It is Sunday morning, and I have promised to make a nice brunch for my family.  And then I must wash my daughter’s uniforms, because otherwise she will have no pants to wear to work tomorrow.  And so, I do not have a lot of time and am going with just a few brief snippets this morning that I came across while trolling the news.

Pinocchio x2

I frequently wonder about the physical and mental well-being of republicans in Congress.  Turns out I am right to be concerned.  Take, for instance, Ohio’s representative Jim Jordan, who told Anderson Cooper last week that he has never heard Trump tell a lie.  “I’ve never heard the president… He’s always been square with me, that’s for darn sure.”  When asked to think harder, he contemplated for a moment, then said, “I don’t know of it.  Nothing comes to mind.”  This man is not only deaf, but also not too smart and does not belong in Congress!

Aliens, Anyone?

In Florida, Bettina Rodriguez Aguilera is looking to replace retiring Miami Republican Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.  Aguilera may fit right in with the current batch in Congress, for she already lives in a world of fantasy.  Ms. Aguilera says she’s been aboard a spaceship crewed by aliens. As in extraterrestrials, not Mexicans. Three blond, big-bodied beings — two females, one male — visited her when she was 7 years old and have communicated telepathically with her several times in her life.  Among other things, she claims to know …

• There are 30,000 skulls — “different from humans” — in a cave in the Mediterranean island of Malta.
• The world’s “energy center” is in Africa.
• The Coral Castle, a limestone tourist attraction South Miami-Dade, is actually an ancient Egyptian pyramid.

Great … well, as I said, she will fit right in with the others who claim that Trump is an honest and decent man … just about as much a stretch of the imagination as alien abductions.

Re-writing History?

Presumably on Trump’s orders, the Department of Homeland Security has removed 12 reports from FEMA’s (Federal Emergency Management Agency) website.  Rather like removing the phrase “climate change” from the EPA’s website, don’t you think?  The reports?  They were primarily positive evaluations of FEMA’s operations during the tenure of President Obama.  Go figure.  I wonder if the next generation, or the one after, will be able to believe anything they read about President Obama in their history books?

Trickle-Down Didn’t Trickle

First quarter reports on U.S. economic growth showed a distinct slowing of such growth.  Why?  Because consumer spending slowed to a pace not seen since 2013.  Now wait … weren’t those ‘tax cuts’ supposed to encourage people to go out and spend more money?  What happened, Donnie?

According to an article in Reuters, “Consumer spending in the last quarter was undercut by a decline in purchases of motor vehicles, clothing and footwear as well as a slowdown in food and beverages outlays.”

Hmmm … who could have predicted this?  Oh wait … I did!!!!

A footnote here … while most working people say they are seeing little, if any, difference in their paychecks, America’s biggest banks are boasting record profits.  Think about that one … more on this later.

Say WHAT?

“I would rather have the popular vote because it’s, to me, it’s much easier to win the popular vote.” – Donald Trump

Trump now says he wants to get rid of the electoral college – the very tool that put him in the Oval Office – as it is much easier to win the popular vote.  If it’s so bloomin’ easy, then why did he lose the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by nearly 3 million votes???

Where is that doctor who supposedly declared him mentally fit?  Oh … yeah …

Shut up, Public!!!

Mick Mulvaney, acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) says that he is considering removing the agency’s database of consumer complaints from public view.  His excuse is that he claims it contains information that has not been vetted by the bureau and could be used unfairly against financial institutions.

Awwwww … gee golly gosh … we certainly wouldn’t wish to be unfair to the very institutions that caused the financial crisis of 2007-2008 now, would we.  We The People, after all, are not smart enough to understand that information and make our own judgments, just like Trump said we aren’t smart enough to understand his tax returns, so he just kept them private.

Well, now that I’ve managed to either make you chuckle or growl on this fine Sunday afternoon, I shall go make some mini-quiche and pancakes for my girls!  I hope you all enjoy a wonderful, relaxing Sunday afternoon!