8 Blogs In 8 Weeks #1

 Over the last 12 years, I have written 75 Blogs!  Politics, grandchildren, observations, opinions (guided and misguided!), stories (and boy do I have stories) and even “The Real Story.  If you are interested in seeing those Blogs, they are listed on the right side of this Blog site..

Fo the next 8 weeks, I am going to be sitting in an infusion center for most of every Thursday, so I have decided to use the time for my most important therapeutic activity…writing.  Being the frustrated writer that I am, I will be using this opportunity to write about a lot of different subjects.

First though, a couple of housekeeping items.  I will be sending this out to my friends and family as well as posting it on Facebook,  I understand if you have zero interest in what I have to say, and respect your privacy,  If you would like to be removed from the list, please private email me back and I will remove you from the list.  If you are getting this through Facebook, and want to be put on the email list, please send me your email address.  If you don't want to see it on Facebook, please feel free to block me!  

Second, I love discourse.  If you disagree with me, that is totally okay.  You can either ignore me, delete the email or even write me back with your comments..just please reply to the email to me ONLY, so we don’t inundate others with responses. Or you can leave comments at the bottom of the Blog Posts.

I thought about what to call this series of Blogs…Considered  “Thursdays with Roy” as a nod to one of my favorite writers, Mitch Album, but I am not dying anytime soon, so I threw that one out and settled for the more mundane, “8 Blogs in 8 Weeks.”.  Oh, and one last thing….If you have a subject you would like me to write about, please let me know and I will do my best to inform, entertain and hopefully get everybody thinking,

So, without further ado, here is the first installment of “8 Blogs In 8 Weeks.”

With Election Day, 2022, rapidly approaching, it is a good time to talk about elections, why we should vote and what makes up the decision to vote for a certain candidate, party or, god forbid, a cause you are passionate about.

This week, I had a disturbing encounter with a young 20 something gentleman as I was purchasing the not so winnable Powerball ticket for this week’s drawing.  He asked if I was going to share the winnings.  Assuring him that my plan was to do exactly that and he could count on a fat envelope of $100 bills from me, I reminded him that we have to pay taxes on the winnings….and that  is when the conversation went South!  “The government is corrupt!”. “Nancy Pelosi is a crook and doing insider trading..” Nancy Pelosi is everything wrong with everything.”. I calmly asked where he is getting his information, how did he arrive at his conclusions and most importantly, DOES HE VOTE??  His only answer was he just “KNEW IT,” And although he has voted before, has no plans to vote and is not interested.  I then told him that if he didn’t vote, that in my view, he gives up the right to complain about the government.

And that, is the crux of the problems in this country today.  First, voting turnout is abysmal.  Second, most people don’t know what they are voting for.  If you are really engaged or want to be engaged and really want to have your vote count for YOU, then I think a logical way to make decisions is take the pure emotion out of the equation and places it squarely on the shoulders of your belief systems, your ideas, your ideals and ultimately what exactly is important to you.

There are many factors that influence your thought, including friends, family, race, socio-economic class and even public media and talking heads…BUT, what really, really matters is what is important to you.  The Brookings Institute lists 5 issues that are important to today’s voters.  I think there are several more, so I am going to list all of them that are important to me and you can gauge how you feel about each one.  Once you take 5 minute to think about each issue, look at facts rather than fairytales, decide what is most important to YOU and compare it to what the candidate actually says about that subject, and then the voting booth becomes very simple!

The Economy!!  It’s the economy stupid!!!!  Inflation, taxes, spendings, GDP, unemployment and job availability, cost of living….my rent or mortgage and cost of borrowing and even the return I am getting on the money or investments I hold.  It is a lot to think about and I never want to minimize the overall effect it has on your life.  However, is it the only factor to consider?  Is the size of your bank account the only factor in deciding your quality of life, your beliefs and your ideals?   If so, then find the candidates that truly focus on those things that you think will help the economy.  BUT…be honest with yourself.  Does trickle-down economics REALLY work..or has it ever really worked?  If you look at the last 50 years of this country, the economy has flourished under democratic control in terms of growth, deficit control, spending.  Look it up from reputable sources and quit listening to Fox News, obliviated politicians and talk radio shock jocks.

