Dump Trump—A Thurber Brigade Rerun

(This blog first ran on October 30, 2020. Yes, right before the election that kicked the Orange One from the White House. We at the Thurber Brigade believe it is important to remind everyone why we do not want that Orange Blob back in Washington. So read over this list and then be sure and vote for Kamala Harris in November.)

From the opening bell, the tRump administration has been a disaster.  From sketchy inaugural donations and lying about crowd size, to today's COVID mishandling and endangering democracy by throwing shade on elections The Orange One's (my preferred reference) time in office has damaged this country. 

So to help jog people's memory, here's a short list of things he's done that the MAJORITY of Americans will find distasteful/illegal/evil/unAmerican.

THE LIST

• Claimed millions voted illegally
• Put children in cages
• Refused to release tax returns
• Denigrated Gold Star family
• Calls free press “enemy of the people”
• Has lied over 15,000+ times

• Gave security clearance to Ivanka and Jared over intelligence objections
• Denigrated John McCain for being a POW
• Thinks of veterans as suckers and losers
• Skipped Normandy ceremony as he didn't want to ruin his hair in the rain

• Politicized masks and other possible ways to mitigate spread of COVID
• Banned Muslims from entering country unless they are from a country he does business with
• Called Nazis very fine people
• Insults allies
• Praises dictators
• Ignored intelligence reports about Russian bounties on US troops
• Called African nations “shithole countries”
• Belittles US generals and believes he knows more then them
• Stole money from his charity and is banned

from having any new ones
• Foreign governments stay in his hotels to curry favors
• Forces government employees to stay in his properties while traveling
• Played golf more than any prez after stating he wouldn't have time to play
• Government must foot bill for his golf excursions which means we have paid his company over 200 times his salary
• Promoted snake oil cures for COVID 

• Donates his salary as a tax dodge because he makes so much off golf trips.
• paid off porn star to remain quiet about sexual affair
• Had sexual affair while wife was pregnant with son
• Promised to build wall along border has only completed three miles of new fence and Mexico will not pay for it
• During campaign his operatives had numerous meeting with Russian agents in order to gain an advantage

• Obstructed investigation into his Russian connections
• Attempted to bribe Ukrainian president for help with his election
• Asked China to help him win re-election
• Impeached for Ukrainian scheme and his obstruction of subsequent investigation 
• Has nearly daily Twitter

   

tantrums
• Attacks private citizens on Twitter
• Hurls childish nicknames at those he perceives as foes
• Removed clean water and air regulations
• Promised to get drug prices lowered, instead they went up
• Drain the swamp? He added more swamp creatures
• Knocked out the teeth of the EPA
• Kicked Dept. of Interior in the

balls
• Dumbed down the Department of Education
• Suspected of being Russian asset
• Supports white supremacy groups 
• Validates racism
• Inherited a good economy, destroyed it
• Highest trade deficit in years
• Started tariff war with China, lost
• Ignored scientists on COVID

• Due to tariff war had highest number of small farm bankruptcies since depression

• Utilized secret police against citizens

• Didn’t replenish national supplies of PPE and other medical equipment

• Promoted budget that would diminish Social Security and Medicare 

  
  

• Federal government seized PPE from states who imported it for their state’s use

• Owes millions of dollars, possibly to foreign interests that could compromise US security

• Tax cuts for rich, peanuts for others

• No definitive foreign policy

• To help his business interests, caved to Turkey and betrayed our Kurdish allies

• He has become a laughing stock of other world leaders

• Favorability of US in the world has gone down except in dictatorship countries

• Largest civil unrest in nation since Vietnam years 

This is not an all-inclusive list, there are tons of regulations meant to protect us he has overridden, countless people he has insulted, untold number

of norms he has violated and more. At least this is a starting point though of why you should not vote to give him four more years. If he is reelected it will be an incomprehensible disaster for this country. So read over this short list one more time and go vote for Joe Biden KAMALA HARRIS. Return this country to decency and prominence. Vote The Orange One out.

Ah, James Thurber

The Thurber Brigade apologizes for this rerun and for once again getting off the path of making light of the interaction between men and women. This election may be the most important one in our lifetime and so we cannot remain silent about the awful actions of TFG. The Brigade will get back to its usual snarky self next time. Maybe.

 

Jogging and Public Health

If you've been reading The Thurber Brigade for some time you'll know that I like running/jogging. It has been the topic of numerous blogs from dealing with the pandemic to running just for pleasure. My first experience with jogging was as a punishment.

One day at gym class at Jardine Junior High in Topeka, KS, Coach Tryon came in and was pissed. He yelled at us a bit then said we were going on a “fun run.” We got into a single line and then headed from the gym to around the football field, up an embankment to around the temporary classrooms (the grounds were large) around the main building and parking lot, eventually ending back at the gym. While the other kids bitched and moaned, I loved it and would eventually do fun runs on my own around my neighborhood. 

