Category: D. S. Mitchell

OPINION: For What It’s Worth

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OPINION: For What It’s Worth

OPINION: For What It’s Worth

 

D. S. Mitchell

 

I didn’t sleep well last night. I was agitated, angry, and broken hearted over what appears to be a murder in Minneapolis, MN, by a masked ICE agent. ICE stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the woman, a white woman, a 37 year old mother of three, was an American citizen, Renee Nicole Good.  The gaslighting by DHS Secretary, Kristi Noem  and the Mango Menace himself began  immediately. Rather than wait for an investigation the woman is being labeled “a domestic terrorist”. I tried to put myself in Renee Good’s place, being menaced by a masked man attempting to drag me out of my car. Holy crap, I’ve seen a lot in my long life but I don’t know if I could have behaved any less fearful than Renee did. This bullshit has gone way too far. I don’t know how many people have to hit the streets to sway the direction of this government, but I’ve heard that about 12 million protesters on the streets at one time can overwhelm the bad politics of this MAGA mad man and force a change in policy.

This isn’t El Salvador, yet; or maybe, people like Trump and Stephen Miller think it already is. Well, I’m not willing to surrender to thugs and criminals. I’m asking a mere 12 million protesters take to the streets. No Kings and Indivisible will be planning events coming into the spring. Watch for them and participate. We need an overwhelming outpouring of dissatisfaction against this mob boss president.  Just 12 million citizens yelling and waving signs can change the direction of this country.

All I keep thinking of are the words of that iconic protest song from the 1960’s, “For What It’s Worth“, by Stephen Stills.  I included a verse to stir your memory banks. Pull it up on YouTube. Buffalo Springfield.

Verse 1

There’s something happening here

But what it is ain’t exactly clear

There’s a man with a gun over there

A-telling me I got to beware

Chorus

Hey its time we stop

Hey what’s that sound

Everybody look what’s goin down

 

Thank you, For What it’s Worth Lyrics

What Next For Sesame Street?

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What Next For Sesame Street?

What Next For Sesame Street?

 

By D.S. Mitchell

 

Schnapps and Coffee

Well, right now I am adding a touch of Schnapps to my coffee. It’s still early, I might switch to straight Tequila by noon. Why? The leaders of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), after nearly 60 years of steering federal funding to PBS, NPR and hundreds of radio and TV stations nationwide voted Monday to dissolve the federally created organization. Ouch. The Republicans for years have complained loudly that public broadcasting is anti-conservatism, especially news programming. With Trump’s second administration-the GOP had full control of the government and those decades old complaints were acted on with the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’. Following Congress’s elimination of federal funding the CPB voted to close the organization to prevent what they described as, “political misuse of the organization.”

Uncertainty Over Future Funding

This congressional decision creates nationwide uncertainty for local media and independent journalism. Community fund raising has significantly increased but to be clear, there is in no way private donations will ever be able to match the lost 1.1 billion dollars in federal funds. In addition to emergency alerts public broadcasting has consistently provided educational, civic, and cultural programming.

Goodbye CPB
In essence, the closure of CPB marks the end of a major federal lifeline for public broadcasting in the U.S., shifting the burden of support onto local communities and private donors. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the private nonprofit created by Congress in 1967 to fund public media, officially voted to cease operations and dissolve on 1/5/2026. This decision followed the rescinding of over a billion dollars in federal funding by Congress in July 2025. While the CPB is closing, PBS and NPR are not shutting down as a whole, but going forward they face significant operational challenges: 

Rural and Local Stations: CPB funneled over 70% of its budget directly to more than 1,500 local stations. Rural and low-income areas are the most vulnerable; NJ PBS announced facing the loss of funding they are likely to close by July 2026.

Funding Shifts: National organizations like NPR and PBS have indicated they will rely on donations and emergency grants from major foundations to fill multi-million dollar gaps.  The sustainability of this plan is suspect at best.    

High Profile Programming: High-profile programs have sought external partners; for example, Sesame Street recently secured a deal with Netflix. 

Breaking News Out of Minneapolis

Time to bring out the Tequila, the breaking news out of Minneapolis, MN is a white woman, 37 years old, a citizen of this country was just murdered there by ICE agents. The gaslighting has already begun by Kristi Noem and the administration. I’ll be back tomorrow with this heartbreaking story.

OPINION: Dementia and Corruption at 20500

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OPINION:

Dementia and Corruption at 20500Not every president of the United States is remembered well.

