It's a tough time for lots of people in the United States. No, let's make that most people. President Biden said as much yesterday.
Speaking to the Associated Press in a rare one-on-one interview in the Oval Office on Thursday afternoon, the president touched on many topics from war to hair.
“People are really, really down,” Biden told the Associated Press White House reporter Josh Boak, according to a transcript of the interview. “They’re really down.”
Agreed. Maybe you aren't feeling down, but I sure am. Not totally, of course. I have plenty of cheerful moments.
But I find it difficult to be all that upbeat given what's happening in Oregon, the United States, and the entire world.
Being a news junkie, I can't shut off the flow of facts into my brain. However, I've been doing my best to put a positive spin on reality. Arguably, I'm denying reality. That seems preferable to falling into a deep depression, though.
Here's some examples, with my positive spin/denial in italics.
Inflation and gas prices are going up like crazy. But the Granny Smith apples I eat every day, keeping the doctor away, still cost the same. If I ferment them, maybe they'll power my Subaru.
Betsy Johnson could be the next Oregon governor. I much prefer the Democrat, Tina Kotek, but even though Johnson has ads every night on Portland TV, that didn't do Carrick Flynn any good in the recent Democratic primary for the sixth congressional district.
The stock market is sinking into bear market territory. If I don't put my reading glasses on, and ignore the red numbers in my iPhone's Stocks app, sometimes I can imagine that the market went up rather than down.
Biden's approval numbers are as bad as Trump's at this point in his presidency. So this puts pressure on Biden to not run in 2024, which would make me really happy.
It looks like Trump is going to run for president again. That doesn't bother me, since he lost last time. What would bother me hugely is if Trump won. There must be a Dem who can beat him.
Republicans are going all out to make sure Trump wins in 2024, even if he actually lost. We couldn't really lose our democracy, could we? Won't Americans rise up and stop this from happening? I like my questions more than the answers that pop into my head.
It's been the rainiest April-May-June in NW Oregon recorded history. If this is an effect of global warming, I'd rather have too much rain than not enough. My daughter lives in southern California. She can't remember the last time it rained there, the drought is so bad.
Given the finalists, Salem will have a middle-aged white guy as the new City Manager. But hopefully one of them will be better than the middle-aged white guy who was the previous City Manager.
Vladimir Putin shows no signs of stopping his war on Ukraine. Some disease may stop Putin from living, though. Maybe a fast-growing cancer will win the Nobel Peace Prize.
The first case of monkeypox has been found in Oregon. OK, let's trade covid for monkeypox, a much rarer disease that doesn't spread easily and is rarely fatal.
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