Today is one of those days where I wanted to get a few things off my chest and mind so here we go.

The Odds

I haven’t heard it yet but I know it’s coming. The anti-vaxxers will be invoking breakthrough infections as another reason not to bother getting vaccinated against COVID-19. Numbers and studies are somewhat limited but it appears the chance of a breakthrough infection is better than 1 in 5000. My degree is in management not mathematics or statistics but I like my chances (I’m fully vaccinated). Get the shot and shut up you fools!

Another Buffalo Springfield Moment

For writers of a certain age (me among them) the 1966 Buffalo Springfield hit, For What It’s Worth, often is a guiding light in our writing. The opening lines are: There’s something happing here / But what it is ain’t exactly clear. The following is such a situation.

Attorney John Pierce who has garnered a disproportionate share of the 1/6 defendants as clients has failed to make a court appearance for the past week or so. The “excuses” have been varied and conflicting. In at least some instances he has sent an associate who is not a member of the bar. Pierce’s background is a bit blemished as you would expect of a Trumper. Something is definitely happing here, and at this point, just what isn’t clear to me.

Sentence Pending

One of the most recognized of the 1/6 domestic terrorists was the so-called QAnon Shaman, Jason Chansley. He pled guilty to a single felony count last week and awaits sentencing. It looks like he is about to spend the next few years in prison. Maybe he will think more carefully about breaking into the Senate chambers in a Halloween costume in the future.

That’s Where The Money Is

I am among the many who questioned why Donald Trump ever wanted to be president in the first place. He is a man child who only seems to care about his physical pleasures and having the illusion of wealth. I may well have underestimated the greed factor. He viewed the presidency as a dictatorship (similar to being a Mafia Don). The federal government is the largest purchaser of goods and services in America to the tune of about $650 billion a year. To a mind like Trump’s that is one heck of an opportunity to skim.

A Few Decades Later

This is hardly a unique thought on my behalf but I can’t help compare Nixon and Trump in certain instances. Nixon was forced to resign; Trump survived two impeachments. I have to think the difference in the media environments played a part. Could Nixon have survived if he had Fox News? While Fox was the engine that drove the “ratings train” it was far from alone.

On another note, could Bill Clinton have survived the #MeToo movement?

I’ll invoke Bob Dylan (and show my age) here: For the times, they are a-changin’.

How Stupid Is Stupid Enough?

Many people claim there is a dumbing down of America. As a counter argument I offer much of my grandchildrens’ generation. I have high hopes for them! However, the Republican Party seems to be the moving in the other direction.

Looking only at my adult lifetime Ronald Reagan has become a Republican icon and yet I doubt he could have won many rounds of It’s Academic. In fact I think the only reasons he survived are because he was likeable and the nation was still tired of “impeachments” in the wake of Watergate.

Then we had George W. Bush. Another likeable guy but not the brightest bulb. There was a joke during his father’s failed bid for reelection that if the people did not reelect him, he would curse them by spending his dumbest son. You connect those dots.

A few elections later the GOP candidate was Donald Trump. As to the presidency to date I rest my case.

Looking ahead to 2024 we still have the possibility of Trump as the GOP standard bearer. Other names prominently mentioned include Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’. Has anyone looked at his track record on COVID-19? The really scary part is that this dummy duo is not alone and many of the other names are not exactly candidates for a MacArthur Genius Grant Award!

Balls And Strikes

In his confirmation hearing John Robert famously likened the job of a Supreme Court justice to that of a baseball home plate umpire. Just call the balls and strikes. As I look at many recent Court decisions, I see a bunch of 56-foot curveballs in the dirt in front of the plate being called strikes. Note to the Nine: Your strike zone is the Constitution. Supplementing it with some judgement framed by critical thinking would not hurt any either!

OK, I’ll let you go. “See” you tomorrow.

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