The weatherman says somethings on the move.

The midterm elections are over and both sides are claiming victory. Maybe both of them won. It is so hard to say.  We will only see if America won over the course of the next two years. We have a chance for bipartisan cooperation and accomplishment or petty, childish bickering, gridlock and international humiliation as progress grinds to a halt. We are taking bets right now.

In Ohio things were heated, accusations made, terrible things were said. Fingers were pointed, and claims of unholy alliances with "Pelosi" or "Trump." I kind of miss the days when our local politicians just made promises that had no intention of, or ability to keep. "I will make the days more pleasant, and reduce anxiety." Things I could really support.

But, this is like the preseason. An introductory course, "campaign observation 1A." Now we come to the big boys, and big girls, and big promises, and big accusations, and giant piles of unbelievable crap. The super bowl of American politics, the presidential primaries.

There must be hundreds of democrats lining up for a place on the dais. Anybody who has ever been elected and involved in one of the numerous congressional investigations into almost anything except how our government has so much time to go off investigating things that aren't really all that significant.





But, it is a unique opportunity to try out some presidential scowls and grimaces while asking some pointless questions, in a way that makes them seem important. And what else can we really expect out of our president, meaningless gestures, and self important posturing?

On the other side of the aisle, as they say in Washington, hardly anybody. Everybody seems a little cowed by the Mighty Oz. Nobody wants to be on the wrong end of that tweeting machine.

Though, Mitt Romney seems as if he is willing to take another run at it. He has never been a fan of Trump, and lately has been pointing out what everybody already knows. Trump acts like a child, a spoiled child. Man, I miss Mitt Romney. I would never vote for him, unless he was running against Trump, but Trump has changed the whole political kaleidoscope, everything looks worse.

Of course, I think, and this is just speculation, Paul Ryan, P90x fitness machine and now retired congress person is secretly building a campaign platform around the considerable personality trait that he is not Donald Trump. A feature many people find appealing. Plus he can claim that he was not involved in the longest government shutdown in history. And, he looks a lot better with a beard than Ted Cruz.

So, we have a choice to make, not much of a choice, but it is the only one we have.

Tax Day, it Just Keeps Happening.

Today is tax day, every day is tax day, really. Even if you aren't working, paying income tax, or buying something and paying sales tax you are living somewhere and paying property tax, or driving in a car, eating something, drinking something, maybe having a smoke, and brother you paid some serious taxes on that. But, everything you do feeds the monster, whether it is the village, city, state or federal government. They all want their part of your little pie.

Recently I watched, with great amusement, representatives of congress grill Mark Zuckerberg on the sins of omission committed by Facebook management, and their lackeys. I will be honest here, I don't really know what happened, I have read a few things, and still don't understand the implications, or the methods the company used to mine the data. From what little I have been able to learn a lot of it has to do with third party applications, and the information was used to influence voters. I suppose that is probably not a good idea.

Voters have enough misinformation coming from the candidates themselves, the PACs, the political parties, churches, labor unions, friends, neighbors and coworkers. Maybe that is what bothers our elected representatives so much. Lying to voters is their job. If somebody else can step in and lie so much more convincingly maybe we won't need them anymore.

Senator Lindsey Graham confronted Mr. Zuckerberg about how he, Senator Graham, should attempt to convince his constituents that Facebook does not need government regulation and oversight.

I almost laughed out loud, here was clearly a case of the hopelessly unregulated calling the under regulated lawless, if you get my drift. 

We keep paying taxes on everything, we keep seeing our government turn it's back on us, the voters, we keep seeing the things get worse, the environment, the economic situation, the opportunities. And now we should worry about the regulations on Facebook.

Look, I don't know much about Facebook, why I see somethings and not others. And, I certainly know nothing about governing, but when it comes to a monstrous, out of control bureaucracy running amuck, smashing through peoples lives, with no oversight, control or moral compass I will take my chances on Facebook.

Winter Olympics

I am not a big fan of the olympics. I admire the dedication and ability of the athletes, the years of sacrifice, and work that it took to reach that level, and the dignity and composure these children display carrying the crushing expectations of an entire nation. I salute them. But, the olympics have been consumed by the human instinct for futile gestures, and shameless grandstanding. Boycotts, and threats steal the spotlight from the unity these games are supposed to forge.

