Posts by Alex Miller

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Justin Trudeau Resigns

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada since 2015, resigned his office on 6 January 2025, after months of speculation regarding the fractious state of Canada’s government.  Trudeau was preceded out the door by deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, who resigned suddenly in December 2024, sparking a political crisis.  Trudeau announced that he would resign as both the prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party, and advised Canada’s Governor General to prorogue parliament until March 24, while the Party holds a leadership contest.  Trudeau will remain in office until a new leader is chosen, after which he will formally resign as prime minister.

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Trump 2.0: Crazy Like a Fox

Donald J. Trump’s second administration, taking power at noon on 20 January 2025 (by constitutional fiat, whenever the oath itself is taken), is likely to be a replay of the first term, only more so.  In 2017 when he first assumed office, Trump was a newbie novice to the Washington scene; he appointed persons with experience and relative competence to help him run the government, individuals who had a respect for its institutions and norms, who served as guardrails on Trump’s wilder, wackier impulses.

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Aster-Obit: Jimmy Carter

On Sunday, 29 December 2024, former US president Jimmy Carter passed away peacefully at his home in Plains, Georgia; at age 100, he was the longest-lived chief executive in US history.  Carter had been in hospice care for nearly two years, since February of 2023, and had lost his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn, that November.  He also enjoyed the longest post-presidency, which was viewed, rightly or wrongly, as considerably more successful than his administration, with the Carter Center promoting democracy, advancing human rights and assisting disease eradication globally.  Jimmy and Rosalynn also partnered with Habitat for Humanity in an annual home-building blitz, which the Carters joined personally.

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2024’s Skipped Stories: Lost in Transmission

Inevitably, it happens.  Stories, small and large, are encountered, researched and prepped, and then something – a “bigger” event or a life circumstance – intervenes, and the story never sees the light of day.  Until now.  Join AAA for a wrap-up of some of those missed stories, as we close out the old year and ring in the new!

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What the Dickens?

It’s that time of year again; the holidays are upon us, and amidst the lights and tinsel, trees and presents, one enduring emblem of the season remains almost inescapable.  It’s well-nigh impossible to make it through December without at least a glimpse of “A Christmas Carol,” Charles Dickens’ classic 1843 novella that introduced the world to Ebeneezer Scrooge and Tiny Tim, and almost single-handedly created the modern concept of Christmas.  Filmed over 100 times, and adapted into endless variations on TV, radio, the stage, animation, even a ballet, “A Christmas Carol” is surely one of the pillars that upholds yuletide.

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Death at Abundant Life

On Monday, 16 December 2024, shooting suspect Natalie “Samantha” Rupnow, 15, discharged a 9mm handgun in a study hall at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, killing two and wounding six others, before turning the gun on herself.  The incident, sadly, is hardly isolated, but it is unusual.  The vast number of mass shootings are perpetrated by males, using assault-style rifles; women constitute only 5% of mass shooters, and with both victims also female, this becomes an “all-female” cast of characters.

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