THANKSGIVING DINNER WITH AN ADDLED UNCLE

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU AND YOURS. And, alas, my heart goes out to those of you having to put up with an addled uncle during these family festivities. You recognize the type, a bullying all-knowing egoistic brother of mom or dad who has probably acted this way for as long as you can remember. That is, it’s not necessarily an age thing; it’s a state of mind.

In modest examples, families laugh it off: “That’s Uncle Dennis being Uncle Dennis; It’s just his way. Please pass the stuffing.”

In extreme cases, sadly, such addlepated behavior might call for professional help. It’s not to be joked about; it’s a tragedy affecting family life.

We’re All a Family. But what if the family is the entire United States? I’ve already addressed this back in June of this year with “Addlepated Uncle Don, Parts 1 and 2.” However, his recent Truth Social postings are particularly disturbing.

Sedition “Punishable by Death.” Meg Kinnard, Associated Press, reports, “Trump Says Democrats’ Video Message to Military is ‘Seditious Behavior’ Punishable by Death,” NPR, November 20, 2025. She describes, “President Donald Trump on Thursday accused half a dozen Democratic lawmakers of sedition ‘punishable by DEATH’ after the lawmakers—all veterans of the armed services and intelligence community—called on U.S. military members to uphold the constitution and defy ‘illegal orders.’ ”

“The 90-second video,” Kinnard continues, “was first posted early Tuesday from Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s X account. In it, the six lawmakers—Slotkin, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, and Reps. Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander and Chrissy Houlahan—speak directly to U.S. service members, whom Slotkin acknowledges are ‘under enormous stress and pressure right now.’”

From Chris Murphy. Readers of SimanaitisSays may recall Senator Chris Murphy’s “Thoughtful Analysis back in April of this year. Recently he emails, “Let this really sink in: The President of the United States just called for members of Congress to be executed. If you are a person of influence in this country, maybe it’s time to pick a f***ing side.”

Murphy stresses, “Anybody who has a voice or a soapbox in this country needs to draw a line in the sand and say that it is not acceptable for the president of the United States to call for the murder of his political opposition.”

Or the murder of anyone with whom the president claims a disagreement.

Trump’s Drug War. In particular, Trump has ordered attacks in international water on vessels he claims are smuggling drugs. Dave Petri and William Baumgartner write, “U.S. ‘Drug Boat’ Strikes Don’t Just Cross a Line, They’re Legally Indefensible,” U.S.A. Today, November 20, 2025. They recount, “By destroying these vessels and those aboard, we eliminate not only the evidence of what they were actually doing, but also intelligence from arrests and interrogations.”

U.S. Coast Guard’s HITRON Program. “For more than two decades,” Petri and Baumgartner describe, “the U.S. Coast Guard’s HITRON program has proved that there’s a better way. Helicopter-based marksmen disable engines on fleeing drug boats, allowing suspects to be arrested, evidence recovered and intelligence exploited. More than 1,000 vessels have been stopped this way, without deliberate loss of life. It is effective, lawful and consistent with both our national values and our obligations under the law of the sea.”

“The only flaw,” the reporters note, “is that we have not assigned enough ships and aircraft to this effort. This new approach—destroying boats outright and killing the occupants—abandons that model and the principles behind it. In addition, it sets a frightening example for other nations throughout the world.”

Extraterritorial, Possibly Extrajudicial. Petri and Baumgartner write, “President Donald Trump’s unilateral decision to conduct lethal strikes outside a declared conflict raises profound constitutional questions. Article I of the Constitution gives Congress, not the chief executive, the power to declare war and authorize the use of military force.” 

“Emergency” Power Grabs. Trump’s continuing—and increased—attack on our federal government’s inherent separation of powers is often based on “emergency” powers. His most strikingly falsely-conceived “emergency” was losing the 2020 presidential election, from which has evolved his attempted rewriting of history’s January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Republican Apologists. For years now, Republicans have been saying, “Trump is just being Trump.”

By contrast, NOTUS—a “highly factual left-center” website—posts an article by Ursula Perano, Oriana González, and Avani Kalra: “ ‘You Know How President Trump Is’: Republicans Say Trump Isn’t Actually Threatening Democrats,” November 20, 2025.

“President Donald Trump,” the NOTUS reporters write, “accused a half-dozen congressional Democrats Thursday of ‘seditious behavior, punishable by death.’ In turn, Republicans hemmed, hawed, and suggested the president didn’t really mean what he said.”

“Sen. Tommy Tuberville quipped: ‘You know how President Trump is. He’s going to go to the ultimate.’ ”

“Rep. Don Bacon, a veteran himself, told NOTUS in a text that the video Democrats made ‘was not wise. All the military members know’ they can refuse illegal orders.”

“ ‘The President suggesting the congressmen be hanged,’ Bacon then added, ‘is even less wise.’ ”

Yeah, it’s right up there with telling your addled uncle to shut the hell up and pass the stuffing (of which he is full). ds

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2025