Watching Vice President Pence practicing his own brand of old testament diplomacy in South Korea is only the latest example. Of course, considering how Mr. Pence felt so strongly players should not  kneel for the national anthem before football games because sports events is not the correct forum for political expressions only adds a comic touch to the drama. Of course, it fires up the faithful, they love the confrontation, the bulldog tenacity, the line in the sand mentality. 

But, what is the next step. Suppose the oppressive regime continues to ignore the constant warnings and threats, which, given the history of North Korea seems likely, what then? Tougher warnings? More strident speeches? An even steelier glare across the border, from a vice president wearing a flight jacket emblazoned with military insignia? Bombing sorties? Invasion of a sovereign country? 

Nobody wins wars anymore. And this is not a conspiracy theory based on the profit margins of General Dynamics or Grumman Aircraft. It is the only conclusion to be made from recent history. Certainly everybody will lose if nuclear weapons are used, that much is obvious to anybody. So what point overshadowing the games with bluster?  

George Orwell said “Every war when it comes, or before it comes, is represented not as a war but as an act of self-defense against a homicidal maniac.” Maybe that is the point, maybe that was the play all along. Either way, it makes me sad to see the world sink so deeply into the past. 

No matter who's the winner we all pay the cost.

John Boehner called Ted Cruz "Lucifer in the flesh.  "I get along with almost everyone, but I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life." Boehner said of the presidential hopeful. Lindsay Graham said of Senator Cruz, “If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you.”

Donald Trump has brought in Bobby Knight to explain how acting presidential is indefinable and explain how his Army team kicked hell out of Navy for eight straight years.

Carly Fiorina and her brand of fiery campaign assault have returned to grace our televisions. She even sang a little tune, and seemed to carry it very well, considering she can come across as such an angry unrestrained tyrant at times.

Hillary and Bernie are locked in a pitched battle over speeches and tax returns. Both candidates pretending they are not wealthy beyond the imagination of most Americans. Somehow, they hope, this will make them seem more sympathetic to the plight of a middle class slowly being crushed under the weight of the American Dream.

Honestly, you would think this kind of presidential combat would delight and thrill me. It doesn’t. The waste of time, the fantastic expense, the irreversible damage to our culture, and society are starting to demand their fee.

And, if you think that isn’t funny, here is something that isn’t even funnier. This is just American Politics of the New Millennium, the Introduction. It is going to get worse. Once the primaries are over and we have the actual candidates tearing each other to pieces over who is less likely to destroy the country then we will see the new reality.

Then we will see American Politics at its basest and most repulsive. And it is only the beginning. The Houses of Congress have not forgotten the valuable lessons learned in the government shutdown and the sequestration. It is frightening to imagine the bargaining tactics they are devising for the next president. Fortunately, the wait is almost over.

And they wonder why it is so hard to get people to vote. It seems obvious.

“Well, the emptiness is endless, cold as the clay,

You can always come back but you can’t come back all the way.”*

*Bob Dylan. Mississippi.

Another day, another candidate

Ohio Governor John Kasich is kind of announced he is going to announce his candidacy for the Presidency on July 21st. No real surprise there, almost everybody in the country, except Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, is campaigning for the Republican nomination. Mr. Kasich's announcement may come as a surprise to the rest of the country, but in Ohio everybody knows, the press is reporting on the coming event regularly.

Governor Kasich's intentions are probably widely known.  It seems the only thing elected officials can keep secret are the myriad additions to spending bills and budgets. Additionally, the man has been traveling to Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. All of these are probably wonderful places to visit, but the coincidence is too enormous to overlook.

Which begs the question, why wait to make his announcement, is this an attempt to make a flashy entrance by being fashionably late? If everybody who pays attention already knows what advantage can be gained from waiting? Isn't he afraid all of the good sources of monetary contribution will be taken? 

Honestly, how much money can be left? Look at the fund raising figures for the real candidates, it is incredible. Running for president can be like a license to print money. Or more accurately, like a license to have other people print money and hand it over, in heaping piles. Most people can't even understand the wealth raised and spent during a presidential election cycle. I can't, anyway.

According to reports any candidate who wants to be taken seriously will need to raise over 100 million dollars. That is a lot of coin, friend. If I were walking down the street and found a $20.00 bill that would be a big thing, I would feel pretty lucky.  This is like they walked down the street and found a $20.00 bill 5 million times. How lucky is that? and this does not even include Super PACs, and all of the Inferior PACs, who have a little cash, too.

