Yesterday, we lost a cherished member of our family. We got Sunny at the start of our second term in the White House, and all of us – including our first dog, Bo – immediately fell in love. We also had trouble keeping up with her, for Sunny was a force of nature. Athletic and full of boundless energy, she leapt over the hedges on the South Lawn like they weren’t even there, chasing squirrels, birds and anything else that moved. And whereas the way to Bo’s heart usually involved a treat, Sunny was more interested in having us run around with her, roll on the floor with her, or have her belly rubbed for as long as we were willing. She loved the girls, even if they were pestering her when she was napping. She loved our team, and would often follow them around, helping them on the job. She was fiercely protective of Bo, who she rightly sensed wasn’t always as alert and attentive as she was. She had her eccentricities: other than Bo, she preferred people to dogs; she was a loud and sloppy drinker; and despite being a Portuguese Water Dog, she hated getting wet. But as far as our family was concerned, she was pretty much perfect, and for thirteen years, she would be by our side – always loyal, always sweet, always ready for adventure, still fiery and gorgeous till the very end of her days. We will miss her terribly, and imagine she’s with her big brother now, making sure he’s okay.

How about some truth?

All 20. Damn, I am old!

Yes, it traveled NE and strong winds. It jumped the Spokane River. khq.com/news/old-trails-fire…

Divorces: Two Proposals: Two Marriage: Two (hey nice three for three) Children: None, thankfully Surgeries: Nah Tattoos: Nope Shot a gun: Yep Been on TV: No Watch someone die: Yes Rode in an ambulance: No Sang karaoke: No frigging way Rode a jet ski: No Arrested: Twice

I don’t want to "download the app" to pay for parking. I don’t want to "create an account" to see a menu. I don’t want to "provide feedback" on a 30-second interaction. I just want to exist in the physical world without a digital leash.

Trump on communism: It’s been proven to be a disaster for thousands of years.

My July 5th Diatribe after Returning from Europe again: The weirdest thing about leaving America is realizing how much of America is just a sales pitch. You spend your whole life hearing “greatest country on Earth,” then you go overseas and see clean trains, safer streets, affordable medicine, cities where people can walk without playing Frogger with an SUV, and workers who take vacations without acting like they committed treason. And then you come home. You come home to potholes, medical debt, school shooting drills, $17 airport sandwiches, people living in tents under highways, politicians wearing flag pins (or worse, gun pins) while doing absolutely nothing for the people standing in food bank lines, and billionaires being treated like they’re the fragile ones. And somehow we’re all supposed to stand there, hand over heart, and pretend this is normal. I don’t hate America. I hate what America has been taught to tolerate. I hate that we call basic things “radical.” Healthcare? Radical. Paid leave? Radical. Clean air? Radical. Kids not getting shot in math class? Somehow political. Meanwhile, the loudest “patriots” are usually the same people telling struggling Americans to shut up, stop complaining, and be grateful. Grateful for what? A flag doesn’t pay rent. A bald eagle doesn’t cover insulin. Fireworks don’t fix bridges. And chanting “USA” doesn’t make a broken system less broken. America has incredible people. That’s the tragedy. The people are better than the system they’ve been forced to defend. So no, I’m not going to call America the greatest country on Earth just because it has the best marketing department. Real patriotism isn’t pretending the country is perfect. Real patriotism is being angry that it isn’t, and blaming minorities and immigrants for your own piece of shit life that you created.

“I carry with me a photo of a Muslim child who, during my visit to Lebanon, was standing there holding a sign that said ‘Welcome, Pope Leo,’ and in this latest phase of the war, he was killed. “There are many human situations like this, and I believe we must have the ability to think in this way. “And as a Church, I say again: as a pastor, I cannot be in favor of war. “I would like to encourage everyone to make efforts to seek answers that come from a culture of peace, not of hatred or division.” — Pope Leo XIV