It's Simple

People who think that the President is responsible for gas prices don't really understand how Capitalism works. They also seem to have forgotten all about the war in Ukraine and the general perfidy of Saudi Arabia.

People who think we're the only country suffering from inflation haven't taken a very close look at the rest of the world. They also seem to have forgotten a world wide pandemic which disrupted the normal supply chains. In fact, our inflation is relatively low compared to everywhere else.

So voting for Republicans based on those two items is, well, kind of stupid. 

However, there are some issues that should sway your vote.

For instance, one party wants to eliminate democracy, and one doesn't.

One party wants everyone eligible to vote to be able to vote--easily and safely. And one doesn't.

One party wants to help ALL of the people, and one just wants to help the rich.

One party wants to take the steps necessary to save the planet, and one doesn't give a fuck as long as there's a profit to be made.

So, unless you're a Putin loving total racist asshole, this really shouldn't be a hard decision.

If you're a female the choice is very simple.

You can vote for the Party that thinks of you merely as breeding stock,  a vessel to replenish the "domestic supply of infants", with little or no say in the manner. Face it, you're too "emotional" to make your own decisions. Even if you've been raped-or impregnated by a relative. Even if you're carrying a non-viable fetus.

Or you can vote for the Party that wants you to have autonomy over your body.

That's it.

That's all.

A Nagging Suspicion

Optimism is one of the foundational values* of this great land of ours.

You know, the whole "tomorrow will be better than today" bit.

After all, the first few generations of Americans were screw-ups who had to leave wherever they were for one of several reasons: Religious, political, legal, or maybe just that they had failed to achieve any kind of success in their native lands.

So they came here, to the Land of Hope and Dreams, like it says on the brochure.

And for many people and many years, it was just that...

Recently, though, I've had this nagging suspicion that maybe, just maybe, we've already seen the best of it. The good times are rapidly ending and it will be all downhill from here.

Probably not a Cormac McCarthy dystopia in my lifetime; but certainly unpredictably unpleasant times ahead for my children and grandchildren.

Let us list some of the many things that will queer the deal for the generations that follow us:

Climate change. For a "Chinese hoax" it's amazing how wide spread and enduring it is. I don't want to go too far out on a limb here, but I think the 98% of climate scientists who agree that it is man made and therefore men can do something about it might be right, and the 2% or so that argue against human causes, and who, by the way, are usually bought and paid for by oil and other extraction industries, might be wrong. When California burns to the ground, Miami is completely underwater, and bits of New York City, too, maybe the 2% will finally come around--if the checks from the Koch brothers and the oil companies stop, that is. Until then, by all means let's Drill Baby Drill!

Antibiotic resistant diseases. All those goodies they shoot into our chickens and cows and pigs to make them healthy enough so we can eat them, have several "unintended consequences". One is that strains of microbes pop up that fewer and fewer drugs can combat. We are nearing a pandemic of some unknown origin, and there may not be anything we can do to stop it. Oh well, you didn't want to live forever anyway, did you?

The worldwide lurch to "strong men" leaders. All dictatorships are essentially the same: one man in charge; his family and a few trusted people making out like bandits, literally; and much suffering for the masses. Everything for sale to the highest bidder, including the right to pollute the air and water. And you either acquiesce, or are labelled an "enemy of the state." There have always been a handful of dictators scattered across the planet, though in the latter part of the 20th century they were usually isolated in inconsequential backwaters. These days, however, it is extremely discouraging that many millions of Americans seem to be fine with this approach to governing.

So, here we are. The optimist in me says there's still enough time to "fix" things. The pessimist says we won't.

It was fun while it lasted.

 *(That and an amazing ability to gloss over all of our failures--but that's another story.)

Making The Hard Choices

'Tis the season of this politician or that harping on the terrifically onerous burden we all face of "making the hard choices."

Hard choices?

Let's see, should we continue putting the squeeze on the poor and middle class or raise taxes on millionaires and billionaires? Hmmm.

How about Federal subsidies for ridiculously profitable oil companies? Maybe we should send that money to the green energy side of the ledger instead?

What makes more sense, cutting a few hundred billion from the Pentagon or eliminating Head Start and the hot lunch program for school kids? Redundant arms systems or Pell Grants?

Make it easier for corporations to ship jobs overseas or harder?

Leave a few hundred thousand troops in Iraq and Afghanistan or start to rebuild America's infrastructure?

Hand Social Security over to the thieves on Wall Street or simply raise the existing wage limits to insure its solvency forever?

Leave your healthcare at the mercy of the "for profit" insurance companies or replace what we have with a single payer, Medicare for all system?

See, for a sane and honest person, these aren't "hard" choices at all.

Ahh, "sane and honest", there's the rub...