SURPRISE--IT IS VERY COMPLICATED!!

Our leader has discovered that the issue of health insurance is kind of complicated and he was very shocked to learn that.  Now, understand, we elected a person who has no clue except he hates it and will find something he defines as "better".  The more than 20 million people covered by the Affordable Care Act are waiting.  Meanwhile, even Conservative Republicans are jumping ship after experiencing some very tough Town Hall questions.

This is what happens when millions of people without insurance need medical care:  They will go to ER's and we (you and I) pay for it anyway since hospitals pass on that expense in the rates they charge insurance companies.  In turn, guess who the insurance companies pass the cost onto?  Me and you.  Health care is complicated but he should have know that but did not.  Worse than pathetic.

ODDS AND ENDS
--He may or may not be anti Semitic (my vote is yup he is--remember the story about the religion he wanted his accountants to be?) but he sets a tone which allows supporters to phone in bomb threats to JCC 's and desecrate Jewish cemeteries.  And he does not issue any kind of forceful response.  Same goes for the Kansan who murdered two engineers from India whilst telling them to go back to their country.  No moral outrage.  The cultural message there is worse than the political one.
--Did you see his press conference on 2/16?  Ok, even if you are a supporter, weren't you reaching for your meds?  Or at least an aspirin?  He did not answer one question and treated those media folks with such disdain.  Know what I think?  That is like red meat to his people--they hate the media too.  He only confirms what they already believe.  Remember those three old codgers I mentioned in an earlier blog? They love it.
--But Kelly Anne did get kicked to the curb a bit and got put on a hiatus from TV.
--And I like Molly McCarthy more than Sean Spicer who is busy checking every ones phone to see if they are the leakers.  Great job if you can get it.
--Cuts to Medicaid reflect that generalized hatred of the poor while the dilution of transgender rights is just another way of saying, we do not like "the other".  Remember the Kansan--he just took it to an extreme.
--His nominee for Israeli ambassador does not believe in the two state solution and spends much rhetoric on blasting progressive Jewish group who support that effort.
--I believe talk of impeachment is just fantasy island--unless things change in the elections of 2018.
--Ugly:  Jerry Sandusky was the Penn State coach sent to jail for sexually abusing children.  His son just got arrested for doing the same thing.
--Ugly Part 2:  There have been 52 allegations of rape perpetrated by athletes at Baylor in the last 3 years.  And that fine Baptist college covered them all up.
--Hooray for LH and her upcoming big event.

SPORTS TALK
Last nights Celtic's game was a very negative revelation of their weaknesses.  When they cannot shoot well, they are in trouble since they also do not rebound well.  And I have begun to think Horford is a very soft player.

Shalom

THE BOWLING GREEN MASSACRE AND OTHER ADVENTURES IN THE ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE

No that never happened and I wake up every day to other things that never happened but the man whose name will not be mentioned believes they did happen--along with his acolytes:  Bannon, Miller,and Conway. These 3 are especially dangerous because they did not need congressional approval and they are a direct link to that alternative right universe.  Like Massachusetts voters were bused into NH to vote and that's why he lost.  Like he lost the popular vote because of fraud. Miller, this past weekend, flat out stated that some of the Prez's decisions are not reviewable judicially.  The mouth called Sean told State Department employees (especially those protected by Civil Service and therefore not appointed) that if they disagreed with the decisions of the Prez, they should resign.  There are now groups of federal employees from multiple agencies meeting off hours to discuss strategies of resistance.  And, oh by the way, they all got kicked in the privates by those Left coast judges.  I mean "so called judges".  This is scary stuff. Scarier still:  his support has not wavered about his hard core backers.  They buy all of this shit and in their paranoia believe it confirms all too well everything they hate about us.

So we have a Secretary of Education who does not believe in public education.  An EPA Administrator who does not believe in climate change.  A HHS Secretary who wants to destroy Obamacare.  An Attorney General named after Confederate generals who wants to dilute voting rights.  Flynn was forced to resign because of trust not because he got caught being cozy with Vlad and the boys over there in Moscow.  Mitch and Paul have no guts and continue to acquiesce.  So, we end up thinking Lindsey Graham and John McCain are "good" senators.  At least our neighboring Senator from Maine voted against Devos along with her Alaskan colleague.

I do, however, want you to know that I have prayed for Ahh-nold to succeed on the Apprentice--just like the Prez asked me to do.

