It’s been difficult to come up with a thimble’s worth of policy agreement with Republicans ever since the Reagan era and trickle down predictably widened the gap between rich and poor. But back then the debates (though sometimes heated), centered around tax policy and war mongering. The MAGA movement is different. Now we’re talking about basic human decency, or the lack thereof.

In the Reagan and Bush eras I frequently debated tax policy and war escalation with friends sitting around a summer bbq. When they arrived they were friends. We discussed. When they left they were friends.

In 2016 we were warned that Trump had a history of racism, bankruptcies, money laundering, cheating his contractors and wives, and an inexplicable disdain for immigrants – many of whom he depended on to keep his hotels running. He got elected anyway. Then came the cries for “just give him a chance.” His disdain for the constitution, dismantling of the criminal justice system, narcissism, propensity to lie, and neurotic behavior are far worse than we feared. And it’s in plain site 365 days a year, 24/7 with every tweet.

Politics can be an uncomfortable subject in social situations. People often stay clear of it so as to not offend. Totally understandable in most situations, but this is different. With Trump it’s not sufficient to just say “Hey, I don’t have any feelings for Donald Trump.” I need nothing short of a denouncement. Anything less is contributing to normalizing a whack job.

Imagine being so uninformed, so unable to observe the world around you, so isolated in your Fox News cocoon without any reasonable person to challenge your conspiracy theories that you say yeah, I want four more years of this shit.

I’m happy to hear about a group of people who are concerned enough to form an Anti-fascism group, but no, the ends do not justify the means. Violence gets a hard no every time. No exceptions.

Consider you’re a white house staffer. Maybe even Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. You’ve got a global pandemic happening on your watch, uncertainty in the markets and now levels of racial tension not seen since the 1960’s. What to advise oh dear leader?

Well, obviously the right thing to do is to address the nation with a message of calm and try to get everyone to settle down. Assure everyone that justice will run its course in due time and urge people to hold fire. But he can’t do that.

Because every time he opens his mouth he steps in it. So the best advice they can offer is to say nothing at all, which in itself is a message isn’t it? It appears they convinced Trump to hold his tweets because he held off for 11 hours or so after the “LAW AND ORDER” tweet. But man, he’s taking a beating today on Twitter with the various #Bunker hash-tags calling him out for hiding out in his bunker while our cities burn.

That is indeed a choice between bad and terrible. Thoughts and prayers for KellyAnne and Mark.

Albeit a minor one, but taking a stand nonetheless.

I’ve waffled back and forth about this for years and finally decided to do what felt right. I’ve had a love/hate relationship with Facebook for years. On the plus side, it’s pretty satisfying to post a happy event and get 60 “likes” from friends and acquaintances. On the downside, it’s run by Mark Zuckerberg. A guy who could is all-to happy to take payment in rubles from outside influences intent on wrecking this country. It doesn’t seem right to participate.

His excuse is not wanting his company to have to be the “arbiters of truth” and I get that. It’s a tough proposition. But maybe after he cashes his check for $5B we can have that discussion about first world pain and suffering. Give me a break.

Twitter isn’t much better. Jack Dorsey should have suspended Trump’s account years ago for violating Twitter policy. Finally, after years of using his power to send subtle hints to his “2A group” and lying through his teeth unchallenged, Twitter qualified one of his tweets with a pointer to some accurate information. But at least it’s not a total pansy.

It doesn’t help Zuckerberg’s case that he wines and dines with the Republican establishment. I have just lost all respect for the guy and no longer want to participate in his platform.

The truth is, probably 90% of the friends I had on Facebook won’t even notice. My bad for posting too much political activist content over the years. That content isn’t for everyone and I get that. People use the platform for vastly different reasons. It’s all good. No judgement. I’ll miss keeping up with what’s been going on in the lives of friends, neighbors and acquaintances for sure. In retrospect we probably didn’t need to post all of our meals on there. It’s possible to do TMI and I may have posted at annoying levels at times. Probably guilty. Oh well.

The other thing I got to thinking about is the time sink that social media can be. If not careful, it can be sort of addicting. I got to thinking about several people I know who either don’t have a Facebook account, or had one and gave it up. They are all doing fine. Maybe it would be a positive thing to model them? I dunno, those thoughts crossed my mind for sure. Live in the moment as they say. I’ll be spending a little more time on the blog. I can say what I want here and people can decide if they want to read opinion pieces or not.

Random thoughts. Not a big deal. Just life. Carry on.

It boggles the mind that even after all the criminal exposure Trump has had these past 4 years, combined with all the other blunders that he is still within range of pulling off an electoral college victory. Write it off to that’s how cults work I guess.

Had he shown a modicum of presidential character he would probably have 2020 sewn up. Republicans, expert yarn spinners when it comes to their trickledown sales pitch would probably be in position to carry the day November 3rd. It takes a lot to give back the advantage of incumbency, but Trump is on course. He won’t lose because Joe Biden is an awesome candidate who inspires hope in people. He’ll lose because he’s an asshole.

From Keely, Barry, Erick, Scott, and Sandin at the Sweetbrier Inn, Tualatin circa 2000.

Simply amazing.   We were spoiled living so close.

You’re the Biggest Part of me

Ain’t Nobody

Minute by Minute

Summertime

Georgie Porgie

Crazy Love

Birmingham

This Masquerade

Blue Bossa

Get Here

I’ll be Over You

Centerpiece

Simple Life

Arthur’s Theme

Fields of Gold

Stand by me

Norwegian Wood

Who will be the fool / What you won’t do for love

I just finished watching the tribute to the class of 2020 and was struck by the job the producers did in representing a very diverse America.  The graduating seniors have had a tough go of it this year, but they are a talented bunch and I don’t think they are fooled by the messaging of Trump’s Republican party.   They know they are witnessing white man’s last vestiges of holding onto power.

Barack Obama, class guy that he is, delivered a nice speech to the graduating class where there was strong messaging about not ceding your power to the older generation because they’re quite capable of screwing things up.  You’re going to have to get involved, ie. vote.  Trump is completely incapable of delivering such a speech.  He would have made it about him and blathered on about what a great job he’s doing on the pandemic.

Let’s hope the kids get out there and register to vote.

Inspired by Stephanie Grisham’s decision to leave a job she never did; I am announcing today that I am retiring from baseball and will no longer play centerfield for the New York Yankees.