It’s September 18, 2015 and time once again for Friday Yes or No, when I try to make things easier for myself by asking 10 questions and limiting the 10 answers to one of two words. Got that? Let’s go:

Q1: If I had a kid in the Irving, Texas, school system, would I pull him or her out of it so that she or he wouldn’t be exposed to complete morons six hours a day?

A1: Yes

Q2: Wouldn’t it follow logically that if Muslims have to keep apologizing for 9/11, Pope Francis has to apologize for the Oklahoma City bombing (Timothy McVeigh was a Roman Catholic)?

Q2: Yes

Q3: Should either Muslims or Pope Francis do that?

A3: No!

Q4: If I were trying to destroy the United States, wouldn’t a Donny Trump presidency be the best way to accomplish my goal?

A4: Yes

Q5: Is Carly Fiorina rising in the eyes of Republicans because the other people running in her party look like total dweebs?

A5: Yes

Q6: Is it a good idea for the U.S. to engage Russia in military talks about Syria?

A6: Yes

Q7: Is there reason to be optimistic that such talks will resolve this incredible mess?

A7: No

Q8: Pope Francis plans to talk about climate change in his address to Congress. Is he going to get a warm response (so to speak) from the Republican side of the hall?

A6: No

Q9: The math is overwhelmingly in favor of an imminent division title, so will New York Mets fans respond responsibly if their team loses this weekend’s Subway Series with the New York Yankees?

A9: No

Q10: As someone obsessed by time, am I jealous of Ahmed Mohamed because he can actually build something that keeps it?

A10: Yes

1. It’s Thursday, September 17, 2015

2.  I didn’t watch all of the Republican debate last night because I was teaching my Journalism class. So I missed about half of the three-plus hour display of what the GOP is offering for the presidency in 2016. That said, here’s my impressions:

3.   By all accounts, and from what I saw, Carly Florina was the most impressive of the 11 candidates. But that might be because she knows how to complete a sentence. The rest of them were either completely inarticulate or spew mouth foam that makes you wonder if they aren’t ill.

Florina, a veteran of fractious board and shareholder meetings, always seemed to remember the schpiel she planned to say on specific topics.

4.   However – and, yes, it was a silly question – Fiorina’s answer on the $10 bill question was very telling.

Instead of making a point that there are so many American women who deserve an honor that is long overdue, or even paying tribute to a woman in her past, she crabbed on about how the idea of putting a woman on the $10 is stupid. She said that what women really need is true equality in the workplace and in society.

It gets at Fiorina’s problem. Being president isn’t just being CEO of USA, Inc. It’s being a cheerleader, a hand-holder, a fan and the arm around the nation’s shoulder.

So even if she thinks putting a woman on the $10 is an empty gesture, enough people are empathetic to the idea that she should understand. Say something that isn’t churlish.

Empathy. It’s what made Ronald Reagan a two-term president. It’s what made Barack Obama a two-term president. The perception that they weren’t and aren’t above the little things. I don’t think Fiorina gets that.

5.  Jeb Bush had the audacity to say that America was safer under his older brother than it is under Barack Obama.

You have to admit it takes guts. Because somehow that conveniently forgets Sept. 11, 2001. It also forgets the 4,000-plus Americans who lost their lives in a dopey war in Iraq.

6.  But just to be clear, to Bush and the other Republicans seeking to paint Obama as a guy who has compromised this nation’s security, there was one question I wished CNN’s Jake Tapper had put to them:

Whatever happened to Osama bin Laden?

It’s September 11, 2015, and before I get to Friday Yes or No, I feel obligated to reflect on the fact that it’s September 11, 2015.

I listened to the thoughtful John Hockenberry on NPR this morning who took a less reverent view of the day than most of the rest of us. Among the things that he said was that 9/11 was a poison to our system from which we’ve never really recovered, that in railing against the creatures who fouled our lives we failed to see other forms of terrorism — the church shooting in Charleston, Sandy Hook, etc. He also reminded listeners that the U.S. squandered its opportunity to emerge as the undisputed moral leader of the world when George W. Bush decided to invade a country that had nothing to do with 9/11.

I see some of Hockenberry’s points. Twelve years after the fact, the Iraq war still infuriates me. How we let human scumbags such as Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld lead us so far astray from our principles is something I’ll never understand. And yes, we seem far more worried about someone praying than losers who tell of their devotion to slavery and Nazis and then can’t pass up a chance to buy a few more rounds at the local gun store.

