Sunday Salon...Jan. 29th

Photo Credit: Shepherd@http://theamplifierfoundation.org/#download

Weather: coldish, grey, and sprinkling rain...in other words, miserable.

The prequel to a dystopian novel: Often in YA literature a prequel will be printed after the series is complete which goes back in time and explains how the dystopian society was set up. An example is The Kill Order, which is the fourth book in the Maze Runner series, but it explains how and why the maze was set up. This is how the USA feels to me right now. Like we are living inside a dystopian prequel. We don't know yet how the actions currently being enacted will play out but I have a pretty good idea that things won't work out well. It is a nightmare really.

"This is not a Muslim ban": As I am writing this blog post, I have MSNBC on in the background. Pres. Trump is saying the latest action is not a ban on Muslims, but it sure feels that way. And as we know perception is often reality. Trump says that he has done this action to keep Americans safe, yet it feels like it will be less safe due to this action. Here is an example of a five year old who was separated from his mother at Dulles Airport in Washington, DC for hours yesterday. A five year old! This is a huge nightmare. I can't believe this is happening in America

No ban/No wall: Unless a person is American Indian, their forebears were immigrants to America. Whatever is happening here sure makes it seems like the Trump administration doesn't remember this. They also seem to have not paid attention to who are our biggest trade partners (Canada and Mexico) when they went after Mexico this week concerning the wall and who will pay for it.  This is not only nightmarish stuff, but embarrassing, too.

Another example: just another example to show how 'out of it' the Trump Administration is: This past week during Holocaust Remembrance day, the White House put out a statement which didn't mention Jews. When asked about this they said: Other people were killed, too, so we are being inclusive." Hogwash. Trump is being advised by Steve Bannon, a known anti-Semite who previously ran an anti-Semite website. What alternative universe have I just woken up into today?

Is our president actually mentally ill? It seems obvious to me that he is but I am not a professional in the field. But after this week of Trump insisting that his inauguration was attending by far more people than attended Obama's first inauguration and then his pivot to say that at least 3-5 million cases of voter fraud occurred and all of these illegal voters voted for Hillary, it is starting to seem possible. Now professionals are starting to say the same thing. Psychiatrists are starting to weigh in with their opinions that Trump has classics symptoms of malignant narcissism. Oh boy. Things are bad.

And then there is this: Trump's choice for Education Secretary has not attended public school one single day of her life. Her children haven't either. She is not a teacher, an administrator, or have a degree in Education policy. She wants to dismantle public education, yet in her state, Michigan, where she has pushed through rules about charter schools have seen a significant reduction in test scores among the students. She also believes that people (students?) should be allowed to carry guns on school grounds. Why? Because of the possibility of grizzly attacks. Egads. See what I mean about how this is starting to look like a dystopian novel?

And now for a non sequitur: What am I currently reading, you ask?

• Scythe by Neal Shusterman...two teens are in a contest to see who will become the next Scythe, or a person who kills people as a way of culling society. It was a Printz winner this year! 13%
• Commonwealth by Ann Patchett...book club selection for my RHS group. Audiobook. 10%
• My Life in France by Julia Child...a book club selection for my SOTH group. Print. 6%.

Finished this week:

• The Big Rock Candy Mountain by Wallace Stegner...though it took be forever to finish this book, I ended up really appreciating it for a variety of reasons. Here is my review. 

"Shine" by Pat Benatar:



Truth is the answer, love is the reason
Fairness, respect, liberty, freedom
Tireless defenders standing together
Unthinkable beauty surrounding our dreams
The call of the wild pouring into the streets
Emotional freedom means more than you think

Let's hope that some of our problems get resolved this week.