I smell a red herring

 

    

 

A red herring is a deliberate or inadvertent distraction intended to divert attention away from a central issue or mislead someone onto a false trail. The term is commonly used as a rhetorical device, a logical fallacy, or a literary plot point.

Donald Trump made over $2.2 billion during the first year of his second term.

 A comprehensive analysis by Forbes estimates his total 2025 operating revenue and asset sales at $2.4 billion, which is over 6,000 times the current $400,000 presidential salary.

 The vast majority of this income stemmed from his family's cryptocurrency ventures, with over $1.4 billion derived from meme coin royalties and related assets.

 He also saw significant revenue streams from his real estate portfolio, generating $122 million from Trump National Doral and $77 million from Mar-a-Lago.

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 The federal government estimates that Medicaid improper payments—which encompass fraud, waste, and administrative abuse—amounted to $31.1 billion in 2024. When combined with Medicare, overall healthcare fraud and waste in the United States is estimated by federal officials and research bodies to cost taxpayers between $100 billion and $300 billion annually.

 (Georgetown University)

 The Financial Scale of Medicaid Fraud

 

• Improper Payment Rates: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) pegged the national Medicaid improper payment rate at 5.09%, representing $31.1 billion in erroneous federal outlays.
•  
• Broader Estimates: Independent research organizations, such as the Paragon Health Institute, argue that the true loss is much higher. They estimate that improper federal Medicaid payments reached nearly $1.2 trillion over the past decade, suggesting an actual improper payment rate closer to 25%.
•  

(Paragon Institute)

 

• Enforcement Recoveries: State-level Medicaid Fraud Control Units (MFCUs), monitored by the HHS Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), successfully recovered $1.4 billion from criminal convictions and civil settlements in FY 2024.

 

Recent Major Takedowns and Enforcement (2026)

 Federal agencies have heavily scaled up "prevention" strategies alongside traditional prosecutions to curb these losses:

 ·         The 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown: In June 2026, the 

U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a historic, coordinated enforcement action that charged 455 defendants. The operation targeted schemes responsible for more than $6.5 billion in false claims submitted to Medicare and Medicaid.

 

·         State Funding Freezes: In July 2026, CMS and the White House Anti-Fraud Task Force froze over $1 billion in federal Medicaid funds to California ($867 million) and Minnesota ($199 million). The funding was deferred due to systemic fraud vulnerabilities involving in-home care services, hospice programs, and billing for deceased enrollees.

·          

·         Pre-Payment Savings: The shift toward blocking suspicious billing before payments go out resulted in $4.1 billion in direct Medicaid savings last year alone.

 

 What were the largest cases of Medicare/Medicaid fraud in this country?

Miami healthcare executive Philip Esformes was convicted of orchestrating what the U.S. Department of Justice Philip Esformes touted as the largest individual health care fraud scheme ever prosecuted.

 Esformes was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

 Esformes used a network of assisted-living and nursing facilities to bill Medicare and Medicaid for services that were either medically unnecessary or never provided.

 For context, this individual record is separate from corporate fraud operations, such as the hospital giant Columbia/HCA, which was penalized a record Rick Scott, who ran a company involved in the nation's largest Medicare fraud ($1.7 billion).

 

Scott was pressured to resign as chief executive of Columbia/HCA in 1997, after the company pleaded guilty to defrauding Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal programs in what was at the time the largest healthcare fraud settlement in U.S. history at $1.7 billion. Following his departure from Columbia/HCA, Scott became a venture capitalist and pursued other business interests.

Scott ran for governor of Florida in 2010, defeating Bill McCollum in a vigorously contested Republican primary election and Democratic nominee Alex Sink by just over one point in the general election.

 Scott was reelected in 2014, again by just over one point, against former governor Charlie Crist. He was barred by term limits from running for reelection in 2018 and instead ran for the U.S. Senate.

Scott won the 2018 U.S. Senate election, defeating incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson in a close election that triggered a mandatory recount. He was reelected in 2024, defeating Democratic nominee Debbie Mucarsel-Powell by over 12 points. He became Florida's senior senator in 2025, when Marco Rubio resigned from the Senate to become Secretary of State.

Let’s compare notes:

Philip Esformes was convicted of orchestrating what the U.S. Department of Justice Philip Esformes touted as the largest individual health care fraud scheme ever prosecuted.

