Having a wonderful time reminiscing about all my past travel (and other) adventures. Hope you’ll share them with me in my blog, “All Roads Led to Russia.”
This one is self-explanatory. It is from an address given by Frederick Lewis Donaldson* in 1925, in Westminster Abbey, London:
“The Seven Social Sins are:
Wealth without work. Pleasure without conscience. Knowledge without character. Commerce without morality. Science without humanity. Worship without sacrifice. Politics without principle.”
Frederick Lewis Donaldson (1860 – 1953)
* Frederick Lewis Donaldson was an English Anglican priest, and Archdeacon of Westminster from 1937 to 1946.
A sort of extension of the Seven Deadly Sins — pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth — the Seven Social Sins would serve as a worthy guideline throughout life for most of us.
If only we could convince the proud, greedy, wrathful, envious, amoral, gluttonous, slothful, and downright evil ones to join us . . .
In 1865, Lewis Carroll wrote the immortal “Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland,” to the delight of generations of children and adults, and in modern times inspiring movies and musical adaptations.
In 1871, he wrote the sequel, “Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There” — thus bestowing upon the world a second classic that to this day has lost none of its charm and wonderment.
And contained within that latter story is the famous poem, “The Walrus and the Carpenter,” in which — unbeknownst to Carroll — he foretold the future advent of the Donald Trump administration.
Most of us are familiar with one particular verse, though by itself it doesn’t seem to mean much:
“The time has come,” the Walrus said, ”To talk of many things: Of shoes – and ships – and sealing-wax – Of cabbages – and kings – And why the sea is boiling hot – And whether pigs have wings.”
But how many know the rest of the poem, or the context in which that verse was written? In a nutshell, it’s a Pied Piper sort of tale, in which a Walrus and a Carpenter, walking along a beach, come across a bed of Oysters, all fat and ripe for the eating. They attempt to lure the mollusks along the beach with promises of a good time:
“O Oysters, come and walk with us!” The Walrus did beseech. ”A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk, Along the briny beach: We cannot do with more than four, To give a hand to each.”
The eldest of the Oysters wisely declined the invitation, though he said nothing. Then:
But four young Oysters hurried up, All eager for the treat . . .
Four other Oysters followed them, And yet another four; And thick and fast they came at last, And more, and more, and more – All hopping through the frothy waves, And scrambling to the shore.
Merrily the little Oysters followed in anticipation of a marvelous time to be had with their new friends. After a while, they rested, and the Walrus said it was “time . . . to talk of many things.” And as he and the Carpenter began preparing a loaf of bread and some vinegar and pepper, the truth finally dawned on the Oysters . . . but it was too late.
Spoiler Alert: I will leave you to read the entire poem for yourselves. But as you can imagine, the afternoon did not end well for the gullible little Oysters, who had failed to do their due diligence before electing as their leaders a pair of smooth-talking hustlers who cared only for themselves and their insatiable appetites.
THE END
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And so it goes, dear children . . . even unto the present time.
Furthermore, I (happily) have never met Epstein, Maxwell, the Trumps, former Prince Andrew, or anyone else — as far as I know — who might have been part of their Tenth Circle of Hell; I have no inside information, nor special access to the infamous hundreds of pages of released and unreleased documents; and I will not render judgment based solely on conflicting statements from parties with a vested interest in the outcome of the investigation.
On the other hand, who can resist a juicy scandal? Not I. So of course — being possessed of a reasonable amount of normal, human curiosity — I’m not totally unaware of all the “he said / she said” on this subject; and I will now make my one and only (at least until it’s all resolved) public observation on the whole slimy, revolting, stomach-turning situation:
If you’re innocent, and have nothing to fear, why knock yourself out trying to hide the evidence?
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I’m not the first to ask it, and certainly won’t be the last. It’s no more than common sense.
You do remember common sense, don’t you? It’s one of those old-fashioned virtues that seems to have gone the way of good manners, human kindness, empathy, and self-respect.
