THUD, indeed

I laughed until I cried as I read a column by Dana Milbank in the Washington Post Sept. 15.

In an act of self-diagnosis, he has decided he suffers from Trump Hypertensive Unexplained Disorder, or THUD. His doctor endorsed the diagnosis. Milbank's editor, too, has been warned by a doctor that his blood pressure has become borderline dangerous. A dentist told him that orders have surged in the Washington area for night guards because more people are clenching and grinding their teeth in the Trump era. Psychotherapists told him most clients talk about Trump, who is exacerbating whatever neurosis, depression or other conditions they had.

It stands to reason, Milbank wrote, that THUD is less pervasive in parts of the country that supported Trump. Indeed, Trump-ies might be feeling better, collectively, as Obama Derangement Syndrome subsides.

He cited an article in the recent American Journal of Public Health that found that life expectancy in the United States closely follows voting patterns in the 2016 election, with Trump winning the most support in counties with the lowest gains in lifespans.

My hope: May most of them be trapped in long-term care before 2020.

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Caution — curmudgeon at work:

* Yahoo!News verges on useless, courtesy of the inescapable comments tags. It's a comfort, though, to realize that with the reduction in newspaper readership, the people who would normally write Letters to the Editor have found a home for their vacuous illogic. No doubt there lurk screeds capped by the command "think about it."

* I was a happy freeloader on TVGuide.com; I subscribe to the print magazine. But now, instead of a logline for a show on the "What's On" grid, most times I get a "trailer." Why should I spend two minutes or more watching a video when I can read 35 words of logline, absorb the info, and move on?

* It's annoying to watch the hype for reborn TV shows that I never watched in the first place.

* I added the Chrome browser to my arsenal because several Web sites whined about Firefox. Ad Blocker works on Chrome, sort of. I'd forgotten how intrusive advertising is.

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New "Star Trek" this Sunday. Protecting my credibility as a Trekker, I spent $25 on a Roku. After it arrives, I'll have to spend more on the CBS subscription service. "Discovery" faces a high standard to keep me shelling out cash.

I realized, sadly, a week ago, that I'm tired of reading Original Series and Next Generation novels.

Saves money, though.

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