The New York Times has become a real Debbie Downer lately. My usual routine of brewing me up some liquid energy and enjoying a little morning news has become a real kill joy.

I need to find a better way to wake myself up in the morning because there is zero enjoyment to be had as my eyes glaze over the front page of my revered paper lately.

ISIS is badder than ever, Brussels is shut down, France is brutally enforcing their emergency edict, there is mass hysteria in the U.S. over the relocating of Syrian refugees to the various American suburbs, and Governor Chris Christie cries while remembering the family friends he lost on September 11, 2001.

Who needs this crap first thing in the morning?

It didn’t surprise me that yesterday the State Department issued a rare worldwide travel alert for American citizens during the 2015 holiday season—and through February 24, 2016.  We didn’t need the SD to tell us we are in dangerous times.

What surprised me was their following one-liner explanation for why the alert: “Members of the Islamic State are returning from Iraq and Syria.”

RETURNING?

Is the State Department trying to give us a clue that they’re on their way HERE?  I mean really, can they be a little more specific?

Not that I wanted to read on, but I was hoping for a little clarity.

Here was their follow-up: “Islamic State, Al Qaeda and other extremist groups continue to plan terrorist attacks in multiple regions.”

REGIONS LIKE WHERE? Please State Department, give me a hint.

“U.S. citizens should exercise vigilance when in public places or using transportation,” the alert said. “Be aware of immediate surroundings and avoid large crowds or crowded places. Exercise particular caution during the holiday season and at holiday festivals or events.”

Well, call me stupid, but this pretty much confines me to my house.

I really wanted to rip up the paper right there, or stab my eyes out with a hot poker, but I couldn’t stop myself from reading on.

As I tried to keep the coffee down, I came upon another tidbit:

According to the United States military, this past Saturday they destroyed 283 Islamic State tanker trucks transporting oil out of eastern Syria.

Here’s the kicker: The strikes near Deir el-Zour and Hasaka Syria are part of a NEW campaign to cripple the ISIS oil revenue.

NEW CAMPAIGN?

Our U.S. military hasn’t been worried about ISIS oil revenue before this?

Okay, I decided enough reading was enough when I skimmed through a few other joyless missives like:

“Iraq and Syria as we know them are gone.”

Call me naïve, but I didn’t think things could get any worse.

While the U.S. says Iraq and Syria are goners, the Russian-Iranian axis vision, along with their proxies, Hezbollah, Bashar al-Assad, and Tehran-backed Baghdad seeks to restore Iraqi and Syrian borders and governments.

Good luck with that.   And what a dream team, huh?

Oh, and Putin seeks to dominate the Syrian government with or without Assad. Putin is not interested in targeting ISIS but aims to establish a solid strategic base for Russia in the Middle East.

Should this surprise anyone? I mean come on, the man has a super inferiority and Napoleon complex.

By this time, I needed more than a cup of Joe. I needed a valium. But I couldn’t stop reading.

Iran is ensuring FULL protection for Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria.

Oh, terrific. Let’s throw in an Israeli-Hezbollah war for good measure.

And last but certainly not least, this final bit of news caused me to throw my much-needed coffee down the kitchen sink and shove the paper deep into the garbage can:

“American ground combat forces will have to be deployed to provide cohesion and leadership.”

DEPLOYED WHERE?

U.S. boots on the ground. Joy to the world.

Many have said that Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland declared a state of emergency too late in the game.

Call me stupid, but it seems that the residents in West Baltimore have lived their whole lives in a state of emergency.

The life expectancy in West Baltimore is 69.7 years vs. the U.S. life expectancy of 79.8.

Baltimore’s infant mortality is on par with Moldova and Belize.

Here is what I have to say to all you presidential wannabes out there:

PART ONE:

Quit blathering about the budget deficit and the national debt, and let’s have a frank and meaningful discussion about the problems that are really plaguing our country, like:

Racial inequality

Educational inequity

Income inequality

The low minimum wage

Father-absent families

Subpar urban living conditions

Ineffective, under-resourced, and inferior schools in urban school districts

Racialized mass incarceration and the need for criminal justice reform

Racial profiling

Intense and disproportionate police scrutiny amongst ethnic and racial minority groups

The lack of community programs and recreational centers in minority neighborhoods

Body cameras for all police officers nationwide

PART TWO:

Stop pretending that the best way to reduce poverty is by lavishing tax breaks on millionaires and billionaires.

