I am CuTRis

Waking up to the news of two Minnesota politicians and their spouses, all Democrats, being shot in the middle of the night by an assassin dressed as a police officer, has me thinking that the assault on democracy is still progressing- even in light of the "no Kings" protests today. Please remain defiant, and be safe. Obviously, things are very volatile right now. For the past few weeks, I've had a steady stream of 1960s protest music playing inside my head with good reason. It is extremely sad that things have progressed to this point. Or perhaps, I should say regressed.

For Tyre Nichols to be beaten to death by police earlier this month, nearly three years after George Floyd, shows me that there is the need for police reform. The color of the officers doesn’t seem to have any bearing on these atrocities. For starters, I would change the language. As a writer, I know how powerful words are. I can remember one night after working late, televising a meeting, being pulled over for going 5 MPH over the speed limit. The officer began swearing and yelling obscenities at me after I was found to be completely sober and with no outstanding warrants. I had clearly disappointed this officer, who dropped the “F” bomb numerous times as he cussed me out. I stayed quiet until I was allowed to leave. But what other profession allows someone to unleash obscenities on a member of the public? It was a verbal assault. It’s just another small step from there to a physical assault. Maintaining composure and an appropriate vocabulary is just the start to treating people...

Of course, my observations about how much more things are costing me, are much ado about nothing when you consider that Ukrainian civilians have been tortured and shot with their hands tied behind their backs by invading Russian soldiers.

Slap Gate… Slap Heard Around the World… Yesterday when I heard (it’s on the news constantly) about a celebrity who is “traumatized” by Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Academy Awards, I could only think, “this is what you are traumatized by when babies are being blown-up in Ukraine?” But today, I heard it again… from another Hollywood celebrity. So, let me tell you, I was not traumatized by the slap. I wasn’t even surprised by it. Things that I’ve seen and experienced that did traumatize me, were far more significant. So thankyou Hollywood, for reinforcing that you, and the rest of the world, live very different lives. Actors, pretend to be “regular” people in roles that they play. Regular people, actually live those lives. If you were traumatized by the poor choices of two men who ought to know better, consider that pretty much any public schoolteacher has not only witnessed, but probably placed his/her body between two students who were physically assaulting one another. Ther...

The Russian government, more accurately the Putin Administration, has now made it a criminal offense to refer to the attack on Ukraine, with the words, "War," "Invasion," or "Assault." This is due to what the Putin Administration is calling fake news. This reminds me of former United States president Trump, who used the term fake news frequently when he was caught telling lies. Regardless, this will make journalism much more difficult for anyone under the influence of Putin's Russia. But I will try to break it down so that everyone is happy. From now on instead of using the word "War," we will use "Putin." Instead of using the word "Invasion," we will use "unprovoked attack." Instead of the word "Assault," we will use the word "murdering." In the interest of not spreading fake news, that means that, Putin's unprovoked attack, is murdering Ukrainian civilians.