And The Winner Is..........

....guess.

President-elect Trump, in the face of suspected Russian espionage in the US, and questions about his own "relationship" with Russia, looks to be ready to nominate Exxon chief Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State. This is a guy who hasn't just looked Putin in the eye, apparently they are really friends, unlike Trump who still can't remember whether or not he's actually met Putin. And it's pretty clear Vlad the Instigator is liking what he's seeing in America....an unlimited supply of oil Trump will sell him at a very good price to enrich the coffers of the American oligarchs as well as the Russian ones. What could be better than that?

President-elect Trump cancelled his press conference scheduled to discuss what he was doing about his businesses and other potential conflicts of interest, announcing, instead, there will be an announcement about said dealings in January.

President-elect Trump announced yesterday he don't need no stinkin' intelligence briefings because, (and this is a quote, people):

I’m, like, a smart person. I don’t have to be told the same thing in the same words every single day for the next eight years – could be eight years. … I don’t need that.

President-elect Trump advised America he isn't like other people, so he is going to remove the libel laws from the books in order to prosecute journalists who disagree with him:

"One of the things I'm going to do if I win, and I hope we do and we're certainly leading. I'm going to open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money. We're going to open up those libel laws. So when The New York Times writes a hit piece which is a total disgrace or when The Washington Post, which is there for other reasons, writes a hit piece, we can sue them and win money instead of having no chance of winning because they're totally protected.

Ya think there's a hidden message/agenda in there somewhere? Pay no attention to the man in front of the curtain!

I'm figuring either he's planning on trying to turn this country into a bigger kleptocracy than it already is, or he is pushing the envelop just far enough to see how long it takes for someone to tell him, "You're fired."

Whatever it is, it's ugly. Even a few of the few Trump supporters I do know have voiced concern about his cabinet cronies. They're exactly who he said he wouldn't hire. But this is what you get when you drain the swamp. Every one ofdthem has, in his/her previous life, worked to dismantle the departments they are now proposed to lead. It's kinda cute when GOP-niks start saying things like "WHAT IS HE THINKING??????"

The Electoral College will change their votes, and they won't change anything at all. I'm just hoping Congress pull their partisan heads outta their collective asses and will at least investigate the Russian part. I don't think they changed any votes; I think they played fast and loose with damaging information and used propaganda technique to undermine at least one candidate. That the Russians orchestrated Wiki-Leaks is just not a question. The timing was too good; it was all staged very carefully. Their minions managed to manipulate America with such finesse that it's seriously scary. But y'know what the really scary part is? All those super-patriot guys with their guns and their flags and their love-it-or-leave-it memes.... missed it completely.  

Hey kids! Let's have a school in the barn!

In my own little microcosm, I finally closed on the old house last Thursday, my new passport arrived today, the galleys for the paperback version of DREAM DANCER are awaiting my attention, and tomorrow at sundown begins the first yahrzeit for my Dad. I keep thinking about what he would have to say about this moment in my life: I'm debt free, unencumbered, and really at the beginning of an entirely new adventure. I think he'd tell me to check my pockets to make sure I have enough commas. 

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I was a hippie-dippy teenager...and this was before memes were memes. We had posters. There was this one poster hanging on almost every college dorm-room wall: 

TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE

I never gave it much serious thought, but when I deposited a rather large cheque from the sale of the old house, I suspected something had just shifted in my world. One of those cosmic rift moments. As I was lighting shabbat candles on Friday night, it dawned on me that this was really a very new beginning and I could do anything I wanted any time I wanted with whomever I wanted. Suddenly, there were no rules, only possibilities. 

And baby-sitting.  

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

Turn off the news. It's all bullshit anyway.