While commenting earlier today on the news of a scandal in Ukraine’s energy and political sectors, I was reminded of an old axiom on the subject of corruption, and went searching for the original source. It turned out to be a man with an impressive string of names and titles: one John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, First Baron Acton, 13th Marquess of Groppoli.
Lord Acton (1834-1902)
Lord Acton, as he is more familiarly known, was an English Catholic historian, Liberal politician and writer, best known for his advocacy in favor of individual liberty and his observations on the dangers of concentrated authority.
In an 1887 letter to an Anglican bishop on the subject of the threat to human freedom posed by unchecked power, he wrote:
“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Lord Acton’s writings frequently emphasized the importance of limiting governmental and institutional power in favor of individual rights and personal liberty. [Wikipedia biography.]
And I couldn’t think of a more apropos quote today in light of recent developments, in Ukraine and elsewhere.
Full disclosure: On the issue of Russia’s war against Ukraine, I stand firmly on the side of Ukraine in its struggle to maintain its sovereignty free of interference from Russia.
That said, no one — and particularly no country — is perfect. Governments are, after all, run by human beings, who are innately imperfect and sometimes corruptible. Why would anyone believe Ukraine might be an exception?
But this week’s revelations concerning the extent of the kickback scheme involving a number of people at or near the top of the Ukrainian hierarchy have, at the very least, been shocking.
As yet, there has been no implication of involvement on the part of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and it is devoutly to be hoped that his hands are indeed clean. This is a man who, with little political experience, was thrown into the role of defender of his nation when Vladimir Putin launched his attack in February of 2022. For nearly four years, Zelensky has fought for and inspired his people with a strength and tenacity that few would have suspected he possessed at the outset. To be told now that he might have been involved in, or covering up, illegal activity for personal enrichment would be devastating.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
But the scheme was uncovered as the result of a 15-month investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) — the two offices that Zelensky tried to strip of their authority by transferring control to the Prosecutor General last July. That order was only rescinded following massive public protests. (See my post: “7/24/25: What Has Volodymyr Zelensky Done?”)
It is alleged that Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko and others — including Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov and businessman (and former business partner of Zelensky) Timur Mindich — received payments from contractors hired to build fortifications against Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. [Laura Gozzi, BBC, November 12, 2025.]
According to NABU, contracting company Enerhoatom systematically paid kickbacks of between 10% and 15% of contract values — amounting to an estimated $100 million — to the involved individuals.
The funds were laundered through an office in Kyiv connected to the family of former Ukrainian lawmaker — and currently Russian senator — Andriy Derkach. The money was then transferred outside Ukraine . . . including to Russia. [Id.]
Andriy Derkach (RFE/RL Photo)
Well, I’ll bet that raised a few eyebrows!
Aside from the theft of money desperately needed for the defense of the country; and aside from the fact that this has all taken place in the midst of crippling power blackouts to conserve electricity as Russia continues to batter Ukraine’s energy infrastructure; it appears that Russian operators — if not the government itself — are involved.
At best, this is a massive headache for President Zelensky — as though he needs another headache at this point.
And at worst . . . well, I hate to even think about what it would mean to him, and to Ukraine, if he were even accused of being involved.
Though I’m pretty sure there would be celebrations in the Kremlin.
In a slight departure from the usual daily quote, I am inspired today to respond to the unintelligible ramblings of one well-known individual with the far more eloquent words of another.
We begin with this guy . . .
The “Statesman”
. . . who, while addressing a gathering of the top U.S. military brass on the subject of Marine morale, suddenly lost his train of thought and wandered off onto the subject of “Biden’s autopen” and . . . well, see for yourself:
“I have to sign for a general because we have beautiful paper, the gorgeous paper. I said, ‘Throw a little more gold on it, they deserve it.’ Give me — I want the A paper, not the D paper. We used to sign a piece of garbage.”
– As reported by Robert Reich, Substack.com, November 11, 2025
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It didn’t take me long to imagine the likely reaction of the Bard, had his monarch, Queen Elizabeth I, spewed such gibberish at her troops. Try this:
“It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
According to “sources familiar with the matter,” one of our most valued allies, the United Kingdom, is no longer sharing intelligence with the U.S. regarding suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean “because it does not want to be complicit” in the Trump administration’s military strikes, which it “believes . . . are illegal.” [Natasha Bertrand, CNN, November 11, 2025.]
