Jeff Cox

So weird, so wacky, but also so groovy, and jaw-dropping wonderment at the lead singer:

My only ancient Greek joke: A guy walks into a tailor shop and hands the tailor a pair of ripped trousers. "Euripedes? the tailor asks the customer. "Yeah," says the customer. "Eumenedes?" Told to me by my brother-in-law, who grew up on W. 22nd St. in Manhattan, the Greek District. Figures.

Please be aware of this addition to my substack post at the end of each month: jeffcox120.substack.com/p/to-my-subs...

The Rule of Law is worth a lot more than the paper it's written on. check it out: jeffcox120.substack.com/p/the-rule-o...

As a lifelong Yankees fan, I have no love for the Dodgers--as a team. But I am pleased that MLB has banned the Angels' first baseman from the league forever because of a dirty hit on Shohei Ohtani that caused him to hit the ground hard. Beat the Dodgers on the scoreboard, not with dirty play.

Quote of the Day: A.I. is made in the image of man, but man is made in the image of God. --Bret Stephens, NY Times

A story in the NY Times says "Yuppies" was a term applied to young, urban professionals in the 1980s. Sorry to disagree, but the real genesis of the term is simple. Hippies--Yippies --Yuppies. From the 1960s into the 70s.

So the majority of Virginians who voted last week for the legislature to be able to redistrict for fair elections have just been told by a Virginia Supreme Court that their vote doesn't count, and the Supreme Court will say what's what. That ain't democracy my friends. That's partisan autocracy.

The only way our government works is if both parties agree on our founding principles and then argue to details of left and right policies. But without agreement on these principles, our country will fall apart: the rule of law, equal opportunity, due process, and free, unfettered speech.

MAGA Republicans have abandoned our founding principles. They support a man who ignores our rule of law (the Constitution), who uses our government's powers for self-aggrandizement and to attack his enemies, funnels tax breaks to his friends, and sics his police state goons on ordinary citizens.

Katie Porter is not only by far the best candidate for governor, she represents how opposing views should represent the same goal: a living wage for all. Folks can disagree on tactics, but the patriotic strategy of both parties should be a wholesome, working America!

"The church that stays silent, when children die, to protect its image has no image worth protecting." Pope Leo XIV

Headline in today's NY Times: "Trump Attacks Pope Leo as Too Liberal and ‘Weak on Crime’" Yay! Trump asserts moral superiority over the Pope. Hey Donald, that Jesus guy was pretty skanky, too. Now tell all the Catholics they can go to hell. Hahahahaha.

What's authentic anymore? Here's an idea:

Trump's family and friends have made billions of dollars from corrupt practices. Why haven't they been stopped? Because all three branches of the Federal Goverment have failed us. Trump's branch has neutered the Dept. of Justice and FBI. Congress refuses to act. And Court orders are ignored.

I was born in 1940 and heard rock n roll come in. Some people think today's songs are nutty, but they have no idea of just how nutty rock was when it was invented. How about this little ditty from the mid-1950s: www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIoD...

In the midst of all this crazy shit, let's not forget that there was once among us an exceptional talent named Amy Winehouse. One like her comes along very very rarely.

I see that the Trump Fed is paying like $120 million for warehouses worth $15 million to use as ICE prisons. So who are the sellers? And are they kicking back huge overpayments to Trump? I wouldn't bet against it.

In my latest substack post I consider gratitude and what it does for us and to us. Check it out: jeffcox120.substack.com/p/gratitude

What pisses me off about the Trump administration and its boxcar full of half-wits is its utter contempt for the intelligence of the American people. They brazenly lie, cover up and commit crimes, and befoul the Constitution and expect us to eat this shit sandwich and think it's chocolate pudding..

‪It's a shame Sinners didn't win best picture because it was without a doubt the best picture. In fact, one of the best pictures I've ever seen. It has the verisimilitudes of real life: pain, history, context, humor, art, meaning, authenticity, humanity, and unpredictable creativity.

Trump treats our srongest allies (Canada, Denmark, France, etc.) like he's their overlord and now can't figure out why they aren't joining his call to arms in Iran. It's because they are returning your "fuck you," Donald. Plus a big helping of "up yours."

No matter whether you think the March 28th protest against Trump is too soft or not strong enough or whatever, GO! Go anyway. The bigger the crowds, the more community is formed. GO! The more non-violent, the more distance we put between Trump's cruelty and us. We the People are disgusted. GO!

"Personal meanings usually die with us unless they have enough universal importance to cross the line into the culture. And for that to happen, our personal meanings and their importance need a vehicle to make the crossing. That’s the role of art." From my substack post at jeffcox120.substack.com

Here's the Big Picture on Iran-US history and the sources and future of the conflict.

From today's NY Times: "Brendan Carr, the chairman of the FCC, threatened Saturday to revoke broadcasters’ licenses over their coverage of the war with Iran, his latest move in a campaign to stomp out what he sees as liberal bias in broadcasts." So toe the Trump line or lose your license? Egad!

War is death and destruction and deserving of the utmost seriousness of purpose because of it. Trump's "Watch-'Em-Die-Ha-Ha-Ha" approach is only surpassed in lack of humanity by Pete Hegseth's portrayal of a prepubescent boy's imitation of an abusive father. They are a disgrace to this country.

