Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

Okay, as we all deal with how Donald Trump and his lackeys will violate federal law without a smidge of regret, some of us have to find ways to respond.

While “ways to respond” will, I hope, mean more than two of my minor protests with regard to writing, it still feels better for me to hone these protests.

Here they are:

• When I refer to Trump, I will refrain from calling him Mr. as is done routinely by such top newspapers as the New York Times.  I don’t exalt that moniker; it just feels good not to do so.

• Also, when I refer to Trump, I will not use the word “administration” to cite what he is doing as president, as I would with any other president.  Using that word conveys that I might have a notion that  Trump is “administering” anything.  He is not.  He is just flying by the seat of his pants, no matter if anyone opposes his illegal actions – not Congress, not the courts, not public opinion.

There!

I feel better already, even though there is no way my protests will matter.

Still, all of us Americans must find real ways to oppose Trump as he continues dismantling the America we know.

These small protests could lead to bigger ones for me.