What do they do with all of that money? A lot of it is spent attempting to convince voters that a chosen candidate, no matter what anybody else has to say, is the least objectionable. "Make no mistake, you might be sorry if you vote for our guy, but not as sorry as you could be, if you catch our drift." 

In a way it is similar to the old "protection" scheme made popular by television depictions of organized crime. "Accidents happen, we just want to minimize your risk." Or maybe it is like insurance, I will think about it and let you know.

Anyway, John Kasich is no fool when it comes to politics, I'm afraid that job is left to the voters. He has a plan, and it involves money, huge piles of money. Most of it used to belong to someone else. But, when he announces, please act surprised, even Governors have feelings, you know.

Voting, a noble exercise in blind faith.

Personally, I love politics, hate voting, but love politics.  There is something primal, powerful, and primitive in a campaign for public office.  Watching the news in the morning is a stroll through the dirty laundry of any number of strangers.  You will be exposed to the most indecent things about a person, a person who thinks they should be in charge of a state, or it's treasury, or departments of justice.  And it will strike you, that, maybe even if these ads contain a small amount of truth, and they probably do, none of these candidates can be that awful.  Nobody would put themselves in a position to be publicly criticized so venomously unless they thought they could do something to help.

"So, why do you hate to vote so much, Tim?'  I'm glad you asked.

Voting a candidate into office is a long term commitment, 2, 4, 6 years, depending on the office.  And that seems like a lot of trust to put into a person based solely on his self proclaimed abilities.  Maybe, after all of the claims by both sides, all of the accusations, and all of the aggrandizement, the candidate is not evil, but not particularly special.    Maybe he is just an average guy, who as State Auditor is in over his head.

Now, though, he is in that job for... however long State Auditors serve, and in a way it is partly your fault, you voted for him.  How could you know?

That is more responsibility than I can handle.  When I vote for somebody, and they end up being mediocre, or even worse, slightly below average, I know people start to stare at me, and I can feel their disappointment. When I stop to fill my car with gas, I can feel their disapproving glance, at the grocery store, people look, and whisper, restaurants are filled with people who were counting on me, and I let them down.  It is too much to bear.

There is a very simple solution, though.  We should allow voting every day.  If your elected official does something less than savory, something that makes you cringe, you have a chance to let him know, a little microwave political justice.  It will be time to give someone else a shot.  Don't worry, if you like a politico, and he is voted out, just tune in tomorrow,

Better still, do we need all of those elected officials?  Maybe a couple of guys to open the mail, formulate bills, and submit them to us, we the people, to vote on.  Just think how cool that would be, having lobbyists call you, "hey Bob, we think you should vote yes on the Alaskan Salmon Cod Liver Oil Subsidies Bill, why don't we get together over a some 'Dunkin' Donuts' coffee, and a few of the  glazed to discuss the virtues of this particular piece of legislative artwork."

Think of the possibilities, corporations trying to win your favor.  You could have your own PAC!  Sure, it would not be super at first.  It would start out as a little pupal PAC, kind of a side kick PAC, but after a while, a few contributions later, it would grow, an apprentice PAC.  Before long you would be the proud custodian of a full fledged, bona fide Super PAC!  Powerful, rich and beyond the reach of campaign laws, and good intentions.

Maybe some day, but until then, I will vote, if I can handle the shame, or not vote, comfortable in the conviction that "choosing not to decide" maybe the best choice.  In either case the country will muddle along in the grip of partisan strife and misplaced party loyalties, feeding the loud, and extreme, while the rest us pay the ticket.  Not much will change, one way or the other, and that is probably good enough

Yes, another spider story.

Normally I try to avoid political issues completely.  For one thing there are plenty of political blogs, web-sites and programs already, (but, and this is an important point, only one Life Explained) but, when a politician fearlessly puts himself in the line of fire to protect his constituents it should be mentioned, even here where vital issues are covered, almost in real time.  Yes we pride ourselves on bringing you the news before it even becomes the news.

And when that politician goes one step further and starts eliminating the leading problem of the world today (that's right, loyal readers, SPIDERS) then he deserves a little Life Explained recognition.

So here's to you, Governor Chris Christie.  I would like to shake your hand, after you disinfect it, and maybe bleach it, unless you can find something a bit stronger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwjke6iRD14