He’s the leader of the free world.
He’s a liar, a con artist, a racist, a misogynist.
He’s a xenophobe, a white nationalist.
He’s unethical, immoral, hypocritical, narcissistic.
He’s a puppet, a traitor, a sellout.
He’s a laughingstock, vindictive, embarrassing, a moron.
He is Donald Trump.
And he is anathema to me.
(Exactly 52 words)
Written for Sammi Cox’s Weekend Writing Prompt, where we are challenged to write a poem or piece of prose using the word “anathema” in exactly 52words.
My wife and I have a cat. And a dog. Our daughter and her boyfriend have a cat. Our son and his girlfriend have two cats.
Our son signed us up for some kind of app that randomly sends us “cat facts.” This is the latest one we received.
I know that our cat is very talkative — almost annoyingly talkative — when we’re around. He meows, he purrs, and when he’s hungry, which is almost all the time, he screeches. And when he’s angry he growls, snarls, and hisses.
But is he silent when we are not around? How would I know? When I’m not around, I am, by definition, not around to hear whether or not he meows.
So I’m reaching out to all of you cat owners in the blogging community. Do you think that your cat (or cats), only meows in order to communicate with us humans? Or do you have audio or visual evidence that cats meow when humans are absent?
For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday, Jim Adams chose the theme “Record/Juke Box/DJ/Radio.” I believe you can never go wrong with Joni Mitchell, which is why I chose her song, “You Turn Me On, I’m A Radio.”
Written and recorded in 1972 by singer and songwriter Joni Mitchell, “You Turn Me On, I’m A Radio” was released on her fifth studio album, For the Roses. It was also released as single, where it was her first top-forty hit in the United States, reaching number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Joni’s record label was putting pressure on her to release a hit song, as very few of her singles hit the charts. So this song was her effort to get a popular hit. It lacks a chorus or any repetitive hooks, but because it is specifically about disc jockeys and radio stations, it got lots of airplay.
“I decided there were some ways to make a hit, increase the chances,” Mitchell said. “DJs have to like it, so you put a long part at the beginning and the end so the DJs can talk over it. Take a tender situation and translate it into commonly appealing songs for the DJs. It’d have to be a bit corny, so I wrote this little song called ‘Oh Honey, You Turn Me On, I’m A Radio.’”
The song is sung from the perspective of a radio, explaining all the ways it can please listeners. The station is always there to serve, and while it might not always have a clear signal, it knows what you want to hear.
Here are the lyrics to the song.
If you’re driving into town
With a dark cloud above you
Dial in the number
Who’s bound to love you
Oh honey you turn me on
I’m a radio
I’m a country station
I’m a little bit corny
I’m a wildwood flower
Waving for you
Broadcasting tower
Waving for you
And I’m sending you out
This signal here
I hope you can pick it up
Loud and clear
I know you don’t like weak women
You get bored so quick
And you don’t like strong women
‘Cause they’re hip to your tricks
It’s been dirty for dirty
Down the line
But you know
I come when you whistle
When you’re loving and kind
But if you’ve got too many doubts
If there’s no good reception for me
Then tune me out, ’cause honey
Who needs the static
It hurts the head
And you wind up cracking
And the day goes dismal
From “Breakfast Barney”
To the sign-off prayer
What a sorry face you get to wear
I’m going to tell you again now
If you’re still listening there
If you’re driving into town
With a dark cloud above you
Dial in the number
Who’s bound to love you
If you’re lying on the beach
With the transistor going
Kick off the sandflies honey
The love’s still flowing
If your head says forget it
But your heart’s still smoking
Call me at the station
The lines are open
Welcome to March 31, 2019 and to Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (aka, FOWC). It’s designed to fill the void after WordPress bailed on its daily one-word prompt.
I will be posting each day’s word just after midnight Pacific Time (US).
Today’s word is “retro.”
Write a post using that word. It can be prose, poetry, fiction, non-fiction. It can be any length. It can be just a picture or a drawing if you want. No holds barred, so to speak.
