend upon. Democrats want them to remain. Republicans want to eviscerate them. It is that simple.  Where do you stand?  

If 'they' get away with that, I don't doubt that Medicare itself is next on their list.  The author of the reactionary Program 2025, (the one the President lied about saying he wasn't familiar with), Russell Vought, is now Director of the government's Management and Budget.

JL 

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No Kings’ Demonstration on Saturday 

Check out Simon Rosenberg’s ‘Hopium Chronicles’ to see what you missed if you weren’t at one of the demonstrations participated in by almost seven million of real Americans on Saturday in big cities and small towns. Just click here or copy and paste https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/hopium+chronicles+no+kings/WhctKLbmqJHVKlrwfTBPvBnPXVRjgKBnTTDHxcSTFKxnmDHZSbRFZHnqqtGKWtRTHmPkNDV on your device’s browser line to see the demonstrations. 

And if that is a problem for you, similar pictures of the inspirational nationwide demonstrations are available from many internet sources. Just look for them. 

And speaking of the ‘No Kings’ demonstration, please check out history Professor Heather Cox Richardson’s ‘Letters from an American’ dated October 20 which includes this: “In January 1776, newly arrived immigrant Thomas Paine published Common Sense, explaining to his new countrymen why they should declare independence from the King of England. He called for a new government based not in heritage or tradition, but in the law. “In America the law is king,” Paine wrote. “For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be king; and there ought to be no other.” 

That posting also shows that past loyalty to our wannabe King is no guarantee of avoiding his wrath. Too many of his supporters, in addition to his former National Security Advisor, the now-indicted John Bolton, are learning that the hard way. Don’t skip this! Click here or copy and paste https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/ on your browser line. 

JL 

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What King Donald Thinks of the ‘No Kings’ Demonstrators

Although the President did not claim responsibility for it, his ‘Truth Social’ website did pass on this brief bit of disgusting and juvenile Artificial Intelligence chicanery that well represents the President’s demented opinion of those who demonstrated for true American values on Saturday. You can see it by copying and pasting https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115398251623299921 on your device’s browser line or by clicking here. Many such dishonest AI concoctions appear on that site. 

JL 

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 A Change of Pace - Football Advice 

As we approach the season for firing coaches in both the college and professional forms of football, here is some un-asked-for advice from me.

How to score touchdowns: A team needs no more than one or two fair-to-middling running backs and a half-way decent quarterback to score touchdowns when they have a well-stocked, powerful, dominating, and protective offensive line. Given that, even mediocre passers and running backs can run up the score. Without that, even more skilled ones will get nowhere. 

How to stop the other team from scoring touchdowns: A team must have a speedy, strong, and flexible secondary line of defense, consisting of tall and powerful linebackers and cornerbacks to keep the opposition from making large gains via passing or running the ball and also have the ability to come up with occasional interceptions as well. This is more important than a defensive line which may or may not prevent smaller gains, even if the opposition reaches a team’s ‘red zone,’ where a defensive line and a strong secondary become indistinguishable from one another. 

Accomplishing these two things (strong offensive line and strong secondary defenders) require astute use of free agency in pro football and the transfer portal in college football and directing all recruiting activities to first filling these two needs. 

JL 

                                                   * * * 

Housekeeping on Jackspotpourri 

Your comments on this ‘blog’ would be appreciated. My Email address is jacklippman18@gmail.com. 

Forwarding Postings: Please forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it (Friends, relatives, enemies, etc.) If you want to send someone the blog, you can just tell them to check it out by visiting https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com or you can provide a link to that address in your email to them. 

There’s another, perhaps easier, method of forwarding it though! Google Blogspot, the platform on which Jackspotpourri is prepared, makes that possible. If you click on the tiny envelope with the arrow at the bottom of every posting, you will have the opportunity to list up to ten email addresses to which that blog posting will be forwarded, along with a brief comment from you. Each will receive a link to click on that will directly connect them to the blog. Either way will work, sending them the link to https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com , or clicking on the envelope at the bottom of this posting. 

Email Alerts: If you are NOT receiving emails from me alerting you each time there is a new posting on Jackspotpourri, just send me your email address and we’ll see that you do. And if you are forwarding a posting to someone, you might suggest that they do the same, so they will be similarly alerted. You can pass those email addresses to me by email at jacklippman18@gmail.com

More on the Sources of Information on Jackspotpourri: The sources of information used by Jackspotpourri include a delivered daily ‘paper’ newspaper (now becoming the South Florida Sun Sentinel) and what appears in my daily email. Be aware that when I open that email, I take these steps: 

 1. I quickly scan the sources of the dozen or two emails I still get each day at my old email address to see from where they are being sent. Most are from vendors which I may have used years ago. Without reading 99% of them, I usually immediately delete them. 

