I can think of no exceptions to either statement.
Two Unfortunate Political Truths
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Tag Archives: USA
Mr. Trump, Please Get Some Sleep
Sleep is essential for good mental and physical health. It helps us heal when we need healing. I went to bed very early last night, and got all the sleep I need to do well at work today. I wish to suggest to our president that he do the same.
At least eight hours of sleep a night is healthy and helpful. Also, especially for a man in his seventies who is under a great deal of stress, long naps during the day can be a literal life-saver. In Mr. Trump’s case, the number of lives saved can be very large indeed.
To free up time for sleep, I have one more piece of advice for the president: limit yourself to one tweet per day.
I used to donate occasionally to the ACLU, but then Donald Trump became president, so I set up a monthly payment plan.
If you’d like to join this part of the resistance, here’s a link to the ACLU, right here.
It’s a Party in America . . . Tax Refunds Arrived!
Our federal tax refund arrived! Whoo-hoo! We get back money which was ours all along, but was on loan to the government, interest-free . . . hey, suddenly this deal doesn’t sound so great after all . . . .
Cheer Up, America! It Could Be Worse!
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American Fascism 2017
It’s easy to throw words like “fascism” around without really thinking about their definitions . . . so I looked the word up, to reexamine it. In my opinion, the “shoe fits,” as the saying goes, whether you call it “American fascism,” or simply “Trumpism.” Just look at the details of the Google-provided definition above:
- Authoritarian? Check.
- Nationalistic? “Make America Great Again!” “America First!”
- Right-wing? Very much so.
- Government? Firm control of two of three branches, at the moment.
- Social organization? They’re working on that, in the usual “us and them” form.
- Extreme? Almost comically so.
- Intolerant? Vividly so.
What’s more, all of this is apparent after Donald Trump has been in office for only a week.
Calvin and Hobbes, and the Peanuts Gang: Describing Christmas in America
The cartoonists Charles Schultz knew, and Bill Watterson knows, an immense amount about the uniquely American way to celebrate Christmas.
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Their work speaks for itself. 
I hope you enjoy these cartoons, and have both a Happy Christmas and Merry New Year.
Please buy the books with these comic strips. They’re easy to find on Amazon, and many other places.
Books make excellent gifts, not just for holidays, but at any time. Christmas is also a time associated with eating good food, too, of course. Calvin’s table manners are atrocious, of course, but his parents do try.
Christmas Break, Winter vacation, or whatever you choose to call it gives us all time to be with our families and friends.
Santa Claus is also a big part of Christmas in America. Whether we like it or not, the same is true of capitalism.
Reality often clashes with our ideals. That’s part of being human, in any season.
An emotionally-charged phrase, “true meaning of Christmas,” is repeatedly explained, forgotten, rediscovered, celebrated, etc. — and, of course, we argue about it. We’re Americans, after all.
Sometimes, we also listen to each other. Other times, we don’t, even when we need to, and the opportunity presents itself.
The holiday season is often rough on those of us who struggle with depression. These cartoonists tackled such issues head-on. However, they never claimed to have all the answers.
Happy Christmas, and Merry New Year, to you and yours.
Peace be with you.
One thing both comic strips have in common is a focus on children and childhood. Reading them can help one keep from losing the essence of youth, no matter what age one reaches.
Bill Watterson, Charles Schultz: thank you for sharing your ideas about Christmas, and life itself, with us, over the decades. I’ll let Schultz have the last word.
President-elect Donald Trump, and President Vladimir Putin
Source of quote: The Washington Post, online edition, December 14, 2016: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/the-kremlin-likes-the-hacking-attention-but-not-the-blame/2016/12/14/65279738-c177-11e6-92e8-c07f4f671da4_story.html?utm_term=.fc453119c6fd.
Fiona Hill co-authored the 2015 book Mr. Putin: Operative at the Kremlin, available here, on Amazon. She is also (according to the Washington Post story linked above, written by David Filipov) a scholar at the Brookings Institution. Here’s the headline, taken from a screenshot.
For those who do not know, The Washington Post is the newspaper which blew open the Watergate scandal, and that, in turn, brought down the Nixon administration.
These are facts.
How America Typically Sees the World
This problem reaches its worst levels during presidential campaign years. It’s particularly bad during 2016.
America, Land of Bizarre Politics
How to become the first female president of the United States:
1. Beat an openly-declared socialist in the primary.
2. Beat Donald J. Trump, in a popularity contest, in November.
Am I missing anything?
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[Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House]
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