DO VOTERS CARE ABOUT KURDS OR BENGHAZI?

A Marine Reserve Center, directly across the street from our house, is a daily reminder of our brave Americans. There’s a plaque near the building with the names of those in that battalion who recently lost their lives in the Middle East. We’ve watched these fine men and women come and go over the years. They seem like our own kin . Would I like to see a few more names on the plaque because we’re defending the Kurds? Actually, no. And, will our retreat influence the next election? Do voters care about the Kurds or our mission in Benghazi?

This Marine Reserve Unit is directly across the street from our house — A plaque at the Marine Reserve Center has the names of four who gave their lives in the Middle East.

The 2012 attack on the American embassy in Libya brought about a two year investigation in 2014. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, was criticized for not coming to the rescue of the four American citizens who died in Benghazi. Because the US ambassador was gay, he was singled out for extreme torture. You might have thought this would affect Hillary Clinton’s support from the LGBT community, But obviously, it didn’t. She easily won the popular vote in the 2016 election.

If we had stayed in Syria to defend the Kurds, how many of our men would have died? — If our troops had stayed to defend the Kurds, many of our soldiers would have lost their lives,

Now, we have the President’s decision to pull out of the Kurdish held territory in Syria, Apparently, the Turks informed the President a massive invasion was about to take place. If our troops were to stay, many of our men would die 7,000 miles from home. Questions about the wisdom and integrity of this decision will drag on until the next presidential election.

But do these events influence the way Americans vote? In our modest, middle class neighborhood, yard signs supporting various political candidates proliferate . From the looks of it, we’re fairly divided as to political party leanings. In 2020 , will my Republican neighbors vote against Trump–or Pence– because he decided not to stay and fight a losing battle? Will it be a deal breaker? If we go on past history, I would doubt it.

October 18, 2019October 18, 2019

BUTTIGIEG VS. PENCE 2020?

Last week, this may have sounded crazy. Mayor Pete’s chances of winning the presidential nomination were very slim. But this latest debate might have been a deal breaker. Buttigieg came across as the only candidate who seemed authentic. He challenged Elizabeth Warren’s pie- in- the-sky promises as to the real cost of Medicare for all. He calmly spoke with the voice of experience on the US withdrawal from Syria. Now, there’s a real possibility that Trump will be impeached. Therefore, it’s not a pipe dream to imagine a presidential election with two Hoosiers on the ballet . Buttigieg vs Pence 2020? It could happen.

There's a possiblity that two Hoosier will be on the ballot in 2020 — Two Hoosiers could be on the ballot during the 2020 election

Of course, I’m not at all biased (: However, I believe our country would be well served if we had a POTUS who brings some good old Hoosier Values to the table.

What are HOOSIER VALUES? The very phrase brings to mind a dull, penny pinching, religious fanatic who’s never traveled more than 100 miles from his home town. I’ve surfed the internet and found that there are no clearly defined Hoosier Values. Different sources say the following character traits define an Indiana native: Patriotic, Honest, Responsible, Faithful, Humble. Others claim that the typical Hoosier has a strong work ethic, family values and a sense of community.

Wow! That’s a lot of good stuff. Does that mean that no one in my state is cruel, vulgar, promiscuous, dishonest or rude? Hardly.

When I think of Hoosier Values, I envision someone who doesn’t brag, or make false promises, and behaves with dignity in public. In other words, someone with just plain old common sense.

Buttigieg vs Pence in the 2020 presidential election would be a win-win situation for Indiana. . No matter which party prevailed at the polls, we could rest assured that Hoosier Values are well represented in Washington DC.

August 2, 2019August 2, 2019

DISAGREEING WITH LIKABLE CANDIDATES

After watching the Democratic debates, I find myself disagreeing with the three most likable candidates.

I really like Pete Buttigieg. I think he has the perfect style befitting a president of the United States. He’s cool, calm and collected. He’s intelligent and articulate. He appears to be kind, tactful and diplomatic. And, I’m proud he’s a fellow Hoosier. But do I agree with his proposed policies? Not so much. Here are his policies I don’t like: open borders, popular vote. I like the idea of Medicare for all, but don’t think it’s economically feasible right now. Maybe later.

Mayor Pete came into the debate as a lightweight underdog, but came across as a classy intellectual — Mayor Pete came into the debate as a lightweight underdog; he came out as a classy intellectual

Obviously, an octogenarian’s opinion such as mine will not be mainstream. Most Democrats seem to like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, but they strike me as far too strident. When Bernie starts shouting and waving his arms, I’m afraid he’s about to have a stroke. Elizabeth is a fireball speaker, but somehow, I don’t trust her. Even Canada doesn’t offer a free college education for all. I can’t imagine how we would pay for that, or all the money that would be wasted on kids who don’t want a college degree so much as a free ride for four years.

Biden? Way past his time. And, I don’t like his touchy-feely-smelly style with women. Kamilla Harris? I don’t see a former prosecutor as presidential material. The way she attacked Biden during the first debate may have been her break out moment, but I think it was mean spirited and uncalled for.

Booker and Gabbard have that likability factor

Besides Buttigieg, I like the way Tulsi Gabbard says it like she sees it—but her plan to pull out of Afghanistan is worrisome. Cory Booker reminds me of a better looking Obama. He’s got that spark, but his minimum wage plan is myopic. $15 an hour in my city would result in a much different lifestyle than in The Big Apple.

After watching the Democratic debates on television, my top likability picks are Booker, Buttigieg and Gabbard. But if I ever met them face to face, we’d have to agree to disagree.

July 26, 2019July 29, 2019

WHY DID RUSSIA DO IT, & HOW?

Now that we’ve endured endless hours of Mueller’s testimony before Congress, we know for sure that Russia interfered in our election. The question is: Why did Russia back Trump, and how ? You have to dig pretty deep to find out.

why putin hated clinton — Putin hated Clinton for interfering in his 2011 election

Back in 2011 , when Prime Minister Putin was running for President, then Secretary of State Clinton interfered with his election bid against a guy named Medvedev. It seems she bet on the wrong horse. Putin won, and he’s held a grudge against Hillary ever since. I think it’s important for Americans to understand why Putin didn’t want her to win. . https://time.com/4422723/putin-russia-hillary-clinton/

Speaking from personal experience, I can remember many Facebook advertisements slamming Clinton and supporting Trump. I saw them as spam. I was annoyed when Facebook allowed all of these unwanted posts on my page. Why aren’t they now sharing some of the blame for what happened? It was quite obvious that someone had it in for Clinton. Are we supposed to believe Facebook executives didn’t know the origin of these posts?

The media has led us to believe that Trump was doing something illegal by trying to establish a hotel in Moscow. If that is true, what about the other 3,000 American companies that currently do business in Russia? My former brother in law was with a big accounting firm that had an office in Moscow over 30 years ago. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2016/08/03/headline-halah-t/#6db933635f99

After listening to hours of tedious testimony by Mueller in the hearings this week, It seems to me that it was all much ado about nothing. As FBI agent Peter Storzok said in his famous e mail, “ I’m afraid there’s no there , there.”

Let’s stop wasting money on this investigation that means very little to the average American. Why doesn’t Congress focus their efforts on lowering prescription drug prices, cleaning up the mess at the border, improving our crumbling infrastructure, and changing the way we grant student loans?

Get to work, guys.

June 28, 2019June 28, 2019

MAYOR PETE MADE US PROUD

Did you watch the Democratic debates? We watched the first hour, and then it was past our bedtime, so we didn’t make it all the way to the end. It was interesting to listen to all the candidates who , before the debates, had merely been cardboard figures depicted by the media. You have to be pretty sharp to get as far as they all did, but the most amazing candidate of all was Pete Buttigieg, the Mayor of South Bend. If anyone figured this hick from Indiana was going to make a fool of himself, they were sadly disappointed. As Hoosiers, Mayor Pete made us proud.

My husband and I do not agree with every thing Pete believes in. As an example, we think there was a good reason our founding fathers established the electoral college. Should big city apartment dwellers and intellectuals from coastal cities throw Midwestern values under the bus? I won’t elaborate on that because it would take more space than a blog allows to say why we’re opposed to the popular vote.

But here’s the thing about Mayor Pete. If I were in a position to tell him face to face why I disagree with him, I know he would listen. He wouldn’t call me names, or put me down. Why? Because he’s a gentleman. He has class. And we really, really, need some class coming out of Washington DC.

I suppose his homosexuality is going to rule him out as a viable candidate. You might think that as an octogenarian, his sexual orientation would be problematic for me. But when I busted out of a parochial girls school back in the 50’s, I met a gay guy during my first semester of college. He was funny, smart and the two of us could spend hours talking about anything and everything. No one admitted to being gay in those days. He even had a girlfriend. But he was the one I could talk to when a boyfriend broke my heart. And so, I’ve had gay friends all of my life.

Mayor Pete went into the debates as an underdog and a lightweight. But he didn’t falter when questioned. He stood his ground and showed an intellect that equaled–and maybe surpassed –the other candidates. If you were expecting a word slurring hillbilly, you were in for a surprise.

So here’s to you, Mayor Pete You made us proud. As a good old Hoosier redneck might say, “you did good.”

June 15, 2019June 15, 2019

IS FACEBOOK INVADING MY PRIVACY?

How is it that I receive all these “sponsored” posts on Facebook ? Before the 2016 election, I was getting posts about Trump almost every single day. Maybe they were part of the Russian attempt to influence the election. I always ignored them, because I considered them nothing but spam. But now, the Trump posts have disappeared, only to be replaced by posts favoring Biden. I don’t understand who is behind these posts, and why are they allowed to do this. Is Facebook invading my privacy?

WHY HAS FACEBOOK DECIDED i SHOULD RECEIVE ALL THESE SPONSORED POSTS?

OMG. Just got a post from Cory Booker, asking me to send $1 to secure his spot on the debate stage. I don’t know Cory at all; never met him, probably never will. I thought people couldn’t post on my page unless they were my friend. Cory isn’t my friend.

Here’s another one from the Democratic Governors Association asking if I approve of President Trump. If I respond Yes , will I be back on the Republican’s hit list? And if I say No, will that be a green light for all 20 Democratic candidate to start sending me requests for money? Does this mean that anyone can buy their way into my Facebook account? I’ve purposely limited my friends to a handful, because I don’t want to spend all day reading posts from a thousand so called “friends.”

Apparently, Facebook lines me up with strange people they think I would agree with. How they make this decision is a total mystery. In the last election, something made them believe I wanted to hear about Trump. It may have been the Russians, or just plain old American Republicans. I will never know. But now, the Democrats have decided I’m fair game. Overall, I would guess that someone at Facebook has decided I’ve switched parties.

I haven’t switched parties because I never belonged to one. If you read my blog, you will know that I feel free to criticize politicians from either party. My mother used to have an expression around election time: “I vote for a new set of crooks every four years.” She would be 114 years old if still alive—but her comments seem pretty up to date.

But wait. This morning, my Facebook had “sponsored” posts from Costco and Magic Chef, neither of whom have stores in my area. It looks like Facebook is so desperate for income that they’re promoting more commercials. We’re tired of seeing commercials on television, but we know that’s the price we have to pay to watch. Is it the same now on Facebook? If so, a lot of us may be deleting our accounts altogether.