TWEETY AND SYLVESTER

I hope some of you remember this cartoon from the olden days.  I am thinking it either was on after school or on Saturday mornings.  Whatever, Tweety was a tiny yellow bird (presumably a female canary but who knew). Sylvester was a black and white male cat with a red nose (presumably a big drinker but who knew). Sylvester was always on the prowl trying to capture and eat Tweety.  Tweety, who was wily, was also on the prowl mainly to keep away from getting caught. And here is my point (and you thought I was wandering, huh?):  If we all close our eyes together and imagine Tweety in the color orange, we can pretend Tweety represents POTUS.  Sylvester on the prowl is the elite Eastern media ready to pounce but never quite catching their prey.  Now open those eyes and think about Morning Joe--which I swear I have never watched--and the tweets about them from POTUS.  Come on you folks out there who voted for him--do you like him tweeting?  He is the fucking President of the USA and he is engaged in a media struggle on a personal level?  And the Huckabee woman (who seems to have kicked the toy boy out of the room) and Kelly Anne go on tv and with straight faces defend him.  On the other hand, my three bourbon sipping boys down there in bum fuck Louisiana love it.

Moving on:
--This is not nostalgia talking but a stark contemporary contrast.  Went to see the Boston Pops the other night on what is called Gospel Night.  With a background of an Aaron Copeland composition and a gigantic Gospel choir, an African American  minister spoke the words of JFK.  When you hear those words and compare them to the words of POTUS, you know what we are missing.  More than sad.
--I am not the first one to say this but POTUS is determined to undo anything associated with Obama and not just Health Care.  The most frustrating thing for me (despite perhaps understanding it) is that the former President continues to act presidential when I wish for his anger and his disgust.
--So many of the states which supported POTUS also expanded Medicaid and saw the rates of uninsured drop dramatically.  Apparently, the governors of those states must chat up the Senators from those states and helped convince some of them to defeat the Senate version of Obamacare repeal.  This is not over and folks like Ted Cruz want versions of the bill that are even more draconian to be proposed.  Rand Paul needs to have a chat with the governor of his state (that being Kentucky) whose rate of uninsured was way down.
--I want Jon Osoff to publicly apologize for his pathetic campaign down there in Georgia.  He avoided making it about Trump and decided the issues were about the bureaucracy not the war against the poor. And, omg, his whiny emails.  Yuk.
--Kudos, however, to the guy who climbed El Capitan in Yosemite without any nets, ropes, pitons, helmets-basically just him and his muscles.
--On a very somber note, we buried Aaron last week in Maine next to Norma.  Both terrific people who suffered and struggled in the end.  If I don't grab every minute with gusto and energy, I am just plain stupid.  R.I.P.
--On that note, no sports talk.

Happy new fiscal year.
Shalom

I'VE FALLEN AND I CAN'T GET UP

I have been thinking a lot about those words in the title.  They come from an ad for that lifeline thing.  I used to think they were hysterically funny.  But lately, they have not seemed so hilarious.  For many coincidental reasons, I have been home alone whilst my child bride has been out of town.  I realized at various times that if I did in fact fall, I might be unable to get up and could, therefore, be in some peril.  I don't want to get overly dramatic or overly maudlin.  But it is amazing what happens when you reach a certain age.  So, in spite of being in fighting shape, I do worry.  Moving on.

--As the Republicans secretly dismantle Obamacare, a great quote from somewhere:  "poor people will not stop getting sick".  The point is that without Obamacare, people without heath insurance will head straight for the ER.  They will have to get treated (as they should).  If anyone believes that such treatment is free, they have been spending too much time in the sun.  It costs money to see a doctor or a nurse or to get an x-ray. some way or another we (meaning taxpayers or folks with insurance) will pay.  It simply is not free.

--And speaking of sun, down there in the land of fun and sun (that would be Miami, my home town), POTUS did a fine pandering routine with the Cuban Americans who continue to have fantasies of upending the political structure of Cuba.  It does not matter that their grandchildren and great grandchildren have no such illusions.

--"We thank you for the opportunity and the blessing to serve your agenda".  A direct quote from Reince Priebus at that cabinet meeting led by POTUS.  Without getting way too graphic, my fantasy is that they were all on their knees stroking him.