Money is pouring into the coffers of our states Republican state committee to build up big bucks to defeat Elizabeth.  Problem is they seemingly cannot find anyone to run against her except that fool Curt Schilling. BTW, why did she get censured only to have Mitch let her male colleagues read the same thing?

The Post and the Times are really going strong and their readership has actually ticked up.  But, much like the rest of us, I wonder how this can be sustained.

Enough.

Reading two new (for me) mystery writers from Northern Europe--Sara Blaedel who writes about Copenhagen and Asa Larsson who writes about Stockholm.

SPORTS TALK
I admit I did not see all of the Pats victory.  Missed most the second quarter and half of the third but then was all in.  I am clearly a fair weather fan--when the seas got rough, I went for a walk but obviously, like them, did not sink.  We are so lucky to be the city of victory parades.  Hate, hate, hate Bob, Bill, and Brady (hows that for alliteration?) for their personal side; but oh my they have created quite a franchise.  Goodell and some NFL owners whine anonymously about not liking Kraft's remarks as he hosted the trophy and they did not like the clown T-shirt worn by Matt Patricia.  You know what--tough shit.  Win 5 super bowls and we can talk.

Shalom

THE FIRST "P.S." IN THE BLOG'S HISTORY

P.S.  Too pre-occupied with his immigration nastiness.  But the marches:  here, there, everywhere.  More than at his inauguration--so take that.  BAM.

I HAVE BECOME INARTICULATE

The words do not exist or, more likely, they are not in my vocabulary.  We are barely 10 days in.  By my not so great math skills, we now have 1450 more days with the man who shall not be named (the math: 1460-10).  How can I sustain my rage, my sadness, and my embarrassment?  I know this:  I have few if any readers whose relatives either came over on the Mayflower or are Native Americans.  That means all of us are descended from immigrant families.  I sure am--Russian and German.  Remember where you came from way back when.

On Holocaust Remembrance Day, he issued his nasty immigration executive order. Very clear message for me.  Made me think of the St. Louis being turned away sending its passengers back to a likely death in Europe.  Made me think of Ellis Island and remind myself that I am a first generation American.  Made me think that my father's family was not welcomed here and ended up in Brazil.

Where to go/What to say:
--Do not normalize one fucking thing he does.
--I do not accept alternative facts--as Chuck Todd of NBC said, such "facts" are really just lies in fancy words. Kelly Anne and Steve Bannon are very dangerous and need to be watched. Closely--neither was elected to anything but seem to be in charge of the flaming orange head.
--Read anything written by Charles Blow in the NY Times.  He is another of us Eastern liberals but has a way bigger vocabulary than me. There are other very articulate voices out there--find them.
--Root for Lindsey Graham and/or John McCain to open up their mouths and not just shuffle along behind the emperor.  Ditto for Susan Collins.
--Give money and your time to anything and everything but be sure to conserve your energy--1450 days is a long haul.
--The EPA nominee does not believe in climate change and the HHS nominee wants to gut Obamacare.  Perfect.
--No sports talk this week in spite of the Super Bowl.  However, bless my heart, I do have three disconnected final thoughts.
     1.  Good on those folks who went to JFK airport over the weekend and the lawyers in NYC
          and Boston who went right to court and got temporary stays.
     2.  The Michigan football coach makes about 7 million a year--his two chief assistants just got raises to 1
          million a year.
     3.  In my ongoing effort to ultimately weigh 400 pounds and eat my way out of this bleak landscape , I               have downloaded the Domino's app and the McDonald's app.  Yum.

I am with you all in spirit--Shalom.

THE INCIDENT AT THE FERNANDES BODEGA AND OTHER ITEMS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE

So over the holidays, I ordered an item from LL Bean (before that relative of LL was outed for being a big supporter of the guy whose name will not be mentioned).  Now to be fair (and I am nothing if not fair and open minded), most packages get delivered on time and to the correct unit.  But sometimes there are problems--like finding packages placed on another unit's doorstep or being told the neighboring Inn has a package of ours.  So I go online, track the delivery, and discover it has been delivered--which of course it has not.  I call LL and am told it is at the Fernandes bodega--which of course they believe is in my neighborhood.  Which of course it is not.  LL tells me they will not re-deliver it and I must go to Fernandes and get it.  So I head on out and, sure enough, Fernandes is apparently the drop off point for all if not most of JP for undeliverable packages.  I am into a full on boycott now especially since it was the wrong item anyhow.  Whew--that took longer than getting to Fernandes'.

