Snap!

It's a pretty hard and fast rule on my playground that when we speak to one another, we use respectful language. As much as we all might like to eliminate or at least diminish the trash talk that takes place in such venues, there is a certain amount of poor sportsmanship that squeaks through. Boys will be boys, and girls will be girls and all that, but it still surprises me how often I have to drop by and remind kids that no one is playing for money here and if they aren't having fun, they should stop. Of course, this doesn't take into account the very real possibility that all that smack they're tossing around is the fun part. Of course. Where would they get that idea?
For years, I have been pointing the finger directly at the grown-ups in this unbalanced equation. All those professional athletes who push and shove and spit and whine are giving children the idea that such things are not only acceptable but part of competition. It's not who wins or who loses, but how bad you made the other guy look on the way to the basket/goal line/home base. It will be on Sportscenter later, on an endless loop. So, Charles Barkley, who are our role models?
I hope it comes as no surprise that our friends running for president on the Republican side of things won't probably be on that list. The most recent interchange between Donald Trump and Jeb Bush will stand as my example for them not being good examples. “When you talk about George Bush – I mean, say what you want, the World Trade Center came down during his time,” said Lord Trumpington when he was being interviewed on Bloomberg TV. When asked to explain this assertion, The Trumpmeister said in his most emphatic Jersey way, “He was president, OK? Blame him or don’t blame him, but he was president. The World Trade Center came down during his reign.” Reign, administration, these are just words, right?
Jeb! Bush responded by tweeting, "How pathetic for @realdonaldtrump to criticize the president for 9/11.  We were attacked & my brother kept us safe." At this point, we can take heart in the fact that nobody's mother was mentioned. Not yet, anyway. Former White House press secretary under George Bush, Ari Fleischer, said that Trump is “starting to sound like a truther,” referring to proponents of the conspiracy theory that the U.S. government was involved in the 9/11 attacks. “Does Donald Trump also think since Pearl Harbor happened on FDR’s watch that FDR is responsible?”
Maybe not, but maybe it had to do with Elanor. Ooo - First Lady slam! 
Is it 2016 yet?