Thursday, May 7, 2015

How I Learned to Stop Grumbling and Love Politics


Once again, I’ve decided I need to sit down and write something for this blog. I really can’t say why it takes so much effort sometimes to sit down and write. It’s not that I don’t have something to say, there are a lot of things I could comment on. Maybe it’s just the effort of trying to get my thoughts together to the point where they’re somewhat coherent. Anyway, I’ll hit a couple of big news stories and add my commentary. That should be fun, no?
I’ll hit the political side of things first. It appears the 2016 Presidential campaign season has begun in earnest. Major names officially declaring they’re running include (but certainly will not be limited to) Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Mike Huckabee, Carly Fiorina, Ted Cruz, and Ben Carson. If you’re curious about whether or not your favorite candidate is running, you can go to this site
My thoughts? It’s really early, so most of the candidates seem to be in a pack and not breaking free. Two of the more interesting choices so far are Rand Paul and Bernie Sanders. Why do I find Rand Paul interesting? To me, he’s attempting to claim the mantle his father had in the last two Presidential elections: that of the Libertarian who speaks to the individual freedoms this country was built on. It plays well to a certain percentage of the electorate, but doesn’t bode well for the general election. He’ll fire up the partisans, but not much else. I’ll be curious about his candidacy’s effect on Republicans. Sanders? To me, the interest centers on the fact he is a self-identified Democratic Socialist. Right now he appears to be playing the part of a Rand Paul for the Democrats, where he appeals to the partisans but that’s about it. Depending on how well he does, he could be the first identified Socialist since Eugene V. Debs ran in 1920 from prison to receive a significant portion of the vote. Personally, I think there are too many people who are still allergic to the term Socialist to vote for him. But I think it will be an interesting barometer of how our society views itself to see how many people agree with him to the point of voting for him. Again, I don't see him winning the nomination, but he could pull the Democrats farther to the left than usual.
Police in general seem to be sinking fast, as you can find mention of incidents involving police and how they treat people almost daily. Baltimore seems to have been the focus this last week, with the Freddie Gray incident, indictment of six police officers, and the riots after the funeral. It’s an unfortunate situation when people feel the need to express their disappointment, rage, and frustration in that way. On the other side, no matter what the situation you treat people as humanely as possible. The appeal of ‘can’t we all get along’ does apply to both sides. At the same time, you cannot discount the grievances of the citizens, or the concerns of the authorities. We’re all part of the same society, and we need to strike a balance. And that is something that is sorely and sadly missing at this point.
There are other things I could probably read, think about, and comment, but those are the two biggest. For me personally? Since it’s spring I’m trying to get the house and yard set for the summer to include a re-start of the garden. It’s been difficult since we didn’t do anything last year while waiting for the painting that never happened and the garden area grew back over. Additionally, I'm trying to expand the space to allow for more plants. We’ll see how that goes. I’ll get a picture in later, once I’ve got it set.

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