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Annoyed? Really?

9/30/2020

A short while ago our microwave announced it was tired of working so hard and was going to cut back its hours. It then initiated a work schedule that was unpredictable, heating at times and shutting down completely at others. After a few days of this it decided to retire completely and not a single digit would light.

How annoying! I had to cook my oatmeal in a pan on the stove! Veggie burgers needed a frying pan and the work level increased! And it took a long long couple of weeks to get a replacement!

There are a lot of situations that annoy me.

The neighbor mows his grass at eight in the morning.

The yard man mows my grass at eight in the morning.

The grocery store doesn’t have rubbing alcohol in stock, or hand sanitizer or toilet paper or bottled water.

The wait at the doctor’s office is over half an hour.

The air conditioner goes out and it’s necessary to live for a couple of days in heat.

Looking over this list, I’m struck by a common thread.

There is nothing in it, absolutely nothing, that is important. These are merely inconveniences for the lucky me whose life is so good that I can afford to fret over minor problems and vexing situations.

How many people are there in this world living day-to-day with no money, often no home or food, no health care, and no expectation things will get better? We hear about the millions upon millions in such circumstances in Africa, Asia, the Middle East. South America, and virtually every area on earth.

Including our own country.

Wouldn’t they love to have the problems I mentioned? Problems that won’t last their entire lives. Ones that will disappear in a couple of weeks.

Our leaders tell us we are the greatest country on earth. Then how can we have so many people living in abject poverty? How can elected officials want to take away the meager healthcare programs that are available instead of expanding them? How can we pay mediocre non-living wages for full-effort work?

I thought for a period of time that our country was on the right track. Unfortunately, nowadays too many of those who can afford to worry about a defunct microwave think that’s more important than the ills suffered by millions of our fellow citizens. We’ve been on a downward track toward polarization and hatred for a long time, with a deep plunge over the past four years. Many would like to wipe out the advances we have made and are working full time to do it.

This trend has to be reversed.

We must remember that having food is more important than having a microwave in which to cook it.

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Ruth Bader Ginsburg

9/23/2020

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A seemingly unstoppable force has been silenced, and one more nail has been pounded into the coffin of our democracy.

There is nothing I can say that hasn’t already been covered multiple times. Yet I feel driven to speak.

Every woman, including U.S. senators who ponderously proclaim views differing from Ginsburg’s, owe her a huge debt for creating the environment that has permitted their advancement.

All men, at least those secure in their own selves, owe her for creating an environment that allows them to be surrounded by strong, intelligent, and vital women.

The comments and tributes have been many. Flowers placed in front of the Supreme Court attest to the sadness and fear of millions.

Chief Justice Roberts, who strikes me as a decent man even though his views often don’t align with mine, said, “Our nation has lost a jurist of historic stature. We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her—a tireless and resolute champion of justice.”

Two other Republicans gave their own somewhat different messages in the early hours after Ginsburg’s death.

Mitch McConnell said, “President Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate.”

President Trump’s comment was reported as: Republicans have an “obligation” to fill Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s vacancy on the Supreme Court “without delay.”

In all fairness, the president did make a positive statement about the late justice. I want to believe it was heartfelt. I’m sad to say I don’t. I think it was motivated either by a more sensitive staff member or a calculated decision it would help with his reelection.

I haven’t come across any positive statement by McConnell.

Discussion is rampant, of course, on a new nominee and whether the process should be initiated by whomever wins the election November 3.

As mentioned above, McConnell and most Republicans will push for a speedy vote so the Court will have a right wing bent for decades to come. It’s hypocritical, of course, but that doesn’t seem to bother them. In truth, hypocrisy is a disease affecting most politicians, independent of party. But in this case it is particularly flagrant in view of the successful Republican effort to block the nomination of Merrick Garland four years ago.

We should all recognize and remember this hypocrisy. We also should recognize the effect of immediate action will possibly cause the overthrow of Roe v. Wade and the Affordable Care Act, hasten disastrous climate change, gut protections for the less fortunate, and increase voter suppression.

There is much discussion about senators blocking any vote at least before election day. That seems unimportant to me. The real question is will they block it before inauguration day. Of course, it’s all academic if Trump is reelected. In truth, I don’t think most Republican senators have the moral fiber to do what is fair. As I write this, declarations made by senators potentially on the fence are discouraging.

I am sad that, in this age of divisiveness, attention has drifted from the amazing woman who has died and her numerous trailblazing accomplishments to the resulting politics. As I have done above.

There has not even been the decency to hold off on the political maneuvering until she is finally laid to rest.

How sad Justice Ginsburg must have felt to see the direction our country has taken. She was a fighter and did everything in her power to change the course.

Rest in peace Ruth Bader Ginsburg. You did your part. Now it’s up to us to do ours.

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Break the Law

9/16/2020

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I’m tired of writing about the egregious failures of our president. I imagine folks are tired of hearing about them as well.

But he just keeps acting in such repulsive ways.

Now he wants his supporters to break the law.

This is not really anything new, but his messages in the past have never been as overt. For example, he has praised far right groups, labeling them “fine people,” and thereby given tacit approval for their illegal intimidation of those who dare to be Black or have other undesirable characteristics. He has praised rifle carrying and bullet shooting bullies for “protecting” us from the terrible protesters.

Now, though, he has given a direct mandate to his followers to violate the law. Vote by mail. Then vote in person a second time. This, he claims, will be the definitive test to prove voting by mail is not to be trusted.

The problem, of course, is voting twice is indeed illegal and a person deliberately doing so is subject to fines or worse. Trump is telling his loyal adherents to go against the law and order issue he so proudly claims to endorse. This shows the moral fiber of our president.

I have no trouble believing some, probably many, of his devotees will indeed follow his command and attempt to vote more than once. Why doesn’t that make Trump legally guilty of abetting a crime? That, after all, is supposed to be against the law.

Nevertheless, I would hope that most of his supporters are at least honest and wouldn’t partake of such a Kool-Aid suggestion. But there are so many whose moral compass seems to have vanished and I can see them trying it.

I am not so concerned that these attempts will succeed in fooling the system. I tend to believe supervisors of elections when they say such acts are sure to be caught. It is maddening, though, that, should any efforts be successful, they will benefit Trump by supplying two votes in his favor.

What does bother me are a couple of ramifications that could follow from such illegal activity.

First, if there are many who attempt to follow the edict, they could needlessly delay voting on election day and possibly discourage others from casting a ballot. The only bright side I can see to this is that Democrats are more likely than Republicans to vote my mail, especially in the pandemic, and perhaps the disruption will interfere more with Republican votes than with Democratic ones.

Second, this request is just another attempt by Trump to convince his followers the election results can’t be trusted, setting the stage for him to complain if he loses. And there is no doubt he will do all in his power to disrupt the country if he does appear to be coming in second. Heck, he did it in 2016 when he won!

It is so easy to lay all of the blame for this abominable command and indeed the entire miserable presidency on Trump, and he certainly deserves censure. But, even more, I hold his followers responsible for refusing to recognize the danger to our country brought by this man and his policies.

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My 55 Cents Worth

9/9/2020

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I’ve tried my best to treat COVID-19 with the respect it demands. I leave my home only to exercise, walk the dog, see a doctor, and have a weekly lunch with an old friend where we stay outside, wear masks when not eating, and maintain a healthy distance.

So, when I need something for which I normally would hop in the car and go to the appropriate store, I instead head for the computer and warm its keyboard.

I recently ran out of postage stamps. This is a rare occurrence because I don’t use them much anymore when it is so easy to communicate faster and frequently with emails, texts, and other forms of digital annoyance.

Being the good COVID-19 respecter I am, I decided to order the stamps online. Since I was going to be on the USPS site anyway, I thought I’d add in a few already stamped envelopes.

Now I’ve been on the site previously and found it to be annoying. It’s probably my lack of acuity in traversing such platforms, but I felt it was difficult to determine how much postage was required to mail a letter to Australia. Thus, I entered the activity with a bit of concern. Because now I was going to have to create an account, a significant step up from browsing.

I am pleased to say that turned out to be easy and I felt like a computer nerd. It was a snap to find what I wanted and place items in my cart. There was a menu that said “Stamps” and another that included the word “Envelopes,” significant clues on how to proceed. You have to be a little careful with the stamps section because, while they show you a large selection of choices, all choices aren’t the same. For example, there was one whose design I liked and almost ordered, only to find they were for international letters and cost over a dollar, not 55 cents.

Eventually I was ready to check out. Now these were items I could walk less than a mile to buy, and normally would. It turns out there is a shipping and handling charge. Maybe I can understand the handling, but these are post office items coming from the post office that presumably has an understanding of shipping. But, whatever. The post office is in trouble and I’m happy to help.

Then I see the notice that the items will be delivered in three to five days! The post office can’t deliver something readily available close by in less time, while Amazon can!

This wasn’t the end of it. A second notice indicated I should add three to five additional days because of a “heavy load.” The expected time thus ran from 6 to 10 days.

Why is the load heavy now? It’s even lull time between all the trash delivered before the local primary and that to come before the general election.

I placed my order August 20. I received a notice of shipment September 1. I received my order September 3, 14 days after placing it!

I can’t help but wonder if this is a not so subtle training of the public to accept the slowing of mail before the election. I know the Trump lackey running the post office has said that’s nonsense, that his top priority will be the election mail. Now, I believe him. I really do. I think election mail is his top priority. But to slow it down, not to deliver it in a speedy fashion! After all, he’s not going to put back collection boxes he snatched up or return to service sorting machines he dismantled. In fact, I have heard but not verified that, since his pledge to do no more harm before the election, at least one sorting machine has been taken down.

It’s a sorry situation when the only way a candidate can win is if he lies, cheats, and suppresses votes—or delays vote-by-mail ballots.

The United States may never have been as great a nation as we like to think it is, but over the last four years it has sunk to unforeseen depths. The post office sickness is only a small part.

We have one chance left, and only one. And it’s coming November 3rd.

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Primary Day

9/2/2020

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We held a primary election in Florida a short time ago. We decided which Republican and Democratic candidates would appear in the November election. We determined the final winners in nonpartisan elections, including for judges. We removed from further consideration several whose policies were directed by monied interests instead of constituents.

Mailer upon mailer upon mailer appeared daily in our mailbox. Fortunately, the distance between the box and the recycling bin is short.

Some of what we received was vile. Much was lies. Every candidate had a loving spouse and two and a half children who posed with the candidate in a charming family portrait, teeth agleam. Clearly someone from such a nice looking family had the ability to govern perfectly. Especially when we were assured they wanted only the best for us. And I appreciated that they didn’t bore me with the source of their campaign contributions.

I found it interesting all the election trash could be delivered in a timely fashion but voting by mail ballots are threatened with delays.

Not one of the mailers, not one of candidate interviews in the media, not any social media post I heard about, questioned the validity of the election process. We had more mail-in voting than ever before. Not one candidate expressed the slightest reservation about it.

On election night we had winners. And we had more losers than winners. Some of the losers had been in office for years.

Not one person who lost refused to accept the result. There was some anger, some tears, but no rejection of the result.

This has been the situation in primary elections throughout the country.

This has been the situation, with very few exceptions, in primary and final elections throughout the history of our country.

When elections have been close, recounts have been demanded or mandated by law, lawyers have argued, and emotions have been raw. But what has always happened when a razor thin election is finally decided one way or the other?

When Richard Nixon lost to Jack Kennedy, he accepted the result for the good of the country.

When Al Gore lost to George W. Bush, he did not let what he felt was an unfair decision rip the country apart.

In 2018 three Florida state races were close enough for recounts. Two were won by Republicans and one by a Democrat. In none of them did the loser try to disrupt the state or challenge the validity of the election, no matter how bitter they felt.

Love of country overcame personal ambition.

Despite this long history of peaceful transitions resulting from elections, there is widespread fear we are heading into a disastrous presidential contest. Trump already has questioned the integrity of the election, railed against voting by mail, accused Democrats of rigging the vote, and stated he would not necessarily accept the results.

And what’s really scary is people believe he would have no hesitation about shredding the tradition of more than two centuries about peaceful transitions.

What does this say about us? It says we have put a man in the highest office of the land who has no respect for our country, its traditions, and its harmony. And it says we believe he is so vile as to tear the country apart to further his own gains. He cares about nothing but himself.

The only solution is to vote him out of office by such a large margin that even Republicans of no principle will be forced to accept the fact that his tactics won’t work now, and they should abstain from them in the future.

If we do not do that, then we must accept that our country is lost, that immoral character is successful, and that we deserve what we get.

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Annoyed? Really?

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Break the Law

My 55 Cents Worth

Primary Day

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