Trump’s Distractions

United States president Donald Trump, during his Campaign 2024 promises, expressed determination to uncover the truth with the Epstein Files. Instead of doing that, he put forth one distraction after another. That included his bogus claim that it is nothing and, if his “MAGA” supporters are not accepting of this, they are doing the Democrats’s work.

My take on the case with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is that, yes, he was murdered and, no, TPTB intend to make sure the truth—including his clients list (which may include Trump)—never sees light. Just like the people of wealth connected with the child predatorial ring, which included the rapes of children, fifty years ago on North Fox Island in 1970s Michigan. Its leader, wealthy philanthropist Francis Shelden, was never caught, escaped the U.S., and died in 1996.

Another distraction of Trump’s is with trying to steal U.S. House seats in states normally aligned Republican for U.S. President so the 2026 Democrats either don’t flip the lower chamber of Congress…or they don’t win as many net gains. (Some Democratic-aligned states’s governors have said they are prepared to counter by doing the same against the Republicans.)

In early-August, Trump fired the labor statistics commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, due to the July 2025 jobs numbers report. As if this action by Trump is a win for people, including those who will vote in the 2026 midterm elections, because they would supposedly embrace this incumbent party.

I must confess that none of this is surprising. But, I care. And it is upsetting. 

I am reminded, in some way, how the presidencies of Joe Biden and Donald Trump—Parts I and II—are not meaningfully different. They are both authoritarians. They are terrible U.S. presidents. And their leadership intentionally hurts particular people via their policies.

Next year will be the 250th anniversary of the signing of The Declaration of Independence. When that date arrives, and given what has become of the United States, having a sense of humor will not only be helpful but also necessary.

Flashback 1975: Jimmy Hoffa Disappears

Last Wednesday was July 30, 2025. It marked 50 years since the anniversary of the disappearance of Teamsters Union president Jimmy Hoffa.

Born February 14, 1913, in Brazil. Indiana, Hoffa served as General President from 1957 to 1971.

Hoffa was a labor union president who had ties to the mob.

He disappeared Wednesday, July 30, 1975, at the age 62, apparently outside then-Machus Red Fox Restaurant in Bloomfield Township in Oakland County, Michigan. (General area in Detroit.)

Hoffa was declared Dead in Absentia seven years later, on the same calendar date, in 1982.

Below is a video, from 2019, by WDIV (“Click on Detroit), the NBC-affiliated station in Detroit, Michigan. It is titled, “Jimmy Hoffa: A closer look at the labor leaders’s life, work and disappearance.” Comments to this video are turned off. But, it has more than 6 million views. Duration is 48 minutes.

 

More videos follow. They come Detroit, Michigan stations WDIV and WJBK (Ch. 02, Fox). They actually were timed just days before this blog topic was published. (WDIV’s video was published July 30, 2025.) So, while I thought of publishing this topic before the anniversary date…it turned out to be even better that I waited.

Flashback 2024: Biden Drops Out

This month marks one year since the presidency of Joe Biden was drawing to its effective close.

The 46th U.S. president and 47th U.S. vice president and six-term U.S. senator from Delaware had a low job approval consistently in the 30s percentile range.

This clearly pointed to a Republican pickup year and a non-consecutive second-term re-election for 45th and, now, 47th U.S. president Donald Trump.

What eventually undid Biden is that the party support ended. 

For numerous reasons. 

Among them:

• Polls showed there were self-identified Democrats who would not vote to re-elect Biden

• More states, beyond the 31 carried by Trump, were emerging as potential GOP pickups

This was also a problem with donors letting the Democratic Party Establishment know, given this and other considerations (like Biden’s condition), they would not contribute to Team Blue.

Add to this that Trump, who could have gone on to win not 31 but more like 41 states, meant that approximately ten more states would become vulnerable to Democrats not only at the presidential level…but also for U.S. House and, for those on the schedule, U.S. Senate. Devastating downballot impact.

On July 21, 2024, Biden dropped out.

(I know there is no need to write more in depth about this. We are well-aware. But it ended up, for me, one more reason why I reject the Democratic Party.)

Upcoming Schedule for Progressives Chat

Blog topics for next month will publish on Fridays, August 1 and 15, 2025.

'Jaws’ and ‘Nashville’ Turns 50

Summer has long been embraced as a time away from school, from work, and from the usual routine. 

I will do some of this as I give Progressives Chat some rest. 

Rather than a weekly schedule, Progressives Chat will have July and August 2025 topics scheduled for the 1st and 15th of each month. Four topics. 

In July, these dates will fall on a Tuesday. In August, they will be on a Friday. This is to give me, frankly, some break. I am honestly needing it. (I have some personal matters but will still post in Comments.)

Progressive Chat will return to Mondays beginning on September 1, 2025.

I have expanded Comments to allow up to 30 days from a blog topic’s publishing date. 

For this first entry in July 2025…

Fifty years ago, in 1975, saw the releases of two acclaimed motion pictures.

Wednesday, June 11, 1975 was the date director Robert Altman’s groundbreaking film, Nashville, was released.

Friday, June 20, 1975 was the date director Steven Spielberg’s Jaws was released in movie theatres.

