No More Dithering

Enough. I’ ve dithered around this issue too much for too long.

Let’s get straight to it: Enough with the support in various ways for Israel and its right-wing government obsessed with self preservation at the expense of decency and humanity.

What Hamas did to Israel on October 7 was horrible. There is no way anyone can or should try to sugarcoat the atrocities this miserable group of terrorists inflicted on Israelis. Israel’s determination to strike back at Hamas is understandable and, in my mind, quite justified.

What isn’t justified is the continuing slaughter of Palestinian civilians — tens of thousands of them — through crippling invasion, abandonment and starvation. Killing innocents in pursuit of military goals is not acceptable. And it’s time the United States recognized that publicly and policy-wise and halted military assistance to Israel. Repeat: STOP military aid to Israel. And stop it immediately.

This is not a matter of anti-Semitism. Hardly. It is a matter of doing the right thing, in this instance saving the lives of innocent man, women and children. There can no longer be any excuse for Israel’s deadly pursuits in Gaza. The government of Benjamin Netanyahu is now no less terrorist-focused than the Hamas it seeks to destroy.

What’s needed is a cease-fire — and a two-state solution to the existence of Israel and Palestine. Ceasing US aid may be the trigger that gets that solution closer to reality. But regardless, military aid to this government must be halted. I hope President Biden will end the halfway actions and do that is needed: end the war and make the peace happen.

Enough dithering about this. Get it done.

Getting Mental…

So, the vow was not to talk so much about politics. Ok, then let’s shift the conversation to aging, specifically just how President Joe Biden is doing. (Yes, I know that sounds a lot like politics, but whatever…)

Is Joe fading away from us? Is his age compromising his mental acuity? Is he fit to be our President? Quick bottom line is — wait for it — I don’t really know, I’m not a neuropathologist nor knowledgeable in cognitive thinking. So in other words, I’m perfectly qualified to offer some quick thoughts on this meaty topic.

We know Biden slips up. We don’t know that the slip-ups have has occurred which involve anything affecting American policy or security. His closest aides say it hasn’t happened, and they would seem to have more credibility that those with even less insight on the other side.

Physical frailty may be an issue — hard to me and most everyone else to know for sure — but mental sharpness for Biden doesn’t seem to be creating any major concerns. Of course the MAGAites disagree. They have jumped in to proclaim Biden unfit for office, quite willing to ignore dementia don’s obvious mental challenges (not to mention moral lapses).

All of which leaves us — those of us who can’t claim authority in these matters — worried and uncertain. Worried because no matter Biden’s mental state he is still higher than the trump bar of ineptitude, criminality and democracy-bashing.

So let’s leave it at that. Uncertainty and concern about Biden. At the least he’s not as wretched as trump with the latter’s loud and continuing endorsement of the criminal autocrat Putin. Hey, maybe there’s an idea for trump’s running mate?????

Back in Action – It’s 2024

Well, welcome to 2024. It’s been a long time since …. since I last posted here.

Not sure exactly why that’s the case. For a time it was trump weariness; how many times can you mention a creep like dementia don without finding yourself exhausted by his all-consuming lies, narcissism and general lack of intellectual awareness?

Maybe there are other reasons, but it doesn’t seem worth wasting space to go back over them. So, it’s 2024, let’s look ahead, and let’s try to avoid a relentless focus on politics and the presidential election this year. In other words, let’s aim for something a little higher, maybe something a tad more engaging for a wider audience (if, in fact, there is any audience left out there).

And what would that be exactly? Stay tuned. Please. I promise something better is on the way. Even if I’m in the process of discovering just what it is.

Thank you.

A Little Reading

I’ve been debating for several weeks now whether or not to purchase a copy of Maggie Haberman’s new book about Donald Trump, “Confidence Man.”

So what, you might fairly ask, is that debate all about? After all, it’s just a book. And it’s a good book, too, even without having read it. Maggie Haberman is an experienced reporter for The New York Times and one of the best reporters in American journalism. She is unfailingly honest, reliable and uncommonly perceptive and intuitive. She’s extraordinarily good at her profession.

The problem for me is neither the quality of the book nor her reporting and writing. It’s the subject, of course: Lying Donald Trump: specifically, do I really want to waste any part of my life and the days I have left in it reading about that treasonous ex-president?