 He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

 Rick Scott committed the largest corporate Medicare fraud in our country’s history.

 Scott was elected to be Florida’s governor in 2010 – and was re-elected in 2014.

 He is currently serving as Florida's SENIOR senator.

 Want more examples?

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After being impeached for the first time in 2019, Trump ran for office again in 2020 – and was DEFEATED by Joseph Biden. He lost by a total of 7,000,000 votes. Even today, he still will not admit defeat.

 Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in New York on May 30, 2024.

 He was re-elected in the 2024 presidential election. He got less than 50% of the popular vote (49.8%), but got enough electoral votes (312) to win. His margin in the popular vote was 2,000,000 votes.

 If you are wondering how a convicted felon got elected< here is the answer:

 https://tohell-andback.blogspot.com/2024/11/how-americas-worst-president-got-re.html

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Let’s talk about the emolument clauses.

  

The Constitution’s Emoluments Clauses are among the oldest federal anticorruption safeguards. Both clauses apply to the president, who is exempt from many other government ethics rules.

The Foreign Emoluments Clause bars the president and other federal officials from accepting “any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State” without the consent of Congress. It reflects the framers’ desire to prevent federal officials from succumbing to foreign influence.

 

The Domestic Emoluments Clause provides for the president to receive a fixed salary and bars him from receiving “any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.” It was designed to insulate the president against undue pressure from Congress or any individual state.

 

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President Donald Trump officially accepted the luxury Boeing 747-8 jet from the Qatari government on May 21, 2025. After undergoing a series of security upgrades and interior retrofitting, the aircraft was unveiled at Joint Base Andrews on June 19, 2026, and made its maiden flight with Trump on July 1, 2026.

The plane was valued at $400 million.

 

• Estimated Upgrade Cost: The Air Force estimates the security and communications retrofitting for this interim luxury 747-8 (gifted to the U.S. by the Qatari government) will cost less than $400 million. However, defense and political critics estimate the modifications could ultimately cost closer to $1 billion.
•  

The Next-Generation VC-25B Fleet (Purpose-Built Boeing 747-8s)

• Contract and Overruns: The long-term Air Force One replacement program—which consists of two brand new, heavily modified jets—was originally awarded to Boeing in 2018 under a $3.9 billion fixed-price contract.
•  
• Total Program Cost: Years of delays, engineering challenges, and supply chain issues have driven Boeing's cost overruns to more than $2.8 billion, pushing the total expected cost of the program to over $5 billion. Despite these overruns, the Air Force maintains its fixed contract limit protects taxpayers from taking on the burden of the extra costs.

 

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According to the Presidential Greatness Project, Trump is the worst president that we have ever had, so I don’t need to tell you how to vote in future elections. 

https://presidentialgreatnessproject.com/

 Setting aside all the political nonsense, though, I have one basic truth for you.

You can learn a lot from cartoons.

Lessons learned from ice cream

 Lessons learned from ice cream 

 

In May of 2010, I published an article that explained how lessons learned from ice cream can help us get what we want from life.

https://tohell-andback.blogspot.com/2010/05/

That story came to mind this morning when I read that the founders of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream had endorsed a political candidate named Kai.

Ben and Jerry’s is a notable example of a “rags to riches” story, since they formed the company after learning how to make ice cream online.

 

Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc. is an American company that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet. Founded in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, the company went from a single ice cream parlor to a multinational brand over the course of a few decades. The company was sold in 2000 to the British multinational conglomerate Unilever but operates as an independent subsidiary. Its present-day headquarters is in South Burlington, Vermont, with its factory in Waterbury, Vermont.

Ben & Jerry's is known for their original flavors, many of which incorporate foods and desserts mixed with ice cream. Some of these flavors have been themed after musicians, comedians, and public figures, such as Jerry Garcia, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Colin Kaepernick, and Phish. The company and its two founders have also been noted for their political activism and advocacy for social justice. This includes the way their products have been manufactured, marketed, and distributed.

The company was founded by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, who had been friends since their childhood in Merrick, New York. Although Greenfield finished college, he was unable to get into medical school. Cohen dropped out of school.

