This just in: I’m sure Republicans see themselves as patriotic. I think I’m going to try that on for size. I will claim to be a patriot and then tell you why…as if I was a Republican.

I’m a Republican patriot so I am against mask mandates. I feel it is an American right to vastly extend the length of time the country needs to suffer from the pandemic and it’s my right to aggressively infect other people with the virus against their will.

I’m a patriot because I believe that Trump won the election. I believe that it is unlikely Biden won for 2 main reasons: (1) I am a Republican and (2) Other Republicans told me Trump won. As a patriot I strongly support the hunt for why Trump lost. I think it is important that Republican state legislatures are able to overturn the will of the people because voter fraud may be so clever that we can’t see it but know it happens every time one of our own loses an election.

I’m a patriot so I support our country distancing itself from NATO while supporting Russia. NATO is bad and Putin is good because Donald Trump said so.

I’m a patriot so I think white lives matter. By this I mean, while lives matter more. We are a white Christian nation and letting non-whites and non-Christians into our country weakens us.

I’m a patriot so I am not getting a vaccine. I saw on Facebook where someone knows someone that got a headache from the vaccine and was cured by taking horse deworming medicine. It’s a free country so don’t you try to tell me that science is right and all of the websites I visit are wrong.

I’m a patriot so I feel it is my duty to curse at and threaten anyone that feels differently than I do about any issue. It’s called First Amendment rights.

I’m a patriot so I can carry my unregistered gun anywhere. This is my Second Amendment right. The founding fathers wanted me to be able to fight off a tyrannical government. For example, if a president ignored the Constitution, broke with our allies and started to partner up with a communist government, we could stand up and fight. Unless that president is a Republican.

I’m a patriot so I have the right to protest. I can even attack a national institution like Congress because I am a citizen and I therefore own this. Since it is my right, I can lawfully attack and kill police officers that are trying to stop me.

I’m a patriot so I can take up arms against anyone that I personally believe stands against what I stand for. I can threaten and curse. I can go online and masturbate to QAnon. I can ignore facts. I can support anyone that I want, including those that are trying to end our democracy because I am uniformed and mad that my life is not what I want it to be.

Time to save the world.

But first…I need to shower the Republican off of me.

Up, up and away…

Jim

This just in: I have no art gene. I cannot create it. I can’t imagine it. But I know it when I hear it. For today’s post, I’m going to show a few Musical Hit videos that are remakes of famous songs. The artists here took an existing popular song and added their own twist. I don’t want to say the new versions are better than the original. However, it takes some artistic vision to take something perfect and make it possibly even better.

The first video is a remake of 16 Tons. The group is Southern Raised. Originally done by Tennessee Ernie Ford.

The next is Hazy Shade of Winter by the Bangles. Originally done by Simon and Garfunkel.

The next song (actually just music) is Sultans of Swing by 40 Fingers. Originally done by Dire Straits.

This next song is I’d ;Love to Change the World by Philip Sayce. Originally done by Ten Years After.

This final song is Sweet Dreams by Marylyn Manson. Originally done by Annie Lennox.

So there you have it. Feel free to comment if there is another one that fits this mold that I should know about.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

This just in: Winston Churchill once said, “Democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the others that have been tried.”

Without a lot of expertise about “all the others that have been tried,” I get his point and think he may be right.

Today, I’m making another list. This is a list of government failures and….since we are a democracy…these are our failures as well.

1. We don’t have Universal Healthcare while dozens of other countries have shown how it can be made to work perfectly well. Rich people are unaffected by this fact.
2. Drugs cost far more in the United States than in all other countries. Rich people are unaffected by this.
3. While both political parties cater to special interests, only the Republican Party openly governs in accordance with the wishes of the highest bidder. Rich people benefit from this.
4. Republicans can stop a voting rights act, even though they are the minority party in the country. Racists benefit from this.
5. We can’t pass a Build Back Better plan that is aggressive on climate change. Big oil and coal benefit from this.
6. We can’t raise taxes on the rich and on corporations to pay for the Build Back Better. The rich benefit from this.
7. Misinformation is unregulated causing people to act in ways that are in direct opposition to their own benefit. Republicans, and thus the rich, benefit from this.
8. We only educate our population through k-12 for free instead of paying for college education. The rich benefit from this.
9. Child care and parental leave in the United States is far worse than in other countries. The rich are indifferent to this.
10. White collar crime is rarely punished, is not timely and is disproportionately inadequate. The rich benefit from this.
11. We do little more than pay lip service to climate change. The rich benefit from this.

