As a long-time news junkie, I read the news of the day several times a day, thanks to the handy-dandy Internet and a long string of links to favorite suppliers. Lately, though, the daily news makes me feel like I’m watching a spider chewing up its prey. Half the time it’s not informative; it’s not helpful: it’s just stress-inducing.
We have the late gorilla episode, for example: the one where the four-year-old says “MOMMY, I’m gonna go swim in the pool inside the gorilla exhibit.” She says “No, you’re not,” and turns her attention to her cell phone and the four or five other children present. Result: rare lowland gorilla male is executed; child is rescued with minimal injuries (only, as far as anyone can tell, by the grace of God and the skill of a sharp-shooter).
Reading the comments on this story is enough to curdle your stomach. Some armchair pundits think the zoo should be put out of business — matter of fact, all zoos should be put out of business. Other self-righteous members of the peanut gallery think the mother should be prosecuted. Some of the uglier commenters believe the child should have been left to die, given that lowland gorillas are teetering on the verge of extinction and human children are a dime a dozen.
F’r chrissake. That was a CHILD trapped with a wild animal. No matter how magnificent and endangered the animal, we humans owe our first allegiance to humans. And no, it does not matter whether the child’s mother needs an IQ transplant.
Then we have Stephen Hawking on the Trump Horror Show. That a lying, clownish demagogue could achieve nomination by one of country’s two major parties suggests something is wrong with our political system; if he gets into the White House, it will prove our system is broken. While I’m not crazy about Clinton, I fear that an avowed socialist couldn’t win against Pluto the Dog, much less against a guy who riles up all the long-standing resentments against the liberal agenda…some of which are justified: the bureaucratic bullshit, the tangled and patently unfair tax system, the dictatorial political correctness, the death of the middle class…all valid complaints.
If the conservatives run a third-party candidate, they’ll split the Republican vote and lose the election to Clinton. That will be a good thing in that it foils Trump, but it may not be the best thing for America. The best thing for America would be for the Republican party to nominate a qualified candidate and let the best man or woman win.
Almost daily, we’re reminded of the ubiquitous American distrust of and hatred for anyone who is different from oneself. One of the gorilla reports elicited a comment from a guy who openly said the kid should have been sacrificed because he was black and the mother would pop out another half-dozen between now and 2026. No shame, there! Nor is there any in just about any part of the media when it comes to people over the age of about 45. CBS MarketWatch, for example, tells us as a fact that “Older adults have a ‘toxic combination’ of high self-confidence and low financial literacy.”
Then we have this astonishment: A woman answers the door to her apartment, expecting to see a 12-year-old relative. Instead, she finds a rapist who barges in and proceeds to beat and strip her. She manages to reach her husband, who comes running and thrashes the thug to death, a fitting end for that particular sh*thead. And what does he get for his trouble? You got it: prosecution. It’s hard to avoid wondering if he would have been charged were he white…
The homeless population is growing older as the homeless mentally ill age and no concerted nationwide effort is made to get them off the streets.
Consumer spending “enjoys” its largest jump in six years. Dude! Mr. Pollyana, sir! It’s not that we enjoy spending. It’s that everything costs more and more. That would be, presumably, because there’s no inflation, hm? And because junk products made in China don’t last longer than about seven years, max. Most of them, far less, come to think of it.
Home prices are rising faster than expected. This is good news? “The economy is supporting the price increases with improving labor markets, falling unemployment rates and extremely low mortgage rates,” David Blitzer, chairman of the S&P index committee, said in a statement. “Another factor behind rising home prices is the limited supply of homes on the market.”
Yeah, uh huh. Zillow thinks my house is worth almost as much as it supposedly was at the height of the disastrous housing bubble. Interest rates are at rock-bottom and it’s not all that hard to get a loan. How many of those loans are covering collateral with real value? And how many of them are loans against air?
Oh, God. I’ve got work to do.
Couple of things….I too do not care for Mr. Trump….BUT I would rather set my hair on fire than vote for Mrs. Clinton….BUT I would vote for Mr. Sanders in a minute. He has proven to be a capable candidate and is a tough ol’ guy. His common sense approach appeals to me and he has a large following of young voters. And the thought of him as President just makes me “giddy”. Make no mistake, IMHO Middle America is pissed, first the factory jobs went overseas….now the white color jobs are being “off-shored”….and companies are moving corporate filings overseas to take advantage of tax rates. Folks are ticked and they are done hearing that NAFTA is gonna be a benefit….Ross Perot looks like a pretty good prophet when he predicted the job losses when NAFTA was up for the vote. This is why Trump and Sanders have such traction….Clinton represents the “status quo”…not feeling it.
