The world seems to be on the ragged-assed edge of disaster, on multiple fronts. A massive humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the potential for an expanded war in the Middle East, a situation in Ukraine which is looking more and more like a victory for Putin and the old guard in the Kremlin, and here at home an exhausting presidential election campaign that already appears to pit fascism against democracy, logic and reason against idiocy and ignorance and fear.

We’re all tired, on edge, maybe apprehensive and frightened, living day to day with little reason for optimism, less receptive to intermediaries and calming influences, knowing what we know and certain the other side is out to lunch.

Not exactly glass-half-full this morning.

The UN is well-intentioned, but when push comes to shove, it is toothless and without recourse in the face of one holdout.

Why was the U.S. the only No vote on a UN resolution to invoke a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza? I’d like to know the actual reason(s) and not just get a line of BS from some talking head who starts off by saying “Look, …”

Why would we be against a pause in the fighting so desperate people might get a hand? Why would we say no to saving lives, to helping famished, exhausted, people with the necessities of life? Why were we the only ones who said No to all that?

They better be good reasons. Though at this point, how good can they be?

Professional golf is losing its way, if it hasn’t lost it already. Money is of course at issue. Competitive players stand to make enough of it, but the Saudis have forced the PGA to “up its game.” So, either those who stay on the Tour will see a substantial increase in purses, or maybe the old league will just fall apart.

LIV will emerge, and eventually the allure of riches will be too much for even the staunchest holdouts. And the professional game will morph into an unwatchable gimmick, collapsing under the weight of its own excess, while trying to attract viewers who are more interested in being entertained than appreciating the quirks and intracacies of the game.

While wars rage and a substantial portion of the rest of the world goes hungry and homeless and without necessities, a microscopic percentage will exist in a bubble, treated like royalty, and be shamefully, hideously, and grossly over-compensated. 

Jon Rahm is the latest to have yielded to the siren song of Saudi money. Can’t say it comes as a surprise. I’m sure he “wrestled” with the decision, talked it over with his wife, made a decision “for his family.” What’s not to like about a $300 million guarantee, or whatever it ends up being?

Nothing to see here. Just another high-profile golfer with blood on his hands.   

It’s what the world needs to say to Putin: “Go to hell, you cold-hearted warmonger, you fossilized remnant from days that should be spoken of only in the past tense.

You sit there with your shit-eating grin and beady eyes, insulated from the pain you cause, in your unforgivably gaudy, ostentatious palace, making decisions that affect your countrymen and women with little regard for their own dreams and desires. You see them as little more than a resource to be expended. Do your own soldiers buy into the whole “Mother Russia” thing?

You’re nothing but a hoarder of wealth and purveyor of bleakness, using history as an excuse.

People like you are useless aberrations in a world that would prefer to at least try turning swords into plowshares. How can you not know that the people you “conquer” hate you and will always hate you? They are not the least bit interested in acquiescing, or buying whatever the hell it is you’re trying to force on them.

How can you even envision a time when that forced kumbaya would play out? What’s your end game? What will you do with your spoils?

Why do you and people like you even exist? You’re high up on the list of those who give humanity a black eye, but that’s not of the remotest concern to you, is it?”

-What’s with the exodus from Congress, which now includes Kevin McCarthy? Seems like people are trying to get the hell out of Dodge. Is there something developing that we as a country should know about? Are people seeing writing on some wall that bodes ill for our near future? What is going on?

-On a related note, there are obviously going to be opportunities to get involved in politics at the Congressional level. Who will emerge? How much money does a person need anymore to run a competitive race?

-Today is December 7, which might seem like the perfect day for some trigger-happy idiot somewhere in the world to do something stupid and try to start something. You know– because it’s the 82nd anniversary of when Japan started something.

-Even if some of the rhetoric surrounding a Trump second term is of the pants-on-fire variety, it will behoove the nation to seriously ponder another 4 years of a person who has no sense for what it means to be a good POTUS, who doesn’t care about the country, who only wants to exact revenge and prove to himself that he’s still a “winner.” Of course, millions of people will still vote for him, just to piss off Democrats. The thing is, they may or may not realize that this time around, once he’s in, he may do whatever it takes to stay there until he dies.