My gym class was being punished for the ungodly sin of leaving a towel out after a class. Who actually did it no one knew. All of us had to pay though. He was teaching us a lesson. Oh, it surely was with the idea that we should throw our towels in the hamper after using them, but it was more. He really taught us that we were all in this together. Yes, it had been one evil person who left out the towel. However, we all had a responsibility to check on everyone and make sure everyone followed the rules. 

He wasn’t teaching us a bad lesson on justice. He was teaching us a lesson, via socialization, that as a society we all had to work together.

As a society, we experience these lessons all the time in different environments.  In the army, this lesson was taught to us with even more urgency as it is critical for each unit to work as a team in order to survive. We absolutely had to look out for the other guy in the foxhole with us.

Even though this lesson of collective responsibility permeates our society, it's always a shock when people ignore it.

That is what is happening with the COVID-19 pandemic here in the U.S.  almost a third of the population has ignored their upbringing, disregarded the lesson that is pounded into each of us and has instead opted out. 

People shout they want freedom and refuse to wear a mask. However, it is not infringing their freedom, it is only an inconvenience. Like making your son wear a seat belt or telling your daughter not to run with scissors. It’s for their wellbeing as well as that of the family. 

Instead of believing that we are all in this together, this small group is saying it's all about them. Their vain individual needs are more important than the wellbeing of all of us. Screw you is their unspoken motto. 

Although wearing a mask and getting the shot will help all of us get past this pandemic, this minority of people refuse to join the team. It doesn't matter that there are far worse requirements that everyone must follow and everyone does (driver's license to drive, measles shots to go to school, take off your shoes to go through airport security, etc.), because of recent political opposition, this little act of goodwill is vilified. 

It's time for everyone to put politics behind them and join the team. Work with all of us to get over this pandemic. Just as Americans joined together to survive World War II, we need to work together to end this war.

So get the shot. Wear the mask. If not, Coach Jay is going to yell at you and take you on a “fun run.”

Dump Trump

From the opening bell, the tRump administration has been a disaster.  From sketchy inaugural donations and lying about crowd size, to today's COVID mishandling and endangering democracy by throwing shade on elections The Orange One's (my preferred reference) time in office has damaged this country. 

So to help jog people's memory, here's a short list of things he's done that the MAJORITY of Americans will find distasteful/illegal/evil/unAmerican.

THE LIST

• Claimed millions voted illegally
• Put children in cages
• Refused to release tax returns
• Denigrated Gold Star family
• Calls free press “enemy of the people”
• Has lied over 15,000+ times

• Gave security clearance to Ivanka and Jared over intelligence objections
• Denigrated John McCain for being a POW
• Thinks of veterans as suckers and losers
• Skipped Normandy ceremony as he didn't want to ruin his hair in the rain

• Politicized masks and other possible ways to mitigate spread of COVID
• Banned Muslims from entering country unless they are from a country he does business with
• Called Nazis very fine people
• Insults allies
• Praises dictators
• Ignored intelligence reports about Russian bounties on US troops
• Called African nations “shithole countries”
• Belittles US generals and believes he knows more then them
• Stole money from his charity and is banned

from having any new ones
• Foreign governments stay in his hotels to curry favors
• Forces government employees to stay in his properties while traveling
• Played golf more than any prez after stating he wouldn't have time to play
• Government must foot bill for his golf excursions which means we have paid his company over 200 times his salary
• Promoted snake oil cures for COVID 

• Donates his salary as a tax dodge because he makes so much off golf trips.
• paid off porn star to remain quiet about sexual affair
• Had sexual affair while wife was pregnant with son
• Promised to build wall along border has only completed three miles of new fence and Mexico will not pay for it
• During campaign his operatives had numerous meeting with Russian agents in order to gain an advantage

• Obstructed investigation into his Russian connections
• Attempted to bribe Ukrainian president for help with his election
• Asked China to help him win re-election
• Impeached for Ukrainian scheme and his obstruction of subsequent investigation 
• Has nearly daily Twitter

tantrums
• Attacks private citizens on Twitter
• Hurls childish nicknames at those he perceives as foes
• Pudges leaders of other countries aside so he can walk at front
• Threw paper towels at hurricane victims
• Removed clean water and air regulations
• Promised to get drug prices lowered, instead the went up
• Drain the swamp? He added more swamp creatures
• Knocked out the teeth of the EPA
• Kicked Dept. of Interior in the

balls
• Dumbed down the Department of Education
• Suspected of being Russian asset
• Supports white supremacy groups 
• Validates racism
• Inherited a good economy, destroyed it
• Highest trade deficit in years
• Started tariff war with China, lost
• Due to tariff war had highest number of small

farm bankruptcies since depression
• Utilized secret police against citizens
• Largest civil unrest in nation since Vietnam years
• Attacked federal judges he didn't like
• Ignored danger of COVID-19

