Back in the Game!

It's been a while since I've written something for this blog.  March 23, 2023 was the last post.  Why did I stop?  In part because it seemed at the time like the blog had run its course.  I had been posting since October 7, 2012.  I had to look back and confirm that date and I was surprised that it had been over a decade.  That's a long time.  While doing that I had some fun looking at old posts.  Some were terrible, some just plain dumb, some sort of funny, and a few were classic.  In doing so I sort of realized two things.  First is that while it's fun to have some folks reading, it's even more rewarding to put down on paper some my thoughts and be able to express them freely.  No one has knocked on my door as a result of some of my ideas, thoughts or beliefs.  Second, I'm not getting any younger (newsflash!) and I still have a few things to say.  That leads to two other things.  First is that it's very common that when someone ages, they tend to turn inward.  They lose touch with contemporary issues,  don't make time to stay up to date with technology, they think that doing something the way it's always been done is good enough, and because they either don't understand or like new things, they tend to heap disdain on them.  They get crabby!  Second, is that their view of life tends to become very conservative.  They may not be open to new ways of thinking, trying new ideas, or seeing things through the eyes of others.  My son likes to tell me to not be the old guy "yelling at clouds".  It's another way of saying that if you don't understand something or are threatened by something, you tend to dismiss or even deny it.  I don't want to be that guy.  There's still gas in the tank, cells in the brain, and fire in the gut.  So why not keep writing, exploring, and offering ideas?  Some will like what I say, some won't care and some will hate it.  So be it!

Now to the subject of my returning post.  You are probably not surprised that it has to do with the current political scene.  I'm just one guy, in one place, with a particular set of biases, who sees life through a particular lens.  But it seems to me that there are two things that are pervasive in the political life of the country.  First is that there is way, way too much anger.  People seem pissed about every issue up for debate.  And what this leads to is a retreat to comfort zones of myopic ideology, a retreat to a place where it's comfortable to pontificate in a safe space with no challenge, and a retreat to hanging out with "like minded people".  Common ground is hard to find and ideology permeates every decision.  Second is that only the zealots are stepping up to enter the arena.  People vying for a seat at the table (at any level be it local, regional or national) have as their watchword that they will fight!  What all that leads to is gridlock, increased animus, an information desert, and a reduction in leaders to those who the fighters want.  The media, probably the most disappointing and irresponsible institution in our world, has descended to promoting their particular viewpoint.  They aren't in the least helpful, unbiased or fair.  So they are no help.  The secondary (and maybe more important issue) is that the politically inclined who have deep pockets (like in the millions or billions) are betting on only a few folks with increased probability of "winning".  

All of this is playing out now on the national stage as the country goes through (the increasingly long) process of electing the next President.  On the one side we have an 80 year old President whose health and mental acuity is clearly failing.  He's being propped up and managed by a group of zealots behind the scenes to not only keep things going day to day but to implement and execute an agenda that is decidedly radical left wing.  I get all the spin, the talking points, the obscure data, the managed appearances, but that's how I see it.  I don't see much, if any action that benefits the American people at large.  I'll have subsequent posts about the border, the environment, the economy, the degradation of our cities, the war, etc, etc, but suffice to say that almost every pronouncement and decision that has emerged from the Biden White House has been a narrowly focused action designed to placate the left wing mob.  If all this weren't bad enough, Biden and the Democrats are insisting that he will run for reelection.  There is so much speculation about what will really happen because I don't think there are too many people on both sides who don't think this would be trainwreck.  I've heard a ton of different alternatives to Biden running but as of today, it's the path we're on.  I'll have a subsequent post about the disaster that is our VP, but that's for another day.  So the option on the Democratic side is limited and scary.  No one knows what will happen in the run up to the election, but it will be a wild ride.

My side (the Republicans) isn't much better and may even be worse.  Of course the elephant in the room is Trump.  I made clear my view of him in a couple of posts you can read here and here.  If you go back and review my posts starting in 2016, I will admit that I thought his Presidency accomplished a lot of good things.  But it also was a shit show in many ways.  So to see him in the lead this time around causes my head to hurt.  There are a couple of assessments of Trump that I've seen in the last few days that I'm providing below.  One is from some guy on X (Twitter) and one is from Gen Kelly.  I don't disagree with much in either analysis.

"Trump is not a conservative, he's a reactionary populist that leads by ratings, polls and crowd sizes because that's what strokes his massive ego. He has no principles and no morals, he's not Christian, he calls prolife legislation awful. He's a silver spoon brat that dodged the draft while his fellow Americans sacrificed in Vietnam, then said American POWs don't have his respect because he 'likes people that don't get caught'.

