Aitäh Eesti (Thank you Estonia) for making democracy young again!

Preface: A spouse cheating conspiracy theorist majoring in fear mongering provides free comedy to the masses and little else. Americans need leadership from free thinking 80s children (Estonian style) who can command many languages, unlike the Führer who can barely communicate in one.

Back in the day, democratic countries had a fixation with old codgers, now there's a new trend: the under 40 ruling class. There have been many examples recently, with Estonia leading the way with back-to-back youngsters taking the helm. Former Prime Minister, Taavi Rõivas and current PM Jüri Ratas were born in 1979 and 1978 respectively. We can all learn from Estonia; their voting system is as modern as their leaders: paperless and efficient. You know things are out of whack when even Italy goes with an upstart. Matteo Renzi was 39 when he took the reins, and we all know how that ended...Italians love changing leaders as much as a baby needs their diaper changed (on the last count they've had 62 governments times since World War II).

The Dutch general election on March 15, 2017, also had a few surprises. The Dutch Green Left party increased its seat total from 4 to 14 (in the 150-seat legislature), which is substantial in a parliament made up of 9 parties (+ 15 independents). Its leader, Jesse Klaver (born May 1, 1986) has plenty of bargaining power. Now France is on the verge of electing a President that was born on December 21, 1977. Emmanuel Macron is a character when questioned about being too young, he casually referenced having a wife 20 years his senior - Vive la France!

Imagine the day that the American continent elect's youthful leaders. Okay, Canada and Mexico, I will accept that Trudeau and Nieto at 45 and 50 respectively (I guess physically they can pass for under 40) put the U.S. to shame. I think we all agree, the fewer septuagenarians leading nations the better, I'm looking at you, a certain 240-year-old nation being incompetently led by a conspiracy theorist fruitcake - one that spends more time watching TV, than working on improving his mental capacity from that of a third grader. I'm yet to meet anyone who works less than this tangerine Führer. (Side note: if anyone questions you on your work ethic, please refer to the 45th president). I'm calling on all those U.S. citizens born in 1985 to run in 2020 (minimum age to become President is 35), let's show how out of a touch a thrice married cradle snatching bigot really is! Failure to do so will resort in an outbreak of coulrophobia that will make 2016's version look pale in comparison.

It's time we follow the lead of the home of democracy, Greece. Its political upheavals are well documented, but one can't deny they have the best maternity care in the world and love him or hate are led by Alexia Tsipras, a 42-year-old who refuses to wear a tie. Most of the technologies we rely on are created and managed by entrepreneurs younger than 40, so it's only fitting politics catches up. (You should look at Mark Zuckerberg, at 32 he runs a company with nearly 2 billion subscribers). That's right folks, if you haven't led a country before 40 (or have access to billions of people's private lives) then it's time to consider another career. 

Texas' economy is now the world's 10th largest

Now its time to surpass our northern neighbors in the liberty stakes. Memo: don't follow Australia's lead, they imprison there huddled masses. As for Russia, we already have a Führer obsessed with lowering America's liberty standings (from its current 20th placing to mirror that of Russia's 111th).

The annual State of the State speech (on 1/31/17) was another way for Governor Abbott to flaunt Texas' wealth. What popped out to me most was the vastness of its size: Texas' economy (measured as a country) would be larger than that of Australia, Canada and Russia. Whilst Texas has rapidly risen in the ranking of best-managed state (currently ranks 7th, was 36th in 2010), it still lags in education and health indicators (ranked 43rd and 34th respectively in both areas), which explains why the Governor glossed over them and instead concentrated on harping on about the destruction of Sanctuary cities.

Those not familiar, Governor Abbott is himself disabled and has a Hispanic wife, what does that have to do with anything you say? Well, you'd think from living with adversity and having a spouse from such an important contributor to Texas' wealth, you'd understand empathy. Crime comes from many sources, just singling out the undocumented makes you a fool. Everyday there's an example of white specimens (yes, even of the blond hair blue-eyed variety) committing atrocities, where is their ban?

