FEELING THOSE PRE ELECTION JITTERS

Ever since I voted for the first time–60 some years ago–I’ve had a case of the jitters leading up to November 8. Some years, I’ve been ecstatic when my candidates of choice won. Other years, it felt like the bottom fell out of the world when they lost. And yet, life went on and the United States of America is still standing as a nation. Now, it seems obvious that what I really feared was change. Things are never quite as they were after election day. I can remember when Medicare was a hot issue. Being young at the time, it didn’t influence my vote one way or the other. But now, we’re enjoying the benefits of what was then considered a blow to American conservatives, who called it nothing but socialism. This week, we’re all feeling those pre-election jitters.

The polls build up the tension, and the media is part of the problem. Conservative newspapers and television stations tout their favorite pollsters, who predict a Republican sweep. On the other hand, liberal media gives an entirely opposite report. This morning, as I scrolled through the news feed on my i-phone, , I saw wildly different headlines. “So and So predicts a Republican sweep.” “ Democrats surging in the polls.” Back and forth across all social media. Who to believe?

The US is more divided than ever. We know that the winners will leave 50% of the voters angry. There will be charges of voter fraud, re counts, court cases and delayed results. It may be months before we know who’s really running the country.

How to calm the pre election jitters? First, turn off the television during the daytime. Don’t discuss politics at work. Start an indoor garden by planting some amaryllis bulbs. Perform random acts of kindness. Do something nice for yourself. Listen to music. Take a walk in the park. Read a good book. Meditate.

What ever happens, have faith in your fellow Americans. We’re a nation of immigrants. Resilience is in our DNA, We wouldn’t be here if our ancestors hadn’t taken the risk to leave home. . And you know what? On November 9^th, we’ll still be our same old selves. We’ll have our family and friends and life will go on, just as it has for the past 247 years or so. .

December 18, 2020December 18, 2020

WHAT’LL WE DO NOW?

The 2020 Election is pretty well over. Yes, it’s being contested, but it doesn’t look like that effort is going anywhere. According to various polls, at least half of Americans think there was voter fraud, but there’s no proof. That may stir up a little flurry in the media, but the pre-election frenzy has fizzled out. As Richard Nixon said in 1962, after losing the California governor’s race, “you won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore.” Trump could say the same thing. What’s going to happen to people like Rachael Maddow, Sean Hannity, Don Lemon, and Tucker Carlson? What will they rant and rave about, and what’ll we do now?

Print media will have the same problem. Have you read the newspapers the past few days? If it weren’t for the coronavirus epidemic, I don’t know what they would have to report. They’re filling their pages with more and more “soft news” on topics like disease, domestic abuse, and jail overcrowding.. Honestly, I don’t know why we still take two newspapers. Guess it’s just force of habit. None of our adult children have newspaper subscriptions, and I don’t think they’re going to start buying newspapers now.

Cable news, especially, will suffer. CNN, MSNBC have provided fodder for the liberals . while conservative Fox News scores highest in prime time viewing. . Network news is federally regulated, and makes it’s money through advertising. Higher ratings mean they can charge more to advertise. Unfortunately for them, Cable news isn’t heavily regulated, so they can up their ratings and attract more advertisers because of all their outlandish political diatribes against one party or the other.

This past week, we’ve done a lot more channel surfing. We’ll watch anything but cable news. The other night, we watched a fascinating documentary “Mountain Men.” Since both of us come from farm backgrounds, it probably appealed to us more than the average city slicker.

Actually, it’s been rather relaxing. You don’t have to endure irritating social media posts about politics. Or avoid people with opposing political views. The excitement is over. But, what’ll we do now?

June 29, 2020June 29, 2020

DO YOU LIKE SAVANNAH’S HAIR?

My ambivalence toward perfectly beautiful women started when I was sixteen. Girls and boys went “steady” in those days. You wore the boy’s class ring on a chain around your neck. If he was an athlete, he let you wear his letter sweater to the movies. And so it was that my first boyfriend took me to see A Place In The Sun with Elizabeth Taylor. With a sinking heart, I knew I could never be that beautiful. Everything about her was perfect. Which I could never be. I’ve often felt that way about national tv news reporters, including the perfectly groomed Savannah Guthrie of NBC. But now, due to the pandemic, she’s let her hair down, so to speak. Do you like Savannah’s hair?

