Thoughts for Today!

Another Bay Area heat wave.  Does it mean anything?  Depends on your point of view.  The existential meaning?  It will be warm today.

The Giants continue their race to the bottom.  In the fullness of time, i.e., this weekend, all shall be known.

In the sound and fury surrounding what athletes do or don’t do when the national anthem is played, the context for their actions is being lost.  It’s not about patriotism or respect for the flag, it’s about racial equality or the lack of it in this dear land of ours.

I am uncertain who to root for in the Republican party civil war.  If the establishment wins it is more of the same.  If the right wing challengers win it may reduce the power of the party but will increase the influence of the crazies.  Could be a lose-lose situation for the good guys, or maybe not.  Let’s hope for the best.

Will somebody please tell me what the distinction is between acceptable free speech and unacceptable hate speech.

California leads the way in a lot of what matters to people like me.  Secession sounds like a great idea.  And hooray for Jerry Brown.  He’s been a great governor.

Anyone surprised that the latest tax proposal is mostly tax cuts not tax reform?  Or that the rich benefit more than others?  Or that increasing the deficit is OK because that magical growth that will result from the cuts will bail us out?

Is it a coincidence that everywhere we look we see hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanoes, fires, floods, war, and probably a new pestilence ready to attack us?  End of Days anyone?

Have a nice day!

Pissing Match!

Trump and Kim Jong Un are in a pissing match unworthy of two 12-year-olds.  Taunts, threats, personal slander, a barrage of words, as the bard would say, of sound and fury signifying nothing.  Disgusting!

Lyndon Johnson, a wise old barnyard philosopher, once said, “Never get in a pissing match with a skunk.”  In this case the pissing match is between two skunks.  Where can we go to avoid the smell?

Ambivalent!

I notice that I’m ambivalent about a few things these days:

Where is the line between intolerable hate speech and free speech?  What views should be allowed to be expressed on college campuses and elsewhere, even if the views are repugnant?  I’m not sure.

What should the rules be on immigration?  Allowing only a few in is too restrictive.  Having no controls is too broad minded.  I’m on the side of encouraging people to come here but am unsure about what the limits should be.

I’m a free trade advocate who believes the playing field should be level.  Restrictive tariffs and trade wars make no sense.  Putting up barriers to trade in the name of “America First” and saving American jobs is a short-sighted, counterproductive canard.  Having said that, the rules of the game should not create an unfair advantage for one country over another.

The woeful 2017 San Francisco Giants are in a race to the bottom, competing with the Phillies and White Sox for the worst record in all of baseball.  Winning the race is an advantage in the next player draft.  Losing the race preserves at least a small amount of self-respect.  Should I want us to win or lose these last few games?  I think I vote for losing, unless we’re playing the Dodgers.

Summer!

Every year’s the same.  I welcome Memorial Day and the arrival of summer.  More daylight.  No school.  Vacations.  Warm days and July-August San Francisco fog.  Baseball every day.  Welcome to summer.

And then, in a blink of an eye, it’s Labor Day and summer is on the way out.  The change is slow but inexorable.  Shorter days, cooler, and winter is coming.  Where did summer go?  It seems like Memorial Day was just yesterday.

It’s not all bad of course.  A change of seasons has its charm.  Fall colors are beautiful.  But still, the arrival of summer is a special event.  And then, before I realize it, it is gone.  And I tell myself I should have paid more attention while it was here.

Every year’s the same!