Trump's Baffling Actions Following the Shootings of National Guards & Americans Are Dying Younger
December 5, 2025
What I’m Discussing Today:
Kareem’s Daily Quote: I give my personal twist on René Descartes’ famous quote.
Trump’s Baffling Actions Following the Shootings of National Guards: He made a lot of bold statements and actions—none of which will have any positive effect. But they will have negative consequences.
The Netherlands’ WWII cemetery removes displays honoring Black soldiers: How is it Americans tolerate this racist behavior from the Trump administration?
More Americans, especially Black adults, are dying before they can access Medicare benefits: Talk about a rigged system.
Video Break: These dancing goats will lighten your day.
Kareem the Science Guy: Picture of health: going to art galleries can improve wellbeing, study reveals. Art is the remedy for most emotional ailments. That’s why Trump is so eager to control it.
What I’m Watching on TV: Three very good shows this week. Stranger Things, Season 5 continues the exciting saga. Fake or Fortune is part detective show, part art appreciation. Mademoiselle Holmes is a delightful mystery about Sherlock’s quirky great-granddaughter.
Magical Moments in Sports: One thing is true for all athletes: You will have setbacks. What you do next defines who you are.
Stevie Wonder Sings, “All in Love Is Fair”: Stevie Wonder’s voice is the sound the universe makes when it’s happy.
Kareem’s Daily Quote
I think, therefore I am.
René Descartes (1596-1650), French philosopher, scientist, mathematician
I stink, therefore I am.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1947-?), basketball player, author, lifestyle guru
No, my quote isn’t a kid’s joke. I’m not sniggering while making fun of Descartes. I’m seriously making a point, which I’ll get to in a moment.
First, a look at Descartes’ famous philosophical statement that became a foundation of Western philosophy. He was trying to prove that, although all other knowledge could be doubted, human existence could not because the act of doubting was itself proof of existence. Later, he refined that thought into, “I doubt, therefore I am—or what is the same—I think, therefore I am.”
Of course, the flaw in his thinking should be evident right away. He presupposes the existence of the “I” that is doing the thinking, which is circular logic. A thinking process can be occurring, but that doesn’t prove an “I” is doing that thinking.
I know, I know. Who cares? Existence is proven each day we get up, face the daily onslaught that tries to end our existence (whether it can be “proven” or not) and yet somehow manage to find happiness and love. To steal from Keats: “That is all/Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”
I appreciate the esoteric musings of abstract philosophy. For example, most of us are pretty clear on a definition of time, yet, many physicists argue that time is merely a human construct to acknowledge change. Some say time is a fundamental part of reality. Some say time doesn’t exist at all. Tell that to Coach Wooden when you showed up late for practice.
Now, back to my quote: “I stink, therefore I am.” While I love thinking about existence and time and what the hell the McRib is made of, I spend much more time grounded in moral and ethical philosophy. The “stink” part of my quote is a reminder that humans are made of matter, and that matter is in a constant state of changing. To our way of thinking, that change is toward decay and death. But, since matter cannot be destroyed but can be converted into energy or into some other form, there is no death of the substance that we are constructed of, only its form. We are like Legos. Our death merely means the Legos are rearranged into another shape.
Mostly, we are bags of organic material that feeds other creatures. You don’t want to know what those microscopic animals look like. It ain’t pretty. At the same time, we feed off other life forms, whether animal or vegetable. The bodily functions are messy and embarrassing and, well, sometimes we stink. That’s how we know we’re still in the game, still able to spend time wondering about whether we are humans dreaming of being a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming of being human. We stink, therefore we are.
We may scrub and shower and deodorize, but we are all struggling against the changing body. Which brings me to yet another quote, this one from one of my favorite sports movies, Bang the Drum Slowly: “Everybody knows everybody is dying; that’s why people are as good as they are.” We may stink, but we don’t have to be stinkers.