Interesting, at least to me. I started making this list and decided after the first point, to make a quick note as to who might benefit. After 11 points, I began to see a trend. Another interesting point is that I cannot find a single failure of government that benefits the poor instead of the rich.

Reach your own conclusion.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

This just in: Note the title of this blog. While I try to be factual, I don’t have time to do hours and hours of research. So, in this post, I’m going to post what I think “appears” to be the rationale behind recent political choices/actions.

Issue #1: Let’s go back to the tax cut in 2017. The GOP sold it to the American public saying, “We will have record economic growth. It will bring manufacturing back to the states. Money to the rich will trickle down to you and finally, you will be able to fill out a postcard to file your taxes.” NONE of this happened. The national debt went up by $7.8 trillion in 4 years.

The motivation: The GOP is funded by a few special interests and billionaires. This tax break made those interested parties extremely wealthy. Those GOP supporters, in turn, funnel money back to the GOP. So, this was essentially a money grab.

Issue #2: Democrats are trying to pass a voting rights act. The ONLY rationale is to make sure that voting is safe and accessible for ALL Americans. Yesterday, in Congress, this bill was put up for a debate. The Republican Party immediately filibustered it which means they stopped all debate from even happening and thus, killed the bill.

The motivation: The GOP is endorsing The Big Lie, that Trump actually won the election. They do this knowing that Trump lost and there was no fraud. However, in the name of protecting elections which they have now framed as corrupt, they are passing all sorts of voting restrictions laws. This will make it harder for people to vote that the GOP knows will not vote for them. They are also putting in laws that will allow a state’s Republican legislature to overturn any election and put in their own person. The GOP is doing this because, for decades, their base of old white men has been shrinking and the only way they can win is to either (1) cheat or (2) ignore the will of the people.

Issue #3 There is a congressional committee looking into the January 6th assault on the Capital. Some of the people the committee wants to hear from have defied subpoenas. This means that people that have information about the assault are refusing to testify. The committee has asked Congress to assess criminal charges against those that refuse to testify. The Republican Party is set to vote against this. THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IS VOTING AGAINST MAKING PEOPLE SHOW UP TO TESTIFY WHEN ORDERED TO DO SO BY CONGRESS.

The motivation: Several GOP members, including Trump, his chief of staff and the minority leader in the House are involved. This investigation goes to the very heart of the Republican Party plan to stay in power and lead from a minority position. They are involved and they don’t want anyone to know this. They have gone so far as to compare the January 6th assault as a tourist walk-about.

Issue #4: A hugely popular plan to Build Back Better is in danger of becoming a nothing-burger. This bill originally cost $350 billion per year for 10 years. By comparison, this is about half of what we spend on the military. By comparison, the Trump administration gave away nearly $2 trillion per year via the 2017 tax cuts and other over spending. The BBB plan funds climate change, poverty, education, infrastructure and overall modernization of our country. Two democrats and every Republican opposes it. This is enough to make it not happen.

The motivation: Republicans oppose it for several reasons: (1) It isn’t their idea so they will get no credit for this very popular initiative, (2) Aside from voter suppression, opposing the Democrats on every issue is their only platform, (3) The GOP is funded by big oil that wants to continue to pollute the earth, (4) the GOP is funded by large corporations that don’t want to see their taxes go up, (5) the GOP is funded by billionaires that don’t want to see their taxes go up. (6) the GOP is funded by special interests such are Big Pharma that don’t want their profits reduced. Democrat Manchin is against it because he make $500K a year on his investments in coal. Democrat Sinema is against it because she has made it clear she will accept money from any entity willing to pay her a bribe. Companies have noticed this and she is making a ton of money, 90% of which comes from outside her own state. NO ONE IS OPPOSING THIS BECAUSE THEIR CONSTITUENTS DON’T WANT IT.

