Break It Down!

Spoiler Alert:

In the event you’re not a sports fan in general, or a baseball fan in particular, and you don’t stay up late at night, or watch Sports Center, the Toronto Blue Jays evened the World Series last night, besting the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2, and earning a 2-2 Series split. 

The matter now comes down to a best of three event, with two games in Toronto, if the Series goes 7 games. Game 5, the third and final game in Los Angeles will be played today. Game 6 will be played Friday in Toronto. If necessary, Game 7 will be played Saturday, also in Toronto.

But this post is not a World Series game-by-game, blow-by-blow analysis. It’s about Monday night’s two-games-rolled-into-one marathon. An 18-inning affair that lasted over a quarter of a day. In some circles, it was immediately deemed an Instant Classic. As a Dodger partisan, I embrace that reckoning.

Even if Toronto wins the Series, and they might; Monday’s 18-inning spectacle, capped by a Freddy Freeman walk-off home run, will soon be forgotten. Still, the Blue Jays did have the better Regular Season record, which is what earned them home field advantage, 

In what could best be described as an epic battle, the teams fought valiantly, only to trade leads throughout the contest, until Freeman’s shot to straight-away center field clinched the proceedings in the bottom of the 18^th. It tied for the longest game in World Series history. Interestingly, the other 18-inning game also featured the Dodgers, in another game in which one of their stars (Max Munzy), hit a game-ending walk-off home run. That was also in Game 3 at Dodger Stadium…in 2018 against the Boston Red Sox. That game still holds the record as the longest game, measured by duration of time, lasting 7 hours, 20 minutes. Monday’s game lasted 6 hours, 39 minutes.

It is no surprise, Monday night’s game produced a number of gaudy statistics, including:

18-innings (Tied for the longest WS Game)

19 Pitchers

31 Hits

11 Runs

609 Pitches

6 Hours, 39 Minutes (Second longest WS Game)

37 Runners Stranded (6 more than any other postseason game)

Shohei Ohtani reached base 9 times (Postseason record)

Shohei Ohtani Had 4 extra-base hits in his first four at bats

Shohei Ohtani Had two home runs – his third multi-homer game in a single postseason (First player to have three multi-homer games in a single postseason

While I’d like to skip this uncomfortable (for a Dodger fan) fact, it would be providing less than full disclosure to do so. Besides, someone would certainly recall that for all the notoriety of the Dodgers’ 2018 feat, it was the Red Sox who won the World Series. As one who bleeds Dodger Blue, I can only hope that means we’re overdue. In summary, as baseball games go, this one was “A Stat Geek’s Dream!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right-hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.” Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.

For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

https://www.mlb.com/news/world-series-game-3-facts-and-figures-2025

https://www.mlb.com/news/dodgers-win-world-series-game-3-2025

A Stat Geek’s Dream

Break It Down!

Paul Ingrassia is a name you’ve probably never heard. Yet, despite his relative anonymity, Mr. Ingrassia was comfortably on his way to being confirmed by the Senate to lead the Office of Special Counsel. In a world in which Donald gets who and what Donald wants, it was a virtual foregone conclusion that the wunderkind would soar through the hearing leading to confirmation by the Senate Homeland Security Committee. At least it seemed that way until it didn’t.

Notwithstanding Ingrassia’s seeming fast track appointment as the next hard core Trump supporter, with little in the way of qualifications for his prospective new role, in the background, questions were being asked; an air of scrutiny was emerging. According to a report in Politico, Ingrassia  allegedly sent racist and antisemitic texts in a group chat of other Republicans.

After last week’s Young Republican fiasco, the less than stout response, and lack of genuine concern conveyed by top Republicans, up to and including the Vice President, Party leaders apparently recognized that on this issue anyway, while Trump may be impervious to all manner of behavior, they may not be so scandal resistant. A couple of Paul’s spicier ruminations were:

Conceding that he has “a Nazi streak” and asserting that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday should be “tossed into the seventh circle of hell,”

Edward Andrew Paltzik, Ingrassia’s attorney, questioned the authenticity of the messages. However, he qualified that argument by adding, that, in the event they were authentic, Ingrassia made them satirically. What? You can’t prove he said it. Oh yeah, but if he said it, he didn’t mean it. Get the …. outta here!

