So the verdict is in. Depending on where you sit Trump either got was coming to him or it was a politically motivated massive miscarriage of justice. But he is now a convicted felon. If the judge decides on July 11 to put him in some sort of confinement, it’ll get even worse. Add this to all of his other legal woes, and it’s a shit show. And not just for him…for all of us. Some say that the verdict will boost Trump’s chances in November. I’m not so sure. We’re in uncharted territory.
Meanwhile Biden shuffles through his ever dimming world as dementia closes in. The news talks about Biden does this or Biden does that but it’s really the progressives behind the scenes who are pulling the strings. While they enact policies that are having a destructive impact on the country, he is an increasingly angry old man with that blank stare of those in another world. His VP is clueless and an obnoxious jerk who literally no one likes. So there’s that.
We can argue all day long about who was a better president. And as it is in most things, where you stand depends on where you sit. I am enjoying retirement and all that it brings and one is more time for leisure activities including staying up to speed on current issues. But that’s a double-sided sword. It’s easy to just believe one side and shut out other opinions. I try to get info from a lot of sources but it is always biased one way or the other. It’s easy to get information overload and evolve to a place of being a zealot. We see plenty of those in the political landscape today and it’s distressing. I’ve written previously about everyone going to their corners. I fear this will make it worse. Much worse.
Everyone has their choice but it really comes down to a binary choice. Biden or Trump. Trump or Biden. This truly is the definition of a Hobson’s choice. If you don’t know what that is you can get the story here. Essentially it’s “the necessity of accepting one of two or more equally objectionable alternatives”. Equally objectionable…I like that. So if you hate Trump but can’t vote for the old, senile man, fine by me. I can see that. And if you hate Biden but can’t vote for the pompous jerk (who happens to be a convicted felon), okay. I can see that. I guess you could vote for RFK jr, but that would truly be a waste. So you have 5 months to decide. Who do you hate less? Now that’s a hell of a choice in the world’s greatest Democracy.
We agree - again.
Thursday night I was sitting in the United Club at Newark airport waiting for my plane to PBI. The “Guilty” headline popped up on my laptop, and prompted a lively discussion between myself, a Swiss businessman on my right and a heavily tattooed lady on my left. We all agreed that this mess is so awful for everyone.
Our vaunted two party system has utterly failed, causing America to give itself a black eye, (a self inflicted wound) severely diminishing our stature in the eyes of the world, to the unarguable detriment of everyone - EXCEPT Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. We have neither done the right thing nor have we done things right, embarrassing ourselves and tarnishing the beloved American Brand in the process.
We cannot continue this self destruction and remain the Beacon of Democracy we claim to be . But how do we fix things?
We could pass laws, but Congress in its current state can’t help. It’s riddled with corruption, led by people who’ve stayed too long at the trough and are insulated by greed and lust for power from the pain they themselves continue to cause.
If we are to survive, We the People must insist - at the ballot box- on massive systemic change. Less money in politics, Term Limits for congress and judges, and a smaller government bureaucracy would all be a good start. That can only happen be electing new people.
At the executive level our choices today are dictated by powerful Party political machinery who manipulate us by co-opting a money hungry and biased press. How else did we get choices that neither party - 75 percent of Americans DON’T want?
In the end, Too much money sloshing in the political pot “donated” by corporations hurts us all.
Until we fix the rot at the core of our system we are stuck with either being led by a crook or a corpse.