Democratic Circus

Well, no matter how hard we try, they keep reeling us back in.  Yes, we're in the run-up to the 2020 general election, and the Democrats have had their first in a series of debates that are supposed to winnow down the football-team sized field to a more manageable few.  How that's going to work with all the jesters running for election being asked questions by pundits who are horribly biased is unclear.  Regardless, the unintentional comedic value is accordingly very high.

Already, Eric Swalwell, the erstwhile congressman from California by way of Iowa who looks and acts more like a candidate for a My Three Sons reboot than a serious presidential contender has dropped out.  His only contribution, contrary to what he asserts about raising the collective consciousness about gun control, is getting the death stare from South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg when he asked him why he didn't fire the police chief. 

Kamala Harris attacked Joe Biden on his race record, Bernie Sanders disappeared and someone named Marianne Williamson had a Kumbaya moment. 

Apparently, CNN, who is televising the next debate, in its infinite lack of wisdom, will allow the electorate to vote on who should debate whom at the next installment of this farce.  Intent on turning this mess into a free-for-all, noted opinionator Don Lemon will be part of the moderating crew.  Let the pandering commence.

The New York Post, I think it was, published a front page with a photo of one of the first two rounds of candidates with their hands raised (in answer to the question as to who was willing to extend health care to illegals) with the headline Who Wants to Lose to Trump?  I'm not totally on board with the notion that the President will win the next election in a runaway, given how voter fraud is a staple in the Democratic playbook, but it's hard to imagine what right-thinking people would elect one of these kooks who want to turn this into Venezuela North when the economy is doing gangbusters.   

As for immigration, the same people who refused to fund border protection because there was no crisis have now done an about face and are crying to the heavens that there is a crisis.  Alexandra Ocasio-Cortes, the seemingly clueless attention whore who will say anything as long as it fits with her agenda regardless of accuracy, descried that aliens were being forced to drink out of toilets, unaware of the set up that had sinks attached behind and well above the toilets themselves.  Almost every presidential candidate thinks those aliens who violate our immigration laws should not face prosecution and deportation, that they should be given free health care (which Americans, under Obamacare, could be fined for not having) and free educations.  Ironically, the chief proponent of this largesse, Bernie Sanders, has largely been marginalized, barely rating after the initial debate. 

It's hard to imagine which of these fools will give the President a run for his money in the general election.  Those in the know think it will be Kamala Harris.  On demographics alone, she well could be.  Her problem is skeletons in the closet.  Bernie's simply too nuts, Elizabeth Warren is too scattered and Uncle Joe is both too creepy, too old and too white.  It's possible, I suppose, for one of the also-rans to make a move.  Politics is a weird game, and depending on future events, it's possible for one of them to come out of the woodwork.  But with their base split between radicals and apologists, with people leaving the party for a President who, admittedly, can be his own worst enemy at times, and with a thriving economy, it's hard to imagine one of them taking the White House away.

Better that they focus on 2024 when the race will be wide open.

(c) 2019 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles

Summer Randomness

Right before the holiday, here are some random thoughts:

--  There are those weird pop-up ads that sites have -- espn.com, youtube.com, etc. -- that prevent one from seeing the intended target before having to watch the ads.  Has anyone, ever, benefitted from one of those ads?  I never watch 'em.

--  The Little River Band is one of the all-time, most underrated, bands in the history of pop music.

--  It never ceases to amaze me how some people drive.  Especially those who own pick-up trucks.  They'll weave in and out of lanes just to get one car length ahead of someone, putting everyone at risk simply so they can be farther up the line.

--  On the same topic, merging into traffic is indicative of how people walk through doorways.

-- Getting home projects done is refreshing.  Doing them isn't always.

--  I don't mind getting all sweaty and grungy provided I'm in the yard doing yardwork.  But put me in a suit and ask me to look presentable in ninety degree weather is another matter altogether.

--  It is amazing how indifferent kids who work in fast food joints have become.  Not only that, they've become belligerent.  I never worked in that industry, but I don't remember people being this indifferent or belligerent.

--  In any public building, elevators have a document in them that tells people the last time the elevator was inspected and the name of the inspector.  Back in Chicago, there used to be an inspector whose last name was Folfas.  Say it slowly and you'll understand.

--  Summertime on television is like the doldrums on the open sea.  Every once in awhile, a decent show comes on, but usually, it's just drek.

--  Every time I turn around Elizabeth Hurley STUNS in a bikini.  Seriously?  Isn't she just pretty much the same person with a different bikini on?

--  I absolutely love the sound of trains passing through.

--  Movies this summer, so far, are underwhelming.  Over the past weekend, with the heat being what it was, Karen and I thought about going to the movies to get out of the heat.  When we checked out the offerings, we decided to stay home.

-- Speaking of movies, I've gotten to the point that if certain stars who are rudely vocal of their opposition to our President and those who support him are in it, I won't go to the theater.  It's that simple.  And since they challenge us by telling us they don't care if we see their movie, I'll call their bluff.

--  When Karen and I go to Ohio and Kentucky in a couple of weeks, we'll have to stock up on Yuengling beer.

--  Filling out reviews on Yelp and tripadvisor.com is both cathartic and fun.  I'm not sure how the establishments I rated feel.

--  Planking, eating detergent pods, now licking ice cream and putting it back in the grocery store freezer.  What happened to just TP'ing someone's house?

-- Amy Poehler is funny about twenty percent of the time. The other eighty percent is really difficult to watch.  The twenty percent of the time she's funny is when she's with Tina Fey.  That should say something.

-- Speaking of unfunny...will someone please pull the plug on the Flo commercials for Progressive.  They're not novel, they're not funny, but they are annoying.  Especially since they got that weird guy sidekick on there.

-- What does one say when he reads a book by one of his favorite personalities and the book is otherwise enjoyable but the word nonplussed is used incorrectly?

--  So a rap festival in Detroit was going to charge white attendess $10 more than people of color...and not one organizer saw a problem with that?

--  It's always a hoot to watch a traffic reporter be thrown into the position and hear her tell us that it will be slow from here to there without mentioning the road.

(c) 2019 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles