There are many reasons not to admire (much less vote for) Donald Trump. He lies – about everything, apparently. He’s pretty clearly racist. He’s all about himself, to the point of being more of a mob boss than a politician. He basically is a cult leader, giving “permission” to so many people who don’t care much about ethics and morals.
Aside from all this, he’s just so damned grumpy. Think about it – when do we see him laugh, tell a joke, or even smile? When does he say something upbeat, about anything. When does he demonstrate that he can laugh at himself, one of the characteristics my dad instilled in me while growing up. I can’t think of a single time when I have watched him and thought – gee, that was a nice move.
Aside from that – he doesn’t have a dog. Sorry, i don’t trust a President who doesn’t have a pet. Just kidding really, as I don’t even know if Kamala Harris has one…though it seems clear from the press that Tim Walz does.
Vote for a grump? A grump who has recruited a weirdo? Not a chance.
The book I am reading now is An Unfinished Love Story, by Doris Kearns Goodwin. She must be one of my favorite authors and this is her latest book. It is a ‘personal history of the 1960s’ in the USA, based on her own experiences and particularly those of her husband Dick Goodwin, who was a speechwriter and confidant to JFK, LBJ and RFK.
I am progressing toward the end of the book and there is a chapter describing the pressures on President Lyndon Johnson about the Vietnam war. Johnson accomplished a great deal toward his domestic agenda, The Great Society, but got his panties in a bunch about the war. He kept doubling down on the war, sending more and more troops, in the face of mounting protests back home in USA. Eventually, his trusted confidant Dick Goodwin came out publicly against the war, as did Bobby Kennedy and many others. Johnson was running for re-election in the midst of this and Goodwin was working with McCarthy and Kennedy to defeat his former mentor and friend LBJ for the Democratic nomination.
On March 31, 1968 Johnson made a stunning speech. He announced that he was preparing to end the war and withdraw troops…and had decided not to seek another term as President. President Johnson withdrew his nomination.
Doris Kearns Goodwin said that “Johnson had done something extraordinary by putting the country above his own ambitions.”
I read this line today, just days after President Joe Biden had withdrawn his candidacy for a second term and couldn’t help but think that Doris must be considering writing the same thing…that Joe put his country above his own ambitions.
I – like many – applaud what Joe Biden did and believe he is not just a decent man, but was a good president. He did the right thing by withdrawing, however, and I feel hope now for the first time. Can Kamala Harris win and keep that first class asshole and his proposed Vice-asshole out of the White House? I sure hope so.
These are a few words from the latest book I am reading, Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer. It’s a beautiful book, and in the chapter I am on now she reminisces about how empty her heart felt when her daughters went off to college, and she tried to avoid coming home to an empty house. I get it.
My four wonderful kids come to visit every year in the summer. They make the journey to our home on an island off the coast of Maine and they stay for as long as they can afford to. When they are all here it is chaos, a wonderful glorious chaos. The house is full of them, their partners, our dogs, their dogs. When the weather is great we are out in the water, kayaking, or hiking in the woods. I put on a huge lobster boil for a big night in the garden and we drink too much and dance in the grass and don’t want it to end.
Then they leave. Today the last of them left and I am left alone in the house (my wife is driving her to an airport and then heading elsewhere for a week). I hate it, as the time togerher feels like it slipped away, way too quickly. It happens every year, and any time they come to visit now, because these family reunions are precious and few and remind me of the wondeful time it was to have them growing up in the house together. We were a lucky family, and we all know it.
The day the first one went off to college was the first time I felt like this – empty. All of us – me and my wife and the other 3 kids – drove her to school, and the moment we had to leave her we all hugged and cried and I will never forget it. My wife set the table for 6 for days before remembering she was…gone. Then the others left in turn, and the last one…oh, the last one was just as hard as the first one. We dropped him off and couldn’t stop hugging him, and cried most of the way home…to an empty house. So on days like today I remember all of those moments.
The best thing to do is go take the dogs for a walk, read my book, go to bed early (they keep me up way past my usual bedtime when they are here) and wait for the next time we are to all be together. Wait! That’s only in two months! One of them is getting married and we will all of course be there. Can’t wait.
This is my second post in a row inspired by an extraordinary book. This book is Cuba: An American History, by Ada Ferrer. Ferrer is a professor at NYU and is Cuban. This book taught me more than I have ever learned about this island. It is a lively read, great stories about the personalities, and goes all the way back to Christopher Columbus and ends in the fairly current day, even referring to Trump’s and Biden’s presidency. Cuba is truly American, and she cautions people in the US not to think that the United States is the only American country, as their are a great many ‘american’ countries in addition to the USA….but I never knew how close Cuba came to becoming part of the USA. A shared legacy in slavery, their escape from Spanish rule, and then of course the diplomatic cold war with the US, that only ended when Barack Obama was President. We learn about the various revolutions and leaders in that country, including Fidel Castro’s of course.
