No sure things
I hate politicians almost as much as I hate the Mets and I don’t even know a Met. It is a friendly kind of sports hatred. It started in 1969. That is when the Cubs went from a 9 game lead in September to finishing 8 games behind the Mets. They were so sure of themselves, they even had their own song, Hey Hey Holy Mackerel. Now, it is the Mets again. Just proving there are no sure things. It is just baseball and I do hate politicians more.
Suzie-Q saved her mums from the first frost of the season. With a short warming trend, they have at best another week or two. Then they will take up residence in the compost pit. I wished I could say the same about the presidential campaign season which seems never ending these days. Everything is so politicized that anything a person says or does is evaluated for its political impact. Nothing is looked upon for its value to solving any of our country’s problems. If it was not so disheartening and dangerous, it would be funny. Saturday Night Live does politics. It is never ending. Just step back and take a look and be honest about what you see. There seems little interest in righting the ship of state and much interest in getting your guy or gal into the Whitehouse. And it matters little if they are proven liars and charlatans. It is a sad state.
We hear it all of the time. That is the expressed trust that when Election Day rolls around the American people will do the right thing. When it comes to national politics sadly, most Americans are ignorant. Ignorance can be corrected over time by educating people or on the other hand the same education system can breed ignorance of our history, government, and political system. When you add ignorance to a healthy percentage of stupid people, the problem is compounded. And you cannot fix stupid. One can be informed and still stupid. So if a real candidate presents him or herself to the American people, he or she must overcome the politically ignorant, the hopelessly stupid and the one thing that is never talked about seriously – vote fraud. Also, you must add the media. Among them you also find ignorance and stupidity, but in these times they are guided by ideology rather than journalistic integrity. Lastly, there is the most pitiful hurdle to overcome – dereliction of duty by the 50 percent of Americans who do not vote.
The tree rodents are digging up my yard. You can see little potholes all over the landscape. They seem to be forever in search of their buried nuts. They just cannot seem to remember where they buried them. There were some nut shells lying on the front porch steps. It rained on them and left walnut stains on the concrete. I was trying to clean that off and Suzie-Q asked me what it was. I told her it appears a squirrel was sitting on our front steps playing with his nuts. Yes men, I got the look. To which I responded with a, “what?” That is the kind of plain talk that would nowadays undoubtedly disqualify me from public life.
If there is any single entity that is the most harmful to our country, I would have to say that it is career politicians. They all sing the same tune, but it lacks rhythm. It is robotic and without sprit. It is the save the middle class good paying jobs jingle. Television political ads are juvenile at best. Here in Wild and Wonderful, politicians want to be seen hugging a coal miner these days. It is just getting tougher for them to locate one that actually has a job. But, there is that promise to fight for those good paying coal jobs even when the politicians are the prime reason those jobs went away. Pure politicians do not care about the middle class. They are focused on the donor class and hoping they can rely on ignorance, stupidity and a little fraud tossed in for good measure to pull them over the finish line. But, this time around save the victory song. There are no sure things.
© 2015 J. D. Pendry American Journal All Rights Reserved
Category: Politics
JD. I have backed you on every piece you have ever posted here. I have sometimes been a near-solitary voice of support. And this is how you treat me, by saying you hate the Mets and invoke that magical, whimsical baseball year 1969? I am crestfallen and shaken to the soles of my aching feet. The Yankees I can well understand. But the Mets? The 1969 Amazing Mets whose coaches included Yogi Berra and whose pitching staff included Hall of Famers Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver? Those Mets? The same Mets who had Tommie Agee, Ron Swoboda, and Amos Otis in their outfield and Donn Clendenon, Ed Kranepool, and Bud Harrelson in their infield? The Mets who beat the greatest team ever fielded by Baltimore and did so 4 games to 1? Those Mets? I am crushed. Say it ain’t so.
I know, I know. It’s a love-hate. In 69, Cubs had the whole right side of the infield on the all-star team. Santos, Kessinger, Beckert then there was Billy Williams, Hundley, Fergie Jenkins – funny thing it was a better team than this year’s and this year’s team owned the Mets in the regular season but once again lived up to Cub tradition of just wait til next year.
Might as well fill out the rest of the starting roster for my 69 Cubs.
Ernie Banks, Jim Hickman, Don Young and pitchers Ken Holtzman and Joe Niekro.
Four Cubbies Hall of Famers on that roster.
It was quite a roster
left side of the in-field I meant
The real highlight of the year was the Oscar Gamble fro.
Beau-Coup Hair on that man.
Yeah, it’s too bad that the Cubbies were never able to latch on to Phil Niekro and that flutter/knuckleball of his. Having the Niekro brothers on the same roster would have been a trip. 539 total wins between the brothers.
As it was, the Cubbies ended up with the Reushel brothers instead. Remember them? What a pair.
Oops, have to correct the spelling.
Reuschel, not Reushel.
Rick and Paul were their names.
Oh, the Cubbies. They play well all season and then they get to the pennant race and develop fumblethumbs. I refuse to watch baseball or any other pro sport because it’s a joke on the faithful.
So if you want to liken political races to baseball, fine by me. It’s the reason Trump’s blowhard tactics blew the door open, at long last, and said what needed to be said. What does he have to lose? Money? I don’t think so. He’s just in it for as long as it takes to stir the pot into a froth.
