…with profound apologies to Stephen King. ;-)

My, oh my, where to begin? …do I start with the Idiot-in-Chief™ lobbing casual, (albeit existential), threats at the leader of North Korea last week? …or how about his incoherent tirade on Friday night while addressing yet another gathering of those deplorable-types, (this time in Alabama), while stumping for Luther Strange? …or maybe the bashing of professional basketball players who decline White House invitations and professional football players for their silent – but oh-so-symbolic – protests at games? …and what about the Trump administration’s “Ugh, we just can’t seem to get it [alt]-right.” – and now revised – travel ban? Meanwhile, not a peep, (or tweet), about the devastation – or much-needed aid – in Puerto Rico. Sad.

Aw, heck, let’s just do ’em all!

Blaine Harden penned an interesting opinion piece in the New York Times this weekend offering what he referred to as a remedial history lesson on North Korea. In short, Harden suggests the president* stop behaving like a schoolyard bully and take the long view when deciding how to deal with “rocket man”.

Wait a minute, isn’t the election over? Apparently our Campaigner-in-Chief™ doesn’t think so. On Friday night, while speaking to his adoring fans in Alabama, he launched into yet another rambling screed targeting perceived enemies far and wide, including professional basketball and football players who ‘take a knee’ while the national anthem is played at games. Yes, really.

Reaction? New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow claims the president* is a racist, while fellow New York Times columnist Peter Baker laments the divisive rhetoric spewing forth from the White House. I’m on board with these two guys.

Lastly, as we head into the final week of September, The Washington Post reports a revised travel ban is being readied for implementation. But first, a quick recap to catch everyone up:

We start the year with “OK, so let’s ban immigration from Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Yemen and Syria – oh, right, no refugees either…” Then, in March, we get “…uh, let’s remove Iraq from the list…” And now, in September, it’s “…uh, let’s add Chad, North Korea and Venezuela to the list, but remove Sudan from the list…”

An excerpt from the Washington Post article with details:

The new rules vary per country, barring entry into the United States of immigrants and non-immigrants from Chad, Libya and Yemen, on business, tourist or business-tourist visas. It bars entry of Iranian citizens, as immigrants or non-immigrants, but provides an exception for Iranian students, provided they receive extra screening. The proclamation bars immigrants and non-immigrants from North Korea and Syria. It bars immigration by citizens of Somalia. Under the order, a range of Venezuelan government officials and their immediate family members are barred from entering on business or tourism visas.

Sure, the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela is gut-wrenching, but isn’t there still an ongoing humanitarian crisis in Sudan? Why were the restrictions originally targeting Iraq relaxed back in March? Oh, right, it’s all about the oil… …and the bazillions of dollars we’ve spent bombing the sh*t out of – then attempting to stabilize – it!

What a clusterf*ck. Nuclear annihilation. Rampant nationalism. Electoral interference. The Cheeto-in-Chief™ itchin’ to holler “…you’re fired!” …and Pennywise – yikes!

…is it any wonder we’ve got grown men dropping to their knees?