Sunday Morning Coming Down

I would like to know what Bill O'Reilly was proving or trying to prove by saying that the slaves that built the White House were well fed and housed? 

Asking for Russia to insert themselves into the American Presidential Election by hacking DNC computers is not legal.  Most other countries are livid when the U.S. gets involved in their politics. A possible leader of the free world needs to realize that there are places you just don't go. Listening to Donald Trump during his press conference yesterday was more than a little be jarring. I dismissed the comment as another example of his normal snarkiness or something that was a lame attempt at humor of the darkest type. Whether this will become an issue in the upcoming election isn't clear.  I remember the fallout from the third rate burglary of the Watergate.

Sarah Silverman called out Bernie or Bust Democrats as being ridiculous.  She is a Bernie Sanders true believer who has come around to support Hillary Clinton.  This is the way things go in a two party political system. This is the way things should go.  A political convention is not an inquisition or the Salem witch trials. Losing an election in the name supporting positions which have been rejected by voters is a special kind of ridiculousness.  There will be roll call and there are not enough people who voted for Bernie him to make him the Democratic Presidential Nominee.  A good campaign with good ideas can make things better.  A good campaign with good ideas that doesn't come together enough to win won't make things better and they might make things worse. Folks that can't stand Hillary Clinton but have no use for Donald Trump need to do some real soul searching.  How would you like the Supreme Court injecting themselves into the election proc...

Intractable means difficult to manage, alleviate, remedy or cure in the context of medicine.  I just finished listening to Anthony Sabato Jr. expound about President Obama, Muslim.  Unbelievable.  Are we still litigating birtherism and that's just the beginning.

The Class of 1969 has reached the ripe old age of sixty five or it soon will. Presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford(not elected), Carter, Reagan, G. Bush(father), Clinton, G. Bush(son), and Obama have served in the office during our life time. I know President Truman served for a while but I only know him through history books and from reports after he left office. During our lifetimes we have had the opportunity and responsibility to select between 1) Nixon and McGovern, 2) Ford and Carter, 3) Carter and Reagan, 4) Reagan and Mondale, 5) G. Bush(father) and Dukakis, 6) G. Bush(father), 7) Clinton and G. Bush(father), 8) Clinton and Dole, 9) G. Bush(son) and Gore, 10) G. Bush(son) and Kerry, 11) Obama and McCain, and 12) Obama and Romney. Will Rogers is quoted as saying "I am not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat."  The latest Republican Convention is notable for the folks that are not there rather than their disagreements. Alm...

The poem was copyrighted by Max Ehrmann.  Popularized by Les Crane..." you are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars you have a right to be here".  Who wrote the poem originally and who owns the rights to it are a less than clear. I'm not surprised about the latest contretemps regarding regarding a speech given by the presumptive republican first lady. I'm a lot more concerned with the idea that the universe is unfolding as it should.

I've been to memorial services that have had music that caused folks to move with the music.  People express themselves differently at times when there is stress and that stress is relieved a lot, somewhat, or not so much.  Some folks voices quiver, others are rock solid.  One way does not fit all.  I read Former President Bush's speech in Dallas.  It was an excellent speech, probably one of his best.  Hello out there?

This has been a very bad week for the United States.  Other weeks might have been worse, but if this one has a really toxic mix going for it. We are getting close to the Republican National Convention.  Donald Trump is having tryouts for Vice President and a senator from Tennessee takes himself out of the picture, but suggests Ivonca Trump might make a good Vice President. The candidate speaks of Saddam Hussein as being bad but being good on the subject of the control of terrorists.   #$%@$. Meanwhile, a former President meets with the current Attorney General on an Airport Tarmac and they discuss his new grandchild while his wife who is the presumptive Democratic Nominee for President is waiting for the end of an FBI investigation into her use of e-mail.  Maybe a kinder, gentler type of stupidity but it will be sure to bring out more of the worst from folks.  How many more reasons do you need to believe the fix is in when it comes to the Clintons? And loc...

The Fourth of July is a good holiday.  Fireworks displays are fun for almost everybody but dogs and cats and folks that get a little freaked out by very loud noises.  Picnics, baseball games, hot dogs, watermelon, family gatherings and parades are also appropriate ways to celebrate. It is also an appropriate time to display the American Flag.  This country values freedom of speech and so do I, but I wish we would try to separate clothing from the American Flag, selling stuff with the Flag and the general use of the American Flag as a form of advertising. Dogs dressed in flags, flag beach blankets, celebrities pictured prominently with flags, flag shirts, pants, and ties along with TV and print ads flashing the flag have become so ubiquitous that it is just cheapens the brand. Patriotism is so much more than a flag. 

The best story out of Euro Cup 2016 will be Iceland and their defeat of England in the round of eight. 2016 will be remembered by Iceland as the first year they ever qualified for a major international tournament in football.  The Icelanders are famous for competing and winning in the World's Strongest Man Competition, Handball, and Chess. The Icelandic Football Team got beaten badly by France 5-2 yesterday.  This was not completely unexpected.  Iceland's team comes from a country with a small number of players to pick from.  There are only about 330,000 Icelanders in the whole country and probably less than 20,000 males that are of an age between 20-30 that might play soccer.  Amazing that this small group of folks has been able to compete against national teams like  France, England, and the Netherlands with a lot more players to chose from. Team USA got whacked by Argentina 4-0 in their Copa America run.  This may have been a fluke and it mi...

Talking heads that discuss politics keep saying that Donald Trump should stay on message and just read what others have written for him, instead of just going off and saying what ever seems to comes into his head and then out his mouth. One of the more tragic things about campaigns that start too soon, go on too long, and then never quite end is the difficulty in changing gears from primary contests to general elections. The whole process is becoming something like playing old records.  Stump speeches are comfortable and they mean something but they are really not helpful when it comes to developing policies and governing.  I think folks should stop blaming candidates for being who they are.  What were you expecting. Speaking to your supporters and getting them fired up doesn't seem to be working this year and it is polluting the whole process.  What difference is it going to make if whoever gets elected is so unpopular or generates opposition that nothing gets...