Hyperbole Gone Too Far

Every politician stretches the truth. Sometimes it is using selective facts and statistics. Sometimes it is a slight exaggeration, sometimes a gross exaggeration or an outright lie. It may be a lack of knowledge or a mistake or on purpose. 

We have become numb and immune to the normal hyperbole of most politicians. Words like most, best, biggest, first, worst, and other superlatives have mostly lost any real meaning. Unfortunately, the current rounds of political speech have gone too far. Politicians, pundits, reporters bandy about words like traitor, treason, lynch, unAmerican, unpatriotic, fake news, an enemy of the people, hate the US, soviet style behavior, for anyone they disagree with. 

There has also been the use of derogatory personal slurs for those on the other side of the aisle. It's a favorite tactic of Trump. He labels all those who are not in 100% agreement with him. There is Nervous Nancy, Crazy Chuck, Pencil Neck Schiff or Shifty Schiff, Lying Ted, Little Marco, etc. Trump is like that big bully in junior high. 

There are many examples of this completely unacceptable oratory. 

After Democrats questioned the wisdom of assassinating Soleimani in Iraq, certain Republicans said that Dems loved terrorists. That they cared more about Soleimani than gold star parents. What complete bullshit. Trump was the one some months ago who badmouthed a gold star family and former POW John McCain. Not a single Democrat questioned Soleimani's character as a bad guy. They were questioning the administration's decision to kill him at that time in that manner in that location based on less than clear reasons. Amazingly GOP House member Doug Collins apologized for his comments on Fox news. Kellyanne Conway and Nikki Haley didn't feel the need to apologize for their inappropriate comments. I hope everyone remembers their out of bounds slurs. I will.

How about people in both parties just say that they disagree with those on the other side of the aisle. Maybe say that they are completely wrong, uninformed/misinformed, ignorant, have ulterior motives, etc. Do not question their patriotism. Being patriotic does not mean agreeing with everything our government does.

Neither political party has a monopoly on patriotism or dedication to our country. Let's dial back the rhetoric.

wjh

My Top 2020 Election Issues

In our diverse country, we each have political issues that are important to us and others that we barely care about. Those issues differ based on political party, age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, economic status, job, geographical location, and a thousand other things. In fact, the important issues change for individuals throughout life as our circumstances change. Listed below are some of the issues before us as a country for the 2020 presidential election. These issues are not absolutes. Differing definitions blur the exact meaning of each. Some are so intertwined that they can not be separated. None of them are single binary issues and they can not be addressed with a single solution. They are somewhat in my order of importance here going into the 2020 elections. The order may change as domestic and international events occur but they will all still be important. 

1. Climate and environmental change.
2. Health care reform.
3. Immigration reform.
4. Human rights. Including reproductive and gender identity rights.
5. Gun legislation.
6. Tax reform, particularly for corporations and the rich.
7. Campaign finance reform. 
8. The retaking of Congressional authority ceded to the President over the years. That's regardless of which party wins the White House.  
9. A more fiscally responsible budget.
10. Repairing our foreign alliances including trade.
11. Domestic terrorist crackdown.
12. Government corruption.

The top few are somewhat interchangeable depending on the latest news and current events. They are all vitally important. Climate change is both important and very time-sensitive. Inaction could be irreversible and deadly. 

I have no litmus test issues. If a candidate is aligned with me on most issues, she has a chance to get my support and vote. I think we should take every candidate as a whole. I did not agree with Obama on every issue in 2008 or 2012 but overall I thought he was the best candidate for the Democratic party and then in the general election. Likewise, although less so with Hillary Clinton in 2016. I also have optimism that my candidate will come around to the right view on an issue over time. An example is that I have for years been in favor of same-sex marriage, Obama was not. He eventually came around and supported it. I doubt McCain or Romney, Obama's Republican opponents, would have changed their minds.  

I think being a single-issue voter is dangerous to our democracy. That appears to be what happened with Trump. Evangelicals latched on to Trump because he allegedly was anti-abortion and promised to appoint judges that agreed with that stance. He has followed through on that promise, one of the very few he has fulfilled. Those evangelicals also got an immoral president who has committed a plethora of anti-Christian acts, statements, and policies. Trump was also formally a pro-choice advocate until he decided to run for president as a Republican. Always look at the candidate's entire policy, their life, and more importantly, their character. 

I believe most of the Democratic presidential candidates check off my issue boxes in general. The exact plans and implementations vary. I like some more than others. 

