It has been a windy spring thus far, with the temperatures going up and down. Call me stubborn, but I hate having to switch on the heat, then A/C, then heat again. So, I just turn it off and grab a blanket or change into shorts as needed.
It is a great today for a walkabout, but I will definitely need to hold onto my hat. Yesterday, my wife and I were going to lunch at a restaurant outside on the patio, but we had to weigh down menus and napkins….and hair. My wife left a hair band or clip at home, so she would have been eating through her wind-blown hair. So, we went back inside.
Looking back at the news of the week, a couple random thoughts come to mind.
– Mark Twain is alleged to have said it is better to let people think you are a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt. Some Senators questioning a very well credentialed judge for the Supreme Court should have remembered this. Questions on her rulings are fair game, but these folks should not waste our time with inane questions or looking at their social media to see if their inane banter plays well with a fervent base of voters.
-Speaking of fools, I have been using the phrase believing what (someone) says as the truth is a fool’s errand. I have usually reserved this for a former president who is well documented by data and multiple people as not being very truthful. But, it applies to the current autocratic and malevolent acting leader of Russia or any one of several conspiracy parrots here in the US, disguised as serious journalists, when they are nothing more than entertainers.
-Along these lines, the conspiracy parroting usually follows the recipe of one teaspoon of a small, exaggerated truth, with healthy cups of flights of fancy. Note to the listener or reader – the more sensational it sounds, it is likely a conspiracy story and not the truth. People have gone to jail for believing and acting on the BS of folks like Alex Jones, Donald Trump, Tucker Carlson, et al. And, these folks have been sued for defamation. Carlson’s own employer threw him under the bus in court, when they said Carlson is not a news person, so his comments should not be considered as news.*
-I fully recognize that Democrats are far from perfect and some have said some inane things as well. But, for the most part, I feel I can argue policy emphasis with Democrats, whereas with Republicans, I feel I am arguing what is truthful. The conspiracy parrots have woven their story so well (and it is six times more read per a social media analyst, as the truth is not as sensational), those who do not do their homework end up believing the BS. I am not saying Democrats don’t lie nor all Republicans are untruthful, but we need the truthful people in the GOP to speak up routinely and call out the lies and for them to be applauded by the party for doing.
It frustrates me to feel this way. I have shared the need for the truth tellers to speak up with numerous Republican legislators. We need a more viable conservative party, but right now the one we have is adrift, untethered to the truth and lawfulness. That is what this independent and former Republican and Democrat thinks.
*Note: Anytime a Republican pulls out the Hillary Clinton pinata to beat on, know that person is in trouble. Clinton has not been in politics for a few years, but her lightning rod name is one that can be used when the speaker is trouble. It should not be lost on anyone, that the former president is suing Clinton for defamation for saying he spoke with the Russians during the 2016 election (which is well documented as a concern in The Mueller Report). This is typical SOP (standard operating procedure) for the former president – distract from his own troubles.