How Did We Get Here?

I want to start this off by stating that this is not a "Hillary vs Donald" or "Democrat vs Republican" debate or issue.  This is an American Values issue which has spilled over to the rest of the world.  I don't care who you voted for last year and what the reasons for your vote.  I do care that I am living in a country which has been divided on a methodical basis and is continuing to be divided.  The scary part is we are being played and played and played.  What do I mean by this?

There is a pattern to what we see and are experiencing from our country's leadership.  Yes, we are being led by a narcissist who cannot handle any criticism.  We are being led by a person who will not hesitate to attack anyone who does not play to his ego or who is critical of things said or done.  We witness this on a daily basis.  There is no hesitation to the tweet attacks which, in many cases, are relentless and bombard common sense and decency.  But, once again, notice the patterns.  Not only are there Twitter bombardments, but the pattern of "misdirection" is also maintained.  For example, the terrible response and attack on the Mayor of San Juan in relation to the Hurricane's devastation of Puerto Rico brought about the attack on the NFL.  All of a sudden at a political rally for a Trump backed candidate in Alabama (who lost by the way), the NFL is put under scrutiny.  The lack of compassion and humanity for the horrors of the citizens of Puerto Rico (and also the American Virgin Islands), is now brushed under the rug.  All of sudden we are faced with "non American values" by our athletes.  This now takes over the press and Twitter.  The failings in the really important areas are now in the background.  Think about how many times this has occurred during the campaign and after the election.  Way too many times.  And we continue to be the audience for the master magician (misdirection is one of the key areas in the arsenal of all magicians).

Our country has been systematically divided.  This started with the Republican primaries where the base was established.  Playing to the fringes of our society (i.e. white supremacists, Klan members, anti-Semites, etc.) with a theme that was compared time and again to 1933 Germany, proved to be a successful strategy.  The rallies were covered 100% by the press and the other candidates were successfully put into the backgrounds.  His bombastic style of attack was appreciated by the base and his numbers were on the rise.  Each rally contained more and more deplorable actions and words (i.e making fun of a reporters physical affliction, pointing out people of color, etc.) but the base was ecstatic.

I am not going to relive the election process any further.  I only want to show the patterns that were started early on and, when successful, carried across to the present.  Time and again we are reminded of the importance of the "core"; Charlottesville  is a prime example as well as the continuing immigration emphasis.  But these were based on the earlier examples of questioning an African-American president and his credentials and policies.  The Republican Party had a choice to make and, wanting to be the party of complete power, they fell into line.  Yes, there were some defections, but not many.  It did not make a difference that one of America's heroes, who is a sitting U.S. Senator (John McCain), was attacked or that disparaging remarks were made time and time again against the two Republican leaders of the House and Senate.  The conservatives wanted a win and wanted a Supreme Court appointee as a result.  So, the party swallowed their principles and fell into line.  Success was assured with an unlikely ally coming through against the opposition right before election time.

If you read the Headline for this post - "How Did We Get Here?" - the above is a quick description of the road to success for our current president.

What Can We Do?

Real answer?  Nothing.  What did I say?  Nothing?

We have a president who is bringing us to the brink of a real military confrontation with a similar nut job (North Korea for those who have not read a paper, watched TV, listened to the radio or have been locked away).  He does not seem to listen to our military leaders or allow diplomacy to be done by our current Secretary of State.  The latest attempt was Twittered away by the president telling the Secretary that diplomacy is a waste of time!!!!

We have a president who talks down to anyone who does not agree with his actions and/or words.

We have a president who continues to show his ignorance and prejudices but is sheltered by members of Congress who are too afraid to publicly criticize him lest they lose the Trump base in their respective States.

We have a Democratic Party that shows some signs of defiance in Congress but has yet to define a platform for the 2018 elections.  Joe Biden - "come on down!!!"

Today I witnessed our president in Puerto Rico talking down to the country that has been devastated by the recent Hurricane.  He compared their Hurricane to a previous Hurricane (Kristina) and told them theirs was not as bad and they were lucky that they "only had few deaths".  Where the hell is compassion by the supposed leader of the free world?  Then he starts to throw, yes you read this right, he was throwing packages of paper towels to the audience.  This was not a Rock Concert where they throw T-shirts to the crowd!!!  What is wrong with this man?