But when I think of 9/11, I think of two things. First, and always foremost, are the lives lost in the tantrum of a few evil men. People going about their business on a sunny day, and then not. The families of those people, who dreams and hopes were shattered. I suppose that happens any time there’s a sudden death – after a car accident, or in a fire. But to have it happen so visibly, in a such a deliberate and wanton act, is painful beyond words.

And the second thing is what I saw on September 12.

I had to get to work that day, and I couldn’t drive back into Midtown Manhattan. So I took the train from Tarrytown and made my way in. It was a warm morning, and the city was full of people who looked as though they hadn’t slept. A burnt smell hung in the air. Sirens blared everywhere — I heard sirens in my head for weeks afterward.

And yet, the breakfast carts that dot Manhattan opened up. The newsstands sold papers. The pizza stands and the sandwich joints and Macy’s and the salad bars and everyone else picked themselves up and resumed the business of their lives. There were thousands of police and fire fighters and others trying to save any survivors, not realizing — and, at the time, not caring — that they were putting themselves at risk of cancer

And we all were sad, but we also unbroken. And we were together. The bastards had taken some of us. They would have taken us given the chance. But the hell with them. We were the United States of America, and they were sick fools.

That, and those sadly lost, are what I think about today.

And now, questions with yes or no answers:

Q1: With the opening of the 9/11 museum in Shanksville, Pa., has enough tribute been paid to the people who thwarted what would have the final attack of that day, probably on the Capitol?

A1: No!

Q2: Can we ever express enough gratitude to the passengers and crew of Flight 93?

A2: No

Q3: Did the failure of the Senate vote to block the Iran nuclear deal honor the spirit of making the world safer in the wake of 9/11?

A3: Yes

Q4: If I had my way, would I send Dick Cheney and his henchmen to The Hague to face war crime charges?

A4: Yes

Q5: When I do word association, does “vomit” follow “Kim Davis”?

A5: Yes

Q6: Should people with ridiculous hairdos and perpetual snarls on their face say anything, anything at all, about the appearance of any other human being?

A6: No

Q7: Does the New York City Police Department, and police departments around the nation, have a serious problem with officers overstepping their authority and understanding the concept of innocent before proven guilty?

A7: Yes

Q8: Does “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” show signs of promise?

A8: Yes

Q9: Do I have any sympathy at all for Washington Nationals’ fans after my Mets swept three games this week, all in dramatic fashion?

Q9: Yes

Q10: Am I sorry the Mets did what they did to the Nats?

A10: NO!

1. It’s Thursday, September 10, 2015.

2. I haven’t written in a while. Family issues. I’ll post Yes or No tomorrow, then won’t post again until Wednesday.

3. There are, in fact, people who see Kim Davis as a paragon of virtue. They see her as a martyr for not going against her religious beliefs. A defender of the Constitutional right of freedom of religion. A county clerk whose bravery makes her a hero.

Here’s what she really is:

— A criminal – she took an oath of office to defend the Constitution, a Constitution that includes a section about how the U.S. Supreme Court is the ultimate arbiter of what’s the law of the land.

— An opportunist – if she really wanted to make a statement about how abhorrent she believes same-sex marriage to be, she would have resigned. Instead, she knew damn well that if she went to jail, there would be those who would trumpet her cause.

— A hypocrite – she and the dolts who support her, including morons who aspire to be President of the United States, cry about how their religious rights are being infringed, but make no bones about stomping on the religious and spiritual rights of other people.

From a political point of view, it was probably right for a judge to spring Davis from her cell. The longer she stayed there, the more bubble brains like Mike Huckabee would rally support among their species.

But when this all dies down — and people realize that letting two people who are in love get married, no matter who they are, is going to advance rather infringe on general morality — Kim Davis is either going to cash in on her 15 minutes of fame among the braindead who support her or, hopefully, fade into well-deserved obscurity.

Kim Davis can go to hell. In fact, if there’s a just God, she probably will.

It’s September 4, 2015 and time once again for Friday Yes or No, my weekly attempt to be clever using just the words “yes” and “no.” (All right, there’s a bunch of words leading up to the yes or no, but let’s not nitpick.)

