Call To Post: The Horses Approach the Starting Gate

A few weeks ago, I mentioned the 'rents are moving to Minnesota. Now, all things considered, moving anywhere can be pretty traumatic, especially when you're a nonagenarian; going from Flah-rida to the tundra is a particularly odd change. But Minnesota bound they are, and we (my bro and I) are in the throes of getting stuff organized for the big day when he and my sister-in-law will accompany them north.

So last Monday, instead of writing to all my gentle readers, I was on a very early morning flight to Flah-rida to get the ball rolling. I arrived and went right to work on the first sorting pass.  After dinner, Arthur, living up to his knightly name, came to rescue me. In other words, it being Passover and all, he took me out for a much needed potato vodka Bloody Mary. By the time I got home, I was in no condition to write much of anything except, "no intro today," because I really was falling asleep at the keyboard. We also went out for vodka the next night, and the night after that. I don't think I would've gotten through the week without him. 

And as long as I'm talking about Arthur, let me just tell you that this man has the patience of a saint. He is the son of my parents' dear friends, Jules (z"l) and Juliette (z"l) and I have known him literally since the day I was born.  Because he actually lives just down the road from my folks, he has been their wheels, their advocate, their friend, and their cell-phone programmer. My bro and I are so thankful to have had him in such close proximity these last couple of years. We are forever indebted to Arthur for his loving kindnesses to our parents.

So now you know. 

In other, more worldly news, the race to the White House has begun in earnest. So far, the GOP field has two candidates: Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber, with Tweedle Dumbest waiting in the wings. What is wrong with these people? The amount of money Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, and Scott Walker are about to waste on this exercise in stupidity is just plain staggering. None of these three have the brains to be the leader of the free world, not to mention the emotional chip needed to actually look concerned. 

Dr. Random Thoughts is a book-toting, philosophy-swinging adherent of Ayn Rand's Objectivism school of thought. And if you aren't sure what that means, follow the link and prepare to have your eyes cross. This man thinks climate change isn't real. He sure backpedals fast when you ask him about gutting Social Security and Medicare. Y'know, I wonder if he owns stock in the company that makes the dray-carts for "Bring Out Your Dead" days. 

Senator Rub-Me-The-Wrong-Way is one smooth talker. He can lob the bullshit with the best of them. But when it comes right down to it, he's a Tea Party patsy who is ready to throw the middle class under every bus he can find. Sure, he's the product of immigrant parents...where are the birthers to ask for his certification?... but his idea of budget balancing is on the backs of the lowest economic rungs while slashing corporate taxes. He's also big on putting lots of boots on all sorts of grounds without so much as a hint of a plan to pay for any of it...except by increasing the deficit by trillions. Kids and seniors...forget them; they have no value in his world. He wants to make Medicare a pay-as-you-go scheme, thereby insuring seniors can be gouged by the insurance companies and for-profit hospitals.  Do we look that stupid? Apparently so. 

As for Tweedle Dumbest in the wings: Scott Walker has done such a bang-up job ruining...I mean running Wisconsin that we really need him to do the same to the rest of the country. After all, he can deal with those pesky ISIS folks the same way he took down the unions in his state. Yep. That's just what we need in the White House: more delusional thinking. 

None of these guys ever heard of interstate commerce and infra-structure. They never gave a whit about our transportation system and how goods get to market. Hell, they don't even know where the goods are made. But they sure know all about boots and bombs, insurance and capital gains. They know about off-shoring and tax havens, but they know nothing about potable water, breathable air, or the polar ice caps. This are not worth worrying about because, as the Ferengi would say, there is no profit in it. 

And all three agree that a woman should have no control whatsoever over her own body. What's next for us frail little things? Burqas? Sex-slavery? Legalized discrimination in the work place? And this is different from the Taliban, ISIS, and Wahhabism how? 

Now, in all fairness, I have to say that I would love more than a one-horse race on the Dems side. There needs to be a compare-and-contrast kinda thing going on. I wish Bernie Sanders would run….but he’s not only too independent, he’s Jewish so that’s a non-starter. Elizabeth Warren says she won’t run, which is disappointing. Andy Cuomo is too busy being vilified in New York State to do much good. And neither Al Franken nor Amy Klobuchar, either one would be fine with me, have shown any interest in wasting their time.

Interestingly, CNN aired a show on Monday morning that contained the following exchange between their anchor Carol Costello and Ana Navarro , a CNN political commentator:

COSTELLO:   Good morning. Nice to have you here. 

So, Ana, if you look at Clinton's new FaceBook page, it's like a Clinton family photo album. Take a look. There's Hillary and Bill Clinton at the altar. And you'll see a picture of Clinton with baby Chelsea, Bill and Hillary in the Arkansas governor's mansion with the tiny Chelsea. Does America want a wife, mother and grandma in the White House, Ana?  

NAVARRO:  Oh, Carol, I think it's not a qualifier, and I don't think it's a disqualifier. I don't think anybody should be disqualified because they're a mother, a wife or a grandmother. But I think there [sic] need to be much more than that. 

[Tip o’the hat to my friend Kelly O’Sullivan for posting the grandma quote on Face Book.] 

My response to that question is a resounding, YES. I do want a wife, mother, and grandma in the White House. At least we’ll have someone who can multitask and actually accomplish something. I cannot imagine my father being able to run the house and the kids and everything else with the same efficiency as my mother. And on the few occasions Ziggy gave it a whirl, well, let's just say I was welcomed home with open arms. 

Now before you accuse me of a Scott Walker-esque comparison here, think about it before you dismiss it out of hand. The men have screwed things up beyond recognition. One more unfunded war is gonna put us over the edge. I'm not so sure a woman could just push the seniors onto an ice-floe and leave the kids in the gutter. Why not have a woman leader of the free world? Other countries have done it. America is so far behind in universal health care, affordable tuition, and minimum wage that this is just one more embarrassing factoid.

If Hillary Rodham Clinton is not perfect, name one guy who is. Tell me which of the GOP sacrificial goats isn't out there for the benefit of anyone except We, the People. And for all her faults, and she has many, I still think Hillary is the first one out the gate who might actually give a damn about the rest us. 

Truth be told, the field will change a hundred times before we get to the primaries. Stuff will change, there will be one gaff or another to weed out the nut-balls from the really-possibles. Still, now is the time to start reading. Don't sit back and wait for someone else to tell you what to think. Look at your bank statements, your tax bills, and your income-to-debt ratio. 

Then think about who is gonna give you the best bang for your buck....and where that buck is going. It's all about the economy.

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

When planning spaces for a senior, remember a path between furniture pieces

 must be wide enough to accommodate the walker.