-Notice I didn’t mention the four indictments and ninety-one counts? I’m still not confident that any of that is going to matter, which is insanity times infinity. He should be on the sidelines already, impeached or jailed, somehow on the outside looking in. Or the inside looking out. Through bars on a window.

Indignance and horror are voiced: too many innocent people are dying in Gaza.

Life there is not life at all. It is the most basic of survival scenarios, where nothing is working and little is available in the way of relief. Eighty percent of the population is misplaced, away from home. Food and water and medical care are next to non-existent for many; fear and anger are vying for the prevailing emotion, and people are resigning themselves to the possibility that they may not live much longer.

WHAT THE HELL?!

If Hamas’ goal was to turn the world against Israel, confident of the excessive response it would mount, they might be achieving that goal. It’s ironic and not a little maddening, though—that a barbaric attack on civilians and any Israeli that moved on October 7 has mushroomed into and is somewhat overshadowed by an Israeli response that’s fomenting impatience and anti-Israeli sentiment.

All war all the time, and all is fair. Is this the best we can do?

Who are the ones who aren’t being heard, and what do they want people to hear? Because apparently these are the ones who are soothed by the Trumpian Siren song, who still adore the Orange Jesus and still believe he can address their… plight?

What do they need—a job, food, shelter, clothing, health care, a good education? Or is it more a country full of people who look like them, who think like them; a country where black and brown and Asian and Jewish need not apply, a country focused on limits and quotas, that has no use for science, and believes in nothing and no one besides God and guns?

The latest great news is that young people are stocking up on survival supplies ahead of the 2024 election because they fear this country is unraveling, society is unraveling. Who’s telling them this? They’re disenchanted, disillusioned, maybe frightened for no good reason, or at least the wrong reasons.

I don’t know if these are young people who have bought the phlegm being smeared online and in chat rooms and on OAN and Newsmax and Fox, or if they’re looking around and actually not liking what they’re seeing.

Is it because they’ve bought the sensational garbage about Democrats being evil socialists and the main cause of all the bad things going on in the country? This is madness.

We don’t need to be here in this somewhat fabricated predicament where such stark lines are being drawn, where people are getting upset over perceived slights and ineptitude, expressing misplaced outrage and disillusionment. Things don’t need to be as bad as these young people apparently think they are. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, to some degree, stoked by rags like the New York Post and other “news” outlets with a Murdochian slant.

Besides, people of a certain age—late teens, early twenties—get their boxers in a bunch fairly easily. They’re naïve, idealistic, starry-eyed, ready to react, ready to buy into anything that either angers or inspires.

Is there yet a place for people with even temperaments, quiet yet firm voices, a healthy dose of can-do and relentless optimism? And a heart for inclusion, for getting along?

Rare birds, I know. But we need them now.

“A master of divisive politics…” What a tribute! What a claim to fame for the man who so adores the sound of his own voice.

Such was one descriptor of Donald Trump in a CNN report on possible reasons why he has once again taken up the mantle of repealing the Affordable Care Act.

Trump himself is of course beholden to the MAGA base—that assemblage of leftovers and holdouts from a time before the scales fell, when Trump was a novelty act and actually gave right-leaning folks a reason to hope.

Anymore, the base is comprised of the hardcore Doomsdayers and Christian conservatives who are also known to be suspicious of immigrants and people of any color but white. Trump’s anti-Obama fixation once again bubbles to the surface and manifests itself in a nod to this base, along with some boiler plate boasting about a better health plan that remains nebulous and most likely a figment of his imagination.

He’s just never liked Barack Obama, and still has designs on ruining 44’s legacy.

A master of divisive politics. Trump most likely considers this a compliment. Hopefully he’s one of a dying breed who thinks this way. When you have to resort to being a master of divisive politics, maybe it says something less than complimentary about the product you’re trying to sell. Maybe sowing division is as close as he’ll ever get to selling anything, besides hotels and golf courses.

Talk about a legacy! Two thumbs up, Donald, you’ve outdone yourself.

Alabama makes it to the final four in the NCAAF playoff scheme. Now I know why people hated the Patriots.

Who has more pull—Nick Saban or Mike Norvell?