Welcome to 2024

So another year has passed us by. And the more I (thankfully) continue to age, the greater are the numbers of folks, whose names I recognize, who have passed into that Netherland called Death.  Yeah, that’s one of the real bummers of remaining alive—all the folks who don’t. I mean, Sandra Day O'Connor, Rosalyn Carter, Diane Feinstein, Jimmy Buffett, Tony Bennett, Alan Arkin . . . and the list goes on and on.

And then we have what used to be known as Politics.  Yeah, 2023 was quite a year for demonstrating the Decline and Fall of American Politics.  I have been at least aware of American politics and our government since maybe WW II, say the 1940s. FDR dominated that scene, but after Roosevelt, we had Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy (Ahhhhh), Johnson, and Nixon. And good old Ricardo, began a parade of characters, some good, some awful, but it was like we hit some rocky road of politicians. I mean, Ford was ok, and Jimmy Carter was briefly fine, but then he was abbreviated by that rascal Reagan (ugh). And then that idiot-malenfant George Bush, happily interrupted by Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama (a really, really smart Prez). But then the bottom dropped out and the republican party seemingly collapsed into a heap, replaced by some gangrenous, braindead political party, vaguely designated MAGAHeads. Happily Joe Biden kicked them out of the White House, but they have remained the official Party in Opposition (PIO). And ever since they lost, Fox News decided that the MAGAHeads deserved total wall-to-Wall “News” coverage.  And so, they never actually went away, and 2023 was filled from top to bottom with their news. Now, to be fair, a lot of the news about MAGAHeads was really news about new criminal indictments of their pseudo-leader, Donald J. Trump. He seemingly loves violating our criminal statutes. He rarely, if ever, pays his bills. He fails at all of his businesses. He fails at all of his personal adventures (marriages). His children practically shriek awfulness.

And yet, Americans take his make believe political candidacies seriously. Others who align themselves with politics on the Radical right side of the tracks—DeSantis, Haley, Christie, et al have to work really hard simply to continue trailing him.  Seemingly normal Americans declare they would vote for no one but the Trump. Really folks??? You’re not just pulling our chain, are you?

And many Americans think that Biden is just too old, and so they may not vote for him. Really folks??? You won’t vote for Joe cuz he’s old? But he actually still has a functioning brain, unlike his main opposition—the MAGAHead himself.  And if one examines America during 2023, it was not a bad year. There had been some inflation early on, but that seemed under control. Employment levels are good. Public investments that benefit the Middle Class are being made. He has been dealing with some pretty dicey foreign affairs, with Russia and Vlad the Impaler acting like Nazi Germany towards Ukraine, and Israel and Hamas killing one another with abandon.  There seemingly is no “Good side” in that region. Perhaps were we to ship off all of Hamas maybe to somewhere in the middle of the Saudi Desert, it might improve, but that ain’t gonna happen.

So, folks, if you think not voting is an option, then you are deciding to vote implicitly for Donald Trump. So, remember, in 2024, Not Voting is casting a vote for Trump.

And so we welcome our coming New Year. 2024 seems filled with promises of all kinds. But mainly I look on those promises as of the “Be Careful What You Wish For” kind.

Take care. Love your loved one. Be kind to strangers and, generally, to folks who seem in need. The world needs Kindness, Love, and Peace. Practice all. And Work Hard at whatever you do. 

Welcome to our New Year, 2024.