Newspaper Comic Strips

 I haven't read an actual newspaper in a long time. When I was a kid, my parents and grandparents had subscriptions to the local weekly paper and the Sunday papers from the Twin Cities. I always made a beeline to the comics section and then worked my way backward.

Newspaper comic strips still exist, but they aren't nearly as popular or prominent as they used to be. I fondly remember poring over the Sunday comics pull-out sections. I'd read all of the comic strips and try to figure out some of the puzzles and mazes that were included. Some comic strips I cut out to study or even try to draw on my own.

Some of the comic strips that left lasting impressions on me were Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes, the Far Side, Garfield, Dennis the Menace, the Family Circus, Beetle Bailey, Hi and Lois, For Better or For Worse, Zits, Pearls Before Swine, Heathcliff, the Wizard of ID, B.C., Prince Valiant, Nancy, Broom Hilda, Snuffy Smith, and the Marvel comic strips. I remember reading the Spider-Man strip in the St. Cloud Times and the Minneapolis Tribune and the short-lived Incredible Hulk strip in the Pioneer Press. I also remember being quite upset after seeing that the Star Wars comic strip that I'd read faithfully for years was replaced by something called Bloom County when I was 10 or 11 years old. Over time, I grew to appreciate Berkely Breathed's unique sense of humor, but at the time I was outraged since I couldn't find out how the Star Wars stories continued.

I now have all of the classic Star Wars newspaper strips collected in 3 hardcover books. I also have the complete Calvin and Hobbes, along with numerous Peanuts, Dennis the Menace, Fox Trot, Family Circus and other newspaper comic strip book collections. I pick them up at used bookstores and library book sales when I can. They're great for recreational reading, and moments where I just need to disconnect from reality and think back to simpler times for a while.

Well, that's all I have for now. Until next time, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.

We. Are. So. Fucked!

 I remember Donald Trump's first presidential term all too well, especially how things devolved on January 6th, 2021. I never imagined that anyone would ever want to go through that kind of hell ever again. Well, I learned last November just how wrong I was.

Here we are, three weeks into Trump's second term, and the oligarchy has just begun. None of the promises that Trump campaigned on have been kept. I'm still baffled by how the world's richest man and his as-yet unauthorized committee gained access to confidential Treasury payment system information. The fact that his companies receive billions of dollars in federal funding every year should scream "CONFLICT OF INTEREST!!!"

I had to laugh the other day when I heard that Trump fired nuclear safety personnel, only to realize that those workers were actually essential. Now they're having a hard time contacting some of those workers they just fired. Can't imagine why...

The thing that bothers me the most about this administration is that they're catering only to the rich elite. The cuts that they want to make will affect millions, and in some instances, they've already affected the livelihoods of many hard-working Americans. I was very concerned when Trump's halting of federal loans and grants was announced because that impacts some of the work that I and others in the nonprofit community do. Thankfully, that was rescinded, but time will only tell what happens next. 

Cuts are being announced, without any discussion of what will happen to make up for the services or funding that's lost because of them. It seems like Trump acts without thinking his decisions through, except, of course, when it comes to increasing the debt ceiling and tax cuts for the rich and corporations. 

I am going to be saying "I have informed you thusly" quite a bit to Trump supporters over the rest of his second term. I'd like to be optimistic and think that things will improve, but history tells me that it probably won't. It's very unfortunate for those of us who saw some or all of this coming and warned MAGA members about it. 

Well, that's all I have to say for now. Until next time, have a great weekend and don't forget to be kind to one another.