Abortion!  With the over-turn of Roe v Wade, many, many people are upset, crazed and distraught that we are going backwards  to the 1950’s and beyond in terms of women’s rights, body autonomy, severe government overreach and the overall right to choose.  And rightfully so!  A person should not be forced to do anything when it comes to their own body.  You can’t take my blood, my organs, force a procedure, cut off a limb, make me take medicine or do anything else with my body, so why should you be able to force me to have a baby I don’t want, and won't care for?  If our religion says that life begins at conception (Although SCIENCE will disagree with you’’)…then that’s YOUR religion and it doesn’t have any sway over the personal decisions I make about my PRIVATE being.  The government has no right to decide my personal beliefs, and ultimate fate.   Forcing 10 year olds to have a baby, endangering the lives of people with misdirected edicts and turning a callous head away from sensible decisions is absurd.  Calling people baby killers solves nothing but the urge to try to intimidate the vulnerable to your way of thinking.  Give it up already!

Climate!!  Yes, Global warming and climate change are really a real thing!   Permitting reform can can enable the clean energy revolution.  Certainly, it feeds in to energy independence and we need to be as energy independent as possible.  But, we are killing the planet.  I have grandchildren that need to grow up in an environment that is healthy.  Clean air, clean water, rising seas, natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods are all part of the climate equation.  To deny that this is an issue is sticking your head in the sand.  Climate deniers are the same type of people that never wanted to give up their horses for cars, their manual labor for automation and ignore the technological advances of todays information revolution and internet culture.  Move into the present century!

HealthCare!  This is an important one!  The United States is the only advavanced modern world country that really does not provide adequate healthcare for its citizens.  And sick people make up a sick society.  There is not an easy answer.  The Affordable Care Act, MIGHT have helped a little but it is truly too little, too late.  But all of the great minds in government haven’t come up with a better plan…although we have been promised one “next week” for a long time now.  I know a lot of people are very leary of having government control healthcare, but I am not suggesting total control.  I am proposing a logical system of checks and balances that puts the patient first, costs a fair amount and pays an equitable rate to those dedicated providers.  Medicare is a decent system to build this program on and those that are trying to eliminate Medicare, which we have all paid in to over the years is a good starting point.  But let’s do it for EVERYBOODY!   We need our Doctors, our nurses, our therapists and all of our healthcare providers to rise up and demand these reforms along with anyone else that believes that the very foundation of your health is the key to fulfillment. 

And while I am on it, stop the nonsense that Social Security is an entitlement.  I have been paying in to Social Security for over 55 years and that is my money that should have grown exponentially over the years.  Quit stealing from the Social Security Trust to pay for other things or give me my money back.  It is not an entitlement.  It is my right, my money and my investment.

Education!  Wow….when we were kids, I think we took education for granted.  Most kids I grew up with went to public schools,  We learned, we studied, we did our homework we played sports and occasionally even got in a little trouble.  Parents backed the teachers…we respected the teachers, they respected us and everybody worked together.  I am all for parents being totally involved in their children's lives.  But, let's let them live...let's give them some space, let's quit hovering.  Part of growing up is making mistakes...that's how we learn.  Little Johnnie and Sally will be just find if we guide rather than control.  

Was some of what we were taught in school a lot of whitewash?  Of course it was!  No matter what the deniers say, slavery was prevalent in the founding of this country. and we are still suffering the consequences of that horrendous fact.  Contrary to what the Declaration of independence and the Constitiution says, we were NOT founded on the principle of “All Men (and Women)  Are Created Equal” and to say so is folly.    And yes, The Holocaust really did happen.  Plus,  I have a little secret for you….Columbus did not discover America!  America didn’t need to be “discovered.”  There were already indigenous people living here for many many centuries before the Europeans and Asians figured out there were societies here.  To deny that we stole their lands and territories is not history.  And we have a Governor in Florida that flat out says that never happened.  Sheesh!   Those that don't study and recognize history are doomed to repeat the mistakes we have already made!

