Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

 As you can tell, it's been a very long time since we met up on here.  In fact, it's taken me a couple of hours to figure out how to get back in here.  So.... I am "contemplating" (get it?) revamping things on here and putting it back into use.  Stay tuned for more to come. - Reed

Today's kids will soon be charged with cleaning up after us oldsters

Aren’t babies cute?  Sure enough, but our current crop had better enjoy babyhood and toddlerdom while they have it; because very soon they will be called upon to save the planet--from us!  Those youngsters who are just now beginning to walk and talk and will soon be heading off to preschool are facing a time but a couple of decades from now when they are going to come to realize what a huge burden rests on their shoulders.   The world is going to be leaning heavily on them to undo the pain and irreparable damage their parents and grandparents’ dumb decisions have inflicted on human civilization and the earth.  Let’s be honest and face the facts.   We older folks—those of us between about age 15 and about age 75—inherited society at precisely the same time we inherited a giant romper-room of new, dazzling (and addictive!) technological toys.  And, since it all was new and exciting, we became so mesmerized that we obsessed with it, escaped into it and neglected everything else.   We became lazy and got in the habit of only bothering with the parts of life of that we found fun, easy and dazzling.

We’ve had lots of help, of course.  Along with that shiny new playground of bells and whistles came a whole new industry of techno-opportunism:  TV networks, talk-show propagandists, and ruthless, unscrupulous, valueless techno-developers and marketing wizards (including those of the smart-phone, app,  social media and gaming ilk) just  lying in the weeds with quivers of deadly lies and dangerous temptations, waiting to pounce on the gullible and the stupid--ready to suck us into buying more and more of their glittery wares, and eager to get us so addicted that we would be perfectly okay with letting the world around us go to pot.  We bought it hook line and sinker.  And that’s why are at each other’s throats, quick to judge, and just as quick to throw stones.  That’s why we elect inept leaders.  That’s why we love to believe in fake news, conspiracy theories, and bogus advertising hyperbole.  That’s why we are jittery, irritable, and attention-span challenged.  That’s why we no longer care about religion, or old-fashioned ethics, or family values.  That’s why we have lost the ability to control our own destinies.   All of that stuff takes way too much work, focus, and serious contemplation.  And it is boring.

We, the old folks, are a lost cause.  I’m sorry, but it’s true; we are what we are.  That’s why I am hoping our kids, grandkids and great grandkids, today’s babies and toddlers, will have what it takes to rescue human civilization.  I hope they rise to the occasion and make it their calling to fix everything we have neglected or screwed up.  They, after all, will almost certainly have a much different view of technology than we have.  It won’t be new and dazzling to them.  The technology of things, for them, will be silent, behind the scenes, unseen.  They will take it for granted and, hopefully, will not be spending sleepless nights camped out on sidewalks salivating for the latest upgrade to their gizmos, or checking their phone every sixty seconds for an overlooked text or to make sure their list of friends and likes is keeping up with those of their peers.  The low-hanging fruit we clamber after will by that time be gone, picked over, and the world of these kids will be one where they can, hopefully, devote their efforts to looking forward…and not down at a cellphone.

What are the challenges they need to work on?  Well, they are many.  But let me give you a couple of my thoughts.  If I had children just about to enter school, I would want some assurance that the schools I choose will steer my child in the right direction, down a different path than the one we boomers, X-ers, Y-ers and millennials took.  I would want old-fashioned values to be taught, of course--and enforced.   And common decency.  And manners.   But there are a couple of areas that I consider of paramount importance and worth underscoring.  These are the things I would sit down and discuss at length with the teachers and administrators before I allowed my child to be under their tutelage.

For starters, I would have to know the answer to this:  (1)  Is your school going to show my child lots of videos of what warming oceans are doing to the centuries old coral colonies of the Great Barrier Reef and why they are dying, permanently,  along with the thousands of plant and animal species that depend on them?   Will you be devoting whole classes to the demise of honey bees, monarch butterflies and lightning bugs?  And tigers and lions?  And giraffes?  And gorillas?  And rhinos?  And turtles?  And the world’s largest trees?    If they can’t guarantee my child a serious indoctrination on these very real existential threats, then I would likely be looking into homeschooling. 

And, then there’s the matter of war and peace.  (2)  Will you spend whole classes teaching my children what being the greatest country and strongest in the world really means?  Will you teach them that it will be up to them to build a nation that leads by example?  One that can be caring when care is needed and tough when injustice and evil threaten?  And will you be teaching them that saber-rattling by tough-talking leaders is a very dangerous thing if we, the people, are not prepared to grab those sabers and use them?  That, if they choose to have a country that acts and sounds tough, they’d better be prepared to put down the selfie stick and put on a pair of boots when some enemy calls our bluff, which they inevitably will; hit the battlefield running, and proudly sacrifice ample amounts of their own time, convenience and blood for the nation they believe in.