Q1: Did President Obama give what used to be Mt. McKinley in Alaska the Kenyan name for mountain?

A1: No

Q2: Is Kenyan a language?

A2: No

Q3: Did Barbara Mikulski give herself a great retirement gift by making the world a safer place this week?

A3: Yes

Q4: Will the picture of the body of a Syrian toddler washed up on a beach in Turkey begin to change people’s hearts about the refugee crisis in the Middle East and Africa?

A4: Yes

Q5: Is the Save The Children Web site a good place to send donations to help the thousands of children displaced by war? 

A5: Yes

Q5: Should anybody be surprised that Donny Trump is clueless about who’s who in the Middle East? 

A5: No

Q6: Is it surprising that a thought-to-be conservative judge is the one who put the Rowan County, Ky., clerk in jail for failing to license same-sex marriages?

A6: No

Q7: Is that because the definition of a conservative judge would be one who adheres to the letter of the law?

A7: Yes

Q8: Is there any good guy in this whole NFL-Tom Brady-deflated football mishegas?

A8: No

Q9: Does Scott Walker seem like the type of guy who has any patience for celebrating Labor Day?

A9: No

Q10: Should we really thank organized labor for the fact that we’re celebrating this Labor Day weekend?

A10: Yes!

1. It’s Wednesday, September 2, 2015.

2. Long Island is a stupid idea executed badly. It’s hard for me to think of anyplace else in the world where so many people have so few ways out, and all of them are so easily capable of malfunction.

This morning, it’s the Long Island Railroad, the nation’s largest commuter line. Because of an Amtrak power outage, LIRR trains can’t get into Manhattan — which is pretty much the point of the railroad. So commuters are either schlepping to Brooklyn and taking the subway into Manhattan, or driving.

The idea of creating a modern mass transportation system, instead of using one dependent on a lot of 19th century technology, just never occurs to people — except on days like this when you realize how stupid it is that there isn’t something better.

3. Conservative Republicans are determined to stick it to Planned Parenthood. In fact, they’re ready to shut down the government if the budget contains funding for Planned Parenthood’s women’s health initiatives.

The crazies have seen the videos convincing them that Planned Parenthood is using abortion as a profit center by processing fetuses for nefarious purposes. It’s not quite that way, but it doesn’t matter to these mouthfoamers.

President Obama has said he’ll stand up for what Planned Parenthood does to help women. The rest of us should do the same. There should be a price paid for jackasses who believe in punishing women for being women.

1. It’s Tuesday, September 1, 2015.

2. Even though it’s the month my son was born, I’m not a fan of September.

3. For the first time in my recollection, kids in my neighborhood are returning to school before Labor Day. I know that school reopens in August throughout a big chunk of this country — that’s been to our advantage when we’ve taken family vacations around this time of year.

But opening before Labor Day seems wrong — everybody’s going to be off Monday anyway. If this is a ploy for school districts to show how rigorous they’re making it for kids, it’s silly.

4. There was this great big full moon over the weekend, sort of like the one in the classic comedy “Moonstruck.” And, of course, full moons are often equated with craziness on the part of the human race.

But are the following things that have happened in the past few days examples of the moon’s influence or that we’re living in a time when idiots run free?:

5. Noted scaredy cat Scott Walker said he’s not satisfied with building a wall to keep out people from Mexico and points southward. He suggests the possibility of one on the border with Canada, to keep out Canadians and the evildoers they obviously harbor with their nationalized medicine and poutine.

Unfortunately for a guy who’s afraid to answer questions about whether or not he believes President Obama loves his country, there’s no wall or other barrier to stop Asians or Europeans, as well as various other forms of flora and fauna. But maybe that’s something we could work on if this country is stupid enough to elect a bozo like Scott Walker.

6. Chris Christie has an idea for keeping tabs on people who come to the United States. Have FedEx develop a system similar to the one it uses to track that “50 Shades of Gray” DVD you ordered from Amazon.

I wonder where Christie would put the barcodes needed to track those people. Maybe on their forehead. Or their butt. Maybe he could be a walking example of how that would work.

Or we could be more creative and make people who come to the United States wear silly hats, or strobing shirts, or some other idiotic idea that this clown might come up with.

7. President Obama, visiting Alaska this week, announced that he is changing the name of Mount McKinley, the tallest peak in North America, to Denali, the name given to it by the people who’ve lived there for millennia.