Issue #5: Congress needs to raise the debt ceiling in order to pay its debts. This isn’t about the budget. It’s about approving spending that has already occurred. Spending line the $7.8 trillion in over spending from the Trump era. This is basically agreeing to pay our bills. Republicans voted to not even allow a debate about this. They will not allow a debate about paying our debt. This is the same as saying, “We will not, as a country, pay our debts.” This includes things like Social Security or military paychecks.

The motivation: This one is simple. The Republican Party is counting on the ignorance of the American public. They want you to believe they are fighting to control spending. While this is a complete falsehood, that is how they are framing it. So they want us to default on our debt and send the country into a recession so they can blame Democrats for overspending even though the spending and the paying are different issues.

All of this is being done in plain site and yet, millions of people are still in support of these people. Interestingly, these are the same people that fear vaccines while taking horse deworming medicine.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

This just in:  One of my favorite movies of all time is Heaven Can Wait. In it, there is a situation where a board meeting says they need to sometimes kill a dolphin because it gets caught in tuna fishing nets.  Warren Beatty suggests taking the time to free the dolphin even though that will cost money.  He then says, “So what if we pay a little more to get our tuna.  We can charge more.  We can have a campaign that says “Would you pay a dime to save a dolphin?””  He then states the obvious, “We don’t care how much it costs.  We care how much we make.”

We don’t care how much it costs.  We care how much we make.

This is the essence of the Build Back Better plan.  No only will it be paid for be higher taxes on those making over $400K a year, but it also will pay back by having a larger, healthier and more motivated workforce.

Feeding children will help our GDP.

Educating our children will enable people to get better paying jobs and help our GDP.

Helping with childcare will free up people to work and  help with GDP.

Building up a green economy will help with GDP.

Updating our infrastructure will create jobs and public access to jobs and help with the GDP.

You know what doesn’t help with the GDP?  Tax cuts for corporations and wealthy Republican donors.

GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product.  It is a common metric for measuring economic growth.  If GDP goes up, then the economy is improving.

Build Back Better will help with the GDP and easily pay for itself.

Who’s against it?  Three camps oppose it. (1) The GOP is against it because opposing the Democrat agenda is their only platform (if you don’t count voter suppression). (2) Manchin is against it because if could hurt his vast interests in coal and (3) Sinema is against it because lobbyists are paying her to be against it.

Complaining about the cost makes no sense since the net cost (cost after payback) is zero. 

It’s my view that we shouldn’t care how much it costs.  We should care about how much we make.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

This just in:  I spent last Saturday morning at Chrissy Field in San Francisco and I wanted to tell you about the best part.

We got there at around 9:00 am.  The weather was perfect; 68 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.  But that’s not the best part.

At Chrissy Field, you can walk along a beach on the bay.  The Golden Gate bridge looms large about half a mile away.  But that’s not the best part.

We had our dog, Levi.  He is a huge, 125lb Bouvier Des Flandras.  He is a fairly rare breed and yet, the first person we met on the beach had her Bouvier with her.  There are a lot of dogs on this beach but this is the first time we met one like ours.  The dogs played as we visited with the owner; comparing notes on our “good boys.”  But that wasn’t the best part.

We decided to head west.  This is not our normal route as West has leash requirements while East does not.   So why go West?  For the experience.  But that’s not the best part.

As we would walk along, we, along with our dog, would greet other people.  People are always curious about Levi so there is often a “What kind of dog is that” or “Can I pet him?”  Levi is essentially a mobile conversation starter.  For the next mile or so, we met and chatted with maybe a dozen different people.  But that’s not the best part.

At the end of the beach, the Golden Gate bridge is very close.  There are a few buildings there as well as a pier.  In one of the buildings, we got a couple of coffees and then sat with Levi on the quay wall, looking out over the bay.  As always, people stopped to inquire about Levi.  But that’s not the best part.

A guy came along with a fairly big dog that somehow reminded us of a hippy (the dog, not the guy).  It was very curious and yet, laid back.  Now it was our turn to ask about a dog.  It turns out that this dog is half Bernese mountain dog and half….Bouvier Des Flandras!  The owner was very nice and took the time to send me a link to the kennel where they got their dog.  But that’s not the best part.