 2. I then go to the email arriving at jacklippman18@gmail.com. Gmail enables ‘Promotion’ emails to be so designated and separated out. I believe their criteria are whether or not they end up asking for donations or if they are no more than advertisements. I ignore most of these ‘Promotion’ emails without reading them, deleting them. A very few, perhaps one or two a day, get moved over to the two or three dozen other emails which I will actually open. 

 3. Then I read my email. 

Besides email, my other source of information is the Google search engine (or other search engines) where I can look up any subject I want. Lately, these search results have been headed by a very generalized summary clearly labeled as being developed by AI (Artificial Intelligence). On occasion I might use such search results, but when I do, I will say that I am doing so. Generally, however, I try not to use such summaries in preparing Jackspotpourri. After such ‘AI’ search results, there follows the other results of my search. Unlike the anonymous AI-generated summaries, the sources of these results are clearly indicated, giving them a greater credibility than the AI summary. I feel that It comes down to who YOU want to be in the driver’s seat in seeking information: yourself or something else (Artificial Intelligence), the structure of which somewhere along the way had to have been created by others, with whose identity I am neither familiar nor comfortable. At least when I read a column by Timothy Snyder, for example, I know from where it comes, and to some extent, what to expect. 

Caution should be exercised in using Artificial Intelligence. 

 JL 

                                                        * * * *

October 18, 2025 - An Unpublished (?) Letter, Immigration, and Some Ideas from Heather Cox Richadson

                                                                    *   *   *

Immigration’s Path 

There’s a lengthy article in the October 13 issue of the New Yorker magazine about why most of the democratic states that replaced colonialism in Africa in the late Twentieth century have turned into dictatorships. In Adi Amin’s Uganda, for example, much of the existing Asian population there, primarily those from India, were persecuted. Included was the leading revolutionary scholar there, Mahmood Mamdani, who became ‘stateless,’ resulting in his immigrating to the United States with his family. 

His son, Zohran Mamdani, is currently the favorite in this year’s New York City mayoral race. If democracy had survived in Uganda, he might be running for political office there instead of in New York. 

JL \

                                              * * * 

Social Security vs Rugged Individualism 

Here’s a thought-provoking excerpt from Professor Heather Cox Richardson’s ‘Letters from an American’ dated October 13. 

‘Since taking office in January 2025, officials in the second Trump administration have made war on the vision of government embodied by the Social Security Act, promoting in its place a return to the rugged individualism that is even less true today than it was a century ago. 

Now the administration is getting rid of the building built to house the Social Security Administration, along with the murals that champion the government’s role in protecting the equality and security of ordinary people, while Trump contemplates building a triumphal arch, carving MAGA ideology into the nation’s capital in stone.’ 

 Mural by Ben Shahn in original Social Security Building in Washington,
most recently used by the Voice of America

Thought-provoking? 

For the unpleasant details, you can check out Richardson’s entire posting at https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/ or by Clicking Here . While you’re there, check out her historically accurate and frightening postings dated October 16 and 17, recalling the basis for the Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution. It is what happens when a corrupted government violently turns its weapons on its own citizens. 

JL 

                                                        * * * 

Cool Heads Do Not Always Prevail

Sooner or later when local police, trying to perform their duties in cities like Chicago, are included as victims of ICE’s unnecessary violence, such as ICE’s use of tear gas, they will fire back, leading the President to commit further illegal acts. Cool heads do not always prevail. 

JL 

                                                 * * * 

A Letter to a Local Paper

Here’s a letter a resident of my community has sent to the South Florida SunSentinel, reproduced here with his permission: 

‘What happened to the Separation of Church and State? Why is religion being brought into public schools? Why are my tax dollars being used to fund parochial schools? What happened to Freedom of the Press when the Secretary of War decides which newspapers and which reporters will have favorable status at the pentagon? What happened to Equal Justice under the Law when the convicted criminals of January 6 are all pardoned? What happened to parity between our 3 branches of government? What happened to the Executive Branch of our Government which is using the Oval Office as a place for self enrichment? Why is our Tax Code written so as to allow the very rich to pay less taxes than I do? What happened to bipartisanship? What happened that allowed masked Americans to corral people on our streets and the National Guard is utilized with no respect for States Rights? What happened to the greatest medical care system and our ability to control diseases and a misfit like RFK Jr. sets health policy. I’ll tell you what happened. It’s Donald Trump being motivated by a non elected villain like Steven Miller and enablers like Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis. (signed) Dr. Howard Olarsch’ 

The letter writer raises some interesting questions and offers an answer.  I agree with him and caution readers not to become unknowing enablers of the greatest foe of our democracy since George III.   President Trump’s role in returning Hamas’ remaining hostages to Israel and his working for permanent peace there are not reasons to excuse his ignoring the Constitution and behaving like a dictator toward American citizens and others legally in this country against whom he doesn't hesitate to use force, without Congressional consent.

