It’s difficult to settle on just one, but I’d have to say, for the sake of current relevance, the re-election of Donald Trump. It will never cease to be mind-boggling, in a bad way.
Give and take; excuse the language
That not everything can be relativized, that there is such a thing as the common good– or at least good for most– and there is a Golden Rule, even as there are people in the world who apparently prefer being treated like shit.
Time’s Up
How best to summarize…
Enough is enough. No more amateur hour. No more bruised egos and handicapped, emotional lightweights who carry lifelong grudges. No more unconscionable neglect. No more flakes and pretty boys who are only good at ignoring science, talking in cliches, and spouting the party line. No more ass kissers showering the Supreme Leader with contrived, smarmy compliments at every Cabinet meeting. No more shadow elites running the show from behind a curtain somewhere, who wield power because they’re filthy rich and not because they have anything important to say.
It’s time to deep-six the hijackers, send them packing, make it plain that we will not swallow what they’re trying to force feed us. The damage is being done, and we can’t let it fester any longer.
Laziness, incompetence, and hate cannot prevail. May the voting booth still be a viable solution.
Fair Question?
If the Blue Jays win the World Series, which seems unlikely but not beyond the realm of possibility, will Donald Trump take it personally and raise tariffs on Canada?
Forever Young
I think it’s a commentary on the way many adults feel. Chronologically, someone may be 70 or much older, but mentally and emotionally they could still feel like they did when they were 20.
To be a kid at heart can mean that you as an adult can put your wisdom and maturity on a shelf. You are able to let go of whatever inhibition keeps you, for example, from engaging with kids who just want to play. My grandchildren are always telling me that I’m silly, but they seem to like it when I give them horsey rides or they can pile on top of me or I play hide and seek with them, or we sit on the floor and build something with blocks or play with trucks, sit at a table and draw or color, or kick a ball around.
Maybe part of this is that one just refuses to admit that they’re getting older and should be more careful when they exert themselves. One knows the wolves are getting closer to the door, but the tendency is to ignore them for as long as possible.
Maybe it’s a way for us who have more of life behind us than in front to hold onto something that can feel like it’s slipping away, going by too quickly. We still need to be involved and useful, not discarded.
Besides all that, kids have a knack for bringing out the kid in us.
Make It So
Skilled, soulful leadershIp in government
Long, healthy lives for our kids and their families
5 million dollars, after taxes
Yuck
Hadn’t heard about the Mob for a while, was wondering if they were still around. Of course they emerge amidst a scandal involving NBA players and teams. Who couldn’t have seen that coming?
Betting is so mainstream anymore that it’s a wonder any event or sport can go unscathed for very long. It’s such a slimy endeavor. Even commentators plug it, trying to give it a certain validity? Make it sound commonplace and normal, just part of the scene?
There’s such kismet between outfits like Fan Duel and the NFL that it’s surprising people aren’t screaming “Get a room!” into their televisions.
Money, money, money. Any way, any how.
Moving
Probably bike riding, which we don’t do very often. Besides that, it’d be working in the yard– walking, lifting a bit, just moving.
I do try to get to the Y on a regular basis, but that feels more like a discipline and not quite as enjoyable– more like work than what I do in the yard at home. And my wife and I take walks on occasion, using several different routes around the local neighborhoods.
Priceless
I tend to believe that unless I won a sweepstakes or something, the cost would be way beyond what I could or would be willing to pay, so my answer is nothing. I think I’ll stay put on terra firma and stick with the earthbound risks. There would have to be too many assurances and guarantees, and the training would be a bear.
It’d be a cool view from out there, though.
Facades and Big Business
America as cash cow. This, apparently, is how the one-percenters view the world. They may pay lip service on rare occasions to the more abstract, ethereal qualities of life. But they’re pretty much locked in to acquiring wealth and power. Capitalism is their god, the religion that sustains them.
Working the system, taking advantage, making money hand over fist. Saying “I dare you” to taxation and obligations to anybody but shareholders and their own bottom lines. It’s a well-rehearsed spiel.
They’ll claim a grand vision, that their gigantic projects will unleash local productivity, provide employment, pretty much be a godsend in numerous ways—all in exchange for low or non-existent taxation. They’ll claim they need the revenue to put back into the operation, for expansion, etc. They may even provide funding for paving local roads, build a bike path that hardly ever gets maintained, or make a contribution to a local food bank—anything that keeps the skeptics at bay and polishes their image. It smacks a bit too much of bribery.
It’s difficult not to be skeptical of motives and philosophies where, when most everything is peeled away, all that’s left is strategy in the pursuit of liquidity and profit. Almost like a never-ending game, or an addiction.
In any event, shiny and new often enough turns to dull and rusty, and the players take the money and run.
3 Cents' 