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Jack is a graduate of Rutgers University where he majored in history. His career in the life and health insurance industry involved medical risk selection and brokerage management. Retired in Florida for over two decades after many years in NJ and NY, he occasionally writes, paints, plays poker, participates in play readings and is catching up on Shakespeare, Melville and Joyce, etc.

Monday, July 15, 2024

July 15, 2024 - Reaction to the Assassination Attempt, Replacing Biden, Iguanas, and the Pathetic Marlins

 

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The Assassination Attempt

By now, unless you are living on another planet, you must know there was an attempt on Donald Trump’s life at a rally in Western Pennsylvania early Saturday evening.  Any news site on TV or the internet has the full story.  Check it out there.  But here are my thoughts on what happened and reactions to it.
 

Obviously, someone wanted Donald Trump dead, and a sniper, positioned on a rooftop about a hundred yards from where Trump was speaking, used a high-powered rifle with a telescopic lens, to get off several rounds.  How he managed to secure himself in such an elevated position, beyond the Secret Service’s ‘security perimeter,' is still being debated.

Because of the distance and angle, and possibly the shooter’s lack of real expertise, several shots were fired in rapid succession. The first few probably did not come anywhere near their target.  But succeeding shots, viewed through the shooter’s lens, enabled him to zero in and come closer and closer to Trump, killing one spectator and wounding at least another two.  All this took place within a few seconds.  The shooter’s final shot struck Trump in the ear, slightly wounding him, and taking away the opportunity for further shots.  It was reported that Secret Service personnel were then able to pin down the location of the shooter and kill him. 

As investigations proceed, there seems to be no evidence that the assassination attempt was part of a larger plot, although MAGA Republicans are anxious to blame it on Democrats. There already are baseless and dangerous conspiracy theories being voiced.  But thus far, it seems that the shooter was just a very angry young man armed with his father’s AR-15 type rifle.  If he were suffering from a mental problem, it doesn’t appear that it had been diagnosed.  The investigation will now center on who had responsibility for securing the rooftop, quickly located by the Secret Service as where the shooter was, (and beyond their security perimeter), and of course, the assassin’s motivation as well.

From the sparse information available about the assassin’s background, it appears that he was a twenty-year-old registered Republican, who had made one small ($15) donation to a liberal organization shortly after the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection that was allegedly inspired by Trump to halt the electoral vote count.

It occurs to me, on the eve of the Republican convention, that this could have been an insane act on the part of an otherwise normal young man, who happened to be a registered Republican and who might have been motivated by dissatisfaction with his Party’s ready acceptance of Donald Trump as its leader.  There still are many Republicans who quietly think that same way but fortunately, they are not as angry nor as mentally unbalanced as the shooter turned out to be.   

JL

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It’s Time To Cool It Down

On TV from the Oval Office Sunday evening, President Biden suggested to Americans, in view of the Trump assassination attempt, that ‘It’s time to cool it down.’

I suppose the easiest way to do that would be for Democrats and Republicans to devote their campaigns entirely to telling voters what they plan to do if elected, and what they’ve accomplished when in office, minus attacks on the other party or its candidates, however evil or wrong they believe them to be.  Rather than criticize the opposing party’s position on any issue, a constructive approach to dealing with that issue would be required.  Examples: NATO, inflation, climate change, LGBTQ and women’s rights, health care, social security, tax policy, tariffs, etc.

This would be excellent for Democrats, who believe in Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg plea for ‘government of the people, for the people, and by the people.’

It would be more difficult for Republicans who don’t really believe in government on those terms, at least on the Federal level where our Congress, our President, and our Judiciary are centered.  Some consider a federal government to be the foe of real democracy, which they claim is primarily based on State governments, and cite the Constitution to prove it.  ('States' are what are united to form the United States, but which still exist and govern independently of their being 'united.') Without constructive plans for our Federal government, Republicans might find it hard to ‘cool it down.’  Many of their efforts are the opposite, destructive in nature.  