Back to Elizabeth Taylor. Most sixteen year old girls are pretty, just because they’re young. And yet, at that age, I didn’t appreciate the advantage of youth. Consequently, when I looked in the mirror, I saw a freckled nose, frizzy hair, a pale complexion, and a mouth full of braces. I thought of myself as “skinny,” not thin. There wasn’t a chance in the world I would ever have the cleavage of Elizabeth Taylor in a strapless evening gown. While I loved going to the movies, I often left feeling like a frump in comparison to the likes of Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelley.

Women in television are held to the same high standards. They must have perfect hair –never gray– and makeup. Smooth complexions. Long, shapely legs under short skirts. Female TV newscaster look far more glamorous than their male counterparts. Popular newsmen can be overweight, bald, pockmarked, have big ears ,wear glasses,, and still land high paying jobs. Although a few, like David Muir, are obviously picked for their hunkiness, it’s not really necessary for a male television reporter to make it to the top because of his good looks.

Covid-19 has changed all that perfection for female reporters. They’ve had to go it on their own. Do their own hair and makeup, put up with unflattering lighting. But I like them more now. Their ordinary hair reminds you of your sister or best friend in college. Everyone made fun of Judge Jeanine Pirro’s flyaway hair one night on Fox News. But I thought it made her appear softer, and down to earth.

Savannah looks more relatable now that she's doing her own hair. Do you like Savannah's hair? — She’s doing it herself now, during the covid-19 pandemic. Do you like Savannah’s hair?

Some people are upset about Savannah Guthrie’s hairstyle. One woman tweeted that she ought to be ashamed of herself for not getting her hair done. So, she’s supposed to let some infectious hair dresser breathe on her, just so she can have stiff, beauty parlor hair? I don’t think so. Truth be told, I think she seems more genuine without the perfect hair, clothes and makeup. Do you like Savannah Guthrie’s and Jeanine Pirro’s hair? I do.

June 3, 2020June 3, 2020

POLLSTERS: DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL ME

Do you believe in polls? Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don’t. Like most people, I believe what I want to. If I see a poll favoring my candidate of choice, I’ll hope it’s right. On the other hand, if a poll favors a disliked candidate, I’ll doubt its accuracy. When I am asked to take part in surveys and polls, I always decline. Pollsters: don’t ask my opinion, don’t tell me your skewed results.

Most polls are conducted via cell phone or landline. Those are possibly the most irritating calls one could receive. Anyone with common sense refuses to answer calls from an unfamiliar phone number. Consequently, A poll based on the opinions of those who do answer doesn’t really tell me anything.

Many polls are taken over the internet. Poll takers and politicians invade my Facebook, Twitter, and Email accounts. If I log onto various online news reports, I’m often interrupted by a question about Donald Trump or Joe Biden.

The bad part about answering a survey or poll is that you’re now on someone’s sucker list. First, you will be inundated with requests for contributions. Next, you’ll receive numerous newsletters and e mails meant to alarm and enlighten you .

How do these people get access to my social media? I’m tired of spending so much time deleting them. I click on unsubscribe, and beg them to leave me alone, to no avail.. No, I don’t want to hear from their relatives, either.

Back to the accuracy of polls. A poll is just a picture of what people are saying or thinking on a particular day. Voters are fickle. They can easily change their minds the next week or month, depending on current events. For example, the coronavirus pandemic. Or the protests after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis..

Every day, the polls tell us which candidate is favored, disliked, or disapproved of . But you know what? I’d just as soon believe the odds coming out of Vegas.

Pollsters: Stop calling me during dinner, or any time at all. Discontinue invading my social media online. Don’t ask what I think or tell me how I feel..

March 18, 2019March 18, 2019

DOES NIGHTLY NEWS DEPRESS YOU?

Less than fifty percent of Americans watch Network TV or Cable News around dinner time. We watch every night, but if you decide to do something else, I can hardly blame you. Does nightly news depress you?

