Vibecession - The Word of the Day

 

Today I had to look-up the word "vibecession." I came across it while reading the front-page Globe article about how people are feeling more isolated and uncertain in these post-pandemic times.  

It combines "vibe" and "recession" to describe a situation where people feel like the economy is in a downturn, even though the economic indicators are positive. It's all about the mood and perception rather than the actual economic data.

It helps explain why the Dems lost the election. The pro-Trumpers simply ignored the data and kept harping on the price of eggs and butter as proof of Biden's failure to put a lid on inflation. 

It worked.

AFTERMATH - Trump Gets Re-elected.

Well, I did not see this coming. 

I am stunned to learn that I'm in the minority of the American voters who showed-up for the Presidential election last Tuesday.

I honestly did not believe that anyone with basic common sense, a shred of decency and belief in the rule of law would vote for Trump.  But I am duly informed that we do not always see things the same way as others do.    

After the majority of people who actually worked in his government refused to support him, claiming that he is "unfit for the office" I sort of wrote him off.  (If you can't get the support of people who know you best, it would sem to be a no-brainer for citizens to choose a different candidate.)     

I knew that his base -- MAGA  -- had consistently supported him, despite his contempt for truth, fact and decency, but I guess his message of intolerance and toxic nationalism appealed to a much wider swath of the uneducated/uninformed than I had imagined.

Endorsement (in case you were undecided)

The Philadelphia Inquirer endorses Kamala Harris in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania.

"Voters face an easy but tectonic choice in the race for the White House.

Will they choose the first woman or the oldest man to be the next president?

Will they choose the prosecutor or the convict?

Will they choose the candidate who supports restoring Roe v. Wade, or the man who bragged about overturning it?

Will they choose the candidate with a tax plan to help the middle class or the one who wants to help the superrich?

Will they choose the candidate who backs a tough bipartisan immigration law or the guy who killed the measure?

Will they choose the candidate who wants to combat climate change or the one who thinks it is a hoax?

Will they choose the candidate who upholds the peaceful transfer of power or the one who summoned a violent mob to attack the U.S. Capitol?

Will they choose the candidate who stands up to Vladimir Putin or the one who said Russia could do “whatever the hell they want?”

Will they choose the candidate who champions education, health care for all, and sensible gun safety laws, or the person who wants to close the U.S. Department of Education, repeal Obamacare, and told supporters after a school shooting to “get over it?”

Will they choose the candidate who supports the working class or the one who is anti-union and opposed raising the minimum wage?

Will they choose a woman of color who wants to unite the country, or a man with a history of misogynistic, racist, and divisive comments and actions?

Will they choose the candidate who supports LGBTQ rights or the one who wants to roll back protections for the gay community?

Will they choose the candidate who will uphold the presidential oath, or the one who was impeached twice for high crimes and misdemeanors, profited from the White House, dangled pardons to cronies, and was indicted four times?

This baker’s dozen list could go on, but the choice is clear and obvious.

Vice President Kamala Harris wants to help all Americans.

Donald Trump wants to help himself.

That is why The Inquirer endorses Kamala Devi Harris to be the 47th president of the United States.”

The Shit List

 It was another of those warmish Fall days that make you glad to be alive. I was sitting at my desk reading the obituary page in today’s paper. One of my few obsessions in life is the daily reading of death notices, hoping to see the names of people who are on my shit list. 

The shit list is not very long. I keep it in my head. The list contains the names of people -- mainly former bosses who failed to appreciate my genius, a few evil and conniving coworkers who betrayed confidences and thwarted my ambitions. The neighbor with the barking dog. The CFO who torpedoed my career back in the 80’s, one of his lackeys who made my job (and me) disappear hoping to get suck-up points. The moron who thought my idea for using the internet for customer service was a dumb and risky idea in 1996. 

The list has not had any new additions in the last few years, mainly since I stopped working for people with their heads up their ass. Unfortunately, I have not crossed too many people off the list either. I heard one of them got testicular cancer (thumbs up!) but sadly, it is not always fatal. 

I am not saying that their crimes are a motive for murder or anything like that. I’m just saying that news of the early and agonizing death of people on the list would cheer me up. A bit of schadenfreude, you say? Hey, I never said I was perfect.

 Actually, now that I think of it, I have a more unspecific list of nameless people whose deaths I would have enjoyed reading about. Call center owners and employees, authors of those scam emails, drivers who have cut me off or otherwise violated my safety and lane occupation on the highways… that sort of offender. 

Today, no one I know was listed in the paper, so I turned to the bird sightings section. One of the sightings was a scarlet ibis. This has to be a secret code. You never see ibises in the North.

What normal people are thinking

 I blame the extremes on both sides for the divisive rhetoric that characterizes public discourse today.  

From the far left we are lectured and hectored by self-righteous, politically correct, tree-hugging wussy progressives  who want us all to feel guilty for all the wrongs of the world.  They want to make things right by reparations, redistributing wealth, saving the planet (and all it creatures.) They want the outliers of society to be treated as if they were normal.    

From the far right we are treated to incredible conspiracies, distrust of government,  threats of violence, distorted truths and the willingness to overthrow an election based on debunked claims of fraud.  

