Disney Begins to Come To Its Senses

​Josh D’Amaro, who is a long-time Disney employee, was named CEO of the Company in March. He has held several positions, including President of Disney Parks, 

Since his ascension to CEO, he has moved the Company away from the Bob Iger-woke Hollywood agenda of DEI and has begun to return Disney to its core roots of family-friendly entertainment.

Changes in Corporate Policy and Filings

Scrubbing DEI Branding: Disney removed or scaled back explicit DEI references, diversity quotas, and programs like "Reimagine Tomorrow" from its recent SEC and financial reports. 
Focus on Business Success: Executive pay metrics have been adjusted to prioritize financial outcomes and business performance over diversity goals.
Leadership Stance: Leadership, including former CEO Bob Iger and current executives under Josh D'Amaro, has emphasized a return to core storytelling and a mission to entertain broad audiences rather than engaging in political or cultural proxy battles.

Content and Operations Adjustments

Park and Communication Adjustments: Reports and viral discussions highlight adjustments to messaging in theme parks, such as the reappearance of traditional greetings like "ladies and gentlemen," though fact-checkers note that broader corporate restructuring and layoffs (such as cutting roughly 1,000 jobs) are primarily aimed at operational streamlining rather than a sweeping cultural purge. 
• Content Moderation: Content advisories on older classic films on Disney+ have been slightly toned down from autoplay warnings to shorter disclaimers.
  

Since Mr D’Amaro was the President of Disney Parks prior his promotion, it had to become apparent to him that the attendance was trending downwards, as people grew frustrated with the Disney focus on DEI and not on families.

Profitability also dropped year over year as people expressed their outrage of the concentration of woke-themed programs and practices. Thus, a turn back toward a reasonable approach toward families without discriminating against other segments of our society.

One thing we can universally agree on is this: Money talks as Bull$#!+ walks. Even Disney recognizes that the almighty prayer is “our father who art in pocket, DOLLAR be your name”. 

A lesson learned for sure.

Summer’s End Is Here

​Today, August 31, is the last day of Meteorological Summer. Thoughout the country, we have witnessed higher than normal temperatures, unbearable heat indexes and higher ambient units of rain.

But, thus far, no US landfall tropical events.

We have made it halfway through the 2026 Hurricane Season and we have had only four named storms: Arthur, which made landfall in Mexico, bringing heavy rain on the Gulf Coast, Bertha, which was a rain event in Louisiana, Cristobal which petered out as soon as it was named and Dolly, which formed just this week in the North Atlantic.

By this time in 2024, for example, we had already had several destructive storms and fifteen storms to date. Last year we had thirteen total storms and none made landfall in the continental US.

Tomorrow is September 1 and the beginning of Meteorological Autumn. The promise it brings is led by steadily cooler temperatures, another football season and knowing that Halloween and Thanksgiving are next. And don’t forget the midterms!

In fact, as you walk through the “big box” stores, you see evidence of both already. Can Christmas and Hanukkah be far behind?

What comes next will be a surprise for everyone.

Remembering Beloved Celebrities

​This has been a sad week and month with so many famous and beloved people passing away. There have been so many others who have passed this year, but these are the latest.

Dolly Parton - 80 was the Queen of Country Music for half a century, song writer, creator of Dollywood, and Philanthropist

Shelley Fabares - 82 was a singer and  actress, made her start as both on the Donna Reed Show, starred in several successful TV series and was a voice-over actor

Tim Curry - 80 was a cult favorite in Rocky Horror Picture Show, starred in many plays both in London and Broadway, as well as on TV and in film, including Home Alone 2

Jaye P Morgan - 93 was a singer, actress, comedian and favorite game show panelist, making her mark on The Gong Show and as a frequent guest on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson

Hayden Panettiere - 36 was a child actor (Remember the Titans), who proved she could sing and act (Music and Lyrics), appeared in the Scream films and TVs Nashville 

Vincent Pastore - 80 was known for his roles as a Mafioso (Sopranos, Gotti and Goodfellas), an accomplished Broadway actor, a podcaster and his own Italian sauce

There is much more that could be said about each of these fan favorites but Page 6 and other entertainment publications will give more on each. Suffice to say, this writer enjoyed watching them over the years and will continue to enjoy their talents.

Surely, many of you will, as well. May they all rest in peace, knowing they gave us some joy in what they did.

Ruling on Mail-in Ballots

​One of the worst ideas left over from the COVID Era, and God knows there were many, was the indiscriminate and corrupt mail-in ballot scheme which was championed by the Democrat Party leadership and twenty-three Democrat-led blue states. It was surely a means to corrupt a system which had worked very well since our country was founded.

On March 31 of this year, President Trump issued an Executive Order which directed the USPS to remit ballots, with bar codes, to citizens who claimed illness, military and out of the country, whether on business or pleasure during the period leading up to the Election. The same Democrat states immediately sued, claiming it would harm the election process by corralling those states to administer elections as deemed under the Constitution. 

