Just one guffaw - that's all it took for Desiree Fairooz to go from a children's librarian and activist to someone facing serious jail time.

I'm not kidding here.

Back in January, Fairooz was arrested and removed from a Senate hearing after laughing at someone who said Jeff Sessions would treat all Americans equally.

If signed into law, the so-called "healthcare reform" bill that passed the House last week would cause tens of millions of Americans to lose their health insurance - literally kill thousands of people - and leave thousands more in debt.

In the American media, the 2017 French presidential election has been portrayed as a rehash of the 2016 US presidential election, with far-right populist Marine Le Pen playing the role of Donald Trump and her opponent - centrist Emmanuel Macron - standing in for Hillary Clinton.

While Democrats are jubilant that the GOP passed a terrible healthcare/tax-cut bill through the House, which they think will cause voters to reject the GOP in 2018, it's a very, very premature celebration.

It is virtually impossible to read a newspaper or a blog analyzing the politics of America in 2017 without thinking "disaster." Since Donald Trump became president not just the United States, but the world, has become unstable and liberal democracies in general are under assault by antidemocratic authoritarian forces.

Teddy Roosevelt walked softly and carried a big stick.

Donald Trump, on the other hand, is doing the exact opposite - he's walking loudly and carrying a soft stick.

So when he threatens to kill the filibuster and shut down the government, should any of us really take him seriously?

Frustrated with what it says is "biased" media coverage, the Trump administration is now openly talking about gutting the First Amendment.

They can't be serious - can they?