Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

The latest from the guy in the Oval Office:

He demands all reports and briefings that reach his desk be no more than one page, yet his supporters say he’s a detail-oriented guy. Well, sure, that’s obvious.

He quotes what a dead president said about the Civil War. Now we know the president is a medium.

He asks why the Civil War happened, a question people don’t ask. Obviously, none of the 50,000 books written on the subject have ever considered that question.

He learns how the world works from other world leaders, earlier from Germany, the latest from China. Of course. Why do your own studying when others will do it for you?

He says he likes to work. That is shown in the near-weekly trips to Florida to tend to his golf course.

He would be honored to meet North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and invited the Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte to visit. What could go wrong?

He says we can draw our own conclusions and can have our own opinions. Thanks, but we don’t need your permission for that. He also says he doesn’t stand by anything.

Ah, at last—something on which we agree.

Steve Barnhart

Kansas City

Note from KBJ: Please get some help with your Trump Derangement Syndrome, Steve. You're making an ass of yourself.

Here is Kurt Schlichter's latest column.

I always stop at the 14-mile mark of my ride to eat four cheese crackers. Today, moments after I opened the cracker package, I noticed a bobcat walking toward me at a brisk pace. He obviously smelled the crackers and wanted some. Though I felt sorry for him, I resisted the temptation to give him a cracker. It would only make him dependent on humans. He watched me for a while, only six feet from where I sat, and finally ambled off. (Click the image to enlarge; I did not use the zoom lens.)

Note that this is a good summation of the difference between progressives and conservatives. Progressives want to take care of people's immediate needs even if it undermines the recipients' ability to provide for themselves in the future. Conservatives want people to be independent, self-sufficient, and, as a result of these, dignified. Another way to put it is that progressives emote, while conservatives cogitate. The irony, of course, is that progressives think that they're the ones with heart. They view conservatives as heartless. The truth is that conservatives have both heart and brain. Progressives have neither.

Ask Sally Yates, under oath, if she knows how classified information got into the newspapers soon after she explained it to W.H. Counsel.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 8, 2017

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Horrific crash during today's Talladega 500.

Here.

Here.

To the editor:

When I looked at Friday’s headlines, I saw meanness and greed everywhere.

Mostly white males who feed at the most opulent trough of government fat are celebrating depriving those who are less fortunate. They seek to deny health benefits to regular Americans, and for what? So the rich can get richer.

Everything they do is for the rich. Take away public lands so private individuals and business can buy them. Deny women basic rights that allow them to have control over their lives. Deny citizens the freedom to decide for themselves how they want to treat hard-working immigrants. Deny everyone the right to a safe environment that preserves our Earth for future generations.

Luke Chapter 12 says that to whom much is given, much will be required. All I see is men who have been given much doing everything they can to get even more. It’s shameful.

Phil Beauchamp, Chino Hills

Here are highlights from Stage 3 of the Giro d'Italia.

Republican Senators will not let the American people down! ObamaCare premiums and deductibles are way up – it was a lie and it is dead!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 7, 2017

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