And consumer spending is up which some would say is a good thing….That is unless your the one doing the spending. I agree stuff just cost more and the stuff we’re buying is junk. Just price an SUV…which I have done recently….and you’ll be shocked….they cost more than my first house, and that had/has 2 apartments. In short…IMHO…we’re a mess….
Y’know…I saw an article that said some poll indicated that Sanders would draw more voters than Trump. Well. We’ll believe that when we see it. But really, if I indeed DID believe it, you couldn’t talk me into voting for Hilary. But…????? Really???
The poll was done by an outfit called “Real Clear Politics.” Don’t know who they are so don’t know the credibility, but they claim to have found that Sanders outdraws both Clinton and Trump. Here’s their report: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/us/general_election_trump_vs_sanders-5565.html You’ll have to draw your own conclusions about its believability.
No question of it, Trump is mining a rich vein of discontent. Some of us are not real thrilled with the insistence that free trade is GOOD for us…yeah. Sure. Tell it to the plumber who can’t get a copper part that doesn’t come brand-new with a leak, and to the businesses that can’t compete with dirt-cheap products produced by low-rent laborers working under conditions that are illegal in the US.
Oh, man. Have you looked at pick-ups??? Holy sh!t…they cost as much as a luxury car! An F-150 STARTS at almost 30 grand, and that’s the stripped-down version. And the F-150 Limited? If you have to ask, you can’t afford it. On the other hand, how can you live without those power-deployable running boards? http://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/pricing/ !!!!!
Lots nicer ride to hell than a skateboard, I guess… 😉
As a matter of fact I have looked at pick up truck prices and….they are nuts. What do these folks do for a living to be able to afford these things? My truck is approaching it’s 14th B-day and I use it as it was intended….as a truck. I haul rocks, firewood, trash to the dump, “trash pick finds”, and it is vital tool in the rental biz. I don’t need Blu Tooth, an “assist tailgate”, surround sound, individual climate control, etc… My thought was to buy a new truck and be set for a while….but the prices won’t let that happen. I might actually be driving my last truck right now. What’s most scary IMHO is the length of financing now available…8 years….Sooo if a fella say 61 was to purchase one of these trucks and finance for 8 years…He would be almost 70 when the last payment was made. A scary thought.
But I can’t tell you how great a pick up is….As I was heading to a rental the other day…it was trash day….and I spyed not one but two rocking chairs from Cracker Barrel out for the trash man. I stopped placed them in the back of my truck and home they went. Two coats of paint later and they look and feel great. And they didn’t cost me $129 each….they were free….and a pick up made this possible.
Eight years in hock to pay for a vehicle. Think of that!
The van is great for that purpose, too. I took out all but one of the back seats — originally to accommodate two vast dogs, but then realized…hey…this thing doesn’t burn as much gas when it’s not hauling four extra empty seats around… It’s been a godsend for estate sales, where I helped my son furnish his house and carried several boatloads of used brick purchased at a “please get this junk off our property” price.
And I feel exactly the same way about all the fancifications: Give me an FM radio that will pick up NPR and a decent cowboy station — that’s all I need, thank you. GPS? Thank you, I can read a map and I know which way is north. Heated seats? In 110-degree weather…whaaaa? Seats that have 150 different positions and settings? Do I really have to get a jet airliner pilot’s license to drive to the grocery store?
The Toyota Tacoma starts at 23 grand…that’s not entirely out of the question, comparatively. I paid about 30 for the Sienna, 14 years ago. The things cost a lot more than that now.
{Snarkle!!) Check this out: http://www.toyota.com/tacoma/interior/2016#/view-details EVERYONE needs a moon roof in a pickup, right? A POWER moon roof…that’s important!
On the Toyota, a lot of the frou-frou is optional. You could presumably simplify by just declining to buy a lot of the stuff. But still…it pretty much comes attached to the Internet. And that’s one reason I keep fighting the impulse to replace the Dog Chariot: I do NOT want to be connected to the Internet everywhere I go!
My neighbor has a Tacoma. He’s been every pleased with it.
Have to drop my 2 cents in. Bought a brand new Nissan last year for 24,000 I think. Spouse absolutely loving it. I think it was a leftover from prior year so price was good. In 33 years of marriage this is only our third truck, so I feel pretty darn virtuous about the purchase. Paid cash, as we have been frugal all our lives are are now retired.
I did love your news recap. I skim the paper, yes the “paper” paper, but get so depressed I skip lots of stuff. I have never been so frustrated in my life over a presidential election.
I completely understand many of Trump’s issues, as apparently do many other Americans. But thinking of him, in all his immaturity, sitting in the white house frightens me badly.