OPINION:

Dementia and Corruption at 20500 

Editor: The number 20500 most commonly refers to the Zip code for Washington, D.C., often associated with federal buildings like the White House (1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, D.C. 20500)

By D. S. Mitchell

I started the Calamity News and Politics website to vent my frustrations and to keep from losing my frigging liberal mind; that was at the end of 2016, right after Trump’s first presidential win. I joined the Women’s March and the Resistance. Well, its 2026 and the Mango Menace is running wild through the government.  I have always tried to focus on facts and also try to support my statements with at least two sources. With this post, I’ve thrown all those established behaviors to the wind. Fuck Trump and that Project 2025 crowd, here’s what I as an average everyday American am  seeing from Trump and his cronies, and this list of ten terrible things Trump has done in his first year, not one damn one of them has helped lower grocery prices or made life better for the average American.

1.) Presidential dementia should be a big concern for us as Americans and as citizens of the world. This near  80 year  old guy that we call “president” is a babbling, wandering, impulsive, mentally disabled individual encumbered by several severe personality disorders and undeniable and worsening dementia.  Trump has always been evil and cruel, now he is demented too. Seriously, I worry who is running the damn country? What, you say, Trump may not be running the country? It is obvious after listening to 2 or 3 minutes of Trump’s indiscernible  word salad that he’s not running much but his mouth. I believe this guy is incapable of finding his own ass with a handful of toilet paper. They were doing MRI’s of the brain and multiple cognitive tests at his second, or was it his third annual physical. LOL. I thought annual physical meant once a year. However, in our guys case he needs more testing. Shit, folks, I’m 3,500 miles away and I can tell you, without MRI’s and cognitive tests that Trump is deep into his decline into dementia. So; a couple likely suspects for running the country in Trump’s mental absence are the Jewish pretend Nazi, Stephen Miller and the anti-humanist, Russell Vogt. Scary combo. As far as the Trump kids go, they’re out making billions of dollars from foreign governments. Gotta make it while Daddy is in the White House appears to be the combined mantra.

2.)  Images of the masked ICE agents massively funded, newly emboldened and empowered handcuffing and loading people into vans and disappearing them without access to legal representation, without due process. This crap isn’t supposed to happen in America. It definitely reminds me of the Nazi’s rounding up the Jews eighty-five years ago in Germany.  Obviously, hate lives on. But, in some ways this goes beyond hate and straight to the pocketbook of several Trump supporters. These allies intend to make billions of dollars running government concentration camps, like Alligator Alcatraz. The plan is not to remove the immigrants from our country, but to instead, imprison the immigrants and pay some company owned by a card carrying MAGA to operate a government prison at the cost of millions of dollars a year; until then we’ll be filling prisons in Sudan, Cuba, and El Salvador at the cost of the American tax payer.

3.)  I once had a husband.  He believed and practiced the theory, “if you repeat a lie enough times, most people believe it.”  I am more of the,  “You can fool all the people some of the time.  You can fool some of the people, part of the time,  but you can never fool all the people, all of the time.”  I’m watching Trump and he’s lost his luster even to many of the diehards. I’ve got my fingers crossed.  There’s a lot at stake here, our country is celebrating 250 years as a constitutional republic (democracy). But, for how much longer. We need 3 active branches of government each religiously exerting its guaranteed checks and balance power. You would think the reps and senators and the black robed justices on the Supreme Court would cherish their power and guard that power, but since Trump came down the escalator the reps, the senators and the all powerful justices have turned over their power to a 35 count felon.

4.)  In 1973, Richard Nixon declared, “there can be no whitewash at the White House.” A thought that is needed now more than ever; because there is a stench rising out of  Washington, D.C. the stink so foul it can be smelled around the world. I have never smelled anything so disgusting, except the odor that hovers over a rendering plant in mid-August.  a.) A “free” jet for the prez from Qatar. Qatar?? The prez of the U.S. is taking “a gift” from one of the biggest troublemakers in the middle east. Qatar is a supporter of Hamas. This new, “free” Air Force One that’s going to cost at least a billion dollars of U.S government money to retro-fit, and then the old fossil takes it home with him. Wow. Sounds wrong. b.) And then there’s the billions of dollars in profit for the prez and his family from their crypto currency shenanigan’s. Who’s writing the rules on this made up currency?  Oh, silly me, there are no rules and regulations and that’s what makes it so lucrative, folks. c.) With a series of million dollar a plate dinner dates with Donald and the fossil fuel barons have reversed United States environmental policy and Trump is quickly returning to a “drill baby drill” mentality, opening up wide swaths of public lands, most dramatically in Alaska. d.) And the “maybe you” or  “maybe not you” tariffs, I wonder how much is costs to be a “maybe not you” in the tariff war the prez has decided to unleash on the American consumer. e.)  What is the price of a pardon? We may never find out but the pardons being issued by this president seem to have a lot of donor money behind the presidential action.

