let the bad times roll

Happy Fourth of July, South of the 49th. The celebration is officially on because Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest was won by Joey Chestnut for the 17th time. There is no competition more symbolic of American hubris. How many kids in Gaza could have been fed by his 70.5 hot dogs?

But I’ve buried my lead. The damage from Trump’s Big Bill has already begun. A hospital in Curtis, Nebraska — a state Trump won by 60% — announced that it will be closing soon due to the coming cuts to Medicaid. The overarching tragedy to the grief that this foreshadows is that Aging Orange was quite specific about doing this in his campaign.

Climate change continues to rum amok. A forest fire in central California has already burned 52,000 acres, surpassing the deadly L.A. area fires earlier this year that killed 30 people and destroyed 38,000 acres and 12,000 structures. Torrential rains in south central Texas have caused catastrophic flooding. NOAA, which Trump has gutted, is predicting an above average hurricane season.

It’s enough to make a grown man sigh (if not cry), then crack a beer and watch some baseball to avoid watching Donny Jay sign The Bill and gloat even more.