Equal Rights  and LGBTQ….(I hope I didn’t leave anybody out)  Such a hot button.  “Don’t Say Gay.”  “Quit indoctrinating my babies.”  “All Democrats are blood sucking demon pedophiles that belong to a Satanist cult.”  “Pizzagate.”  You are turning my baby gay.”  News Flash!  Nobody is trying to make your kids gay, trans, queer, bi or anything else.  The simple fact is there are ALL kinds of people that LOVE the way they want to love.  And they want to be left alone.  There are Mom and Dad families, Dad and Dad Mom and Mom, Mom only, Dad only...and none of them are wrong!  Kids are curious and much more intelligent than we give them credit for.  They can handle differences...it is our own prejudices that influence them, not the mere fact there are differences.  Why should you care if there are gay marriages, inter-racial marriages, no marriages or lots of different kinds marriage?  Why should your very fabric of being be threatened by something other people do in their lives?  Which brings us to.......

Racism, Anti-Semitisim, Anti-Asian,  Anti-Far Eastern and yes, even ANTIFA.  There is a growing subset of people(?) that believe that all of their problems are because of somebody that is not exactly like their skin color, their accents, their customs, their culture, their religion and that these "Different" people are the root of all the world's problems.  In this Country, with the exception of the indigenous people of the land, we are ALL immigrants or are descended from immigrants.  We are a melting pot and that is what gives us strength.  Draw from that strength, nurture the differences.  There were not good people on both sides during the demonstrations in Charlottesville, VA.  Our leaders need to condemn ALL acts of discrimination and denounce those that continue to display these destroying acts of gross prejudice.  And I, for one, will not vote foe ANY candidate that remains silent as they are complicit in the hate and the violence!

I can go on with this list forever, but am going to close with what I think is the most important part of the decision making matrix....The Crazies, The Election Deniers, The Truth Benders, and The Liars and The Threats to our Democracy!  To quote the former guy from one of his books..."If you repeat a lie often enough, everyone will eventually believe you."  This has been, is, and will continue to be his and his follower's guiding light.  Last time I am going to say this...The election was NOT stolen.  It has been counted, verified, audited, 100's of lawsuits, no evidence, no coverup, no cheating machines.  To tell me that they found 4 cases of over voting in Arizona proves there is overall fraud is like telling me its raining when you are pissing on my boots.  What a scary state we are in when the candidate for Governor in Arizona publicly says that once the Republicans win Arizona, they will make sure that a Democrat will never win another vote in THEIR State...we will just elect people to the state legislature that won't pay attention to the vote of the people and fix it however we want.  Or in Georgia, where if we don't like the results of the election, we will just let the legislature decide to cast Electoral votes how these select few want.  Back these people and Democracy is dead.  And no, ANTIFA (not really an organization but a movement simply meaning Anti-Fascism!), did not storm the Capital on January 6th.  It was the DJT crazies following his instructions to disrupt the government and begin an insurrection for his infantile ego.    What a world we live in when a carnival barking con-man can get the number of followers to believe in his lies, his conspiracies and his extreme self-serving hate for anybody that doesn't massage his fragile ego.

Finally, please, please, consider intellect when choosing your candidate..Being a great football player, Coach, Fake Snake Oil Salesman Doctor, Conspriacy theorist, non-thinking Neanderthal does not qualify anyone to lead.  It takes, intelligence, compassion, thoughtful, clear-headed people to take us into the next few decades.

That's my list for today...of course there are many other factors in deciding how to vote.  Please don't just choose one and run with it...consider all sides.  I will leave you with a quote from one of my favorite people, Tony Kornheiser, of PTI  and ESPN and The Tony Kornheiser Show podcast (Shout out to all of The Littles) who said that if he ran for office his slogan would be a very simple one:  

"WE ARE BETTER THAN THIS!"

And The Journey Continues........