OTHER ITEMS OF NOTE:
--Jefferson Beauregard Sessions as in the name of the nominee for Attorney General.  Jefferson as in the President of the Confederacy and Beauregard as in one of the Confederate Generals. He will be approved but he will not be safeguarding too many rights or too many people.  And no, he does not get a "see how he does pass".
--The Times front page last week had a picture (and accompanying story) of 3 good ole boys from Covington, Louisiana talking about the election and probably sipping bourbon and spitting tobacco (and yup them's my stereotypes.).  Anyhow, they love the man whose name will not be mentioned and really do not like the Eastern liberals, the Eastern media, and us Eastern whiners.  They probably get both Medicare and Social Security but do not like the Federal government.
--Streep laid him out without mentioning his name and then he tweeted that she was a terrible actress anyhow.
--I could not watch his press conference too long but I have a confession.  There was a moment when I really liked his anger at the media.  I mean they rolled over (with very few exceptions) during the election run up and even that did not win them his respect.  Saw a great line that once he dissed the CNN reporter, the next question should have been:  "Could you please answer the question from the CNN reporter?".  But nope--they just went ahead and asked their own VERY IMPORTANT QUESTIONS so he could then respond with a non answer.
--House Republicans are worse than the man whose name will not be mentioned.  I believe they genuinely hate poor people and especially poor people of color.  Their haste to repeal Obamacare, their desire to support the wall, and their hope to de-fund Planned Parenthood will all impact the poor disproportionately.
--Saw "Fences" and thought the acting was just superb.  In my not so fertile imagination, all I could think of was the symbolism of the fence in the back yard in the film at a time when we are going to build a much larger wall and pretend it solves the problem (whatever the problem is).  Ask the Israelis how that worked out for them.
--Hope some of those corporations stand up to him though I kid of think they are gutless wonders.
--The timing of his inauguration the same week as the MLK holiday is not lost on me.  And probably not lost on Representative Lewis either.

SPORTS TALK
The Pats won ugly last night but did win.  The talking heads will be crazed these week and we should probably put them on suicide watch.  Curiously, I am not so worried.  Brady cannot be that bad again.  It is a great day in America when both Nick Saban and Pete Carroll lose--should be a day off from school or work.  BTW, if you saw the Bama loss, did you see that kid following Saban around with a cup full of something--all game and you want to guess his color?  Ho hum. Isaiah Thomas has the biggest small person chip on his shoulder that I have ever seen--and you know what, he is very good.

Adios

"STUCK INSIDE OF MOBILE WITH THE MEMPHIS BLUES AGAIN"

Stolen from Dylan obviously though I remain a bit pissed that he blew off both the Nobel committee and Obama because he was "too busy".  On the other hand I always thought this lyric referred to a mobile--you know the kind a baby has above their crib.  Somehow, I missed the fact/idea that it referred to a city in that god forsaken state of Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide (look it up).  Let's start with the soft and easy--kind of like slow pitch softball.

