About Me

My photo
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.

Wednesday, September 25, 2024

September 25, 2024 - Protection Old Style, TV Political Ads, a Tim Snyder Quote, and More

 

                            * * *

The ‘Protection’ Racket 

Donald Trump, in one of his more outrageous comments, declared the other day that he saw himself as a ‘protector’ of women and claimed that American women won’t be ‘thinking about abortion’ if he’s elected. (His actual position concerning women’s abortion rights appears to be that it should be left to our fifty individual states, where he incorrectly believes that’s what all women want. His party’s position, dominant in many of those states, is closer to favoring a national ban, which leaves Trump’s position unclear at best.) 

What struck me as unusual was his use of the word ‘protector,’ in making this comment. That brings to mind Oliver Cromwell, who ruled England for five years in the mid-seventeenth Century, taking the title of ‘Lord High Protector’ to make his dictatorship, which sanctioned the beheading of King Charles l, as something benevolent, dedicated to ‘protecting’ the people. 

Oliver Cromwell, a 17th Century 'Protector'


Far from it. Cromwell was a dictator who came to power, and maintained it, in a period of political and religious ferment by the use of military force. Even today though, some see him as a hero of liberty, agreeing with Parliament’s initially doing away with the monarchy.  After his death in 1658, his son unsuccessfully tried to succeed him, but the English had enough of a ‘Lord High Protector’s’ dictatorial ‘protection’ and they reinstated the monarchy. ‘Protector’ Cromwell’s body was then disinterred from his grave and publicly mutilated. 

But Donald Trump knows nothing about Oliver Cromwell and what became of him. Any person or thing that he claims to want to ‘protect,’ should run quickly in the opposite direction. In fact, many Englishmen did exactly that in those days, fleeing to the colonies then being developed on the other side of the Atlantic, just to get away from being ‘protected’ by their “Lord High Protector.’ 

JL

                                                      * * *

Anti-Debbie TV Ads

I’ve seen the TV ads Florida’s troglodyte Senator Rick Scott is running against Debbie Muscarsel-Powell, pointing out her earlier campaigns for public office, some successful, some not, but all of which were aimed at serving the people, at the same time that Scott’s former hospital company (he was its CEO) was being convicted of Medicare fraud, fleecing the people and the government. 

The TV ad ends showing a fictitious license plate for Debbie with one word on it: ‘Socialist,’ as if anything starting with the first six letters of that word, s-o-c-i-a-l, were automatically evil.  I suppose that coincides with Scott’s idea of putting Social Security (and Medicare) up for renewal every five years.  Any senior who votes for Scott should have their head examined.

Looks like Scott’s ad agency is so taken in by MAGA malarky that they think it resonates with everyone.  They are wrong.  It's up to Florida voters to prove that!

The time to replace Rick Scott with Debbie Muscarsel-Powell has arrived.  His candidacy should be buried along with that of Trump as Florida goes blue at last in November.

JL

                                              *   *   *

To Be or Not to Be

In his September 24 posting, with the Shakespearian quote as its heading, Yale professor Timothy Snyder wrote, in referring to ending Ukraine’s war with Russia, that ‘one cannot simply choose to negotiate with a power that openly seeks to bring about the end of your nation and state,’ it being a question of choosing between ‘being’ or ‘not being’ an independent nation.

He points out that negotiations will only be possible when Russia abandons its idea of ending Ukraine’s nationhood, and Snyder goes on to point out the necessity of American support in accomplishing that.

The same logic can be applied to Israel’s reluctance to commit to full negotiations with parties that are sworn to end its nationhood.  Israel is doing a dance, using military and less conspicuous means, with or without America’s support, to convince their antagonists and their Iranian puppeteers, to abandon that position.  Only then can real, meaningful, negotiations take place.

JL

                                              *   *   *

The Success of President Biden’s Economic Plans

When President Biden recently spoke to a group of economists, he based the extraordinary economic successes of the past three and a half years upon the American Rescue Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Science and CHIPS Act. He told the audience: “American business, our economic dynamism can’t succeed…without a stability and security that makes us the envy of the world.” 

These pieces of legislation, passed without Republican help, are what make this possible.  They are the direct results of Democratic victories in the 2020 election.

This blows into smithereens the traditional Republican theory of an economy where the profits of businesses and the wealthy ‘trickle down’ to working families and fails to directly address the economic wellbeing of most of the nation’s working population.  Just remember that voting for Republicans in any election, national or local, is like sleeping outdoors in a bed of poison ivy and is to be avoided.

JL

                                              *   *   *

Gasoline Prices

Those who criticize President Biden (transferring their opinion to Kamala Harris' campaign) often cite high gas prices as an example of inflation. 

No longer so!  Gasoline prices bounce around depending on the available supply and vary daily and are far lower than they were a year ago.  On Monday I filled  my tank at a ‘no-name-brand’ station with regular gas at $2.97 per gallon!  Name brands were about a dime more a gallon, but within a day, even ‘regular’ at the ‘no-name’ station was up about twenty cents.  But that is not the fictitious $4 a gallon price right-wingers claim exists.  That’s just misinformation.

JL

                                              *   *   *

 

Drafting Players in the Schoolyard

Years ago, before playing a game of ‘touch’ football in the schoolyard, I recall the kids present ‘choosing up sides.’  As a result, the better athletes were not always on the same teams.  (Usually, the two best athletes were ‘captains’ of the two teams doing the choosing.)

That’s similar to what the ‘transfer’ portal has done to college athletics, particularly football and basketball.  It is almost like what in major league baseball is called ‘free agency.’  It may sound trite, but it's a new ball game on college gridirons and basketball courts.

The teams of lesser institutions that used to engage in money-making games against big time schools that were looking for what amounted to early season scrimmages, now actually have a chance of defeating them, (Example: Northern Illinois’ recent victory over Notre Dame) and even more often, providing at least very creditable competition, based on transfer students. 

If an athlete feels he (or she) is talented enough to ‘make it’ at a higher level of competition, or available compensation through use of their name, image, or likeness (N.I.L.) seems greater at another school, they can opt to transfer to that school by following the procedures of the ‘transfer portal.’

In the minds of many college athletes is the maximization of their chances of being selected by a professional team, where the really big money begins to flow, and the ‘transfer portal’ is there for them to seek greater exposure that might lead there.

Sometimes a coach in need of greater athletic talent than his school’s enrollment or recruiting has provided will search those coming through that ‘portal’ to see if there are players there who meet his school’s needs.

But is this good for the sport or the schools involved?

JL

                                              *   *   *

 

Housekeeping on Jackspotpourri 

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.  Election Day draws near. Spread the word. 

 

JL 

                                                        * * *

No comments: