Author: tallthinman72

Buzzwords

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Fiscal sanity, fiscal conservatism, is a smokescreen. “Efficiency” is a smokescreen. Cutting trillions from the budget is likely impossible, but it’s also mere cover for an insidious agenda.

It’s the height of hypocrisy. The ones who push for spending cuts are the ones who have no worries about putting food on the table or securing needed medications or receiving a helping hand when the money is tight. “Handouts” are anathema to these cold-hearted bastards. But that’s only because they can’t relate to anyone else’s life, anyone else’s situation.

All they see, for some reason, are illegal aliens, beggars and leeches and drags on society, instead of desperate human beings. They’d rather spend money on themselves or on an Iron Dome, instead of on a program that makes someone’s day a little less bleak.

Triple dog dare ya

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Daily writing prompt
What’s the thing you’re most scared to do? What would it take to get you to do it?
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Hmm… the first thing that came to mind was parachuting from an airplane. I can’t conceive of any amount of cajoling or trash talk that would push me to do that. Maybe the promise of a large sum of money, but even that might not be enough.

Thinking a little longer, it’d be suspending retirement and returning to part-time pastoral work. It’s pretty much all I know, and we could use the extra money, but I have serious doubts about being able to re-engage with any sense of commitment or belief. I’m not sure there’s anything anyone could say that would convince me to reconsider.

Playing With Fire

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The confirmation hearings are revealing, overall, that Project 2025 is going swimmingly. RFK, Jr. faced predictable lines of questioning—hardballs from Dems, softballs from Republicans. It’s unclear how much of a difference Caroline’s letter and video will make when it comes to her cousin’s bona fides.

One thing about his vaccine stance, though—isn’t there middle ground when it comes to making sure vaccines are still available? Instead of the extreme of prohibiting research and availability and making questionable claims about their efficacy, can’t people be given the option of receiving a vaccine or not receiving it?

In other words, leave the decision to an informed public– let us choose, instead of taking that option out of our hands.

Saying that out loud, I realize that the whole intent of vaccinating the public is to thwart a disease’s ability to spread—something that’s much more difficult to accomplish if a bunch of people aren’t immunized, aren’t participating.

Pete Buttigieg is right—it boils down to trust. Who are we gonna believe– the environmental lawyer and seeming quack who’s attempting to punch way above his weight, or scientists and virologists and immunologists who do research and have the tools and know-how to come up with solutions for our ills, who tackle things rationally and want to get it right when it comes to providing something as remarkable as a vaccine that, by and large, protects from the scourges that would otherwise make us miserable or do us in?

Ten Days In

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Untenable. Unsustainable. Un-American?

Who can tell anymore?

Seems all Trump needs is his bully pulpit and his penchant for spreading quality bullshit. The clueless MAGA herd, the lemmings in Congress, and the brown-nosed billionaires will take care of the rest.

Preferred Options

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Daily writing prompt
What are your favorite sports to watch and play?
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To play? Golf, and throwing a ball back and forth. To watch? Mostly just PGA golf; an occasional college football or NFL playoff game; NHL hockey, and the beautiful game, i.e. actual football.

I grew up, and still am, a faithful Boston fan– Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics and even the Patriots, when they played their games at Fenway Park. Anymore, though, professional sports, and even the Olympics, don’t much interest me. Except golf, for some reason.

And though I occasionally have difficulty thinking of it as sport, sitting or standing in a boat with my brothers, angling for small- and largemouth bass, northern pike, and muskies.

Dream Scenario

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Daily writing prompt
What would you do if you won the lottery?
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Assuming it’s a substantial amount… before claiming the prize, try to remain rational, keep as tight-lipped as possible, get some guidance on the best way to proceed, and make a couple of lists– people and organizations with whom we might want to share the winnings, and things we want to do or buy.

Personally speaking, my material list would include a place with a bit more acreage, with space for a wood shop, and a pickup truck. And fitted golf clubs.

If it was only a couple of bucks, then just buy more tickets and hope for the best.

Enough to Keep Busy

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Daily writing prompt
What books do you want to read?
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Preferably nonfiction, though I’d still like to cross War and Peace off my “to read” list.

At the moment, I’m reading Barack Obama’s first volume, A Promised Land, and it has taken a while to get through. Until I finish it, I’m only perusing the new titles at the library (we sometimes stop after going to the Y) but not taking anything home. This one needs my undivided attention.

What sometimes happens is that I will borrow from the library or download books from Prime and read them on my iPad, but then I end up ordering my own hard copies so I can underline and otherwise mark them up.

I try and mix up the genres of nonfiction, having recently read Jim Bouton’s classic Ball Four for the first time, along with another baseball book by Joe Posnanski; books by Adam Higginbotham, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Rachel Maddow, and Jon Meacham. I think I’ll probably look for Pete Buttigieg’s most recent offering– Trust— next, but only after finishing the Obama tome.

Only the Best

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Hegseth approved. Noem approved. RFK, Jr., Vought, Gabbard and others can’t be far behind. What a crew. What a monumentally unfunny joke.

And all we can do is watch, and hope that things won’t get as bad as it seems they’re going to get? How do we forcefully make it known that this is all unacceptable, that we know what Trump is actually doing is seeing how subservient Congress can truly be, seeing what he can get away with?

The media won’t help, with headlines shouting that Trump is already at the height of his power…

Anything for clicks.

New Ones

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Daily writing prompt
Write about a few of your favorite family traditions.
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This is more difficult than I first thought. Currently, besides the usual birthday celebrations and a big Labor Day picnic we sometimes attend, it seems a couple events have the makings of tradition– our son and his family travel here from Maine for Thanksgiving, and we have Christmas morning with our other son and his family, who live only 5 miles away. Of late, a theme has been surprise visits to or from our daughter and son-in-law in Colorado. And for the last two or three years, we’ve gathered at our local son’s place for the Super Bowl.

Historically, Sunday dinner after church was a tradition for years; Christmas Eve at Mom and Dad’s with a big spread and a late church service; afternoon coffee and baked goods (we’ve come to call it fika) was a regular feature when we were visiting Mom and Dad, continued religiously by Mom after Dad died. I often still get the urge to “have a little something” mid-afternoon.

It seems like we’re less bound by traditions anymore, or maybe we’re just starting new ones that haven’t really settled in yet.