Just Watch Me: The Sequel

How will History record Biden?

Can we compare Biden to Reagan when he suffered from alzheimer's? Is it even fair? 

Aside from their party affiliations, many consider both to be good Presidents. Reagan ran 4 times and won twice. Biden ran once and won once - so far. Reagan could not have run again but Biden can. Reagan did have a serious illness about which his staff and Nancy had to know for a considerable time. Can the same be said about Biden's staff today and Jill Biden? Reagan spent most of his career as an actor (don't most policitians?) but Biden spent most of his in Washington politics.

The future of the country and its democracy was not at stake after Reagan but it certainly is if DJT returns to the White House. 

What about Nixon? One could also compare the current crisis with the Nixon situation. 

Nixon was advised to resign by those he trusted and thankfully he did. This is also happening to Biden as I write. All the signs that Nixon intended to run the country like his own personal realm were there but this has never been a threat with Biden, despite all the lies spewed by the other guy. There is no Watergate with Biden.

I was disappointed since my previous post to see Biden digging in. Without a prompter displaying a written script for him, he is just not the Biden on a white stallion we enjoyed watching. Life expectancy for males in America in 2024 is about 81. That is when they die! Before that, some physical and possibly mental decline can also be expected. Can he last for over four years in his present state? THAT is the real question - not his past accomplishments. Can he get back on that horse?

Every day now we hear a multitude of Democrats attempting to deflect persistent journalists away from these points. They try to focus on accompishments which are numerous. The problem is that these are in the past by definition. Too many people inside the country and abroad can't see them being repeated in the future. They are just being too kind to say it.

My father died of alzheimer's and when we finally had to take him to a facility for my mother's and his sake, and tell him that he was staying, it was devastating for my family and for him. But it had to be done. I have not heard any talk of alzheimer's with Joe but the point is the same.

Does Joe want his legacy to be the great one already on the records or is he willing to ruin all of that out of pride and misbelief in himself? The greatest musicians and athletes knew when it was time to leave. The few who insisted on trying to stay often became pathetic. 

Listen to all of the people Joe. That is a character trait you have always exuded. Step aside gracefully. It will be recorded as one of your bravest acts for the country. You slayed Goliath once and much of America is grateful. Are there enough stones left in your sling to do it again and will they connect? Many doubt it. 

Joe loves to tell us he was too young to sit in the Senate when he started in Washington and how the older folks around him didn't take him seriously. Some fifty years later does he really want to leave the stage as someone who is too old and now have those around him lose the respect he earned and deserves?

#thebrewsterblock

"Just Watch ME" Biden has said for months. Millions did.

Biden and White Christmas

Many things inspire me to write these posts although not so many anymore because blogging has basically died. Today most people won't or can't read more than a tweet. This also killed newspapers and magazines. They WILL watch a video - often childish or in poor taste - but such is today's reality. On this today however, I shall persevere once again.

Last night I watched history in the making - very sad history to be specific, and it compelled me to express how I felt after the event. I suspect I am not alone.

I refer to the long publicised debate on CNN June 27, 2024 between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Recall - this had been suggested by the Democrats themselves including President Biden. Now the entire party likely resents that suggestion. People around the globe must have felt a great sadness for The President right at the beginning in one of his first replies. He went blank and silent looking very much like Mitch McConnell when he had his "frozen" moments. Even upon his introduction he appeared to be in a state of confusion walking to the lectern.

The party wanted a strong night to build on his State of the Nation address when he appeared to be in total command. They did not get it. I would not want to be Jill Biden last night or today. She probably saw it coming. That relationship has had many crises and remained strong because she provided vital support to the man she loved. This will be another test for that love.

This morning I had somewhat of a revelation. The entire episode reminded me of the Movie White Christmas. In one scene Bing Crosby is making an appeal on his own TV show to all of the former soldiers he can reach who served under General Waverly (Dean Jagger.) He asks them to come and pay tribute to their retiring General. He sings the number "What do you do with a General when he stops being a General?" Just substitute "President" for "General". 

After the soldiers respond by arriving in large numbers, in a show at the hotel for the General, they line up in their old uniforms out of shape with potbellies and they sing "We'll follow the old man wherever he wants to go". In a classic shot the General tears up at the sight. This is exactly what many loyalists in the party are saying right now with Biden. It is a stunning parallel but should include its own final farewell. 

As a Canadian I don't vote in the election but there is no question that I much prefer Biden over the other guy. That other guy was being himself - telling tons of lies and deflecting away from answering tough questions. He did not win - Biden lost.

