politics
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What is the Important News?
Big news today: Netflix is taking over Warner Bros. Also big news today: Paramount+ is taking over Warner Bros. Either way (or no way) this comes to pass, the bottom line is we, the consumers, will not benefit from this Pac-Man fight to be the biggest gorilla in the entertainment industry. TV and movies will Continue reading
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Truth Has No Defense
Mark Twain once wrote, “Truth has no defense against a fool determined to believe a lie.” I interpret this to mean we have no escape from the untruthful beliefs of Donald Trump – that he is the best, the smartest, the most popular president the U.S. has ever seen; that his ideas are the ones Continue reading
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Et tu, Brute?
This image from Tesla shows how the company is using humans to “teach” robots to imitate human movement – to manifest the physical side of AI. A lofty goal for a company that designed a motor vehicle that has come to be referred to as a dumpster and rockets that lately don’t get into orbit. Continue reading
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Fly the Friendly Skies
That used to be an advertising slogan for United Airlines. Airlines used to boast of being not only friendly, but reliable and safe as well. I have found airplane crews to be mostly friendly. (I especially appreciate the flight attendants who have realized that we are not listening to the spiel about seat belts and Continue reading
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California Dreaming
Every day brings a new pronouncement. Yesterday’s was that our president has decided to reopen a notorious prison that was shut down for many good reasons more than 60 years ago. Within hours of this pronouncement, of course, the Alcatraz resurrection was walked back. But not before our fearless leader claimed he could have been Continue reading
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Our Declining Birth Rate?
J.D. Vance is very concerned about the declining birth rate in our country. So concerned, in fact, that he is floating various ideas to increase the number of babies produced in the U.S. — i.e., increasing the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of wee humans. Listening to J.D’s “plea to procreate” got me to wondering what Continue reading
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Fiddling While Rome Burns
Trump has surpassed $26 million dollars in taxpayer money spent golfing already this term. March 29 was Trump’s 18th day spent golfing since he was sworn in on Jan. 20. He has, so far, according to HuffPost, spent more than a quarter of his second term golfing. 18 golf dates ÷ 69 days = 26% Continue reading
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Please See Us!
The United States are not united. This administration does not speak for the majority of Americans. The majority of the American people are shocked at what is happening to our country, to our neighbors, to our allies, to ourselves. We are reeling with disbelief at the tide of hate, greed and corruption that is being Continue reading
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The Right to Bear Arms
The Second Amendment of the United States Constitution (which, as of today anyway, is still a founding document of our democracy) states: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” The Second Amendment was ratified on Continue reading
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Oh, Canada!
How embarrassing. We will shortly be Zooming with good friends from Toronto with whom we have much history around serving others on humanitarian missions at home and abroad. We know each other’s children and families and have hosted each other in our homes many times over the years. We watched Bishop Marianne Edgar Budde’s plea Continue reading
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Electing our Leaders
Definition of terms (simple) Redistribution or re-districting is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Gerrymandering is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries to advantage a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The United States has a representative democracy, in which not all citizens meet and make Continue reading
Platypus Thoughts 