Saturday, April 30, 2016
Things that (don't) interest me
I'm feeling a little ornery this morning and felt like unloading a few complaints publicly. Also, even though I am an old grouch, I still have good health and possibly as many as ten more years to enjoy this wonderful life. And, believe it or not, life is wonderful. It's certainly a lot better than the alternative. I have two wonderful daughters who care about me. They want to have frequent visits with them, either at their homes near Berkeley and Seattle, or at my home in Los Angeles. We are planning a nice vacation trip by rail through western Canada some time later this year. No old grouch could be any happier. At the same time I still miss my dear wife who has been gone nearly nine years.
One thing that both interests and annoys me is the antics of my own political party, Democratic, to use the Koch brothers as a foil for fund-raising activity. Every day I receive an e-letter about the latest gift of Charles and David Koch to the Republican party or some Republican candidate. The Democratic fund-raisers paint the Kochs as agents of the Devil or even the Antichrist. "The Kochs have given another ten million dollars to defeat Democratic candidate X and we have to match that money to stay competitive." Of course it's a game. I doubt that Charles Koch cares very much how much the Democrats are able to raise in a given month. In fact, Mr. Koch has recently stated, in an interview on ABC that he doesn't like either of the current front-runners for the Republican nomination for President and believes that Hillary Clinton would be a better President than either of them.
Mr. Koch and I are in agreement on that point.
Another thing that doesn't interest me is the campaign in some far-away State, like Indiana, Maryland, or Florida, of some Democratic candidate trying for the nomination in that state for its Senator in the federal legislature. Perhaps I should be interested, but as of now I don't know anything about any of the candidates vying for the candidacy. Which candidate do I like as Senator from Maryland? There are at least three of them and they're all Democrats, so I'm happy with any one of them.
A friend and I walk three mornings a week. Our route is a bit longer than one mile and it takes us an hour or more, allowing for stopping to talk with other walkers that we meet. Afterward we go to our favorite McDonald's restaurant for coffee and conversation with other old farts. One morning I got into an argument with another of the regulars about the Affordable Care Act. I stated that the law was actually the Republican plan worked out by Senator John Chafee in 1993-94 and later enacted into law in Massachusetts while Mitt Romney was governor. My friend wouldn't hear of it. The law was enacted by Democrats when they had majorities in Congress. Republicans were locked out of the hearings and their amendments were ignored. I thought, it's true that there were no Republican votes for ACA. He thinks it means that the Republicans were locked out. I think it means that the Republicans refused to have anything to do with it because it was part of their goal of trying to undermine President Obama,
It's time for my lunch. Keep watching for my next rant.
One thing that both interests and annoys me is the antics of my own political party, Democratic, to use the Koch brothers as a foil for fund-raising activity. Every day I receive an e-letter about the latest gift of Charles and David Koch to the Republican party or some Republican candidate. The Democratic fund-raisers paint the Kochs as agents of the Devil or even the Antichrist. "The Kochs have given another ten million dollars to defeat Democratic candidate X and we have to match that money to stay competitive." Of course it's a game. I doubt that Charles Koch cares very much how much the Democrats are able to raise in a given month. In fact, Mr. Koch has recently stated, in an interview on ABC that he doesn't like either of the current front-runners for the Republican nomination for President and believes that Hillary Clinton would be a better President than either of them.
Mr. Koch and I are in agreement on that point.
Another thing that doesn't interest me is the campaign in some far-away State, like Indiana, Maryland, or Florida, of some Democratic candidate trying for the nomination in that state for its Senator in the federal legislature. Perhaps I should be interested, but as of now I don't know anything about any of the candidates vying for the candidacy. Which candidate do I like as Senator from Maryland? There are at least three of them and they're all Democrats, so I'm happy with any one of them.
A friend and I walk three mornings a week. Our route is a bit longer than one mile and it takes us an hour or more, allowing for stopping to talk with other walkers that we meet. Afterward we go to our favorite McDonald's restaurant for coffee and conversation with other old farts. One morning I got into an argument with another of the regulars about the Affordable Care Act. I stated that the law was actually the Republican plan worked out by Senator John Chafee in 1993-94 and later enacted into law in Massachusetts while Mitt Romney was governor. My friend wouldn't hear of it. The law was enacted by Democrats when they had majorities in Congress. Republicans were locked out of the hearings and their amendments were ignored. I thought, it's true that there were no Republican votes for ACA. He thinks it means that the Republicans were locked out. I think it means that the Republicans refused to have anything to do with it because it was part of their goal of trying to undermine President Obama,
It's time for my lunch. Keep watching for my next rant.
