MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY HOLIDAYS
As a grandmother, I'm not quite sure how to react to the following photo. Initially, Wow! Later, a bit of a cringe. And yet I come from a long line of gun-toting Nebraskans. As I recall, my mother was better at hitting a target in a lake in Maine than either my father or his friend from Harvard Graduate School who owned the cottage where we were staying. But basically, that's the only time my parents shot after moving to New England (too many people around, my father said), and I was raised gunless. The same for my three children - my husband gave away his guns when we were married. But my daughter married a devoted member of the NRA, and the grandgirls learned to shoot at an early age. Looking back, I'm inclined to think that's probably more good than bad, but there are times this photo gives me the willies. Nonetheless, I give you . . . the Reale Rangers. (And yes, the guns are real.)
Hailey, Riley, Cassidy |
POLITICS TIMES TWO
I've been avoiding politics since the election - no sense beating a dead horse, as the saying goes, but since our President has been so busy doing just that, I can't resist posting a couple of things that have come my way in the past week. The first was shared by my son. Please note that it is a FABRICATED rebuttle to some Texans threatening to secede from the United States if Trump does not remain in office. But it's extremely well done, and well worth reading. (It comes under the heading: "Some People Are So Clever!")
This content was created by a Daily Kos Community member.
From the Office of President of the United States.
Dear Texas,
We have received your petition to secede from the United States, and have forwarded it to Congress who will act on it with their usual speed.
Any Texas citizen holding a US passport is required to surrender it immediately. Entry into the US will require a valid Texas passport. Anyone staying longer than two weeks will have to obtain a visa. Any Texas citizen (those with birth certificates issued from Texas or currently holding a Texas driver's license unless they can show a non-Texas birth certificate) in the United States have 72 hours to leave or be deported with a permanent ban on returning to the United States. This includes former Representatives and Senators from the former State of Texas.
Funding for highways, transportation, bridges, infrastructure, education and medical facilities will cease immediately. Your representatives to the US Congress are ordered to leave Washington DC immediately.
All US licenses to do business are revoked. All business interests headquartered in the Country of Texas are immediately severed from doing any business in the United States, until appropriate international business agreements are in place and appropriate international business licenses are negotiated. All power lines and pipelines that cross the border will be disconnected immediately, to be reconnected only when appropriate international contracts, treaties and agreements are in place.
The FAA will no longer operate at your airports, and all air traffic controllers are terminated. All air traffic management over the new independent Texas is your own responsibility, effective immediately. All Federal Civil Service employees in the country of Texas are terminated. All flights between Texas and America are canceled until appropriate international agreements are in place.
The FCC will no longer operate in Texas effective immediately, so you will be responsible for licensing your own telephone, radio, television and Internet providers. All telecommunications circuits between the two countries will be severed immediately, to be reconnected once appropriate international agreements are negotiated.
All US Federal services operating in Texas are terminated and their functions will be relocated to the territory of the United States immediately. Citizens of Texas who were formerly employed by the US Federal Government and wish to continue in their now-relocated jobs may apply for United States green cards through the usual channels.
All payments for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and Disability to Texas citizens are halted with immediate effect. Recipients will have to reapply, and Congress will decide if foreigners are allowed to receive payments from the United States government. Any funds coming from the United States federal government will be halted immediately.
Effective immediately, the independent country of Texas will no longer receive protection from the United States military. All military bases in Texas will be closed, and personnel relocated to bases in the United States, except for a contingency left to guard the Texas-US border. Effective immediately, the United States Coast Guard and Immigration and Customs Enforcement will no longer operate in Texas waters, aside from actions specified by International Maritime law and custom. U.S. Customs officials will be removed from all border crossing stations immediately. We suggest you form your own navy and immigration department immediately to protect your borders against foreign invaders, drug smugglers, terrorists and illegal aliens.
Good luck.
Sincerely, Joseph Biden
President, United States of America
P.S. Attached is an invoice for your portion of the bill of the National Debt.
~ * ~
And on a more serious note, here is a commentary on the Trump presidency (found on Facebook):
Over the weekend, Republican Steve Schmidt, who ran John McCain's 2008 campaign for president, was interviewed on MSNBC. In response to a very general question regarding the Trump Presidency, Mr. Schmidt spoke for two solid minutes and gave the most insightful and brutally honest response of what the Trump Presidency has done to our great country.
“Donald Trump has been the worst president this country has ever had. And, I don't say that hyperbolically. He is. But he is a consequential president. And, he has brought this country in three short years to a place of weakness that is simply unimaginable if you were pondering where we are today from the day where Barack Obama left office. And, there were a lot of us on that day who were deeply skeptical and very worried about what a Trump presidency would be. But this is a moment of unparalleled national humiliation, of weakness.”
"When you listen to the President, these are the musings of an imbecile. An idiot. And I don't use those words to name call. I use them because they are the precise words of the English language to describe his behavior. His comportment. His actions. We've never seen a level of incompetence, a level of ineptitude so staggering on a daily basis by anybody in the history of the country whose ever been charged with substantial responsibilities.”
"It's just astonishing that this man is president of the United States. The man, the con man, from New York City. Many bankruptcies, failed businesses, a reality show, that branded him as something that he never was. A successful businessman. Well, he's the President of the United States now, and the man who said he would make the country great again. And he's brought death, suffering, and economic collapse on truly an epic scale."
"And, let's be clear. This isn't happening in every country around the world. This place. Our place. Our home. Our country. The United States. We are the epicenter. We are the place where you're the most likely to die from this disease. We're the ones with the most shattered economy. And we are, because of the fool that sits in the Oval Office behind the Resolute Desk."
~ * ~
A reminder that The Making of Matthew Wolfe
is designed to add cheer to your Holiday Season as well as to help
alleviate the Covid blues. And it's on sale at 99¢ through December 31. (You can take advantage of that 20% free read on
Smashwords to see if it tickles your funnybone.) And for those who do not own an e-reader, Amazon makes it very easy for you to download books directly to any device, including your computer and your phone.
For a link to Matthew Wolfe on Amazon, click here.
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Thanks for stopping by,
Grace (Blair Bancroft)