Once you are done, tag your post with #FOWC and create a pingback to this post if you are on WordPress. Or you can simply include a link to your post in the comments.
And be sure to read the posts of other bloggers who respond to this prompt. You will marvel at their creativity.
You probably saw this, heard this, or read this, but in case you haven’t, here is the text of Adam Schiff’s comments after the Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee unanimously demanded his resignation as chairman of that committee.
I found his words to be extraordinarily powerful. Words that should give every Trump supporter pause.
“My colleagues might think it’s okay that the Russians offered dirt on the Democratic candidate for president as part of what’s described as the Russian government’s effort to help the Trump campaign. You might think that’s okay.
“My colleagues might think it’s okay that when that was offered to the son of the president, who had a pivotal role in the campaign, that the president’s son did not call the FBI; he did not adamantly refuse that foreign help – no, instead that son said that he would ‘love’ the help with the Russians.
“You might think it’s okay that he took that meeting. You might think it’s okay that Paul Manafort, the campaign chair, someone with great experience running campaigns, also took that meeting. You might think it’s okay that the president’s son-in-law also took that meeting. You might think it’s okay that they concealed it from the public. You might think it’s okay that their only disappointment after that meeting was that the dirt they received on Hillary Clinton wasn’t better. You might think that’s okay.
“You might think it’s okay that when it was discovered, a year later, that they then lied about that meeting and said that it was about adoptions. You might think that it’s okay that it was reported that the president helped dictate that lie. You might think that’s okay. I don’t.
“You might think it’s okay that the campaign chairman of a presidential campaign would offer information about that campaign to a Russian oligarch in exchange for money or debt forgiveness. You might think that’s okay, I don’t.
“You might think it’s okay that that campaign chairman offered polling data to someone linked to Russian intelligence. I don’t think that’s okay.
“You might think it’s okay that the president himself called on Russia to hack his opponent’s emails, if they were listening. You might think it’s okay that later that day, in fact, the Russians attempted to hack a server affiliated with that campaign. I don’t think that’s okay.
“You might think it’s okay that the president’s son-in-law sought to establish a secret back channel of communication with the Russians through a Russian diplomatic facility. I don’t think that’s okay.
“You might think it’s okay that an associate of the president made direct contact with the GRU through Guccifer 2.0 and WikiLeaks, that is considered a hostile intelligence agency. You might think it’s okay that a senior campaign official was instructed to reach that associate and find out what that hostile intelligence agency had to say in terms of dirt on his opponent.
“You might think it’s okay that the national security adviser designate secretly conferred with the Russian ambassador about undermining U.S. sanctions, and you might think it’s okay that he lied about it to the FBI.
“You might say that’s all okay, that’s just what you need to do to win. But I don’t think it’s okay. I don’t think it’s okay. I think it’s immoral, I think it’s unethical, I think it’s unpatriotic and, yes, I think it’s corrupt – and evidence of collusion.”
“Now I have always said that the question of whether this amounts to proof of conspiracy was another matter. Whether the special counsel could prove beyond a reasonable doubt the proof of that crime would be up to the special counsel, and I would accept his decision, and I do. He’s a good and honorable man, and he is a good prosecutor.
“But I do not think that conduct, criminal or not, is okay. And the day we do think that’s okay is the day we will look back and say that is the day that America lost its way.”
“And I will tell you one more thing that is apropos of the hearing today: I don’t think it’s okay that during a presidential campaign Mr. Trump sought the Kremlin’s help to consummate a real estate deal in Moscow that would make him a fortune – according to the special counsel, hundreds of millions of dollars. I don’t think it’s okay to conceal it from the public. I don’t think it’s okay that he advocated a new and more favorable policy towards the Russians even as he was seeking the Russians’ help, the Kremlin’s help to make money. I don’t think it’s okay that his attorney lied to our committee. There is a different word for that than collusion, and it’s called ‘compromise.’
“And that is the subject of our hearing today.”
In case you’re a visual person, here is the video of what Adam Schiff said.
This, That, and the Other 