I have not even started on his Cabinet or his failed Congressional actions that he promised during his campaign; repeal of Obama Care, build the wall, infrastructure, tax reform, etc.  His continuing writing of Executive Directives comprise his "law making" abilities.  He has no idea on what Government is or how it works.  His son-in-law, another piece of work I might add, continues to lie and has been caught with private mail servers (sound familiar?) as well as other members of the White House staff.

As long as the base continues to blame everything on the previous administration, especially former president Obama, then things will remain the same.

Just to let you know how far this goes let me relate something that happened this week that made me sick.  We had this horrific situation in Las Vegas.  I was at early morning services (for those of you who are not aware, I am an Orthodox Jew and go to daily services in the Synagogue) and the information about the shootings were coming across the Internet.  After services I was walking with some of my companions when one of them (an avid Trump supporter I have to add) said they put the blame "squarely" on Obama for the shootings.  I was stunned and could not believe my ears.  I just walked away shaking my head and realizing there is no way that his supporters are ever going to change.  They wear blinders and will not acknowledge anything negative about their president and leader.  This is the problem we face.

So, let's come back to what can we do?  I said nothing earlier but there are things that can be done.

Elections in 2018 needs to be defining against Trump and the Republicans.  Remember, the Republicans are having their own internal problems with incumbents being challenged in many primaries.  The Democrats need to get their act together and appeal to their base and the independents.

Full support for the Mueller investigation.  This is the best case for Impeachment proceedings.  Long shot?  Maybe not.  Be prepared for a Tweet storm that one has never experienced!!!!

A fight fire with fire policy.  This is something that I think can be very effective.  First of all there needs to be a notable champion who can fight the Tweet "war" with Trump.  For every stupid and distasteful Tweet by Trump, there needs to be Tweets in response.  These need to be just as bombastic and aimed directly at Trump.  His ego will take a beating if the responses are effective and unrelenting.  Just think about it.  Just remember who and what Donald Trump is and play to his weaknesses (of which there are many).

Thanks for letting me vent.  There will be much more coming but I needed to get this initial one out.  I know there was so much more to say but I do need to get to sleep!!!

Thanks for reading and I will look forward to your comments.

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered

 

For all of you who know me, one of my passions is musical theatre; Broadway Show Tunes/Music.  So you will then understand that the title of this blog is from a wonderful show called “Pal Joey” that was written by Rogers and Hart.  Now what does this have to do with a blog?  Especially an Alan Graubard blog that usually has to do with politics or my views on the world in general.

As I was walking to and from Synagogue today, this song title came into my head and I realized it was perfect to what I wanted to say.  Yes, I do observe the Jewish Sabbath and walk to Shul (the Jewish word for Temple or Synagogue for all of my non-Jewish readers and those who are Jewish and didn’t recognize the word).

So where is this going?  Let me put it into perspective.  We (I am now talking about my generation – the war babies who were born right at the beginning of the war and who have seen this country go up and down and up and down) are products of our environments and, for the most part, had our politics shaped from within our home.  I’m not saying this is still the case but be honest with yourselves and realize that if Mom and Dad said they were “Democrats or Republicans” then when you were asked at school which one you were it was always what you heard at home.  Many of us are still that way but don’t realize why.  But I have to proudly admit that many of us are also more independent in our way of thinking and have either broken with our “family traditions” or are truly Independent voters.  The other labels (Liberal and Conservative) usually are new words for Democrat or Republican.

My house was a Democratic house.  I remember that pride when Truman won and the sadness when Stevenson lost twice.  After that we were out of the house but still, for the most part, maintaining the “in-bred” political allegiances.  The JFK Nixon debate brought us into the world of TV and how that medium became the overall influence for things to come when it came to political agendas.  If I need to bring that point home just look at the past few weeks on TV and the various methods used by both parties to try to bring their cases to the American public.

OK, but the title, Alan, the title.  Where is this going?

Bewitched

Like many of millions of Americans I was bewitched in the last election by the Democratic Nominee, our current president.  I was also not a supporter of his during the primary as I wanted Hillary to get the nod.  But, once the very American series of Primaries was over, we (the Democrats) had its nominee and most Hillary supporters fell into line.  Let’s face it we were “bewitched” by the rhetoric and electrifying manner of his interaction with the public.  The other side put up a good candidate but he messed it up with his choice of running mate.  I will just leave it at that.  It’s also true that the country was still reeling from a series of things from the previous administration and a change was definitely in the air and in the voting booths.