We went out onto the pier where there were a lot of people fishing.  People alone, people in pairs, whole families, an entire spectrum of people and relationships sharing the commonality of fishing for crabs. We stopped and talked to maybe 20 people.  They’d ask about the dog and we’d ask about the fishing.   It seemed like someone was always hauling in a crab.  Tourist like myself would be offered a chance to hold one or even toss an understized one back.  There was a small Asian Grandma that was handed a crab.  The woman was small, old and hunched over but she squeeled with delight while getting her picture taken by her family.  There were bar-b-ques going on.  We met a dad and his daughter who was home from school.  A group of 5 year old kids were on an outing and were having the time of their life as crabs were hauled up for their inspection.  A giant seal patrolled nearby, as curious about the people on the pier as they were about him.  We must have spent an hour actively interacting with the people on the pier. But that’s not the best part.

Eventually, it was time to head back to the car.  The dog was worn out.  We were ready to get some lunch.  It had been a great day.  The setting was perfect and all the people we met made everything even better.

As I was driving home across the Golden Gate bridge, I looked over at my wife and knew, as I always know, that she is the best part of everything in my life.

The day was perfect but only because she was there with me.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away….

Jim

This just in: I’m at the ripe old age of 63 and have been getting older for about 63 years. I thought I’d take a few minutes to write what this has meant to me lately.

Getting old means always getting your flu shot.

Getting old means “saving for retirement” is a real and present thing.

Getting old means groaning when you get out of bed.

Getting old means people sometimes think you have more wisdom than you do.

Getting old means, you injure more easily and heal more slowly.

Getting old means you understand that “You are what you eat.”

Getting old means you don’t get the music kids are listening to today.

Getting old means that a comfortable car is preferable to a sporty car.

Getting old means your life insurance bill is going up quickly.

Getting old means, looking back at your childhood and thinking, “Hey…I really did grow up in Mayberry.”

Getting old means getting used to people not understanding references like “Mayberry.”

Getting old means eye doctor appointments every 3 years.

Getting old means being aware that you are not as good a driver as you once were.

Getting old means eating less or gaining more.

Getting old means going to bed at 8:00 pm.

Getting old means getting up to pee 2 or 3 times during the night.

Getting old means you have more of life to look back on fondly.

Getting old means appreciating things like farting with no “uh oh.”

Getting old means having to turn the TV up louder every year.

Getting old means that you may never actually sprint any distance, anywhere ever again.

Getting old means that hair will now grow out of your nose and ears.

Getting old means wrinkles in you skin.

Getting old means facing mortality and actually beginning to look forward to whatever is next.

As I age, I think my body is in more pain and my soul is in more peace.

I think I’ll take that.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

This just in: I think its time for me to express a bit of appreciation for a few things that I don’t want to take for granted.

Let’s start with this – I’m 63 years old with the mind of a teenager. I know that when I look in a mirror, that old guy looking back is me. But then, I turn away and he no longer exists. He tries to make himself known and its a constant struggle to not give in to him; to say, “I’m getting too old to do things that I used to do.”

Part of my battle is to exercise daily. Knowing myself, there are a couple of things I do to help with this. First, the exercise has to be relatively easy to access. I don’t want to have to drive 20 minutes to a gym. Secondly, I need to track what I do. I have a list of 20 things I try to do daily, half of those are exercises. This list has been maintained for years. And finally, I have to not overdo it. I tend to lock onto something I like and then do that to excess. So…Accessible, Trackable and Moderation.

Now for the gratitude; Gratitude for the conditions that make the above possible.

I have a hiking trail about 200 yards from my house. I can ride a stationary bike on my back porch while overlooking a tidal river. A 5 minute drive takes me to a recreational area that has: (1) A skateboard park (2) Hiking trails, (3) Tennis courts (4) Batting cages, (5) Miniature golf, (6) A driving range, (7) Outdoor soccer fields, (8) a golf course, (9) indoor soccer fields and (10) A rock wall climbing gym.

