My 3-year old son asked me why Santa stranded her up on the roof — Papa, why did Santa just leave little Karen up on the roof? From the mouths of babes, right? Yes, it is true. …

As a child I was responsible for setting it up under the tree — it created a safe place inside of me forever — It was always now. The first or second Saturday after Thanksgiving. We got to get that village up, boy. Somewhere along the way, from birth to when I turned 7 or 8, my grandmother decided that I was the one. Sort of like in The Matrix when Neo was chosen…

Today’s hits are lacking that special magic, leaving me a little lost Don’t get me wrong. There is tons of great music today. Music for me, like many, tethers us to more. Easing us through the doldrums of any given block of 24 hours, the standard dose of life promised…

To begin to understand ‘how did we get a Trump,” historians should start with the DeVos and Van Andel MLM brainchild — Historians will be pondering for years, how did the phenomenon of Donald Trump happen in the United States. Many will look to the end of the actual years of Trump, and at the most extreme elements of his following, and say it was all based on racism. …

With a straight face, Putin tells Russian mothers that they are lucky for their losses — I wonder if the mothers of the tens of thousands of Russian men killed in Ukraine have any idea just how lucky they are. Vladimir Putin in a meeting held last week with “fake” mothers and televised for all to see, said that the death of a soldier in Ukraine…

Gun violence and climate change threaten to bankrupt our future; Republican inaction must be stopped — I am warning you now, grab your socks. Now, let’s play a little game just to get us all on the same page to avoid being told that we are purveyors of nonsense. Which party is traditionally against regulating guns, and dealing with climate change? I think we could safely…

And it’s half empty for Russia — Vodka plays an important cultural role in both Ukraine and Russia. Ukrainians, in fact, make a wonderful thing called “samogon,” which is a homemade spirit often stronger than vodka. Samogon sometimes tastes wonderful. Vodka is always horrific if you ask me. Nonetheless, if there is one thing that could bring…

A bully is powerless when everyone is laughing at him — Ready, one, two, three: Fold your hands gently onto your belly and let out a hearty laugh! Repeat this over and over until you actually find yourself laughing for real. In case you haven’t guessed, we are laughing at Russia’s failures as a modern society. Or, better yet, go to…

Turned into a lively debate on pickling — Vladimir Putin held the annual meeting with his recently-revised Human Rights Council. As one would expect from a human rights meeting held in Moscow, a lot of “pro-human” developments were reached and some really smart pickling tips were shared by the dictator-turned-homemaker president. Russia’s grief-stricken moms had some good cries…