Those Were Quite a Few Days

American Politics Has Been on Quite the Ride Lately. Tired yet?

McConnell

Mitch McConnell finally announced his retirement as Minority Leader.  At least he was physically able to make that speech. There has been a lot of talk about whoever replaces him will be even more of a MAGA wingnut. Likely true, but that will not make much difference anyway. McConnell has made it crystal clear that all he ever cared about was raw political power; he was always more than ready to sell his soul to the MAGA crowd to hang on to power.

The bad history is long indeed,

Voters, Judges, and Nikki Haley

Observations on American Life

Voters

The folks responsible for voting in my area are reportedly having some trouble recruiting volunteers to work the polling places this year. People are afraid of the risk of conflict and even of physical danger. That is sad, to say the least. It’s also unacceptable, so I have up my usual spot out front of polling places in election season, passing out literature, to be a poll worker inside. The preparation process was illuminating.

First, there are still quite a few willing to show up for the 14 hour day required.

A Connected Set of Observations on Guns, Addiction, and Alexei Navalny  

Three Very Different Yet Connected Realities

Guns

One of the latest mass shooting to hit America just occurred, in Kansas City, in an area where people gathered to celebrate their Super Bowl win. People were shot because they were in a place where someone else came to hurt people.

Shortly thereafter, police and first responders in a small town in Minnesota answered a call for help in the wee hours of the morning; a family was in danger. Shortly thereafter, two policemen and a fire rescue member were shot dead.

And so it goes,

One Issue Illuminates It All

Some Issues Bring a Laser Focus On Our Politics. Here is a Big One

Déjà Vu, All Over Again

 Several years ago, I read a fascinating, if discouraging, series of articles in The Atlantic. The writer did a thorough job, literally going all around the world, to determine the cost and quality of medical care for a common medical procedure (if I remember correctly, it was a knee replacement).

In the end, he determined that were you to deliberately design the most dysfunctional system imaginable (too expensive, poor overall national health,

Politics, Technology, Middle East War, and Super Ants

Something for Everyone Today

Taylor Swift Rigs The Super Bowl!

By now, you have surely heard about the Right Wing conspiracy theories that Taylor Swift has somehow conspired to right the Super Bowl for her boyfriend’s team to win and, according to one version, she will then appear at half-time to endorse Biden.

How nuts can these people get?! It really is amazing how this mindset has established itself among a lot of people. If something happens or is pending that I don’t like, there MUST be a conspiracy to blame, no matter how outlandish it seems.

January 30, 2024

Politics, Science, Society – A Look Around Various Corners of America Today

How Many Types of Politicians Are There?

Bottom line, there really are only two basic types of politicians and would-be leaders, with one subset noted.Part of being a political leader is deciding what will be used to motivate people to vote for and support you. In spite of all the complexities and variances of modern life, this choice comes down to two basic approaches.

Types One and Two

Type I is to inspire, to call out our best in each other, to stress the us in USA.

Good News – Part II

10 More Observations of People, Institutions, or Things to Celebrate

Continuing Our Relentless Pursuit of Good Stuff

A couple of weeks ago, this blog listed a number of good news stories that seemed to me were not getting enough attention, or at least were getting lost in all the doom and gloom we sometimes generate. I mentioned then there were other good news items that made that list but did not want to make the blog too long.

Today, the rest of that list. Admittedly an arbitrary list, not complete and in no special order.

JANUARY 16, 2024

Today, a Little of This, A Little of That To Look Through

What’s Going On?

Lots going on currently, as the election season officially began Monday night. Trump did win over 50% of the Iowa vote and the next two candidates were almost tied, so not a two person contest going forward yet, which is unfortunate. One more candidate, the abrasive business man, ended his campaign last night. Now we will start thinking about New Hampshire, South Carolina, etc. But there is more than politics out there to think about. Let’s take a cruise and see what comes up.

Good News, Here & Now      

As Promised Last Week, Signs of Progress and Possibilities

Where We Are

An awful lot of what we read in the media, and what we say to each other, calls out a sense of Doom, with a capital D. The political atmosphere seems permanently charged and forever divided There is, in fact, no shortage of seriously worrisome and frightening news out there, just waiting for us.

But hold on a minute- there is a lot of positive news to celebrate and encourage as well. Let’s remind ourselves of a few of them as we start a new year.

Hey, Santa! You Missed Some Items on Our List – Part II

Here are Some More Things We REALLY Wanted to Find Under the Tree

Continuing our Shopping List with Santa

Last week we started a conversation about things we wished we had found under our nation’s political holiday tree. Most people agree on these items, although we may disagree on some specifics.

What follows is Part II of that list. At the end of this posting, I will include a short, summarized list of what was posted last week. Taken together these two lists would make our hearts sing – and our country better off –