Lift the cap on payroll taxes so the rich pay the same share of their income as everyone else.

Stop defending capital gains loopholes, offshore accounts and all the other scams that rig the game for the wealthy.

Stop rejecting Medicaid, the literal lifeline for poor Americans who have no other health coverage.

Stop trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act, whose actual repeal would cruelly end coverage for tens of millions of Americans.

Stop undermining Medicare and Social Security, the two most successful anti-poverty programs in our nation’s history.

Stop legislating cutbacks in Pell Grants, federal student loans and other assistance to young people from modest backgrounds.

The elephant in the room is NOT race relations.  The elephant in the room is excess inequality.

“It just takes a random billionaire to change a race and maybe change the country.” TREVOR POTTER, a Republican campaign finance lawyer, talking about Robert Mercer, a Wall Street hedge-fund magnate who is believed to be the main donor behind a network of four “super PACs” that recently raised $31 million for Cruz’s campaign.

I wasn’t going to blog about Ted Cruz, but after seeing his commercial on television, I just couldn’t resist. First off, it seems way too early for campaign commercials, and I really hope I don’t have to see this one a gazillion times, because it’s a real beaut.

Three seconds into the spot, viewers see the Cruz family praying. Twelve seconds later, viewers see some children praying. Twenty seconds in, viewers see another person praying. Praying in and of itself is not the issue. I pray all the time.  But we’re talking about a 30 second spot. Give me some meat Cruz.

Ted Cruz, the first Hispanic U.S. senator from Texas (R), officially declared his bid for president with his first television ad of the 2016 campaign cycle over Easter and Passover weekend.

What I took away from his commercial, is that he supports praying.

But what else does Ted Cruz support and is he presidential material?

Here are a few interesting facts (at least to me) about Ted Cruz, the 44 year old senator with a mere two years of experience in elective office.

• The senator’s full name is Rafael Edward Cruz.
• Ted Cruz was born in Canada. Since his mother, Eleanor, was born in the US, he was a dual citizen of Canada and the United States—until he renounced his Canadian citizenship in June of 2014.
• Cruz’s father is an evangelical pastor who has said that President Obama should be “sent back to Kenya,” is a lot like Fidel Castro, and that Obama “seeks to destroy all concept of God.” Okay, we’re talking about his father here, but a lot of people are judged by the company they keep.
• Cruz has proclaimed himself as a steadfast conservative who would stand for Christian ideals, and undo much of President Barack Obama’s agenda.
• Cruz, who attended Harvard Law School, once declared that some members of the faculty were “Marxists who believed in the communists overthrowing the United States government.”
• Cruz stopped listening to rock music after 9/11 because he “didn’t like how rock music responded.”
• Cruz does not believe that global warming is supported by data.
• Cruz is opposed to same-sex marriage and if he were to be elected President of the United States, promised to “uphold the sacrament of marriage.” Cruz has also been one of the biggest defenders of the Indiana religious freedom law, and forcefully argued this week that the outrage over the law is an “assault” on the First Amendment.
• Although Cruz is described as one of the GOP’s Hispanic stars, he has taken positions that are out of sync with most Latinos. Cruz has introduced legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which is strongly supported by Hispanics, and he is against “amnesty” for the undocumented.
• Cruz wants to do away with the federal government’s tax collection agency. He thinks we “ought to abolish the IRS and instead move to a simple flat tax where the average American can fill out taxes on a postcard.”
• Cruz voted against Hurricane Sandy relief.
• Cruz voted against the Violence Against Women Act.
• Cruz voted against John Kerry’s nomination for secretary of State.
• Cruz avidly supports gun rights guaranteed by the Constitution’s Second Amendment. He has said that “Congress should not create new legislation restricting the rights of law-abiding Americans.”
• Two tea party groups — the Club for Growth and the Senate Conservatives Fund — are Cruz’s two largest campaign contributors.
• Cruz does not play well with others. His brash style has inspired less than flattering name-calling from both sides of the aisle. Harry Reid once described him as a “schoolyard bully,” while John McCain called him a “wacko bird.”

To be clear, I have no interest in Ted Cruz. My interest is in seeing how many Americans actually buy into his “values.”