Mr. Palzik added:

“Looks like these texts could be manipulated or are being provided with material context omitted. However, even if the texts are authentic, they clearly read as self-deprecating and satirical humor making fun of the fact that liberals outlandishly and routinely call MAGA supporters “Nazis.”

I guess “satire” is the new GOP Go-To/Get Out of Jail Free Card. Vice President Vance used the term to excuse the actions of the Young Republicans chat group. If the last two weeks are any indication, “satire” is gonna carry a lot of GOP weight going forward, for Republican bad behavior.

Palzik didn’t directly address Ingrassia’s racist commentary, but he did make an effort to mollify the Jewish community. He went on to say:

“In reality, Mr. Ingrassia has incredible support from the Jewish community because Jews know that Mr. Ingrassia is the furthest thing from a Nazi. There are those who cloak themselves in anonymity while executing their underhanded personal agendas to harm Mr. Ingrassia at all costs. We do not concede the authenticity of any of these purported messages.” He may have had Jewish support. But, the more Jews learned about Ingrassia’s alleged comments, especially the antisemitic ones, the more that support waned.

Ingrassia was admitted to the bar last summer. He served a White House internship during Trump’s first term. This year, he worked as a White House liaison to the Justice Department before reportedly  being pushed out and reassigned to the Department of Homeland Security.

Paul’s appointment would have marked a sharp departure from previous heads of the Office of Special Counsel, a role that has historically been politically independent and designed to protect whistleblowers from retaliation. Instead of a long record of managerial or prosecutorial experience, like those who previously held the job, Ingrassia brought a fervent loyalty to Trump and a lengthy record of inflammatory statements.

CNN has reported that Ingrassia has a history of racist invective, conspiratorial rants, and an affinity for a well-known White nationalist and Holocaust denier. He has promoted conspiracy theories and made tweets from his podcast that included calls for martial law following Trump’s 2020 election loss. His comments have included harsh anti-Israel rhetoric aimed at the GOP. Mr. Ingrassia argued publicly that “straight White men” are the most intelligent demographic group and should be prioritized in education. Gasp! It’s almost as though he called for affirmative action/DEI for White men. Oh my! 

Last night, Ingrassia posted that he was withdrawing himself from Thursday’s scheduled confirmation hearing. In his words, it was:

“Because unfortunately I do not have enough Republican votes at this time.” He also said he appreciated the “overwhelming support” he received and that he “will continue to serve President Trump and his administration to Make America Great Again.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune and FL Senator Rick Scott both said earlier they would not be supporting the nomination. Given Thune and Scott withholding their votes, and presuming all Democrats would vote against the nomination, his chances for winning confirmation were eliminated. And that’s how we get to, “Now You See Him, Now You Don’t!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right-hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.” Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.

For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/21/politics/paul-ingrassia-withdraw-hearing

Now You See Him, Now You Don’t

It’s time to Break It Down!

A year ago, I wrote about IPD, or Indigenous Peoples’ Day. However, in TrumpWorld 2.0, the entire panoply of inequality remediation initiatives has been eliminated, reversed, or otherwise obliterated. To wit, IPD is Columbus Day again. Lest you forgot why Columbus was disinvited from the Cookout, once again, here’s the definitive primer, redux. 

Monday was Indigenous Peoples’ Day. My bad, Columbus Day (Again). In most of the United States, it never changed. It is a day celebrated on the second Monday of October (October 13 this year), to honor the cultures and histories of the Native American people. The day is centered around reflecting on their tribal roots and the tragic stories that hurt but strengthened their communities.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day got its start at a U.N. international conference on discrimination in 1977. South Dakota, in 1989, was the first state to recognize the day. Two California cities, Berkeley, and Santa Cruz followed suit. Although the day is still considered Columbus Day in most places, many people have begun calling it Indigenous Peoples’ Day to celebrate the rich culture and the lives of the Native American people.