We, the older generations, have never been inclined to be bothered by such things.  We are generally allergic to boots on the ground, or anything else that interrupts our look-at-me-I’m-so-awesome approach to life.  Let us hope the next generation is wiser and more ambitious—does less tip-toeing through the tweets and tinder, and takes the future of humankind and the earth infinitely more seriously than we old-timers have.

So, is Trump now going to follow through with his campaign threats?

Do you suppose President Trump will, on Day One, start disassembling Obama's pet policies (thus throwing millions of Americans off of healthcare, reneging on an international agreement we had with our allies over Iran, and so on).

Will he tell us the week after his inauguration exactly how the IRS is progressing on that audit and how soon it will be over so he can release his tax returns?  Will he immediately get on the phone to Mexico and demand enough pesos to build that big beautiful wall he's been dreaming about?  Will he lock the gates at the borders and chase off everyone who speaks Spanish or Arabic?  Will he immediately start spending day after day in various courtrooms, suing all those women who lied about him and his penchant for groping, as he said he would, while doing his part on alternate days to make sure Hillary rots in prison?

Hey, come on, media.  Hold his feet to the fire. Either he follows through diligently on all these campaign promises that got his followers so stoked, or he lets it all fade into the gathering fog, therefore painting himself as the lying opportunist many of us suspected he was, a scammer who was just blowing smoke to get elected.

My prediction?  Left to his own devices (that is, unless someone presses him relentlessly), I think he will go utterly silent on all of those things. We won't hear another word about walls, or women, Obamacare or crooked Hillary. Because, it's like this. Trump enthusiasts don't really care about his campaign promises, and he knows it.  They only care to the extent that they found his verbalization and theatrics to be entertaining while they lasted.

It was all hyperbole.  We knew it.  Trump knew it.  And his tribesmen knew it; but they didn't give it a second thought--because these are guys who live in a world of hyperbole.

Ever listen to working dudes at a bar?  Or at the ballgame?  Or in the locker room? Or at the backyard barbecue?  We speak in overblown, nonsensical nonsense constantly.  It's hilarious stuff and it keeps us entertained. We despise this politician or that religion! And everything we love is always the best in history!  And the things we hate, the most disastrous ever!  And, by God, we are gonna whup the ass of anyone who is un-American enough to disagree! Yup, that is called "guy talk".

Trump has become fluent in it--a lingo loaded with exaggerated stream-of-consciousness rhetoric that sounds to the ear of the working man exactly the way he and his buddies themselves talk and think. Sure, they know it is nearly all B.S.  But that's okay; it keeps them laughing and keeps their anger level up to an acceptable level. 

Saying that stuff on the stump served him well, but President-elect Donald Trump knows full well that his people no longer care one way or the other about any of those things now.  And didn't really take it to the bank even back then.  They were entertained for a few months, and that's all that matters.  It was Apprentice-II, the Sequel...and that season has ended.

So, no, don't look for any tax returns or Mexican walls or lawsuits against gropees anytime soon---or anytime in the next four years for that matter.  Trump will quietly let those matters die on the vine.  Unless, of course, someone in the media (or his opposition camp) is concerned enough to keep asking him about it every day, day after day after day.

They should.  Because the single reason he got elected was the entertainment value of those wild claims and threats.  And, if we let him slide on them, he gets off scott-free with fifteen months of lying and deceiving the American voters--a flim-flam tactic that got him the biggest prize of his business career: the coveted office of Leader of the Free World.



    

Evan McMullin & Mindy Finn sound like folks I would trust

I am one of those who has been tearing his hair out of late over the depressing choice of presidential hopefuls we face.  I have decided that I cannot in good conscience cast a vote for Clinton (due to the continuous whirlwind of uncertainty around her ethics), Trump (due to his unstable temperament and lack of understanding of any and all things Presidential), Johnson (due to his libertarianism, which I oppose--although Bill Weld seems like a sensible guy), or Stein (too, too, too liberal for a down-home conservative like me).  So, I am now throwing my support behind a guy who seems to me like a genuine straight-shooter and a real conservative (but a compassionate one):  Evan McMullin.

You no doubt have heard little or nothing about him.  So, let me share with you a brief email I received from his campaign.  I hope you will have a look at their credentials and see if you don't find McMullin and his running mate Mindy Finn to be the most appealing pair in the race:

Friend,

Americans want candidates they can vote for: principled, patriotic, with a positive vision for the future.

Those candidates are Evan McMullin and Mindy Finn.

Evan's entire career — from CIA operative, to investment banker, to chief policy director of the House GOP — has been in service to this nation and the institutions that drive it.

 Mindy is the founder and president of Empowered Women, a bi-partisan organization that gives voice to a bold, new generation of American women in civic life. She has served as an advisor to the Republican National Committee, President George W. Bush, and Governor Mitt Romney; and developed business partnerships for Twitter. She has spent her career in service to the conservative movement and expanding it so it works for every American.

 When Americans were faced with two of the least qualified presidential candidates in modern history, Evan and Mindy knew they couldn't stand on the sidelines anymore. They stepped up and decided to pursue the cause of American renewal and to give Americans leaders who will put country over power, selflessness over worship of self, and principle over popularity.