The country was “bewitched” by our new president and his young family.  America was truly the land of opportunity for all peoples as we now had our first minority president (I’m talking real life and not “24” which predated the real election by a few years).  What we didn’t know that the reaction to this would be so mean and hurtful and the opposition (hell, the Republican Party) made it very clear that their agenda was to make this a one-term presidency.  And so they should take that approach as they are the opposition.  Nothing wrong with that.  But, it became clear that this agenda was not going to take into account the negligence to the American public on certain items that needed to be addressed and politics should have taken a back seat.

So the period of “bewitched” came to a very quick close as the bickering became more and more vocal and the naivety of the new administration became apparent.

Bothered

I first became very bothered when the first need for this country was to address the mess left to us by previous administration and Wall Street and this was only partially addressed. But what really bothered me was the manner in which the new Democratic majority in the Congress started behaving.  The crowning touch came when they didn’t care about anything else (and I mean anything else) except pushing through their version of medical reform which is referenced to as “Obama Care”.  Now you have to understand I lived in Australia for 21 years and saw the best and the worst of socialized medicine.  Overall it works in Australia because it is a “marriage” of government mandate plus private insurance; the best of 2 worlds.  What we have here (and let’s face it no one knows what we have here as the over 2,000 page document has still not been broken out for us mere mortals to understand) is something that is very scary.  And what made it worse is that this took preference over the jobs, foreclosures,  immigration, wars (closing them down), the Middle East and probably lots of other things I am forgetting (oh yes the years do make me forget some things).

So now I along with many millions of my fellow Americans (I always wanted to use that phrase and I now I did) are starting to wonder what is going on here.  His speech to the Arab nations put chills down my spine and I was really getting bothered by his negligence of the many things that were not getting done.  Granted, the Republicans were having a great time in thwarting many other things but they were getting “Obama Care” rammed down their throats.

Add to this the many other things he has neglected to address and you now face the debacle the Democrats faced during the last Congressional elections when the Tea Party reared its “head and might” and became the dominant influence.  All of a sudden the moderate Republican (now this is a phrase that may soon be extinct) leadership has to be cognizant of the influence of the newcomers who have no history or hidden agendas in Congress (except as we are starting to find out the payback of their major supporters by issuing new legislation favoring their agendas – but save this for another day).  Now this is a new bother and this then came to the forefront when this country’s debt crisis came to a head.  When Republicans who have routinely voted for debt ceiling limit raises (17 if I’m not mistaken under previous administrations) suddenly “see the lights” then the worst of political agendas becomes very clear and I am very “bothered” by the way both sides are handling this crisis.

Bewildered

The stage is now set for an historic election and the delivery of the promise of a one-term president.  So what is my bewilderment? Did you see the Republican debate the other night?  Come on people, there are 8 people on the stage who all want to be the next President of the United States.  Yes, they first have to defeat the other 7 (and there may be more soon) to win the nomination so hence the reason for “debates”.  Please forgive me for saying this but when I was in school a debate was a forum for making ones point and debating your position with the other team.  This “debate” showed nothing of the sort but rather the trying to hurt the other person by bringing up things from their past and/or present positions in politics or business.  So we had the customary “my State is better than yours” between the governors, the business man trying to make a point that he can create jobs and turn the country around like a pizza shop (then why isn’t his pizza company number one?) a Congressman who really scares me (more on that soon) and another Congresswoman who has to try to appease the movement she champions but realizes that there are some major flaws that need to be addressed.  In watching this I realized that the one candidate they party should put their efforts behind is probably not going to be the nominee due to his being able to work with the “other party” (Speaker of the House working with the Democratic President); his extra-marital affair (hello Thomas Jefferson, FDR, JFK and numerous others we don’t know the details about); his charge account at Tiffany’s (hello – our politicians have to be very wealthy people in order to run and not have to live on the meager salary we pay our President).  Would it be better if he shows his Wal-Mart charge card?  He was the only person on that stage that made sense.  Oh yes, another thing that probably is sitting on people’s minds is that his name may be a hindrance.  His name sounds like a Dr. Seuss character and are the American People ready to have a “Cat in the Hat” President?

