June 23, 2026 (Vol. 20 No. 24) - The Ugly American is a 1963 film starring Marlon Brando as the U.S. Ambassador to a fictitious Southeast Asian nation threatened by communists. It painted Americans as self-centered and arrogant. However, for many people living abroad, that title also describes today's America, as the world has been repulsed by the hegemonistic and boorish leadership coming out of Washington. There was speculation that this growing worldwide anti-American sentiment, along with the Trump administration's crackdown on international visas, could negatively impact the World Cup that the U.S. is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico. However, judging by comments made in the media and on YouTube, it has come as a pleasant surprise to our international visitors that they are learning to love America, especially Americans.

When our foreign guests are asked about their first impressions of the United States, they talk about how friendly and informal Americans are. They are surprised that we are willing to initiate conversations with total strangers when standing in a queue outside a stadium, at the gas pumps, in a restaurant or even just passing by on the street. European and Australian visitors have posted on YouTube that they were at first startled by our familiarity. However, after a while, they are getting used to it and seem to like it. They also speak about how free we are to set on our own paths and to individually define who we are. Then, of course, they speak of the size of our nation, our stores and our dining portions. The one reaction that has really surprised me is their admiration for our patriotism. This is often embodied by their reaction to how we proudly and loudly sing our national anthem. Our guests are deeply moved by the depth of our love for our country.

Nowhere has the kinder and gentler side of American life been demonstrated than in my hometown, Lawrence, Kansas. Our community is serving as the base camp for the Algerian National Team, which is scheduled to play two of its three pool games in nearby Kansas City. Our community, arguably the most progressive and tolerant within the Sunflower State, has fully embraced the Algerian team and fans. It started with the team's arrival late on a stormy Sunday night. When the team arrived the next day at its practice field, Rock Chalk Park, they were greeted by the KU Band, which played their national anthem. A number of events, including street fairs and watch parties, have been scheduled for our international visitors. Lawrence's welcoming hospitality has garnered many new friends and international news coverage. Because of these carefully planned community events, the world is seeing the real America, the one outside of the Beltway, where we welcome newcomers as long-lost friends. I have never been prouder of my hometown than I am now.

The World Cup has been a double-edged blessing - good for the visitors and good for the hosts. It has helped to overcome some of the negatives that have tarnished our international image. This is not to say there are not many things that need improvement. However, the World Cup has reminded our guests, as well as ourselves, as to why Americans still believe they live in the greatest nation on earth. May God continue to bless America as we celebrate the 250th year of our independence. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.

June 19, 2026 (Vol. 20 No. 23) - The juxtaposition was rich with irony. In Chicago, we celebrated a man who brought intelligence and dignity to the Oval Office while in Paris we watched a vulgarian of a man surrender to a country in which he had engaged in a an unconstitutional and immoral war. The dedication of the Obama Presidential Center highlighted the leadership qualities of the 44th President of the United States, in sharp contrast to the intolerant buffoon seeking to defend and deflect blame for signing a memorandum of understand - shall we call it a surrender document - to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

President Donald Trump spent much of this past week trying to put lipstick on a pig. But the truth of the matter is that the MOU Trump signed fails to achieve any of the goals he set at the outset of the war and is substantially weaker than the nuclear agreement achieved by his precessor - one which Trump subsequently trashed. All this MOU really did was kick the can down the road 6o days. But even that deadline is fluid. From his ill-conceived war, Trump achieved the loss of $29 billion in direct military expenses and an estimated $132 billion in indirect economic consumer costs. And those figures do not include the economic windfall Iran receives from the restoration of its oil exports, the easing of economic sanctions and the payment of $300 billion by the U.S. and its Gulf regional allies by help rebuild Iran. Trump denies Iran will get "a single penny" from the U.S. before it concludes its negotiations. However, the signed MOU document tells us a different story.

And what did we get? Iran will reopen the Strait of Hormuz, returning waterway to its pre-war status. Iran will not charge vessels for passage through the Strait - for at least 60 days. After that, who knows? Did we achieve regime change? In a word, no. If anything, this younger crowd is more intrangident. And did we eliminate Iran's nuclear program? That was left up to negotiations over the next 60, maybe more, days. In short, we got nothing.

Does this sound like The Art of the Deal to you?

Meanwhile, back in Chicago, former President Barack Obama spoke in loftier terms. He spoke of American values, freedoms, and responsibilities. It was an uplifting speech in which he eviscerated the Trump administration without ever mentioning the President by name. As a former college professor, Obama knew how to deliver his message through the technique known as "contrast and compare." He spoke of his vision, allowing his audience the opportunity to compare it with their understanding of the current regime. Unless you are one who drinks the MAGA Kool-Aid, the message was crystal clear: In a democracy, the power rests with the people, not in the whims of a wannabe king. Obama's speech reminded us of the days when we had adults running the country, not a bunch of party boys with a messianic complex.

The next presidential election is two and one-half years away. (I think it's even money as to whether Trump lives to the end of his term. The man looks like crap.) However, we can't wait until then for the people to take charge. We can do that in November's mid-term election. Democrat control of the House and Senate would hit the brakes on this runaway garbage truck we laughingly refer to as the Trump administration. I've said it before and I will say it again - Friends do not let friends vote Republican. The contrasts and comparisons of this past week serve to drive that point home. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.

June 9, 2026 (Vol. 20 No. 21) - It is only human to remember the folks who have treated us badly. Maybe it was that bully who tormented you in high school. Perhaps it is a neighbor or family member. Sometimes it is a current or former co-worker. You and almost everyone within your social circles knows someone or several someones who own a piece of real estate in the space between your ears.

