Nicole Belle is out for a bit because this godforsaken excuse for a government means that each and every one of us is in a struggle to maintain our health and sanity. She needs a breather, so I'm here as a poor substitute.

I don't know about any of you, but I was stricken by how hard it was this weekend to keep politics out of Thanksgiving dinner. When I heard Trump went to Afghanistan for a "Presidential" photo op, it was all I could do to keep from guffawing at the dinner table, especially when I heard the claim he had restarted talks with the Taliban. What did he do, I wondered. Did he extort Afghanistan too? We all know he doesn't have the first clue how to talk. It's all just a mob shakedown for his own gain.

The idea that he is treated by the press as serious about any of this is ridiculous and insulting. He's nothing but a thug and a dotard and the press should quit treating him as anything other than that. What they should be aggressively investigating is whether his cognitive decline is such that he should resign. Photo ops aren't enough to justify his continued presence in the White House. But alas, they grind on as if he actually belongs there.

Let's see what they do this week. Here's the lineup, via the Washington Post.

ABC’s “This Week” — Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., and Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif.

NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Secretary of State John Kerry, Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar.

CBS’ ”Face the Nation” — Democratic presidential candidate Cory Booker.

CNN’s “State of the Union” —Klobuchar and Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.

“Fox News Sunday” — Reps. Doug Collins, R-Ga., and Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

What's catching your eye (or raising your blood pressure) this morning?