• Ignored scientists on COVID
• Over 220,000 deaths from COVID and climbing
• Downplayed seriousness of COVID
• No national plan to control COVID

• Dismantled pandemic response team prior to outbreak

• Didn’t replenish national supplies of PPE and other medical equipment

• Federal government seized PPE from states who imported it for their state’s use

• Owes millions of dollars, possibly to foreign interests that could compromise US security

• Tax cuts for rich, peanuts for others

• No definitive foreign policy

• To help his business interests, caved to Turkey and betrayed our Kurdish allies

• He has become a laughing stock of other world leaders

• Favorability of US in the world has gone down except in dictatorship countries

• Promoted budget that would diminish Social Security and Medicare

This is not an all-inclusive list, there are tons of regulations meant to protect us he has overridden, countless people he has insulted, untold number

of norms he has violated and more. At least this is a starting point though of why you should not vote to give him four more years. If he is reelected it will be an incomprehensible disaster for this country. So read over this short list one more time and go vote for Joe Biden. Return this country to decency and prominence. Vote The Orange One out.

Ah, James Thurber

The Thurber Brigade apologizes for once again getting off the path of making light of the interaction between men and women. We couldn’t sit aside without comment though when this most important election in decades takes place on November 3^rd. The Brigade will get back to its usual snarky self next time. Maybe.

Women Say the Darndest Things, Part III

There were so many arguments and comments about the previous blogs on this subject (Part I and Part II) you just knew that a third venture into the area would be forthcoming. Although there were minor interruptions about sports in those, since we have a hold on sports, now seemed like the time to give it another go.

You know, women often say the darndest things when the subject turns to sex. For example, 

WE INTERRUPT THIS BLOG FOR BIG NEWS!
SPORTS ARE BACK!

Coach Jay here again, once more interrupting this blog that I'm sure the author believes will garner him a lot of attention and controversy, to let you know that we have emerged from the dark mantle of a sport-less period. Slightly.

Truthfully, it never went away completely. I blogged a while back about the importance of exercise during these troubled times, so we've still had that to keep us occupied. And of course, there were those who resisted orders to stay apart and recklessly took part in pick-up games of basketball, soccer and more (bad boys and girls. Shame on you). However, real organized sports were put on hold.

Slowly, that began to change. Over in Europe, they began to play football (Americans say soccer) with the Germans leading the way. But soon, other sports began to give it a try, from golf to tennis. Then the bigger ones, by that I mean the ones with more AMERICAN viewers, such as basketball and hockey began to creep back to the public view. Now, AMERICAN football is on the scene.

When the other sports returned, they had very strict guidelines which included no fans were allowed. This meant that they would pipe in crowd noise to simulate fan attendance and to enliven the viewers experience. Football however is being a little more reckless.

Many teams are allowing fans to attend. Admittedly, in small numbers. When you consider that stadiums may hold from 50,000 plus people, only allowing in a fraction may seem safe. Theoretically they could have one person per every six seats. But we're humans. We don't do that, we talk and yell and sometimes sing when at sporting events. But mainly, we huddle together to better enjoy the moment and excitement. And that's what is happening. Instead of everyone spreading appropriately apart, people are gathering in groups or clusters. Often these groups are spread out, but having 10-20 people in a group defeats the idea of social distancing that is so crucial to getting us out of this morass. 

For the players it's different. Most of them get tested two to three times a week. Some teams use “bubbles” that isolate them from the outside world. So the players have a great many safeguards. The fans do not.

Coach Jay suggests that teams and fans keep their distance. Fans should not go to the game, teams should not invite them. We all are desperate to get back to going crazy after a touchdown. To high five your buddy next to you. To boo loudly that lousy call by the ref. But now is not the time for that. We must get out of the humongous death march COVID-19 has brought us and that means having a little discipline. Yes, as a coach that often means I yell at some player for screwing up, or sending someone off to run laps for breaking a team rule. Now however, I can only plead with you to do the right and safe thing.

Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Keep on social distancing. Don't go to places where there are big groups of people together. Don't go to that stadium. We can get through this. If we all do what the doctors and scientists say for just a little while longer, we will get back to the days of wild football games with marching bands, cheerleaders and rowdy fans. Stay safe. 

Now, back to the regularly scheduled blog already in progress.

I know that radical feminists will hate this, but “normal” women, if they are honest, will have to agree. It's obvious.  Whew, aren't you glad The Thurber Brigade tackled this issue once again instead of having one of those odd sidesteps into politics or some social issue? 

Ah, James Thurber