Jaws is better known, to most people, and it is the ultimate thriller. The enemy being a shark who goes on the hunt at a New England beach. Roy Scheider plays the police chief. Richard Dreyfuss as the marine biologist. Robert Shaw is the shark hunter.

Jaws was adapted to the screen by Carl Gottlieb and Peter Benchley. It is based on the latter’s 1974 novel. It was of the early-enough blockbuster films which changed the course of Hollywood standards in movie-making. It is genius work by Spielberg.

Nashville was my favorite film of 1975, the 1970s, and of what I have seen in motion pictures during the second half of the 20th century. It is an all-American look at 24 different and complicated individuals who are gathering for a presidential candidate. The music is, mostly, Country.

Jaws and Nashville are masterpieces for directors Spielberg and Altman. But, I must apply that old adage, “Behind every great man [there] is a great woman.” They are Verna Fields and Joan Tewkesbury. Fields won the 1975 Oscar for Film Editing and is key to why Jaws grips and scares the hell out of people. Tewkesbury wielded magic in her written-directly-for-the-screen Nashville with convincingly integrating and circulating those 24 characters in the same orbit.

Jaws was Oscar nominated for Best Picture of 1975 but, amazingly, Steven Spielberg was not nominated for Best Director nor were Carl Gottlieb and Peter Benchley for Adapted Screenplay nor Robert Shaw for Supporting Actor. 

Nashville won the 1975 Original Song Oscar, for “I’m Easy,” for its songwriter and performer and actor Keith Carradine. It was nominated for Best Picture, Director for Robert Altman, and Supporting Actress for each of Ronee Blakley and Lily Tomlin. Strangely, Joan Tewkesbury was not nominated for Original Screenplay nor was Henry Gibson for Supporting Actor.

Much more could be written of both films. But, I will post more in the Comments.

The following two clips include something having to do with a boat and an astonishing opener…

U.S. Bombs Iran

As reported by USA Today, on Saturday, June 21, 2025, “President Donald Trump on Saturday night announced American warplanes dropped bombs on three nuclear sites in Iran, with the U.S. officially entering the war more than a week after Israel’s initial attack.”

Link: 

US bombs Iran: What to know about possible weapon, the 'bunker buster'

This is not surprising.

It is destructive.

I will post some related videos in the Comments.

Progressives Chat Update

Next week’s blog topic will publish Tuesday, July 1, 2025 at 06:00 a.m. ET.

Latest Developments…

Over the last few days:

• Israel struck Iran and Iran struck Israel. Naturally, there are tweets on X weighing in. And there are defenders of Israel who want U.S. involvement and its soldiers to fight. It is, and this is putting it kindly, supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump—MAGA World—who are there for wherever is Trump. Those not in support get to clash with those in support of Israel. The nation’s leaders, and their administrations, have talked for years about going to war against Iran. Of course, that is what this country does—wars—and we will find out what more may come.

• Minnesota politicians targeted for assassination. Two state legislature figures were targeted for assassination. Melissa Hortman, age 55 and DFL leader in the Minnesota House of Representatives, along with her husband Mark, was assassinated in her home. Also targeted for assassination, but having survived, was John Hoffman, DFL, a state senator and age 60, along with his wife Yvette. Their adult daughter, shielded by her mother, was not shot. The suspect, following a weekend manhunt, has been apprehended. He is Vance Luther Boelter, 57.

There likely will be more up-to-date details during the week.

Tweet of the Year [So Far]…

Fallout from last week between U.S. president Donald Trump and Tesla and X owner Elon Musk sparked the above tweet (which has since been deleted but, thankfully, I took a screenshot).

Numerous of the regularly recommended content creators have already commented. I will include videos linked in Comments. But, there should be a response from me with this topic.

I would not surprised if this is true. 

I suspect that there is an easier question to ask: “Who isn’t in the Epstein files?”

In 2022, I wrote and posted “Remembering the Children” which was about the “Oakland County Child Killer” case in Oakland County, Michigan. 

On the historic timeline, this occurred between February 1976 to March 1977. Some of it coincided with the “Son of Sam” [David Berkowitz] case in New York, New York.

The “Oakland Child Killer” is a serial murder case which has never been solved. Well, not officially. But what also occurred in Michigan, on the west side of these state, at North Fox Island, was the sexual violations of children. Boys. (For “OCCK.” it was two boys and two girls.”)

The person who headed this was Francis Shelden (1928–1996) . He bought North Fox Island. 

Shelden was a pedophile. He had a network of other adult men who exploited—and even raped—many of these boys. Joining in this crime, although not named, were other men with wealth and influence.

Sheldon’s Wiki page is here: Wikitia—Francis Duffield Shelden.

I do not want to go into much with that case. Shelden was descended from the 20th governor of Michigan Russell Alger (1836–1907). He fled Michigan, apparently, and the United States—and he avoided arrest—for the remainder of this life. He died in Amsterdam.

The Jeffrey Epstein case reminds me of this. Many in his circle also have wealth, power, and influence. And whether or not that list ever becomes revealed—and it is intended that that will never happen—I cannot be genuinely surprised.