By Laurie Baron
SAN DIEGO−At a rally in Alabama, President Trump urged owners of NFL teams to fire players who refuse to stand when the Star Spangled Banner is played. Next he disinvited the Golden State Warriors from visiting the White House because Steph Curry refused to attend. Oakland A’s catcher Bruce Maxwell responded by becoming the first major league baseball player to take a knee during the national anthem. Enraged over the lack of patriotism displayed by these professional athletes, Trump is considering issuing an executive order making NASCAR the national pastime of the United States.
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The war of name calling between President Trump and Kim Jong Un has escalated with Trump taunting the North Korean leader as “little rocket man” and Kim Jong Un labeling Trump a “dotard” and a “a frightened dog.” If this fiery rhetoric triggers a nuclear conflict, it will prove Trump’s assertion that “there are bad dudes on both sides.”
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With John McCain announcing that he will not vote for the Cassidy-Graham Bill to replace Obamacare, the Bill looks like it cannot by resuscitated. Perhaps that’s an apt symbol for the fate of chronically and critically ill low-income patients if it were passed.
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After the US Virgin Islands were hit hard again by Hurricane Maria, their governor introduced legislation to change their name to the US Raped Islands to convey the extent of damage and need there to Congress and the President.
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Hurricane Maria left the population of Puerto Rico without power. This confirmed what proponents of statehood have been saying for years.
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Baron is professor emeritus of history at San Diego State University. He may be contacted via lawrence.baron@sdjewishworld.com. San Diego Jewish World points out to new readers that this column is satire, and nothing herein should be taken literally.