Wars are won by those with the most stone in their baloney. Like most bullies, Trump sounds less like a Commander-in-Chief than a timid weakling who starts crying when his opponent gives him a bloody nose. Work smart with our allies, Donald--oh, that's right, you told them all to get fucked.

There's an unanswered question at the heart of quantum physics: Why do particles only become definitely entangled when they're observed? Maybe because consciousness creates reality, connecting everything to everything else. Particles very far apart are known simultaneously by this consciousness.

Why does Trump act on his own whim instead of following the law? He's told us many times: He's convinced himself he has the most brilliant mind on earth. Only he can fix it, whatever it is. His decisions are not to be gainsaid. He's the best, the most, the deepest thinker, he can do "the weave."

America is being taken apart by the most vicious and evil criminal gang in history. His sons are profiteering from his "war" in Iran, Epstein files quote a woman who was 13 when Trump sexually assaulted her, Trump spent an hour on the phone with Putin who advised Iran on targeting American troops.

This miserable political moment will end when our Christian politicians forsake cruelty for compassion and recognize Christians in politics not by their strident ideology, but by their integrity and love for all our neighbors. --Paraphrasing David French in today's NY Times.

Hegseth said last Monday that “We didn’t start this war, but under President Trump, we are finishing it.” In 2022, Putin said: “We didn’t start the so-called war in Ukraine. Rather, we are trying to finish it.” Pure boilerplate military machismo. Same thing said during WWII (when it wasn't a lie).

Once again, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is standing up for real justice by questioning the legality of the raid on Fulton County Georgia's voting results--a raid conducted by the Trump "Weaponization Working Group." Did you know there is such an office in our government? Neither did I.

Trump gives many reasons for warring in Iran: regime change, dismantle nuclear capacity, stop Iranian allies like Hezbollah, etc. But he doesn't mention the real reason: Putin told him to. Since the war started, Russian oil is flowing again, Russian influence is growing, Trump is bailing him out.

Aha! That Trump-Putin meeting where no one was allowed in except a translator. Trump's sucking up to Putin. Trump's humiliation of Ukraine. His current attempts to back Russia's return to most favored nation. Epstein's billion dollar laundering of Russia's illegal money. I bet Trump took a slice.

Lest you have any doubt about the Putin-Epstein-Trump (PET) connection and evidence that Donald Trump is a traitor to the United States, I offer you Senator Sheldon Whitehouse's recent speech to the few Senators who cared to be present.

"Republicans in the U.S. Senate blocked a measure that would limit President Trump’s power to continue waging war against Iran without congressional authorization. A similar measure is expected to fail in the House." NY Times 3/5/26 In other words, we won't allow you to follow the Constitution.

Six anonymous cryptocurrency people bet huge sums of money that Trump would pull the trigger on Iran one day before Trump pulled the trigger on Iran, and they made millions. My guess is that Trump, through an accomplice, was one of them.

A cryptocurrency analytics company has identified “six Trump insiders [who] made $1.2 million betting that the US would strike Iran ” Most bets were made for Feb 28, just hours before the strike.

Columnist David French wrote truth today: "Trump didn’t go to Congress. Instead, he did perhaps the most monarchical thing he’s done. He simply ordered America into war." The Constitution says he does not have that power. Congress does. While morally OK, his war is illegal.

Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon says he wants Anthropic's AI program to use as he sees fit. Anthropic says no. The problem, Anthropic says, is that Hegseth will use its program's power to institute complete surveillance over all Americans, Hegseth it wouldn't do that. Who do you trust?

I think it was Josef Stalin who said, "It doesn't matter who wins an election. What matters is who counts the ballots." When I heard Trump in his State of the Union address say that the only way Democrats can win is by cheating, I heard the subtext: We will count the ballots and we will win.

Most Germans in 1937-1945 were ordinary people who voted for a fascist. Most Americans in 2016-2024 are ordinary people who voted TWICE for a fascist.

Your tax dollars at work:

Trump on Friday lashed out at Supreme Court justices who struck down his tariffs, calling them “fools” who made a “terrible, defective decision.” He said he'd now impose a 10% tariff on all imports through an executive order. That's a 10% tax on all imports, to be paid by Americans.

The most important interview in American history has just been published by The NY Times. The skin is off the wound. The truth is here at last. Anand Giridharadas rescues journalism from the smoke-filled landscape of deceit.

1,000 girls trafficked to the oligarchs of the world, American, European, Russian. All covered up by Donald Trump, Cash Patel, and Pam Bondi. And most of the girls under age, even as young as 9. What horror! What evil! What disgusting human beings Epstein and Ghislaine and their enablers were/are.

Transportation secretary Sean Duffy said drones from Mexican drug cartels forced closing El Paso's airspace. But multiple people told The NY Times that it was closed after officials used an anti-drone laser loaned from the Pentagon without giving the F.A.A. time to assess the risks. Call it Lying.

I see the Crypto has lost half its value in the past week. Who could have possibly seen that coming? Money that only exists on hard drives? A financial product touted by Donald Trump? He's the opposite of King Midas. Everything he touches turns to shit. A better name for him would be King My Ass!