For Native Americans, Columbus Day was an often-painful reminder of a violent past, constituting 500 years of colonial torture and oppression by European explorers like Columbus and those who settled in America. Indigenous Peoples’ Day draws attention to the agony, trauma, and broken promises that were erased by the celebration of Columbus Day. Before his arrival, the indigenous folk were successful self-sufficient communities that sustained life for millennia.

Year after year, the movement to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day is spreading to more and more states, towns, and cities across the United States. Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebrates, recognizes, and honors the beautiful traditions and cultures of the Indigenous People, not just in America, but globally. Their way of life and culture carries wisdom and valuable insights into how we can live life more sustainably.

Last year, 14 U.S. states and the District of Columbia celebrated Indigenous Peoples’ Day and not Columbus Day. Over 130 cities including Arlington, Amherst, Cambridge, Brookline, Marblehead, Great Barrington, Northampton, Provincetown, Somerville, and Salem also celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Numerous organizations are seeking to address the lack of access indigenous people have to higher education. They have also created scholarships to help address this challenge.

HOW TO CELEBRATE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ DAY

1. Read indigenous literature

Some must-read books include “A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies” by Bartolomé de las Casas, “1491: New Revelations Of The Americas Before Columbus” by Charles C. Mann, “An Indigenous People’s History Of The United States” by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, and “Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee” by Dee Brown.

• Attend an event

Attend an event hosted by a group of Native Americans or a Native American organization. Learn more about how you can be of assistance with any issues that the group is facing.

• Host a movie screening

Watch a movie with your friends and have a discussion afterward. There is a plethora of films to choose from like “Dances with Wolves” (1990), “Songs My Brothers Taught Me” (2015), “Gather” (2020), and “Indian Horse” (2017).

5 FACTS ABOUT INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ DAY

1. Female warriors 

Native American women fought alongside men in battles, the most popular among them being the Buffalo Calf Road Woman of the Northern Cheyenne tribe.

• Popcorn 

The Indigenous Americans were the first to domesticate the strains of maize that produced popcorn thousands of years ago.

• Maria Tallchief 

The first Native American (and American) to dance at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow and with the Paris Opera Ballet was Maria Tallchief. Hockey

• Hockey 

The Native American tribes of Foxes, Saux, and Assiniboine played a game called shinny, which is where hockey came from.

5.  The sequoia tree

The sequoia tree is named after the revered Cherokee leader Sequoyah, who created an alphabet for his people.

WHY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ DAY IS IMPORTANT

1. It celebrates the original inhabitants

Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a holiday that celebrates the Native Americans, the original inhabitants of North America.

• It recognizes the indigenous cultures

Indigenous Peoples’ Day honors the beautiful indigenous traditions, cultures, and lives all around the world.

• It stands in solidarity with the indigenous people

We take a stand for and support the indigenous people on this day. We should also offer our support to those who invest and uplift the indigenous communities.

I have observed there are folks who go out of their way to say Columbus Day, rather than Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Undoubtedly, they consider themselves making a point. In this hyper-partisan era, any concession to individuals of non-European heritage rubs some folks the wrong way. That, apparently, is especially true of DJT. He can unilaterally reinstate a day in honor of America’s favorite directionally challenged Italian, but he can’t compel anyone to abandon one’s commitment to truth. In that light, it’s important to remember that the truth is, at the end of the day, what Columbus really discovered when he arrived in the Americas was that…he was lost. “Indigenous Peoples’ Day Redux ‘25: Why?”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right-hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.” Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.

For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the link below:

Indigenous Peoples’ Day Redux ’25: Why?

Break It Down!

In the world of news cycles, the Government Shutdown rules the roost at the moment. This week, however, offers at least a couple of options for 1A, and 1B. Yesterday’s Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, featuring a melodramatic Academy Award-worthy performance by Attorney General Pam Bondi captures the 1A slot. For the moment. But don’t cast your vote yet. Today, 1B is coming. Former FBI Director James Comey is set to be arraigned in Alexandria, VA. And that’s just 3 days into the 5-day workweek.

Last month, in celebration of Comey’s indictment, Donald Trump characterized the move by the Justice Department as “Justice in America, and called Comey “one of the worst human beings this country has ever been exposed to.” Prior to the indictment, Trump had called upon AG Bondi to more aggressively investigate his political adversaries.

In a social media post addressed directly to Bondi, Trump said, “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility.” He further expressed frustration that “nothing is being done,” before calling on Bondi to investigate former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and California Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, who oversaw his first impeachment trial.

Shortly afterward, he posted again: ”Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam “Shifty” Schiff, Leticia??? They are all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.”

Following Trump’s screed, and the arrival of a new federal prosecutor, Mr. Comey was indicted. “And the band plays on” (Pro tip: We really are in a Ball of Confusion…IYKYK).

It was tempting to make one of those current top tier news items the topic for today’s post. I considered it; I really did. But in a sort of Robert Frost moment, I took a position curated from his famous metrical composition, “The Road Not Taken, which ends with the following verse:

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

That’s overly dramatic, for sure, but I like the poem, and I wanted to use the final stanza in this blog. Voila.

Whether seeking the cure for a disease, or the solution to a problem, the most effective strategy is not to investigate the symptoms; rather, it is to determine the root cause. In other words, sometimes, you really do have to reject the optics of your lying eyes. The art of political legerdemain, the practice of getting you to look at the activity over here, while the real dastardly mischief is being executed over there, is well-practiced, and skillfully done.

This is where I take you for a ride in the way-back machine and redirect your attention to a matter that Trump, Inc. is trying desperately to induce you to forget. Three words: “The Epstein Files.” Every Trump rant, and all the performances of his dutiful acolytes are designed to deflect, distract, and propel you to disassociate cognitively from the notion of Trump and any potential nexus between him and “The Epstein Files.” AG Bondi in particular, does appear to protest too much. In February, she claimed during a Fox News interview that the Jeffrey Epstein client list (aka, The Epstein Files”) is “sitting on my desk right now to review.” So where is it today? Non-existent, if you believe her subsequent cover story.

That’s where Adelita Grijalva come into focus. At this juncture, 218 votes are required in the House of Representatives to constitute a majority vote, when all current members are present and voting. That’s 50% plus 1 of the 435 members. There are 217 members on record as being willing to vote to release “The (so-called) Epstein Files.”

Ms. Grijalva won a landslide Special Election in Arizona. She became the first Latina to represent AZ in Congress, and has pledged that when sworn into office, she will provide the decisive 218^th vote. Thus, prompting a serious round of political gymnastics. The Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, has basically sent House members home. Well, to be precise, he didn’t tell them they had to go home; just that they had to get the hades up outta the House of Representatives. The institution is Closed for Business, and, just so we’re clear, it was shuttered before the commencement of the shutdown. As a result of that artful move, he then declared that Grijalva couldn’t be sworn in, because the House wasn’t in session. Notwithstanding, he’d previously said he’d swear in the Democrat whenever she liked. More legerdemain. He now says he’ll swear her in, when Democrats open up the government. Fact: He swore in Florida GOP Reps. Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine during a pro forma session earlier this year. In standard English, that means, technically, when the House was not in session. Just as is the case now.

In short, there is no rule. Johnson, just as Trump, or perhaps more aptly, in the service of Trump, is flexing raw power, for the sole purpose of preventing Ms. Grijalva from assuming her rightful place in Congress, thereby denying her constituents the representation they elected…and perhaps more important to the Trump axis, so as to keep her from voting to release “The Epstein Files.” The additional time may also be used to give Trump. Inc the opportunity to flip one or more of the votes of Republicans, who’ve committed to support releasing said files. It remains to be seen how it all plays out. If form holds, some GOP member, previously committed to releasing the files will either wilt under Trump’s relentless bullying pressure, or perhaps, secure some acceptable medium of exchange for their vote. I’m prepared to be surprised, but I certainly urge you not to bet the rent on it. “Adelita Grijalva: Remember The Name!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right-hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.” Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.

For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/07/politics/johnson-adelita-grijalva-swearing-in

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44272/the-road-not-taken

Adelita Grijalva: Remember The Name

Break It Down!

