'Twas a pleasant change of scene, in honour of husband's birthday, but peculiar range of weather. It was raining quite hard as we set out on Friday morning, dry but chilly on arrival in Joplin, MO that afternoon. It got progressively colder until hitting well below freezing on a couple of nights, and very very cold during Saturday/Sunday (winter jacket and muffler weather) plus the previously mischievous breeze turned into a biting bitchy wind. Monday was milder but still very windy. As we drove part-way home on Tuesday temperatures climbed, and today from a warmish windy start in McAlester OK, temperature had reached mid 80s by the time we reached home - definite short sleeve weather. A whole year's climate in just a few days!
The very sad bad news from Brussels, received from the hotel breakfast room's TV came as a shock, as I'm sure it did to everyone.
I dreaded finding out the results of Tuesday's three primaries, especially after Arizona's loss for Bernie. But, surprise, surprise, this morning brought brighter information - how does that song of Meatloaf's go? Two out of three ain't bad! Good wins too, landslide proportion even. Those results must have encouraged Bernie no end! Sneaky Democratic senators had been hinting, again, that it's time for him to drop out and let Hillary concentrate on the job of fighting Trump. Hmm! How about allowing all those people, who have not yet had a chance, to state their preferences? Important states are still to vote. Even if Bernie has hardly any chance of beating Hillary delegate-wise, surely the rest of the population's preferences ought to be made clear. Or...is that exactly what establishment Democrats are afraid of?
 |
| Anyjazz looks on, as I snap a sign from my seat in the car, and wonders: "Will it though?" |
Answer to your question at the end there is YES!
ReplyDelete"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards."
Soren Kierkegaard
:)
You didn't have to travel to experience the ups-downs-all-around of weather extremes. Here in the deep South, we had a horrendous storm Friday overnight, with 80 MPH wind, then a pleasant two days, then hot and humid, now another cool front preceded by stiff south wind, now stiff north wind and dry air (hooray!). We've had about eight months of minimal rainfall, so the recent storms have ended the dry spell, though our reservoirs are half-full. We've been taken aback by the advent of tiger mosquitoes, a new import from Asia that has been in the Southeast for the past couple of years and finally made it here. They're nasty, aggressive, huge, carry all sorts of diseases, and they are out 24 hours of the day...no sunrise-sunset hours like normal mosquitoes. I dislike DEET, but I may be bathing in the stuff.
ReplyDeleteBernie can't seem to catch a break. He's been long under-played by the media. I just read that Maricopa County, AZ, is suspected of foul-play. Too few voting locations, minimal in poorer locations, and calling the results prematurely. Phoenix's mayor is asking for a DOJ inquiry.
A neighbor asked who I voted for in our primary and I replied "Sanders". She said she preferred Sanders, but voted for Hillary, because it was time for a female POTUS and she didn't think Sanders would carry the primary. I told her that this was a PRIMARY and it shouldn't have mattered whether she thought Bernie would prevail or not, and voting for Hillary only because of her gender was lame. Sigh...such be the fragmented minds of voters. I can only assume that the astrology of Jupiter-Saturn-Neptune is distorting this process, not to mention the inadequacy of our state-to-state election process.
The Guardian has an essay about our ridiculous system:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/23/we-should-scrap-state-primaries-presidential-race
Re ISIS, brings to my mind a quote from our last Republican POTUS that got us into the Middle East involvement, destabilizing the region, and spawned the terrorists. It should be remembered that the USA went to war in Iraq against the UN vote of nations.
“There are some who feel like — that the conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is, bring ’em on! We’ve got the force necessary …” 07/02/2003, George W. Bush
I'm certainly NOT supportive of ISIS or other terrorist coalitions, but I do understand how these groups would want to extract blood for egregious transgressions by the USA and European countries against their homelands. We go in and topple governments over unfounded threats, shoot, bomb, kill, and maim the civilians, humiliate and torture prisoners of our unsubstantiated war, then haughtily declare war with their religion that we declare as radicalized and extremist. Tsk, tsk. It's nice that we find indignation in the midst of revenge.
