Thoughts for the Day, March 3, 2026: The genie is out of the bottle

Iran

On February 19, more than a week before the U.S. and Israel bombed Iran, a subscriber of Thoughts for the Day sent me the following question. I have included my response.

Question: What is your position on Iran before any event occurs?

My response: As far as Iran goes. As long as Iran stays within their boundaries. I would leave them be and sanction the shit out of them. Iran is a lose/lose situation for us. Have we not learned from Iraq and Afghanistan?

Two weeks later I stand by my answer.

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The Genie is out of the bottle

Every time Trump stomps on the Constitution and the Republican majority in Congress allows him to get away with it, they are setting a precedent they (or future members of congress) are going to live to regret.

Our founding fathers created three equal branches of government to make sure there would never be a ‘king” or an all-powerful president. They specifically gave congress the power to make laws, the power of the purse and the power to declare war.

The current congress under the leadership of House Speaker Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Thume have allowed Trump to expand his powers because Johnson and Thume will not challenge him in public or in a vote of Congress. This works well for the Republicans now. How are they going to feel the next time the Democrats control the presidency and both chambers of congress?

Trump and project 2025 have laid out a plan that expands the power of the president which all succeeding presidents, including Democrat presidents, will use to their advantage. Future presidents regardless of party are going to strengthen the executive branch to the detriment of congress, which the founding fathers designated as the “people’s representatives”.

The short-term thinking of Trump, Speaker Johnson, and Majority Leader Thume is weakening the voice of the people by their current action. The Republicans will realize their mistake when Democrats control the presidency and congress, and the Democrat members of congress allow the Democrat president to expand the powers of the presidency even more.

The genie is out of the bottle, and the people are the biggest losers because the current Republican members of congress are not willing to stand up to a rogue president who continues to run roughshod over the Constitution. The people’s representatives are giving away their power to the president, contrary to the desires of our founding fathers.

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“No stupid rules of engagement. No nation-building quagmire. No politically correct wars.”

The above is my Quote of the Day. As Pete Hegseth said this in his speech on Monday, my stomach was churning as I thought about the 165-180 young Iranian elementary school girls who were killed because of the bombing. I thought about the three members of our military who were killed in retaliatory strikes. I thought of the other Iranian non-military citizens who were killed, not because they were a threat to the U.S. but because they were citizens of Iran.

As I listened to Hegseth, I couldn’t help but think that loss of innocent lives meant nothing to him. The loss of innocent lives is collateral damage that is a necessity of the mission.

This is the way it will be when there are “No stupid rules of engagement. No nation-building quagmire. No politically correct wars.”

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Back in Petoskey

Leah and I returned to Petoskey late Monday after being gone since December 29, 2025. It is good to be back.

As we were driving up Crooked Tree Drive, we saw over 10 deer roaming the golf course. Our backyard has nearly 18 inches of snow. Our driveway is loaded with ice which I will need to address.

It was good to get back to our gym and our post gym breakfast at Julienne Tomatoes this morning even though we were later than normal because our bodies were still on central time. This led to me getting a parking ticket.

We love Gulf Shores, but we love Petoskey more.

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Contact your Congressperson

Contact your congressman by following these easy steps

This can be done in a few easy steps.

Step 1: find your congressman by clicking on this link, Find Your Representative | house.gov

Step 2: Put your zip code in the proper space.

Step 3: Click the button “find your representative””

Step 4: In the new page that comes up you will see a picture of your congressman. Click on your congressman’s name under the picture.

Step 5: In the new page that comes up, Click on Contact Me at the top of the page and then click on Email me.

Step 6: Fill out the information as required.

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Quote of the Day: “No stupid rules of engagement. No nation-building quagmire. No politically correct wars.” Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth during his briefing on Monday.

Orchid of the Day: Michigan Men’s basketball team for winning the B1G championship with the victory over Illinois on Friday.

Onion of the Day: We the people for the loss of our representation in Congress because the current congress is not willing to stand up to a president who is running roughshod over the constitution.

Question of the Day: How long will the war in Iran last? One month? Two months? Six months? Or more?

Lyrics of the Day: Listen to me. Ooh war, I despise
‘Cause it means destruction of innocent lives
War means tears, to thousands of mother’s eyes
When their sons go off to fight and lose their lives
I said, war (h’uh) Good God, y’all! (What is it good for?)

Hint: It was performed by a Starr.

If you know the answer, please feel free to use the comment section of the blog to respond.

Lyrics of the Day for February 25, 2026. Pink Houses by John Mellencamp

Video of the Day: What’s Going On (Marvin Gaye) Feat. Sara Bareilles | Playing For Change | Song Around The World

I write reflective, opinionated essays on leadership, politics, sports, and life—grounded in experience rather than ideology. If this perspective resonates with you, you can subscribe here for free.