This just in

Every time I check the news headlines these from the states days, I half expect them to say something about the president getting impeached, or some equally big deal. That's not a good thing and it's not normal. 

When I was little, I attended the White House Easter Egg Roll once. I came away with some painted wooden egg with the signature of George H. W.  Bush on it. When I was a kid, I knew who the president was (first Reagan, then Bush), but I couldn't tell you much about what they had done or what their platforms were on anything, because I was a kid. I knew the phrase, "Read my lips, no new taxes", but didn't know what it really meant, and that was about it.  The president was a very important person in my eyes - even the most important person in the world. I did't know about anything he did other than meet and take pictures with other world leaders, make some vague decisions I never heard about or felt the repercussions of, and sometimes there were wars in far away countries and he sent American soldiers away. The president had a family, a pet, and they had a mostly private life at the White House, other than when the family hosted public events. The president didn't publicly whine about anything either.

How times have changed. Everything we hear about the president, good and bad (mostly bad) is overkill at this point. It was the longest campaign that would never end, now it's the longest first four months of a presidency ever. It's partly my fault for checking the news a lot, but I want to know what is happening in my hometown. I want to affirm that nothing crazy has happened in the last several hours that will affect my family and friends, or my plans to visit or return home. I don't blame the media for this overkill, at least not entirely. I blame the fact that they have a 24 hour news cycle to fill, so many stations fill it with 23 hours of crap and one hour of news. I prefer print or radio news sources or their online versions, just because they have slightly less of the filler stuff, and sometimes more substance. It also helps to watch satirical comedy news shows - at least we can still laugh about the mess we're in.

I do not know what will happen with the current administration. I do know that I keep hearing politicians say we need to do such and such thing or else people will lose faith in the democratic system and American institutions. Too late. 

I am not a particularly cynical person, but I do expect things to still get worse before they get better. There is a lot of damage that can't be undone easily or quickly. Hard work could fix some of it, maybe most of it, but it's a long road ahead.

To end on a positive note, though...