Thoughts for the Day, March 5, 2026: Churchill was right
Letters to Congress work. Noem is out at DHS.
War
From Elliot Kirschner: To be sure, the Iranian regime is murderous, despotic, and a destabilizing force in the world. It deserves to be toppled. But even if we were to grant the most noble rationale for this rash action — that this is about liberating the Iranian people (and we should of course not grant this reasoning) — our recent history alone gives ample evidence that shock and awe is often followed by quagmire and ruin.
Those who know war, who have seen it up close, understand that it is an untamable beast. Sometimes it is necessary and just, as in the defense of freedom against the Nazis. But even those who led the Allies in that conflict understood the costs.
Winston Churchill is famous for his commanding wartime oratory, urging his countrymen on as perhaps the final bulwark against fascist domination. But a decade earlier, he had published a biography of his first three decades titled My Early Life. He had seen a great deal of war and written books on the subject. And in that memoir is a passage that perhaps best captures my sense of foreboding today:
“Let us learn our lessons. Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.”
This leads to my Question of the Day: What happened to the president who campaigned against nation building and foreign wars?
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Protests and letters to congress have worked. Noem is history at DHS
The protests and the letters to congress have worked. The over-the-top actions by ICE and Border Patrol in Minneapolis have led to the ouster of Greg Bovino earlier in the year and now Noem.
Per multiple sources, President Trump on Thursday announced he was replacing Kristi Noem as the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, capping weeks of bipartisan complaints about her leadership after immigration agents killed two US citizens and reports emerged that she was involved in a personal relationship with a top deputy.
Noem’s firing was the first major personnel shake-up of Trump’s second term. The president made it public in a post on Truth Social, in which he said Markwayne Mullin, a Republican Oklahoma senator, would take over from Noem starting on 31 March.
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This might be the quote of the year, “The Supreme Court told you what your position is.”
From Mary Geddry: Judge Richard K. Eaton of the United States Court of International Trade, on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to take the first steps toward issuing more than $100 billion in potential tariff refunds, ratcheting up a legal battle over a roster of sky-high duties that the Supreme Court deemed illegal.
Judge Eaton was clearly not in the mood for excuses. When a Justice Department lawyer suggested the government had not yet finalized its position on refunds, Eaton responded with a line that should probably be framed and hung in every federal courtroom:
“The Supreme Court told you what your position is.” It is definitely my Quote of the Day.
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Putin is loving Trump right now.
For over a week, I have heard nothing about the Russia attack on Ukraine. Trump and Netanyahu have taken over the spotlight as world aggressors. Putin must be loving it.
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Voter Fraud
I received the following from a subscriber following my post last week about the fallacies of our elections being wrought with voter fraud.
“I have worked the voting poles for years and everything is double checked, and on the up and up, and I can’t believe people would think that there is a way to cheat.”
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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: “The Supreme Court told you what your position is.” Judge Richard K. Eaton to Justice Department attorneys.
Orchid of the Day: Fifty and sunny today in Petoskey. It was a good day for a bike ride. See my Image of Day.
Onion of the Day: War powers resolution of 1973. What good does it do to have a law if Congress is not willing to enforce it?
Question of the Day: What happened to the president who campaigned against nation building and foreign wars?
Lyrics of the Day: Land mine has taken my sight
Taken my speech, taken my hearing
Taken my arms, taken my legs
Taken my soul
Leaving me with a life in Hell
Oh, please God, help me
Help me
Hint: Heavy metal group that is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
If you know the answer, please feel free to use the comment section of the blog to respond.
Lyrics of the Day for March 3, 2026. War, performed by Edwin Starr
Video of the Day: On my bike ride today in Petoskey
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.