For the birds

Gobsmacked, being so surprised that you cannot speak, is the perfect word for our troubled times.  And here we go again, being gobsmacked by the fact of Trump actually stating that he misspoke and the assessment of US intelligence assets is correct and the Russians are, indeed, involved in some chicanery with the 2016 election.  I've never seen him backpedal so quickly but then again, he's never faced so much heat before.  Even his pals at Fox were calling him out on his Helsinki Fiasco Summit.  And there has never, in my memory, been a time when the word treason was used so frequently in discussions of the behavior of a US president.  Historical events are unfolding before our very eyes and because Trump can't keep his mouth shut, bullshitting his way through his own peculiar reality, he will hang himself.  It will all be on the record, and  the results of any investigations will merely be icing on the cake.

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I'm not surprised that Uncle Ken has so many avian visitors; his balcony is one of the few places in that area sporting any greenery.  But I'd keep my eye on that raven, probably not the kind of bird he wants hanging around too frequently.  Ravens are curious, very intelligent, have long memories, can have an attitude, and poop every ten minutes if my sources are correct.  I wouldn't feed it or put out a birdbath.  On the other hand, if he befriends the raven he may be rewarded with bright and shiny tokens of appreciation like rings or other jewelry.

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I heard something new yesterday while listening to CNN.  There was an ad urging  people to call their senator in support of Kavanaugh as Supreme Court justice.  Political ads for judges are nothing new, but not at that level, and since Kavanaugh isn't running against anybody else I wonder where the money is coming from, and why.

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Ever the skeptical optimist, I don't think failed state is a good term to use for our current problems.  The US isn't failing although some aspects are certainly out of whack.  It's like the American body politic is in the grips of a fever, convulsing once in a while but something that can be endured, leaving us healthier with heightened immunity.  That's my way to look at it for the time being although circumstances may change and I reserve the right to change my opinion accordingly.

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One of the things that bothers me about discussions of gun violence is the focus on the gun and not the violence.  The gun is simply the tool for the many, too many, violent people in our society.  Not a day goes by without hearing about some outrageous act of violence.  Road rage is common, as are random beat downs and naked guys running around waving machetes.  Is there something in our water, something we've eaten, or is it simply that we hear more about these things because of our increased communication capabilities?  People have always gone nuts but we never heard about them because they lived across the river or a few towns over.