View From Here

  Blog draft mar 6 26 Peace President? Coming into office, Trump declared he would be the peace president. Yet we are still witnessing the continuing, brutal war by Russia against Ukraine. So many times Trump could have strengthened Ukraine to shorten the war if not end it. But this was not to be primarily because Trump had loyalties to Putin. That’s an ugly truth but truth just the same. No one has been able to fully document why Trump remains a ‘friend’ of Putin, but his actions prove that to be true. And now, Iran. And not alone. With Israel. Co-warrior nations that will continue to push the US away from possibly friendly allies in the Middle East. What now will become of his claim to peace? The other ‘wars’ he contends he ended were not full wars and certainly were not globally significant. But Iran? Ukraine? Well, the trumpets and MAGA adherents will continue their exhortations and manipulations to call it what it isn’t. and that is the true history of this era, eh? ...

  Blog draft mar 4 26 Bits & Pieces Changing Retail : It is fun to search the internet about products and services. Who has the best features and prices. How available are the goods, and when can I expect them? Should I visit a store and see and feel the products? Or should I simply order online and wait for the box to appear at my address? The latter is rewarding. Getting a package, almost like Christmas! Oh good; yes, I’ll order it online. This scenario is rapidly changing the retail scene in America. Store traffic has dropped enough to slow and even stop building new stores. Malls are closing completely. Individual shops are staying in strip malls and downtown areas, but store shopping is thinning. Our ordering online has caused shop closures. It is inevitable. The convenience of online shopping is real and saves running around and a lot of gas. But in the end, store fronts will disappear. Sad but true. I’m not so sure this is a good thing. Seasonal Blasts : Seasons ...

  Blog draft mar 2 26 State of the Union Well, it is interesting what a narcissist thinks of the state of the union, especially when he is the one in charge of it. Did we really feel he would be honest, even the least bit realistic? No, we did not. That’s because we are the realists in the room, not him. The actual state of the union is described by these statements: 1.       US leadership of the Free World does not currently exist 2.       The economy is in a state of deep confusion; parts of it are thriving while other parts are in the doldrums 3.       Employment is up in some sectors while drastically low in others 4.       Housing costs are through the roof and trending higher 5.       Cost of living in most other components are rising with vigor as well 6.       Investment opportunities do exist, plentifully ...

  Blog draft feb 27 26 End in Sight? With a few missteps along the way, the Supreme Court finally got a few things right. Tariff imposition was the big one. The president simply did not have the power to inflict tariffs on the nation or importing nations. Congress has this authority, and they can grant the authority to the president under certain circumstances.   They did not, and certain circumstances were not present. Tariffs were a sham. With tariffs gone, or at least back to the primary levels legally set years ago, the global economy can get back to business. This should return trading to previous levels in short order. Certainly, some trading partners will shy away from American partners because of the interference. They will read this as now possible when before they didn’t give it a thought. Supply and demand will seek its own level of stability. So will trust and expectation. Some time will be needed, and better once the trumpet has vacated the White House. Me...

  Blog draft feb 25 26 Technology       Fixed. At least for now. Computer awakes in a flash. My files are ready for work. Easy access. Speed of each transaction fast as a blur. I hired an IT engineer to review my system and make changes he thought advisable. The primary action was to remove Norton antivirus software. I didn’t need it. Microsoft 365 has its own antivirus software. Removing Norton seemed to do the trick. The virus scan took about hours, but when it was finished, WOW! While the scan was working, I noticed my cell phone worked perfectly. When the scan was done, the old issues arose on the phone. I get constant interruptions with ads and other warnings about viruses and full memory. Removing little used apps helped a little, then that failed eventually. I think I will go back to the store where I bought the phone and ask the clerks for help. They seem to know what to do most of the time. Certainly, more and better than my feeble brain! I...

  Blog draft feb 23 26 Birthdays Funny how we remember birthdays, not our own, those of other people. January 6 th will always be my dad’s special day, February 24 is mom’s, January 12 us my sister Carol’s, June 27 th is my brother Sherm’s. June 23 is my sister-in-law Judy’s birthday. So many others join the family and add their special days as well. Now that I’m in my 80’s, the decade of loss, my sister is gone, my sister-in-law, too, and then a host of others.   Rocky died two and half years ago, my ex-wife just died in October, her husband in March. So many losses, so close together. My time will come and that’s no surprise. Funny how we all act surprised. It will happen, why be startled by it? Well, there is the loss to cope with, and that’s the hard part. Still, it is expected except with the young. No need to say more about this. Birthdays are the beginning of a life but that requires an end date as well. We just don’t remember them as deathdays. February 2...

  Blog draft feb 20 26 Gone We’ve been assaulted repeatedly for months about all sorts of things. Many of them are already gone, or are about to disappear, or are in constant threat of disappearance. What are they? Well, here are a few examples. First, Trump. His 34 felony convictions along should have made him disappear, but they didn’t. his huge involvement with the Epstein case and files galore should be his death knell of public service, but his continuing creation of powers he doesn’t have is a clear misuse and abuse of the Constitution. That alone should dismiss him from the presidency. Why it hasn’t is a mystery only history will tell. In the meantime, we confront an hourly story of his threatened political demise. Mrs. Guthrie’s kidnapping and disappearance continues to interest the public. The news reports tell a story up to the point of death. In fact, some reports have told finding a body that matches Guthrie’s. But the story has not been repeated since. Why? Was...