So now it's up to the Republicans to put up a real candidate and they will win.  How's that for a challenge?  Sort of like having the Democrats putting up "anyone" last time.  How was that for a "no brainer"?  And where did that leave us?

I have tried to explain my title and I hope I have been able to voice my concerns for what is going on.   I am voter who votes for the person and has to hope he/she can control their respective party.

I don’t like labels but we are all part of this process.  I was talking to a friend the other day who says that he starts off the day with Fox News and can’t understand anyone every watching MSNBC due to their “radical views”.  I bit my tongue on that one as both stations are guilty and that is what makes this country a great one.

I will look forward to hearing from any of you on this (aye or nay).

Democracy - Love It or Hate It - Or........................

OK - we live in a great country and there is no doubt about it.  I ask you, where else can we witness our elected lawmakers demonstrate their given powers to lead this country to the brink of bankruptcy?  To give this a more detailed look I think it is important to understand how our founding fathers - wait let me make a very important change to that phrase.  I want to change it to "our founding families" or shorten it our "founders".  Let's face it - do you actually believe these guys made all of their decisions without the input of their respective spouses?  If you do then I want what you are smoking!!!!

And since we are talking about the founders, do you actually think these guys represented the majority of the settlers in the 13 colonies?  I don't see any workers on the list or small business owners or real farmers.  Rather there were the major landowners and the very wealthy of the colonies.  And, to make matters even more like today, we had the "we want more for less" type along with the "we don't want to pay more for more type" (sound familiar?).  So thing haven't changed too much over these past 200+ years from our origins.

Let's explore these origins again - we came here to get away from religious persecution, high taxes and a very mean king with very mean advisers.  So when our founders (sounds much better doesn't it?) decided to create "democracy" they wanted to stay far away from the "one leader" concept of government.  So our type of democracy was born.  This is a very different type of democracy which is practiced in many other parts of the world.  The evolution of British democracy (while still maintaining the royalty) gave the world the "Parliamentary System" of government.  This is practiced in many countries of the world but (this is a major but) with modifications by country.  I will not go into the major differences but having lived in Australia for 21 years I can say I do understand their way of government and know the subtle differences with England, Israel, Canada, etc).  Having said that and for most of the readers of this blog who are not familiar with this type of system, it is probably a good thing to understand the major differences.  They have Parliament which is our Congress (2 houses which are elected separately and have different terms of service) - our Senate is loosely on the original House of Lords and our House is very similar to our "House" with some major differences; the biggest is that the Parliamentary System does not have a separation of powers between the Legislative Branch and the Executive Branch.  In the Parliamentary System all Executive Members are members of Parliament (MP) so they design the laws and vote on them.  We would never see what is happening here in Australia. Actually we wouldn't see this at all as there are very few countries that have a debt ceiling.

OK, so what am I trying to say in this blog?  I have to start this section off by being very open in that I voted for our current president in the last election.  Having said that and without defending why I did it and what I am going to do next year, I have to also admit I am not a fan of the president.  OK, having that out of the way I must now start my comments on what I believe is going on with our country and what is going to happen.

The debt crisis will be taken care of this weekend and we will avoid the crisis with the president having received some of what he wanted and the Republicans having received much of what they wanted.  What I am hoping will be in the compromise is the avoidance of having to go through all of this again in 6 months.  The House Republicans want this to happen as that will ensure the 2012 Presidential Campaign will focus on that and not on the real problems of the economy, jobs, tax reform and a myriad of other things our governing representatives should be focusing on in both Houses and for the election campaign.  So I think this is an important part of the compromise and will be in the Bill that will be voted on Monday.

I am now going to go out on a limb with my next comments.  If I was a major leader in the Democratic Party (a behind the scenes type) I would recommend they hire Karl Rove or someone like him to start the planning for the 2016 campaign.  I am saying this as I am in awe at the forward thinking shown by Mr. Rove.  I am not a fan of his for other factors but I take my hat off to the forward thinking and the ongoing 4 year campaign of "making Obama a one term president".   Having said that will cause many eyebrows to raise (those of you who still have real eyebrows) but I think you see my point.



OK, I have now had the chance to vent.  This came about during my 4 mile walk this morning at 5am (my regular time I must add) and I wanted to share it with you.

I will look forward to comments if you so care.

IT'S OVER!!!