 In 1977, Cohen and Greenfield incorporated a business, planning to open a bagel shop, but found the requisite equipment was too expensive. They instead completed a correspondence course on ice cream making from Pennsylvania State University's creamery. Cohen has severe anosmia, a lack of a sense of smell, so he relies on mouthfeel and texture to provide variety in his diet. This led to the company's trademark chunks being mixed in with their ice cream. On May 5, 1978, with a $12,000  investment (equivalent to $59,000 in 2025), Cohen and Greenfield opened an ice cream parlor in a renovated gas station in downtown Burlington, Vermont. In 1979, they marked their anniversary by holding the first "free cone day", now an annual event at every Ben & Jerry's store, from that year to 2019, and resuming in 2023

In April 2000, Ben & Jerry's sold itself to British multinational food giant Unilever for $326 million ($607 million in 2025 accounting for inflation). In the acquisition agreement, Unilever agreed to carry on the company's tradition of engaging "in these critical, global economic and social missions". Following the acquisition, both founders remained employed at the company, though not in a position of operational or managerial responsibility, although Cohen remained on the governing board of directors.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_%26_Jerry%27s

It’s a well-known fact that Ben and Jerry have long been politically active, which can be costly, since boycotts by various groups can be costly. However, because they wanted to maintain their core values, they left the company in September of 2025.

https://abcnews.com/GMA/Food/ben-jerrys-resign-ice-cream-co-founder-values-unilever/story?id=125659735

Jerry Greenfield, the co-founder of the Ben & Jerry's ice cream brand, has officially quit the business after he said he concluded that his core values of spreading love and fighting for equity and justice are "no longer possible" at the company.

Ben Cohen, his co-founder, first shared the news Tuesday in a post on social media. “I never thought I would have to write this, but after 47 years Jerry has made the difficult decision to stand down from the company we built together," Cohen stated in the caption. "I am sharing his own words as he resigns from Ben & Jerry’s."

"His legacy deserves to be true to the values we founded this company on, not silenced by @magnum," Cohen said addressing the ice cream company owned by Unilever.

Ben Cohen, his co-founder, first shared the news Tuesday in a post on social media stating his longtime business partner would be resigning.

It's with a broken heart that I've decided I can no longer, in good conscience, and after 47 years, remain an employee of Ben & Jerry's. I am resigning from the company Ben and I started back in 1978. This is one of the hardest and most painful decisions I've ever made," the statement from Greenfield began. "This isn't because I've lost my love for the people at Ben & Jerry's. Quite the opposite."

Greenfield went on to explain that what made their business "more than just an ice cream company, was the independence to pursue our values, which was guaranteed when Unilever bought the company."

In 2000, Unilever purchased the iconic Vermont-based ice cream brand that built a reputation on advocacy around social missions that seek to eliminate injustices in communities.

Under its ownership, Greenfield said Ben & Jerry's maintained their independence "in no small part because of the unique merger agreement Ben and I negotiated with Unilever, one that enshrined our social mission and values in the company's governance structure in perpetuity. It's profoundly disappointing to come to the conclusion that that independence, the very basis of our sale to Unilever, is gone."

Citing the current Trump administration, which he accused of "attacking civil rights, voting rights, the rights of immigrants, women, and the LGBTQ community," Greenfield emphasized that "standing up for the values of justice, equity, and our shared humanity has never been more important."

"Ben & Jerry's has been silenced, sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power. It's easy to stand up and speak out when there's nothing at risk. The real test of values is when times are challenging and you have something to lose," Greenfield said.

A representative for the Trump Administration did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

"It was always about more than just ice cream; it was a way to spread love and invite others into the fight for equity, justice and a better world. Coming to the conclusion that this is no longer possible at Ben & Jerry's means I can no longer remain part of Ben & Jerry's," Greenfield said. "If I can't carry those values forward inside the company today, then I will carry them forward outside, with all the love and conviction I can."

A spokesperson for the Magnum Ice Cream Company said in a statement to ABC News on Wednesday: "We will be forever grateful to Jerry for his role in co-founding such an amazing ice cream company, turning his passion for delicious ice cream and addressing social causes into a remarkable success story. We thank him for his service and support over many decades and wish him well in his next chapter."

