Panem et Circenses

I didn't watch the State of the Union Address on purpose. It's not that I harbor an active hatred for the President or anything--I think he's merely a willing puppet of the Powers That Be, and, as such, I view the man himself with some indifference as being horribly pathetic--but I cannot hear him spout barefaced lies and not feel literally nauseated. For the record, I also avoided watching SOTU addresses from previous presidents, both Republican and Democrat.

I'm an equal-opportunity cynic.

Stress makes me uncomfortable, and avoiding stressful situations where I know I'll want to throw stuff and shout hard questions at the television screen is about protecting myself and maintaining a more zen-like mental state overall. I'm still stressed, though, since I have read the text of the speech. What gets me is the frightening focus the President continues to place on obliterating the Constitution. Bypassing Congress with Executive Orders in order to get his agenda through is strange behavior for someone who claims he worked as a professor of the Constitution. It's almost as if he has absolutely no understanding of the Constitution or has suffered from memory loss, wherein the text and meaning of the Constitution have been eliminated from his brain. Either situation is possible. If the Benghazi debacle really happened because of reasons cited by official White House explanations, then a presidential memory loss is also plausible.

But, again, I am convinced the President is merely a willing puppet for those with a deep and sinister agenda. If you're still on the fence about that agenda, I urge you to consider the TSA, the NSA, the obvious fables that are trotted out as explanations for numerous government scandals, and how Congress has mostly been bought and paid for by corporations or the dark side of the government.

In other news, I really enjoyed the latest episode of Sherlock. And then, last night, I was pulling oil and had a mouthful of coconut oil and spit when I nearly sprayed it all over Husband. There was an episode of 30 Rock playing, Season 5, episode 2, where Jack Donaghy is making a video for his future son and he says, "...and I attended Harvard Business School, where I was voted 'Most.'" Somehow, that struck me as so funny that I snorted. I only lost a few drops of the coconut oil/spit mixture, but Husband used his hands to shield himself from further unexpected "rain," and that was also so funny that I nearly spat it all out again. I share that for two reasons: to confess that 30 Rock, which can be so inappropriate at times, still makes me laugh out loud, and that I would rather spray coconut oil and spit trying to keep myself from laughing out loud than in an effort to stop myself from shouting angrily at the television.

Also, I had to look up "barefaced," "bold-faced," and "bald-faced" lies to figure out which one was the right term. Turns out they all are. Isn't that fantastic?