BTW - One of the many reasons peace is a fleeting concept:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.liveleak.com/view?i=bc3_1375251194
JD ~ So, as the curtain falls on each of us our eureka moment arrives - just too late for us to take advantage of the knowledge. ;-/
ReplyDeletemike ~ Yo-yo weather here today too - it was 85 yesterday afternoon only 55 at 2.20pm today. Those mosquitoes sound like scary beasts! We had the house bug-proofed inside and out last week - and termite proofed again too - that was a big job (expensive business!) Don't know if the bug-proofing will deflect the new mosquito brand though. We had quite a few scorpions wandering in from the yard last year, and big spiders too, also those nasty waspy helicopter things always fly in if the door is open for more than 5 seconds. :-O
ReplyDeleteThanks for the links - will go read them later. I've seen commentary about possible
foul play in the Arizona Primary. I've signed a couple of petitions asking for investigation (not expecting that much will be done, however). I hope Bernie is able to continue his campaign through until June, but feel sure he'll do whatever he feels is right, I trust his judgement on this, rather than that of Dem pundits and big-wigs.
If Bernie really cannot beat Herself, The Clinton then he deserves to be in line for a position of some influence in her administration. He has a very substantial swath of the public on his side, as is being proved, this would be ignored - at her peril.
Many Bernie supporters have vowed not to vote for Clinton if she's the nominee.
I do not understand how people can vote for Clinton when there's Sanders as alternative - really and truly do not!! Makes me very disappointed and not a little angry.
I feel much the same as you on the ISIS issue.
In my make-believe world, I prefer Bernie not entangle himself in her administration, should she prevail for POTUS. She already borrowed heavily from his platform. Simply running in this election has brought his name and agenda forward to the public. He has gained influence and can do more good remaining in the Senate. It's been my observation that most politicians and voters have a favorable opinion of Bernie as a human.
ReplyDeleteIt's slim pickings should Hillary be the nominee and Bernie's supporters don't vote for her. What? Don't vote at all? I'd rather vote for Hillary simply to safeguard the position of POTUS from ANY of the Republicans. Republican voters more often than not outnumber Democratic and Independent voters, which is how they prevail. I may not prefer Hillary, but I couldn't bear a Trump or Cruz.
mike (again) ~ I trust Bernie to decide whether to be included in any Clinton administration or not, if offered - should there even be such an administration - which is not a done deal by any means.
ReplyDeleteI understand the feelings of some Bernie supporters in deciding not to vote for Clinton.
As I live in a reliably "Red State" here in OK, my vote will count for little - nothing in fact - in the General. I haven't yet decided whether to leave the presidential space blank, as I did in 2012, if the choice is Clinton or Trump, then just vote Dem down the rest of the ticket. One thing I shall definitely do, after the General, is change my registration back to Independent! Democrats (at least most of 'em) are not my kind of people.
Congrats to Bernie on his wins, and congrats to AnyJazz on his birthday ( a bit belated, sorry). I anticipate Clinton winning the presidency this time, provided she does or says nothing stupid between now and November. However, Trump can't be ruled out, and if it has to be a Republican this time, I agree totally with Noam Chomski:
ReplyDelete"the most favorable observation that can be made about his candidacy [Donald Trump] is that Cruz is even more dangerous, and the other likely Republican prospect, Rubio, is hardly less of a threat to the country and the world."
As for the Brussels obscenity, it's time IS was properly dealt with. I think Mister Putin agrees with me on that.
RJ Adams ~ Hi there! Anyjazz says thank you. :-) Bernie's wins on Tuesday and yesterday are uplifting for us and for all his supporters. We realise the path to the nomination for him is going to be hard, but possibly somewhat easier than it has been until last week. You and many establishment Democrats, pundits, commentators consider a Clinton nomination is a done deal. I'm not accepting that yet, and will not, until Bernie does so himself.
ReplyDeleteTrump is a possibility, depending on what goes on at the Republican convention (unless he self-destructs before then - though what he'd have to do or say to make that happen is difficult to imagine now). I'd much prefer Trump to any of the other possibilities barring Bernie - as daft and dangerous as that might seem. I doubt the powers that be would allow it to happen though - they don't like loose cannons. They and the DNC would rather not deal with Bernie either, but he's not in the same league of crazy looseness as Trump.