Right now some MAGA Republicans see the assassination attempt as a Democratic plot, engineered by President Biden.  Others blame ‘inflammatory’ charges by Democrats against Trump as inspiring the shooter, even though they are far outnumbered by daily ‘inflammatory’ charges against Biden from Republican sources. (One woman interviewed in the parking lot after the shooting wore a tee shirt complaining about ‘Parasites.’ Can such people be convinced to ‘cool it.’)  Opposition to Donald Trump and his ideas is a major tool in the Democratic 2024 campaign, and they would be the last ones to want him out of the race, eliminating that tool.  It is bad enough for them that the failed assassination attempt has increased sympathy for him.

But both Democrats and Republicans will try to heed President Biden’s advice.  A good start, particularly in view of the failed assassination attempt, however, might be for Republicans to get behind real steps to avoid gun violence, including the Supreme Court’s misinterpretation of the Second Amendment (they ignored its first thirteen words), which has caused thousands of unnecessary deaths.

Donald Trump should recognize that his name is now on a list that includes those who have been assassinated or survived an assassination attempt:  Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, John Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Ronald Reagan, Robert Kennedy, Gabby Giffords, and many thousands of other men, women, and children.  He now belongs to the club.  We hope he will accept his membership and ‘cool it down.’

If he doesn’t, read the following piece.  Ah, read it anyway.

JL

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Unfit to Be President - Trump!

Both the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times have come out with lengthy editorials, declaring Donald Trump unfit to be president. Find the New York Times July 11 editorial at https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/07/11/opinion/editorials/donald-trump-2024-unfit.html or CLICK HERE.  This appeared before the assassination attempt.

JL

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Replacing Biden

Replacing President Biden on the Democratic ticket is still being debated although it will not dominate the headlines during the Republican convention.  Some Democrats are walking around with blindfolds.  After this week, however, Democrats must face up to Biden’s shortcomings and decide if they can afford to risk losing the election and Congress by sticking with him.  (If Joe were your father or grandfather, would you take away his car keys?)  Some are already quietly resolved to accepting a Trump victory and fighting back from the trenches for four years, ignoring that they have many capable replacement candidates.  I am not among them.

I believe that Vice President Harris will replace him on the ticket (and in the White House as well at the same time), preferably no later than the August Democratic convention.  Any time afterwards would prove disastrous for their entire ticket.  That’s where I stand today.  Increasingly, more and more nervous Democrats are sensing ‘the sooner the better.’  But Joe Biden‘s continued presence as President prevents there from being active support for anyone else, including Vice-President Harris.     

JL

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Iguanas


For years my backyard was plagued by iguanas.  My community, having engaged a firm specializing in ‘iguana control’ has since gotten rid of most of them by somehow making the soil and vegetation unhospitable to them.  But here is a poem inspired by these ugly creatures.

Donna the Iguana

My name is Donna, and I'm an iguana.

To catch me, you can’t do whatever you wanna.                          

By canal banks I live, in tunnels I snooze,                 

That wreck house foundations, that’s the bad news.      

I climb up on trees, and I’m very bold,                      

I’ll hang on your roof, except when it’s cold.                      

Dare chase me, in water, quickly I’ll duck,               

Efforts to catch me all are out of luck.                                  

There’s laws to protect me, most are insane,                     

Hug me and kiss me, you must be humane.            

To catch me, you can’t do whatever you wanna,  

My name is Donna, and I’m an iguana.                                 

 JL

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Take a Break – Why the Miami Marlins Stink

From my observation, it appears that the Miami Marlins, when it comes to making deals with other clubs, have little more skill than ten-year-olds trading baseball cards.  Conceivably, they might today have an outfield consisting of Giancarlo Stanton, Mike Yelich, and Marcell Ozuna, a far better trio than they have today, if they hadn’t made so many stupid trades.  Except for Jazz Chisholm, whose days as a Marlin are probably numbered, De La Croix, Gordon, Myers and even hard hitting, but inconsistent, Jesus Sanchez are not in the class of these three.

Let’s start with Stanton:  When they traded him to the Yankees, they received Starlin Castro, Jorge Guzman, and Jose Devers.  While Stanton hasn’t set the Yanks on fire, he was worth far more than these three combined.

