With Cinnamon Rolls Like These....

Years ago, I was strolling past the Swedish American Museum in Chicago with a friend. Never trust a Swede, my friend told me, laughing. His mother had always told him that.

He had never taken her advice seriously, but the narrative had stuck. As far as he knew, mom had known one Swede one time who had behaved badly, at least once. Given that I know very little about Sweden or its citizens, I felt unqualified to weigh in on the validity of my friend's mother's opinion, but I was skeptical. Moments later, undeterred, I wolfed down a few of the best cinnamon rolls on earth (in my opinion) at Ann Sathers, my favorite (only) Swedish greasy spoon diner, just down the street.

With Sweden now on 45's no fly-to list, I'm starting to wonder just a little bit about the new President's relationship with the facts. Especially since he has since attributed his allusion to extreme catastrophe in Sweden to a news report he saw on the telly, and he has pretty much told us that all news is fake and the press is public enemy numero uno. Bad hombres.

I remember watching an interview with Reince Priebus a lifetime ago, before he crossed over from being just a garden variety politician to the president's chief harlot (with no offense intended to harlots). I figured he couldn't be all bad, with his loving wife whom he met in church and their seemingly well-cared-for children. Now I wonder who will take care of his brood when he goes down in flames with his boss. I watched him yesterday, twisting himself into a pretzel to explain how all negative press about his pimp is bogus, distracting the rest of us from important issues. Like how Sweden is under siege? I wonder if Reince yearns for the days when he was just a low level political hack.

45's crack team of advisors has supplied him with countless out-of-context quotes from former presidents so he can support his condemnation of the press as an institution and stoke the outrage of his gaggle of supporters as they follow him down the dirty path to autocracy. If you don't like the message, shoot the messenger. A misguided strategy, to be sure, but certainly expedient.

I have a sudden craving for sticky cinnamon rolls, Maybe I'll top it off with a bit of shawarma and a side of tabbouleh. Surprisingly, I haven't lost my appetite.