As I prepare to click ‘Publish,’ I note that this is two (2) Sundry Assortments in a row.

Oh well.

I. Practice makes perfect.

I imagine this is the mise-en-scene as Ann practices piano. The satisfaction of action — keys hammering, notes hit, melody gone awry or even missing — writ large on a small stuffed figure made in the image of the Prescedense.

Nice work, Ann. Keep up the practice.

And big data evidence would suggest that inclusion of an image in a blog post jacks the number of page hits. So there’s that. Shameless pandering to image clicks. Where is as is.

II. Check your Sanders.

Whilst surfing the news late last week, I watched as White House practiced liar Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders conducted a press briefing in which Brian Karem questioned her empathy for children yanked from their parents or her lack thereof.

Then I tripped across a Twitter thread critical of an article which shed light on Sanders late arrival to the realization that the criminal justice system and incarceration rates are racist.  Whoa! Is Sarah Huckabee Sanders experiencing a moment of “woke”? Nope. The individual in question was Bernie, not Sarah.

A tale of two Sanders.

One needs to sit down and shut up.

And the other one needs to …

Sit down and shut up.¹

III. Think of the children.

In the conversation between Sarah Kendzior and Bonnie North at Boswell Books on Thursday, June 7, Sarah made mention of the Stoneman Douglas students forced into activism and the national spotlight not by choice but by circumstance.

And as I watch David Hogg’s Twitter feed,  he is a fan of space. He has interests which do not involve firearms. He chose MSD high school for specific classes offered whose focus is a different kind of shooting (television production).

He did not choose gun control activism. He did not choose to be the spokesperson to push for sane gun policy and laws. He did not choose March for Our Lives.

It chose him.

Childhood lost.

IV. Think of the children.

During discussion of the book Evicted by Matthew Desmond last week, an overarching idea was that as a society we should be concerned about the lives of children raised in poverty. Regardless of poor decisions or life choices made by parents, children should be given a chance — food, clothing, shelter, education.

Children watch. Children listen. Children learn.

And what we are teaching them as a society is …

Childhood lost. We send the message that we’re okay with that.

Also of note, grow up and you’re still on your own as an adult too …

V. Think of the children.

This interview with a Japanese internment camp prisoner on the separation of children from their parents seeking asylum considers the long-term effects incarceration has on children.

And Japanese internment after WWI is part of USA history. 

And Japanese Americans weren’t the first. We’ve been here before.

Ugh.

We can do better.

VI. Sordid.

The Obama and George W. Bush “administrations were morally and pragmatically opposed to separating immigrant children from their families, even if some adult immigrants were clearly taking advantage of that compassion.”

Compassion. Are we ultimately afraid that someone might take advantage of our compassion? Are we afraid to be played? To allow a stranger, a foreigner to have a shot at a life lived … with us? With the full benefits of citizenship?

Well, if the current stance and objections to immigration and asylum continue, we won’t  need to worry about being all that. Walls will be needed to keep us …

IN.

VII. Lies. Sordid Lies.

From Bill Kristol (I love quoting an ‘R’ when it is agreeable to my POV):

Trump: The Democrats made us do it.

Stephen Miller: It’s our policy to do it.

Sec. Nielsen: We’re not doing it.

17 Jun 2018 6:13 PM. Tweet.

And lies. The GOP controls three branches of government. The separation of children from their parents is not the fault of the Democrats.

This is the Trump Administration’s Regime’s POLICY.

VIII. Sordid mouthwash.

Sordid (adjective): involving ignoble actions and motives; arousing moral distaste and contempt.

And so as Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, III quotes from the Bible to justify the separation of children from their parents, I find that I want to wash his mouth out with a big chewy bar of Ivory soap — figuratively.

And yes, literally.

Do it for the children. Do it for childhood lost. Do it to reinforce separation of church and state. It is hard to watch these people² commit crimes against humanity by quoting a religious text and not want harm to come visit them. Covering your dirty and squalid actions with Bible verses really tests my sunny disposition, Jeff.

Mental health. I need a Jeff Sessions troll doll to keep my mini-Teflon Cheeto company (thanks, Ann).

Don’t want to see it, but I hope that’s a fully loaded bowl.

• ¹ Bernie Sanders is not a Democrat.
• Bernie Sanders’ rhetoric and need for national attention continue to divide the Democratic Party at a time when division is death at the polls.
• Bernie Sanders has too much chronological wealth and experience to run for President in 2020. Grow up and back somebody else in 2020, Bernie.

² “These people.” Yes, it’s a pejorative sideways reference. Always was. Still is.