Next, Mike Yelich, now star of the Milwaukee Brewers, for whom they received Lewis Brinson, Isan Diaz, Monte Harrison, and Jordan Yamamoto.  I haven’t seen any of them in a Marlins uniform lately.

The trading of Marcell Ozuna is a little more complicated, and still may not turn out to be so bad.  For him, they received Magneuris Sierra, and pitcher Danny Costenza, both of whom are forgettable, plus pitchers Sandy Alcantara, and Zac Gallen.  Alcantara turned out to be the Cy Young award-winning anchor of their pitching staff but is missing this entire season for Tommy John arm surgery, probably brought on by his being overworked in 2023, and will be a question mark when he returns next year.  Gallen has turned out to be a sterling performer for the Diamondbacks.  But getting Jazz Chisholm in exchange for Gallen no longer looks like an equitable trade any longer with the likelihood of Jazz being traded away coming closer to reality.  Trading Jazz, and their other most likely trade bait, star closer Tanner Scott, between them ought to enable the Marlins to acquire two established MLB starters, not necessarily stars, under age 29 with consistently favorable MLB win/loss records, and two relatively young major league position players who can consistently bat close to 300, hit homers and play their infield or outfield positions well. These are their needs. They shouldn’t be content with getting players still in the minors if they trade, Jazz, Scott, or both.  The Marlins’ line-ups these days feature too many ‘journeyman’ players and promising minor leaguers in these positions who blow hot and cold and cannot be counted on when a hit is needed to salvage a win. They need established professionals.

Last year the Marlins traded their number two starter, Pedro Lopez, to Minnesota for batting champ Luis Arraez, not a bad move until this year when they traded Arraez, still among the league’s batting leaders (but not for extra bases) for a bunch of no-names you would not recognize and who are still in the minors, and likely to spend their careers there.  A terrible trade.

Another rotten trade a few years ago (with the Phillies) that didn’t make sense was getting rid of catcher J.T. Realmuto, who is turning out to be one of the league’s all-time great backstops, for pitcher Sixto Sanchez along with catcher Jorge Alfaro and a minor league pitcher. Sanchez is still very far from living up to expectations and Alfaro’s skills were never better than those of a number two backstop and decent pinch hitter.  The Marlins should learn that quantity does not replace quality when making trades, especially when that ‘quantity’ is still in the minor leagues, yet to prove themselves in the majors.

As we approach the 2024 trading deadline, whoever manages trades for the Marlins should visit the nearest schoolyard playground and seek the advice of the kid who has accumulated the largest pile of MLB trading cards, provided he doesn’t still have a Magneuris Sierra card among them.

Ah yes, Stanton, Yelich, and Ozuna!  What a nice outfield that would have been, and they gave it away.

JL

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Housekeeping on Jackspotpourri

Strange “Hits’!  The large number of those accessing Jackspotpouri from Singapore has suddenly ceased. In their place, however, there have appeared large numbers of ‘hits’ on each posting in the hundreds, and as was the case with those from Singapore, but this time from Hong Kong!  I suspect that the Chinese are playing around with internet transmissions, possibly to try to identify who is reading them.  

Email Alerts:  If you are NOT receiving emails from me alerting you each time there is a new posting on Jackspotpourri, just send me your email address and we’ll see that you do.  And if you are forwarding a posting to someone, you might suggest that they do the same, so they will be similarly alerted. You can pass those email addresses to me by email at jacklippman18@gmail.com

Forwarding Postings: Please forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it. Friends, relatives, enemies, etc.

If you want to send someone the blog, you can just tell them to check it out by visiting https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com or you can provide a link to that address in your email to them.  

There’s another, perhaps easier, method of forwarding it though!   Google Blogspot, the platform on which Jackspotpourri is prepared, makes that possible.  If you click on the tiny envelope with the arrow at the bottom of every posting, you will have the opportunity to list up to ten email addresses to which that blog posting will be forwarded, along with a brief comment from you.  Each will receive a link to click on that will directly connect them to the blog. 

Either way will work, sending them the link to https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com, or clicking on the envelope at the bottom of this posting. 

Again, I urge you to forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it, particularly if they are a registered voter.  This is an election year.  Spread the word.

 

JL

                                                    

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