No More Trolling

Sometimes I get tired of trolling my friend George's blog.  You should click that link if you haven't heard enough about how Barack Obama personally ruined the country.  

I know what you are thinking:  I'm too lazy to write in my own blog.  OK, maybe a little.  I admit that it is a lot easier to troll someone else's cockeyed view of things than to come up with readable factual statements about the state of affairs.  Besides that, I am frankly too cynical to believe that anyone in public office is looking out for the citizens.

Besides no more that two or three people are likely to read this blog, so why bother to write and edit a piece that no one reads?

  Or if they do click on it they just scan for tidbits so they can write snarky comments.

One of my more progressive friends recently asked "How you can stay  friends with someone who thinks Trump is (despite acknowledged flaws) is the right man to Commander in Chief?"

  I answer, isn't that what friends are for? Standing by someone, even when you think they are wrong?

Our values are not so different

We agree that America is great, especially if you were born lucky: good looking, smart parents, etc.
We agree that people ought to work for a living.
We are wary of our fellow men many of whom are selfish, dishonest and ignorant.
We are kind to animals and respectful of our elders (of which there are fewer every year)
We don't cheat, steal or take advantage of our fellow citizens.
We distrust any advertisement that has fine print or and asterisk after the word free.
We are suspicious of strangers.  We tend to like individuals, but not mobs.

I could go on for hundreds more points of agreement, but you get the idea.  My point is that political disagreements are really temporal, emotional, and, in most cases, theoretical.  Why these differences of opinion have become so divisive is a mystery to me. 

Most people I know on both ends of the spectrum have a lot in common: they are not going to have an abortion, they do not walk around with loaded semi-automatic weapons and large capacity ammunition clips.  They don't burn flags in protest.  People should use toilets that are appropriate to their plumbing.   They think that immigrants should come here legally and pay taxes.  They think vicious criminals should be punished commensurate to the crimes they commit.   

So, why are we so polarized on these issues, when it is clear that neither political party really cares about the citizenry, but is only incented by the donations of lobbyists and rich partisans?

Who is Looking Out For US?

Yesterday,  President Trump announced his plan to reverse the recent thawing of US relations with Cuba that began under the Obama administration. And that strategy seemed to be working for both sides.    

Trump justifies his new sanctions as being in the interests of Cuban citizens who are still oppressed by the Castro regime.   It's nice to know that our dear leader is looking out for the interests of the oppressed Cubans.  But, reversing the relaxed access and trade that has been benefiting small businessmen in both Cuba and US does not seem be a promising strategy.  Let's remember, sanctions didn't accomplish anything during the past 50 years.  The Castros are perfectly willing to stonewall these sanctions to maintain dictatorial control.

Most Americans now believe that improved access to Cuba is in the interests of both country's citizens, helping the economy of both trading partners.    

My wife opined that Trump is a "Manchurian Candidate."   He is taking steps to stifle any investigation of Russian influence while at the same time applying policies that will create a vacuum in Cuba that will be readily occupied by the Russians.  90 Miles form Florida.

Scary thought.  Now with Bill Riley gone, who is looking out for us?

Melting

After the gluttonous River Boat vacation in April, and the attendant gain in poundage,  Judy and I decided to sign-up for Weight Watchers.    

So we did that 2 weeks ago.  Since then we have become super-aware of what we are eating (and drinking).  So far, I have dropped about 10 lbs, mainly by adhering to the plan, counting what they call "smartpoints" -- every item of food is assigned a point value based on the combined amount of saturated fat, sugar, protein and calories.  A serving of chicken is 2 points, a beer is 5 points, Gin and diet tonic is 3 points.   A slice of pizza is 8 points. We have given up pizza and fried foods for a while.   

The higher point items are most processed foods, oils, butter, mayonnaise, pastries, deserts, sauces, potato chips, and restaurant foods -- often because of portion size.    I'm allowed 40 points a day and there is a weekly bonus award (about 40 points) for moments that are too good to pass up.  So if I can be physically active (which I have been), reduce portion size, generally follow point guidelines, I can have several beers or cocktails every day and not feel deprived -- and still lose weight.  All vegetables and all fruits are zero points and unlimited quantities are allowed.  So if I am hungry I can always fill-up on salad or eat an apple.

Don't worry, I haven't got religion!  I'll not harangue anyone about dieting, but I just wanted to let you know what is going on, in case you notice some shrinkage and mistake it for AIDS or other wasting disease.   

 

They say any diet works for the first few weeks, mainly because you start to pay attention to what you are eating.  It's already getting a bit exhausting to plan every meal and snack, counting every teaspoon of dressing or other high calorie substance.  

So we'll see how long we last.  It helps that we are both doing it, so we have banned any unhealthy items from the fridge/lardor.  

(Also, Gin and diet tonic ain't so bad with fresh lime.  )