When I heard that the POTUS and FLOTUS were diagnosed with COVID-19, did my mouth drop, did my hands cover my mouth as I stifled a good old fashioned belly laugh? Maybe. Did I instantly pray for God’s forgiveness for feeling joy at the misery of another human being? That’s possible. Did I simultaneously feel […]
EDITOR’S NOTE: The staff doctor here at The Shinbone Star is a little a little ticked off about the man at the top. No, not about Dutton Peabody, about Donald Trump! By DECONSTRUCTING DOCTOR In recent recordings with famous investigative reporter Bob Woodward, best known for breaking the Watergate scandal in 1972 for the Washington […]
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Shinbone Star’s staff doctor has been doing more than mending our sprained typing fingers lately. A lot more. By DECONSTRUCTING DOCTOR It is difficult to convey the seriousness of a pandemic when you are one lone voice, just a small family doctor in a small southern town. When you are fighting against […]
Every time I watch the president pontificate about how fantastic everything is being handled with this latest global pandemic, COVID-19, I feel less reassured, more anxious. From my point of view, nothing seems to be going well at all. You see, I’m a family doctor. I’m on the front lines of this pandemic. People are […]
The official U.S. stance on the coronavirus is that the Democrats did it. They created a hoax, fanned the flames of fear and criticized Donald Trump’s lackluster response, all in the name of gaining leverage against one of the most divisive presidents ever. For the 3.000 people worldwide who have died since the appearance of […]
One cannot turn on the news or follow social media without the impression that there are serious problems in America. I try not to freak out over every headline. I often remind myself that things have always been this way, there have always been struggles, wars, problems, evils in the world. It just seems like […]
Blatant racism. I just can’t get over blatant racism. I’ve heard snarky undertones, vague easily misconstrued quips, stupid jokes among friends and family. I’ve heard the “n-word” a time or two. But in my white-privileged experience, outright racism is something that more ignorant sorts mumble under their breath safely within their white hoods. But not anymore. Racism […]
Everyone’s a fucking comedian lately. The desire for likes and guffaws on Facebook and Twitter really brings out the cringe factor in those wannabe chuckleheads. Take Cabarrus County, N.C. Republican Chairman Lanny Lancaster, who recently posted a picture of a young lady wearing glasses and braces with the caption, “This is the alleged sexual assault […]
You have called me a libtard snowflake, a bleeding heart feminazi, and even a left-wing commie bigot, but I’m not mad at you. I know you were frustrated, know that you didn’t really mean it. We are practically family anyway, bound by the common denominator of being American. We believe in the same American ideals: […]
EDITOR’S NOTE: The decrepit staff here at The Shinbone Star needs constant medical monitoring, and that’s why we have our own staff physician. When she’s not snapping the latex on recalcitrant reporters, our Deconstructing Doctor can also write when needed. Am I the only one wondering what Donald Trump’s personal doctor is doing back in the news? Where’s […]
When I get dressed for work I have a certain uniform. Shirt, pants, cardigan, ballerina slippers. Simple and effective, but obviously not a lot of thought put into my look. My weekend and evening wear consists of some kind of throwback to the 90s. Jeans. T-shirt. Cons. Flannel. I don’t know how I got stuck in […]
Last night I dreamt that I smoked one cigarette after another. I was ravenous. Light it up, suck it down, and do it again. This went on and on. It made me happy, enveloped in a cloud of smoke with a goofy smile on my face. The weird thing is that I don’t even smoke. […]
I don’t think Southerners are aware, but outside of the South, no one really cares about the Civil War or its monuments. The world has moved on, the country has changed. It’s on to bigger and better things. It has forgotten about the battered and wounded Confederate soldier, the burned and desecrated white plantations. It […]
So you want to impeach Donald Trump, huh? Well, hold your horses partner, not so fast! Have you really thought this through? Do you realize who is second in command? If Trump is doing jail time for selling secrets to the Russians, well, just who do you think is going to take his place? Like […]
It is a universal truth that a racist is an ignorant sort, both vile and evil. To be racist is to be embroiled in an ancient conspiracy that the color of every human’s outer layer of skin denotes inherent qualities of good and evil. A racist perpetuates this conspiracy — always in his own favor. […]
Sometimes it’s hard to tell how really bad someone is at their job until you compare them to someone who was really good at it. I think everyone has an opinion about who is the best president of the United States. And now I think everyone has an opinion about who is the worst president. […]
I once took an oath. It seems like just yesterday when I graduated from medical school and stood with my hand in the air, repeating the words to myself, “I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person’s family […]
There are times in life when you just get so worn down, so tired, so disappointed, so disgruntled that you think you can’t keep going. You just want to stop, get off the hamster wheel and shut out the world. You don’t want to read another political blog, hear another pundit rant, shake your head […]
This is really hard to admit, but I am obsessed with something. I cannot get it out of my mind. I think about it, rolling it over and over again, like a shiny stone, trying to fully comprehend its essence. What is my little shiny obsession? It’s Trump. Playing golf. I know WTF, right? It’s […]
Americans love their pets. What’s more American than the nuclear family throwing a ball in the back yard while Rover fetches it enthusiastically and tirelessly? What is more American than the great Lassie rescuing Timmy from the well? Or what about the rotund Garfield eating John’s lasagna again? Americans need their pets. It grounds us. It […]
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