Thank you, EEE. I lay the blame for our political divide at the feet of conservative media. They've been stoking fear and hate for years and this is the result. I think this only gets worse, not better. I'm just not sure how much worse or what rock-bottom looks like.

The economic policies of this administration are eventually going to begin to harm the average joe even more than they already are. The question is, will they believe whatever cockamamie excuse the right gives them or will they finally come to realize that they've been taken advantage of? They're already talking about the need for cuts to social programs because of the increase in the deficit, never once mentioning the role the recent round of tax cuts played. And their base doesn't seem to care. It truly is a cult of 35% we're dealing with and they're a tough nut to crack.

I don't have it in me to begin to try and fix my relationship (or lack of one) with my sister. It would be nice to have this resolved but it's a big ask at this point. I'm not the only one in the family who's on the outs with her. Of 5 remaining siblings, there's only one who is in contact with her and that's very infrequent. She's done this to herself and I'd prefer she be the one to fix it.

Kevin g