I Can’t Laugh At #45

Laughter gives us distance.  It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it and then move on.
—  Bob Newhart
[I can shake my head and feel sick in the pit of my stomach, but I can’t even make myself smile at his (#DonTheCon) obvious lies and attacks on reality.  Maybe, when he is finally out of office for a few years, I’ll be able to laugh at his bumbling / criminal incompetence and overall ignorance.  But right now, I am too close.  And the bedrock values my country as struggled so long and hard to establish are in danger…   —  KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2017	Release, Harmonize, Illuminate
2016	One Trouble With Television
2015	I Am Lucky And I Am Grateful
2014	Future Envy
2013	We Do Not Want To Learn That
2012	Social Inhibition
2011	Studying Chinese Food
	Are You Bored, Too?
2010	Rant, Pant, Deep Breath – Reality

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Good Sense

If you could choose one characteristic that would get you through life, choose a sense of humor.
—  Jennifer James
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On This Day In:
2017	E Pluribus Unum
2016	Lacking
2015	Chip, Chip, Chip
2014	nom de plume
2013	The Real Reason
	From The Book
2012	When Young
2011	14 Ways To A Better Judgement

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#45: It’s Tougher Being President

Life’s tough . . .  it’s even tougher if you’re stupid.
—  John Wayne
“I loved my previous life.  I had so many things going,” Trump told Reuters in an interview.  “This is more work than in my previous life.  I thought it would be easier.”
—  Stephen J. Adler, Jeff Mason, Steve Holland
From a Reuters article / interview:  “Exclusive: Trump says he thought being president would be easier than his old life“
You can find the article on-line at:   http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-100days/exclusive-trump-says-he-thought-being-president-would-be-easier-than-his-old-life-idUSKBN17U0CA
[I guess that’s what happens when you go from a spoiled rich kid (70 year old child when elected) to someone (President of the United States and leader of the Free World) who has to “work” because the job demands it of you.  Which is probably why he never really wanted the job.  —  KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2017	Consequences
2016	Shouting At The Void
2015	Crab Feed
	Happy Thanksgiving (2015)
2014	Beyond Proof
2013	Poor Students Of History
2012	Between Two Worlds
2011	Common Humanity
2010	The Last Two Olympians

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Ripost

I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a friend, if you have one.
—  George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill
Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second ….if there is one.
—  Winston Churchill, in response.
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On This Day In:
2017	Just Asking…
2016	And 4
	How Tall Do You Stand?
2015	More Prejudice
2014	Say What?
2013	Daring Errors
2012	Are You Comfortable?
	I Just Have To
	In Flux
2011	True New
2010	A Job Well Started Is A Job Half Done
	I See With My One Good Eye

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#IncompetentDonald: On The Road To Ruin

My mechanic told me “I couldn’t fix your brakes, so I made your horn louder.”
—  Steven Wright
[Without any significant accomplishments (which the majority of Americans actually supported) during his first two years as President, #IncompetentDonald chose to use the mid-term elections campaign to spread hate and fear.  The results were a (not surprising) repudiation of the President where the number of Americans voting against Republicans increased from three million votes (Trump vs. Hilary popular vote loss count) to over six million (nationwide total – see image below) in the House and twelve million (nationwide total) in the Senate.  It is only the fact that Republicans outnumber Democrats in States with smaller populations which has allowed them to retain control of the Senate.  In the United States, each State gets two Senators irrespective of the State’s population.  The House, on the other hand, gets Districts assigned based on populations with a minimum of one.  Some of the States with smaller populations (Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming) only have one Representative (called “at large”) with their “District” being the entire State.  The Senate is “inherently” less “democratic” for the nation by design.  Additionally, by only having one-third of its members up for re-election in any given election, it is also “inherently” more moderating (i.e. “conservative”) in representing the overall population of both the State and the nation.  (The Senate is the “brake” in this metaphor.)  Because the entire House of Representatives is up for re-election each election period, the House tends to reflect the political swings in the electorate more quickly and more radically – direction and degree – when the country is shouting “Stop” or “Speed-up”.  (The House is the “horn”.)
Democratic nationwide vote difference in 2018
Of course, the comparison of vote totals above – numbers for President, House and Senate – are comparing apples to oranges to bananas.  And / but, they also do NOT take into account the significant gerrymandering done as of the 2010 census, which heavily tilted the House Districts in favor of the Republicans.  This makes the wins by the Democrats even MORE impressive!  It remains to be seen if those changes will remain when we go back into a Presidential turnout.  It also highlights the importance of Democrats working at the State level to regain control of as many State governorships and legislatures as possible heading into the next (2020) census and subsequent House redistricting.  The number of seats is controlled at the Federal level, but the actual redrawing of the Districts is done by the individual States.
This last part, the census and the redistricting is why it is vitally important for the electorate (the voters) to stay active during the run-up to 2020 (the census) and then immediately after through 2022, when the redistricting will normally occur.  In other words, you (voters seeking to make a progressive difference) can’t go to sleep between now and 2022 or the Republicans can continue and increase their relative positions through 2032.   By the way, the gerrymander is not (by any means) unique to the Republicans.  The Democrats have also used it to protect their seats.  The difference is the modern day use of computers to track voters and then specifically target the isolation of opposition voters to maximize their count while minimizing their effect.  For example, one State (Pennsylvania) had 51% of the vote (Democrats), but seated 5 out of 18 Districts (28% of the House seats) in 2012 because Republicans controlled the State legislature.  So, a word to the wise…  If you want to keep the house after 2020, stay awake and stay active!
Finally, for an excellent explanation of Gerrymandering, please read the linked article:  “This is the best explanation of gerrymandering you will ever see“, which appeared in the Washington Post a few years back.  I re-read it every year to remind myself of what is at stake.  —  KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2017	He Says, It Says
2016	Marriage Advice
2015	To James (and ‘Tasha)
2014	Ssshhush, You Are Not Alone
2013	So I Chose Living…
2012	For However Short A Time…
2011	Take A Deep Breath And Continue (Or Not)
2010	Tootsie-Roll Day

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Where The Economy Is Headed Thanks To #IncompetentDonald

A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.
—  Yogi Berra
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On This Day In:
2017	Time For More Research, Too
2016	Original Thoughts
2015	If They’re Good Enough
2014	Three…
2013	Uncle Joe’s Song
	Live, Then, As If…
2012	Still Trying
2011	Not Deserving

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Up Hill, Both Ways

I’m not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia.  Let them walk to school like I did.
—  Yogi Berra
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On This Day In:
2017	Trump Carnivores – The Revolution So Far
2016	Election Results
2015	Speak Louder
2014	Why I Frequently Give In
2013	Am Remembering
2012	Sustained Fear
2011	Commitment

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