JL 

                                                           * * * 

Housekeeping on Jackspotpourri 

Your comments on this ‘blog’ would be appreciated. My Email address is jacklippman18@gmail.com. 

Forwarding Postings: Please forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it (Friends, relatives, enemies, etc.) If you want to send someone the blog, you can just tell them to check it out by visiting https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com or you can provide a link to that address in your email to them. 

There’s another, perhaps easier, method of forwarding it though! Google Blogspot, the platform on which Jackspotpourri is prepared, makes that possible. If you click on the tiny envelope with the arrow at the bottom of every posting, you will have the opportunity to list up to ten email addresses to which that blog posting will be forwarded, along with a brief comment from you. Each will receive a link to click on that will directly connect them to the blog. Either way will work, sending them the link to https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com , or clicking on the envelope at the bottom of this posting. 

Email Alerts: If you are NOT receiving emails from me alerting you each time there is a new posting on Jackspotpourri, just send me your email address and we’ll see that you do. And if you are forwarding a posting to someone, you might suggest that they do the same, so they will be similarly alerted. You can pass those email addresses to me by email at jacklippman18@gmail.com 

More on the Sources of Information on Jackspotpourri: The sources of information used by Jackspotpourri include a delivered daily ‘paper’ newspaper (now becoming the South Florida Sun Sentinel) and what appears in my daily email. Be aware that when I open that email, I take these steps: 

 1. I quickly scan the sources of the dozen or two emails I still get each day at my old email address to see from where they are being sent. Most are from vendors which I may have used years ago. Without reading 99% of them, I usually immediately delete them. 

 2. I then go to the email arriving at jacklippman18@gmail.com. Gmail enables ‘Promotion’ emails to be so designated and separated out. I believe their criteria are whether or not they end up asking for donations or if they are no more than advertisements. I ignore most of these ‘Promotion’ emails without reading them, deleting them. A very few, perhaps one or two a day, get moved over to the two or three dozen other emails which I will actually open. 

 3. Then I read my email. 

Besides email, my other source of information is the Google search engine (or other search engines) where I can look up any subject I want. Lately, these search results have been headed by a very generalized summary clearly labeled as being developed by AI (Artificial Intelligence). On occasion I might use such search results, but when I do, I will say that I am doing so. Generally, however, I try not to use such summaries in preparing Jackspotpourri. 

After such ‘AI’ search results, there follows the other results of my search. Unlike the anonymous AI-generated summaries, the sources of these results are clearly indicated, giving them a greater credibility than the AI summary. I feel that It comes down to who YOU want to be in the driver’s seat in seeking information: yourself or something else (Artificial Intelligence), the structure of which somewhere along the way had to have been created by others, with whose identity I am neither familiar nor comfortable. At least when I read a column by Timothy Snyder, for example, I know from where it comes, and to some extent, what to expect. 

Caution should be exercised in using Artificial Intelligence. 

JL 

                                                         * * * *

October 13, 2025 - Approaching the Declaration of Independence's Anniversary Next Year, Open Carry in Florida, Free Speech at Princeton, A Choice for You, and a Good Word for the President

                                                                            *    *    *

It’s in the Declaration of Independence 

As we approach its 250th anniversary next year, let’s take a look at a few words from the Declaration of Independence, brought to our attention by columnist Charie Pierce in a recent column in Esquire magazine. 

They refer to King George III of England in 1776 but might have some modern-day pertinence as well: 

 “He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation: For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us: For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States” 

There’s a lot more in his column that might interest you. You can check the full column out by Clicking Here or by copying and pasting https://link.esquire.com/view/5766d505d7aaa87a3a8b45adoz61u.bnq/a4e656ce on the browser line of your device. 

Hmmm. Jefferson and his co-authors got it right! 

JL 

                                                        * * * 

Free Speech 

There’s an interesting article on ‘Free Speech’ by critic/historian Louis Menand in the New Yorker magazine issue dated October 6.  Actually, it is a review of a book by the president of Princeton University on the subject. It describes the ‘war about words’ in which the country is presently involved and wonders where it might lead. 

If you wish, you can read it by Clicking Here or copying and pasting https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/10/06/review-free-speech-books on the browser line of your device. 

JL 

                                                       * * * ‘

'Open Carry’ of Guns in Florida 

Florida is now an ‘open carry’ state, and although there are some exceptions, grocery stores are not one of them. Some, like Publix, have publicized that they would follow the law, and others, while still recognizing Florida’s ‘open carry’ law, seem to be trying to discourage their customers from carrying firearms into their establishments. 