The Magnum spokesperson added, "We disagree with his perspective and have sought to engage both co-founders in a constructive conversation on how to strengthen Ben & Jerry's powerful values-based position in the world. We remain committed to Ben & Jerry's unique three-part mission – product, economic and social – and remain focused on carrying forward the legacy of peace, love, and ice cream of this iconic, much-loved brand. Ben & Jerry's is a proud and thriving part of The Magnum Ice Cream Company and we look forward to further building on its success."

Earlier this month, Unilever’s President of Ice Cream Peter Kulve, who oversees Magnum, dismissed talks of selling Ben & Jerry's, Reuters first reported.

In March, Ben & Jerry's filed a lawsuit against Unilever, accusing the parent company of improperly removing the ice cream brand's CEO David Stever in an alleged long-running campaign of censorship over the brand's support of political causes. The lawsuit is ongoing.

A representative for Unilever told ABC News at the time that the parent company made "repeated attempts" to engage Ben & Jerry's independent board and follow "the correct process."

In today’s environment, far too many medica companies, law firms, and educational institutions have capitulated to the whims of a madman, so it is refreshing that people like Ben and Jerry will continue to “fight the good fight.

 

Since I am a diabetic, I have largely sworn off eating ice cream, but the next time I go to the story, I’m going to buy a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. 

It's the least I can do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sing us a song, you're the piano man

Piano Man" is a fictionalized retelling of Billy Joel’s own struggles in 1972–73.

 While hiding out in Los Angeles to escape a bad record contract, he worked as a lounge pianist at a bar called The Executive Room.

 (1860) Billy Joel - Piano Man (Original Video) - YouTube

 Going by the alias "Bill Martin", he observed and wrote about the real, everyday bar patrons, transforming their broken dreams and quiet routines into a classic vignette of American loneliness. 

 The Real-Life Characters

 Almost every lyric in the song was inspired by someone Joel met while playing his gig. According to interviews and breakdowns, the real-life counterparts include: 

 The "Old Man": A regular named Mr. Brady who always ordered a "tonic and gin"

 John the Bartender: The employee who provided free drinks, lights, and a lot of jokes, but dreamed of being a movie star.

 Paul: A real estate broker by day who would drunkenly rant about writing the "Great American Novel".

 

• Davy: A regular who served in the Navy.
•  
• The Waitress: Joel's first wife, Elizabeth, who was working at the bar and whom Joel affectionately described in the lyrics as "practicing politics." 

 

When I wore a “younger man’s clothes”, the place my Catholic youth group went to on a Friday nights was a place called Hafner’s in Roseville, Minnesota.

 

It started as a basement bowling alley in 1959, and eventually grew to include bowling allies in both the basement and the main floor, and it also included a restaurant called the Lord Aldon Inn - as well as a piano bar.

 

Ultimately, Hafner's became a victim of urban sprawl, and the entire block was razed in 2002.  The last mention in the Minneapolis Star Tribune of the address is in March 2003, in an RFP looking for development of the block for market rate housing.  As of May 2019, no construction has occurred.

The following article appeared in the East Side Review on August 9, 2015, written by Patrick Larkin.

Hafner lot, long empty, on market:  NENDC hoping flea market, food trucks will draw attention to the spot

Just south of the border with Maplewood, a bare and disheveled piece of pavement has sat empty for over a decade at 1590 White Bear Ave.

The lot once held a bustling shopping center emblematic of the strip mall format of the 1950’s, called Hafner’s. Hafner’s was a pillar of the Hillcrest shopping area along White Bear Avenue, just south of Larpenteur Avenue and St. Paul’s border with Maplewood.

Hafner’s held a bowling alley, restaurant and lounge along with several other commercial entities including a barber and a chiropractor. It was a booming mall with parking and a gas station. But slowly, business faded, in part due to changing times, suburban shopping centers, freeways, and the like. It changed owners multiple times, and the building slowly fell into disrepair.

By the time St. Paul’s Housing and Redevelopment Authority acquired the land in 2002, it was on its last legs. The city bought and demolished the place, and shored up the 2.18 acre lot for redevelopment.

Now for the first time since it was razed, the North East Neighborhood Development Company, which now manages the lot through its real estate brokerage, Capitol Brokerage, put it on the market this spring, hoping to draw in a developer to the blank spot on White Bear Avenue.

It was first listed on March 17, and according to NENDC’s Chuck Repke, it has attracted some modest amount of interest from developers, although nothing’s solidified.