Having said all that this is a HUGE crisis for America - and the world at large. It really does not matter whether Joe had a cold; just a bad night; was exhausted from all the preparation at Camp David; or was on drugs as Trump suggested. Today especially, we know that world events happen in an instant and we all see them in an instant: invasions; wars; natural disasters; changes of leadership; cyber attacks. They do not wait for The President of America and questionably the leader of the free world to have a GOOD day if he is presently having a BAD one. The job is 24/7 - sharp as a tack at a moment's notice. This is mandatory not just for the next few months but for another four years thereafter!

Very sadly - what we saw of Joe last night did not hit the mark. Many males will decline - sometimes very rapidly - in their eighties if they make it that far.

People keep saying that there is still lots of time before the big election. Really? There is NOT! Where are the alternatives to either candidate? If they are going to come out of the shadows they had damned well better do it NOW! The majority of the so-called GOP who have been kissing Trump's ass for so long to protect their own are elated at the moment. They think it is now a slam dunk. Prove them wrong!

The effects upon America herself are two-fold:

1) If Biden actually does win, there will now be 4 more years of wondering when you wake up, whether Vice President Harris has become the new President. Will another country and its leader take advantage of the bad day? They probably will.

2) If Trump wins there will be 4 years of him spending HIS time and YOUR money trying to get even with people. He already stated this. Then HE will be kissing ass like all those obsequious wannabes in congress - Putin's; Kim Jong Un's or somebody else's. There will be another even more violent uprising in 2028 when Trump is supposed to leave.

Sadly at this point neither is a good candidate for the Presidency.

Can a third party - Liz Cheney and anyone willing to join her steal enough of Trump's votes to deny the horrific prospect of a Trump second term or will this hurt the Democratic vote instead? Will someone like Gavin Newsom take the reins from Biden with the party's blessing?

If not family, then the job of telling Joe that stepping down would be for the good of the nation and not doing so would ruin his legacy has to fall on a prominent person who would NOT be a new candidate. Such a candidate would be shooting themselves in the foot. It will take an Obama, Schumer, Pelosi or the like in the sidelines but they have to do it.

In my last post I wrote about fate and the difference between it and destiny. Biden's problems - whether perceived or real - are fate. America's future is her destiny. She can still change it but time is quickly running out.

#thebrewsterblock

Fate: The Great Equalizer

What is YOUR view of Fate? 

Do you know what will unfold in your life a second from now - a day, week, or year? A world of con artists will tell you what yours is - for a suitable fee. Don't fall for it. In my humble opinion fate is NOT predictable.  

 

This makes it an equalizer among all individuals or species. It is this aspect of fate that gave rise to faith and religion in the first place. People need something to explain the unknown. Religion has been taking advantage of this from the beginning of time (whatever that means). 

 

What triggered this column? Yesterday I was talking to my neighbour and playing with a young and beautiful dog in my unfenced back yard. He had been pet-sitting and came across from his own yard to talk. The dog darted around in freedom - a large dog in a large yard. She is usually in a condo.   

 

Today while I was drinking a coffee inside and observing my front yard the same neighbour suddenly appeared chasing the frisky unleashed dog. She usually darts away a few yards and waits for him to catch her. We live on a busy highway - 5 lanes of traffic. Suddenly I witnessed fate several times.  

 

1. The dog while dragging its leash decided to take off across the highway at full speed. There was a lot of traffic. Thankfully a couple of cars managed to avoid her by inches.  

 

2. Then my neighbour had to run - with some caution - across the same lanes to retrieve her from a ditch opposite our houses. He managed to slow down cars enough to avoid being hit himself. 

 

3. I expected the dog to run through the traffic, returning to our side as his keeper approached. To her this is a game. 

 

4. He emerged from the ditch with the fortunate dog on leash at his side. Luckily he had managed to secure her. 

 

5. They both managed to cross back safely to our side. 

  

Both of their fates could have unfolded in a far more tragic way. Why was he lucky?  

 

In California several families wake up one day and everything they own - businesses, homes, and personal belongings have turned to ash in an instant by a wildfire.  Most survive with their lives. Some do not. 

 

A friend repeats an activity performed hundreds of times and verifies a lottery ticket. He is suddenly rich beyond his wildest dreams. Fate can be good. Meanwhile a close relative is told by her doctor that she has ALS. 

 

Entire countries and populations are being demolished by greedy dictators. The fate of a nation depends on an election. One child is born with a brain like Einstein's. Beside it in a hospital bed is another with a mental handicap. One elephant, moose, or whale is slaughtered while others survive. 

 

As humans we can attempt to minimize the effects of some horrible and some beautiful events, but few other animals can. 

