When I think of grass I think of something to walk on, pot as something to put a plant in.

It's very typical that when two people are having lunch, they put a phone on the table between them.

Donald Trump rejected charges of ties between his campaign and Russia, blasted the intelligence community for leaks, and repeatedly attacked the news media. The president said he inherited a mess at home and abroad, but he dismissed the notion of a White House in turmoil.

As the mother of a son with disabilities, I try to keep an eye out for news that affects people in the large community of which he is a part.

The United States and China have both beefed up their naval presence in Southeast Asia, leading to fears of a military confrontation. This is just one example of China flexing its military muscle in recent months, and it coincides with a slowdown in the nation's economy.

All the research shows that the presence of that phone will do two things to the conversation. It will make the conversation go to trivial matters, and it will decrease the amount of empathy that the two people in the conversation feel toward each other. That phone is a signal that either of us can put our attention elsewhere.

Is this administration, the Clinton administration, an administration that needed defending?