To keep the site active, NENDC is allowing it to be used by two food trucks — a taco truck and a deli truck — as well as a church, which will use the lot to hold flea markets.

Mixed use possibilities

Dave Gontarek, project manager in St. Paul’s Planning and Economic Development department, said the place has been informally on the market since the HRA acquired the property more than a decade ago.

Through those years, he said they’ve heard some interest in the parcel, including a church group looking to build a restaurant, but the proposed uses didn’t add up to enough density to satisfy Hillcrest’s small area plan.

The price tag for the empty concrete lot is $1.3 million, and the purchase and development of the lot is subject to the St. Paul Housing and Redevelopment Authority’s approval.

“With that,” Repke noted, “the price becomes flexible based on how enthused the city is.

“The more positive the benefit to the neighborhood, the more likely the city is to come down on the price.”

Repke said he’s pulling for a mixed use or commercial development — a smaller grocery store like Trader Joe’s, or an apartment building with storefront retail on the main level.

However, for residential uses to be approved, the site would need significant cleanup — there used to be a Clark gas station in the front portion of the lot, which had leaky gas tanks. Those old wells would need to be removed, and soil remediation would likely be needed.

‘Heck of an enterprise’

Repke said that bringing in an anchor building to the dated shopping district would be a good way to keep the place viable.

Though vacancy rates in the commercial buildings along the corridor are low, it takes a significant amount of time to find new tenants when one moves out, he said.

The goal would be to have a store with some draw, that would make the whole corridor more active, so prospective tenants were approaching the building owners, rather than the other way around.

“I want people to see it as a retail site,” Repke said. “I figured over the course of the summer we would fill it up with things happening and draw a little attention to it.”

“There’s 19,000 cars going past that property every day,” he added. “That ought to be enough customers for almost anybody to figure out how to make a buck.”

Gary Unger, who lives just a few blocks from the site, used to pump gas at the gas station in front of Hafner’s, and also used to set pins at the lanes.

He can recall Hafner’s in it’s full glory.

“It was a heck of an enterprise,” he said, adding that the place was spick and span.

“It was the cleanest place you’ve ever seen in your life… the sanitation around there, it was second to none.”

With the idea of a new development coming to the spot, he said he’d like to see a destination store go in.

While White Bear Avenue was once a happening commercial strip; it’s now a bit more off the beaten path, he said. He pointed out that as the suburbs flared out, White Bear Avenue connected to the Maplewood Mall, as well as the high-speed roadways Minnesota 36 and Interstate 694, which connect to various suburban shopping facilities, leaving the once bustling commercial corridor as just a connector.

 

Alcohol consumption has declined significantly In America since 1976. The percentage of U.S. adults who report drinking alcohol dropped to 54%. This is a sharp decrease from the record high of 71% recorded consistently between 1976 and 1978, representing the lowest drinking rate in nearly 90 years.

 This historical shift away from alcohol is documented by several overarching trends:

 

• Shifting Demographics: The decline is especially pronounced among women and young adults. For instance, between 2023 and 2025, the rate of women who reported drinking alcohol dropped by 11 percentage points.
•  
• Reduced Volume: Among those who still drink, the average number of drinks consumed per week has fallen to 2.8—the lowest figure recorded since 1996
•  
• Driving Factors: Experts attribute this drop to an increased public awareness of the health risks associated with even moderate drinking, as well as a growing preference for alcohol alternatives like cannabis and low-ABV options.

Billy Joel himself struggled with alcohol for decades, which is why has been married 4 times.

He went to rehab twice (in 2002 and 2005), and his heavy drinking contributed to the breakdowns of his first three marriages. His second wife, Christie Brinkley, has referred to alcohol as "the other woman" in their relationship, while his third wife, Katie Lee, gave him an ultimatum to go to treatment.

 Joel has historically used alcohol to self-medicate through deep depression. He has struggled with mental health and trauma from an early age, including surviving the abandonment of his father, two suicide attempts in his early twenties, and a deep mental fog following the September 11 attacks.

 Hafner’s no longer exists, but if still wanted to go to a piano bar, they still exist, and the best ones in the country are listed below:

        https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g191-Activities-c20-t106-United_States.html

 If you find a place you like, find the piano player, and put some bread in his jar.

 Billy Joel would understand.