5.)  The unrelenting attacks and insults against the media, by President Trump, are inexcusable and dangerous.  A little contention is good, but what is going on is unprecedented.  Since when does the top liar in the country have the right to accuse anyone of being “fake.”  The fabricated accusations by Trump are disgusting and unnecessary.  Trump’s assault against the press must stop. The press in an indispensable part of our democracy, understood by our founding fathers that’s why we have the First Amendment to the Constitution.  Free speech whether written or spoken is the foundation of democracy. Calling people “fat”, “nasty”, and “stupid” demeans the office of president and calls into question the abilities and motives of anyone that dares tell the world the emperor has no clothes.

6.) “Who knew, health care was so complicated?” President Trump expressed Monday, February 27, 2017.   OMG.  Move forward to 2026. Nine years later and the dumb ass has participated in the biggest bait and switch in American history. Well, at least now, he admits, not everything can be solved on Truth Social.  In fact, the Republicans are so mean and cruel that they are about to give billionaires the biggest tax cuts in history while making health insurance skyrocket in price for the average American. On top of that health care calamity this country is designated as #42 on the world health care service effectiveness list.  That’s a pathetic placement.  “42”?  That means 41  other countries in the world are providing better and cheaper health care than we are. Absolutely, heartbreaking.  41 other countries provide both  better and cheaper health care for their citizens than we do here in the United States.  Has anyone thought to go to the  number 1 country, or even the number  2 country; and see how they do it?  Universal health care; that’s where I’d start, if I really wanted the best for the American people.  Let’s find out how to do it right.  We can still learn.

7.) What a bungled mess the Trump Administration has made of the Epstein files, nothing unusual for this crew of idiots. Trump’s AG, Pam Bondi said she was about ready to make Epstein’s client list public, whipping up public furor for the big reveal. In fact, Ms. AG said the file was “sitting on my desk right now,” leading to expectations that the information would soon be released. For Trump, a candidate that had made a big deal of releasing the Epstein files was now treading water, doing a lot of backscene arm twisting to keep the files secret. Then by memo the DOJ stated it would not be releasing the promised files. Reports indicate that Trump is mentioned at least 1500 times (maybe more) in the documents received from the Epstein estate. In at least one photo it sure looked like a 50-ish year old Trump had hold of a young beauty contestant’s breast. But, it must contain a lot more than a couple inappropriate pictures otherwise Donnie wouldn’t be so damn scared of what the full reveal will expose. Trump says “people will get hurt.” What the F? Epstein is believed to have sexually abused and trafficked over a 1,000 women and under age girls, perhaps more. These women have been hurt and continue to be hurt. It was about this time that even the Republicans began to break from the official dogma. Marjorie Taylor Green the most famous MAGA in the House, said, “no more”  to the coverup and announced plans to resign from office in January 2026,  after a very public falling out with Donald Trump.

8.)  Trump was impeached twice during his first term, but the Republican dominated Senate refused to convict. and it didn’t seem to slow the 35 count felon down. After a try at insurrection Trump and his followers went loudly into the political night…until 2024 when this friken’ criminal was re-elected by an amnesic electorate and the first thing he did was commute or pardon the January 6th, rioters. The only saving grace in this situation has been that many of them were criminals and kept offending which led to further incarceration. His second term has been different; the Republicans control the house, the senate, and the White House. In 2017 the Democrats were in charge of the House, led by spit fire Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. It seems that the Republicans have no intention to bring this dog to heel. Soo00, folks we need to send the MAGA’s reps and senators home with their tails between their legs and send a whole new generation of Democrats to Washington.

9.) First our troops were attacking “narco” fishing boats off the coast of Venezuela. Trump upped the ante when he began boarding and seizing Venezuelan oil tankers. Then on 1/3/2026, according to Trump in a morning news conference, flanked by Pete Hegseth and Pam Bondi, announced that Nicolas Maduro along with his wife was  apprehended by the U.S military, following a large scale strike on Venezuela. I find this action alarming. What the hell? I’m not alone, the UN’s top counterterrorism expert has condemned the US actions, calling the strikes and “abduction” of Maduro an “illegal aggression.”  Such activities by our government should be alarming. Since when does the U.S. swoop in and kidnap a government leader of a sovereign country? What? Didn’t Trump just pardon Juan Hernandez the former president of Honduras or the crimes Trump is now accusing Venezuela’s leader Maduro. This is not the American way. Really dangerous, folks. Having our demented president Trump claim “we are going to run the country…” should make the hair on your arms stand up. What next, Greenland? Cuba? Mexico? Columbia? Iran?

