What We’ve Lost

Sent to me by my friend, Mary L., from an unknown author:

• I’ve been wondering why this entire country seems to be under a cloud of constant misery. Why we all seem to be Russians waiting in line for toilet paper, meat, Lysol. Hoarding yeast and sourdough starter “in case we can’t get bread”.
• Buying stamps so that one of our most beloved institutions might survive. Why we all look like we are in bad need of a haircut, or a facial or a reason to dress up again and go somewhere. Anywhere.
• There is no art in this White House. There is no literature or poetry in this White House. No music. No Kennedy Center award celebrations.
• There are no pets in this White House. No loyal man’s best friend. No Socks the family cat. No kids’ science fairs.
• No times when this president takes off his blue suit red tie uniform and becomes human, except when he puts on his white shirt khaki pants uniform and hides from Americans to play golf.
• There are no images of the first family enjoying themselves together in a moment of relaxation. No Obamas on the beach in Hawaii moments, or Bushes fishing in Kennebunkport, no Reagans on horseback, no Kennedys playing touch football on the Cape. I was thinking the other day of the summer when George H couldn’t catch a fish and all the grand-kids made signs and counted the fish-less days. And somehow, even if you didn’t even like GHB, you got caught up in the joy of a family that loved each other and had fun.
• Where did that country go? Where did all of the fun and joy and expressions of love and happiness go? We used to be a country that did the ice bucket challenge and raised millions for charity.
• We used to have a president that calmed and soothed the nation instead dividing it. And a First Lady that planted a garden instead of ripping one out. We are rudderless and joyless. We have lost the cultural aspects of society that make America great.
• We have lost our mojo. Our fun, our happiness. The cheering on of others. The shared experiences of humanity that makes it all worth it. The challenges AND the triumphs that we shared and celebrated. The unique can-do spirit Americans have always been known for.
• We are lost. We have lost so much in so short a time.

Let the Children Eat Cake!

From Esquire, by Charles P. Pierce:

In his previous life, Meadows led the Freedom Caucus in the House, the claque of extremist conservatives in safe seats who made Speaker Paul Ryan’s life a living hell. However, Meadows’s unsuitability for his current role pales next to that of his negotiating partner, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

At one point during one of the negotiations, Mr. Mnuchin had inquired what WIC, a nutritional program specifically for women, infants and children, was, according to a person familiar with the talks.

The Secretary of the Treasury didn’t even know what one of the most important supplemental nutritional programs servicing some nine million of his fellow citizens was. And people say this is an administration without empathy?

“On any given day, you might say, why am I even talking to these people? They don’t care,” Ms. Pelosi said.

Shocked, I Tell You, Just Shocked!

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, who has aggressively pushed to reopen his state and flouted experts’ health recommendations, announced Wednesday that he is the first governor to test positive for coronavirus.

Stitt, a Republican, said at a press conference that he was tested on Tuesday and that he feels “fine,” other than being a “little bit achy.” He said he’ll be quarantining and working from home, and that he was “pretty shocked” to be the first governor to get the virus. He added that he would isolating away from his family, whom he said tested negative.

Gov. Stitt welcomes you to Oklacovid!

Happy Mother’s Day

 

Seen at the Protest Rally in Austin Today

Does this woman not have a grandmother who could die if infected? And good luck to your daughter in fighting off polio, measles, tetanus, diphtheria…..

I Just Love This

“Except for the Brown Ones. Those We Put in Cages.”

President Trump speaking at the March for Life anti-abortion rally:

“All of us here today understand an eternal truth — every child is a precious and sacred gift from God,” Trump said. “Together, we must protect, cherish and defend the dignity and the sanctity of every human life.”

What Goes Around, Comes Around

Way back when we thought Michele Bachmann was as crazy as the GOP could get (those were the days!), every year at Halloween I would post this cartoon I drew of her.

And now, we have this.

As the French say, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Or get worse.

Mango Juuls Don’t Kill People, People Smoking Mango Juuls Kill People.

From Esquire, by Jack Holmes:

“It’s here where we must stop and point out that the president just referred to his own son as, “she’s got a son—together.” Fatherhood! There’s also the stream-of-consciousness diatribe about The Trade Wars With Everyone, which somehow proves Trump loves American companies, even these specific American companies, even if he is going to ban their most lucrative products. But Trump makes it abundantly clear here that Melania got him onto this. Is she just reading news reports? Did they catch one of Barron’s friends Juuling in the Lincoln Bedroom? Whatever the reason, the Executive Branch is now against vaping. The government has identified a dangerous device and sought to remove it from the market.

And it’s here where we’ll insert the obligatory note that other devices which are far more definitively linked to death and injury are not up for any kind of ban. After all, the kids are in danger when they go to school and their peers offer them a Juul hit in the bathroom, but they’re also in danger when their peers show up with semiautomatic rifles and shoot them. Yet while e-cigarettes constitute something people choose to put in their own body—that is, not an express violation of other citizens’ rights—they’re up for a ban. Insanely powerful weapons of war, which are regularly used to infringe on the rights of other citizens, must be freely available to all in perpetuity.”

Mango Juuls don’t kill people, people smoking Mango Juuls kill people. Which is why we’re banning Mango Juuls.

 

You Can Serve Our Country Overseas (Unlike Me), But Don’t Let Your Kid Be Born There, Says Trump

The Trump administration said Wednesday that children born to U.S. military members and government employees working overseas will no longer automatically be considered United States citizens.

The new policy guidance states that USCIS “no longer considers children of U.S. government employees and U.S. armed forces members residing outside the United States as ‘residing in the United States’ for purposes of acquiring citizenship under INA 320.”

The guidance states that “U.S. citizen parents who are residing outside the United States with children who are not U.S. citizens should apply for U.S. citizenship on behalf of their children under INA 322, and must complete the process before the child’s 18th birthday.”

Wow. Just…wow. I guess that’s one way of cutting down on immigration. If this was the case when the late John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone to parents stationed there in the military, he wouldn’t be considered a natural born American citizen and couldn’t have run for the office of president. Huh…