Tag: Donald Trump

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AGING, RAGING POLITICIANS DUKE IT OUT

Presidential hopeful Joe Biden challenges an Iowa farmer to a push up contest and IQ test, and calls him a damn liar.  Speaker of the House,  Nancy Pelosi,  tells a journalist asking difficult questions, “don’t mess with me.” This, after stating she “doesn’t hate anyone,” because she’s a Catholic???  Donald Trump  has nasty nicknames for his critics and constantly repeats himself.  He calls himself a “stable genius.”   While the aging, raging politicians duke it out, it leaves this octogenarian wondering.  Although I abhor blatant ageism, sometimes we have to face the facts.  Should a person in their mid seventies run for office?  And if not, why? 

 

Elderly politicians show a lot of anger
Seniors may have more problems with anger management.

1. Older people are angrier.  One of the most common emotions seen in the aging population is anger. It may be a symptom of depression, but often, it’s a manifestations of the aging process, itself.

2. The elderly are less able to handle stress. Their heart and lungs may not have the capacity they once did, making recovery from stress more difficult.  As people age, they don’t sleep as soundly, which causes higher levels of stress hormones in the brain..

3.  Reflexes change as we age.  According to the Merck Manual.  the peripheral nerves conduct impulses more slowly as people get older. This results in slower reflexes, decreased sensation and clumsiness.

4:  Aging changes decision making ability.  Neuroscientists have found that  older adults are less able to hold on to complex  thoughts, and have a harder time making decisions that require considering multiple options. However, decisions that require established knowledge remain strong well into old age.

The most impressive thing about the Democratic Presidential debates was the demeanor of  the younger candidates.  While I didn’t agree with all of their policies, they presented them in a thoughtful, rational manner.   I know experience matters.  But I’m not sure the aging brain is capable of grappling all the complexities of managing our great nation and keeping it safe for our grandchildren.

No one can run for president in the United States until they are thirty five years old.   As aging, raging senior politicians duke it out, you wonder if there should be age restrictions at the end of the life cycle.

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WAKE ME WHEN IT’S OVER

Public hearings  in the U. S. House of Representatives impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump will begin next week. But I won’t  be tuning in.  I know it’s going to be upsetting and revealing and all that awful stuff, and I’m just not up for it.  We’re the greatest country in the world, and we should be proud of our politicians.  Instead, we’ve been subjected to three years of nasty, vicious politics and infighting.  I’m glad it’s finally coming to a head, but I don’t want to see or hear the gory details.  Wake me when it’s over, please.

Public impeachment hearings are an embarrassment to our natiion
Public hearings in the impeachment inquiry of Trump begin next week.

Maybe the British have it right, after all.  I’ve always wondered why they support the monarchy, but I’m beginning to understand.  The monarchy doesn’t change.  The royals  represent everything that’s good about England:  Dignity, Class, Courage, and Grace under Pressure.  They may have a Donald Trump clone for a prime minister, but it doesn’t matter.  No one outside England pays him much attention.

When we think of England, we visualize the magnificent Queen Elizabeth.  She’s always the same.  Regal, restrained, and strong.  Charles blew it with Diana, but the queen got everything back in control.  And now we have the future king and queen,  Kate & Will,  who  always do their duty and look glamorous while they’re  at it.  Poor Meghan  doesn’t understand the importance of a stiff upper lip, but perhaps she’ll come around.

Once upon a time, people felt passionate about the candidates they voted for.  Presidents like Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama, stirred our souls and warmed our hearts.  But now, most of us vote for the candidate whom we dislike the least.

Whatever happens, Congress needs to act swiftly. As a nation, we’re anxious, depressed and tired of it all.  Worse yet, we’re ashamed of our country.

Wake me up when the national nightmare is over.

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EACH IMPEACHMENT IS DIFFERENT

Tolstoy began his  great novel, Anna Karenina  with this famous line: “Happy families are all alike; unhappy families are all unhappy in their own way”.  My grandchildren don’t know or can’t remember what it was like to live through impeachment  proceedings.   But this will be my third rodeo, and I can tell you that each  impeachment hearing is different–and unhappy– in it’s own way.

