Toto, I Have a Feeling...

After discovering that sneaky Kansas City had been in Missouri, Trump deleted his Tweet, which I guess is better than trying to change the map by executive decree or something. I don't know what we expect. This is, after all, the guy who Lamar Alexander said on Meet the Press just wouldn't know you're supposed to go to your own Attorney General regarding suspicions of corruption against a US individual. But you know. He'll learn from all of this.

Baby steps for a toddler president.

In other funny things from the Super Bowl, I've seen some pecksniffery about the half-time show out on the intertubes.

It's always weird here in the 21st century to hear about them skimpily-clad jezebels with their jazz dances, destroying the morals of our youths.

Look, It's Mr. Christian Leadership

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo abruptly cut off an interview with NPR today. He shouted his displeasure at being questioned about Ukraine, used repeated expletives, according to NPR's @NPRKelly, and asked, "Do you think Americans care about Ukraine?" https://t.co/dRZMxM5Foa

— NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) January 25, 2020

While reading about Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's recent blow-up, I couldn't help but think about the time not so long ago that he touted his "Christian leadership" on the official government webpage for his agency. Is bullying a reporter over a tough interview with profanities and questioning her intelligence how one shows Christian leadership? For that matter, wouldn't leadership of any kind whatsoever mean showing respect and support for one's personnel as well as having a broad understanding of the United States' mission in various countries and how that mission is impacted by our efforts, not one based on the political or geographical understanding of regular folks?

Regardless of whether most Americans or any Americans care about Ukraine, his intemperate outburst toward this reporter demonstrates a very poor face that he will be taking with him when he visits that country in the near-future.

I am not saying that I would be watching out for this trip to be rescheduled again, but these things do happen in this administration. But I would also imagine that such a visit, should it go on, might be very awkward. Maybe not terribly diplomatic.

Could Ebola Teach US Americans Geography?

The late journalist Ambrose Bierce commented that "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Yeah. As if Americans ever learn geography. Truth of the matter is, that picture to the left probably is where a disturbing number of Americans (well, nortemericanos, anyway) stand with respects to understanding our planet and how she is laid out. (More knucklehead geography is on view at Buzzfeed. [No, but I love Buzzfeed, news and nostalgia and cat videos forevah. It is my #1 time-sink site and I can not lie.])

Basically, even our most elite Americans are totally having Caitlin Upton moments--but particularly about the whole Africa and ebola thing.

No, really:

For instance, at a school in New Burlington, New Jersey, two Rwandan students are staying at home due to other parents’ fear that they will infect other children with Ebola. Rwanda is as close to the Ebola outbreak as New York City is to Seattle.

In Hazlehurst, Mississippi, a school principal’s recent visit to Zambia has led to a lot of parents choosing to keep their kids at home. But Zambia is in Southern Africa, over 3,000 miles away from the Ebola outbreak — the same distance between New Hampshire and Los Angeles.  

A school bus driver in Poplarville, Mississippi who recently visited Ghana is being prevented from returning to work. Meanwhile, in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, some parents kept their kids home when their school hosted two visitors from Uganda.

Seriously? People aren't even Google-mapping where people are from? Can't even do the most basic Wiki research into where folks are and how ebola works and then front that they are concerned? They have the maps--because they have the cell phones. Maps are even on cell phones, now. They have the gateway to non-stupid in their pockets.

So I am thinking the answer is "Nope." Americans will learn geography when the stupid is pried from their cold, dead hands. Or possibly in the case of zombie apocalypse.