Cheating Wife as Tone Deaf as She is Selfish

About a week ago a woman wrote in to an advice column
complaining that her two best friends "couldn't understand"
why she had cheated on her husband for the past ten years.
She sees the other man twice a week, sometimes travels
with him, while still living at home with the husband and
their children. It is entirely illuminating to all but her that
adultery is not something to be admired or accepted.
It is also ironic that she chose to use the word "cheating"
to describe her own lifestyle.

This cheater plans to avoid her two female friends, thus
escaping opprobrium. She terms her affair something
pleasant, like chocolates and fine wine. This woman
acts and speaks as if she is entitled to anything she
wants--what an unfortunate example to her kids!

I admired the columnists' tactful restraint in issuing
her response, simply stating most people would
not "understand" such a situation either.

The tone deaf of this world number far too many.

Why Travel to Places Americans Are Hated? Heed the "Warmbier Warning"

The sad, inexplicable case of young comatose Warmbier, newly
returned to his Ohio home, underscores a timely warning--do not
travel to sworn enemy countries, via tour group or solo.
Especially do not visit Iran or North Korea, places that hold
hatreds indeed implacable for us...proven by treatment of our
errant young people foolish enough to cross those borders.

The Young Pioneers were not knowledgeable enough to travel
to North Korea, a destination requiring a great deal of  finesse
and sophistication the YP were utterly incapable of, not fully
cautious and respectful; witness the harsh handling of Mr.
Warmbier for pulling down a propaganda poster, a serious
crime in the DPRK--who knew? These "pioneers" showed
hubris and ignorance, and the now dead boy is the result.

For those requiring adventure, there are ~200 nations on
Earth to select from--so be wise, choose to visit those nations
which welcome us; much can be learned from such intelligent
choices. Americans visiting Iran or North Korea will learn
or accomplish very little, authorities there will make certain
of that.

We had the "Iran Warning" case some months back. We
now have the "Warmbier Warning"--let's heed it.

The Doldrums of June When our World's Out of Tune

"The time is out of joint", Shakespeare (he without peer) wrote
in his immortal play, Hamlet, Act One. Odd, how little has
changed in 400 years; the times are more "disjoint" than ever
before. With all America's pressing problems, precious little
effort is being expended in resolving them. All the efforts
appear to be in claims and counter claims, accusations and
denials.

Meanwhile, Flint, MI still hasn't fixed its water supply,
although the water there is "said" to be cleaner. Policemen
accused of murdering suspects without cause have been
released all across the country, although Chicago is hanging
on to Laquan McDonald's killer, a sullen suspect best removed
from the Chicago Police force and jailed for life. Internationally,
North Korea mounts ever more alarming missile tests while our
big boats patrol ominously nearby, tensions mounting, a ripe
scenario for some horrible mistake...

The only positive note is Mr. Trump's noising about
repairing and improving the nations's infrastructure, which
indeed desperately must be upgraded to avoid accidents
like the fatal Minneapolis bridge collapse a few years back.
If he and Congress are really serious here, they do deserve
praise; let's encourage them!

Right now, however,  our foreign relationships are in tatters,
Medicare and Medicaid are threatened, education funds to
be stripped of 18 billions, on and on. Where are the adults
presumably in charge?

Yes, the times they are disjoint and out of tune. Surely
shouldn't  we have matured in the 400 years since
Shakespeare made his trenchant human commentaries?

Would were it so.

Agent Orange, The Celebrity Apprentice in the White House, and His Scorched Earth European Visit

The Donald, AKA Agent Orange, has given legitimacy to this
terrific nickname, evinced by his behavior in Europe and
elsewhere during his first presidential overseas outing, tussling
with NATO, Merkel and others during that leg of his trip.
Here are some of the more egregious high (or low) lights,
well worth repeating:

(1) Harping on the NATO nations who haven't ponied up
sufficient kale for combined military operations, admonishing
them during international press conferences. Yes, some should
contribute more, but this was not the time, place or manner
in which to address the thorny issue. He has even threatened
to withhold  defense of those nations not paying their fair
share...a precedent breaker if there ever was one.

(2) Withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Accords on Climate
Change, when the entire world has joined them, save Nicaragua
and Syria--Nicaragua abstained because the terms were not
stringent enough, not because it wishes to ignore Global
Warming. --Great! We have now officially scraped the
bottom of the international barrel, aligning ourselves
with SYRIA, for Pete's sake. How low can we go??

(3) Leaking  Israel in a backhanded denial which only
served to confirm that ally as the source of the sensitive
info Trump discussed with Russian Foreign Minister
Lavrov in a recent meeting...all while standing next to
Israel's Netanyahu.

Obviously, President Agent Orange won no new
(or old) friends for the USA on his first foray away
from home. Scorched earth diplomacy has historically
proven disastrous for any power pursuing it, a lesson
the Donald better grasp quickly.