View From Here

Wide, indeed. Gulf of Mexico or gulf of ideas. The ideologues are on a field day and soon will get the message that they are on the outside looking in. Our form of government is the issue. No other issues exist compared with this one. The tripartite democracy we have is unique in the world. It has done amazing things during its formation and afterwards for nearly 250 years. It relies on no king or dictator. In fact, it is specifically designed to thwart either forming. We have experience with that design but no experience in defeating a king or dictator who wishes himself into existence. That is what we face now. Right now. So, what do we do about it? The courts have the real power in my opinion. I am not a lawyer, so I leave the mechanics of this to those who know. President Obama has been a Constitutional expert in academia. Let’s seek his experience and expertise in this. But let us also pull in others who have knowledge and expertise in managing our form of government. Sena...

When I was a tyke, maybe 5 or 6, I knew I was different from other people, at least other boys my age. I didn’t know what the difference was but knew it in my bones.  As I aged, things became a bit more specific, but I was not of the age to understand what those things meant. Being the youngest of three siblings, I also knew my brother and sister knew things better than I. I aged carefully because of this and grew to understand things slowly. Eventually, I became aware that I was interested more in boys than girls, especially physically. Years later I understood this as sexual attraction, but then I didn’t have the foggiest idea what that was or meant. I knew that I wanted to know what was under Tarzun’s brief apparel, not Jane’s. My friends, however, wanted to see Tarzan swinging on vines and actively controlling the film’s story; and they wanted to see Jane, a lot of her. I didn’t. I was only interested in Tarzan. That is not a definitive thing at a very young age. But I in...

Mine is a household of one. I don’t really cook. I make coffee. I warm up cans of soup. I can make a sandwich, but not one I really want to eat. I cook breakfast with eggs and heated up frozen boxes of stuff. I make toast. I can butter the toast and apply jam as needed. That’s it. When I was first divorced and had the kids at home, I cooked meals. I practiced with friends and that made for interesting meals. All were edible but none desired. No one ached for my cooking. Not even me. So, with Rocky as helmsman of the stove, we ate very well indeed. He and his brother learned to cook from their dad. They learned from their mom, too, but they learned first and foremost that it was OK to be a male and cook, too. And boy could they cook. Fabulous Italian meals of course, but a lot of other cuisines as well. With Rocky’s death I faced the challenge of eating. Before his death, we had experimented with pre-prepared meals, first as Meals on Wheels, but then as Factor and maybe another su...

Investing. Money. Putting money into things, developments, projects? But people? Why, yes! Of course. And what does that look like, investing actively in people? Well, one way is through education. Families invest in their kids’ futures by funding college education. Families that cannot afford to do this either at all, or in part, seek financial aid assistance to pay tuition, fees and room and board for their kids at college. This can be quite expense. Most annual costs run from $28,000 to $55,000 today. Some are more than $70,000 for a year at university for undergraduate study. Whether funded by the family or scholarships, mostly taxpayer programs, this is a huge investment in education for each student. But what do they get for that investment? Hopefully a well-educated person who can make intelligent decisions about their future. And their families, communities and social order. There are some who think all higher education should be vocational in nature, that is, training so...

I remember when. I do. Some people think I’m making it up, but I’m not. My life has had many unusual happenings in it. Particularly the places I have lived and the experiences those places have added to my life. Like living on the Mojave Desert. When I was 3, my parents celebrated their anniversary. Dad came home with a gift box. Mom opened it to find a very special and expensive (for then and them) watch with a solid bracelet band. I reached up to see it, and a tiny chain and clasp caught in my sweater. It pulled on the watch and broke the clasp. Without that, wearing the watch would pose a threat of it falling off the wrist and breaking badly. The event was emotionally bruising. Both parents were upset, and at me; but they quickly knew that at 3 I was not responsible. So, the happening passed. But I remembered it, still do, 78+ years later. I remember being on the open desert floor. I remember the quiet and solitude of those moments. I remember the vast array of navy vehicles s...

The unfolding reality of the new Trump administration is causing tongues to wag. And brains to percolate. People are reacting. Their utterances come with bits and pieces of value statements, beliefs even. Occasionally, serious commentators and writers share full statements of creed. Things taught in school long ago come back to mind. How the government was designed, engineered, to engage the governed in the full machinery and action of the governance system itself. The concept of We The People came to be. The American system of government was of, for and by the people themselves. We came to know that as young students in elementary grades. A bit foggy now, but the core is there and remembered still. My mind keeps going back to the consent of the governed . Abraham Lincoln spoke so well of this in his Gettysburg Address. The very core idea of America was expressed by him then. It has resonated with me for decades. Let’s revisit it here: Four score and seven years ago our fathers...

