Come Heller high water …
- There ought to be a law that a televised presidential debate has to be between no more than two candidates, must cover a maximum of three topics, and must be moderated by a highly caffeinated person with her or his finger hovering above a giant red button that activates a trap door beneath each candidate in the event they interrupt their opponent or refuse to directly answer questions. I expect a long list of people willing to moderate.
- Did you watch this week’s Democratic debate? I did. For five long minutes. That’s all I could take. And I’m a Democrat. I think there were 48 candidates on
stage, all of them lobbing cutesy prepared lines (Joe, we get it, you’re going to beat him like a drum) and jabbering over one another. That’s not a debate. It’s just a waste of precious oxygen. - I tuned in just as Elizabeth Warren was bending over backward to not use the word “tax” in reference to her Medicare-for-all plan. Instead she said “costs” will rise for the wealthy but not for the rest of us. Which is nonsense. What she probably means (since she’s been skimpy on details) is that, yes, we’d pay more taxes, too, but our health care costs would drop to zero, resulting (possibly, but I’ll believe it when I see it) in a net savings for most people. So why not just say so? We’re grownups, we can handle reality. Most of us (aside from Republicans, of course) realize that to get something – roads, a decent health care system, ice cream – we have to pay something. What we can’t handle is a politician not being straight with us.
- I’m all for a single payer health care system, by the way. You should be, too. And if you’re not, I hope you realize that, like most Americans, you are a single injury, accident or diagnosis from bankruptcy, regardless of whether you have insurance or not. The medical industry, essentially, owns us all. Our money is theirs. We’re just keeping it warm for them until we get sick. You may be fine with that but I’m not.
- Good thing I’m a Packers fan because that refereeing call Monday night against the Lions, hoo-wee, that was awful. Naturally, I have a conspiracy theory as to why the reffing is so bad these days, even with replay. I think the league tells the refs to protect certain star players and certain marquee teams because that’s what the league markets. There’s a reason the whistles are extra quick when it comes to guys like Aaron Rodgers and teams like the Green Bay Packers and are a lot slower when it comes to lesser known players and historically wretched franchises like the Lions.
- Oh, stop. I know my theory is crazy, and I don’t even believe it myself. But it’s fun coming up with this stuff. League pregame meeting with the refs before the Packers/Lions game: “OK, guys, remember, if anyone gets within 15 feet of Rodgers, blow that whistle ‘til you cough up a lung. And remember, if at all possible, we want the Lions to lose. Their fans won’t care. They’re used to it.”
- Well, it’s true.
- Aaron Dean, the Fort Worth police officer who shot and killed Atatiana Jefferson in her home, was charged with murder. Will he be convicted? Probably not. The law makes it tough to convict cops who kill, and it happens far more often than you think. Police kill more than 900 people a year in the U.S. Do you know how many people the police in the U.K. have killed this year? Two. The rules of engagement for police have to change in this country. We also have to do something about our national gun obsession. We own nearly 400 million guns. That’s more guns than people. No wonder police are jumpy.
- I’ve neglected mentioning Trump today, mostly because I’m sick of him. So, let’s close with a quote from Seneca that describes him all too well: “All cruelty springs from weakness.”
Can’t blame you for avoiding the “T” topic. There is an endless amount of controversy there. And that is from just this week.
Alright, you guys… Now, we hear that Elizabeth Warren is polling out as the leading Democratic nominee candidate. Yikes. Elizabeth “Georgia McGovern” Warren.
She will NOT win. She comes across as a school-marm. NOBODY outside of Ann Arbor or Berkeley or Cambridge will vote for her. We are in trouble.
Yeah, sometimes I just tire of him. There’s soooo much news this week.
If only the Tigers/Lions could improve every single day at the same rate that Trump’s sheer awfulness has increased every single day of the past one thousand days . . .
Is there a winner in the bunch? I hope so, but don’t think so!
I’m with you on the single payer health system. I have been on Medicare and a supplemental policy I pay for myself and am enjoying the best health care I’ve had my entire life. Prior health coverage I had ranged from the premium policies General Motors provided and even better coverage when I worked in public schools. If the government would just get control over the drug industry all would be perfect. It would not put private insurance companies out of business and having such a huge base of people enrolled would insure that pressure could be exerted to cap runaway pricing by all providers.
AMEN TO THAT, AS A UAW RETIREE I AM VERY PLEASED WITH MY MEDICARE AND SUPPLEMENT AND WOULD HATE TO SEE ANY CHANGE IN MY COVERAGE.
Different Topic, but I hope it interests you guys:
I recently met some British people. I did not presume to express an opinion on Brexit, but I brought up the topic. Here is what they said:
One guy, speaking for himself and his wife, said the European Union is much more than a trade/travel agreement. He and his wife voted FOR Brexit, because they did not like seeing British tax money going to weaker European countries such as Portugal and Greece. Another bloke said he believed England was being over-run by people from other European countries. That was his reason for voting FOR Brexit.
And, the last Brit I spoke with was British as the Dickens, but he actually was from Gibraltar. Gibraltar is right there, bordering Spain. He seemed to believe leaving the EU would be a complete disaster for Gibraltar. He seemed to have voted NO on Brexit, but Gibraltar must go along with the UK on Brexit.
Two ideas on impeachment:
1. Trump might resign. Do you remember that the creep Richard Nixon resigned BEFORE impeachment? Keep up the pressure. The creep Donald Trump just might decide to quit.
2. All these impeachment hearings are CLOSED. Maybe not a good tactic. The Nixon impeachment hearings were open and televised. Many, many Americans watched them. And we turned against the crook. I fear Trump will claim the closed hearings are unfair.
The problem is that the subject of these hearings is often matters of foreign policy that are classified. Negotiating around them would prove unwieldy at best, open hearing here… oops, gotta go close door for deployment of military aid against Russia, ok, back open, oops, people involved and means by which presidential communications are monitored, analyzed and preserved…closed again, sorry folks.
This is as opposed to the WG hearings that didn’t have much potential for classified material being discussed.
And he is already whining about it being unfair. He would under any circumstance.
You gotta feel for him. Poor little most powerful man in the world.
He is a real victim, getting lynched and all. Just breaks my heart.
Halloween Costumes: I will dress up as Stormy Daniels, and my bride will be Adolf Giuliani. What are you guys going to do?
Now, Trump is making a big deal about protecting the Syrian oil fields. As far as I can tell, Syria has about as much oil as Michigan. No big deal. Obfuscation from Trump.
Now, it looks as if they will impeach him. But, the Senate will not remove him…
Can Republican Senators, maybe, say, “He is a jerk. We can do better?” They can say Pense is better. Or, Romney. Or, ??? The Republican Senators need/want to get out from under Trump’s greasy shadow. Their dimwit-Trump-supporter constituents still will support them, after they dispose of Trump.
What is their alternative? Bernie? Ms. Warren?? Gay Mayor Pete???