The Crude And The Corrupt

Sounds like a title for a good soap, doesn't it?  Well, truth is sometimes stranger than fiction and these two are proof positive.

As I've said on many occasions I understand Trump's appeal as well as Hillary's lack of same.

With Trump there's no pulling punches, you know exactly what he's thinking because he says it.  Not that it won't change in 5 minutes.

With Hillary it's much the opposite.  She's mastered the art of dodging - and the accompanying cackle when she thinks she's gotten away with it.

Let me ask, is either of them what you want as the face of our country?  Hillary is a shoo in for the Democrat nomination.  Democrats have decided she's due her due.  Why I have no idea except that perhaps they've bought into the sanctity of the party rather than the country.

With that as a given we have to look at the Republicans.  With 12 candidates still in the running is there not one of them who can articulate Republican frustrations in a more civilized manner than Mr. Trump?  I find it hard to believe that at least one of those candidates can't match his understanding of the electorate's frustrations and able to voice them with a modicum of personality and what Trump is missing ~ charm.  No, not all the love and joy malarkey, that doesn't cut it.  Neither does Trump's broad brush srtokes, truth be said.

The pundits I habitually listen to, be they old timers or of another generation, all are students of politics and haven't yet grasped that this cycle shows the evolution of the process.  Not necessarily in a good way, but it is evolving. No longer is what has been going to be.

With Iowa getting ever closer perhaps a cold winter night in Iowa will knock Trump down a peg. Don't expect him to be gracious about it if he doesn't win and who ever does win had best don a suit of inpenatrable armor.  I would expect him to bluster his way through New Hampshire and if he behaves he could even win Nevada but from there it's any ones guess.

I have no resolutions this new year; only what is probably misguided hope.  Hope that those who care enough to vote in the primaries also care enough about their country to let it be known rude and crude isn't enough.

As far as a corrupt self-serving candidate is concerned, the Democrats are stuck. You'd think that after 7 years of Barack Obama they'd know better and have the courage to turn away from a nearly mirror image.  Not in appearance, obviously, but in ideology, respect for the people, the Constitution and our laws and devotion to the country.  They get none with Hillary.  They do get the latter half of Crude and Corruption.

And so it begins in earnest.  What more can I hope for?  An outlier in both parties.  A hope that I'm afraid will never come to fruition!

New Year, Old Memories

In case you're wondering what the gizmo pictured is, it's an old fashioned slide projector.  Before digital cameras and computers we took lots of slides.  Hundreds.

Last night, being home bodies on New Year's Eve, we settled down on a couch in our game room.  The fire place was roaring, the champagne and nibbles were plentiful and the slide show began.  We had 46 years worth to watch.  Well, maybe not quite that many because as did most, we did switch to digital photography.

Sometimes I miss the old way.  Looking at photos on the computer just isn't the same as sharing with friends or family who may have shared the experience.  In this case it was my husband.

We traveled back in time to when we were first married and had our first St. Bernard.  How we loved that gentle giant and how we still miss him along with the five others who followed in his very large foot steps.  The travel log was one to envy by any ones standards.  A legacy of the country as it was those many years ago.

Then there was our foreign travel.  We covered most of the world.  London of course, then the continent.  Paris.  Bruge and Brussels, Amsterdam.  Castle Road in Germany, Heidelberg and Munich.  Kitzbuhel, Salzburg and St. Moritz in winter.  I love the Germanic countries. Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei. Australia.  Cypress. Even Damascus when it was relatively safe.

When we finished so had the evening and the year.  Hub looked at me and said, "We've led quite a life."  And so we have.  But it's all in the past now.

What had been our youthful enthusiasm for travel and exploration has been well tempered by world events.  Gone are the days when you could board a plane without being searched.  The feeling you get now is no longer carefree but cautious. And not in just certain parts of the world but everywhere. Even here at home I'm more anxious in a big city and not because I've been away from that life as long as I have but because it has changed so much.

I wonder if we'll do more traveling while our health allows or if we'll cloister ourselves in relative obscurity because it's more comfortable. I hope it's not the latter. It's not how I envisioned retirement.

With a new year there is always hope but realistically the headlines never waver.  Too bad  the mindset of the political class that rule us never seems to change no matter the circumstances.  We could all use some fresh beginnings. Will this be the year?

Ready or not ~ I'll be returning soon!

I hope to be back full steam after the Holidays.  To all of you, enjoy!

It's TimeTo Get Serious

Have any of you done something in your past about which you have since had a change of heart?  And actually said so?  If you have, by today's standards you cannot run for President.  You aren't allowed to change your mind.  Or state the reason for your original stand.  Unless of course you're a Democrat where the same thing is called "evolving".  Like in Gay marriage.

The point?  That's what I'm getting from the Republican slug fests they call debates.  I've probably watched the last one for this election cycle.  I can't take any more of the mugging Trump ego nor the lack of substance from any of the candidates.  I know.  Go to their web page and read their policy statements.  Only we geeks are likely to do that.  Most will vote on the impressions the candidates give on television both in live interviews, such as they are, and ads attacking their opponents.

No wonder the country is in such a mess.  At the moment there is not a Republican I can feel comfortable with.  I certainly cannot vote for Hillary. So what to do?  I DO want to vote.

Fortunately there is still time for it to sort itself out.  One thing that would help is for those who have no chance to drop out.  Hoping for a victory on down the line after South Carolina is unlikely and unrealistic.  Let those who like you for whatever reason move on to support a more viable candidate.

Will Trump persevere?  Personally I don't think so.  Nothing new here.  Like me,isn't there a block of voters beginning to say, "Yeah, we like the way he kicks butt, but get real.  He hasn't the temperament to be President."  Who should move up?  Who knows.  This silly season is more silly than anything I've ever seen.  It's worrisome because the world is in such chaos.  I just can't get my head around the idea that an egotistical, bellowing bully is the answer to our problems what's more the world's!

Now for my daily smack down of the media.  Give the other candidates some air time.  The Trump show is in re-runs and it's getting boring. Every network has reporters travelling with the candidates.  Let's hear from them. DO some work.  How many show up at town halls and rallies for, let's say Rick Santorum.  Why?  Does he have anything to say?  You'd never know it from the media.

The rest really remains with the voters doesn't it. We're the ones who have to sort through all the nonsense and try to make an intelligent decision. It hasn't been easy up to this point because of the inter-party squabbling.  There are times when I think when the candidates get together they are as dysfunctional as Congress.

Can we not do better?