 Most liberals are not progressive.  moderate liberals are willing to accept gradual change, but we don't agree with "In your face" attempts to enforce change.  I, for one, am still a long way from accepting  Drag Queen Story Hour as a good way to influence children. 

You scolds, wallowing in your self righteousness,  may frown and remind us that not everyone was as lucky as we were - that some folks are poor and starving and oppressed, or worse.  Yes, I get that.  I can empathize with others' pain.  

But,  I do not like being told how I ought to think.  

Happy Columbus Day

Sorry folks, I am old school when it comes to October 14th.  It's been Columbus Day all of my life and I don't really see any reason to stop observing it as such.   Not that I spend much time celebrating.  For me it is just another holiday -- a reason to have an early beer and maybe a grilled hot dog or burger.  

The progressive liberals among us want to call it Indigenous Peoples Day, as a rebuke to the reported excesses of Columbus and his crew of marauders against the natives.   That's a bit too woke for me.  I liked it better when Columbus was the hero who put America on the map.   But no,  Lefty know-it-alls are determined to explode the  myths that have been part of my education since I was able to read.  The other day I read that according to recent research,  Abe Lincoln was probably gay.   Who needs this kind of  "truth"?   Does it make us happier, more secure, wealthier?  I say no.

 

The So-Called Debate

 Well, that shit-show couldn't have gone worse.  A weak sounding, scared looking geezer trying to parry the confident, bullshit slinging Trumpster.  I was so disheartened that I shut it off after 20 minutes  of schoolyard name-calling and went to re-organize my sock drawer.

At 11pm, I tuned-in to The Daily Show for the most reliable analysis.  John Stewart did a pretty good job of characterizing the event.  Biden had one thing to do --convince the doubters that he had the mental capacity and stamina for another term.  He failed.

 

I still believe that most reasonable people will vote for an addled, muted Biden over the rambling, incoherent, lying Trump.  But  I fear that Trump did not lose a single supporter where mumbling Joe may have sent a few million votes towards Kennedy. 

I wish they had sent Kamala instead.  She is a good debater.  I can just hear her, walking out there and saying "Joe's got the flu.  As #2 I am here to take-on this orange motherfucker, so let's get started." 

 It's Tuesday, or as I call it "Book Club Day."   Book Club as you may remember is the weekly gathering of a select group at an Irish pub (Dunn's) located in Newton Upper Falls.  Tuesday afternoon around 4pm is a slow time at the pub, so we get there just as it opens and claim our usual stools. We don't actually talk about a specific book (as is the practice in ladies' book clubs), but we all read books, and if someone is reading a particularly interesting book, they might recommend it to the group.  No, the real reason is to engage in sociable quaffing and solving the world's problems. 

For example, we discuss the guilt or innocence of the accused in high profile trials, or offer an opinion about issues of the day, or even remark on the outcomes of sporting events.  There is never a loss for words.  Oh, and I almost forgot the popular topic:  Health challenges.  We are all over 50 and most of us are closer to 80.  Several of us are currently being/or have been treated for Cancer.  One is a Doctor (Cardiologist). One has COPD and Heart issues.  Everyone has some bodily malfunction to share.  Those of us in the geezer section think of health as a game of whack-a-mole.  If you get one problem fixed, two more will pop-up to take its place.  

The bar staff looks at us with apparent affection.  Perhaps we remind them of an elderly family member or friend.  They know our drinks and stories.  The ambience is much like what you might recall from the old TV program "Cheers" -- where everyone knows your name.  

Afterword: Someone has asked why we call it "Book Club,"  when we do not actually discuss an assigned book.  This, my friends, is  a genius  example of  "Reframing."     Before Book Club , on Tuesday afternoons,  you would meekly say to the wife,  "I'm off to the pub to have a few beers with the guys."  She, of course, would scowl at you.   

But now you say "I'm off to Book Club."   She says "Have a good time."  or even "Hey, aren't you late for Book Club?"    Reframing!

 Well, another Monday.  When I was a corporate employee, I never liked Mondays much.  Usually, they would start=out with a dry mouth and headache from too many beers on Sunday.  Rarely did I look on a new week as a chance to excel, or acheive any long-sought accomplishment.  No, it was a return to hum-drum, tedium and some asshole in the corner office wanting to know why my projects were behind schedule.  As I think I have mentioned before, I was born (82 years ago this week) without a sense of urgency.  (I was reportedly 3 weeks behind the expected due-date, weighing almost 11 pounds at birth.  My mother never let me forget that fact,either, especially when I was being a pain in the ass.  She would make me sit in a chair and listen to how painful it was to pass a large object through a small opening. This was my penance for my many crimes of smartassery and excessive boyishness.)

But I digress:  You would think that being born without a sense of urgency would be a handicap in life, but that is not the case.  Many others, who have a well-developed sense of urgency, are perfectly willing to share their senses of urgency with you.   It doesn't matter that you can't understand why a report needs to be submitted on this Friday instead of, say, Wednesday next week.  The boss wants it on Friday. So...when you come in on Monday --  not having finished the Status Report from last week

He (or she) is all over your ass before you even get a chance to pop down to the company cafeteria for a coffee and jelly donut.   But I shall not belabor the bad associations that I have with Mondays.  For more details you will have to wait until my autobiography is published.  Given my low sense of urgency, you should not hold your breath waiting for it to come out.