Joel Mathis

More about this: To me, this sums up Trump-Republican ideology pretty neatly, in three ways: * Trumpist Republicans don't have to play by the rules. The president ran his 2016 on a law and order campaign, but has notoriously been the most lawless president in living memory -- and that includes Nixon. Rules are for other people, not for the powerful elites and their friends. * Trumpist Republicans disdain those they see as "weak." The GOP’s general attitude toward the vulnerable members of society is: "I got mine, you can go to hell." Mike Pence believes he doesn't have the coronavirus, so why should he act in a way that protects others from from the disease? And he can buy health insurance, so why should Republicans worry about ensuring that poor people can afford medical care? Or food? Or anything else? * Trumpist Republicans are willing to let those weak people shoulder the consequences of their actions. Of course, people can be asymptomatic and s

C'mon, man. I'll wager Trump and Pence don't wear masks because they see sickness -- and concessions to it -- as weakness . That's macho strutting at its most foolish. But it's also par for the course.

I'm edging my way back into social media. But it's kind of like edging your way back into the path of a fire hydrant: You can't get just a little wet — you're going to get soaked on contact. Anyway, here's the mantra I'm trying to live by right now: You don't have to express your opinion about everything. You don't have to express your opinion about everything. You don't have to express your opinion about everything. It's possible, in fact, that the more opinion I put into the world, the less valuable any one opinion might be. So. Trying to control myself. (Pauses.) If I were to have an opinion about shit that doesn't matter much, though, it would be this : Gov. Pence shouted to his wife, Karen, his closest adviser, at the other end of the table. "Mother, Mother, who prepared our meal this evening?" The legislators looked at one another, speaking with their eyes: He just called his wife "Moth