What an exciting time for news. There is more things happening than I can really keep up with, especially with Easter on the horizon. But that doesn’t keep me from having opinions. I’ve always got opinions.
1. As it pertains to “March For Our Lives” this weekend, I have three thoughts. Thought one–I am proud of those students who marched, and I hope they learn something about civics, citizenship, and democracy. Thought two–A nation that doesn’t listen to its children will miss a blessing, because our children can often see things we’e become too hardened to perceive. Thought Three–A people that let’s children dictate the terms of the argument or worse yet, govern by mob or sentiment, is a people that will not last much longer.
2. This “Cambridge Analytica” thing is really a giant nothing burger. Facebook was designed to do this exact thing–gather data and sell it. Why do you think Facebook is free to users? I don’t understand why anyone is shocked that Trump organization would have used this data in its campaigning. Now, if they shared this with Russians, or got the information from Russians, that would be different (although historically, that really isn’t that big of a deal either) but just using the information is something all campaigns have always done. Anyone who truly follows politics knows this.
3. I pastored in 90s. I remember Monica Lewinsky. I remember the media’s constant reporting on it. I remember downloading The Starr Report on the internet before the internet had learned to walk. It took something like six hours to download. Morality mattered then. It matters now. I don’t want the details, I just want us to hold our leaders to account for their actions.
4. I am very pleased with the Final Four. I predicted two of them–Kansas and Villanova. Gonzaga let me down, but there is nothing new there. I adore the mid-major being in the mix and even though I got Kansas winning it all, I wouldn’t be mad if those Catholics from Chicago won.
5. As predicted on this blog one week ago, President Trump is on a firing spree. I polled you, and 18% predicted correctly that it would be H. R. McMaster who got the boot. Good job, 18%. What no one saw coming was that POTUS would replace him with a warmongering nut job who has publicly advocated for the United States to attack Iran and North Korea, is unrepentant in his advocacy of the Iraq War, and in general doesn’t favor diplomacy at all. Also, note how Trump keeps hiring people who are talking heads on FOXNEWS. If Eric Bolling becomes the chief communications director or Sean Hannity is announced as the new Chief of Staff, I think we’ll be in real trouble.
6. Expelling diplomats from Russia is at least something, but it seems the wrong something. We need diplomats to talk to each other. That is how wars are avoided. When you get rid of diplomats, war becomes that much likelier. Perhaps some kind of economic sanction would have been better, or more of those ‘targeted’ sanctions used in the past. But considering this all started with the death of a Russian double-agent sitting on a park bench in London under the protection of MI-6, I think the best use of this story is as the plot for James Bond 25.
7. Once upon a time, Republicans were fiscal conservatives. That was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. President Trump dumped really bad protectionist trade tariff’s last week and then signed a ginormous spending bill that people have already forgotten about because of salacious news (see number 1, above). This is when the GOP has control of both houses of congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court, for that matter.