--Jefferson Beauregard Sessions has a very bad memory or so it seems.  As mentioned before, he is named after two Confederate leaders and is a fine representation of that era.  Too bad it is over 150 years since then.

--I am betting that those 3 old boys sipping bourbon and chewing tobacco down South figure Comey is a liar.  I still don't believe this leads to impeachment and almost wish he would try and fire Mueller.

--Betsy Devos, another cabinet member, is doing her part to undo anything connected to Obama or anything to do with the 21st century.  Her thoughtful comments are to wonder whether LGBT discrimination is a settled issue.  She thinks not.

--Jon Osoff may or may not win that vacant Georgia congressional seat--I hope he does.  However, he has already won the contest for the whiniest pathetic emails looking for money.

--And, furthermore, I think Hilary needs to go away for awhile because she is sounding a bit whiny also.  Bad optics as they say.

--Wonderful to have a friend for 65 years.  Can you imagine?

--I hope Barron is settling into his new bedroom with his blanky and brought along his retinue of suits and ties.  Let alone a full staff of psychiatric aides.

--Thinking of A. Bloom.

SPORTS TALK

--The Yankees are struggling out west but they are not that bad either.  Alternatively, at home they were never that good.  We shall see.  What a pleasure to watch the recent Super Bowl replay knowing who won. I could actually watch with my eyes open.  The best thing for Rick Pitino would be jail--he is a sleazy coach on the same slick ride as Calipari.  Good luck to the Celtics on draft night.

Shalom

"WHO LET THE DOGS OUT"

I urge myself every day to ignore POTUS and I try very hard to live up to my own expectations--and then nearly every day, I fail.  So here I am failing in front of all of you.  We have an environment poisoned by this man and I am not even talking about bailing on the climate change accord.  The message from POTUS has given the neo-Nazi in Portland permission to harass Muslim women and then murder two men who came to their aid.  And then, on his way into court, yell out that it was a patriotic act.  We have the spectre of the world's best basketball player talking articulately not about his game but about the racist graffiti painted on his house.   Go ahead and tell me these things would have happened with or without POTUS--maybe/maybe not.  But in any case, he is setting a dangerous tone both in a narrow way and then in a larger way--like pushing aside the President of Montenegro and dissing the Germans and NATO publicly. Forget the tweets, watch him represent you and me--he is an embarrassment.

Moving on (as if):
--This is gutter level bullying.  Apparently the boy toy (Sean Spicer) is a devout Catholic and yet POTUS decided he could not attend the audience with the Pope.  Jared and Ivanka did attend despite being of a different persuasion.  By the way, their picture with the Pope reminded me of that ad with the two farmers holding pitchforks and looking absolutely glum.
--The Confederate statues have been removed from public view in New Orleans but not without some push back from some folks who act as if a war is still going on.  Maybe they are right.
--And he did announce a short while ago that we will pull out of the Paris accords--because India gets to have coal mines and we should too.  The people in India also burn their loved ones on pyres in the Ganges--can we look forward to that?  And the warm up to the POTUS speech by Pence was very sad (!).  He sounded like the head cheer leader at a HS game--but my guess is that would be too female for the Veep.  Likely, "Mother Pence" would be the cheerleader.
--Sorry B and E, he is likely to roll back all the normalization progress with Cuba including travel.  Hope you get grandfathered in.  All because those fucking Cuba Americans in my home state still believe they will go back some day.  Unfortunately, they are my age and will never see that day plus their children and grandchildren DO NOT CARE and probably voted for Hilary.
--Isn't it the fantasy of every boy to fall in love with and run away with their teacher?  That's all I could think of when I learned that Macron actually married his.  Whoa!
--The cuts to Medicaid are vindictive and represent some more of the Republicans disdain for the poor and those disabled.  Then again, these are the same gutless wonders who utter not a word in protest about POTUS and his actions.  They are aiding and abetting and I am not sure if they are any better than him.
--From Forest Gump:  Stupid is as stupid does.
--Happy beginning of summer.  The sun just reappeared today after a lengthy absence.

SHALOM

NO SPORTS TALK