Local news isn’t quite as bad as national news. It’s often rather bland, and heavily focused on the weather. On the other hand, national news is geared to making your blood pressure rise. Every single tornado, car wreck, terrorist attack, plane crash, and celebrity downfall is gleefully reported in excruciating detail.

David Muir is our favorite newscaster — WORLD NEWS IS ALWAYS FULL OF DEATH, DESTRUCTION, TRAGEDY AND TERRORISM.

Our favorite newscaster is ABC’s David Muir, mainly because he’s so hunky and dynamic. Your heart speeds up when he urgently announces, “we have a lot to report tonight.” What disasters are we about to observe from the warmth and comfort of our den? The world he sees is filled with death, destruction and tragedy. And yet, at the very end, he tries to lift us out of the doldrums with a heartwarming story . Maybe some endearing thing a little kid said or did –anything to reassure us that there are pockets of hope in the world.

Some news stations like CNN and Fox News can be counted on to tell us what a horrible president we have, or what a great president we have. Realistically speaking, no president is perfect. See: SOME POTUS WERE A LITTLE OFF @ https://livingwellafter80.com/some-potus-were-a-little-off/re-a-little-off/

Having lived through the Nixon resignation and the Clinton impeachment, I don’t relish the idea of putting our nation through that kind of prolonged melodrama. That’s what elections are for, folks. If you don’t like the guy in the White House, just vote him out of office. It’s called democracy.

But it’s not just the news and politics that gets you down. The really, truly depressing aspect of watching the entire evening news hours is the plethora of pharmaceutical drug ads.

Within the time frame of a mere hour, the commercials will remind about all the terrible diseases you could develop at any given moment. There’s cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and COPD for starters. It seems like everyone is at death’s door, and the only hope lies with some sophisticated, expensive drug that you’ve never heard of, but are supposed to demand that your doctor prescribe.

Whatever happened to all the cheerful commercials such as “I’d like to teach the world to sing?” by Coca Cola? I wouldn’t even mind seeing some perky housewife talking about the best toilet bowl cleaner. Any TV commercial that doesn’t remind me of sickness and death would be preferable to what dominates the airways around dinner time.

If you prefer sweet dreams to nightmares, you might turn off the television at 6 o’clock.

October 31, 2018November 10, 2018

MEN, WOMEN & BEAUTY ON TV

What is the most important asset a major network news reporter can possess ? Apparently, it depends on whether you are male or female. Men are allowed to age gracefully. But there is a double standard for men, women and beauty on TV.

How often do you see a female newscaster on CNN, ABC, NBC or Fox News who does’t resemble a fashion model? Typically, they have cascades of long, wavy hair, sparkling white teeth, glowing skin, lash extensions and perfect makeup. You can’t quite concentrate on what they’re saying, because you’re wondering if they have dental implants.

Women must look beautiful on television — Beautiful Woman

Just for fun, I clicked on the website for all the major network news reporters and journalists. And guess what I saw? Many ordinary looking men, some quite old, with thinning hair. Conversely, there were few women who didn’t qualify as the stereotypical Pretty Woman. And of course, female reporters must be model thin and wear designer clothes.

There’s a refreshing change when you turn to Public Broadcasting. One of our favorite Indiana news review programs features men and women who probably wouldn’t win a beauty pageant . Even though the participants don’t try to look like twenty somethings, they are neatly groomed and well dressed. What’s most appealing is the fact that these people are remarkably well informed and knowledgeable.

Why must all major network female reporters and journalists strive for the appearance of youthful beauty?

It’s like aging is a disease. Even Andrea Mitchell, who must be in her seventies, has bleached hair, theatrical make up, and appears to have had surgical help. Saw Martha Raddatz tonight on ABC. She’s pushing fifty, but still has long, blonde hair curling around her shoulders like a college girl. Leslie Stahl wears slathers of bright, gooey, lipstick. Sadly , if these women decided to look their age, they would probably be banished from television.

There is a double standard for successful news reporters. Women must be beautiful, and the men may or may not be handsome, but they aren’t there because of their looks. Women reporters haven’t come as far as they would like to believe. They’re still judged mainly on their appearance, and they won’t get very far on television if they look like Eleanor Roosevelt.