This crate is supposed to offer Dusty a safe place to get away from the cats. He’s outnumbered four to one, but sometimes it isn’t always the safest place. Luckily, Harry is the one cat who really seems to like Dusty, and he often tries to buddy up to the dog.
![](https://maryannwrites.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/09/dusty-and-harry-in-kennel.jpg)
Perhaps you’re already aware of this bit of news, but I was not. I’ve been absorbed with work and caring for a sick kitty since Monday, so my exposure to news has been limited. Today, however, I saw this report on NEWSMAX relating a recent comment by President tRump:
President Donald Trump took a public stance against the use of CIA informants to spy on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday, saying it would not happen on his watch and possibly taking away a valuable tool of the U.S. intelligence community.
Trump’s remarks to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House represented a fresh attempt by the president to cozy up to the North Korean leader, a policy that has drawn criticism for seeming to overlook Kim’s autocratic rule.
Trump spoke a day after the Wall Street Journal reported that Kim’s slain half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, was a source for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Kim Jong Nam was killed at the airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2017.
Really?
That, coupled with another comment I heard on the NPR news podcast Up First on Thursday in which tRump said he sees nothing wrong in taking damaging information that a foreign government might have on a political opponent, gives me even more reason to hope for a drastic change in 2020.
As those of you who read my blog regularly know, I’m an old-school patriot who believes in civility, integrity, morality and ethical behavior. None of which our current leadership seems to ascribe to.
Are those traits in conflict with the traits needed to rise to high political leadership positions?
Which candidate do you think comes closest to my ideal, if any?
If we elect somebody with the integrity and dedication to the people that Jefferson Smith had in the wonderful story “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” would they have a snowball’s chance of getting anything done in the current political environment?
One thing that has to change in Washington for sure, besides leadership, is the influence of lobbyists, especially those from PACs that represent big corporate interests. The main ones are the pharmaceutical industry, the telecom industry, the energy industry, and the insurance industry. They donate huge sums of money to some campaigns to gain access to the powers that be so they can push legislation that favors their interests.
That isn’t the way it’s suppose to work.
Okay, end of rant. Now for some fun from our friends at the Laugh Factory.
My friend thinks he is smart. He told me an onion is the only food that makes you cry, so I threw a coconut at his face.
A teacher asked her students to use the word “beans” in a sentence. “My father grows beans,” said one girl. “My mother cooks beans,” said a boy. A third student spoke up, “We are all human beans.”
An Italian mother says, “If you don’t eat all the food on this plate, I’ll kill you.” A Jewish mother says, “If you don’t eat all the food on this plate, I’ll kill myself.”
A panda walks into a bar, sits down, and orders a sandwich. He eats, pulls out a gun, and shoots the waiter dead. As the panda stands up to go, the bartender shouts, “Hey! Where are you going? You just shot my waiter and you didn’t pay for the food!”
The panda yells back, “Hey man, I’m a panda. Look it up!”
The bartender opens his dictionary to panda and reads, “A tree climbing mammal of Asian origin, characterized by distinct black and white coloring. Eats, shoots, and leaves.”
That’s all for me for today folks. I’ll be at the McKinney Book Festival tomorrow so if you are nearby, stop in. There will be a lot of authors there with books for kids, and adults, of all ages. Whatever your weekend plans are – Be Safe, Be Happy.