Liliuokalani Toastmasters

04/05/2026

The President posed an existential question: Can everything be going according to the plan with Iran if there is no plan?

A month ago, when Donald Trump pitched the United States into a war against Iran, he announced the decision to the American people in a brief eight-minute video, which was sent out over social media, in the dead of night, on a weekend.

On Wednesday evening, with the conflict he unleashed having upended the global economy and having failed to dislodge the Iranian government that he initially vowed to topple, Trump finally made his case to the public in a prime-time address to the nation.

He might as well not have bothered.

In the end, the best thing that can be said about the speech was that Trump did not follow through on his threat, made earlier that day, to withdraw the United States from NATO. But there was little news about a conflict that now seems likely to continue for at least the next few weeks.

Trump provided no real indication that a ceasefire is in the offing; nor any real path toward fixing one of the major crises that the war has provoked: Iran’s closing of the Strait of Hormuz, through which some twenty per cent of the world’s oil and gas passes. (His suggestion: nations that rely on the energy supplied through the strait, which includes many of our NATO allies, should “build up some delayed courage . . . go to the strait, and just take it—protect it.”)

Other than that, the President’s nineteen-minute speech struck many of the same themes as the voluminous social-media postings and quickie phone interviews through which he has been narrating his version of the conflict over the past few weeks:

“We’ve beaten and completely decimated Iran”; “We are unstoppable as a military force”; “We are going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong.”

The President poses an existential question: Can everything be going according to the plan with Iran if there is no plan?

04/05/2026

Pope Leo XIV gave his first Easter blessing as pontiff on Sunday, calling for peace and urging the world not to grow indifferent to the deaths of tens of thousands in violent conflicts around the world.

Leo said that in a world hurt by wars and abuses, people need hope and peace, urging against growing accustomed to violence and indifferent to the death of tens of thousands.

"On this day of celebration let us abandon every desire for conflict domination and power and implore the Lord to grant his peace to a world ravaged by wars and marked by a hatred and indifference that makes us feel powerless to the face of evil," the pope said.

Leo gave the traditional Urbi et Orbi blessing from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to a crowd in St. Peter’s Square that Vatican media described as numbering over 50,000.

In his first Easter blessing as pontiff, Pope Leo XIV called for dialogue over domination, quoting Pope Francis' warning on global indifference.

04/05/2026

U.S. work combatting HIV/AIDS has saved millions of lives globally. Under the Trump administration, funding has been slow in coming and unpredictable, wreaking havoc on people trying to do the work.

The official points out that because of the way USAID was dismantled, the CDC’s HIV/AIDS work “is now carrying the last intact pillar of the program and….it could run out of funds by June. That's not a funding cliff — that's a controlled demolition.

“The people who will pay the price are the more than 12 million people living with HIV who depend on these programs for their treatment."

U.S. work combatting HIV/AIDS has saved millions of lives globally. Under the Trump administration, funding has been slow in coming and unpredictable, wreaking havoc on people trying to do the work.

04/05/2026

Here’s an interesting article in this morning’s USA Today. I am posting it in its entirety:

Affordability seems to be the pressing issue for the November elections. But I would argue another "A" word is the key to Republican chances in 2026: Appeasement.

Look, I know that a lot of Republican candidates and officeholders are afraid of President Donald Trump and fearful of angering his core base of supporters, no matter what he says or does. To avoid that fate, they have swallowed hard and sought to appease Trump and MAGA by falling in line. But now might be a good time to rethink that strategy.

A bit of advice to those who want to win in the midterm elections: Appeasement is not a good strategy.

Clearly, the war with Iran is not going as planned, if it was planned at all. More than a dozen American men and women in uniform have died, and hundreds have been wounded in combat. A school in Iran suffered a direct hit, killing more than 175, most of them children. Gas prices have risen sharply, by nearly $1 a gallon. Airline executives are predicting higher fares this summer due to a rise in jet fuel. Meanwhile, the Strait of Hormuz remains clogged. Among Trump’s latest ideas is to bomb Iran’s power plants, a violation of the Geneva conventions.

Really, Republicans? This is what you plan to appease?

$4 gas is just the start of the price we'll pay for Iran | Opinion

Republicans own President Trump's rhetoric

By the way, these aren’t the only headwinds facing voters (and Republican candidates) this election year.

The price of coffee has risen up to 50% since Trump took office. The New York Times reports that the average monthly new car payment reached $774 in January, and the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rate has jumped nearly half a percentage point since the war began.

All of the Epstein files have still not been released, despite court orders to do so.

Plus, pack your patience if you are heading to the airport during this partial government shutdown. While Transportation Security Administration agents are now getting paid after Trump's executive order to fund the agency, staff shortages remain and security checkpoints lines can still be longer than usual.

Really, Republicans? This is what you plan to appease?

And it’s not just Trump’s policies; those in the GOP who claim that Trump is right about everything will have to answer for his character, too.

