Well, howdy doody.  I just got notification of breaking news from CNN —

The Judiciary Committee on Monday sent letters to 81 people and entities — including the White House, the Justice Department, senior campaign officials, Trump Organization officials and the President’s sons — marking the start of a broad investigation that will tackle questions that include possible obstruction of justice, hush-money payments to women, collusion with Russia and allegations of the President abusing his office and using it for personal gain.

Expect a Twitter explosion any minute now.

It seems to me that someone is very distracted by the Mueller and the House investigations, and it’s not me.

I am able to stay fully informed about the goings on investigating Trump.  I work a little, clean house, cook, visit with friends, babysit as much as any other grandma, do my banking, help out Bubba at the office, and other activities. I do not, however, have Executive Time. Trump can do one thing: obsess over investigations.

You know, if the Richmond police department were to come to me and tell me that they were investigating me and so was the sheriff’s office, I’d grin and reply that I wisely saved up enough money to pay misdemeanor fines in my elderly years because I want a colorful obituary. And then I’d be done with it. Because I know I haven’t committed any major crimes.

This week, Trump blamed his complete and total failure in North Korea on Cohen.

President Trump said Sunday that the congressional testimony of Michael Cohen, his former personal lawyer and fixer, was in part responsible for the collapse in negotiations with North Korea over its nuclear program last week — continuing to vent about the investigations encircling him and his associates.

What the hell did Cohen have to do with Trump’s inability to focus on the matter at hand?

I gotta be honest and tell you that I did not hear or see his speech this weekend. I hear it was self-indulgent, rambling, filled with spite, and pretty much insane. Honey, I do not need to see it.

I did, however, accidentally see a picture of him hugging the flag, looking like he wanted to make whoopee with it. It make me kinda sick.

Mark Antony Jones, age 46, was out walking at 6:45 am last Thursday morning. He was carrying his Hi Point 9 mm handgun, you know, just in case something terrible happened at 6:45 am in Marion, Indiana, and he could be of assistance despite the fact that he does not have a handgun license.

Physics took over from there and his unholstered handgun began to slip in his pants waist.  He attempted to straighten it.

In medical terms, “The bullet entered just above his penis and exited his scrotum,” giving the statement ‘that took some balls,’ a deeply religious meaning.

“Grant County prosecutors will review the case to consider possible criminal charges.”

Because he has not suffered enough.

Thanks to Ralph for the heads up.

I wish I had thought of this, but alas, I didn’t.  But I’m going to steal it.  This is the best, most descriptive analogy EVER of Trump.  Wait for it…

Donald Trump is to the US Presidency as Ted Baxter is to Walter Cronkite.

Boom.

Probably the most debated issue in public health is the safety and need for vaccines.  It’s really stupid that we’re debating the safety and need of vaccines since the performance and safety of vaccines has been settled for decades.  The problem is that junk science, with the assistance of social media, has become pervasive among those who are more inclined to superstitions and myths than to critical thinking.  That superstition was on public display this week when Arizona state representative Kelly Townsend idiotically claimed that requiring children to get the measles vaccine is somehow “communist”.  Never mind that “communism” has nothing to do with science or public health policy, Townsend’s nonsensical declaration is just another example of the damage that poor education, ignorance, and the proliferation of pure bullshit can inflict on a free society.  That pure bullshit is easily obtained online or by tuning into Fox Noise and other outlets of propaganda.

In the 21st century, we’re debating the efficacy of vaccines which has been settled science for decades.  We’re also debating the assertion that massive tax cuts increase government revenues.  We are debating national healthcare policy with those who believe that the rigged healthcare system is “free market”, which it’s most certainly not.  We are actually debating putting MORE guns out in public because some people believe that the most armed society in the developed world is suffering gun violence because their aren’t yet enough guns.  We are arguing over public education with some who believe that “school choice” is actually a serious proposal beyond the actual goal of killing public education.  We argue that labor unions, which protected the income of middle Americans for almost 100 years is actually evil and should be destroyed.

I could go on and on, but you get the point.  The problem with all public policy debates these days is that one side wants to argue policy, and the other side wants to argue bullshit. And that bullshit is ALWAYS politicized.  When you can’t even agree on the facts, informed debate is impossible, which is exactly the problem today.  Civil discussion is impossible because many live in an alternative reality while the rest of us live in the real world.

Idiots like Kelly Townsend actually believe the uninformed bullshit that they spout because all they hear or read is bullshit.  Because she read on the internet that vaccines are bad, she chooses to ignore the mountain of settled science about vaccines.  Because gun nuts believe a radical interpretation of the Second Amendment, they believe that God gives them the right to carry an AK-47 into Kroger to stock up on their weekly supply of Twinkies.  All of these radical ideologies carry a common thread, and that is that one American has no burden to carry their own weight in a civilized society.  They believe that their own private “liberty” overrules the rights of all others because of “freedom”.  Radical libertarianism has infested one side of the political spectrum, but that radicalism only extends to the first person; this is the irony of this way of living.  An individual has the right to do whatever they want no matter the damage to others, but others don’t have the right to do the same.  This way of thinking is irrational, non-historic, and can’t stand up to even the most casual straight faced test.

Such is the condition of our society today.   Logic is inundated by a virtual tsunami of bullshit, and it’s driving our society backwards.  That’s the bigger problem.

Hey, get a load of Cornyn’s funny Tweet.

Okay, Skippy, name me one damn time you voted with the Democrats in the past two years.  Oh hell, make that the past 20 years.

Bi-partisanship does not mean only voting Republican, Slick.