It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year--Not!
By Hank Silverberg

No, I'm not Scrooge.  I love spending time with my family around Thanksgiving. My grand kids followed a long family tradition as trick-or-treaters in October. But when those Christmas carols start playing on "Black Friday," the holidays loose their buzz for me, at least until I see the ball is ready to drop in Times Square. 

Don't get me wrong. For those who are Christian and look at December 25th as a way to celebrate the birth and life of Jesus, well more power to them. I never argue with people's faith. 

It's all the crowds at the malls, reindeer on lamp posts and phony Santa's that make me scowl. There are people out there who spend more in the month of December on things nobody really needs and many people don't want than they do the rest of the year combined.  It borders on insanity. 

If you are a retailer you are probably yelling at me through your computer screen right now because you need those dollars to make a profit, and the more blenders, big screen TV's and ugly sweaters people buy, the better off the economy will be.   

But is it really good for people to line up at six in the morning, to push and shove their way into a shopping mall to buy the one item someone said  was a "must-have" this year? How many Benie Babies or Tickle me Elmos are piled in the back of some closet right now because your tweenager has moved on to video games, E-Sports and Hulu? 

No, this is not the script to "Toy Story Five." Woody and Buzz are doing just fine, but it is a set up for the other part of the Christmas season which is perhaps more harmful. 

The hypocrisy around thoughts like "peace on earth" and "good will towards men" has gone to infinity and beyond.  

This Christmas season we are faced with a 19-year-old war in Afghanistan that may never end (Ask the British), and a presidency that is already the most bizarre in history. 

This past week in Trumpland the President said:

To those of us who took time to decipher the code, he was talking about banning late term abortions, which should please the religious right. But to most of the world, it sounded like lunacy. It also makes you wonder what is going on in his brain. If it was just a mis-speak, you would assume the White House would issue a clarification. I didn't see one. Remember this guy has his finger on the nuclear trigger.  

This past week in Trumpland the President said he was not going to send his legion of defense attorneys to hearings on the Articles of Impeachment being drawn up by the House Judiciary Committee. That comes after the Democrats indicated they would allow him to question all witnesses and bring in some of their own. Trump rejected that, saying said the Democrats wouldn't let him defend himself. 

This week in Trumpland the President opened a new war on low flow toilets, which he says are real trouble for the country.

 (Okay they are a pain in the neck, but is this really something we need the President to get involved in? How about just finding a good plumber?)   

This week in Trumpland, the leaders of France, Great Britain, Canada and part of the British Royal family, were seen laughing and telling jokes about Trump at a NATO summit. We can't laugh about it anymore. 

The  economy right now is pretty good, so lots of people will go shopping to forget about their troubles and listen to stupid holiday songs like "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer," or a sexist one like "Baby, It' s Cold Out There." Then they'll get nostalgic for the good old days that really weren't so good unless you were white, male and Protestant. 

So get some chestnuts roasting on that open fire on a cold winter's night and pick up some light reading, like "Articles of Impeachment against Donald J. Trump," and we can hope for something different in 2020. That warm feeling will last at least until the first Presidential primary in New Hampshire on February 11th. 


https://www.uspresidentialelectionnews.com/2020-presidential-primary-schedule-calendar/


News Notes:

Every year various groups produce a list of the most popular names for babies born in a particular year, and this year you are likely to hear the radical right chime in even on that. 

Sophia was the most popular girl's name for babies born in 2019. Liam knocked Jackson off its six year reign on the throne for the number one boy's name. But for the first time ever, Muhammad broke into the top ten at number 10 for boys names for new babies. There's a simple reason--it's tradition for Muslim families to name their first born male after the Prophet. But you can be sure the right wing will try to use that as part of it's anti-immigrant propaganda.    

https://www.babycenter.com/top-baby-names


By now you are thinking this writer is extremely cynical.  Frankly, there's little to be inspired by this week. Next week I'll have a wish list for 2020 which I promise will be more uplifting.  In the meantime, if you are looking for a good gift for the holidays, here's an unapologetic plug for my book, "The Campaign." It's available on Amazon.com, BN.Com or at a reduced price directly from me with a signature. Email me at HankSilverberg@gmail.com to find out how to get one. That way you won't have to bulldog your way through the mall. 
                                         

 (Your comments and suggestions are welcome. See the comment section below )