10.) It was Saturday afternoon and I wasn’t doing anything…so I decided I’d watch former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s testimony to the Republican led House Judiciary Committee on YouTube. Mr. Smith testified in a closed-door deposition in December 2025. He defended his investigations into Donald Trump regarding the 2020 Russian election interference and the missing classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago. Smith pushed back against accusations that his investigation was politically motivated, and stated categorically that Trump was guilty of all charges brought by the Special Counsel team. Smith denied emphatically  that the probes were in anyway political. I think if you have 6 or so hours, please watch it.

My big question, why are we ‘effin around in Venezuela, Nigeria, Argentina? We have hungry kids in this country, we have sick old people, we have nearly 30 million people about to be unable to pay for health insurance. Stop the bullshit, its time for our government to start taking care of the needy in this country. The cost of Trump’s demented government policy is dangerous and costly. And I want to remind you, just because it hasn’t happened (yet), doesn’t mean it can’t, or won’t.

Lots of Reasons to Smile

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A Whole List of Reasons to Smile

A Whole Lot of Reasons to Smile

By D.S. Mitchell

 

It’s Raining 

It’s Sunday afternoon in fabulous Grants Pass, Oregon.  The rain has been relentless for the last 48 hours. Lilly the dog, is sprawled out on the back deck. Its covered. While she’s entertaining herself chewing on her favorite tennis ball a few rain resistant ducks are playing in the lake. Frustrated with the endless deluge I flip through the cable news shows. I’m a regular Sunday viewer of Meet The Press and Fareed Zakaria’s GPS. I wanted a nice peaceful weekend, my morning coffee along with the political news shows, a game of cribbage in the afternoon, an 8 pm movie with a friend to finish the day. Well, that whole plan is shot. Mostly due to the inclement weather. But, even if the weather didn’t suck Trump is doing more saber rattling in the direction of Venezuela, keeping everyone on edge.

Spoiled Child Drama

Trump is like a spoiled child demanding every moment of his mother’s attention. I do not intend to go off on a rant. I promise, but, it does make you think, his mom took him off the nipple to soon. Despite, Trumps narcissism and his constant attention seeking I think we need to get your mind, and my mine, off the American Tragedy playing out in front of our eyes.  So, my favorite distraction of the week, my Sunday version of a day-off, is imagining the simple things in life…those things that bring a quiet smile to the corners of your mouth.

Lots of Reasons to Smile:

