Shall we arm three-year-olds?

Note that the interview subjects here didn't realize that this was a satire. They didn't recognize comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.

These gun nuts - these Republican politicians! - were actually serious about arming three- and four-year-olds. "Highly-trained preschoolers"? Really?

This is just an excerpt from the show. According to TPM, "Other politicians not shown in the Showtime clip, including former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, former Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore and former Maricopa County Sheriff (and presidential pardon recipient) Joe Arpaio, all report having been duped by Baron-Cohen."

Is Donald Trump a Russian operative?

Here's a fascinating article in New York magazine, written by Jonathan Chait, which describes in detail a very plausible scenario that Donald Trump has been working with, or for, Vladimir Putin for decades.

As the article itself points out:

How do you even think about the small but real chance — 10 percent? 20 percent? — that the president of the United States has been covertly influenced or personally compromised by a hostile foreign power for decades?

It seems crazy,... except that there's just so much evidence pointing that way. Even Republicans seem to think so, though they also seem quite willing to have Russia run America as long as it helps them politically. (Certainly, they're quite willing to have Russia help elect Republicans.)

Read the article for yourself. I don't blog at all anymore, and I'm not going to post any other excerpts. But the idea is both frightening and plausible.

Admittedly, everything about the Donald Trump presidency is frightening these days (and none of it seemed plausible until it actually occurred). What is happening to my country?

I miss Jon Stewart

"This we cannot do." Amen.