Name someplace better

So yesterday I had a meeting with a neurologist (my third) in an effort to get my driver’s license back. He’s a learned man, with man stories he isn’t afraid to share, with a thick Russian accent. He has traveled (“you think this is cold? I’ve lived In Siberia!”) is well respected in his field working with both civilians and veterans, is impossibly knowledgeable about many medical fields (he’s the one who got the ball rolling to figure out why I kept falling asleep).

We got to talking about vacations and travel to other countries and while we didn’t discuss politics, we all seemed to be on the same page that this is a rough patch in America right now. But he always would come home to the U.S., he said. “Can you name anyplace better?”

My wife ventured a couple of thoughts, like Australia and New Zealand, to which he replied, “Both are nice. Australia has a good medical system. But New Zealand is hurting for Doctors right now. They offered me the chance to move there and practice.”

Ah, if only I had gone to Medical School after all.

I opted not to opine on the issue, if for no other reason that this man had the future of whether or not I could go back to driving in his hands. In the end, he agreed to get the process started. I may be driving again by spring. I certainly hope so – I’m a terrible passenger.

But I’ve thought about this for a while now and by my count there are 26 countries where it is better to live than the United States. While I’m not going to go through them all I will point out a few things:

• All 26 have Universal Health-care
• More than a dozen have guaranteed income
• Many are in Europe, but a couple are in South America and a couple are in Africa
• One has a prohibition against war in its Constitution
• More than half have solid protections for the LGBTQ Community, and ALL consider a Woman’s right to choose a settled issue.
• 11 have stronger economies than the US.
• All 26 have better educational systems, and in 15 of them college is free.
• Most of them have higher taxes and lower costs of living than the US. But they have all of that shit above
• In all of them people in Prison can vote, if they are citizens
• In most, it is fairly easy to get your hands on a lathe.

A few things have become clear to me over the past few weeks. One is that we live in a police state. If you have to not let prisoners vote because you feel it could change the outcome of an election, you might be living in a police state. Another thing is that I am just sick of this whole “We’re Number One” attitude. We’re not. We’re clearly not.

I’m tired of being angry all the time. I was raised to believe that as a whole, we’re better than this. That is clearly wrong as well, but I can’t blame those who raised me for it. No one could see how fragile it all is.

Forgive me, I think I’m rambling.

Our country, its economics and political system, has been referred to as the Great Experiment. I can’t tell you that it has failed, even though all the signs are there – including the same fatalism that gave Germany a real madman. If you think Trump is bad, there are real madmen waiting in the wings. People who believe that they should be speeding up the end of the world. People like Mike Pence.

But I can tell you that by my count 26 countries do Democracy better than we do.

And not one of them is lead by a racist megalomaniac bully with strange hair, an Adderall addiction, an anger management problem, a spray tan, a 6^th grade education, and a belief that he himself is the only person in the world that matters.

Cheap Shots. It’s Friday, so imbibe on the beverage of your choice. Or try the recipe below.

My list and Forbes’ aren’t the same, but they have a list.

I’ve always wondered how it is that the far right of Israel can get along with the far right of US Evangelicalism. Eventually, US Evangelicals want every Israeli to die.

Dershowitz quite and Cipollone is actually part of the conspiracy?

Sad, Pathetic Life.

Six new shitholes.

“Is clean water too political?” Reverend Andy.

Here’s how to make a Sidecar: 2.5 oz cognac, 0.5 oz Grand Marnier, 0.5 oz lemon juice

Want to learn the basic cocktails, randomly? Click here.

I don’t think this will work but she should un-invite the fucker.

Don’t call Bolton a hero. He’s not.

This could be good. It could also be very very very  very bad.

And because I love you, lovelytheband has a new song out: