Blog Posts

Post-Election Neighborhood

11/26/2024

The election is over. I fear the future. I don’t know what will happen. But despite the dreaded upheaval, there is a constant. I noticed it immediately when I went outside to walk the dog. The neighborhood that I love is the same. As are the many pleasant folks in it whom I encounter during those canine strolls.

This is the same neighborhood I previously extolled for not placing political signs in yards. The same neighborhood where signs suddenly appeared after I had published that screed. So I know how some folks feel, but for most of my neighbors I do not.

How should I handle these connections?

What do I want?

In theory I want to maintain good relations with my neighbors. But if I knew someone had supported the orange haired monster, I feared there would always be a little voice hiding in my brain that would be saying, “He voted for the wrong person.”

I know, because that voice already has laid down a hushed background when I’m with one of “those.” Even the guy who I have praised for being a wonderful and helpful neighbor. I think, “How can he?”

So, what to do?

In a very few days I notice most signs have been removed on both sides of the political divide. Thoughtful.

I also notice that no one, with one exception, is bringing up the election in our conversations. Including me. Thoughtful again.

I begin to believe I can do this. I can maintain my good relationships within the neighborhood.

It’s important to me to do so. So I’ve instituted a policy of “Don’t ask–don’t tell.’

I won’t ask any neighbor how he voted, or even how he or she feels about the election. Instead, I’ll say, “Your lawn looks great,” or “That is the cutest dog that you have.”

And I won’t tell anyone how I voted.

Unless they ask.

I figure if they ask, they’re not being as circumspect as I would like. This happened only once by a couple not living in my immediate neighborhood but walking a lot in it. In the past they had tried to sell me something I didn’t want so I was already wary of them. The day after the election they asked how I felt about it. I was especially raw then and said, “I hated it.” They were taken aback and quickly moved on.

But when I see them now, in spite of their inquiry, I nod and say hello. And that’s the technique I’ve decided on., If I’m aware someone hasn’t voted wisely, I say nothing about it and am pleasant.

And so are they. They aren’t bad people. Maybe they’ll come to their senses. Maybe by my being nice it will foster that improved awareness. Not being nice certainly won’t.

I hope it will preserve relations in the neighborhood.

And that is worth it.

***

I hope you all have a joyous holiday season. I am taking my usual break until after the new year.

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I Was Wrong

11/6/2024

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I thought if the voter turnout was high, Kamela Harris would win.

I was wrong.

I thought if women would turn out in droves, Kamela Harris would win.

I was wrong.

I thought if young people voted in numbers never before seen, Kamela Harris would win.

I was wrong.

I thought that when the candidate mocked the military, Kamela Harris would win.

I was wrong.

I thought that when the candidate said he would replace current generals with ones loyal not to the Constitution, but to him personally, Kamela Harris would win.

I was wrong.

I thought that when the candidate said anyone who opposed him should be arrested with the help of the military, Kamela Harris would win.

I was wrong.

I thought that our nation had finally matured enough to elect a woman.

I was wrong.

I thought when the rightwing governor pulled every dirty and possibly illegal trick to defeat an abortion amendment, the public would reject the governor and that man’s power would diminish.

I was wrong.

I think the Republicans will interpret the election results as a mandate and will tear our country down and apart. They will eliminate future elections or employ standard dictatorial techniques to make them a sham. I think freedom, safety, and compassion will disappear while hatred, prejudice, and fear will flourish.

I hope I am wrong.

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Vice-Presidents

10/24/2024

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What would we do without vice-presidents? Almost all organizations have someone at the top and another someone one level below. That person is supposed to support the leader on issues and do work the leader doesn’t want to trouble with. Most often these second level folks are called vice-presidents and many hope eventually to move up to the top spot in their organizations.

One such organization is the executive branch of the United States government. Historically, being vice-president there has been an unenviable role. Until relatively recently they were a powerless entity whose main job was not to embarrass the president. Until the president died in office and the lower person was catapulted to the top.

That has changed lately so someone like Kamala Harris is experienced in many of the intricacies of the presidency. Thank goodness. Because in some sense she has been catapulted, just not in the conventional way.

Which brings me to discussing the vice-presidential candidates of the current election. They recently had a debate. The current wisdom is such debates should be used to advance the campaign of their leaders with perhaps a smattering about themselves, all without saying something embarrassing.

We hoped Walz would tell us more about the experience and policies of Kamala Harris as opposed to Joe Biden. And just maybe, apparently unrealistically. Vance would put our minds at ease about the train wreck that would follow a win by Trump.

I think Walz did a pretty good job of fulfilling that goal. Vance did a pretty good job of escalating my fears.

What I don’t think got much attention at the recent debate, or any such debates in the past, was a discussion of what would happen if either candidate was forced into the presidency. This was probably more important to consider for Vance since his boss seems to be a candidate for a heart attack or a slip into dementia.

The trouble for us is, you never know the future. After all, of the 45 presidents we have had, eight have died in office and hence opened the door to their vice-presidents. Also, Gerald Ford became president after Nixon resigned. So that’s nine total, meaning vice-presidents were called to step up 20 percent of the time.

Therefore, it’s not unreasonable to look at the vice-presidential candidates as potential presidential ones (which they may very well be eventually).

What if Walz became president someday? Maybe not too bad a situation. He has executive experience. Seems to have his head screwed on right. Takes his job seriously, but not himself. Yeah, I could probably live comfortably with him as president.

What about Vance? He has no executive experience. He seems to be a devotee of his boss, achieving an excellent propensity for lying. And he shares the same abysmal moral commitment. Is he a budding Trump? I think one could make that argument. But there is one big difference. Vance is a lot smarter than Trump and would undoubtedly do a better job of ruining our country. The hints he is buddying up to Project 2025 certainly supports such a conclusion.

So, as we decide between Harris or Trump, we also have to consider a similar decision between Walz or Vance.

It doesn’t take much to determine that Walz wants to build our country while Vance is itching to tear it down.

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It's Not a Fair Fight

10/21/2024

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Do you ever feel it’s the wrong people who come out on top of disputes?

Why do you suppose that is?

I guess before we can talk about it we have to know what we mean by “wrong.” I bet each of two people in a dispute knows what it means. It means the way the other person is.

I think my definition would be something like this. Consider two antagonists.

Suppose She is honorable, respects others and their opinions. She gives weight to those opinions and offers logical arguments to defend her own. She plays fair and would feel bad if She lied in order to make a point.

He, on the other hand, is unbothered by such limitations. Honorable is an attribute not to be exercised but to take advantage of. A conscience is scoffed at. Lies are a tool, not an unacceptable argument. Fairness is a concept not understood.

Of course, He is the wrong one, at least in my mind.

What chance does She have?

Well, sometimes she does come out on top.

For example, Hitler and Tojo lost World War II.

And a lying, cheating, manipulator representing New York in our national House of Representatives was ejected.

But such examples, important as they may be, seem to be the exception.

How about the aggressive driver who, seeing a parking space opening and a woman aiming for it, chomps on the accelerator and beats her to it.

And a man like Vladimir Putin who can take over a country with lies and force and steer it from a fledgling democracy toward a dictatorship.

Not surprisingly Donald J. Trump epitomizes the evil antagonist, presenting a facade he has developed over a lifetime. He lies so much and so often that one wonders if he even knows what truth is. His sense of decency is so shallow it hardly registers. His outrage at the slightest disagreement is so huge that followers fear crossing him. He cheats people out of payments for services rendered. He scorns loyalty. He thinks he is the only person of value.

Pretty obvious, isn’t it, that he so often come out on top? A fight with him is never fair. How could it be, given his makeup and the relative decency of most of his opponents.

The decent antagonist is easily bowled over by the non-decent one. There are steps She will never consider and there are no steps He won’t consider.

The decent woman headed for the parking space usually would not complain about being beaten by the aggressive pushy driver.

The unpaid contractor might realize he has no chance against the Trump machine, lawyers, and money.

One pays a penalty for being nice.

But there’s an even bigger penalty for denying one’s principles in order to gain an advantage.

Because then you’d have to live with being a person you wouldn’t like.

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Love/Hate

10/7/2024

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I love my phone, my tablet, and my computer.

I hate my phone, my tablet, and my computer.

Do we all have love/hate relationships with our electronic gadgets?

I am delighted to have a communication device that sits in my pocket and connects to the world anytime I feel like it. Or I can sit with it while waiting in a doctor’s office and play games. Or I can look up anything on the internet, perhaps searching for a nearby restaurant. Or, if I have a problem with my car, I can call for help. I’ve become so dependent on my phone that I’ll even return home to retrieve it if I’ve forgotten to take it with me.

It's a far cry from my younger days when a single phone for the entire family was an extravagance. The party line was always fun. One learned to hang up immediately if attempts to make a call found someone’s voice already emerging from the earpiece. Unless you were a nosy little kid. If you needed to phone someone and you were away from home, you searched for a special booth and hoped you had enough change to complete a call. I can still hear an operator interrupting the conversation instructing me to insert another 25 cents and cutting me off if I failed to do so. I remember my mother placing a long-distance call, which was handled by a series of operators who passed it through several points before hookup. It could take some time as the patches were constructed. Mom asked me to hold the phone and call her when the call went through. When an operator finally announced the call was about to be completed, I yelled to my mom. The operator said, “Please don’t scream at me, madam.”

All very nostalgic. And all a far cry from the current power we possess and is the only telecommunications so many of my fellow citizens have ever known.

So what’s not to like?

Well, for me, plenty.

When I was young and the phone rang, there would be interest in rushing to answer it which became the job of the family member located the nearest. If no one was home, only the caller would ever know a contact had been attempted. Now, unless I’ve misplaced the phone, every attempted contact is noted and the nearest person to answering is the only person near it—me! This has created in me, and I think many, many others, a need to enslave myself to the phone and give answering a call or text message priority over conversation with those I’m with.

But enslaving myself isn’t the only problem. In the early days my family rarely if ever received solicitation calls. Now we have a whole old word with a new meaning, “spam,” to categorize them. The other morning I decided to count the number of spam calls that arrived: 15! At least my phone warns me about most of them so I can avoid answering. But it’s distracting and maddening.

And this isn’t even considering the calls that are made in the hope I will say “yes” which can be recorded and used later to prove agreement to some nefarious scheme. There is genuine danger in the technology that now shapes our lives.

So there is much to love about the phone, but there is a lot to hate too.

Similarly with the computer. I have vivid recollections of all night vigils writing term papers on my trusty Royal typewriter. You know, that old fashioned thing where a hunt for a delete key would fetch no reward. There was a real penalty for a mistake, and on a page of text there was bound to be at least one. The solution was either to retype or use Whiteout followed by insertion of the corrected character(s). And don’t get me started on carbon paper.

The computer has really transformed writing. I don’t think it has improved it, but it definitely is easier. Of course, there is so much more for which computers are employed, from composing music to generating art. Now where will AI lead? It’s hard to imagine life without that amazing device.

Not surprisingly, there are penalties. Rivaling the phone, one receives, via email, solicitation after solicitation. You can elect to unsubscribe, but there are downsides to that. Often your request is ignored. Or there always is a danger that clicking on that lovely word “unsubscribe” you assume will free you will instead unleash a virus into your system.

So yes, I’m glad we live in a time of cell phones and faster and faster computers (and tablets), but dealing with the problems can be time consuming and really, really annoying.

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An American Patriot

9/23/2024

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Why on earth would anyone want to be president of the United States?

You’re constantly on call. You have to make decisions that literally could affect whether the world survives. You are exposed to journalists whose main delight is catching you in lies or changed positions. You have to endure political attacks by those who disagree with your views or who simply want to replace you. You have to go through campaigns that last well over a year where mudslinging and lying is common. And you have to deal with a Congress where many members hate you.

So, indeed, why volunteer to become a candidate?

First, I think you have to have an enormous ego. You have to truly believe that you know what is right—better than anyone else. You have to be able to not worry about your decisions, which follows from knowing they are correct.

Perhaps you are devoted to public service, and truly understand that to accomplish great things you have to hold the most important office in the world. Or perhaps your understanding if what is right, your major motivation, simply is to outdo the accomplishments of the father who molded your life into the insecure lying narcissistic individual you are.

A short while ago we had a presidential campaign involving one candidate of each type. Joe Biden, who had served his state and his country for fifty years was trying to win reelection to the office he had held for four years. Donald Trump, through bluster and lies, wanted to win back the office he’d been booted from four years prior.

For reasons that show how lying and bluster can win the votes of millions, all evidence indicated that Trump would triumph. For reasons I don’t understand, Biden was not held in high esteem by many Democrats who threatened to boycott the election. A poor debate and other gaffs cemented in many minds that Biden simply was not up to handling another term.

Biden did not agree. Remember the ego thing? He was certain he could win the election and be an effective president.

But more and more evidence was building to show neither of those goals was achievable.

Democrats were scared. Republicans were jubilant. Biden was stubborn.

I’m not sure what turned the tide for Biden, but he finally accepted reality and announced he would withdraw and back Vice-President Harris in his place. Perhaps it was a bit of face-saving and remnants of the massive ego he possessed that he could at least say he had named his replacement as someone he trusted.

But I think the major reason is he realized that staying in the race was bad for the country both because of the nature of his opponent and perhaps an acceptance that he no longer had the mental powers that he previously possessed.

In any event, he made a choice to place country above personal goals. That’s not an easy decision for anyone, and particularly for one possessing a huge ego.

Can you imagine Donald Trump doing that—even though he should?

So I want to thank Joe Biden for his years and years of service to his state and his nation, and thank him for all whose lives he helped improve.

He is a true American patriot.

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A Fact of Life

9/10/2024

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There was a school shooting recently in Georgia.

Senator J. D. Vance (there’s some debate if that’s his real name) said he didn’t like it, but it is “a fact of life.”

A fact of life!

What is a fact of life? Well, death is a fact of life, both human and a treasured pet’s. We’ve all heard what has been attributed to Benjamin Franklin, “…nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

I don’t believe he was correct about taxes, but I think old Ben was right in saying nothing else was certain. Which seems to me to be the definition of “fact of life.” Something is a fact of life if there is nothing we can do to keep it from happening. Ben rightly thought that included death, so he was half right. I’m having trouble thinking of anything else.

Let’s take a look at Vance’s fact of life. If he’s right, there is nothing that can be done about it. We are going to have school shootings on a regular basis from now on. There is certainly evidence to support that point of view.

After all, there have been such incidents on a regular basis. When we hear about a new one, we say, “another school shooting,” shake our heads, and then proceed with our lives. Giving little thought to the children and adults who no longer can shake their heads and proceed with their lives. Accepting that it is indeed a fact of life.

Now Vance actually does think something can be done. He’s all for more security. But he still believes in the “fact of life.” Because more security, if it does anything, will only lessen the number of school shootings.

Well, is he right? Do we have to accept that on a regular basis we will have such shootings? If it’s a fact of life, then we have to.

But if we’re thinking clearly, we know that’s not the case. There is an obvious solution. A simple solution.

Get rid of guns.

If there are no guns, there will be no shootings.

Of course, that is not going to happen. Because people like Vance place more value on guns than they do on human life. So when he calls school shootings a fact of life, he’s really saying he wants guns to be a fact of life. And, as long as they are in our minds, so are school shootings. I don’t think, however, you will ever hear him spout that logic.

So, in the upcoming election, if you don’t think school shootings (or any shootings for that matter) are a fact of life, vote out those who think they are.

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Political Signs

8/28/2024

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In 2016 and 2020 my neighborhood abounded with multiple signs pushing presidential candidates and their vice-presidential running mates.