Need I keep reminding readers of Charles Whitman. A white Christian who shot up the University of Austin (at a time when minorities didn't "terrify" white suburbia) on August 1, 1966. Then there's a that little statistic - chance of falling victim to an undocumented immigrant: 1 in 10,900,000,000.

Let's talk Mexico, seeing as the Governor is trying to send out coded messages of blaming them for everything that's wrong with the state. Feast your eyes on the following: Texas ranks No. 1 in export jobs and Mexico's the states top export destination. Add to that all the cultural richness they've provided and you have an excuse to support a border wall - not!

If the Governor has any backbone, he will send Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (in Texas, the Lieutenant Governor has excessive powers) to voice concerns to our white nationalist Führer. Patrick blows up over trans-gendered folk in bathrooms, so why not over the benefits of our southern neighbors. Pigs might fly, the hypocrisy from our elected leaders has no end. Republicans are meant to be pro business and pro amnesty, that's what Lincoln would stand for, yet they insist on practicing Slavic style ethno-nationalism.

Here in the heart of Texas business is booming and progressive values endure, even though one of the biggest financial backers of Führer Trump* (Andrew Beal) happens to reside in a $100 million Dallas mansion. Than you Mayor Rawlings for standing up for all the green card holders who were discriminated against for wanting to visit a nation built by the tired and poor. As an immigrant myself, I applaud anyone who gets it: apart from Natives, we're all foreigners.

PS. Talking transgender, Texas has joined the lists of states with a Transgender mayor. To top it off, the town of New Hope, TX is in Collin County (which voted for a bigot in November, who shall remain nameless). 

Jesus and Lincoln called 202-456-1414; conveying disgust at having their names defiled by this racist administration

My parents hold Syrian passports - come and get me Führer Trump*. Warning: don't mess with us Australian-Armenian-American types, especially ones from Texas! I get it, I "applied" to be born in a Western country, so my rights don't get trod on. To those being questioned on their birthplace, make sure you show border patrol a picture of Ellis Island, this will remind them of what makes America truly great.

Hey sleaze ball in charge of the nukes, could you please send Paul Ryan after me. He said you displayed textbook racism during the campaign, but now blushes at your "compassionate" Christian virtues (you know, of the 'treat people the same way you want them to treat you' kind). Don't get me started on his love for showing "empathy" towards the disabled and undocumented aliens - cough, cough...You do realize Mary and Joseph would be rejected under this buffoon. Not to worry, Republicans gain power due in large part to the Evangelical vote, hell will have a special place for these hypocrites.

I'll leave you with this poignant piece of cartoon art, sums up all you need to know about America's laughing-stock credentials. Maybe we need this poor excuse of a human to take us to the brink. As we saw this weekend at airports around the country, this might spur us into devoting more energy helping impoverished refugees, than losing sleep over tweets from an ignorant despot.

PS. Unless you've been hiding in a bunker, an unelected wife-beating racist (Steve Bannon) counsels the despot. He has a long history of advocating ethno-nationalism - you'd think he was a pure American, but no, he has Irish lineage. Tickle me pink, a product of immigrants hell-bent on decimating the world’s greatest melting pot. If you have a soul (come Nov 6, 2018 and Nov 3, 2020), it's your duty to reject the party that facilitates this abomination.

* Stands for illegitimate President. Time to consider the 25th Amendment and send Mussolini's doppelganger to the dustbin of history.

From this day forth, all free-thinking Americans will refer to this map

Darkness reigned on the U.S. Capitol today - V.V. Putin (disguised as a tangerine sociopath) was sworn-in as the 45th President. If you thought 1/20/2001 was embarrassing for American democracy, today's inauguration took it to another level! Führer Trump* will forever be tainted by an asterisk, due in large part to his bigotry, con artistry, sleaze and badly losing the popular vote. (Reminder: Clinton 65,844,610 def. Trump* 62,979,636). Until such time democracy is reinstated, this map will represent the majority of voters that rejected a vulgar false prophet. Dallas Island looks good to me!