Yesterday, on orders from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, over 800 generals and admirals assembled at the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Virginia. In the age of the frequent use of “secured communications,” pulling flag officers from across the globe for a meeting in a single location is a rare and unorthodox move. But unorthodox is not a new space for Mr. Hegseth, nor for the man at whose pleasure he serves, Donald Trump.

Hegseth gave an interesting speech, as he served as the warm-up act for Trump, who as always was the star of the show. To be sure, Petey took his fair share of shots at some of his favorite targets: women in the military, men with facial hair, women in combat, rules of engagement for war, and the ability of the inspector general’s office to conduct investigations (not coincidentally, like the one currently being executed on Mr. Hegseth). But, let there be no doubt, the star of the show, ad that’s really what it was after all, a big show, was Donald Trump.

It has long been said that Trump veers from the truth so often, trying to hold him accountable for his false and misleading statements is pointless. His supporters have their own variation of that theme. They routinely excuse, rationalize, or deny his errant statements. They say he was joking, he didn’t mean it, they assert he was misunderstood, and my personal favorite, “I haven’t seen the video.” Well, I have time today. Here are a few instances Mr. Trump and his comments opted for what one of his previous advisors, Kellyanne Conway, once referred to as alternative facts. As usual, there were too many to easily count, but here are ten I curated for your entertainment:

• Trump bragged we have the strongest military in the world, and claimed, “You never heard Biden say that. You’ve never heard him say anything about that. The truth is, Biden repeatedly said the U.S. has the world’s strongest military. For example, in a 2023 speech about democracy, Biden said: “Our U.S. military – and this is not hyperbole; I’ve said it for the last two years – is the strongest military in the history of the world. Not just the strongest in the world – in the history of the world.”

Biden also made that point in the last week of his presidency, when he told a Defense Department audience, “You are simply the greatest fighting force in the history of the world – in the history of the world. That’s a fact. That’s not hyperbole, that’s a fact.”

• Trump made the false claim that Biden said he thought he could get rid of Space Force, the military branch created during Trump’s first term, before backing down. “When Biden came into office, he wanted to terminate it – he said, ‘And this thing called Space Force, so we can get rid of that.’ And he got hammered by the people in this room for even suggesting it.” Biden never said anything like that.

In the first month of the Biden Administration, there was a controversy of a snarky remark by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki to a question about whether Biden had made any decision on keeping Space Force. But even Psaki didn’t come close to saying, “we can get rid of that.” And she said the next day that Space Force has “the full support of the Biden administration and “we are not revisiting the decision to establish the Space Force.” 

• Trump touted the fact he got members of the NATO military alliance to pledge to spend 5% of their gross domestic product on defense (by 2035), then falsely said, “It used to be 1%, then we got it up to 2% in my last term, and they did not like it.” Trump was not responsible for getting NATO to set its previous 2% target; the 2% target was agreed upon by NATO defense ministers in 2006 (I might add, when Trump was a registered Democrat), and then reaffirmed in NATO documents in 2014, the year before Trump launched his presidential campaign. Moreover, if Trump meant he was the one who got the members to meet their commitment, that’s not true either. In 2020, the last year of Trump’s first term, only nine members were meeting the 2% target. There are 32 members of NATO.
• Trump reiterated his oft repeated false claim that Biden gave $350 billion in aid to Ukraine. That figure isn’t close to accurate. A German think tank that has closely tracked wartime aid to Ukraine says the U.S. allocated about $135 billion to Ukraine and has committed about $5 billion more through June. The U.S. Government inspector general overseeing the federal Ukraine response says the U.S. had disbursed about $94 billion as of the end of June 2025, and had appropriated about $93 billion more, including money that was spent in the U.S. and in broader Europe rather than Ukraine itself. That’s about 53% of Trump’s claim, and it includes money spent under Trump.
• Trump restated his false claim that he has “settled seven” wars. He cited a war between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda as one example, saying “I got that one done,” and mentioned “Kosovo and Serbia” as another.

Those two examples show precisely why Trump has not settled seven wars. For starters, Trump hasn’t ended the conflict involving the Democratic of Congo and Rwanda. The peace agreement brokered by the Trump administration and signed by the DRC and Rwanda in June did not involve the rebel coalition, allegedly backed by Rwanda, that has seized territory in the eastern DRC. The scores of militia groups that have fought for three decades in one of the most protracted and complex conflicts in the world are still engaged in deadly fighting.

