The end of January and beginning of February have brought a roaring avalanche of news. This little column doesn’t have the space or intellectual power to keep up with it all, so I’ve decided to steer around the big issues and touch on a variety of subjects that might otherwise be neglected.

First, some news from Nigeria known to few people in Franklin County. Having sheltered a Yoruba Muslim under my roof for a couple of years and counting an Ibo Christian as one of my godsons, I have more reason than most to pay attention. The Pew Research Center, a generally reliable, if slightly left-tilted organization, ran a survey in January that found a nearly 60% approval rating for President Trump. A Nigerian journalist, Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, reports that this been a consistent for some time. Nwaubani explains that Nigerians admire tough talk, candor, and resilience. They approve of his support for religion, and enjoy the entertainment he provides.

It appears that many see his sneers at “hits-hole countries” as an example of candor. A survey has shown that 45% of Nigerian adults planned to move to another country in the next five years. This suggests that these people view their country with some distaste.

There’s a short story by Chinua Achebe, a famous Ibo novelist, playwright, and poet, about a man just appointed to run the Nigeria’s finance and treasury department. His appointment was greeted with hopeful enthusiasm. No one doubted his dedication and honesty. In Achebe’s story this paragon flew by a secret, twisted, devious route to Switzerland.

Once there he requested a personal interview with the head of a Swiss bank famous for its discretion. When he and the Bank Director were alone, he drew a pistol from his attache case, pointed it at the man and demanded to know the names of all Nigerian officials with secret accounts. The director sweated profusely but gritted his teeth and refused.

The paragon of integrity cocked his weapon and started counting to 10. The Swiss, true to his national ideal, remained silent. Satisfied, the ultra-honest Nigerian official put his gun away and announced that he would like to open a confidential account for the several million dollars he had in his case.

It’s impossible to imagine a more cynical and depressing comment on the integrity of your own country.

And now, let’s hear from Fitch Ratings. We may hear a lot more from the fellows at Fitch in the next decade or so, but for now it’s enough to know that the firm is one of the three nationally recognized statistical rating organizations designated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Fitchlings have recently published an alarming study showing that since 2001 state employee pension fund obligations have grown from $33,000,000,000 to $1,500,000,000,000.

Most states now rely on investment income for 60% of the revenue that they will need to pay their future retirees. With interest rates at historic lows this income must come from corporate profits. Readers will keep this in mind the next time they hear ignorant bleating about “PEOPLE BEFORE PROFITS.” If corporate incomes fall below projections (and they will) pensions will be paid by taxpayers and increased employee contributions.

Here’s some hot news from New Hampshire: Joe Biden really called a young woman who politely challenged him a “lying dog-faced pony soldier.” I saw the tape. If he has decided to compete with the Trump Tower Gargoyle by lobbing abusive epithets he’s made a good beginning.

Now for a small dose of cheerful news. This year’s National Defense Authorization Act promoted Col. Charles McGee to brigadier general, a 100-year birthday present. Before he retired in 1972 McGee flew 409 combat mission, 100 in the Korean War, 172 in Vietnam, the rest in World War II.

He was one of the Tuskegee airmen who flew fighters out of bases in Italy to protect bombing rates. Thus he and his black Tuskegee comrades protected white air crews at a time when racial prejudice was common and uninhibited. This fact may not change anything, but there’s no harm in getting a little pleasure from the news.

Alexander Historical Auctions originally estimated that the customized, black and gold pens Speaker Pelosi used to sign the articles of impeachment could fetch up to $50,000 each at auction. N A N C Y P E L O S I takes just 11 strokes per letter so she had to multiply the number of strokes for each letter in order to hand over 30 souvenir pens to reward every congress mammal who actively participated in her favorite project. Now that impeachment has led nowhere and the historical event looks more and more like a forgettable farce the souvenir market has sharply depreciated.

According to my information the pens used for the document’s periods are going for just $20 for its periods, $15 for its semicolons, $7 for its periods. I can’t absolutely certify the accuracy of those prices since they sound like something somebody might have made up.

Senator Collins is learning more about the perils of moderation, bi-partisanship, and centrism. Her vote to acquit the Donald of the impeachment charges has renewed a hostile chorus of frothing fury. She sent me (and lots of other people) an e-mail commenting that:

“Part of that might just be that they are mad that I refused to give into their attempts to pressure me. I also believe that the partisan origins of this proceeding – impeachment passed the House without a single Republican vote – was an indication of some of the weaknesses of their case.”

Never mind, she can’t escape her dilemma. Many voters were convinced from the start that the president is guilty of being Donald Trump. Others, at least equally numerous, believed that Donald Trump was the definition of innocence. There’s nothing Susan could say that will ever move either group.

John Frary of Farmington, the GOP candidate for U.S. Congress in 2008, is a retired history professor, an emeritus Board Member of Maine Taxpayers United, a Maine Citizen’s Coalition Board member, and publisher of FraryHomeCompanion.com. He can be reached at jfrary8070@aol.com