Flag of the United Kingdom
The UK believes they’re illegal?? Well, if anyone has any doubts, they should be allayed by the following:
> The United Nations’ human rights chief, Volker Turk, said last month that the strikes violate international law and amount to “extrajudicial killing.”
> Trump has justified the attacks by designating drug cartels as “foreign terrorist groups,” thus making his actions — in his opinion — fully compliant with the Law of Armed conflict, which applies to attacks on civilians. But legal experts say that that the “foreign terrorist” designation does not automatically authorize the use of lethal force, and that the restrictions mandated by the Law of Armed Conflict would still apply to civilian drug traffickers.
> Even Trump’s own Defense Department has weighed in against the attacks. Specialists in international law within the DoD’s Office of General Counsel have raised concerns, as have current and former uniformed military lawyers . . . although Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s spokesperson has denied that any lawyers involved in the operations have dissented.
> To top it off, the commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), Admiral Alvin Holsey, raised questions about the legality of the strikes during a meeting last month with Hegseth and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during which Holsey offered his resignation. He will be leaving his post next month. [Id.]
Admiral Alvin Holsey: A Man of Honor
And our British friends are not alone in their refusal to be associated with Trump’s murderous rampage. Canada — which has also helped the U.S. Coast Guard pursue drug traffickers in the Caribbean for nearly 20 years in a partnership called Operation Caribbean — has now also distanced itself from the attacks by making it clear to the U.S. that it does not want its intelligence being used to help target boats for the deadly strikes. In a statement to the Canadian press last month, a spokesperson for the Canadian defense authorities said:
“ . . . it is important to note that Canadian Armed Forces activities under Operation Caribbean, conducted in coordination with the United States Coast Guard, are separate and distinct” from the U.S. military strikes on suspected drug vessels. [Id.]
Flag of Canada
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While it’s encouraging and heartwarming to know that our allies have consciences and codes of ethics unfamiliar to the current members of the U.S. administration, it is at the same time devastating to realize how far we have sunk in the esteem of even the most stalwart of our friends.
I’m reminded of the song by American country music singer Lee Greenwood — “God Bless the USA” —which he wrote in 1983 but which went viral in 2001 following the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The second verse is particularly poignant:
“I thank my lucky stars To be living here today ’Cause the flag still stands for freedom And they can’t take that away.”
. . . and the chorus continues:
“And I’m proud to be an American Where at least I know I’m free, And I won’t forget the men who died Who gave that right to me. And I’d gladly stand up next to you And defend Her still today, ’Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land. God Bless the U.S.A.”
Lee Greenwood
I vividly remember hearing that song on my car radio as I drove past the destroyed western side of the Pentagon on my way home from work the day they reopened that stretch of highway I-395.
And I recall being at Dulles International Airport to meet an arriving relative just a week after the attack, when I was privileged to speak with a unit of British soldiers who had also just landed . . . coming to assist us in our time of need.
I feel certain that our British friends would still be there for us if we needed them today. But I wonder whether it would be with the same spirit of comradeship . . .or simply out of an innate sense of duty and human decency.
Yesterday I quoted from a work of fiction on the subject of tyrants. Today, I turn to a very real person . . . one of the greatest, most revered political ethicists of modern times . . . a peacemaker who was assassinated for his views on freedom and civil rights: Mahatma Gandhi.
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
Known in India as the “Father of the Nation,” he led the drive for his country’s independence from British rule, and inspired worldwide civil rights movements through non-violent resistance.
And on the subject of tyrants, he offered these words of hope:
“Remember that all through history, there have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they seem invincible. But in the end, they always fall. Always.”
– Mahatma Gandhi, “Gandhi: An Autobiography”
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My question remains: How long do we have to wait before the fall?