But they can't do it alone — your support is what powers this campaign.

There is a better path, a better ticket, and a better future for America — and it starts with you. Elections are won by those who stand up. You can help us win by organizing your community.

Thank you for stepping up!
Joel Searby
 Chief Strategist
 McMullin for President

In wake of election, it's up to sensible Americans to repair our nation's fabric

Now that it looks fairly certain that our next president will be Hillary, it is time to rise above all the political hostilities and silliness and get to work making American even greater. Some of you are bound to keep right on spewing hatred and anger and indulging in childish name-calling and disregard for civility. And, much as we love you, you are not helping. You are part of the problem, not the solution.

As I see it, this is the perfect time for sensible, rational moderates (including both moderate progressives and moderate conservatives), the ones with cool heads, wisdom and understanding, to take back our country. If we don't like what the new president stands for, let's mount a reasonable effort against those policies; but let's do it peaceably, methodically and with smiles on our faces. Our attitude adjustment goes like this:

(1) We must concede that neither the current president nor the newly elected one is a crook, or evil, or a liar...but rather a decent, patriotic American who may have blatant character flaws (as we all do) and lots of ideas we disagree with, but is nonetheless bent on doing what they earnestly believe is best for the country--and, if we truly believe in our nation, we will be respectful of the president, our democratic process, and the office of POTUS;

 (2) We must kick to the curb and shut off the mic on any extremist or big-mouth who continues to talk hatred, bigotry, hubris, or unproven, unsubstantiated nonsense--whether on the airwaves, in Washington DC, on social media, or in our own communities--and remind them that badmouthing our system or our leaders is badmouthng the USA and helping our enemies;

 (3) We must hold the news media's feet to the fire, make them understand that the times we live in are too complicated to have everything reduced to the level of a reaility show, and force them to get back to honest, unbiased, professional journalism; and

 (4) We must fix the two-party system, even if it means abandoning the old dysfunctional Republican and Democrat parties and forming some new ones that are more in tune with the needs of ordinary disgruntled working-class people.

I am eager to join with anyone who agrees with me on this...and I will fight back against anyone who plans to keep right on being obstructive and dragging our country down with obnoxious bs. Just sayin'...

 [---Join me each week for a 15-minute audio podcast with music & light-hearted commentary---]

..and by the way: Enough about Bill Clinton's past already. Not relevant!

I'm a little tired of hearing Bill Clinton being portrayed by the right as a predator and rapist (i.e. one guilty of sexual assault). I was around back then and paying attention to the impeachment stuff. And I came away with the idea that what was going on with Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey, Monika Lewinski and others was sexual hanky panky between consenting adults...and nothing more. Evidence, as I remember it, suggested that these women eagerly pursued a relationship with Clinton. If there was proof to the contrary, I don't remember it. Moreover, Hillary Clinton was a victim of spousal infidelity; so who could blame her for lashing out against the women who played hanky panky with her husband? She was NOT an enabler. So give it a rest, Trump. Enough of trying to play the Bill Clinton card in this election. Won't work! Just saying...

Did the manly Donald just admit in the townhall that he was lying about being manly?

Are we Trumped out yet? Thank God there are only a little over three weeks left of this charade.

DT is a braggard and a bully, and he fits that profile to a T: Braggards and bullies invariably have been plagued throughout life with an inferior complex and a need to build themselves up into something bigger than life. I don't know what brought on this psychology in Trump, but it is clear that he struggles constantly to "be a man". That's why, in last night's debate, he was really caught up in a very painful conundrum when Anderson Cooper forced him to answer the question, "Have you actually done those things to women that you talked about in the video?" Trump tried to evade it, but Cooper asked it twice more, and Trump eventually had to mumble an answer ("No, I have not").

So look at the dilemma he faced. Remember, he is a guy who absolutely has to build himself up into "being a man". So, how was he to answer? I'm sure this was as tough as they get for him. Politically, he knew he almost had to deny doing those things in order to make his "it was just locker room talk" argument hold up...and keep himself from being further outed as a proud card-carrying creeper. But he was also, simultaneously, admitting that, in the tape, he was just blowing hot air--essentially lying--.AND (even worse) he was admitting that he actually had NOT ever kissed and groped and romanced all those beautiful women. And there goes his image, his cherished manliness, the most important part of his persona, right out the window. If he didn't do those things, he comes off looking like an inadequate wimp to his tough-guy locker room fans and supporters.

Anyway, that was one of the things I took away from that townhall meeting. Who won? I agree with the pundits; it was a tie on substance. But on style and temperment, Trump did little more than prove to his base that he is still the Trump they love and is still in this race. That may not be good enough to win in November, however.

I get into a lot of these matters on my new weekly podcast called "Reedo in the Meadow".  Happens on Sunday night about 11:00 or so.  Look for the link on my audio-video page:   https://vimeo.com/reedw