How lucky is that!

The rock wall gym and indoor soccer field is the latest addition. Whomever is responsible for this place needs to be given a lot of credit. The building is huge and yet blends into the surrounding countryside. The roof is covered with solar panels. There is a giant parking lot and at least 25 hookups for electric vehicles. The new road approaching it is well design and attractive.

I have never been rock wall climbing before and at 63, why start now?

Well, I started. I climb every day. Sometimes I stop by for just 15 minutes and climb a couple of walls. Other times I’m there for a couple of hours. The staff feels like a bunch of 25 year old “surfer dudes.” Everything is “cool” and they are super helpful. There have to be about 50 different walls to climb with something for every level of skill. Everything is safe; in fact, I had to take a 2-hour class just to learn how many ways I need to be safe. The place has been open for a month and I’ve been going for a week. I meet someone new every day. It’s much different from a gym where you go and do your own thing. Here, everyone helps and encourages everyone else.

This place is a gift and for that, I am grateful.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

This just in: For me, quotes are like poetry or art – a lot of meaning in few, if any words. Here are some of my favorites.

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” Upton Sinclair

“The amount of energy necessary to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it.” Alberto Brandolini

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Wayne Dyer

“I’ve lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.” Mark Twain

“Nothing happens until something moves.” Albert Einstein

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” Henry Ford

“A ship is safe in harbor but that is not what ships are built for.” William Shedd

“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” Arthur Schopenhauer

“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.” Ernest Benn

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” Anne Frank

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

“I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.” Friedrich Nietzsche

“One of the advantages of being disorganized is that one is always having surprising discoveries.” AA Milne

“Happiness is a warm puppy.” Charlie Brown

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim

This just in: I have a theory. I think that Joe Manchin (senator from WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (senator from AZ) have been bought and paid for.

Manchin and Sinema are the lone 2 senators that are holding up a $3.5 trillion dollar spending bill that will bring the United States up to speed with the rest of the world. Without it, we will continue to lag farther and farther behind until we become insignificant bystanders in the world order.

I understand why Republicans are against it. They only have to platform positions and they stand firmly behind each one. These positions are (1) The election was rigged so we need to change laws that will allow a state’s Republican legislatures to overturn the voting public and put in a Republican instead and (2) They are against anything the Democrats propose no matter how popular it is with their constituents.

By why are Manchin and Sinema opposed to this bill? Could it be that they are representing the will of the people that put them into office? This seems unlikely since their constituents approved the contents of the spending bill by a margin of 2:1.

Could it be that Manchin, who reportedly makes $500,000 a year from coal investments doesn’t like the climate change part of the bill? He refuses to say what he doesn’t like in the bill but my guess is this allows him to pretend this is not about his coal mines.

Could it be that Sinema suddenly thinks we should pay skyrocketing prices for drugs? Or, did the recent massive contribution to her campaign fun by Big Pharma cause her to vote down a bill that would have resulted in lower drug prices?

Manchin, talking to reporters from his yacht tried to explain his position but, all I heard was “let them eat cake” or the modern day equivalent. While he spends a lot of time on his yacht that was paid for by coal, he claims that helping people with food, education and healthcare will lead them to feel “entitled.” This is, of course, complete bullshit.

Sinema seems to not be able to say why she is against the spending bill and had little time for reporters as she runs from one fundraiser to another.

Let’s take a minute to reflect on this bill. 15 Nobel prize winning economists think it would be great for our country. The vast majority of Americans want all or parts of what is in the bill. The bill will be paid for by taxing those making more than $400K in a year. The Democrat Party wants it. The President of the United States wants it. The only ones against it are elected Republicans and Manchin and Sinema.

I flew into LAX international the other day from Amsterdam. The difference between these two airports was striking. While Amsterdam looked as modern and clean as an airport could imaginably be, LAX looked like an unpainted, cement walled relic from some third world country. It’s embarassing.

So, when Biden fails to get his agenda accomplished and Republicans blame this on Democrats, you know that Manchin and Sinema put their own fortunes ahead of the country and paved the way for Trump to return.

Time to save the world.

Up, up and away…

Jim