I am ecstatic!!!! I can now start seeing real commercials on TV.  I can't wait to see what is happening in the world of Coke, Pepsi, Cadillac, Dove (soap and rinses and creams), Victoria Secret and all of the  other friends we missed so over these past months of political commercials that hit new lows (even for politicians which is really saying something).

I listened to MSNBC early this morning (woke at the great time of 4am) and realized that the professional commentaries should be treated as one of the Jewish Festival/Holiday meals - "they tried to kill us; we won; let's eat."  That is what we should be hearing from the commentators (except the over the top ones on their respective Liberal and Conservative networks).

The American people (and probably a bunch of foreign companies and governments who had major stakes in the outcome) have spoken.  The guys in power screwed up and the American public (which has always had the shortest memory anyway) has punished them.  Now the new guys who used to be the old guys who used to be the new guys who used to be the old guys (I think you get it by now) are back.  Our esteemed leaders in Washington have learned a valuable lesson; don't screw things up and really try to listen to the people who put you there.

So we now have the 2012 electioneering starting at 11am Eastern Time.  The only good thing is that the commercials will not start showing up until mid 2012.

Don't we live in a great country!!!!  Where else can you screw up the world, blame the other guys for not fixing the mess and then come back to do it all over again.  By the way, it doesn't matter which party you prefer, it's the same statement except the years are different.

Will look forward to hearing your views on the situation.

Waiting for the results

I never thought that it would happen to me.  But, as life has taught me (and all of you), things happen and there is nothing we can do about it.  Let me fill you all in on this and what the title above really means.  A few weeks ago I was visiting my new urologist and had my PSA tested as part of the standard procedure.  I receive a call a few days later asking me to come in and discuss the results of the PSA test.  Needless to say, the first bit of apprehension crept into my mind - "Why does he want to see me?" - "Why can't they tell me the results over the phone?"  You have to understand that my brother had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and had his prostate removed - so this was on my mind.

The appointment time came and I arrived and was ushered into the office.  After a wait of 10 minutes (reading Sports Illustrated while trying to remain calm) the doctor arrived and told me that my PSA test was a bit over the mark and that the free standing PSA test was also in the open zone - nothing definitive but, due to my brother's history we needed to go futher.  So the appointment for the ultrasound and the biopsy was made.  I was given the booklet explaining it all and the prescription for the antibiotics (a freeby at Publix I might add).  The appointment was set for 2 weeks and that was that.  Just to be a bit out of the ordinary I came down with a light case of the flu so that appointment was pushed ahead another 9 days.

The day arrived and I was there.  No need to go into details on the time spent in the examining room.  For those of us who have undergone the regular examination (assume the position takes on a whole new meaning) just know this is an extended examination - I will say no more.

Now came the wait.  I was to come back in 10 days for the results.

The 10th day was yesterday, September 30th.  The lead up to the day was all OK.  I have to admit that it was not utmost on my mind as my girlfriend and I were in Boston for a wedding and I was busy and did not give it a second thought.  We arrived home on the 27th and I was still not thinking about it too much. But on the 29th and the morning of the 30th things changed.  I found myself thinking about it and found myself being very positive. "Only good thoughts" I told myself.

Being me I arrived to the appointment early, signed in and opened a magazine.  Now the thoughts started to be a bit more focused but nothing that I couldn't handle.  In fact I was amazed that I wasn't more nervous at this point.

"Alan Graubard" I heard and was handed the container.  All patients after a biopsy have to have a urine test - so I contributed and then returned to my seat.  After another 10 minutes I was called into the inner sanctum and brought into the same examination room that I had met with the doctor when he told me about the results of the PSA test - was this a sign?  Now the mind was working overtime.  OK, what am I going to do if the news was bad?  Early enough and they can radiate; remove the offending gland as so many others have gone through - my only fears on that had to do with having to endure a catheter ("you are going to put that where????") and the loss of the sex drive.  Hey, you think about these things!!!!

After reading the same Sports Illustrated issue (actually not reading at this time but turning pages) my doctor entered.  "Good news" he said with a smile.

"Just wanted you to know that right away" he added as he sat down.

We talked and he gave me a prescription for a drug that helped keep a healthy prostate (side affect is that it grows hair - now that is something I'm waiting to happen)!!!

I come back in 6 months for my regular PSA test.

I now was thinking how many of you out there have had different results from your own tests.  I know how many of you have undergone the treatments and, in some cases, radical procedures to save lives.  I also know that you all have your own stories to tell.  I just wanted to get mine out there and share it with all of you.