Current Events : With the move out of the way, settling in is the main focus. The Super Bowl is now over but I didn’t watch it anyway. Now I can read about current events and write about them. Let me see, here are the ones most on my mind, yours too? First, weather forecasts have touted snowfalls of 5 inches as huge; they are not. So far this season, we have little snow and what we have had has been most manageable. This week is filled with dire warnings of two major storms that will rake across our region; so far nothing appears to support that forecast. I could be wrong, but experience tells me not to panic.  NOTE: a day or so later, our first storm produced 2 to 3 inches; some areas got more, but mostly underproduced the forecast. This weekend's storm may be more eventful, but still, two to four inches is not much of a forecast! Second, economic predictions by Trump and MAGA have been flat out wrong. They have painted a picture of a bad economy while it actually is the best ...

The world is a mass of plug-ins. The phone plugs into a wall thingy, the cell phone rests in a charger while the charger is plugged into something else. Then there are apps that figuratively plug into the phone. And that’s just the phone and cell phone. Computers and their myriad auxiliary components plug into the computer or each other. In a dizzying array of options, plugs fit into receptacles. The male and female end of each cord, have many shapes, sizes and specifics, each dictating where each plug is properly received. But then, there are so many choices that cords are easily confused. Misconnections occur and then functions cease their normality. Add to this the age of 81. Now unplug everything for a move to another location and attempt to reassemble the entire system accurately! Today a college aged granddaughter will arrive to set me straight, and I’ll report how well she did. But I suspect it will be done in a flash all the time she wonders why I couldn’t do it. Well, ...

On February 5 th Trump spoke in a presser with Israeli Netanyahu. His comments included the proposal that the USA take over Gaza, temporarily resettle over 2 million residents of the region, and rebuild the area completely. New roads, business areas, residential facilities, buildings of all sizes and the whole kit and caboodle. How we are to do that and with what funding from which sources remain open points of discussion. How much input will come from Gazans in all of this was also not outlined. Clearly, Trump was kissing Netanyahu’s ass. No one else wants to do that these days, and Netanyahu is fighting for his political life. His horrid response to Hamas’ attack on Isreal was totally out of proportion. And it was unsustainable. What was to become of Gazans in the meantime? Who would pay for all of this? And how is Trump suggesting we do? Netanyahu suggested Trump’s ideas were unique and fresh and deserved consideration. Of course he would say that. He doesn’t have the money or ...

Ugh! Double Ugh!! Regular readers will know that I predicted Trump’s chaos method. It is in his DNA to mess things up intentionally and thus distract people. He asserts a point of view, an opinion, and acts on it. Often, the action is illegal; so is the thought behind it. That doesn't matter. The distraction is in motion. All throughout his lifetime Donald Trump has controlled the playing table by bold moves and assertions. When results are not to his liking – or more often, not profitable – he simply does not follow through on his promises. He balks. He ignores. He leaves others holding the bag. He even refuses to pay what he owes. These moves have forced him into bankruptcies four times. Huge bankruptcies with costs borne by others, not him. Yet, he retained enough capital to live as though nothing bad had happened. He continued to lead the good life. Lawsuits are a way of life for Donald. He avers a position, hires a lawyer, files a suit and then lollygags along stretching o...

This is Wednesday, February 5 th , and I am moved into the new apartment completely. That does not mean all the boxes are empty and contents placed in their new spot. The living room is pretty much done but no art hangs on the wall. A lot of that needs doing. But most of the things are where they are likely to remain. A little bit of fussing will happen over coming months, but the LR looks good, inviting and relaxing. The bedroom is another matter. As a bedroom, it is OK. As it includes my office computers, no, it is not alright. Connections of various electronics remain to do, and I have little knowledge or imagination to handle that. Placement of electronics and proper length of cords are all a problem. Physically, enough space exists to accommodate the office in the bedroom. It is a tight fit, however. On the plus side, the apartment looks to the north and thus eliminates the horrendous pouring of sunlight into my old apartment. Air conditioning bills were through the roof. I su...

Stuttering progress throughout this project. First was negotiating which apartment I would move to in the same building. Second was defining the best start date for the new lease. Early moving in activity was approved for January 26 but the keys were not available to me until noon of January 27. Frantic moving trips were conducted for the next 1.5 days. Then the lease papers were written for the wrong date, and it looked like I was occupying both apartments simultaneously, so another rent payment (double) was needed. I said no and they rewrote the lease to solve the problem. Then on Wednesday I tried entering the new apartment with a fresh load of stuff and my keys would not work. They had changed the locks. This is OK; what is not OK, is not getting the new keys to me personally. On Tuesday I opened my new mailbox and found it stuffed with mail for the previous tenant. That was sorted by the leasing agent. I decided to check the garage storage room for my apartment to make sure it w...