Trump Admin Lists Legal Immigrants as Dead to Deny Them Rights & Musk and Rogan Brag about Bringing Back the R-word
April 15, 2025
What I’m Discussing Today:
Kareem’s Daily Quote: Which is better: wisdom or enlightenment?
Social Security lists thousands of living immigrants as dead to prompt them to leave: This is one of the most insidious and corrupt actions yet by the Trump administration. Remember when we threw Japanese Americans into concentration camps? This is almost as shameful.
White House ends funding for key US climate body: ‘No coming back from this’: Trump has stopped agencies from receiving vital info about the effects of climate change that it needs to plan for disasters. Who do you think will suffer the most from this?
US government moves for release of ex-FBI informant who fabricated bribery story about the Bidens: Once again, Trump advocates for the release of criminals from prison while making no effort to bring home a non-criminal from El Salvador.
Elon Musk Has Brought 'The R-Word' Back — And It's Part Of A Disturbing New Trend: Joe Rogan and Musk are celebrating their use of the R-word because it’s more important that they swagger than protect the millions of children and adults who will be degraded by them. For what end?
This Makes Me Smile: LeBron James joins Barbie universe as first pro athlete Ken doll: Good for LeBron. He’s earned his status as an athlete and humanitarian.
What I’m Watching: Million Dollar Secret is a fun competition show and The Lady’s Companion is an amusing Bridgerton-like period romance.
Kareem’s Kvetching Korner: Should We Even Try to Convince Trump Supporters That They’re Wrong? Research has produced a new method of dealing with misinformed Trump supporters. Frankly, my dears, I don’t give a damn.
Kareem’s Video Break: Starling murmurations are among the most beautiful—and mysterious—phenomenons in nature.
Kareem’s Sports Moments: Get ready for a first-person pov bike ride that includes jumps and flips, enough to make you glad you’re on solid ground.
Richard Harris Sings Camelot’s “How to Handle a Woman”: Richard Harris brings to life this funny and touching love song.
Kareem’s Daily Quote
Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment.
Lao Tzu, 6th century BC Chinese philosopher, and author of the Tao Te Ching
Everyone thinks they know themselves and that no one else really knows them. (Cue the cliché in most dramas: “You don’t know anything about me!”) Too often it’s just the opposite: A person doesn’t know themselves but others know them very well. One of the reasons for this is that others analyze all their observations to reach a conclusion about a person, whereas people analyzing themself often pick only certain information and ignore other information.
In literature, the protagonist who doesn’t know themself is called the “unreliable narrator.” They aren’t unreliable because they are lying to the reader, but because they lie to themselves. Their inability to see their actions for what they are causes them to make bad choices based on their lack of understanding, thereby further screwing up their life.
In novels and movies, the suspense comes from the audience rooting for the person to wake up out of their self-created cocoon and make the right decision—about who to love, what job to take, or just doing the right thing that puts them on a happier and more fulfilling path. Usually, they do come out of their stubborn fog and make the right choice, but other times, they are too afraid to see the world as it is and they shrink back into their world of shadows.
Reality TV is a great source from which to observe the “unreliable narrator.” Whenever a reality personality does a confessional for the audience, they explain their reasoning for whatever they did or said. Any savvy person just shakes their head at the sad lack of self-awareness while the confessor contorts to justify their truly bad behavior by trying to turn their pettiness into a virtue. Sadly, this is the same pattern most of us go through, making excuses that make us look better rather than embracing our mistakes.
In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield eventually has a nervous breakdown because his adventures expose his lack of self-knowledge until he ends up with no identity at all. In the final chapter, he has learned to put aside his childish, romantic notions about life and take things as they are in reality. (FYI: The novel was first published in 1951 and still sells about a million copies a year.)
It’s not easy to know yourself, mostly because we don’t always want to face the truth about ourselves. Instead, we decorate our public image with curated clothes, personality, politics, religion, etc. to convey an art version of ourselves. But are the choices of those beliefs our own or have they regurgitated pre-chewed food mother bird spit into our open mouths?
Like an archeologist of self, I’ve spent most of my life pondering and probing to uncover the real me. I don’t always like what I uncover: pettiness, selfishness, and meanness. Once I accept that those are parts of me lurking just below the surface, I can do my best to keep them at bay. Actually, it’s very entertaining to deep-dive into my psyche and see what I unearth. I like the challenge of trying to be better than my worst impulses. Better than I was yesterday.
I don’t know, is that enlightenment?
[A Personal Note on the Daily Quote column: Last night, I had a dream where I encountered Spock from the original Star Trek series. He told me he was looking for the elusive Dog Sentence, which was the single sentence that brought instant peace and serenity. In my dream, I pondered why it was called the Dog Sentence, and concluded that it was because dog was god spelled backward and that the search for a god or spirituality or a life philosophy is always about finding peace and serenity. Or maybe it’s because dogs make you feel peaceful and serene.
The Daily Quote section is the most personal and intimate section of my Substack newsletter, and in it, I like to think we’re seeking that elusive Dog Sentence, and that each quote I discuss is another word that forms the sacred sentence. I like to think that the search itself—and knowing how many others are also searching—is what brings peace and serenity.]