It's getting so it's too, too depressing to turn on the news each evening. The lead story in tonight's reports concerned Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and his use of private jets, on the public dollar. He has taken at least 24 private jets since May (five just this week) to the tune of $300,000, which we have paid. Good for us.
The saddest thing about this is realizing that something egregious like this no longer seems outrageous. It seems that every night there is some terribly offensive sounding thing reported on and it just is all overload.
Tonight they were also questioning using Trump's campaign finances to pay his son's legal expenses, when DT, Jr. had no official position and technically was not a part of the campaign.
It seems that each day we hear of some other money-making scheme using the administration and its funds. Or exploitation of the funds.
The Secret Service brought to bankruptcy paying expenses guarding everybody in the Trump family as they vacation around the world. I still don't understand why they had to pay to live in Trump tower to guard the family. You'd think that the prez could have given them a break on the rent.
And the lies. Everybody lies and nobody seems to realize that there are videotapes around that prove the lies.
And don't even start on Manafort...!
But nobody in authority cares. No Republicans have made a fuss or even suggested action should be taken on anybody.
And then there are the continuing ties to Russia, and the depth of Russia dealings. It sounds more like a plot of The Sopranos than the U.S government. (I keep saying I want to be able to come back in 50 years and see how the books record this period of our history)
And in the middle of this "the heck with you; I'm all for me" business (and I do mean business), congress is working to take away health care from millions of Americans.
We remain the laughing stock of the world, the president getting laughed at when he spoke at the UN. His threat to "destroy North Korea" can only add fuel to the fire that is Kim Jong Un, who is just itching to blow something up.
I feel like there is a whole ball of "something" inside me that has died. I had hope until the inauguration that somehow the cavalry was going to ride over the hill and save us, but they never showed up and we are stuck with this situation. And even if in the unlikely event that he should be impeached and/or removed from office...look at who is coming up in the line of succession: Mike Pence, Paul Ryan, Orrin Hatch, Rex Tillerson, Steve Mnuchin (the guy who thought he could use a government plane to take his wife on a European honeymoon). Not a single one of them I could get remotely hopeful about.
My friend Kathy and I had lunch this week. We have been lunching together monthly for a couple of decades and we always spend a lot of time discussing politics. We never mentioned politics this week. We are both so depressed and so defeated by the knowledge that there is no hope.
I went to Atria today. My mother was thrilled because she hasn't seen me in a year.
Comments like this make me feel more comfortable going less and less often because to her it's either today or a year ago or a year from now.
I couldn't find her when I got to the memory unit and one of the kind aides said she would go and find her for me.
To my amazement she was outside!!!!!! This may be the first time she has gone out of the building on her own (of course, I don't know if someone took her outside or not). Today was the first really comfortable day we've had (75⁰) and a really lovely day, so I'm glad she was able to get out and enjoy it.
When the aide brought her in to her apartment, she didn't know me, but quickly figured out who I was, but I don't know if she thought I was her daughter or her sister. Possibly both during the hour I was there. At one point she talked about Walt ("what's the name of that guy you're married to?") and our kids, but then at one point she said "Mom is doing pretty good these days, isn't she?" and she I looked perplexed she said "Mom. Our Mother" so I think at that moment, she thought I was her sister. She also asked how Peach's mother Marge was (Marge died many years ago).
Steve Schalchlin's friend wrote a song about Alzheimers called "The Long Goodbye" and that's what it is...watching little bits and pieces fade away slowly.
If there is anything to be thankful for it's that she hasn't a clue what is happening in the world. In fact, when I told her abut the Mexico earthquake she asked "was she working at the time?" I never expected her to understand about the earthquake, but sometimes it's good to have something other than her age, and the weather to talk about, even if she doesn't understand it.
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