That "piece of real estate" is what we know as a grudge, an unwillingness to forgive those we perceive to have done us wrong. This is not to be confused with what my wife calls "sports grudges," wounds created on the artificial battlefields of athletic contests. (For example, I may never get over the New York Jets beating the Baltimore Colts in 1969's Super Bowl III.) No, grudges are more real, more personal and more emotional. They are scars we carry that through our own actions that we have not allowed to heal. Clearly, the grudges we hold are a form of self-defense against the real hurt we may have experienced. However, in a sense, they are also a form of self-loathing we hold for having placed ourselves into the sad scenario that burns our memories.

At its heart, one's unwillingness to forgive others comes down to an ethical dilemma. When I taught a journalism ethics course at the University of Kansas, I told my students that ethics are our values in action. They are not something we have, but something we do. In a sense, it is an adherence to our basic sense of right and wrong. That's where the dilemma comes into play. Deciding to forgive someone comes down to the competing values of our personal sense of justice versus our self-image of compassion and empathy. It can be hard to walk a mile in someone else's shoes after they used those same shoes to walk over you.

In Christian theology, forgiveness is a moral imperative and the failure to forgive may be described as a venial sin, one that weaken one's relationship to God. "Judge not and you will not be judged; condemn not and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven." (Luke 6:37) If one chooses a more secular perspective, forgiveness removes a personal burden that often weighs more heavily on the abused than the offender. Former South African President Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years as a political prisoner, wrote in his autobiography, "As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn't leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I'd still be in prison."

We have a sense of what forgiveness is. But there are many things it is not. Forgiving someone for doing something wrong does not mean you are condoning it. Nor does it mean that you are required to forget it or to trust the offender. There may be consequences that the offender may have to pay. But forgiveness allows the offended party to move on and begin a healing process that restores one's emotional control. "It's not an easy journey to get to a place where you forgive people," actor, writer and producer Tyler Perry told a British newspaper in 2010, "But it is such a powerful place because it frees you."

As I write this, I am well aware that I must practice what I preach. I know that will not be an easy task. For example, asking me to forgive the current President of the United States for the damage he has done to the social, economic, political and moral fabric of this nation is a pretty big ask. I suspect that will be easier when he finally - and mercifully - exits the stage. I may fail. But I should try. As I moved into retirement, it has been easier for me to forgive those within my own orbit whom I have come in conflict through the years. But part and parcel to that, I must also be willing to ask for their forgiveness of me. More than that, there are times that we have to forgive ourselves. For me, that's the hardest ask of all.

At the risk of sounding Pollyanna, we could use a lot more forgiveness and a lot less recrimination in our troubled world. We need to return to a time - one that wasn't really that long ago - when the idea of reaching consensus was a noble goal, and not as many today would see it as some sort of capitulation. That healing process begins with forgiveness of others - and ourselves. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.

June 1, 2026 (Vol. 20 No. 20) - CNN ran an excellent report last weekend about how the Trump administration is trying to undo the incalculable damage it has done to the nation's ability to respond to emergencies, focusing specifically on the disaster that FEMA has become. I highly recommend it. The report speaks to not only the callous disregard for public safety that this administration has shown. It is also emblematic of this administration's total incompetence and corruption.

Because of my background in crisis communications and emergency management, this is not the first time I have taken this administration to task for its public safety failures. Most recently, I wrote about this administration's total disregard for communities in need. Almost a year ago, I excoriated Trump and his cronies for their inept response to flooding in Texas (pictured above). And that rebuke came on the heels of a condemnation in the form of a scathing letter to the editor of the local newspaper complaining about Trump's reckless cuts in both FEMA and the National Weather Service. And these are just a small sampling of my concerns I've expressed in this blog over the years about the government's flagging emergency response capabilities under the Trump regime.

If you have not read the CNN report, it is a doozy. It details that at the end of last year, FEMA was sitting on $15 billion of unspent disaster relief waiting for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's signature. In fact, FEMA's electricity, phones, internet and email services were almost cut off because of unpaid bills. Corey Lewandowski, Noem's adulterous lover and chief-of-staff, blocked so-called blue states from getting much-needed (and rightfully deserved) funding while expediting payments to his cronies and allies. This haphazard funding slowed the response to the aforementioned Texas floods as well as severely restricted communications between FEMA and its state and local partners. As I noted in one of my recent posts, reckless DOGE cuts to the National Weather Service have resulted in communities receiving little or no warning of severe weather such as tornadoes. The CNN report (linked in the first paragraph) is not comfortable reading or viewing, especially when you remember that today is the first day of hurricane season.

Of course, Noem and Lewandowski are gone and have been replaced with a man whose chief qualification was that he was once a plumbing contractor. This kind of creative stafing is not limited to Homeland Security. Just look at the secretaries of Defense and Health & Human Services. And Education. And Treasury. And Vice President. And, of course, the fat, incompetent and incontinent fool in the Oval Office. Trump is more interested in naming things after himself and building his billion-dollar ballroom than he is in bringing down gas prices and ending a war he started without cause. And let us not forget that the Trump crime family is robbing the American people blind through a systematic pattern of blackmailing, grifting and outright theft. And oh, yes, there are strong indications that Trump is a rapist and a pedophile.

America, we are in for a bumpy - maybe I should say bumpier - ride. All indications are that the Republican Party will take a well-earned drubbing in the midterm elections. We also know that Trump and his syncophantic legions will do anything - re: January 6 - to maintain power. We must remain vigilant. Most of all, we must vote. Let 2026, the 250th anniversary of our nation, be the time we successfully shed the shackles of yet another tyrant. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.