This has one Ohio congressman foaming at the mouth. This jackass says the people of Dayton are outraged, I tell you, outraged that Obama  would accede to the wishes of the folks who live near the mountain. He’s going to raise a big stink about it when Congress returns from its recess after Labor Day.

Because what America should really be concerned about right now is whether or not a mountain in Alaska is named for a president from Ohio — and not education, climate change, health care, infrastructure or any one of a quadrillion other things on this nation’s agenda. 

It’s August 28, 2015, and time for me to answer my own questions with my two favorite answers in the world.

Q1:  Can there possibly be anyone in the world who is surprised by Donny Trump’s boorish behavior?

A1: No

Q2: Is Serena Williams respected properly for the incredible tennis champion she is?

A2: No

Q3: Is it really possible that there were 1 billion people on Facebook one day this week?

A3: Yes

Q4: Is it a good idea when the stock markets are fluctuating wildly to keep close tabs on your investments?

A4: No

Q5: Was this week’s tragic slaying of two TV journalists a signal that the nation needs sensible gun control laws?

A5: Yes

Q6: Will there be any sensible gun control laws any time soon?

A6: No

Q7: Sophomoric though it may be, do I snicker every time I see the name Bimbo on a loaf of bread?

A7: Yes

Q8: Would I be snickering if I found a glass fragment in my loaf of Bimbo bread?

A8: No

Q9: Is there anything about the St. Paul’s rape case that doesn’t make a reasonable person ill?

A9: No

Q10: Was this week a reminder that we have to do better, much better, about overcoming evil and madness in our lives?

A10: Yes

1. It’s Thursday, August 27, 2015.

2. Remember Monday’s stock market crisis? That’s starting to seem a little silly, given today’s report that the economy has been growing faster than we thought.

3. I refuse to watch the video the deranged shooter made when he killed the TV reporter and cameraman. You should too. This sick, sick man wanted attention. Instead, celebrate the beautiful, if way too short, lives of his victims.

4. There’s a movement afoot to reform FAFSA, the form parents and students fill out for financial aid. One of the great reliefs of my life is that I never again have to do that. While I’d be intensely jealous of parents who wouldn’t have to spend the time I’ve wasted on those damn forms, civilization would certainly be better off with a little simplicity.

1. It’s Wednesday, August 26, 2015.

2. We’ll know all the details in time. But as I write this, it’s still pretty freaking bewildering that a TV reporter and her cameraman can be shot in cold blood at a Virginia shopping mall. My heart goes out to their families and to their colleagues — who, in a good newsroom, are family, too.

3. It’s hard to understand this. But then, it’s hard to understand why someone would shoot up a Connecticut elementary school or a Colorado movie theater.

4. It’s the 95th anniversary of the ratification of the 20th Amendment of the Constitution, giving women the right of the vote. I wonder if Fabulous Donny Trump thinks this amendment won’t stand up in court, either.

5. I don’t go around thinking about myself as a white male. But every time sound emerges from Fabulous Donny Trump’s mouth, I feel as though I need to apologize to friends and acquaintances who aren’t white, male — and stupid, I shouldn’t forget stupid. His campaign to rid America of what I imagine he sees as the Hispanic scourge is just plain embarrassing.

6. On the one hand, when you look at the video, it seems inappropriate for Univision’s Jorge Ramos to interrupt Trump’s news conference the way he did. But here’s the thing: The people most affected by his diarrhea of the mouth on immigration are being stoked by Trump. They’re scared and they’re angry and this jackass, who was glad to take their money when they came to his gaudy casinos, refuses to address them in a meaningful way. I understand Mr. Ramos’ frustration.

7. The solution to this Trump problem is simple. Register Hispanic voters and make sure they get to the polls.

If you’re a conservative Hispanic, who disagrees with me on every issue except this, register as a Republican and drive this guy out in the primary.

If you’re a Hispanic who shares my liberal views of the world, register as a Democrat and make sure Trump or whoever carries the banner of the party than enabled him is routed in a way that’s historic.

As is the case with the millions of other immigrants who have come to this country for 239 years, there are innumerable ways the United States a far, far better place because of people from Mexico and the rest of Latin America.

I think immigrants from Latin America should stay. I think Fabulous Donny Trump should leave.