Apparently Turnout was NOT the Problem

In the last 10 years or so, a new generation of Politics Amateurs—people like me, who like politics, but weren't trained in it—have been trying to make sense of the political scene.  What happens when the Economy is like this, what happens when there is a big scandal in the White House, etc, etc.  The older generation had a handle on this, but (a) we don't trust their instincts, and (b) these are different people, and they don't behave the same way. 

First, let me out up a screen capture, so that my list of posts won't show just a uppercase 'A':

Well, I don't trust this Nate Cohn person completely, but it's an interesting idea that all the young people are drifting towards MAGA, and, of course, Trump.  I think people who first got to know Trump because of TV, are accustomed to hearing lies from him, and knew that he would change his mind several times a week.  As a TV personality, that would not have bothered them.  But some of the slower-witted ones let that lower expectation carry over to the presidential election.

A president who changes his mind several times a week is a problem to Congress, to government departments, to the Senate, to everyone.  We have now learned to live with various branches of government that regard this constant vacillation as a feature, not a bug.  It prevents the 'Liberals' from formulating a policy about anything.  But it also prevents the Administration from formulating much of any sort of policy either.  To think that the voters—essentially Generation X—are able to tolerate this policy-free state of existence, is very scary.

Kay

Record Temperatures

It was going to be hot, but it's 98 degrees Fahrenheit, which is extreme!

I don't have much to say, except that our two-faced president promised peace, and made fun of his predecessors for getting into foreign wars, and declared himself The Peace Candidate.

But he crowed to Truth Social: Fordow is gone!  Sad, pathetic little man.  He said it was the most awesome bomb that had ever been dropped in the history of the Universe.

Kay

Rose Garden

I'm not sure that this is happening, but there's a report that the Rose Garden at the White House is being paved over!

This isn't irreversible damage, but it must make those who were around during the sixties angry.  I  think the point is to generate a host of irritations so that Trump's weaknesses in International diplomacy are not observed. 

Mr Netanyahu of Israel is a shady character, and just as inconsistent as Trump, if not more.  What he will do next is going to be unpredictable, because it depends on his calculations about how to remain in power, and not any constant philosophy.  Meanwhile, Trump is doing the same thing.  And, from what I can see, Iran is also doing the same thing.  And meanwhile, the civilians in Gaza and Iran are watching helplessly.  They can't expect help from Trump, because what he wants is to build a hotel on the Gaza Strip.

Putting a businessman in the White House is stupid. 

Kay.

Not a Commercial

This girl was on Fb:

She's really beautiful.   But she looks very 'submissive' (a word I dislike intensely; it stereotypes people; I could imagine her becoming quite assertive, if she felt strongly enough about something).

Another girl I find interesting is Sophie Cunningham, who plays for the Indiana Fever, the women's basketball team (with Caitlin Clark, and all those delightful women).  She loves to wear super revealing clothes, and I'm generally unhappy about people who dress in super revealing clothes.  (I try not to say anything about modesty, generally, because if I were built like that, who knows?  I might have dressed in revealing clothes.  Kinda hypocritical to assume that we—commentators—have the last word in modesty of celebrities.)

kay

The Kitten that has Adopted Me

Well, I guess I'm well and truly adopted!

I'm visiting my friend, and she's got out her CD player, and she's playing all her golden oldies.

The cat doesn't mind the quieter songs.  But I was seated in a corner, going through my Facebook feed, when a noisy song came on.  Pretty soon, the kitten climbed up on my lap, and looked in my eyes.  Please, make it stop, was what she was telling me!!

The next song was a lot quieter, so she perked up and looked about, and seemed to say: That's much better, and she strolled off.  She obviously thinks of me as her personal volume control.

My friend had been taking things out of the coat closet—where she keeps the winter coats.   The cat had been outside, and came in, and after the little incident of the music, she noticed the closet door standing open. 

She studied it carefully; she obviously hadn't seen it open in a long time.   She walked over, and carefully studied the inside of the closet, and then went closer, and studied it some more.  There's not any sort of sense she can make of it; she's probably thinking: Wow, that's a lot of stuff.  She makes a mental note of it, and then moseys off to do more cat things.

She keeps a careful eye on where I am, so that she can come and get me when I'm needed!

My Fb feed is now full of cats in Florida and Arizona, who have either been lost, or stray cats—in those same states—that have been picked up.  Cat owners in those states seem awfully careless about their pets.  Or, they let their cats out, and they (the cats) go exploring, and then get lost.