While walking my dog in 2016 I would smile when we’d trot past a Clinton/Kaine sign and sigh when I saw Trump/Pence.

Much the same in 2020 except Clinton/Kaine became Biden/Harris.

And now it’s 2024 and another presidential campaign looms. The same dog accompanies me around the block as we look for this election’s crop of signs.

Nary a one! Well, except for that in the middle of a front lawn that said, “FOR RENT.”

The only exception to this is on the truck back door window of one of our neighbors. There is a decal of Trump. But even this neighbor has so far not placed a sign in his yard. And the decal appeared months ago, well before anyone knew what was going to happen as far as candidates are concerned.

It’s interesting that this person with the hideous decal and bad signs in the past is also one of the nicest people I have ever met. He is always pleasant and has done many favors for me and my wife. I consider him a friend and would not like to lose such a friendship because of political differences.

And I think this gives some insight as to why there are no signs displayed for presidential candidates. Even though there have been some for lesser races prior to a recent primary. But none involving the big contest.

I have some thoughts as to why that might be.

My neighborhood is composed of mostly middle-class families who respond pleasantly to “Good morning” and “How are you today?” In the past campaigns there have been roughly the same number of Democratic signs displayed as Republican ones.

What I think, what I hope, is that everyone is getting tired of the deep divisions in our country and pine for an improvement in political discourse. I think there must be a feeling that, while differences in outlook certainly exist, it is not necessary to shout out to the world how you feel. I’m hoping there is a desire on both sides not to hurt the feelings of others or threaten the tranquility of our neighborhood. I know that is why I have elected to not display a sign.

If I’m right, and this feeling manifests itself in pockets across the country, it makes me think that perhaps the revolution promised by the nut jobs if Trump doesn’t win will not have wide appeal.

I hope I’m right.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Just this morning, on the very day I intended to post this, our walk found that last night my “I don’t want to lose friend” had placed a Trump sign on his lawn that included the message “Save America Again.” Is this just the beginning? Sigh. I still hope I’m right. But I feel sad.

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A Tiny Shift, a Big Consequence

8/20/2024

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It’s really such a small thing. One name changes position on the ballot. A second appears for the first time.

Kamala Harris isn’t running for Vice-President anymore. She’s aiming for the whole shebang. I don’t know if Tim Walz may have wondered occasionally if he would ever be on a national ticket. Yet he definitely is.

Just two small ballot changes. But suddenly there is hope, dashing the despair of earlier days.

If there is any sense left in the world, it will be enough. I just pray the euphoria engendered by the new ticket lasts through election day and causes many potential Trump voters to realize who is real and who is a self-centered liar.

Because you know that the lying crowd, led by the liar-in-chief, will say anything, and I mean ANYTHING, to discredit this new ticket. You can be certain those lies will be reinforced over and over by certain television channels and social media sites. And, after being bombarded on a daily basis, many will accept the lies as the truth.

We just have to believe that there are enough from the other side who (1) have had enough of the blowhard, (2) couldn’t stomach voting for Joe Biden, but (3) would be willing to support this new ticket by placing country first and temporarily abandoning their preferred party.

Even the Democrats, traditionally scattered from left to right on the political spectrum, seem to be coming together for the greater good. I sense less of “my way or no way,” which had threatened victory.

Can we pull it off?

It is by no means ensured.

Harris appears to have the smarts and guts to deal with the nasty campaign we can count on from the other side. She seems to be a normal type of politician with enough experience to handle the presidency.

Walz seems not at all run-of-the-mill. He can joke. He can laugh. He seems like an all-around good guy. The opposition labels him as an outright liberal. Like that’s a negative. In spite of the fact he has accomplished many good things for the people of Minnesota. But he doesn’t seem to be a far-left moron. He strikes me as a practical guy who sees a problem and works to solve it. In spite of the difficulty. What’s so wrong with that?

We’ll have to see if this new ticket can overcome the basic nastiness of what has become the Republican party.

