Reading good books (like the ones activists are forcing school boards to ban), might make us more inclined to realize, as James Baldwin wrote: "We can disagree and still love each other, unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist." 

From satirist Dave Barry's 2022 Year in Review:

"The U.S. Supreme Court, in what legal experts view as evidence of a shift to the right, rules that all previous court decisions were wrong."

The mayor of Highland Park released a statement saying in part, "Banning assault weapons has proven to be effective at curbing gun violence. ... This important step taken by our Illinois legislators sends a clear message to other states and the federal government that we need continued bold action to address mass shootings across our nation."

Illinois has now joined California, New Jersey, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Delaware, Washington, D.C. to ban assault weapons and take bold action to keep weapons of war off America's streets. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, House Speaker Chris Welch, Senate President Don Harmon, Representative Bob Morgan, and the numerous advocates, survivors, and elected officials whose tireless efforts turned the pain of Highland Park and other acts of gun violence into meaningful action on behalf of all Illinoisans. The law will ban the sale, delivery, and purchase of dozens of assault-style weapons, and any firearms currently owned must be registered with state police. Long gun magazines are capped at 10 rounds, and, for handguns, 15 rounds.

With Gov Pritzker's signature, the law took effect immediately.

Amidst the chaos of the GOP's attempt to elect a speaker, the voice of Hakeem Jeffries emerged - he is a breath of fresh air.
He shared his alphabet of American values:
  American values over autocracy;        
    benevolence over bigotry;    
  the Constitution over the cult;      
    democracy over demagogues;        
  economic opportunity over extremism;      
    freedom over fascism;      
  governing over gaslighting;      
    hopefulness over hatred;      
  inclusion over isolation;      
    justice over judicial overreach;      
  knowledge over kangaroo courts;      
    liberty over limitation;    
  maturity over Mar-a-Lago;      
    normalcy over negativity;      
  opportunity over obstruction;      
    people over politics;      
  quality of life issues over QAnon;      
    reason over racism;    
  substance over slander;      
    triumph over tyranny;      
  understanding over ugliness;      
    voting rights over voter suppression;      
  working families over the well-connected;      
    xenial over xenophobia;      
  "Yes we can" over you can can't do it;    
and zealous representation over zero-sum confrontation."

"So basically 'Black History' can't exist without approval from a white man."

"White Americans desire to be free from a past they do not want to remember,      
while Black Americans remain bound to a past they can never forget."        
--  Nikole Hannah-Jones, 2021

"Black history isn't a separate history. This is all of our history, this is American history, and we need to understand that."      
-- Karyn Parsons, 2014

Only Satire Explains:      
"The only thing Trump has made great again is 'Saturday Night Live'."

See the difference?
While Trump is yelling about the 2020 election  
and DeSantis is yelling about drag queens...        
Biden got Eli Lilly to cap the cost of insulin at $35/month for every American.      
That's the difference!

"An evil man will burn his own nation to the ground to rule over the ashes."        -- Sun Tzu

["I am your retribution."]

When the owner of a TV network admits they lied to you, their hosts lied to you, and you still believe them, you are a cult member.      
When dialogue is impossible, when citizens are not able to reason with one another, we are in a dangerous place. 

Until we are willing to submit our opinions to rigorous debate with the truth, and are willing to re-examine our beliefs in light of truth, much as we care, and loud as we speak, our opinions merely add to the noise. We need education that teaches us to think not just salute. 

Hi Janis,

Who did the lying?

P

Check with Rupert Murdoch and his producers.    
Which is more believable? What people say on TV, or what they say under oath with penalty of perjury?

Paul--I think it's time for you to have an annual cognitive test. Hint: Tree, Table and Fox News.

Thank you for the education.  Does this mean the other networks are not lying?  Educate me.

Opinion colors news everywhere, Paul, but nowhere is the deception as blatant, calculated, outrageous, and dangerous as FOX News.        
Are you telling me you trust Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Maria Bartiromo to tell you the truth?

Not at all. I trust no man to tell the truth.

If you have no capacity for discernment, please stay away from the ballot box. Your time is better spent enjoying your dogs.