For all our silliness, Pennsylvania cat parents appear to be pretty good at keeping track of where the cats are.  In the deep South, though, they're apparently too busy to keep an eye on them.

I don't know what to do about being inundated with cat stories.  I'm just going to enjoy them a little longer. 

Kay

Trump Wants to Invade California

There was a little unrest in California, as ICE searched some homes suspected to contain illegal immigrants.  People reacted predictably, protesting against the bullying typically indulged by ICE agents. 

Trump responded by sending in the Marines against Los Angeles.  Neither the Governor of California, Gavin Newsome, nor the Mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, had requested the Armed Forces assistance.

Everyone (except for pro-Trump Republicans, now a shrinking population) is furious.  No one is sure how this will play out.

As long as the armed forces and ICE remain loyal to Trump, he can do what he pleases.  Sooner or later, though, the Pentagon will be too embarrassed to toe Trump's line.

Kay

My Favorite Things!

I can never remember this first line:

Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens, 

Bright copper kettles, and warm woolen mittens, 

Brown paper packages tied up with string,

These are a few of my favorite things;

Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudel,

Doorbell and sleighbells, and schnitzel with noodles,

Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings,

These are a few of my favorite things!

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes,

Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes,

Silver white winters that melt into springs,

These are a few of my favorite things, ...

I was once again reminded of this song, when I was visiting the home of my friend who has the cat and the dog.  The cat sat on my lap, and asked for pets; and I saw her whiskers, and I realized that I'm getting to the age where I do like these wacky things: I could do without raindrops, but the rest of the stuff come pretty close to my favorite things!

 

 

Whoa!

What is this baby thinking?

I stole this from a reel.  (The parents want us to keep watching until the clip ends.  They couldn't be upset that I'm sharing it, but one never knows ...)

Kid:  Whoa; I'm seeing a lot of stuff!  Some of this is totally new; they keep changing it around.  They keep pushing that square thing with an eye on it at me ... It goes Click!  I love when it does that!

Which Side Are We On?

During, and a little after the Civil War, the conflict looked like—from where we stood—the South versus the Yankees.

Then it began to look like Slave-Owners, vs. the Anti-Slavery North.

Then it looked like the Agricultural South, vs. the Industrial North.

Then the US got pulled into the European wars, and after that, there seemed to be a lot of us who saw everything in terms of Communism vs. The Free World.

But pretty soon it was clear that Communism wasn't as big a problem as the Civil Rights of Black People.  That was such a big problem that many people were assassinated over that issue: President Kennedy; Martin Luther King; Robert Kennedy; Malcolm X.

Then, Women's Rights was raised as an issue.  The National Organization of Women was created around passing an amendment to the constitution—the Equal Rights Amendment—which had to be approved ('ratified') by a large number of state legislatures.  To date, it has not been passed, to my knowledge.  All the guys point ther fingers at other guys who're supposedly dragging their feet.  It's my belief that without a woman president, it will never be passed.

Soon, though, it was getting to be clear that many of these conflicts were really about Rich versus Poor.  Since colonial times, every conflict could be viewed in this 'frame': the rich industrialists of the Northeast vs. the poor farmers of the South, who would be faltering without slave labor.  All the way, up to the rich white business owners, and the poor black families that lived in bad conditions.

In more recent times, other problems have come into the public attention: foreign wars; immigration; abortion; gun control; drugs; underachievement in education, and so on.  The Democrats have always allied themselves with who they perceive as the underdogs, namely the Have-Nots.

But David Brooks writes an article in the New York Times, that the body of the MAGA movement now views the Democrats as the Haves.  They're college-educated (check), well-employed (check, I suppose), in positions of power, in control of schools, colleges and universities.  Each of you should read this for yourself.  Search for 'The Democrats'problems are bigger than you think.'

Shape

Jeeze.  I've been keeping my weight down by cutting down on my calories (I swore to myself I would never open up this subject on this blog but) but, my shape has gone to h*&^!@^#.  So now I have to exercise. 

I used to run (notice how Helen runs?), but now, because of the way I eat, I just don't have the energy to run!  But I can walk; that's what I used to do before this latest round of medical advice.  I would really prefer to play tennis!

When I used to play tennis regularly, I played all morning on Saturday, and all morning Sunday—starting after my friends got back from Church—and broke for a substantial lunch.  Then a game on Wednesday afternoon, and that was all for the week.  In between, I would walk.  Around here it's all hilly, so it takes a lot more effort to walk any significant distance. 

I've got to think about this problem.  More after I've thunk a bit. 

Kay