End of Summer

Summer's ending ... "And I can tell you my love for you will still be strong / After the boys of summer have gone." By the way, the Eagles are on tour (RIP, Glenn Frey). If you like the Don Henley song "The Boys of Summer" (the one I just quoted), be ready to hear it on the radio several dozen times in the next few weeks, especially if you're a Californian (it's a favorite of California DJs in mid-to-late August). Also, if you haven't gone back-to-school shopping yet, be ready to maneuver crowded stores. I know, I know, nobody wants to go back-to-school shopping right when they just got off school for the summer, but shopping for school clothes and supplies is generally an easier experience then (back-to-school sales often have started then). Tip: If you have kids who might hit a growth spurt, buy clothes a couple sizes bigger than their current size if you follow the June shopping suggestion above. Anyway .... "I can see you / your brown skin shining in the sun..." By the way, I went to Arizona on vacation last month, and actually saw a guy standing on the corner in Winslow, Arizona (I'll bet you can guess the relevance, based on my earlier mentions of The Eagles: "Take It Easy," right?). 

When the newest season of a TV show is supposed to be coming to Netflix in August, but then it turns out the date is August 24th, you've got a pretty frustrated little brother.

Fake Headline of the Day: Ryan Zinke Improves Economy

Ryan Zinke, Secretary of the Department of the Interior, when asked about his position on wildlife conservation, said: "Sure, we're endangering the environment by opening up half the ocean [needlessly] for drilling for oil, and, among other things, greatly increasing the risk for oil spills in the process, but hey, at least we're improving the [already stable] economy."

NOTE: This is a fake headline (created by me and [partially] untrue), not the news. Zinke was not really quoted as saying this, and "opening up half the ocean for drilling for oil" is an exaggeration (although recently, the Department of the Interior announced that millions of acres, as of August 15th, are being opened for oil drilling).

Apparently, now that Trump's saying he believes US intelligence, everything's okay now. #willtherealpresidentpleasestand

Will the real president please stand? The one who won't just go along with everything Putin says, and even believe him over the FBI about meddling? #willtherealpresidentpleasestand #makeamericanotembarrassingagain 

More Embarrassment (Only Worse Than Ever)

When even a Fox News opinion article expresses disappointment with something (or, in this case, many things) that Trump says, you know it's bad (see "Putin eats Trump's lunch in Helsinki -- This is no way to win against Russia"). I won't even go into it - look it up and see for yourself. If you're American, this will probably depress/shock you. If you're not, you'll probably just end up feeling bad for us Americans.

What's Wrong with the "Zero Tolerance" Immigration Policy

Everything. Thousands of children are being detained, separated from their parents because they crossed the US-Mexico border illegally. Does that sit right? Laura Bush even compared it to the Japanese-American internment during World War II. A CNN article describes one story of how one family from Guatemala was constantly threatened by gangs because they had a lot of money (for Guatemala, at least). The mother in the family and her 10-month-old son crossed the border on May 1st, before the "zero tolerance" immigration policy was passed. They were detained for a week, but then released. When her husband and 7-year-old daughter left on May 8th, both were detained. The 7-year-old soon began complaining of tooth pain, but the workers at the detainment center in Michigan only spoke English. Her mother, a nurse, tried to explain that she could help her daughter, but nobody would listen. When they were reunited, days later, her mother said, "The laws here are harsh. And people don't have hearts ... People dream of coming here, to save their lives, but I don't what[sic] them to experience what I've gone through" (CNN). If you're American, vote for those who defend families separated at the border in your elections, and then maybe we can actually get somewhere in changing things.