October 1st 2010 - the first day of the rest of my life.

The New TV Season - Part 1

WOW - my DVR is working overtime and I am now just starting to view the beginning of  the new shows on offer.  I figure I'll start off my "review/comment" by talking about the new shows (and in some cases reworkings of older shows) that have started this week.  Also, since I am on Comcast and not ATT, I can only record 2 shows at one time and not 4.  So I will be missing some shows but will catch up at another time for these shows.

"Book 'em Dano" - my generation knows exactly what this means.  For the younger generation I am positive you will get to know this phrase and immediately associate it with "Hawaii Five-0", the first of the shows I am going to talk about.

I recorded this show and watched it at 3am this morning.  What a great way to start off my day!!!  I was caught up within the first few seconds of this excellent show.  I was wondering how they were going to update this icon and I was not disappointed.  It was very well thought out and the actors are first rate.  Speaking to my generation I will tell you that I did not miss Jack Lord at all.  Alex O'Laughlin, the newest of the Australian actors to assault the US screens is a perfect leader of the pack.  Scott Caan is going to be a great Dano and I liked the New Jersey character built for him.  Daniel Dae Kim, last seen on Three Rivers, is perfect and the addition of Grace Park is a work of genius.  Do you think I like the cast?  Well I do.

We are all used to the Hawaii background from the original and, of course, Magnum.  The great use of innovative camera shots mixed in with the familiar shots from the original show (same locations but new action and views) and we have a site winner as well as a good show.  The writing is great and the story line was perfect to introduce the new "Hawaii Five-0" to this generation.  I am looking forward to the upcoming season and new story lines.  I am also looking forward to the character development that has already started and is sure to be an intricate part of the new season.

I will look forward to your comments (both pro and con) on this and any of my other reviews and blogs.

Caught Up - Where Do We Go From Here?

I am trying to understand the options that are available to me.  When I say "me" I am really channelling the "royal me" and applying it to the untold millions who are feeling the same frustrations that I am feeling.  This has to do with the current state of affairs we are living with in the US.  We have a current government who took over in the worst of times; an opposition who wants to be back in power by exercising their power of "no" (which has worked wonders, I might add); leaders of a new party who are trying to convince the masses that they have the right path by giving us nominees who scare the hell out of me (and many others too); independents who are trying to decide the lesser of two evils.  What are we supposed to do?

I was out of the country during the Bush era and viewed it from afar in a country that was content to go along with the US in most areas (except for the sub-prime debacle).  The results are well documented and the leaders were "benched" but, it appears, not removed from the playing field.  The far right of the Republican Party and the far left of the Democratic Party are very scary options and yet seem to be the leading voices of their respective parties.  Where does that leave us?  Whom do we believe will be better for the country?

We are in such dire straits that I keep thinking our woes are really the lyrics for a new Country and Western song and that the last stanza will have all the answers and, if played on a much slower speed, will have the remedy for our salvation.  OK, maybe I am just having some fun with words but, let's face it, what are we going to do?  Do we return to the years of big business, lesser government, a free-falling economy where the rich get richer and the poor keeps growing?  Will the current administration accept their due and realize that force-feeding their agenda after 8 years of frustration was not the way to do certain things?  Will they "fall on their swords" and convince the country that they can govern with responsibility and reconcilliation?  Is it too late for them and for the country?

I am watching the "Presidential Rhumba" being played on the back stage.  This entails the various contenders to start to position themselves with the party faithful and start to put together the endless dinners, speeches, photographs and other things that will enable them to accumulate the IOU's they will need in the Presidential Primary season.  The master of this was the late Richard Nixon who, after major defeats, played the game and won.  Are we watching the female version of this taking place?  Are we really going to witness the former Alaskan Governor's full-out assault on the Republican nomination for 2012?  What about the other side?  Would a challange take place if the Democrats suffer the defeat and humiliation that is being forecast for the November elections?  Who would be serious enought to take on a sitting President?  Interesting times, indeed.

I don't have any answers (I wish I did) - I consider myself enlightened enough to understand what is happening but this is taxing my own processes.  I agree with the woman at the Town Meeting yesterday; I am tired of defending the current administration and policies.  The problem is that the alternatives being offered are even more scary at this time.

Time will tell.