In Northern California where I live we are having the most incredible weather. Sunny and springlike days, no wind, no fog, no smog so why am I so glum? Because it’s supposed to be raining! Plants are dying. The whole bloody month of February has been bone dry and in the 70s. If it stays this way, by summer we’ll all be dead.
Well, probably not but we won’t have enough water to shower daily or wash the car. These grassy hills will turn brown. Trees, wither and droop sadly to the ground.
However, that could all change. The high pressure driving storms north of us could weaken and then we would be back to misery of endless rain. So why not just enjoy the good weather like this family?
Because in the United States we have the stupidest president imaginable. Any person with a head still on should be able to defeat him in the next election. And yet, like the lack of rain in California, there seems to be a lack of common sense amongst the people running against him. They’re all infinitely smarter than him. They’re all infinitely more trustworthy than him. They’re all at least … human.
Okay, Grandpa Bernie has been claiming for decades that America could be just like Canada or Denmark or Sweden! Or even Germany. All we have to do is tax the insanely rich. It’s not that far left. He’s not Fidel Castro. He’s said how he’ll pay for Medicare for All but he can’t provide exact numbers because it’s never been attempted. Just like the frigging rain in California. It might return, it generally does but what if it doesn’t? It has been done successfully in other countries. I’ve been to those countries. They are not like Cuba or even Russia.
Next, Boss Bloomberg’s big mouth. People make remarks in the workplace every day that someone finds offensive. I had a boss who could not construct a sentence without using some form of the word “fuck.” He used it as a noun, adjective, adverb, in prayers to God, meetings with important clients, and even when blowing out the candles on his birthday cake. But he was an uber generous man who believed everyone – janitor, secretary, CEO – deserved an equal voice and respect and so complaints to Human Resources about his “inappropriate” language generally got filed in the trash can. Do we really care if Richie Rich makes an inappropriate joke every now and then? Compared to what we got now, no.
So my ballot’s been sitting on the counter untouched, like the electric bill for a freezing month that you just don’t want to open. Spoiler alert. I’m leaning toward Uncle Joe.