1.) A Hummingbird at the garden feeder 2.) A day with no chores to do 3.) Left over spaghetti or cold pizza for breakfast. Yum Yum  4.) A chocolate “fix”  5.) The Nite Owl bar, Helena, MT  6.) A new mattress 7.)  A bedroom with a window seat  7.) A scarecrow dressed in Daddy’s old coveralls and straw hat  8.) Short grocery lines,  9.) A fresh bouquet of flowers  10.) Homemade Lemonade  11.) 1940’s Film Noir  12.) Watching young swallows learn the art of flight  13.) Painting the front door a bright vivid color  14.) Working a potter’s wheel  15.) Spontaneous hugs  16.) Forgetting the punch line of a joke  17.)  Libraries and librarians 18.) Using the dog to do left over clean up  19.) Fireworks  20.) Running boards on tall trucks  21.) The soft sound of a paddle cutting the water  22.) The patter of children’s feet  on hardwood floors  23.) Crater Lake, Oregon  24.) Clean as you go  25.) Gingerbread loaded with melted butter  26.) Forming a Foundation to help fund a cause  27.) Talking with intelligence instead of just blowing smoke  28.) River barges  29.) Crisp and juicy apples  30.) Doing a good job  31.) Rich, delicate French pastry  32.) Floating homes  33.) Listening to the sounds of the night  34.) A secret crush  35.) Spontaneous kisses  36.) Writing  37.) Fresh homemade bread  39.) The aroma of Honeysuckle and Daphne  40.) Cloth napkins with napkin rings  41.) The American flag  42.) Lettuce fresh from the garden  43.) My car after  the car wash  44.) Fessing up to an eff ‘up  45.) Honey Baked Ham  46.) A great painting found at a Thrift Store.  47.) Refreshing an old dresser with a coat of paint  48.) First ski run of the day  49.) Old English Sheepdogs  50.) Koala bears  51.) Rearranging the furniture for a party  52.) A banana split for two  53.) Travel magazines  54.) Swim meets  55.) Swans on Black Lake, Ilwaco, WA  56.) Wind across a field of wheat  57.) Twinkies  58.) New shoes  59.) Echoes  60.) The Olympics  61.) Mt. Vernon, VA  62.) Cheetahs in the wild 63.) Warm dry socks  64.) Mutts  65.) Sundance catalogues  66.) Buy one and get one free  67.) Making lists  68.)  Pinto ponies   69.) Sneakers without socks  70.) Unicorns and rainbows  71.) Picnic tables  72.) Owning an island  73.) Walking the railroad tracks  74.) Habitat For Humanity  75.) A team of horses  76.) Weeping Willow trees  77.) 3-D movies  78.) Political comics  79.) Lawn parties  80.) Laughing babies  81.) Getting a makeover  82.) Up with the dawn  83.) Weathered shutters on shingled beach cottages  84.) Hopscotch  85.) Night snowmobiling  86.) Hit that high note  87.) Playing Frisbee with the dog  88.) Blanket tents in the backyard  89.) Club sandwiches  90.) Being on time  91.) Woodstock  92.) Snoopy  93.) Earth Day  94.) Catching a man’s eye  95.) Dream catchers  96.) Dogs  97.) Revolving doors  98.) Retirement  99.) Winning a race  100.) Puget Island, WA.

Keep smiling. Don’t let the chaos of the Trump administration steal your joy.

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An OMG Christmas Newsletter

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An OMG Christmas Newsletter

 

 

An OMG Christmas Newsletter

By D.S. Mitchell

 

Too Many Days

I know all years, except for Leap Year, have 365 days.  So, why does 2025 feel like it’s got 750 days? Never mind; I figured it out on my own. Donald J. Trump’s in office and it feels like every ‘friggen day has somehow been virtually stretched and twisted until it feels like two.

How Much Bullshit is Too Much?

My memories of Trump’s first term are foggy at  best, but I think Trump wanted to takeover Greenland during his first administration and he continued the rhetoric into his second term. While deflecting the fallout from suggesting that we should make Canada the 51st state, I think  that’s when Trump started  demanding Google and all the map makers change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Just meaningless distractions? I’m not so sure. The ramblings of a demented old man? I’m sure it’s some of that, but certainly not all of it.

Heritage Foundation

None of it makes sense; unless you believe in Project 2025. The deeper we move into Trump’s Alice in Wonderland world the more chaotic…the more numbing. Trump has signed more than 220 Executive Orders since retaking the White House, surpassing all previous records and raising major concerns about the abuse of presidential power. The Robert’s Supreme Court seems more than willing to grant Trump’s every wish. Is there no conscience? No justice? No honor? No fairness? Apparently, not. There seems to be no limit on the Heritage Foundation’s love affair with the Robert’s court and its willingness to drag us back to 1950, or 1850. A time when women bore children, lots of them, a time when a woman had no rights except those allowed by her father or her husband. A time when white children were sold into indentured servitude, when blacks were slaves. A time when none of us want to go back to unless you are white, male, and wealthy.

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The Results Are In

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Results Report

Results Report 

 

By D.S. Mitchell

I’m not sure when I decided to do it; I think it was about 6 weeks ago; maybe more like a month ago. Anyway, none of that is really important, what is important was the response I got.

I sat down and made a list of 25 old friends that I never wanted to lose contact with; some I hadn’t reached out to in several years. Shame on me, but like with most things I can give you a page long list of reasons why I let that happen. So, rather than bore you with all that nonsense, I’ll tell you what I did.

First of all, I have an entire filing cabinet drawer filled with beautiful greeting cards; Sympathy, Get Well Soon, Happy Birthday, Happy Anniversary, Merry Christmas, Thinking of You, and Blank, of course. When you donate, frequently you will be given socks, scarfs, back packs, flashlights, address labels and every form of greeting card ever needed or designed. All-in-all, pretty awesome.