The more I read the more I think the USA was (almost?) as much a historical colonial power as Great Britain was in their heyday. We (the USA) tried to force our will on the people of Cuba even insisting on our input to their constitution and our military presence. Yet now we have the pendulum swung all the way to isolationism by some, including Mr Trump. I do believe that the United States has been more a force for good than not over time, but some of these stories – read this book – make us seem pretty self-centered at times.
I read to learn and I sure learned a lot from this one.
I recognize that I am taking on a topic here that is rife with controversy and complexity. I am jewish by background (Ashkenazi jew from eastern Europe according to my dna test). I grew up in the United States where we are all taught and hence accepted that Israel is our friend and that supporting Israel above all else is the right thing to do. Of course much of the history from the holocaust and the establishment of the nation of Israel are horrific enough for us to cheer them on…unconditionally, it seems.
As a result, I grew up with no education whatsoever about the people who lived in Palestine when the Jews moved it to create Israel. The Palestinians were portrayed as terrorists who simply wanted the jews gone.
Partially as a result of the recent conflict, I have finally begun to educate myself (no thanks to all my schoolteachers while growing up). I have read a number of books – firstly both of Sandy Tolan’s books, The Lemon Tree and Children of the Stone. They are excellent, by the way. I then picked up The Hundred Year’s War on Palestine, written by Rashid Khalidi. This last one is clearly written from the Palestinian point of view, but I do believe that Sandy Tolan brought no axe to grind. His books told wonderful stories of both Israeli and Palestinian families as a means for sharing history.
As a result, I am now surely dangerous with some amount of knowledge, but clearly no expert. I am, however, more educated than I was when I simply read Thomas Friedman’ s column regularly and (all of) his books.
I see now that the Palestinians have been subjected to periods of real cruelty by the Israelis, basically jettisoning them from their homes and land and then acts of cruelty to keep them as an occupied colony. All of this was done with the unqualified support of the US of course. It does not seem that the US made much of an effort to support the Palestinian desire to have their own homeland as well – the one that Israel have largely kicked them out of. The Palestinians had made no effort to court the Americans, explain their thinking or seek support; hence the Israelis outmaneuvered them at every turn.
We now see Netanyahu making war – with some justification, mind you, given the October 7 Hamas invasion. My views however are not based solely on current affairs or Netanyahu’s irresponsible leadership. This started well before him.
I am now a man with a jewish background (admittedly not a practicing jew) who has a great deal of sympathy for both peoples – the jews and the Palestinians. This part of the world is so much more complicated than most people realize. I know that reading a handful of books doesn’t make me completely informed…just a lot more informed than I was.
This is a question asked by Dalia, an important figure in Sandy Tolan’s outstanding book, The Lemon Tree. She is referring at that moment to how someone has dressed Itzhak Rabin in a German nazi uniform, to make a point. She figuratively shakes her head at the actions of this far right actor who thinks the Israelis should never agree to peace with the Palestinians. There are similar characters on the Palestinian ‘side’ of the argument of course.
I read that line several times and it made me think of Donald Trump, Marjorie Taylor-Greene, and others. Are the only people who disrespect boundaries of decency when exercising their right to free speech? Of course not…but they seem the loudes and most disturbing. Trump used the word “reich” in a recent speech. He calls President Biden awful names and tells lies to rile up his supporters who drink it all in. He has legitimized this kind of free speech – the kind that goes too far.
Where are the limits? great question, and who gets to decide. Seems like a slippery slope, on the surface. Boundaries require good judgment. I have always told my kids that “its the decisions you make” that define your life…this means learning to exercise good judgment. Who taught Donald Trump or Marjorie Taylor-Greene good judgment? Apparently no one.
Politics can be divisive as hell, as everyone knows. I lean liberal on most things and I have many friends who do as well. My wife’s family were conservative and she grew up that way, but has changed a lot. My kids are pretty liberal as evidenced by the take on social issues like LGBTQ, abortion, racism, etc.
I also have many conservative friends. I love them just as much as my liberal friends and their take on some issues seems logical, so I respect them, even if I have a different view. It’s not all clean and separate.
I don’t think I have or can have friends who are of the “MAGA persuasion.” I don’t know if I can respect someone’s view that Donald Trump is the answer. It just fails the integrity test for me – the guy is a bad guy. He lies (about virtually everything), lacks respect for women, for people of color, for anyone who doesn’t profess loyalty. Those who follow him seem like they are in a religious order of some sort and it just doesn’t make sense to me.
Nope I won’t be able to make friends with them. I just shake my head and wonder if they will look back some years from now at how they were duped by this ‘mafia boss’ of a celebrity.
It is March 2024 and every morning when I look at the news it depresses me. Here is a sample of today’s headlines:
Donald Trump is on a path to win the Republican nomination and is polling ahead of Joe Biden. Could this bombastic asshole get elected President again? One news article said it is prompting feelings of powerlessness among some Americans. Count me in.
The Israel-Gaza war is ongoing. Rumors of cease fire seem to go up and down every day and thousands of people are dying. The issues are so complex it’s like trying to solve a Rubik’s cube.
Russia is winning. The Ukraine are losing and my country is standing by (at least in Congress) doing nothing.
Climate change and sea-level rise are causing devestating effects around the world. Is there anything that can be done about it now or is it too late.
I could go on – too many guns, restrictions on women’s rights, and the world feels more divisive than ever.
I try to skim the articles about Trump (seriously, how do so many people fall under his sway?) but then I get to the ones about Ukraine and Gaza. I know there is still kindness in the world. Sometimes it feels like it is just being drowned out.
A topic in the news often these days, Isolationism seems to be a preferred position by many conservative actors around the world. Make my country great again (fill in your favorite far right politician’s country) can sound like logical polltical theory. Okay let’s start with USA. Isolationism sounds like it’s time for us to put our country first, as THE top priority. It seems to suggest that our domestic agenda is miles more important than our international one…and protecting our borders from immigrants is an important issue. Should we really be responsible as the ‘police’ for the rest of the world? Is NATO important? to the USA?
I have views on this of course, and they are colored by our historical position as a leader and safe haven in the world. Wasn’t this what made America great in the first place?
But then I start to think about isolationism in a more expansive way. Isolating our country is up for debate (it seems). But then what….should my state take a similarly isolationist stance? If Connecticut or Maine (i like ’em both) decide that we really need to have an isolationist view about things, does that mean we don’t want those damn southerners moving here and polluting our gene pool? Are our local laws more important than the ones passed by the Federal government?
Should my little town be far more protective about mixing with people from other towns, other states, other countries? We happen to be a predominantly white population in this town – is that important to protect?
Okay then I take this to the next step in my mind, Do I want my family to think in an isolationist manner? Do we need to circle the wagons and be far more careful about who we mix with? My son is getting married this year…do I really know enough about her family’s background? My daughter has a boyfriend who great up in another country!! Yeegads. What if he pollutes our gene pool some day?
So you see, I don’t really like where isolationist thinking takes me….at any level.
We adopted Rooney about 12 years ago, maybe 11. We love adopting rescue pups and we had one lab, named Surrey. Surrey was a black lab (did you know that black labs are the hardest to find homes for? They just don’t photograph well. Here she is – best one I can find).
So we had Surrey for a few months and she was perfect – sweet, obedient, loving. My wife thought it would be fun to adopt another lab, so we went back to “Adopt a Lab” and adopted this dirty yellow girl.
When we got her, she was filthy, smelly, disobedient and basically the opposite of Surrey. She was a terrible dog. I say that but you need to know that I have had dogs my entire life. I love them and they love me. This is first time I have ever gotten close to wondering “what have we done?” by adopting her. We went through a tough time with Rooney. She was named based her stubbornness – Wayne Rooney was one of our favorite footballers; a phenomenal talent with incredible energy and a bit of a blockhead. Rooney is a girl, but we didn’t care. She was just like Wayne, and in fact she was damn good with a soccer ball. She only played with soccer balls – wouldn’t chase a tennis ball as it was beneath her. Tennis balls were for Surrey.
Rooney took forever to come around. By ‘come around’ I mean start to listen to us even a little. She will always be stubborn, but she eventually relaxed, became lovable and as our vet says, “she is a kook.” Rooney is an incredible weirdo. She was very strong and athletic. She could jump/climb over our pool fence in order to go for a swim. She loves swimming more than anything. She swims in our pool, in the ocean, anywhere at all. We have to be careful at our home in Maine because if we go out kayaking she will follow us. She once followed my daughter for about a mile before we got her to turn back. She’s amazing, really. She even taught the new kid how to swim (see below).
One time a couple years ago the vet took x-rays and found a bb pellet lodged in her chest. This was an indication of what her life must have been like before we got her. She was so high strung and difficult that we could only guess what she’d been through. The bb pellet gave us a clue.
This month we noticed that Rooney – now 12 years old – was starting to get a little thin. We took her to the vet and he took x-rays, finding a tumor in her chest. The tumor is next to her heart…her great big amazing heart. He said that she probably only has 1-2 months to live. I was in tears. I am in tears again as I write this and remember that moment. Doc said that when it looks like she’s in pain or struggling to breathe we can give her some pain meds, but making her comfortable at the end is our only strategy. Oh Rooney….
We are just 1 week in since that diagnosis. We have yet to see a decline – she is the same weirdo she has always been. Here she is, taking a nap.
I mentioned earlier how stubborn she is. She seems not to give a shit about what the doctor said and so far she is ignoring the fact that she has only a short time to live. I don’t know what will happen from here, but we are going to make sure that Rooney lives her best life for however long she has left. We are taking her back to Maine next week so she can play in the woods, run into the ocean and never look at a leash. I will take her for hikes and feed her as much as she wants, for as long as we can.
She was the worst dog ever. Now she is the best girl and I can’t imagine our home without her.
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