The Nixon resignation in 1974 was the first impeachment proceeding I had seen in my lifetime
NIXON WAS ON THE VERGE OF IMPEACHMENT WHEN HE RESIGNED

The Nixon debacle came at a time when my  personal life was in turmoil.  My then husband lost his job in the recession.  I  returned to school to get my dietitian’s license, while raising three children under 7.  I was so tied up with financial worries, exhaustion, and stress,  that Nixon’s impeachment was the farthest thing from my mind.  As a university grad assistant, I heard college professors  discussing Watergate. . I didn’t see impeachment  as a major concern, or anything that would change my life for the better or worse. . Nixon’s resignation speech was painful to watch, but life went on pretty much the same.  I know I voted for Jimmy Carter in the next election.

Comic photo of Bill Clinton wearing Monica Lewinski's blue dress
EPSTEIN HAD THIS STRANGE PICTURE OF BILL CLINTON IN A BLUE DRESS

The Clinton impeachment hearings came at a time when my children were raised, and I was nearing retirement.  That winter, I came down with the flu, and spent hours on my computer with  the Drudge report.  It was like reading an enactment of the National Inquirer; sex, lies, and the famous blue dress. It was great entertainment and got me through a rough bout with the flu.  For Republicans, is was schadenfreude at it’s best.  Even liberals found the cigar wielding president a salacious distraction.  When the impeachment didn’t pass the Senate, I don’t remember being upset.  My life would go on pretty much the same, although  I would miss the presidential soap opera.

Now we have the Trump impeachment inquiries.  I’m probably not going to watch the hearings during the day.  They won’t have near the entertainment value that we had with Bill Clinton’s time on the hot seat. And of course, it will be all over the news, night and day, until the final vote is taken.  But from my standpoint, this impeachment would have much more impact on our nation.

If Trump goes down,  a liberal president is a foregone conclusion.  And most  everyone’s life will change.  Like it or not, we will have Medicare for all.  Since I’m already on Medicare, it won’t make much difference to me. But as we seniors know, Medicare A doesn’t cover everything.   I’m wondering what will happen to the cost of supplemental insurance and Medicare part B?  My husband and I currently pay over $10,000 a year for this coverage. .  Will the premiums go up even more than they have the past few years?   For sure, taxes will increase to pay for all the freebies.  Since my time on this earth is limited, it won’t change my life so very much. .  But the direction of my grandchildren’s future will take a sharp left turn.

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AUGUST RECESS MEANS LESS STRESS

The infighting among Republicans and Democrats  the past few years has left us frazzled and worn out  We feel like the unhappy children of parents  in a toxic relationship.   All that fussing and fighting on an every day basis makes us insecure, worried, and depressed.  But at least the August Recess means less stress..

these two prominent politicians totally lack charisma
Are you tired of seeing the faces of these two men in the media?

For just awhile, we don’t have to see Adam Schiff’s eyes sparkling with delight at the thought of impeachment.  ( According to Wikipedia,  Schiff  has appeared on television 227 times in the past year)  Enough already! . On the other hand, Mitch McConnell’s  down turned mouth and general grumpiness isn’t  all that inspiring.  His sour puss makes you wonder if he’s suffering from indigestion.  He could pose for a Tums ad any day of the week.

Just for fun, let’s pretend we Americans  are the kids in a family where Donald Trump is the Dad, and Nancy Pelosi is the Mom.  It’s obvious that the two of them  hate each other, will never agree on any thing –and we are the helpless  spectators.

The feud between the Democrats and Republicans brings to mind  the Hatfeilds and the McCoys   Or perhaps  the Montagues and the Capulets. I ’m at the point where I no longer care who wins or loses this election.  I’m just tired of all the lies, bickering and name calling.  Every national tragedy is politicized.  This is  one of the most dysfunctional  legislatures  I’ve ever witnessed in my lifetime.

