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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