The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

Trump's (un)popularity Alabama 2024 election: +31% 2025 approval: +20% Difference: -11% Alaska 2024 election: +14% 2025 approval: +1% Difference: -13% Arizona 2024 election: +5% 2025 approval: -4% Difference: -9% Arkansas 2024 election: +30% 2025 approval: +22% Difference: -8% California 2024 election: -20% 2025 approval: -34% Difference: -14% Colorado 2024 election: -11% 2025 approval: -22% Difference: -11% Connecticut 2024 election: -14% 2025 approval: -24% Difference: -10% Delaware 2024 election: -14% 2025 approval: -21% Difference: -7% Florida 2024 election: +13% 2025 approval: +/-0% Difference: -13% Georgia 2024 election: +2% 2025 approval: -9% Difference: -11% Hawaii 2024 election: -24% 2025 approval: -44% Difference: -20% Idaho 2024 election: +37% 2025 approval: +31% Difference: -6% Illinois 2024 election: -11% 2025 approval: -22% Difference: -11% Indiana 2024 election: +19% 2025 approval: +13% Difference: -6% Iowa 2024 election: +13% 2025 approval: +/-0% Difference: -13% Ka...

Serious question: Has a good majority of this country completely blocked COVID out of their memories?  I ask this, because during election season, Donald Trump and other Republican politicians kept asking, "Are you better off today than you were 4 years ago?"  When I first heard this, my immediate thought was, "Of course we're better off! Do you think we're f*cking stupid?!? We were going through the worst pandemic in a century 4 years ago!" Well, sadly, in answer to my question, we are f*cking stupid - that or we've completely blocked out the traumatic event which was COVID. The years 2020 and 2021 were quite the surreal experience. Since I doubt any of us were alive during the Spanish flu, COVID was a once-in-a-lifetime event. Perhaps that's part of it. People think this kind of thing only happens once in a century and they won't have to worry about it again, so why think about it more than is required? How can we forget, though? I remember 4 y...

It's been a week since Donald Trump was announced as the winner of the 2024 presidential election. I've since gone through four of the five stages of grief, and am currently between depression and acceptance. The thing about it is, while I've accepted the fact Trump will be this country's next president, I can't for the life of me accept the fact so many people - people I personally know and love - voted for him. That's what I'm having trouble accepting. In 2016, I was honestly shocked by Trump's election victory over Hillary Clinton. Sure, Clinton's approval rating was never exceptionally high, but Donald Trump was viewed by many as a joke of a candidate - a reality star just striving for attention. While I thought his presidency would be a disaster (I was right), I accepted people wanting a change from the status quo - a seemingly apolitical businessman to shake up the political in Washington.  Following a lie-, drama-, and crisis-filled 4 years in...