Political humor--or is it?

I'm having a hard time reconciling my sense of respect and my sense of humor. I have a great deal of respect for Barack Obama, both as President and a man. I have a friend who says adamantly he respects the office but not the man. I was about to argue, when I realized that's exactly how I feel about George W. Bush. I understand he's a nice guy--genial, laid-back, good company. In fact, that was my impression when I shook hands with him during his governor days. Laura Bush was crisply efficient, well dressed, properly cordial; he looked like he'd grabbed that plaid shirt out of the dryer, and when he offered his hand it was with almost sheepish duck of the head. But his presidency ruined any leeeway I was about to give him.
Now we have Mitt Romney, and I would like to respect the man. Anyone who puts himself out there to run for president deserves respect. But his increasing gaffes make it hard, especially after his tour abroad. The hardest thing for me, however, is that some of the cartoons and comments on Facebook are so darned hysterical, I can't help laughing out loud. I try to follow with common sense. I don't take seriously much from the page, "I love it when I wake up and Obama is president." I do take seriously a column from somone like Paul Krugman. But even the stuff from the "Dogs Against Romney" page is funny, though Seamus' trip on the roof of the car is now a stale joke. The slogan, "Mitt the Twit" is almost irresistible, and I love "Mittens" as a nickname--it has such a dimunitive quality about it.Then there's the picture of Queen Elizabeth, looking stern as only she can, with bubble words, "I am getting quite tired of you, Mr. Romney." Never happened, but the idea is great. Or Jay Leno's comment that the reason Romney is having a hard time picking a v-p candidate is that he's never hired from within this country before. Or the picture of the Obamas at a casual supper somewhere on the campaign trail--they're laughing naturally, heartily and you almost want to laugh with them. But the bubble words say, "And he wanted an apology!" You know that's not what they're laughing about, but it's still funny. I don't repost those things unless I just can't help myself.
But you know what? I don't see Governor Romney laughing much if at all. A tight, forced smile, yes; genuine laughter, no. Maybe someone should tell him that a new study indicates that being able to laugh at yourself is a sign of a healthy personality and sense of humor. Or should we tell him laughter is the best medicine?
In the long run, maybe the most apt saying is "He laughs best who laughs last."

Religion and Politics: My Take

Religion and politics are the two topics that are verboten on the internet. I have guest-posted at several blogs where the instructions were, "Write about anything you want except religion and politics."
I don't blog or post on Facebook about religion, though I'm glad to share my faith if asked. I feel no need to defend it, because it's not threatened. If your beliefs are polar opposite mine, you worship your way, and I'll worship mine. I know that is not true in all countries; it's one of the blessings of America.
But politics is another matter. What happens on the national political front directly affects me and impacts the future of my children and grandchildren. Friends and family have chided me for being too outspoken on Facebook--if you follow my posts, you know that I lean to the left, far left some say. I prefer to call it humanitarianism. A colleague wrote that he tries to tone down his political posts but sometimes he's too outraged. I'm outraged a lot about everything from Mitt Romney's off-shore accounts to Rick Perry's rejection of Federal aid in the state that ranks lowest in health care delivery, about Mitch McConnell's avowed goal of defeating President Obama no matter the cost to the country, about the so-called war on women, about the fact that too many Americans are suffering physicially, financially, and emotionally.
I try to be responsible about what I post, to authenticate the source. There are some posts I won't share because I think they're propoganda, although some of those pieces are so bitingly funny I occasionally lapse. And I try to be judicious and not flood followers with political posts--I can flood them with dog pictures. But I'm also aware of the dangers of an apathetic body of voters. I'm reading novels set in England in 1939 right now, and I'm reminded that many Germans kept quiet while Nazism took over their country, kept quiet during the Holacaust. In England, Winston Churchill and his sense of the inevitability of war were unpopular--people wanted to believe Neville Chamberlain's appeasement policy would work. It didn't. So I would urge people to speak out.
My faith dictates my politics. Because of my faith, I'm opposed to capital punishment; I believe health care should be available to everyone; I think all people deserve equal opportunity in this country. I take to heart the words, "You are your brother's keeper." I can't believe the Lord meant us to value wealth over human kindness, so I'm outraged a lot.
If my post has outraged you, hurray! I've made you think. My colleague mentioned above is a teacher, and he says his goal is to make students think, not necessarily as he does (he leans left too) but to think criticially.
Friends have told me I will change no one's mind on Facebook, but you know what? I don't believe that. I post a lot of pictures of healthy dogs about to be euthanized just because an animal shelter has run out of room. I know of one dog  for sure who found a happy home because of my sharing his picture. I think it can happen in politics too. At least maybe I can make someone think.

Politics and other funny things

No need to go farther than the daily newspaper for a good chuckle. Yesterday, it was reported that the State of Missouri added Rush Limbaugh to its Hall of Famous Missourians--see they don't even get the title right. Shouldn't it be Missouri Hall of Fame? Anyway, they inducted Limbaugh and unveiled a bust of him in a secret ceremony from which reporters and Democrats were barred. It was kept secret until thirty minutes before the ceremony began. Now that's scary stuff--an abuse of power at least. Predictably, Democrats in the Missouri legislature are howling that the bust should not be displayed with others in this Hall of Fame. The governor of Missouri is apparently the consummate politician: he announced that jurisdiction or authority over the Hall of Fame was an "iffy" thing, which is a way of saying, "Don't put that ball in my court!" The Speaker of the House in Missouri blamed the secrecy on "radical liberals" who have no undertanding of forgiving past mistakes, referring apparently to the young woman Limbaugh derided as a slut and a prostitute. Ain't politics fun?
The presidential candidates spoke at commencements this weekend. President Obama preached to his base in this day of the so-called "war on women"--he addressed the 600 graduates of the all-women Barnard College, telling them to "Fight for your seat at the head of the table." Former governor Mitt Romney, on the other hand, tried to solidify his base by speaking to religious conservatives who had been cool toward him during much of the primary fight. At Liberty University, which boasts of a World Class Christian Education, he told graduates, "The welcoming spirit of Liberty is a tribute to the gracious Christian example of your founder." That would of course be Jerry Falwell. Because I didn't know a thing about Liberty U. I looked it up online--and the first thing to come up is the world's largest online university. Don't know if that's a branch of the physical university or not, but, Mitt, I think you lost this one.
And then there's the man in New York who has spent $60K suing his ex-girlfriend for custody of a dog she alleges he gave her as an outright gift. He appeared on the TODAY show this morning wearing orange pants and black-and-white striped socks--and he wants us to take him seriously?
Finally, there's a new book out called Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores. The ad features this conversation: Customer: Who wrote the Bible? Customer's friend: Jesus.