I’m hoping for the best.

But hoping for the best is not enough.

Vote.

Get everyone you know to vote (if they’ll vote the right way).

Remember that hope and loss of despair do not automatically translate to victory.

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Olympic Musings

8/7/2024

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The Olympics have taken over my life, keeping me from accomplishing most normal tasks, including writing.

I can hear you saying, “Hey, wait a minute. Didn’t you previously post comments that said your interest in sports had taken a dive and money had driven out most of the enjoyment because of, among other things, lack of loyalty by the players.

Well, that’s true. And money certainly plays a big role at the Olympics. It costs France a fortune to supply all the venues. And it costs NBC a fortune to cover those venues with at least six different channels ranging over a variety of locations, including Tahiti. France gets some of that money back by charging large fees to attend events. NBC gets it back by broadcasting commercial after commercial after commercial. It’s discouraging to skip from channel to channel and almost always find a commercial, actually a seemingly unending series of. commercials.

And some of those commercials show well known gold medal winners hawking something, and I’m sure they are well reimbursed for their effort.

So yes, money always seems to rear its ugly head in connection with any major sports event.

But there is much much more to this meeting of athletes

For all the athletes making money there are the thousands who truly are amateurs. Even if they get assistance in living expenses while they train. They don’t have lack of loyalty makeups. Their loyalty is to their country, and they don’t hop around from one to the other.

I love that it isn’t just major sports involved. Sure, there’s basketball and volleyball and other familiar ones. But there are so many others that don’t hit the major stages between successive Olympics, but are interesting to learn about. Like archery. Or crew. Or badminton. Or fencing. Or kayaking. Or wall climbing. And, of course the ever popular gymnastics. Most athletes participating in them don’t rake in the money.

From my early days I would be interested in the country medal count. I learned from a recent op-ed that that goes against the principles of the Olympics. In fact, that op-ed said, the Olympic governing document specifically states the Olympics is not a competition between countries; it is a competition between athletes.

That makes sense, and those of us (including NBC and other media) who make a big deal out of country medal counts really are losing track of the real benefits of the competition. With shame framing my face I admit I still look at the country totals.

The athletes seem to be doing better at what it is all about. They quite naturally are fixated on their own performance, but they show interest and respect for what their competitors accomplish. And they seem quick to offer congratulations to those from other countries who do well (even when they beat them or are beaten by them) and sympathy to those who have a bad performance.

I may be off about this, but I have observed only brief instances when there has been communication with the Chinese team, which contains some wonderful athletes. I can’t help but wonder if there is fear among that team of having outside contacts. If that is indeed the case, I think it’s a shame. In some ways I think the world would be a better place if we could take our cues from the athletes.

I have pondered what is required to get a medal. Let’s consider the winner of the 100-meter dash. That person takes less than 10 seconds to complete the run. Throw in a couple of preliminary heats and the total run time is under 30 seconds. He or she probably also runs the 200-meter race involving, with preliminaries, less that 60 total seconds of running. So medal winners compete in two events for a total of about a minute and a half. Now consider a gold medalist in the bicycle race who must traverse a course that takes close to four hours to complete, a bit more than 90 seconds. Finally, think about a medalist playing water polo with a series of two hour matches over several days. I am sure all three types of winners train equally hard. It just amuses me that the amount of competition time varies so widely to get the same piece of medal.

I love seeing the joy on the competitors’ faces when they place. But even more, I love seeing it on the people who don’t do well. After all, the vast majority of the contestants don’t get anywhere near the podium. And they know that’s the case before they arrive. They may be near the best in their home countries, but not in the world. Think of the thrill it must be for them to just be at the Olympics.

So congratulations to all the athletes. The winners and the losers. Even the most unsuccessful of them have talents in their field that very few others can brag about.

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Post-Election Neighborhood

I Was Wrong

Vice-Presidents

It's Not a Fair Fight

Love/Hate

An American Patriot

A Fact of Life

Political Signs

A Tiny Shift, a Big Consequence

Olympic Musings

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