TREEHOUSE NEWS 🏡

Land of Whispering Pines 🌲

Good morning! May the Great Spirit bless you 🙏

A little late getting started, the laptop wasn't doing what a nice, dumb, not-so-smart machine is supposed to do, and that purpose is obeying thumb or finger commands to perform tasks. I admit that I sometimes have a problem with eye-to-hand coordination, which is why I often get bruises on my hands just reaching into a drawer to retrieve something. But sometimes it feels like I have that little red devil 👹 with the pitchfork 🔱 on my shoulder waiting to pounce on me when I least expect it, then it's, "AMBUSH TIME! THEN MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT GOES OFF THE TRACKS!"

Anyway, the problem is fixed.

It's difficult for me to stop the chain reaction of stumbling on things like a drunken soldier over the garbage cans in the allyway, then I fall flat on my face, metaphorically that is, I'm fighting with the keyboard, trying to pull the train back on the tracks, but end up in the swamp with the train. I didn't know when to take a break and come back later to tackle it again.

You can't blame a dumb computer; they're not smart enough to do things by themselves, at least not yet. They need a program, and the program is a computer program limited by human limitations on the amount of data that can be stored in the computer that runs the machine. Except for Betsy, our Rumba floor sweeper is the smartest machine in the house. 😉

That's about it from the Newsroom; now, let's pause for a moment to acknowledge our American neighbors.

~🌸 Ω - ☮️VIVE LA RESISTANCE! ☮️ - Ω 🌸~

TODAY'S DISCUSSION:

"The harder I try, the harder I fall"

- Google Search -

The phrase "The harder I try, the harder I fall" reflects the concept of the "law of reversed effort," which suggests that excessive conscious effort can sometimes hinder rather than help, especially in tasks requiring relaxation and fluidity. This paradox, also noted by Aldous Huxley, indicates that focusing intently on achieving something can create tension and resistance, making success more elusive.

• The Paradox:

The harder you strive for something, the more frustrated you may become, leading to increased tension and a sense of struggle. This can be counterproductive in activities that rely on natural flow, like falling asleep or performing a task where your mind needs to be at ease.

• Finding a Balance:

The opposite of trying too hard doesn't mean being lazy or apathetic. It means finding a state of relaxed effort, where you are focused but not tense, and allowing your natural abilities to come to the surface.

Read More: The harder I try, the harder I fall - Google Search -

Now on with the national news. Thank you very much for reading the news.

BREAKING NEWS:

Supreme Court backs Trump’s effort to dramatically reshape federal government for now

The Supreme Court on Tuesday backed President Donald Trump’s effort to carry out mass firings and reorganizations at federal agencies, putting on hold a lower court order that had temporarily blocked the president from taking those steps without approval from Congress.

The decision is the latest in a series of significant wins for Trump at the Supreme Court, including an opinion making it more difficult to challenge executive orders and rulings backing the administration’s deportation policies. In an unsigned order, the high court said that lower courts had stopped the plans based on the administration’s general effort, rather than specific agency “reduction in force” plans that would drastically cut the size of the government workforce.

No vote count was released, but Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, a member of the court’s liberal wing, dissented. The case stems from an executive order Trump signed in mid-February that kicked off the process of significantly reducing the size of federal agencies, an issue the president campaigned on last year. Departments subsequently announced plans to lay off tens of thousands of employees...

Read More:

• Jackson: Ruling is ‘hubristic and senseless’:

RELATED ARTICLE:

The behind-the-scenes power John Roberts wields to ensure his influence with justices

Updated 5:29 PM EDT, Tue July 8, 2025

- CNN -

Frustration grows inside the White House after DOJ’s Epstein review comes up empty

Many of President Donald Trump’s close advisers, both inside and outside the White House, have grown increasingly frustrated with Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case, following days of intense criticism from some of the president’s most devoted supporters.

A recently released Justice Department memo finding no evidence that the late disgraced financier and convicted sex offender was murdered has become a target of deepening scrutiny from the MAGA-aligned right, leaving many in Trump’s orbit unconvinced that the matter has been adequately addressed, according to multiple people briefed on the situation.

Much of the scrutiny has fallen on Bondi, who was among many in Trump’s orbit who publicly suggested there was more to reveal about Epstein’s death, though a senior administration official said Trump was not acutely focused on her...

Read More:

• A review without revelations:

The search for explosive deep-state secrets hidden inside the federal Epstein investigation began coming apart weeks into the second Trump administration...