Even though our nation has endured tough times lately,   we’ve felt a little more at ease this August.  The politicians finally left us alone and the media has gone  back to  normal.  The August Recess means less stress.  But come September, the “grown ups”?  will be back from vacation, and we kids will have to listen to the same old stuff.

 

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THE PENDULUM SWINGS IN POLITICS

Ever notice how a person’s second marriage is radically different from the first?  After a divorce,  people often marry someone totally unlike their original spouse.  A man married to a socialite may choose a waitress the second time around.  A woman may choose a  modest gentleman  over her boisterous first spouse,  I think the same thing could happen with elected officials.  After Nixon resigned, his VP Gerald Ford got beaten by the pious, soft spoken Jimmy Carter.   Nixon’s deceptive practices  made  voters  turn to someone they thought  could trust.  Four years later, they decided they didn’t want a  small town Sunday school teacher, after all, and elected  Ronald Reagan, a divorced movie star from California. The pendulum swings in politics.

Voters wanted a change in the last election
VOTERS WANTED SOMEONE ENTIRELY DIFFERENT THAN OBAMA

Is that what’s happening now? Obama’s popularity as president was based partly on his refined, scholarly demeanor.  He was a literate, elegant man who published beautifully written books.  Obama wasn’t an experienced candidate, but he had class.  Then, the public turned on his chosen successor, Hillary Clinton, and elected a brash, egotistical womanizer from New York City who never held a political office and brags that he never reads a book.

People often vote in a man who is entirely different from the incumbent
Pete Buttigieg is a gay intellectual who offers voters a complete contrast to Trump

Now ,  a rising star in the Democratic politics  is a soft spoken, gay intellectual  with a hard to pronounce name  who is the mayor of a small mid  western town.  Whether  Pete Buttigeig wins the nomination or not, it looks like the voters are looking for someone in total contrast to Trump.

We aren’t always satisfied with our choices. Second marriages have a high divorce rate. Is it wise to go from one extreme to the other?  And should people vote for a candidate simply because that person  is entirely different from the incumbent? I’m not sure, but I’m thinking it’s just human nature

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SOME POTUS WERE A LITTLE “OFF”

 

The author F. Scott Fitzgerald once opened a story with, “the rich are very different from you and me.”  Lately, with all the craziness going on in national politics, I have begun to wonder if politicians are very different from you and me.

Why do men and women go into politics?  Supposedly, they are passionate  about helping people to have a better life.  That’s a worthy and very believable reason, but it seems you’d have to have an unusual amount of self confidence to think you would have the requisite personality traits and  abilities  to make great changes in society.  Somewhere along the way, someone helped them form this good opinion of themselves—whether it be a parent, grandparent, teacher, or someone very close to them.   So, that high self-esteem, wired into their brains,  makes them slightly outside the “normal” curve. Politicians also must have the intestinal fortitude to endure a lot of nasty attacks on their integrity,  appearance,  personal life,  ability to do the job,  and even their families.   Most of us don’t have the stomach for all of that public criticism.
Many presidents have been slightly “off.”  FDR hid his polio-withered legs from the public for years,  afraid that if people knew about his disability, they would never vote for him. Richard Nixon was paranoid and had an alcohol problem.   JFK seduced White House interns and slept with mafia call girls.   Lyndon Johnson sat on the toilet while talking with reporters , and was feared for his dark moods. Jimmy Carter acted more like a preacher than a president. Bill Clinton had a bit of a sex addiction problem.  Now we have Donald Trump who behaves more like a medieval monarch that an elected official. And yet, in spite of their eccentricities and mental health problems, many politicians such as Abe Lincoln and Winston Churchill became great leaders.

Some presidents, like Harry Truman, had modest resources and no doubt were grateful for the perks, pension, and income  provided by public office.  Power, prestige  and money could  motivate many a politician.  But what about those who are already rich?  Someone like Romney? Is he a saint, or on an ego trip.  I have no idea what makes these people tick.    All I know is that something beyond the “normal” curve propels politicians  into the stratosphere, seeking  public office in places where angels fear to tread.