--The Globe as usual outdid itself this past two weeks with BIG TIME animal stories.  First, an aggressive coyote was spotted in Brookline causing the local gendarmes to suggest that kids travel in groups.  I am surprised the schools were not closed for the duration.  Then, the lead today was about Cod.  This despite the disasters going on all round us.
--Someone, please tell my wonderful Senator Warren that she does not want to run for President.  She needs to stay where she is and continue to be a thorn in every one's side especially the person whose name will not be mentioned.
--A sportswriter in the Times moved over to become the editor of the obituary pages.  Confirming for me that some of the best writers are in the sports sections of papers--sections which tend to be financially strong for the papers.
--Lindsay Schnell of  SI.Com wrote a great piece on the Oklahoma quarterback who sucker punched a woman and is still playing college football.  Defended by the coach.  Football in the South and Southwest is simply a culture un-understood by those of us up here.
--A series on Hulu called "Horace and Pete" started out quite humorously and then moved right into some very dark territory.  The strange thing is that it was written by Louis C.K.  who I do not even like.  He starred in it as well.  Disturbing but excellent.
--Speaking of disturbing, the Netflix movie "13"--about the rise in prison populations especially among young adults of color.  Ugh--and likely to get worse in the coming 4 years.
--Over the last 2-3 weeks, I have had the most touching and intimate conversations with 3 long standing friends/relatives that I can remember.  They strengthened me in terms of the historical ties I have with them.
CN, a friend from kindergarten, and I discussed our childhoods in a way that I could not do with anyone else on the planet.  JC, a cousin, and I wrote and spoke about families in a way that I do not remember doing with other relatives.  RS, a colleague, thanked me for something that I never thought was so important. These three (and my own family) give me the strength if not the courage to deal with the upcoming 4 years.  Which leads me to....
--The increase in anti-semitism and racist behavior is directly attributable to the man whose name will not be mentioned--if only because he does not criticize it.  He who has an Orthodox Jewish son-in law and daughter. It is as if he has given permission to the hate mongers to come out of hiding and join the mainstream.
--His appointment as Israeli ambassador is disgusting.  He opposes a two state solution, he wants to move the capital to Jerusalem, and he is a strong supporter of Netanyahu.
--Dershowitz and his crew were all over John Kerry who, in turn, sharply went after Netanyahu and the whole right wing Israeli government.  The Dersh is an ego maniac with no sense of balance in terms of the Middle East. He was joined by all sorts of American Jews who can hardly wait for the guy whose name will not be mentioned to take over.
--Be careful if you have insurance via the Affordable Care Act.
--I HOPE YOU AND YOURS HAVE A HAPPY, HEALTHY, AND PEACEFUL 2017.

SPORTS TALK
--I knew Michigan would lose last night and can only hope Harbaugh can pull it together next year--but they do not do well against those faster Southern teams.  Mr. Thomas went off for over 50 last night--and yet I was left feeling like they should have blown out Miami but they struggled.  I am of the opinion that home field is important to the Pats and that is why their game tomorrow against the fish is important.

Adios

NOMINEES FOR AMBASSADOR

The following information has been leaked only to me.  I am proud to share this scoop with my readers. First the context.  Back in the olden days (to borrow a line from a close relative), I used to watch TV on Saturdays.  Sky King, Andy Devine, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Tarzan, and that kid on the elephant.  But then came wrestling shows.  So it was with much pleasure and, yes, surprise that I learned the following.  Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant are being nominated for Ambassadorships.  Oh joy, oh bestill my heart.  But, alas and alack, Andre has passed away.  But the Hulk will be the new Drug Czar because, well, he has a lot of experience with drugs.  So share the news especially those of you in my age range who just might have seen these folks way back when.  You do know our almost Commerce Secretary, the wife of the infamous Vince McMahon, was the COO of the WWF.  You knew that, right?  Which totally and completely explains her qualifications.

Then there is this (to steal John Oliver's intro):
--I love Mr. Zimmerman, the winner of this year's Nobel prize for literature.  But who the hell is he to both dis the ceremony and dis Obama in the same month?  C'mon, Bob.
--So Ben Carson, whose main claim to fame is that he is inarticulate, will be the Secretary of something or other as will that fine Texan Ric Perry.  And why not put someone who does not believe in climate change in charge of the EPA? That whole cabinet is dominated by white men who seriously have no experience in the fields they are now managing.  Our Secretary of State will be the former CEO of Exxon Mobil and has no international experience at all except in making oil deals.
--From my Baltimore correspondent:  An article in the Baltimore Business Journal analyzes the success of Obamacare in Maryland.  Success mind you just as the man who shall not be named goes about its reduction if not elimination.
--In the recent NY times mag, an article about the folks who are falling into the gap created by income limits on Obamacare and their states refusal to be flexible with their Medicaid dollars.  Do not ever ever move to Kansas.
--I love love love to read the wedding announcements.  Here is what I learned:  People hire dance instructors to choreograph their first dance.  Really, I guess they have nothing better to do with their money.
--I worry that the Syrian families my synagogue is sponsoring will be victims of the new administration and get stuck in the refugee camps they live in now.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OF YOU.  A WISH FOR A HEALTHY AND PEACEFUL YEAR.


SPORTS TALK
The Red Flops got a great pitcher in Sale and now look like they have 3 dominant starters.  But my Yanks signing of Chapman I am not sure about.  Even though they needed a closer since Betances is not the guy, I think Chapman is over rated and looked hittable in the world series.  Ah, but Mr. Brady wants to play until he is 45.  The other night he was nearly perfecto--and his offensive line is strong and stable unlike last year. They actually looked like Super Bowl material.

See ya.