 

Destiny we can control and we alone can mitigate the destiny of every living thing on this planet. We are failing. Will fate punish the worst perpetrators?  

 

Are you one of them? 

#thebrewsterblock

The Deep State

English itself is DEEP

Anyone who had to learn English as a second language must have experienced great difficulties. Just look up words like "go"; "run", or "up" and find how many shades of meaning they possess or contexts in which they can be used. I don't envy foreign students. 

If you study another language's grammar you might think it very confusing to have 2 or 3 genders for nouns and their articles, regular and irregular verbs, declensions, conjugations etc. but aside from gender, English has all of them and then some. As far as expressions are concerned, you need to take a separate course just to become proficient.

"Deep" is another word that must confuse non-natives. Some immediate dictionary meanings are profound, bottomless, fathomless, and plunging. There are also various uses in sports, theatre, facial expressions. 

But here I am thinking about politics. DEEP STATES have been associated with many governments and countries - including the good old USA. Recently The Donald - Deep Donald - has made a mantra out of the term and vowed to eliminate it from America.

Does anyone else see the irony here?

 (Monsters of 2020: Trump’s Fascist Fist Pump – Mother Jones).

Look at the fist pump itself. You just know that it is a signal to his zombie followers - his own Deep State. He comes from a family that was a mini deep state unto itself with Fred as its chief dictator. He passed the Trump deep state on to his obedient son and many people think Fred used it to keep Daffy Donald out of any active military duty. 

The only bullets Donald dodges are the ones he shoots at his own feet - when they are not in his mouth.

Listen to how he rattles on about Biden's Deep State but vows - if he is every back in power - to punish all who did not bow down to him. He also intends to dismantle and fire huge swaths of the civil service - those who make the government run from one administration to the next. 

He thinks that he - DONALD - himself can act on all of their behalf. We saw that vividly when he decided that he alone should be running the Covid 19 task force. He also addressed the nation daily about the pandemic - which he helped to create through his denials. It should have been Fauci, Pence, or anyone else who actually knew something about the topic. Donald certainly didn't.

Last night on CNN I heard a renowned photographer who took portraits of Trump state that he thinks the Donald in a very intelligent man!  This guy has met political, sports, and entertainment greats all over the world. I was as shocked as many of you probably were (those of you who can actually think for themselves.) 

But every day we see the media going deep - reporting on him like he was Jesus or any other renowned spiritual leader. He has created a media deep state through them. Was this through cleverness or blatant narcissism? 

Take deep note of what he says he will do if he reclaims the White House. It will become the Dark House - the Deep State personified. Many gutless members of the U.S. Congress have already drowned in the depths of his depravity and will do anything to get back on board the Trump Titanic.

#thebrewsterblock

Biden, Trump, Haley, or other?

Two futures are at stake in 2024: America's and The World's  

With all of the events taking place around the world and in America you can just smell major trouble in the air. It is like an approaching destructive weather system: smelling rain, hearing thunder, seeing lightening, hearing the locomotive sound described when a tornado hits. The international leaves in many nations are going limp and turning upwards. The animals are getting restless.

LIke many of the post WW2 generations, many of us thought we were fortunate not to have lived through another major international madness. Now I am not so sure. Whether you favor the Jackass party or the other Dumbo one, America has become a human depiction of two rams, moose, bears, lions - pick your species - battling it out for dominance. Only winning matters - compromise has all but disappeared.

Over the pond you have even more choice - the Middle East, Russia and Ukraine, Sudan, Syria, China to name a few - all allowing base human instincts of greed and power to boil over into death and destruction already or very soon.

Recently I saw an Email with attached "posters" showing the worst of Donald J. As a Canadian they seemed to depict so clearly to me and I suspect the rest of the world just why he must not be in the White House again. They also make us wonder how so many of the MAGA crowd can be totally befuddled by him and his cronies.

There is for sure a LOT wrong in the Biden camp as well - most notably the old style of Washington politics which badly needs new and fresher thinking minds making decisions that are begging to be made. Note those words - making decisions!

The worst poster was that of the Donald mocking and mimicing a reporter with a physical handicap. Who does that? We have also seen him in a cemetary of America's fallen warriors asking somebody what was in it for these military heroes?  He actually called them suckers and losers.

MAGA or not, how can you vote for such a man? Seriously - HOW? Some of you must have handicapped friends or family members and for sure have lost family members who made the supreme sacrifice.

The only bullets this person has ever had to dodge are now rightfully showing up in courts across the nation. He is not as adept an artful dodger as he thought.

It's a good thing he seems to like orange.

#thebrewsterblock.