For example, longtime public servant Robert Mueller III recently passed away. Mueller volunteered to serve in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. He was wounded in combat and was awarded the Purple Heart. Mueller prosecuted Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega as well as those who bombed a Pan Am flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 259 people onboard and 11 Scots on the ground. He served as head of the FBI. A war hero, a public servant, a patriot.

When hearing the news of Mueller’s death, Trump posted on Truth Social: “Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people.”

Really, Republicans? This is what you plan to appease?

On March 21, in the Oval Office, Trump likened the U.S. attack on Iran to Japan’s assault on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, when more than 2,400 Americans died. “A date which will live in infamy,” thundered President Franklin Roosevelt. Which begs the question, what else did N**i Germany and Imperial Japan do during World War II that Trump might want the United States to imitate?

Really, Republicans? This is what you plan to appease?

“Because if you don’t oppose this, then you own this.
Another view: Americans don't want US troops in Iran. Will Trump care? | Opinion

Appeasement failed before, and it will again

In 1940, British forces were defeated in Norway. In response to this cataclysmic turn of events, a Conservative member of Parliament, Leo Amery, rose and addressed these words to his fellow Conservative, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain: “You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. In the name of God, go!”

Trump may not be going anywhere any time soon. But Republican members of Congress and those seeking public office are free to stop appeasing him – free to chart a new political course, free to be touched by “the better angels of our nature,” free to follow the Constitution and “form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”

Appeasement did not work in the 1940s. Appeasement won’t work for Republicans in 2026, either.

Rusty Hills is a past chair of the Michigan Republican Party, and is a lecturer at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. This column originally appeared in the Detroit Free Press.

It's not just President Donald Trump's policies. Republicans who claim that he is right about everything will have to answer for his character, too.

04/05/2026

YEA!!!

U.S. forces have rescued the missing crew member of a fighter jet that was shot down over Iran, and all personnel involved in the rescue have returned safely, a U.S. official familiar with the operation told The Washington Post, speaking on the condition of anonymity to provide sensitive details not yet made public.

An intense search-and-rescue operation launched Friday after the Air Force F-15E jet crashed and both crew members ejected. While one crew member was quickly rescued, the search continued into Saturday for the second.

The incident marked the first known instance of an American crewed aircraft being brought down inside hostile territory since the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran began five weeks ago.

“WE GOT HIM!” President Donald Trump posted Sunday just after midnight, announcing the safe return of the missing airman and all who risked their lives to save him.

04/05/2026

Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pontiff, has a starkly different take on what should be done in Jesus’ name.

In a homily during a Mass on Thursday morning before Easter, the pope said that the Christian mission has often been “distorted by a desire for domination, entirely foreign to the way of Jesus Christ.”

Since the United States and Israel began bombing Iran in late February, the pope has consistently called for an end to the violence and a return to dialogue to resolve the conflict. But without naming Hegseth, he has also pointed out the ways in which Christianity has been marshaled for purposes that the pope says do not align with Catholic teaching.

“We tend to consider ourselves powerful when we dominate, victorious when we destroy our equals, great when we are feared,” the pope said in a homily during a Holy Thursday rite at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral of the bishop of Rome.

“God has given us an example — not of how to dominate, but of how to liberate; not of how to destroy life, but of how to give it.”

In late March, the pope warned against invoking the name of Jesus for battle, saying in a Sunday homily that Jesus “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”

ROME >> Pete Hegseth, the U.S. defense secretary, has asked the American people to pray “every day, on bended knee” for a military victory in the Middle East “in the name of Jesus Christ.”

09/30/2022

You are invited to celebrate "National Apple Betty Day" with the Liliuokalani Toastmasters Club:
Wednesday, October 5, 2022
12:05pm-1:05pm
Via Zoom:
https://zoom.us/j/547945103?pwd=NHJ1cDRLSWUzTHJZSW9keDNQanY4UT09
Have some fun and fellowship! Learn to develop your communication skills, leadership, critical thinking, and listening skills.

04/30/2022

Toastmasters District 49 Conference starts tomorrow, 9:00am! -

Attending all the conference days activities are free. Attached is a Zoom background you can use when attending the Conference activities.

04/28/2022

This evening: "Meet & Greet" with Chanti Niven -

Just a reminder that this evening is a golden opportunity to meet and greet Chanti Niven, our District 49 Conference keynote speaker.

04/26/2022

"Meet & Greet" with Chanti Niven -

The District 49 Conference begins this Saturday, April 30, 2022, 9:00am-11:30am (register at https://district49.org/events/) – BUT you can meet and greet Chanti personally before the Conference starts!

11/05/2021

Club Officers Training: Hear Joe Peach Graves this Saturday, 9:00am-11:00am -

If you have not already, please register for the Club Officers Training scheduled for this Saturday, November 6, 2021, 9:00am to 11:00am. Check-in starts at 8:30am.