Dissenters of the popular vote point to inflated numbers from California. Let's see, California has a larger economy than Russia, so logic would suggest it would decide the election over Russia (there's also that little detail where Russians aren't American citizens). It all makes sense now, Reagan was an actor, so as such he pretended to win the Cold War, all the while Republicans were desperate for the U.S. to become a Russian satellite. Looks as though they finally found their puppet, and the rest is history...

Prescription for MMXVII: dissolve one xenophobic tablet daily

Always good to have 10-days off, before I fire up and tell it how it is! These are personal New Year's resolutions that I recommend for anyone who is a free-thinker. (If the American bias irks you, just replace it with terms relating to you. For instance, if you live in France simply boycott Marine Le Pen; Australia, denounce the savagery of imprisoning refugees (how ironic, coming from a nation built by convicts).

Disassociate with anyone who supports a border wall, repealing Obamacare (call me a bleeding heart, but health comes before 2000 House staffers making 6-figure salaries), Bigotry (if you want bathroom segregation, could you please move to Saudi Arabia), false truths (perpetrated by the racist-elect and his Russian cronies), cults (including mainstream religions that talk about compassion yet support demagogue's).

Please open your doors to at least one illegal alien (and don't go using them for cheap labor, actually treat them as you want to be treated). This should be a given for anyone with a beating heart - America is all about the ideals of Ellis Island. The very definition of Un-American: when a filthy con artist hosts gold-plated parties in South Florida for shady characters (including ones with mob ties), all the while gloating about cutting healthcare to the poor. If you think that's bad, the party he represents stands by it - accomplices in the slaughter of Lincoln and Jefferson's legacy.

Resolutions for the world...Peace to all the forgotten people. I do have a vested interest in the plight of Aleppo (having lineage to this ancient city). This won't please some, but I actually care about all Syrians no matter their faith. The world is getting 'too cute' with the way it markets tragedy. Christian kiddies gets precedence over Muslim ones, how 'bout we get cranky over any loss of innocence. No child deserves to die (even those who have foreign names/features), period!

All destitute's must be looked after. Yes, even those in Chad! Poor Chadians, I wrote about you guys last year (refer to March 11th posting: We are all Chadians) and it didn't go viral, maybe its cause I don't have the same clout as reality TV buffoons. It's an absolute travesty that your life expectancy is 50, I'll do my utmost to ensure everyone knows about it!

While we're at it, what's this stupid policy of Western countries only accepting refugees that meet our ideals. If we're going to scare ourselves over foreign invaders, maybe we can start by stopping homegrown terror, oops, we never do. Just before Christmas, a white blonde man slaughtered his wife and baby in Fort Worth. I heard not a peep from President-elect, about registering Caucasian men in a database (in the event they turn into baby killers).

2017 is already off to a flyer re: horrific incidents. In the early hours Istanbul was attacked, as per usual it was largely ignored due to very few casualties from "proper"countries. Soon after, the Fort Lauderdale attack gained more publicity, as the victims were more "western". Refer to above, stop playing off humans, a life is a life! I'll say it in a way that is easier to understand: whether you're from NY or Kigali you share 99.9% of DNA, and as such you should be treated equally.

It's simple, 2017 has to be the year when compassion trumps (I had to go there) tangerine psychosis. This deadly disease is infiltrating society on a global scale. Its figurehead is a sleaze ball with a tangerine coating, however his adherents are even worse, they actually believe jingoism and xenophobia are worth celebrating. We've seen it all before, just ask the Jewish, Irish, Vietnamese...People fear difference, then they can't live without that diversity (refer to refugees who went on to save lives and provided an array of tasty food). The big difference is that we are now in the 21st century, where you'd think humans have a semblance of empathy after all their past misdeeds.

So there it is, let's make 2017 the year of destroying prejudice by taking action. I know this is much to ask from the social media generation, but actual protesting does work. If I can holler at Confederate types holding machine guns, than you to can lose your voice in the face of tyranny.