Florida has many screwballs living here, more than its own fair share. They seem to be attracted to the Sunshine State. The man accused of starting the recent California wildfires has moved here from there. Massive shootings have occurred throughout the State (the Pulse Club in Orlando and the Parkland high school shootings are two tragic examples).

I think the best approach to this is to try to reduce your presence in locations that potential shooters are most likely to patronize. Some groceries and other large retail establishments might seem less appealing than others to these screwballs who will be walking down the aisles and in the checkout lines with a lethal weapon on their hips. 

The other day I took my shopping list to Whole Foods instead of to Publix, and the people I saw shopping there, if it is any comfort, seemed more normal than elsewhere. I will be doing more of that kind of store-switching more often now. 

Of course, one can just place their grocery order online to be delivered to their home and avoid possible exposure to a gun-carrying shopper. The trade-off is that then, you’ll miss any bargains that you’d only spot if you were there shopping in person. 

JL 

                                                        * * * 

BUT WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? 

It is time to stop complaining, moralizing, and counting upon the ‘rule of law’ to prevail in this country.  Any of you who read newspapers, watch the news on television, or even keep up with what is going on in this country through your computer or smartphone know precisely what I am writing about.   It is time to make up your mind and take a firm stand, and turn your words into whatever actions the laws permit. 

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? What are you waiting for? 

JL 

                                      * * * 

A Good Word for the President 

The President is to be commended for his efforts in bringing about steps toward a resolution of the troubles in Israel and neighboring areas, especially the return of the remaining hostages kidnapped by Hamas.  But that does not give anyone license to ignore his other actions, especially domestically. 

JL 

                                                      * * * 

Housekeeping on Jackspotpourri 

Your comments on this ‘blog’ would be appreciated. My Email address is jacklippman18@gmail.com. 

 Forwarding Postings: Please forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it (Friends, relatives, enemies, etc.) If you want to send someone the blog, you can just tell them to check it out by visiting https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com or you can provide a link to that address in your email to them. 

There’s another, perhaps easier, method of forwarding it though! Google Blogspot, the platform on which Jackspotpourri is prepared, makes that possible. If you click on the tiny envelope with the arrow at the bottom of every posting, you will have the opportunity to list up to ten email addresses to which that blog posting will be forwarded, along with a brief comment from you. Each will receive a link to click on that will directly connect them to the blog. Either way will work, sending them the link to https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com , or clicking on the envelope at the bottom of this posting. 

Email Alerts: If you are NOT receiving emails from me alerting you each time there is a new posting on Jackspotpourri, just send me your email address and we’ll see that you do. And if you are forwarding a posting to someone, you might suggest that they do the same, so they will be similarly alerted. You can pass those email addresses to me by email at jacklippman18@gmail.com

More on the Sources of Information on Jackspotpourri: The sources of information used by Jackspotpourri include a delivered daily ‘paper’ newspaper (now becoming the South Florida Sun Sentinel) and what appears in my daily email. Be aware that when I open that email, I take these steps: 

 1. I quickly scan the sources of the dozen or two emails I still get each day at my old email address to see from where they are being sent. Most are from vendors which I may have used years ago. Without reading 99% of them, I usually immediately delete them. 

 2. I then go to the email arriving at jacklippman18@gmail.com. Gmail enables ‘Promotion’ emails to be so designated and separated out. I believe their criteria are whether or not they end up asking for donations or if they are no more than advertisements. I ignore most of these ‘Promotion’ emails without reading them, deleting them. A very few, perhaps one or two a day, get moved over to the two or three dozen other emails which I will actually open. 

 3. Then I read my email. 

Besides email, my other source of information is the Google search engine (or other search engines) where I can look up any subject I want. Lately, these search results have been headed by a very generalized summary clearly labeled as being developed by AI (Artificial Intelligence). On occasion I might use such search results, but when I do, I will say that I am doing so. Generally, however, I try not to use such summaries in preparing Jackspotpourri. After such ‘AI’ search results, there follows the other results of my search. Unlike the anonymous AI-generated summaries, the sources of these results are clearly indicated, giving them a greater credibility than the AI summary. 

I feel that It comes down to who YOU want to be in the driver’s seat in seeking information: yourself or something else (Artificial Intelligence), the structure of which somewhere along the way had to have been created by others, with whose identity I am neither familiar nor comfortable. At least when I read a column by Timothy Snyder, for example, I know from where it comes, and to some extent, what to expect. 

Caution should be exercised in using Artificial Intelligence. 

JL 

                                                         * * * *