Yesterday — after actually working over the weekend! — and after 41 days of internecine battling and agonizing suspense — the U.S. Senate finally agreed to a compromise bill that would end the longest government shutdown in this country’s history.
Now it just has to pass the House of Representatives, hopefully sometime this week.
U.S. Senate in Session – November 10, 2025
But it took eight former holdouts — seven Democrats and an Independent — to break the stalemate. They were Democrats Dick Durbin, Maggie Hassan, Tim Kaine, Jeanne Shaheen, Catherine Cortez Masto, John Fetterman and Jacky Rosen, and Independent Angus King, who caucuses with the Democrats.
Many are now castigating them as traitors to the people who still may lose their medical insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). But they did not give up everything; and with so many lower-income Americans in danger of going hungry because of Donald Trump’s punitive defunding of benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), they are saying they felt it was essential to get food back onto people’s tables, re-open the government, send hundreds of thousands of workers back to their jobs and on salary, and deal with the ACA issue after that.
Food Lines in America in 2025
So, exactly what did the compromise bill cover?
First, although no one likes to be the one to swerve in a game of chicken, it had become obvious that Trump was pulling the Republican strings (as always), and didn’t care how many children or old folks starved or died of disease; he simply wasn’t going to give an inch on health care. Maybe because it was originally called Obamacare, after his arch nemesis (or one of them), former President Barack Obama.
Whatever his reasoning, ACA was the principal roadblock, and nothing was going to move until it was resolved. So the eight Democrats finally agreed to put it on the back burner — not to surrender it, but to table it until after the wheels of government were turning once more.
In exchange, the Republicans agreed to fund the government through January 2026, in addition to an extension of funding through fiscal year 2026 — ending September 30th — for several key agencies, including those that control federal food aid, veterans programs, military affairs, and others.
Interestingly, the extended bill includes $203.5 million in new funding for enhanced security measures and protection for members of Congress, in addition to $852 million for U.S. Capitol Police. [Annie Grayer and Sarah Ferris, CNN, November 10, 2025.]
Methinks the legislators are feeling, shall we say, somewhat unpopular with their constituents at present, and more than a little vulnerable.
Of course, the compromise bill still has to be passed by the House of Representatives, so there are no guarantees. But with the recent surge of Democratic wins, and mid-term elections coming up, let’s hope they’re smart enough to see the writing on the wall if they cause this shutdown to drag on any longer.
And then, of course, it will have to be approved by Donald Trump . . . though it’s hardly likely that he would veto it when he’s been controlling it all along. And he’ll still have the fight over ACA to keep him occupied.
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In brief, I can see both sides of the argument for and against the compromise, and whether the eight Democrats were right to call a halt to the shutdown.
Happily, I am not a recipient of SNAP benefits. But as a single, senior woman on a fixed income, I can empathize with those who are dependent on that assistance in order to feed their families because their incomes are not sufficient to keep up with ever-increasing costs. And my Medicare supplemental insurance premiums have become a tremendous burden on my budget; but I can’t afford to be without the coverage, because Medicare covers so little. So I concur with those who decided it is essential that everyone get back to work as soon as possible, and the salaries and benefits that are covered by our tax dollars begin to flow again.
On the other hand, I despise the thought of having to give in to an administration that looks after itself and its friends, and doesn’t give a damn about the welfare of the people who voted them into office, and whom they are sworn to serve and protect.
Who doesn’t love Harry Potter? And who hasn’t trembled at the sight of the evil Voldemort? As villains and tyrants go — real or fictitious — he is surely one of the most terrifying.
Lord Voldemort
And his creator, J.K. Rowling, explained his ultimate downfall in a manner that serves as a message to all of the world’s villains.
Pointing out that Voldemort had himself created his own worst enemy, “just as tyrants everywhere do,” she wrote:
“Have you any idea how much tyrants fear the people they oppress? All of them realize that, one day, amongst their many victims, there is sure to be one who rises against them and strikes back!”
– J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
***
Thanks, J.K. We’re all waiting for that day to arrive.
The Blog About Everything … and Sometimes Nothing 