Wednesday Potpourri

First, we had it on excellent authority that FEMA would never politicize disaster relief. Anyone who suggested as much was instantly denounced for peddling misinformation.

Well, apparently, it was happening, specifically in Florida. The agency just fired a supervisor who told workers, in the aftermath of hurricane Milton, to avoid houses that had Trump signs on them:

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell just confirmed that supervisor Marn'i Washington has been fired after I reported Friday that she directed relief workers in Florida to skip homes with Trump flags or signs. It has been referred to a special counsel for investigation.

One suspects that she is not alone, and that the policy has a few other fingerprints on it.

As it happened, and to no one’s surprise, Washington said yesterday that she was not alone, that other agents were doing the same thing in North Carolina. She said that it was common practice.

So much for misinformation!

Second, our psychiatrists are on the ball, offering sage and comforting advice on how to get through the upcoming Trump years.

One dimwitted psychiatric fellow, from Yale University, has recommended that you cut off anyone who voted for Trump. Shun and ostracize your family members for wrongthink. 

Legal Insurrection has the story:

Every time Trump wins an election, the media trots out a Yale psychiatrist to say crazy things.

This time, Joy Reid of MSNBC spoke to Dr. Amanda Calhoun, who suggested it is perfectly reasonable for people on the left who are upset about the outcome of the election to cut off family members and friends who voted for Trump.

Are they in the business of treating mental illness or producing it?

Third, sometimes derangement does not do it justice. According to the Daily Mirror a woman is divorcing her husband because he voted for Trump.

And for one American the divorce papers have also come extremely quickly. He wrote online: “I voted for Trump, my wife sent me divorce papers. What do I do? I didn’t even know it was possible to be served divorce papers this quickly.”

His post has been shared widely and has more than 12.5 million views on X and sparked a fierce debate. The man also wrote: “I don’t even know what to say. I’m shocked I married somebody willing to throw away our entire life over politics. Last week we were happy, today we’re getting divorced.

"She won’t have a discussion, she says nothing will change her mind Insists she is going to report my parents because they live off of disability but my dad does some cash work auto repair, so now I’m worried for my while family (sic).”

It clearly seems that the relationship has quickly become acrimonious with a vicious argument now over possessions. He continued in his post: “She wants me to buy her out of the house, we have $300k in it plus built a 4-bay garage since we bought it 3 years ago. I can’t afford that.

"When I told her this as she was packing her things she said “I guess you’re finally going to really know how it feels to be f****d by a Democrat.” ETA: her name is on the deed but not the mortgage. I’m not confident that I can reason with her. What do I do? Where do I start? How do I fix this? Is anybody else experiencing this in the wake of election results?”

It has prompted nearly 7,000 comments so far with a mix of people feeling sympathy for him and understanding his shock while others suggest he had it coming. One person wrote: “Jesus, when the dust settles he will be glad she is gone. If she would leave him over this, then she was already out the door and looking for an excuse. I hope he finds a nice, conservative woman who actually loves and respects him.”

Some people take politics way too seriously. And why do we not see that in her lust to hurt her husband she is also hurting herself?

Fourth, over at the State department the staff was so discombobulated by the election results that the management started holding therapy sessions.

The Washington Free Beacon reported:

The Biden-Harris State Department organized an in-house therapy session for employees early Friday following Donald Trump’s election victory, four sources with knowledge of the meeting told the Washington Free Beacon.

"Managing stress during change," read an internal State Department email sent across the agency that encouraged employees to attend a one-hour session in which they could discuss their feelings about Tuesday’s election results. The department’s Employee Consultation Services in the Bureau of Medical Services hosted the session, according to a copy of the email notice described by sources to the Free Beacon.

"Change is a constant in our lives, but it can often bring about stress and uncertainty," the email said. "Join us for an insightful webinar where we delve into effective stress management techniques to help you navigate these challenging times. This session will provide tips and practical strategies for managing stress and maintaining your well being."

One can only hope that they might all engage in some self-criticism, considering how poorly they conducted American foreign policy these past four years.

Fifth, over in Iraq we are seeing what it means to have a strictly Islamist culture. American radicals are out marching for Palestine, for homophobia and honor killings. As though that is not bad enough Iraq is about to institute child marriage. A man might soon be able to marry a nine year old. Trust me, the girl will not be free to choose.

The Daily Mirror reports:

A sick newly proposed age of consent law would allow old men in Iraq to marry children as young as nine years old, and "legalise child rape" activists claim.

Ultra-conservative Shia Muslim parties have launched a bid to pass a new law that would slash the existing age of consent in the pariah nation in half from the existing limit of 18. The changes, proposed by the dominant Shia coalition, would peel back the national "personal status law".

Replacing the major legislation, also known as Law 188, would further roll back women's rights, depriving them of the ability to divorce their partners, have custody for their children, and their inheritance. The latest proposals, initially announced in August 2024, would see one of the most progressive laws in the Middle East fully repealed, and has sparked outrage among women's rights activists.

We should keep this firmly in mind the next time someone suggests that we need to bring democracy and human rights to Middle Eastern cultures.

Sixth, in the therapy world we have this tidbit from Ryan McRogers on Twitter:

In grad school today, we spent the entire class period for career counseling making arts and crafts about how nonbinary therapists experience microaggressions. Sorry if this graduate level work is too complex for anyone.

The therapy profession is in the best of hands.

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