If you must know, shrillary has survived the possibility that she will be opposed as the democrap candidate this time. She’s polishing her brass knobs as she goes.
No, she has no leadership skills and she lies worse than a goatherd in Afghanistan, but when the wolf is truly at the door, she will flounder and make excuses, and try to blame the bushes rustling outside the door.
So, yeah, I guess you could say that the poor ol’ Cubbies and the democraps have a commonality: they both suck. Big time.
Ex, even though the Cubbies were four and out for the pennant, I still consider their playoff showing a complete success by knocking off the Cardinals.
So,Yeah, you just have to look on the bright side and take it as a lesson learned and look forward to next year.
Yeah I took a hard loss when they beat my Cards!!! But like you said , see you next year!!!
Claw, these Cubs are in it for the long haul. I was totally devastated when they flopped against the Mets (I have NEVER forgiven the Mets for 1969!), but they weren’t even supposed to be there this year. Theo Epstein’s plan is supposed to coalesce next year, and with the youth on this club, my best advice to everyone else in the National League (and the American, for that matter) is … watch out! Eamus Catuli!
No wild card team is a legitimate World Series winner. (And I say that with my team{the only 100 game winner this year) having a WS to their credit from the wild card position.) It’s long past time for the NL and AL to merge a la the AFC and NFC, get rid of the DH, and play a legitimate playoff series.
If you were watching the hearings she did, after they were finished, she stood up and did a “touchdown” celebration as if she just scored the winning touchdown. It was rather ridiculous of her to do that in this case.
Hopefully, the FBI will identify the multiple times she was misleading, avoided answering properly, and flat out lied to the committee. Though the difficult thing is that they must be allowed to charge her, which is a tough one.
I’m taking a stab that if she doesn’t get charged by the FBI for her bullshit, its because Obama is afraid of her dropping the “I’ll take you all down with me” load that she could drop on the administration if she really wanted to.
I find it ridiculous that the SECSTATE didn’t talk to an ambassador in such a significantly difficult area one time while he was requesting security over 400 times via email.
I said on another site that Hillzy will skate. If Lois Lerner can get a pass from DoJ, there’s no way they’re going to indict Hillzy for anything.
We’ll be treated to there is no there, there and have to settle for “an unnamed FBI agent said today that Clinton lied about her server, it was hacked by the Russians, the Chinese, the NORKs and an 11yr old in Paradise, Michigan”. And, she’ll have a presser and say, “what difference, at this point, does it make”.
“If Lois Lerner can get a pass from DoiJ,. . .”
Department of inJustice
There. Fixed it for ya.
So much for the Back To The Future prediction of the Cubs becoming the champs.
“a 100 to 1 shot, I tell ya.”
Maybe they were counting on that expectation too much and got overly relaxed? It happens a lot.
In 1969, the talent-heavy Orioles won 109 (1-0-9!) games. They had a pair of Robinsons on that team, Frank and Brooks, both of whom were later easily elected into the Hall of Fame. I could write forever about Brooks alone but that’s not my point. Hall of Fame Pitcher Jim Palmer was also on that ’69 team and it was managed by Hall of Famer Earl Weaver. Pitcher Mike Cuellar won the Cy Young Award in 1969. OF Paul Blain and SS Mark Belanger won Gold Gloves that year. The Orioles were monsters. And a bunch of no-names beat the tar out of them. Ron Swo-who? Donn (Are you sure that’s two Ds?) Clendenon was the World Series MVP.
Paul Blair, of course, not Blain.
Don’t forget about the 2001 Mariners.
116 game winners in the regular season, barely get past the Indians, get rolled by the Yankees in the ALCS.
Jay Buhner, Jamie Moyer, Edgar Martinez, Ichiro…no slouches themselves.
The word HATE is a word with such a connotation that I try to refrain from using it. On the other hand, I do hold sincere contempt for those who run for political office; especially for those who run for successive terms. The bennies they afford themselves faaaaaaaar beyond that due anyone who served their country makes me want to puke. When I was young, those who “sacrificed” a two or four year term in political office were at the least respected. These days, lobbyists and the big donors control all things political for their own good. If you will just play the game, accept our “donations” and vote as we wish, you are ready for the big time world of corrupt politics, which all appear to be. Maybe I need to rethink the implications of the word “HATE” after all. Me thinks I does.
This is the perfect reason why our expectation of Iraq or Afghanistan’s government being 100% “non-corrupt” was ridiculous.
How can we expect them to not be corrupt, even a little, when our own Gummint is full of people who are corrupt in various ways. What’s worst is those that make “legal” what they shouldn’t and then say “well its legal, I can do it.” Even if its immoral, unethical, etc.
If there were real term limits for Congress (12 years) and then after they didn’t get a pension, had to go back to real jobs, that might be a start. And having family members that work for lobby groups and/or as “consultants” to big donors/businesses should be illegal as well.
“our own Gummint is full of people who are corrupt in every possible way.” – fixed it
LETS GO METS HAHAHAHA QUEENS BOY HERE
I was at Game Five ’69 World Series – saw all of the dimwits tearing up the infield – was in the upper-left deck – free tickets – great day, even though I’m a life-long Yankee fan. OK…..you guys can let me have it!
LETS GO…………………………..Yankees (next year, or maybe the year after)
Nassau County 🙂