POST #648: Random Observations

The following are a string of unrelated ramblings that I recently posted on various sites on the internet or out in the Facebooksphere. Any resemblance to the crack of doom is purely intentional:

1: Advice for Campaign Clinton

Adding Liz Warren to the ticket would be a smart move. Hillary Clinton's relations with the lefties have been severely damaged by the very fact of her candidacy (and, let's face it, they were never very good to begin with). And while were on the subject: What's wrong with the idea of two women candidates on the same ticket? Men have been doing that for two-and-a-quarter-centuries. Let's get a grip here.

As things stand at this moment in time, I am barely inspired to vote this November. The thought of Elizabeth Warren as the V.P. nominee just might motivate me. If the Clinton campaign is smart (opinions differ) they'll go with this idea.

Having another woman on the ticket is viewed by a few talking heads as a "bold move". Nonsense. If Hillary or Debbie Wasserman Schultz - or whomever it is that will decide this - chooses as her running mate anyone who is not decidedly progressive (as she certainly is not) then it's all over as far as I'm concerned. I live in New York, a state she will win handily. I can afford to find better things to do on Election Day.
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2: Georgie Bolts

For a decade I've been predicting (for your reading enjoyment) the ultimate demise of the Republican Party. Here is your proverbial canary in the coal mine: George Will - that insufferable piller and epitome of GOP establishment politics - has left that disgusting party. The clock is winding down, folks. It's over - or almost....

When the party becomes too embarrassing even for Bill O'Riley (as it no doubt will very soon) that will be a sign that the screen has flat-lined.

Strange, strange days.
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3: The Party of Abraham Babybrains

It's weird. Whenever you read contemporary Republican campaign literature, waxing idiotic on their grand and glorious history, they NEVER mention the names: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, or Dwight D. Eisenhower. Were a delegation of extra-terrestrials to visit the earth this morning, they could be forgiven for concluding that the party didn't exist before the emergence of Ronald Reagan in 1980. Why is that? The three examples I gave are arguably three of the finest chiefs-executive in the history of the republic. What gives?

We're still at a point in our history where most Americans (and goodness knows why this is) perceive Reagan as a great president. He's all they've got! Every other Republican president who lived at 1600 Pennsylvania is pretty much dismissed by historians as dismal failures. The reason why Abe and Teddy and Ike are invisible inside the pages of their twisted history books is simply because, by the standards of their times, all three men were fairly progressive, and therefore, anathema to the agenda of the modern-day conservative movement.

And Lincoln? He is still deeply and passionately despised in regions of the country where the flag of the old confederacy still flies proud. The GOP doesn't dare boast about Old Abe.  As was stated on the very first piece posted on this site ten years ago:

"Abraham Lincoln's influence on the Republican Party ended at 7:22 on the morning of April 15, 1865 when he breathed his last breath."
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Madison and Taylor Sheats
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4: Slaughter in Katy

Christy Sheats was a resident of Katy, Texas. These two photographs of her daughters were posted on her Facebook page on September 25 of last year. It was in honor of "Daughters Day". The girls were named Madison (17) and Taylor (22). On Friday, Christy shot and killed both of them during a family "argument". She herself was later killed by police when she attempted to fire another round of bullets into the body of the already-mortally wounded Madison. Ms. Sheats, an outspoken proponent of unregulated gun rights, recently posted these two statements on that same Facebook page:

"It would be horribly tragic if my ability to protect myself or my family were to be taken away, but that's exactly what Democrats are determined to do by banning semi-automatic hand guns."

"Don't punish me because SOME gun owners are nutjobs."

Indeed. Another American tragedy.
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5: Dealin' with the Donald

One of the things a reputable sociologist might possibly explain to us is, in the post-Hitler world we're supposed to be living in, how something like a Donald Trump presidency could possibly happen. It's certainly beyond my ability. And don't try to tell me that comparisons to der fuhrer are an overreaction.  Both men rose to political prominence by exploiting religious hatred, racial prejudice and economic paranoia; both were megalomaniacs and narcissistic; both were sociopaths and completely ignorant on the subtleties of diplomacy - and both had really stupid haircuts.

I don't believe for a minute that Trump is going to be elected in November, but it sure is unsettling to contemplate how close we've come to elevating to ultimate power a character as darkly Hitler-like as this uncouth nitwit. At least Adolf had good manners.

It kinda makes you wonder, huh?

Tom Degan
Goshen, NY

SUGGESTED READING:

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
by William L. Shirer

If you have the time (the book logs in at nearly 1300 pages) it's well worth your while. The German people stupidly went down this road eighty years ago. We don't want to make the same mistake.