It’s a discussion I’ve been having, as mentioned, and I finally decided that as much as I admire Maggie Haberman, I do not want to devote time to her subject. And while it could be argued that every American ought to know as much as possible about their ego-driven, weak-minded ex, having further confirmation of his myriad inadequacies is just not something I want. Even in glorious, knowledgeable prose.

So, I plead guilty to failing in a measure of my civic responsibility. Instead, with a smile, I’ll devote a little time to several other biographical subjects: Henry VIII, Pol Pot, Stalin, maybe even Attila. You know, some uplifting sort of people.

Shame on Connecticut Public TV

So, I was watching hing Connecticut Public TV the other night, and … oh wait, that’s wrong: I wasn’t watching.

And why was that? Because Connecticut’s public television (CPTV) is one of the nation’s worst public broadcasters. It’s a station that focuses on myriad British mystery reruns, tired personal service lectures while frequently ignoring major educational television programs like Great Performances.

And why would they do this in a state where the populace is well educated and well off financially? I asked, and I was told by one of the TV execs that its because viewers want British mysteries no matter how old along with self-help talks no matter how repetitive.

“Our programmers know that’s what our viewers want, and they want them at certain times and certain days of the week. We know what gets good ratings, and we want to provide programming that. meets the needs of our viewers,” the executive told me in an email a couple of weeks ago.

I mentioned that broadcasters in other, smaller states like South Carolina originate a number of network programs while Connecticut doesn’t seem to do any. “We feel like we’re serving what our viewers in this state want,” I was told.

Pretty narrow, even shabby thinking, if you ask me. It’s why — in spite of a life-long affection for and participation in public broadcasting — I refuse to support the Connecticut system. Their approach to the lowest public denominator is a disservice to this state and many of its residents. Including me.

Until there’s some new leadership and some new thinking — is that even possible in this system? — count me out. This is a broascaster badly in need of reform.

Gun Violence and Regulation

Children massacred. Teachers murdered trying to defend those children. What a horror we have seen in Texas this week.

And what a horror we now see unfolding — again — with our Republican politicians. “Guns are to the problem, people are,” they proclaim as they rise to the defense of the National Rifle Association.

No, guns are the problem. And they are the problem in this country. Not overseas, where mass murders are almost unheard of. Not overseas, where gun ownership is minuscule compared to the United States. Not overseas, where sane regulations help assure some level of safety for the populace.

Here? Guns have rights, declare Republicans. They are paramount. People’s right to live — children’s rights to live — do not exist. We must protect the guns above all. Doesn’t the Second Amendment make official that everyone is entitled to guns? Tamper with that and you tamper with the Constitution, and then you take away gun owner’s rights.

Never mind the children. the adults. The ordered. The suicides. The tens of thousands of deaths each year that are the fault of all the guns we have in our society.

What would it take to have Republicans turn sane? For each Republican to have one of their children massacred? Would that make any difference? Is the gun that sacred?

I don’t know. And that’s shameful. All of us ought to be assured that members of our political parties can speak with one voice in protection of our families. But that’s not the case. The Republican voice speaks only in defense of guns.

The Republican voice is sick. The Republican voice is shameless and repulsive and must not prevail.

Laughing at (With?) Scott

Florida Sen. Rick Scott would make a great late-night comic if it weren’t;t for the obvious fact that he is “incoherent, incapacitated and confused.” And those are Scott’s own words, my friends.

Indeed, he spoke them earlier today as part of his insistence that President Joe Biden should resign. Here’s exactly what comedian Scott said:

“He’s (Biden) unfit for office. He’s incoherent, incapacitated and confused. He doesn’t know where he is half the time. He’s incapable of leading and he’s incapable of carrying out his duties. Period.”

Now, who does that seem to describe mostly accurately? If you said Donald Trump, you’d be right. Perfectly. Remember Trump trying to walk, mangling sentences and words for four years, hands shaking as he tries to drink water, refusing intelligence reports because he thought them boring without pictures (and don’t forget, reading intelligence reports requires intelligence)? It’s a down-and-dirty description of Trump, only Scott left out the lying and corrupt part.

Scott is actually just angry at Biden because the President scoffed at Scott’s proposal to force low-income Americans to pay income taxes. A great plan, eh? That will really attack the problem of inflation. It’s such a poor idea it makes you wonder if the author of it might be incoherent and confused.

Maybe it’s just part of the comedy routine.

Do Hospitals Care About Us?

You’d think hospitals would be focused on providing quality care for patients. But as a crucial part of the health care industry, that’s not what they seem too be focused on. So what’s on their minds? It’s money, specifically making money. And even more specifically, making more money from patients and their insurers.