Moreover, while Trump claims to have prevented the eruption of a new war between Serbia and Kosovo – providing few details about what he was talking about – these countries weren’t in an actual war either during Trump’s current term, or during his first term.

Another dispute on Trump’s list of seven wars he supposedly settled, between Egypt and Ethiopia was also not a war, in either of Trump’s terms. They have a long-running (note: still unresolved) dispute about a major Ethiopian dam project on a tributary of the Nile River, but this is also not a war.

• Trump repeated his frequently stated false claim that, under Biden, “the Congo and Venezuela opened their prisons to somehow get prisoners to travel to the U.S. as migrants.

“They opened up prisons in the Congo. They came into our country, totally unmatched, unvetted, unchecked, and from all over. Venezuela emptied its prison population into our country.” Referencing unspecified countries, he said, “They would take their worse people (like the escalator claim in 2015), and they’re people from prisons, in jail, and they put them in a caravan, and they’d walk up.”

Mr. Trump has never provided any proof for these claims, which his own presidential campaign and White House have been unable to corroborate. Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and neighboring Republic of Congo say there is no evidence of these claims. There is also no evidence Venezuela has done such a thing. 

• Trump repeated the false claim that “25 million” migrants entered the country under Biden. The “25 million” figure is fiction, as was his previous “21 million” claim. Both numbers are wild exaggerations. As of December 2024, the last full month under Biden, the federal government recorded under 11 million nationwide encounters with migrants during the Biden administration, including millions who were rapidly expelled from the country. Even adding the so-called gotaways who evaded detection, estimated by House Republicans as being roughly 2.2 million, there’s no way the total was anywhere near Trump’s claim.
• Trump repeated the lie that the 2020 election was “rigged,” claiming that Russia wouldn’t have invaded Ukraine “if the election weren’t rigged.” The Russia hypothetical aside, Trump lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden.
• Trump repeated his usual spurious figure about U.S. drug deaths, saying, “We lost 300,000 people (deaths) to drugs last year.” The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported earlier this month that there were 80,856 reported overdose deaths in the U.S. in the 12 months ending December 2024. Experts have noted that even if there is an undercount, there is no reasonable way to get to Trump’s 300K number.
• Speaking about the City of Portland, Trump said, “Your place is burning down. Unless they’re playing false tapes, this looked like World War II.” It is not certain what tapes Trump is referring to, but the city is not burning down. While there have been some unruly protests near an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in the city this year – and protesters were arrested in June for allegedly starting a fire there – the broader city has been functioning as usual, and even the situation around the ICE building is generally calmer than it was in June.

As an aside, welcome to the latest Governmental Shutdown. It’s sure to dominate the news cycle at least for the remainder of this week, since the GOP House members have left Washington until Monday. Meanwhile the GOP spin machine is working overtime to lay the shutdown at the feet of Democrats, even though the GOP controls the Oval, the House, and the Senate. The last shutdown, also under Donald Trump, lasted 35 days. It was the longest on record. You’ll hear much more about it sooner rather than later.

I simply cannot move on without sharing my favorite quote about government shutdowns:

“A shutdown falls on the president’s lack of leadership. I mean problems start from the top and they have to get solved from the top. A shutdown means the president is weak.” —Donald J. Trump, Circa 2013

I co-sign that statement. The internet is undefeated!

Meanwhile, back to today’s post. If it establishes anything, it’s that factcheckers probably need a raise, and increased benefits…”Trump Truth: As Oxymoronic As Alternative Facts!”

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com. Find a new post each Wednesday.

To subscribe, click on Follow in the bottom right-hand corner of my Home Page at http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com; enter your e-mail address in the designated space, and click on “Sign me up.” Subsequent editions of “Break It Down” will be mailed to your in-box.

For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/30/politics/fact-check-trump-military-speech

https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/trump-hegseth-military-leaders-meeting/

Trump Truth: As Oxymoronic As Alternative Facts