Au Cochonnet Marin

“Do you notice that all presidents have a dog? There is always a First Dog. Or two or three. You have to have a dog to be president, I guess.”  Robert Fulghum

Donald Trump just lost the 2020 elections!

At a campaign rally in El Paso, Texas, the president declared that he would feel “a little phony” owning a dog.

Is he implying that dog owners are phonies? This is an extremely thoughtless and foolhardy statement. There are 89.7 million dogs in the US and at very least an equal number of voters. Regardless of their political slants, I don’t think that they will take too kindly to this remark.

“Folk will know how large your soul is, by the way you treat a dog.” Charles F. Doran

If you don’t have any dog, or any pet, how large could your soul then be? The size of a peanut?
Donald Trump, who was elected in 2016 is the first president in 130 years who does not have a pet.

Most presidents (even if they were not dog’s devotees) understood the value of a photo-op with a four-legged friend. Vladimir Putin who owns four dogs, is fully aware of this  and does not waste any opportunity to be photographed with a dog or any beast. There are hundreds of photos of a smiling Vladimir cavorting with animals.

Unlike our president, I am no friend of the Russian czar, but I share with him my love of canines. We could disagree on many things but we will always have a cordial footbridge through our common love of animals.

Dogs are as popular as ever. Even China is now succumbing to the lure of the beasts. Instead of eating them, they are now spoiling them silly.

It is a recognized fact that dogs reduce stress and want to console their human friends. They are now widely used as emotional comfort animals at home and in hospitals.

“They [dogs] never talk about themselves but listen to you while you talk about yourself, and keep up an appearance of being interested in the conversation.” – Jerome K. Jerome

If anybody wishes to hire me as a campaign adviser, my first tactical recommendation would be “get a dog, you fool.”

Alain

“Okay I’ll come in for one drink and maybe sex but that’s it.”

Every morning I hop on to my computer armchair and peruse American and French sites for interesting tidbits.

A few days ago I came across an enthusiastic review of a Netflix production called “Sex Education”. It was written by a French blogger named Fiona Schmidt, a lady “qui n’a pas froid aux yeux” (who does not have the fear of a shillelagh in her eyes.) Poetic license.

I was a little surprised to find this review of an Anglo/American production in the French Huffpost, but in the days of globalism nothing should surprise you anymore.

 This review, drafted in French was provocative and well written. This prompted me to tune in to Netflix and watch the above-mentioned show.

The plot is simple but full of twists. At the urging of a rebellious girl, a virgin boy of 16 (whose mother is sexologist) opens a practice of clandestine sexual therapy in high school.
Sounds a little implausible but you have to play along.

My adolescent years are far away, but it seems to me that a teen today is more knowledgeable about sex than many adults fifty years ago.

I don’t know if it is the easy access of online pornography, but juveniles today seem to have no qualms about talking about sex. Their vocabulary is peppered with words such as penis, vagina and oral sex.

Fiona writes “In the series as in real life, girls masturbate, think about sex and express their desires. Teens think about sex and fuck.”

 And why not? Sexual intercourse today is not the sole preserve of male imagination. Women think of sex as much as men and are not bashful about it.

“Men think, while women desire.’ Gone are the days when ‘demanding sex’ was considered exclusively a man’s forte. Today women demand sex greater than men. And they have no qualms about getting vocal about it.”

The sexual revolution has matured and is now egalitarian. Just as it should be.

Alain

“How did sex come to be thought of as dirty in the first place? God must have been a Republican.”― Will Durst, political satirist 

Generally speaking, I am a doubting Thomas, but oddly enough I believe in Karma. I am convinced that every action has a consequence. A little bit like Yin and Yang.

Do good, and good will follow you. Do bad, and it will catch up with you and slap you silly. If you are a little slow on the uptake, imagine karma as a giant foot poised to kick your butt if you misbehave.

Karma is like a boomerang, whatever you give out… will come back to you.  Rashida Rowe

As a result, many politicians and celebrities are presently experiencing pain and suffering due to past, long forgotten misdeeds. Even at the pinnacle of their careers, they are not impervious to the long arm of karma.

Right now, three Virginia state executives are fighting for their professional lives. The governor and his attorney general are accused of racial insensitivity, and the lieutenant governor is denounced for sexual misconduct.

They all face charges for activities that happened decades ago. You should know that the sophisticated karma computers keep track of all your deeds, from birth to death. If you are not getting your comeuppance in your present existence, you will probably be reborn as a snake or cockroach. In Buddhism, bad actions in a previous life can follow a person into his next life.

This is the catechism that ought to be taught in schools and in Congress. If this had been done, the great villains of history would have thought twice before committing their dastardly deeds.

Karma, by the way, has nothing to do with Hell or Paradise. Hell was designed to keep simpletons in line. If you don’t do what we command, you will burn eternally. But there is no evidence of that. I have never met a guy who escaped hell to tell me about it.

But karma… Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose, Les Moonves etc. are all living proof of its potency. They are not in hell but probably wishing they were.
This is not to say that women are not capable of sexual harassment. They are indeed, but maybe better at concealing their misdeeds.

To sum it up,

“Think twice before jumping over that puddle in your white pants.“

Karma is patient, thorough… and has total memory recall.
And no, you cannot invoke the Fifth Amendment.

Alain