Here’s the latest: hospitals around the country are concerned because they’ve had to pay their nurses more during the pandemic. So they insist they need to increase what they charge for services in order to keep their profits up. And they are insisting that should be at least a 10% hike in their rates.

I think we all know who’ll pay those increases: us. Patients. The hospitals will yank their rates up, insurers will need to increase their premiums — nobody should take any losses, of course — and the patients with or without insurance will pay whatever it takes.

It’s already bad enough that hospitals charge fees for their services that are all over the map, fees depending on the insurer, the patient and maybe how much money they need this particular month. Patients with Medicare pay one rate, those with other insurances pay different rates. Those with no insurance pay something else. And there’s never any transparency about who pays how much for what service.

Hospitals are supposed to post prices for their services. Ever tried to find those prices? It can be almost impossible because no hospital wants another one to know what they’re charging. And they certainly don’t want patients to know what they might have to pay.

And speaking of slippery, consider the allied hospital services that don’t accept a certain form of insurance, like Medicare. These greedy, self-serving individuals and corporations sneak their people in and then charge outrageous fees to unsuspecting patients who thought they were covered by their insurer. It’s a nasty surprise, but it’s following a grand tradition of fooling patients and misleading everyone about costs.

It’s also shameful. Wish our lawmakers could stand up to these lobbyists for the health care industry. There are so many important changes that patients deserve and need.

He’s Baaaaaaack…..

It’s been a while. Thanks for your patience, if in fact you’ve been patient about it. Or maybe you never noticed, in which case “hello again.”

Exactly why I’ve been gone is something of a mystery. There was an issue with the website, but my administrators fixed it quickly when I asked. No, the problem is with me, of course. I’ve had plenty of things to write about, but each time it seemed I should write, I didn’t. Maybe laziness? I turned 81 since the last entry appeared, so perhaps I’m just tired?

Nah. It just didn’t happen, and now it is. Enough. End of story.

One of the topics we’re seeing frequently in some of Connecticut’s newspaper letter writers is how their personal freedoms are being eroded by Democrat socialists try8ing to force everyone to get vaccinated. This, in spite of the fact that neatly 80% of Connecticut’s adults — the grown-ups — are fully vaccinated. The complainants are a minority who mostly speak with their Trump and Fox News-addled tongues.

Give ’em this: they are a noisy minority to be sure. They write letters regularly and use the same howls of protest each time. Are they vaccinated? Probably many of them are though there’s no way to know for sure. Still, their precious individual freedoms are being taken away by the “Nazi” Democrats, and whether or not they give even a moment’s thought to the idea of the greater community good is hard to know.

My suspicion is that their fevered political dreams — impelled by the worst of the right-wing Republican demagogs, Fox opinionators and always-Trumpers — means they can’t see beyond their own selfish ideals. It’s a pity and while we can’t know for sure, the similarity of their gripes suggests the same origins.

So let’s leave it at that. Enough for this moment. Enough to know my basic philosophies haven’t budged much in my absence. Thank goodness. If anything, I’m ready for more. And let’s get started….

And Now, the Globes…

Having wasted space and thoughts on a topic as slight as the Oscars, let’s see how much lower we can go with a short commentary on the Golden Globes, eh?

NBC made headlines this week saying it would not televise the Golden Globes Hollywood show next year because the Foreign Press Association, which gives the Globes, has no diversity and needs reforming. That seems evident.

There apparently are only a few more than 80 people — that’s all? — who vote on all the Golden Globes. Some of them don’t live in Hollywood, and apparently even more don’t bother seeing all the movies out there. And the group has no black members. Other than that, it’s just a lot of fun, I suppose.

So the question quickly arises, if anyone bothers to think about it, why does anyone pay attention to the Golden Globe? Well, mostly because of the money involved: the Globe organization gets money from the telecast to sustain itself, and NBC makes cash by charging the program sponsors. And, as at the Oscars, actors get to revel in their narcissistic glamour for one more evening.

Watching the actors is getting less interesting. Watching them cavort at a ceremony put together by such an unworthy organization as the Foreign Press Association seems more and more a bad joke.

Hey NBC, let’s just drop it altogether, ok? No loss. But I’m guessing somebody will take it upon themselves to come up with another awards show no matter how depressing and ill-thought-out it might be. And maybe that’s something Donald Trump can manage in his last years.