The News And Commentary for Thursday

Just a few more days left in 2023, and I am here at home, in my Hunker-Bunker that overlooks the Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains in the distance. Well, ordinarily, I’d see all that, but it is still a bit dark and a bit foggy outside at the moment. My cat is snoring on her pedestal next to my desk. I’ve scoured the Intertubes for news that tickled my interest for more than a nano-second, that didn’t have anything to do with Nikki Haley neglecting to mention slavery as the underlying cause for the Civil War. (oh, the outrage)

I have a full day planned for my time off from my family responsibilities at work I’m going to spend the day coding my database project that I hope to sell some day for a pile of cash. FUN FACT: I’ve never coded for SQL Server before, but you are never too old to learn. It’s what keeps a person’s mind sharp as they get older. Math and music. Politics makes you dumb.

Headlines That Caught My Eye This Morning

On your marks, get set, and in no particular order:

Item 1: Boebert switches congressional districts, avoiding a Democratic opponent who has far outraised her

What, exactly, has this woman accomplished representing her current district other than being a constant embarrassment? Now that it looks like she isn’t going to get re-elected there, she is going next door to try and win there? Is she that desperate to be in Washington DC and continue to do nothing? Isn’t there another Republican in that district that maybe could go and do something other than squabble with their own party?

This is another reason for term limits. Congress would work a lot better if it got a Congressional Flush every 4-12 years, depending on the ~~toilet bowl~~ er chamber.

Item 2: Tom Smothers, half of the famed comedy and music duo the Smothers Brothers, dies at 86

I haven’t heard about these two for … decades. I honestly thought they both died years ago.

Item 3: Russia, Iran Officially Ditch U.S. Dollar for Trade

Without really reading this story, I am guessing that they are getting around US sanctions this way. But I am reminded of the actual reason GW Bush took us to war in Iraq: Saddam was making noise about evading sanctions by trading his oil in Euros instead of dollars, and the fear was that this would start a trend away from the dollar.

Is history repeating so soon? How will we react this time, with the current tensions in the world?

May we live in interesting times…

Item 4: Liars, expulsions and near-fistfights: Congress plumbs the depths in 2023

Hell, Congress still has a LOT of depth to dive to, when compared to the period of time between the Civil War and WWI. Corruption, graft, fighting, factions — was rampant. There was no 24/7/365 instant news coverage, and talking heads telling you how to think about it. Washington DC was some distant place that really meant nothing to someone out in the rest of the nation.

You know what they say about politicians… never forget that. Democrat/Republican, no real difference. Like old fish.

Item 5: Biden Knew Carter Was in Trouble in 1979. Now He’s in the Same Boat.

I expect that someone is, or will be sitting Joe down for ‘that talk’. The problem is, I don’t really see the Democratic back-up. Kamala Harris is never going to be able to step up and stand a serious chance of winning. I can’t see where she has really stood out as the first woman vice president in history. “She hasn’t been terrible, but she hasn’t stood out”, would be hard to run on.

Biden is not demented. He’s not senile, nor does he have Alzheimer’s. He’s old, yes. He’s had a life-long speech impediment that can make him utter some stupid shit sometimes — check. Oh, and he has never really been all that bright of a bulb to begin with. Basically an “Average Joe” who went into retail politics and climbed the ladder to the top from his base in Delaware. The fact he managed to become president after coming out of retirement during a global pandemic and economic downturn just goes to show how badly people wanted to get rid of Trump. Jimmy Carter could have run — and won against Trump. The basic mindset of the American voter in 2020 was that they wanted some kind of known stability and a return to the former “norm” while the nation/world recovered from the threats of a mutating novel virus that was killing a million or so people here in the US alone.

But it also took the votes of a LOT of younger people who don’t normally vote. Many of them with ideas that most of you would be opposed to. I now know how my parents looked at my generation, which is similar to how I see the current up-and-comers:

These kids are disillusioned with Biden because of his support for Israel and not the Palestinian civilians. They are also turned of by his old age. Picture Gene McCarthyism back in 1968. The idealist of youth. Biden no longer fits that bill.

Item 6: Top Biden administration officials meet with Mexican president amid record migrant crossings

Mexico’s president said last week he’s willing to help address the issue, but he wants the U.S. to provide more aid to the region and ease sanctions Cuba and Venezuela.

THIS. If you want to stop the HUGE number of people swarming the border, the best thing to do is to address the cause. We used to give a lot of money and material aid to these nations of origin to keep the entire region stable. It was cheaper than to use our military. But over the years, we’ve taken away most of that aid and support, and have applied sanctions against Venezuela when they rebelled against our lack of influences. The crime: communism. *shudder*

Start sending aid to the region, with the only strings attach is that they keep their people safe and happy on their side of the border. Maybe then we can boost them economically by locating some manufacturing in their shithole countries…

Item 7: Ex-Prosecutor Fears Supreme Court Will Make ‘Horrific Ruling’ on Trump

By ‘horrific’ he means that the Supreme Robes may overturn the Colorado Supreme Robes ruling to keep Trump’s name off of the Republican primary ballot.

I think the Colorado Supreme Robes reached too early. The Republican primary is a Party matter that uses the public voting system to collect and tally the votes. At this point in the process, it is of no official concern to the court or any other entity other than the Republican Party. It only becomes an official concern during the general election. The Court can apply Section 3 at that point and make a decision.

But this is just premature ejaculation.

Item 8: Israeli High Court prepares to strike down Basic Law

8-7 to block Netanyahu’s attempt to “overhaul” the judicial. This ruling would come at a bad time for the future of Netanyahu’s government.