I took this photo on the shores of Mono Lake in Central California, as the bird flies, not too far from the Nevada state line. I was there with fellow photographer David Pahmp. We were heading to Bodie and stopped by the lake real quick to take a few early evening shots. As soon as we pulled back on to the highway again, a patrol car pulled us over for speeding. But just when the stocky highway patrolman was about to give us a well-deserved, triple-digit fine, he got a call on the radio and had leave us pronto with only a gentle slap on the wrist. He seemed like a decent fellow and after the verbal reprimand, wished us a safe journey onwards.

America is full of people like that. Decent folks with reasonably sound values and good attitudes. Unlike the president…

From David Frum of The Atlantic:

One of the most striking things about Trump is how seldom, if ever, anybody tells a story of kindness and compassion about him. Not even his own children have much to say. […] Few former employees of the Trump administration praise him as a boss. Few business partners speak of his honesty. Few tenants of Trump buildings have anything good to say about the homes he supposedly built. Few officials of any city have been willing to celebrate any contribution to urban life. Few beneficiaries of any Trump philanthropy.

Imagine a man who has lived in the public eye for half a century, supposedly one of the country’s leading business figures, and when in trouble he struggles to summon credible or trustworthy witnesses from outside the Fox Cinematic Universe. There’s just a gaping zero where goodness should be.