Published 9:33 PM EDT, Tue July 8, 2025

- CNN -

At least 111 dead and more than 170 still missing in catastrophic Texas flooding, officials say

Where Things Stand:

• Scores missing:

At least 161 people are known to be missing in Kerr County as a result of the flooding in central Texas, according to Gov. Greg Abbott. At least a dozen others are missing in other parts of the state, he said. Separately, officials confirmed that 111 people have died. Kerr County officials will provide an update on rescue and recovery efforts this morning.

• Alert system under scrutiny:

• Emergency plan at camp:

22 min ago

Gov. Abbott orders flags lowered to half-staff for flood victims

Gov. Greg Abbott ordered Texas flags to be lowered to half-staff Wednesday in honor of the victims of the deadly flash floods that devastated parts of central Texas on July 4. “Texas stands united in mourning and in our resolve to support those who strive to heal and recover,” the governor said in a news release. “May God bring comfort to every family affected and strength to the thousands of first responders still working on the ground.”

Flags will remain at half-staff until sunrise on Monday, July 14, according to the release...

Read More:

23 min ago

Gov. Abbott orders flags lowered to half-staff for flood victims.

Gov. Greg Abbott ordered Texas flags to be lowered to half-staff Wednesday in honor of the victims of the deadly flash floods that devastated parts of central Texas on July 4.

“Texas stands united in mourning and in our resolve to support those who strive to heal and recover,” the governor said in a news release. “May God bring comfort to every family affected and strength to the thousands of first responders still working on the ground.”

Flags will remain at half-staff until sunrise on Monday, July 14, according to the release.

34 min ago

Before-and-after images show destruction from Texas floods

New before-and-after satellite images reveal the extensive destruction caused by catastrophic flooding in central Texas over the weekend.

Read More:

24 min ago

Texas officials will hold a news conference in about an hour. These are some of the questions they may face

Texas officials are facing heated questions from reporters and community members over how much was — or was not — done in the overnight hours of Friday as the Guadalupe River flooded, sweeping away buildings and people in its path. But five days after the flooding, officials still have not provided a clear timeline...

Read More:

Updated 10:33 AM EDT, Wed July 9, 2025

- CNN -

CANADIAN NEWS:

Law society moves to suspend Hamilton lawyer amid claims she took clients' money then 'abandoned' practice

A tribunal will decide if law licence should be suspended or restricted

The Law Society of Ontario is attempting to suspend a Hamilton immigration lawyer-turned-tribunal adjudicator after a dozen people complained she took their money but never completed the work to help them stay in Canada. "Based on complaints the law society has received against the respondent to date, there are reasonable grounds to believe that there is a significant risk of harm to members of the public and/or to the public interest in the administration of justice," it said in its motion filed June 25, 2025 with the Law Society Tribunal.

It said it's currently investigating claims she misled the federal government, misappropriated $10,500 in client funds and failed to serve 12 clients with active refugee claims...

_Oksana Hrabova and Oleg Lomanov moved to Canada in 2022 and settled in downtown Hamilton._

Ukrainian couple paid lawyer $3K to help them stay in Canada but say she 'disappeared.' It's not the 1st time

Couple facing deportation to Colombia have 3 daughters in Hamilton, including 1 with disabilities

• 9 law society investigations ongoing:
• 'Good news for us,' says former client:

Hamilton mom says botched immigration process led to 'horrific' months-long separation from family

GOOD! one less thief.

Russia unleashes another record drone attack on Ukraine, including near Polish border

In Russia's Kursk, Ukraine attack leaves at least 3 dead, 7 injured

Russia targeted Ukraine with a record 728 drones overnight, shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to send more defensive weapons to Kyiv and aimed unusually direct criticism at Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian air defence units destroyed almost all the drones, including through electronic jamming systems, Ukraine's air force said on the Telegram messaging app.

The attack, which follows a series of escalating air assaults on Ukraine in recent weeks, showed the need for "biting" sanctions on the sources of income Russia uses to finance the war, including on those who buy Russian oil, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram. In a statement, Russia's Defence Ministry also said that it had hit Ukrainian military airfields in strikes overnight...

Trump says U.S. will 'have to' send Ukraine more weapons so it can defend itself

Finland's president on the Ukraine war, golfing with Trump and elbows up

• Russia says civilians killed in Kursk:

Ukraine says it struck an airbase in Russia amid Moscow's stepped-up drone barrage on Kyiv

• Trump frustrated by halt on Ukraine deliveries: report:

Read More:

Posted: Jul 09, 2025 7:16 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

- CBC -

♪♫NATURE'S SOUNDS AND MUSIC TO SOOTH THE SOUL♪♫

🌬 👼 ~Freedom of mind's imagination to become a personal Spiritual Awakening~ 👼 🌬

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUI0b0sLHq4