Millions of Americans and Israelis are wondering how men such as Donald Trump and Bibi Netanyahu could ever be elected the leaders of two nations that both had strong democratic credentials from their inceptions. There are several answers to that question, but perhaps the most pertinent one is this: In both nations the religious-right has an influence far greater than their numbers would seem to warrant.

Shakespeare wrote, “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child!” How often over the course several decades has Joe Biden been reminded of a similar sentiment. Yet he has supported his son as best he could through all of Hunter’s numerous escapades, never giving up on him.

The United States Supreme Court, in a highly politicized legal precedent, struck down the policy of affirmative action which has been followed for a few decades in most of the nation’s university and college admissions policies. Institutions of higher learning have consciously attempted to improve the educational experience of minority racial minority students by giving a relatively small degree of preference to qualified Black, Asian, or Latino applicants. Clearly this policy was meant to redress some of the biases under which these groups have lived for many generations. It was believed that if these students were accepted into colleges that in previous generations would never have been granted them admission, it would benefit them, the communities from which they came, and the entire American society.

Humanity is baking or broiling the air we breathe, and too many of us are too unconcerned. This is not Chicken Little crying out, “The sky is falling; the sky is falling!” This is us, igniting the many fuels that cause climate change.

Turn up the thermostat in the summer and down in the winter. Recycle everything that is recyclable. Don’t turn on any lights that are unnecessary, and remember to turn lights out that are no longer necessary. And remember what Smoky the Bear has been telling us for decades, “Only you can prevent forest fires!” 

Unless something unforeseen and unforeseeable happens, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, or Ron DeSantis shall be the next president. Given everything we know now, couldn’t the party members, in smokeless rooms, make better choices? After all, they are the ones who have to work with the presidents, and if they don’t get to choose them, they might become too evenly split in Congress to be able to function effectively.

The biggest threat to the EU turned out to be the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February of 2022. Ironically, that raw display of militancy has become the most unifying incident in the relatively short history of the EU. Vladimir Putin has united the nations of the EU to a degree they have never known or even envisioned.

For four years, Donald Trump was the most dangerous man in America, and he is forcefully trying to snare that dubious position again. However, the position has now been assumed by Ron DeSantis, the Governor-Autocrat of Florida. No, the Governor-General of Florida. No, since he is of Italian extraction, Il Duce of Florida, who is seeking to become Il Duce of the Disunited States of America.

The demand for millions of new workers will become the main mechanism for overcoming the current internal resistance to immigration. The irony of anti-immigration fervor is that everyone who came into the New World had their origins in the Old World. The first people who came to the Americas fifteen thousand years ago crossed the land bridge which then existed between Siberia and Alaska. Why is there any antipathy to outsiders when all of us are ultimately outsiders?

The worst GOP decision is to be heartless in writing legislation and gutsy in promoting it. There’s far too much of that going around right now A woman from Georgia is even more strident in that department than a man from Florida. When it comes time vote, look toward the political left, not the political right. That way, you won’t deliberately leave anyone out.      

Trifling pleasantries are a part of life we should never give up. So hang in there. Take care. Take it easy. How’ve ya been? See ya. Keep on keeping on.

So here is an idea to think about. Would it not be a more enlightened policy for the United States of America, Arms Manufacturer for the World (slightly to alter a Sandbergian phrase) to somewhat shrink the actual size of our armed forces, and instead, to keep warehouses filled with munitions of all sizes and shapes to sell or give to other nations whom we believe are “good guys” fighting “bad guys” when they need those particular kinds of materiel? Might it not even be a less expensive policy were we to do that?

The NCAA basketball tournament is held every year in March, and usually ends during the first week of April. Lois and I binge-watch parts or all of many of the playoff games, and we almost always watch all three games of the Final Four and the NCAA finals for both the women and the men. I never cease to be amazed at the athletic abilities of all the players, especially those of the few standouts who appear every year, like Caitlin Clark, of the Iowa women’s team.. These superstars regularly do things that can’t be done; they accomplish what no one can accomplish. They are a testimony to a particular brand of the unwarranted abilities that God created within the astonishing species known as Homo sapiens.

The US has long maintained a “tough on crime” policy. The size of our prison population indicates we are successful at incarcerating people but are failures at giving them encouragement to lead satisfying lives. It is far better to use government funds to teach young people ways to become productive citizens than to make them unproductive prisoners.      

Singlehandedly, and almost certainly unintentionally, President Xi has turned the world military situation into a new Cold War. No doubt there will continue to be limited wars here and there, a current example being the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But an all-out nuclear war between America and China is as unthinkable as an all-out nuclear war between the USA and the USSR would have been.

Acting with humanitarian impulses may seem counter-intuitive to political and fiscal conservatives. Nevertheless, in the end, it may improve the economies of the nations their conservatism is intended to protect. What the world needs now, besides “love, sweet love,” is altruistic humanitarianism which necessitates political and financial risks.

No doubt there is a limit to the number of inhabitants the earth can safely maintain, but no one knows exactly what that number is. The fact is that birth rates are dropping in virtually all developed states, and also in many under-developed states, which is a great relief. Demographers forecast a slowing of population growth from now on.

In many ways, smartphones are a great boon to every culture. In other ways, however, they are seriously undermining the thinking process of millions of people. For example, consider the nature of Mapquest. This technological device is failsafe. Even if a desired address is in a new subdivision, and new streets are continuously being constructed, Mapquest somehow seems to know that, and it gives newly updated directions with the passage of each day, courtesy of Big Brother in the Sky.

Celebrations of life are both solemn and humorous, heavy and light, productive of tears as well as prolonged laughter. Families may resist having any sort of public acknowledgement of the death of their loved one, but everyone is also loved by others who are not related to the one who has died. They too need closure for how they feel and think about the death of a long-admired friend and confidant.

Rightists fear that the nation is always making too many concessions to the wrong kinds of people, while leftists think not enough concessions are being made. The difference between the two sides is that conservatives are far more inclined to take up arms to challenge government, while liberals only yammer incessantly, trying verbally to convince government to change its policies.