2018 Note: this post, which seemed so right at the time, only proves that I am often wrong.
Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia has just removed all doubt about the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
I watched and listened to Donald Trump’s acceptance speech at the Republican convention Thursday night. Continue reading
Bernie Sanders made it clear last night in California that he’s no longer running against Hillary Clinton. He’s running against Trump.
But more importantly, Bernie continues to run because he hopes to imprint his values and issues indelibly on American politics.
Bernie wants to establish a left-of-center political movement that will live on long after the 2016 primary season is over. Continue reading
Let’s try to apply a little historical perspective to the 2016 election.
When Nelson Rockefeller, governor of New York, ran for the Republican nomination in 1964, his divorce and remarriage were considered to be disqualifying, in the eyes of many voters, especially Republican women.
Today, the presumptive Republican nominee for the highest office in the land is . . . Donald Trump? How many times has he been divorced? I forget. It doesn’t matter.
How America has changed in half a century! We were an intolerant society with overly rigid standards. We’ve become a society with no standards at all. We tolerate anything.
For Donald Trump, the charismatic chameleon, no standards apply. Nothing is too crude or too reckless. There are no limits to what the crowds will cheer for.
I wonder, what would President Eisenhower think of Donald Trump as commander-in-chief?
— John Hayden
Bernie Sanders said at the outset of the campaign that the Big-Money Establishment (my words) would resist his “political revolution” with all its power.
And now that Bernie has gained “the big M” — Momentum — with primary and caucus wins in Western states to match Hillary Clinton’s wins in the South, the pitched battle may be at hand. Continue reading
Why does the mainstream media report over and over that Hillary Clinton is almost certain to be the Democratic nominee?
The presumption of a Hillary Clinton nomination is based on a dwindling lead of fewer than 300 pledged delegates, with 18 states yet to vote.
Hillary’s lead is based entirely on Democratic primary victories in the former Confederate states of the Deep South, from South Carolina to Texas. Is the Democratic nominee going to win any of the Deep South states in November? Highly unlikely. We are conceding the Democratic nomination to Hillary Clinton based a handful of Southern states? Continue reading
This post from The Green Study is a “helpful” meditation for Super Tuesday. Most of the political vitriol that passes for news on “Cable News” channels in election year 2016 is not helpful.
Thanks to Michellle for a post that will help us keep our sanity for the balance of the election year.
It was a mild day for February in Minnesota yesterday. The sun was out and the birds were already doing their territorial and mating songs. After skimming the news for the day, I needed a walk. My mood was dark, as it usually is after taking in the shootings, the bloviating politicians, the wars and violations of human rights around the globe. As someone prone to depression, I have to fight the sense of desolation.
An alarm often goes off in my brain. Do something! Do something! I have that mentality of trying to fix, mediate, improve, or intervene, which leaves me a paralyzed, impotent ball of anger in the face of overwhelming and constant bad news. I thought about writing letters to Congress, refusing to buy certain products, running for local office, donating money to this cause or that. Bandages for my ego and drops in a bucket.
I…
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It’s the simple pleasures!
It’s being grateful for the ordinary, everyday things we take for granted.
Such as living and breathing and your heart beating. Can’t get more ordinary than that. You’ve got to do it every day.
My Honda Accord has been freed from the grip of Snowzilla. Took me two days to accomplish. I consider it a grand success, anytime a male over 60 digs a car out without a heart attack! And I do not brag. Some other folks were not so fortunate. There but for the grace of God go I. Heaven knows, it’s not because I’m so physically fit. Because, well, I’m not.
I’m delighted to report that here in Gaithersburg, MD, Snowzilla is in full retreat in above-freezing temperatures.
Thanks to all who shoveled, to all those who were prepared in advance with snowblowers, and thanks to the guys who drive those little mean, green machines.
— John Hayden
Snowzilla in Gaithersburg, MD, January 2016. I estimate we received 35 inches of snow, with drifts deep enough to bury a Corvette.
All photos by Bernard John Hayden. Please do not reproduce without giving credit to the photographer and/or the blog. Thanks! Stay warm.
Amazing, isn’t it, how quickly the first snowfall of winter loses its appeal as an exciting adventure? Even if it’s a blizzard?
Saturday evening, it was so deep that even the plows could hardly move. And snow continued to fall, at a rate of one-half inch an hour or more!
We were all in this together. Hopelessly, helplessly, stuck. When the blizzard finally tapered off Saturday night, the world was quiet and at peace. It was perfectly cozy, being snowed in.
That didn’t last long.
By Sunday afternoon, eager beavers were digging cars out. (Hey everybody, what’s the big rush?) Little green machines — miniature bulldozers — were doing what the big snowplows could not. Busily hauling snow away, one scoop at a time. The green machines didn’t care that they were destroying my excuse for hibernating in place.
Monday, even though everything important in Maryland remained closed — all the schools, the federal government, most businesses — people were impatient to be out and about. Even with no place to go. Turns out, there are places to go. The Giant is open, and McDonald’s.
And so, this afternoon, I have no choice but to put on boots, venture out and see about the damn car. Personally, I think it’s too soon to declare that Snowzilla, the Great Blizzard of 2016, is over. My rearview mirrors, at least, are still covered with snow.
I hate to think about Tuesday.
— John Hayden
The state of Maryland has closed Interstate 70 Saturday evening, from the Baltimore beltway in the east to Interstate 81 at Hagerstown in the west. Interstate 270 is also reported closed from the Washington beltway to Frederick, where it merges into I-70 going west.
The Snowzilla blizzard of 2016 is also a Nor’easter along the Maryland coast. Nor’easters often cause some flooding and erosion on Maryland’s ocean coastline and the Chesapeake Bay area.
In Ocean City, waves driven by high winds and unusually high tides were reported pounding the beaches on Saturday, continuing Saturday night and probably into Sunday. For some Ocean City streets that typically experience flooding during storms and extremely high tides, this storm was no different. Continue reading
Living Simply And Still On The Grid 