It is still early in the campaign and things will change. I hope our citizens pay attention and in November vote with their brains, not with their emotions. Make up your own minds, not what some TV network, newspaper, talk radio personality, or even a political party says to do. 

Decision 2020 is important. Treat it that way.

wjh

2020 New Year Resolutions

I don't usually even attempt to make New Year's resolutions. They seem to be artificial, mostly unrealistic and almost always forgotten in just a few days. That being said, I do have a couple of changes I would like to make going forward. Call them resolutions, goals, targets, behavior modifications, new habits, etc. It doesn't really matter. So, here we go in no particular order.

• Read 60 minutes or 100 pages a day. That means books, short stories, or long-form articles. It does not mean daily news or social media.
• Clean up a backlog of unfinished blog posts. I have about 40 unfinished posts. I need to either finish or discard them. Some are time-sensitive and no longer relevant, others need additional research, and still, others just need to be completed and edited. 
• Be more consistent in my physical activities. Overall, I do OK with cycling and walking but sometimes the activity comes in spurts. I may overdo it for a few days and then mostly lump around for a few. I'd rather do something almost every day. That can be a challenge in the winter.
• Cook more consistently. Same story as above. I've been known to buy and cook enough food for a couple of armies. Then, I may go for a few days with just opening cans, jars, and prepackaged stuff and relying on the microwave. 
• Be careful about overdoing the multi-tasking. I sometimes have three sports programs on at the same time. I put them all on mute and simultaneously listen to music or podcasts and do stuff on my PC. That's too much. Chill Bill.  
• I also plan on going to museums more in 2020 even if I have to go alone. I love museums plus they remind me of my Mom who also loved them. DFW has world-class museums and I need to visit them more often. Maybe some other cultural events too.

I'm lucky that I don't have to resolve to lose x number of pounds or go to the gym. I don't have to give up sweets or cigarettes or coffee.

Wish me luck. I'm not sure whether I'll report back on my success or failure. Happy New Year!

wjh

Very Random Thoughts - December 2019

• I'm so glad that Michael Bloomberg is running nationwide TV political ads for his presidential run. I was afraid we wouldn't have any political ads here in Texas before next year's primaries. 
• When is the last time you saw a tap dancer, not counting kids or grandkids recitals?
• Once again at Christmas, we had many advertisements for perfumes and colognes. I do not understand a single one. 
• A titmouse has nothing to do with a mouse or a tit. 
• It is starting to change, but I never understood why the home team in basketball wore white, usually rather drab uniforms, instead of the school colors. 
• One of the advantages of the digital age, fewer paper cuts.
• A related advantage, I no longer get newsprint all over my hands and everything else. I now read the newspapers on a tablet, phone, or PC.
• Does anyone send real Christmas cards via snail-mail? I got two this year, one from a dear friend with a personal note. Nice.
• Is Scientology still a thing?
• Is Catholocism still a viable religion? Do they have any moral capital left? 
• How many times in 2019 did a good guy with a gun stop a bad guy with a gun not counting law enforcement people?
• Almost every expert and talking head on TV should be required to preface their bloviating with "in my opinion".
• I always encouraged my kids to leave beer and cheese & crackers out for Santa. No milk & cookies needed while trying to assemble the kid's presents. 
• I'm always amazed at how sick people get when they have to go on trial or to jail. Bill Cosby went blind, Paul Manafort got gout and now has heart problems. Harvey Weinstein now needs a walker and or two assistants to walk. Many others too. The rich seem to get much sicker. 
• The term for flying the flag in respect and mourning is half staff. Half mast refers to a broken or incomplete mast on a ship. 
• If you put a fitted sheet and a fitted mattress pad in the dryer together, you will get one or two big balls of laundry at the end of the cycle. 
• I sometimes think that there is a central clearinghouse for questions journalists ask of politicians. They all seem to have the same questions framed in almost the exact same words. 
• I find it a little creepy that Jimmy Dean Sausage is still using Jimmy's voice and pictures in their TV commercials. He's been dead since 2010. 
• We probably should stop saying something is filmed or even taped. Nowadays, almost all video is digitally recorded. No film, no tape. 
• I'm always very suspicious when a product advertisement states not available in stores.
• I wonder how much the members at Doral or Bedminster hate it when Trump shows up to play golf? It has to be extremely disruptive. 
• What's the cutoff for something to still be Breaking News? Is it 15 minutes, an hour, four hours, a day, a week? 
• Sometimes it's not so much that "you can't go home again" as it is "I don't want to go home again".
• Between the holidays and being retired, I have no idea what day it is. 

wjh