He praises Xi, Putin and Kim for being amazing dictators, while attacking DeSantis, Kemp, Reynolds and Youngkin. He said Abrams is better than Kemp, Cuomo is better than DeSantis, California is better than FL. He's a woke moron that defends Disney and wants men in his beauty pageant, he makes lewd sexual innuendo about his own daughter. He cheats on all his wives, at least one of whom while she was pregnant - he's goes out and fornicates with a trashy porn person that's slept with thousands of random men then paid her hush money - all while his very beautiful wife Melania was home with his child in her belly.

He talks of suspending the Constitution to allow himself to stay in power, talks of sending government forces to take weapons from citizens without due process. He handed the country over to Fauci and locked us down, shut schools, businesses and churches and then attacked DeSantis & Kemp when they dared rebel against his tyranny. He pushed the FDA to approve his poison poke on a few months safety testing when vaccines are normally tested for 10 years.

He called all the J6ers to DC to defend his BS marketing lie that the election was stolen, they go to jail, he didn't pardon them before leaving office because he was too busy giving Fauci a medal.

He grifted $250M to stop the steal from grandmas and grandpas on fixed incomes and didn't spend a dime on stopping the steal, but he did pay his son's girlfriend (Gavin Newsom's ex-wife)  60k for a 3 min speech and gave Melania's stylist 208k (sad that grandmas are paying for a billionaires wife's hair)

He bragged on tape that he likes chasing married women which is a super-Christian thing to do, and he told Howard Stern he likes walking through dressing rooms at his beauty pageants and looking at naked 14 year old girls. It's well documented that he partied with Epstein for 15 years (reminder - Epstein ran underage girls to perverted billionaires and celebrities that liked to party, Trump is a perverted billionaire celebrity that liked to party).

He hired and fired about a hundred people, telling us they were all 'great, amazing, the best people' then a few months later told us they were 'dogs, traitors, low IQ people that never should have been hired'.

He printed more money than anyone in modern history and his deficit spending was off the chain, he's caused the GOP to lose ground in every election since he barely beat Hillary in 2016, which was his most amazing political accomplishment - beating the 2nd most unpopular presidential candidate in modern history (guess who's #1). 

The man is insane, he's a con, a grifter, a fraud, a liar, and a fool."

And this: 

Marine Corps General John Kelly who served as Trump’s Chief of Staff, went on the record with his opinion of Trump today. Direct quote:

“What can I add that has not already been said? A person that thinks those who defend their country in uniform, or are shot down or seriously wounded in combat, or spend years being tortured as POWs are all ‘suckers’ because ‘there is nothing in it for them.’ 

A person that did not want to be seen in the presence of military amputees because ‘it doesn’t look good for me.’ 

A person who demonstrated open contempt for a Gold Star family – for all Gold Star families – on TV during the 2016 campaign, and rants that our most precious heroes who gave their lives in America’s defense are ‘losers’ and wouldn’t visit their graves in France.

A person who is not truthful regarding his position on the protection of unborn life, on women, on minorities, on evangelical Christians, on Jews, on working men and women.

A person that has no idea what America stands for and has no idea what America is all about. 

A person who cavalierly suggests that a selfless warrior who has served his country for 40 years in peacetime and war should lose his life for treason – in expectation that someone will take action. 

A person who admires autocrats and murderous dictators. A person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law.

There is nothing more that can be said. God help us.” 

 But the reality is that he is running and is leading the pack in the polls by a considerable amount.  Of course, polls aren't elections and we need to have the primaries to see where he stands.  I admire many of the folks running against him and could vote for any of them.  I'm partial to Haley or Desantis, but I could vote for any of them.  I'm hoping that the folks in the early primaries don't follow the polls and send someone else up as the ultimate nominee.  

But here's the truth.  I live in California and as a Republican my vote doesn't really matter or count.  But I'll vote with a level of frustration, but vote I will.  And having said all that about Trump and laying my cards on the table regarding my disdain for him, I have to admit that in November of 2024 when I enter the voting booth (figuratively because we vote by mail), there is no way I will vote for Biden or any of the radicals who might replace him.  None.  So I either vote for Trump, or I write someone else in in the ultimate act of futility.  Hey, maybe I'll write myself in.  The job couldn't be that hard, could it?  But no, I'm too old and thankfully recognize that.