Growing “Older”

The following was shared in the Reader’s Viewpoint section of our local newspaper. Apparently it had been making the rounds on the internet. How much can you identify with?

As I’ve grown older, I’ve learned that pleasing everyone is impossible, but annoying everyone is a piece of cake.

I’m not saying I’m old and worn out, but I make sure I’m nowhere near the curb on trash day.

As I watch this generation try and rewrite our history, I’m sure of one thing: It will be misspelled and have no punctuation.

Me (sobbing): “I can’t see you anymore — I’m not going to let you hurt me again.”

My physical exercise instructor (exasperated): “But you did only one sit up.”

I haven’t gotten anything done today. I’ve been in the produce department trying to open this stupid plastic bag.

Turns out that being senior is mostly just googling how to do stuff.

I’m on two diets. I wasn’t getting enough food on one.

If you find yourself feeling useless, remember it took 20 years, trillions of dollars and four presidents to replace the Taliban with the Taliban.

As I’ve gotten older, people think I’m lazy. The truth is, I’m just being energy efficient.

I put my scale in the bathroom corner and that’s where the little liar will stay until it apologizes.

My tolerance for idiots is extremely low these days. I used to have immunity built up, but obviously there’s a new strain out there.

There is no such thing as a grouchy old person. The truth is, that once you get old you to stop being polite and start being honest.

My mind is like an internet browser. At least 19 open tabs, 3 of them are frozen, and I have no clue where the music is coming from.

Hard to believe I once had a phone attached to a wall, and when it rang I picked it up without knowing who was calling.

And the final line that I personally thought was priceless …

So, you’ve been eating hot dogs and McChickens all your life, but you won’t take the vaccine because you don’t know what’s in it. Are you kidding me?

How?

Just read this here … and wondered HOW was this guy able to get his hands on this cache of weapons?

A Scappoose man barred from having any guns after a domestic violence arrest was sentenced Tuesday to more than eight years in federal prison after he was found with more than 30 guns, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and multiple gun silencers, explosives and fentanyl in his truck and home.

OregonLive.com

I Agree. Do You?

Written by Steve Schmidt for Substack.com.

President Biden should seize the moment and announce that he will be a one-term President.  

In an instant, he would transform the political moment, create a profound opportunity to instigate a long overdue debate about the future of the United States, cripple the energy of the extremist cause and position himself to become a great President. The abandonment of politics, in favor of statecraft, straight talk and a message aimed at separating a growling and extremely diverse majority from a belligerent minority that is corrupt, maliced and politically ascendant is urgently needed.

A single Presidential term has given the United States ample evidence about the power of a President to lead, surprise and transform America. From James Polk and Chester Arthur to George H.W. Bush and Lyndon Johnson, a single term has been the catalyst for significant moments of decision and leadership that have greatly benefitted America. 

What America craves is an example of selflessness and character. The vast majority of Americans are like a skeptical survivor of a desert crossing where each oasis turned into a mirage that made the suffering and thirst worse. America wants to see an act of leadership from a President like that wanderer wants a sip of water. 

The overwhelming probability is that Biden would lose the nomination in a manner that would strip him of credit for his substantial accomplishments, while burdening him with brutal and exaggerated blame for his mistakes. 

Should President Biden survive the nomination fight, he would look at the state of the campaigns of Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush’s with deep envy after their survival against Kennedy, Reagan and Buchanan. His position would be far weaker than theirs, and his overall strength profoundly more anemic than Lyndon Johnson in 1968. 

The consequences of a politically neutered President will be his defeat in a general election rematch against the core of an extremist MAGA insurgency and ongoing conspiracy that has made its disdain for elections crystal clear. There is no hyperbole involved when thinking about 2024 as a “final” election, depending upon the outcome.

The Biden White House is filled with experienced and able people who have long records of success and accomplishment. There are no political naïfs among them. 

There is a shoddy and lazy catalyst for the cementing of most conventional wisdom. It speaks to the stripping away of complexity and nuance necessary to get a grasp on what is happening. Almost all political media coverage asserts that outcomes are determined by the last major event that occurred. The Hillary Clinton campaign is a perfect example of this phenomenon. Conventional wisdom proclaims that, but for James Comey, she would have won. Therefore, because of what Comey did, Trump won. Most often, the outcome is determined by the first big thing that happens. It’s how life works. It means the outcome was driven by Chipotle as much as Comey, but this concept is obliterated by the national attention span of six seconds. 

For whatever reason, the White House team of talented players couldn’t find its rhythm when it came to politics. Bruce Springsteen has talked about this type of magic alchemy as the key to love and all great rock and roll bands. He has expressed it as “ 1+1 = 3.” The Boss says that’s when the magic happens. The simple fact is that there has been an absence of magic at a time when it is sorely needed. 

The option left is to change the rules and play a new game. Retiring from a gruelling business – politics – will help America, by helping Biden become a President the country craves with all indications pointing towards him being both successful and happy at it. 

President Biden can save his Presidency and reset the awful 2022 election dynamic with an act of selflessness, decency and patriotism. He can quit politics and announce that he will not seek a second term. Right now. 

President Biden has the agency to decide how his Presidency will end. 

Alive? Or Dead?

I very recently came across this rather fascinating article and thought I’d share it with my readers.

Inside the Heated Scientific Debate to Redefine Who Is Dead

According to the article, in March of 2022, a virtual forum (Zoom) was held to re-write the Uniform Determination of Death Act (UDDA), a draft law that has for four decades been the basis for defining who is alive and who is dead in the United States. It was a “crowded meeting of five dozen guests from both the legal and medical realms.”

At the beginning of the article was the following statement: Pandemonium can arise for laws that left up to states, each different state choosing to abide by its own wildly different set of rules. I had to smile as I read this because isn’t this exactly what we’re currently seeing as related to the Abortion issue? And, in fact, one of the participants said essentially the same thing:

“We’re literally legislating what states of life are worth protecting, which is very, very similar to the abortion debate.”

— Thaddeus Pope, Mitchell Hamline School of Law

Although the article includes some “chit-chat” related to the idiosyncrasies of a Zoom meeting, the essence of the discussion engendered several thoughts about … DEATH … and what it means.

I can understand that for legal reasons, it’s important to have a “standard” definition, but based on the various attendees to the meeting, that “standard” seemed a bit difficult to come by. And as I referenced above as related to different rules within the states, one of the participants argued that …

without a universal standard, death in the United States could become a legal and ethical hodgepodge, with different criteria in different states. That means someone could be alive in New York and dead in New Mexico.

Although it’s a long article, I found it rather fascinating and was curious to know what others thought about it. BTW, no formal decision was reached … and the new law’s wording isn’t expected to be agreed on before 2023.

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P.S. I tried to select the article as a stand-alone, but was unsuccessful so you will see coverage about other news events at the link. Hopefully, the article won’t disappear to make way for other newsworthy stories, but if it does … I made a copy 🙂 so let me know.