So, I think you can put two and two together and see what’s coming. I took that list of ’25 friends I never wanted to lose contact with’ and grabbed a handful of Thinking of You cards and wrote all of these amazing people a short note telling them each how much I appreciated knowing them and expressed my intent to do a better job of keeping in contact, updating my contact information and asking the same of them. Next, I went to the post office and for less than $20.00 I sent all those precious people a loving and caring handwritten note.

I’m not sure what response I expected; or if I even thought about potential responses, I just did it, comfortable with what ever happened. The phone didn’t ring and there was no written response to my cards…for at least two weeks, then as if the celestial dam broke my mail box was filled with a deluge of responses, each with its unique and beautiful sentiment followed with directions to websites, new phone numbers, updated emails and physical addresses as well.

I counted 18 hand written responses,  and 1 returned ‘d/t no forwarding address on file,’ and five phone calls! Amazing, 100% if you discount the 1 returned d/t no forwarding address. Four of the calls were happy with multiple promises to keep in contact. The 5th caller, the older sister of one of ‘my never want to lose contact with friends,’ a person well-known and loved by me, called to tell me that she was taking care of her sister’s mail and social contacts since her younger sister was no longer able to self care due to advanced Alzheimer’s disease. Heart breaking news, made doubly painful because her husband is also a victim of the disease. Connie, said she would keep me in the loop as to Alice’s health, which gave me some comfort.

From what started as one of those things I just had to do; became a thing I was so thankful I did.  Hearing those warm, familiar voices on the phone, touching the paper their fingers had touched, in those handwritten notes and cards, OMG… thank you dear friends for sharing your love, kindness and mercy. I can’t ever imagine what I did to deserve such kindness and love.

Thank you all, and keep in touch with your friends. You’ll be glad you did.

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR

 

 

50 Trump, Not So Nice, Adjectives

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50 Trump, Not So Nice, Adjectives

50 Trump, No So Nice, Adjectives

By D. S. Mitchell

Calamity Politics is happy to announce that I, Editor-in-Chief, the only Editor, in fact, am going to devote the entire first political blog post of the day to a really nasty game.

The ‘game’ will not distract from my usual in-depth political coverage; that will come later. LOL. My regular readers know that the ‘in-depth’ description is probably a bit misleading.

I’m decently polite and tend to shyness. Rarely do I attack. But today, as I was driving back home from I-Hop this morning, I started thinking about Donald J. Trump, 47th President of the United States, con-man, self-promoter and started tossing negative adjectives around in my head as I made the drive from Medford to Grants Pass.

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Life in 1900 America

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Life in 1900 America

Life in 1900 America

By D. S. Mitchell

Yesterday, I stumbled across some statistics from 1900. Mind you, just over a 100 years ago things were very different from today. It was a simpler time; no emails to answer, no breaking news, no radio or TV to watch. I thought the information was both amusing, and eye-opening. Check it out. My furthest memories are from the 1950’s and I thought that was a very different time…and it was, but 1900, I was shocked and surprised as to how things have changed in the last 125 years. I don’t know if I could have waited a month to wash my hair, yikes!

Statistics from 1900:

1) Average life expectancy in the USA was 46 years. Compare that to the 79.6 life expectancy for 2025. 2) 14% per cent of American homes had a bathtub and a mere 8% had a telephone. 3) Mississippi, Iowa, Tennessee, and Alabama all had larger populations than California. 4) There were 8,000 cars and only a 144 miles of paved roads. Sounds like a bumpy ride for the few who could afford an automobile. 5) The average hourly wage in USA was 22 cents and the average worker made between $200-$400 a year. 6) The population of Las Vegas was either 25, or 30, depending on your resource. 7) 90% of doctors in the USA never attended college and about the same for lawyers. 8) The Eiffel Tower was the tallest structure in the world   9) Sugar cost 4 cents a pound, coffee was 15 cents a pound, and eggs were 14 cents a dozen. 10) There was a total of 230 reported murders in the USA. 11) Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Hawaii, and Alaska were not yet states.  12) Only 6% of American adults were high school graduates. 10% of adults were illiterate. 13) Most women washed their hair once a month and used egg yolks or borax for shampoo. 14) 95% of all births took place at home.  15) Leading causes of death in the USA were pneumonia, influenza, tuberculosis, heart disease, diarrhea, and stroke. 16) 18% of American homes had a full-time servant. 17) Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn’t been invented yet.

*Hope you got a laugh or two. Calamity Politics is a progressive on-line news magazine.  This list of what was going on in 1900 came from “Uncle John’s Fast-Acting, Long-Lasting Bathroom Reader by the Bathroom Reader’s Institute, 18th Edition.”

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