  Blog draft feb 18 26 Bits & Pieces Little Things : It continues to surprise me how the little things in life grab my attention. Although small, they have big meaning and impact. They are part of the foundation of daily living. A blade of grass, bits of grit on the pavement, a dog’s lonely howl, the click of a door closing, the hum of the refrigerator, varying in tone and tempo depending on which cycle it is in. Those are good examples of little things. Sometimes it is merely a whiff of air, filled with memories of distant past experiences. One whiff takes me back to a day in New England when bird chirps through the window accompanied the smell of fresh baked bread, or pie! Yum. Another whiff brings memory of a young lady I met in my early teens. She became my sister in law and recently died at 85. A whiff that transports me back 70 years. That’s a power thing packaged in small wrapping. The little things come with a punch. A smell, a temperature and breeze, sounds, a to...

  Blog draft feb 16 26 Politics As Usual? There will always be people who believe politics is always corrupt and self-serving. It is easy to see this, to believe it, to grapple with it. But I remain convinced that politics is not all corrupt; some, yes, but not all. There is truth in the self-serving part, but even that is arguable. Yes, people get involved because they have a point of view they believe is more correct than other viewpoints, but that is normal. That’s legitimate. We fight for what we believe in. and that is the core of democratic strength.   We can get involved. We can invest our time, energy, money and connections in what we believe is good for the rest of our nation. This is our nation, our democracy. It demands we get involved. That involvement is more than voting. Vote, yet, but not only that activity. We must be informed, we must be able to talk about issues, argue them with others to better understand the issues. This interaction also helps move ...

  Blog draft feb 13 26 Weather Moods When I was a lad, I lived in southern California. The weather was good, very good. Mostly sunny and mild. We had clouds from time to time, but rarely fully blocked sun all day long. Even in those days my mood swung with the cloudiness of the day. Gloomy when gray, cheerful if sunny. During the day my mood changed with the weather. Early signs of SAD? Season affective disorder is a real thing and one I have experienced most of my life. Uprooted at 11 years of age and moved to New England, I suddenly confronted four distinct seasons annually. That first winter was very long for a native southern Californian. Oh sure, the first skiffs of snow were a delight, but by winter’s end, I thought the snow would never melt away. It did, late April, I think. Long winter. Very looong. The four seasons taught me a lot about weather variety. Along with those moods became more complicated and variable, too. Storms kicked up quickly, doused us with rain...

  Blog draft feb 11 26 Free Speech You and I can say what’s on our minds anytime, anywhere. As long as it is original thought, or a repeat of what someone else says properly attributed, we can state it. If we think it is true, we can say it. Even if we say it in error with no sense that it is wrong, we can say it. This is free speech, and it is guaranteed to us in the US Constitution. If we learn what we said was incorrect, we ought to correct the statement. We have an obligation to do so. We do not have the right to deliberately mislead others by false speech. Ever. Some speech is intentionally misleading. Not entirely so, but enough to cast doubt on it. Think of advertising. Think of the hype and false images advertising promotes. Just to sell a product or service. Lest anyone object, speech is uttered, said, written, mimed, acted and a host of other forms of communication. It is all speech. The courts have said so. Deliberately misleading and falsely reporting is a...

  Blog draft feb 9 26 Downsizing As you age, you need fewer things. It is that simple. How you value things in life dims significantly, especially as significant others die. What is valued are relationships with special people, and experiences. Those two are primary. I have always loved cars, watches, shoes and food. All those things become lesser to me as I age. I still have some good watches, but shoes? Not so much. I can only fit into larger sizes these days, and ease of putting them on is now a much larger issue than it once was. Cars need to be especially functional these days and that eliminates many model types. And food? Well, diet is more circumscribed focused on health and ease of preparation. As I downsized in the past, silverware, china and chrystal were items in need of passing on to special family members. To my shock, they were not interested. My generation mostly was. I did find willing recipients for china and silverware. Not silver tea sets, platters or ...

  Blog draft feb 6 26 Getting Around OK. It’s winter. Getting around has some challenges at this time of year. Ice and snow on road surfaces is just one of the obstacles. The same on sidewalks is another. Getting in and out of the car is yet another. And the list can and does go on. Always has. It’s the basics of life, as it always has been. More thought goes into getting around, however, as you age. Steps, stairs, surface conditions, temperatures, wind strength, and of course, all sorts of precipitation which have a nasty habit of changing with the temps. With snow another dimension occurs. Depth and what is plowed and deposited elsewhere. Does entry to parking lots change? What about parking access as well as safety of moving from the car into a store or office to be visited? If travel is being planned, where are winter conditions likely to last into later spring months, or early fall? Will roads be closed at such times? Will motel rooms be available when this happens? ...