The Supreme Court disagreed and ruled 6-3, with liberal Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor dissenting, giving a major victory for Trump, but appears to leave room for future legal challenges that could delay the president's order. 

In its ruling, the high court overturned a lower court order that blocked the Trump administration from enforcing the March 31 mail-in voting order in response to a lawsuit filed by those twenty-three Democratic-led states.

The Court did not rule on whether Trump’s order was lawful, but determined it was too early for states to sue over it because harms must be “concrete” rather than “conjectural or hypothetical.” 

The majority further noted that federal courts are barred from adjudicating disputes dependent on “contingent future events that may not occur as anticipated, or indeed may not occur at all.”

And immediately after the ruling was issued, the usual howls were heard by the usual corrupt politicians. Each protest seem to be how unfair that the ruling was done by the court. What  they actually were saying, was that their ability to cheat was called into question. It was like watching children stamp their feet in a tantrum because they did not get what they wanted.

Yet, finally, it seems that common sense has prevailed with this ruling. And the Supreme Court has put a halt to the wanton abuse of our election system. For now.

The Democrats will continue to obfuscate and complain that their rights have been violated. And perhaps the Congress will finally grow a pair to pass the SAVE America Act, which over 80% of ALL citizens demand.

This is the first, logical step to finally guarantee a fair, uncorrupted means for future elections.

Another Season To Fly Through

​

Now, it is the Jets’ turn to give hope to the loyal fan base. In the two games played in Preseason, the offense scored 33 points while the opposition scored a total of 24 points in the first two games. 

In fact, the Jets won 17-0 last night. And next Friday, it is the Battle for Met Life Stadium, when the Jets play the Giants for the final preseason game before the Jets open against the Titans in Tennessee on September 13.

So, much to hope for, much to watch until the team reveals how good they might be.

Geno Smth, who was the team’s quarterback ten years ago, is leading the offense once again. Hopefully, he has learned a few things during his hiatus in Seattle and elsewhere.

The offense seems to have been improved over last year’s dismal performance, while the defense has been sharpened significantly. Let’s see how it all comes together when it really matters.

Once again, our hope as a loyal Jets fan is to have a winning season, with a berth to the playoffs. Then, since the Jets have been 0-4 in winning AFC title games, one AFL title and one Super Bowl win since 1960, maybe this could be a year to cheer for.

And as a loyal fan, I say J E T S Jets Jets JETS!

Proving Honest Elections Can Be Efficient

​Here is a riddle for you. How long should it take to count election ballots?

Hmmm… that’s a tough one. 

Let’s see. In California, it took weeks to figure out who won the “Jungle Primary”, since  the two Republicans were leading the Democrat and THAT was not acceptable. In Nevada, it took six days. Probably because all the bets had to be covered.

In Illinois, Downstate was done after a day, but the Chicago machine could not get it into gear. You would think Mayor Daley would have perfected his 1960 election scam, but sadly, there is a new crew in town.

Elsewhere, claims of fraud, inefficiency and threats of lawsuits seemed to gum up the works, causing delays and runoffs and other questionable interfering before the voters in many states knew for sure.

And finally, we come to Florida. Way back in 2000, Florida was the laughing stock in the country, with its Chad Voting system. It took about forty-five days, after dozens of recounts and court cases to have the Supreme Court decide who would be the next President.

You know, Bush or Gore?

And now, Florida has the best system in the country. Within fifty minutes after the polls closed, 85% of all votes cast were counted. I was still dismantling the voting precinct, when winners were announced. 

And by 815 (715 in the panhandle due to the time zone difference) 100% of all votes cast were counted, too. Even mail-in ballots from the sick, travelers and military.

And all voters were identified because Florida has the SAVE Act in place. Not bad, yes?

So, with all the voters in Florida, and there are millions, it shows with proper procedures and no cheating permitted, voting can be accomplished with clear efficiency. Can you say the same in YOUR state?

Primary Thoughts

​

This past week, I worked early voting in the Florida primary, It will still go on until Tuesday, August 18.

Sitting there over the last few days, it occurred to me that the build-up of the daily count of voters seemed to increase as early voting brought out more voters each day. 

As a die-hard Beatles fan, what immediately came to mind for me was the crescendo of the final twenty-four bars of the classic “A Day In the Life”, where George Martin had an orchestra start low and quiet, while frantically climbing through the score, until reaching that high climax. And then, finally, playing the four-part  piano “E Chord” for at least another twenty seconds at the song’s end.

There will be, of course, Friday, Saturday and next Tuesday when all the votes are counted. Hence, the final  chord is yet to be played.

And Florida, once again, leads the way with a good turnout, an orderly, speedy  process and all sides recognizing the benefits of voter ID. Isn’t that the way it was intended by the Founding Fathers?

Now if only we had this same process across the country for the Mid-Terms and all elections to follow!