In 2012, Trump said that Time Magazine had “lost all credibility” because he, Donald Trump, was not included in Time’s “100 Most Influential People”. Last year, he claimed that Time told him he “probably” would be chosen for “Person of the Year”, but that he opted out because “probably” wasn’t good enough. Time disputed that claim. Just last month, when asked by a reporter who he thought would be this year’s “Person of the Year”, he had this to say …
“I can’t imagine anybody else other than Trump. Can you imagine anybody else other than Trump?”
What an egomaniac! Anyway … I was very pleased to see that Time had better sense, although I understand he was somewhere on their short list. Instead, Time quite appropriately chose “The Guardians”, four individuals and one group — all journalists — who this year helped expose “the manipulation and the abuse of truth” around the world.
They are the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post contributing columnist who was killed inside Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul in October; the staff of the Capital Gazette newspaper in Maryland; journalist Maria Ressa, the chief executive of the Rappler news website, who has been made a legal target for the outlet’s coverage of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte; and journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who have been jailed in Myanmar for nearly a year for their work exposing the mass killing of Rohingya Muslims. Each of these people are far more deserving of “Person of the Year” than the madman in the Oval Office.
Trump himself actually helped make the decision, albeit unwittingly, with his attacks on the press. According to Time …
This is the world of the strong leaders who hate the free press and truth. That world is led, in some ways, by a U.S. President whose embrace of despots and attacks on the press has set a troubling tone.
“I think the biggest problem that we face right now is that the beacon of democracy, the one that stood up for both human rights and press freedom—the United States—now is very confused,” says Ressa, the Rappler editor. “What are the values of the United States?”
The question no longer seems strange, for the same reason a close look at where we get our news no longer sounds like civics-class homework. In normal times, the U.S. news media is so much a part of public life that, like air, it’s almost impossible to make it out. But it has been made conspicuous—by the attacks and routine falsehoods of the President, by social-media behemoths that distribute news but do not produce it and by the emerging reality of what’s at stake.
Efforts to undermine factual truth, and those who honestly seek it out, call into doubt the functioning of democracy. Freedom of speech, after all, was purposefully placed first in the Bill of Rights.
For a certain kind of politician, there is an almost liberating genius to framing independent journalists as the enemy. Stray from the truth, and whoever corrects you can be dismissed as “the other side.” The strategy runs on a dangerous assumption—that we’re not all in this together.
A month after taking office, President Trump sat for an interview with Breitbart, the right-wing online news site that had been run by his then chief strategist, Steve Bannon. “The fake media is the opposition party,” the President declared. “The fake media is the enemy of the American people.”
For taking great risks in pursuit of greater truths, for the imperfect but essential quest for facts that are central to civil discourse, for speaking up and for speaking out, the Guardians—Jamal Khashoggi, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, Maria Ressa and the Capital Gazette of Annapolis, Md.—are TIME’s Person of the Year.
A most appropriate choice.
Well, you get the picture. Mark Meadows, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, and member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina is the worst of the worst of the republican party. In essence, if it is good for the wealthy and bad for the rest of us, he is for it. If it helps the average Joe, he will fight against it. And he is considered one of Trump’s closest allies in Congress. That tell you something? This is a man whose conscience is measured in dollar signs.
You might ask just what the good people of North Carolina were thinking when they elected him for a fourth term last month, but the reality is that his district is so heavily gerrymandered that almost all minorities have been excluded. He campaigned for the 2018 elections by touting his support of the madman Trump, while claiming that any republicans who didn’t support Trump should be removed from office.
A young lady took them into her office almost immediately, asked one or two questions and told them it would be processed ‘now’. My friend asked her why it wasn’t already processed, as it had been ‘in process’ for three weeks. Now comes the jaw-dropping part, so I advise you to sit down before reading further …
I want you to stop and think about this one for a few minutes, folks. The Social Security Administration, the agency tasked with collecting 7.65% of our gross wages every pay period and then seeing that we receive a certain amount each month upon our retirement or disability, has a website but nobody is monitoring it. How many people are, right this very minute, checking the website, hoping to see that their application to receive their own money, has moved from “in process” to “approved” status? Hundreds? Thousands?
This administration has committed many atrocities, and this is only one more in the ever-growing stack of ‘WTF’ items, but it is a crucial one. Be advised that in all likelihood, not a single one of the government’s websites are being administered in the manner they should be, and by all means, if you need something from the Social Security Administration, your best bet is to show up on their doorstep.
Remember 
Now, you can imagine what a find $17,000 would be to a homeless person … he could probably rent a room and eat for a couple of years with that amount of money. But Kevin Booth didn’t walk away with the money. He waited until the volunteer staff arrived for work a bit later and handed the bag of money over to them, saying he knew that money would benefit more people than just himself.
And so, Officer Suffield and Officer Snepp gave him a bit of encouragement, some advice to get a job, stay in school, and stay out of trouble. And then they bought him the boots. A small thing, sure, but it may end up being the difference between a life of crime or becoming a doctor, lawyer or even a senator … oh wait, that would be a life of crime. It may very well have made the difference between his life or death … we’ll never know. You never know what one small act of kindness might lead to, do you? Thumbs up to Officers Suffield and Snepp … thank you!
I presume you are all surviving this harrowing season? I have given up on trying to convince the girls that we ought to skip it this year, and am rather just going with the flow, trying to keep up with baking, shopping, decorating, wrapping and so forth while carving out a bit of time to breathe. It’s about the best I can hope for at the moment.
After all, who doesn’t love the Dough Boy? General Mills said the sweaters are available in two designs that each feature the Pillsbury Doughboy enjoying the Christmas season. The first sweater (pictured above), titled “Let it Dough,” features the Doughboy and Pillsbury crescent rolls, while the other, dubbed “It’s Lit,” features the mascot with a decorated Christmas tree.
Yep, folks, it is exactly what it looks like … a bacon vending machine. Now, I know at least one person who I shall not name here who would likely think this is a great idea and that there should be one on every street corner.
Have a great week, my friends … keep warm, smile a lot and share your beautiful smile! Love ‘n hugs from Filosofa and Jolly!
Oops! I almost forgot … sorry Benjamin!