Category: Politics

  • Kid Vaxed

    Today is the day that our kid gets their first dose of the Covid vaccine. We have waited for this day since March of 2020. I know that we are still a long way from no masks, but this will allow us to take a deep breath and relax.

    Once the second does is taken, we can go back to a restaurant as a family, or go to a movie. This will allow the kid to be outside without a mask on. And then there are playdates and maybe even sleepovers again.

    But most importantly, if for some reason one of us does become sick, all the other members of the home are now safe.

    The interesting thing that I have learned recently, is that my daughter will be in the minority when it comes to kids vaxed in her classroom. I knew that there would be parents that wouldn’t want to have their kids vaxed, and I know some that want to wait and see how things are in six months, and then get it. I thought the breakdown to vax v. not-vax would be 50/50, but it’s closer to 2/3 not vaxed. That did surprise me.

    Look, I’m going into this situation by trusting that other parents are making the best decisions for their family, also meaning that I trust that they are being responsible parents. I have seen no evidence that leads me to believe otherwise.

    Here is the interesting thing that I have noticed about this information, or at least when I share that information with friends. My more liberal friends think the parents that aren’t letting their kids get vaxed are MAGA-Trumpers, and my conservative friends think the exact same thing. I am pretty sure, like 99% sure, that the parents who aren’t letting their kids get vaxed do not support, nor did they vote, for Trump. When I try to explain that politics really isn’t playing a part in these family’s decision, my friends, on both sides, really don’t believe me. They think that not get a kid vaxed is a political decision. That there can be no other explanation.

    I don’t know why these parents aren’t vaxing their kids, because they haven’t shared it with me, and I’m not going to ask. I’m going to continue to respect other people’s family’s and the decisions that they make.

    My choice is to vax my kid.

  • ODDS and ENDS: Power Point That Coup, BIRDS AREN’T REAL, Collar of Shame, and Libraries

    ODDS and ENDS is my continuing series of random thoughts and follow ups…

    Note to self: When planning a coup, don’t use Power Point. Also note to self: When planning a coup, don’t hire people that I need to use Power Point to explain how the coup works.

    This article was awesome, because BIRDS AREN’T REAL. Absurdist humor makes me very happy, even if it doesn’t make me laugh out loud.

    My dog has a cone collar now, or at least for the next six days. There is this red bump that is at the corner of her right eye, and it is as ugly as it sounds. The collar is humiliating for all of us, but let’s be honest, the dog has it the worst. Right now, she is veering between whimpering for sympathy, and outright hostility toward us. We need her to not scratch at the bump, and at the same time, apply an ointment to the bump twice a day. I have no issue doing this, as I love the dog, and want her to be healthy. And at the same time, it is still funny to see my compassion and affection for this animal on full display in our apartment for the next week. I will let this dog bite and growl at me twice a day, and I will keep my voice in the gentlest of tones.

    This past summer, I decided that it was time for the kid to get her library card. Down the street from us is a branch of the New York Public Library, which makes it easy to visit often. Over the summer and start of the school year, we would go and check out books on subjects that the kid was interested in. I would also get some early reader books, so we can keep working on that skill. The Liberians there are great. Always friendly, and patient with questions, as my daughter has lots of questions. The kid tells me she likes going to the library, and I think she’s being honest with me, and not telling me what I want to hear. I want to build a love of reading and for books in her, but also don’t want to come across too heavy handed, thus turning her off to it. I mean, I won’t know the result of this project for many years. I just have to hope that I am building a good foundation for her.

  • Shopping Doesn’t Solve All Problems

    I know that I am writing this on Cyber-Monday, and full disclosure, I have purchased an item on Amazon for my daughter. Our Christmas shopping is almost done, and the wife and I are taking advantage of the sales. These purchases are just little add on’s, and we are staying within budget. We’re being good and responsible.

    But I bring up this “shopping” observation not to shit on capitalism or commercialism. I am saying “shopping doesn’t solve all problem” because this past Sunday, on the morning political shows, pundits, on both sides, were saying that the way out of our national problems is for “normal people” to just “go shopping.”

    I’m sorry, but that answer, that America should just go shopping to solve all its problems, has be thrown around for at least twenty-one years, and it hasn’t solved anything. After 9/11, Bush said we should all go shopping. The Great Recession, Obama said go shopping. The Pandemic, Trump said go shopping. Now with supply chain issues, again they all say go shopping.

    During the Great Depression, FDR wasn’t telling America to shop their way out it.

    How did we get to the point where people spending money on things, which they don’t need, was the answer to everything?

    Buying a tv doesn’t make rents affordable. A new iPad doesn’t lower health care costs. A new coat won’t make your productivity match your compensation.

    Shopping only keeps things the way they are; basically, treading water. There are systemic issues that have been building in our national economy for the past forty years, and a robust Holiday shopping season won’t solve it.

    So, when I hear a pundit say that we should shop more to get the economy going, then that person is an idiot going for the sound bite, and not a real answer.

  • Election Day

    It’s Election Day in NYC. It’s sort of a holiday here, in the sense the schools are closed… sort of. There is no in person learning happening, but the kids are remoting into for their lessons. So, the whole family is together today. The wife is working, and the kid and I are on the couch working on our respective computers.

    And, sadly, I’m not excited about this election. We are voting for Mayor in the City, and I really don’t like either candidate. Silwa is a character from New York City Past, and just seems out of touch for the current NYC. Eric Adams feels like the new “conservative” Democrats. You can’t win an election in this town running as a Republican, so most moderate Republicans became Democrats, and that’s Eric Adams. Again, not excited about either one.

    I quote Desus and Mero when it comes to being mayor of this city; It’s the only job where you are hated by everybody on day one. Seriously, what kind of person wants that job?

    It has left me with this feeling of dread in my stomach this election. I was anxious in 2016, 2018 and 2020, as I did feel that Trump and his allies were a threat to this country. This time around, I feel like it’s going to get broken no matter who wins, and things will get worse. I know that this is a dangerous mentality to have. It’s very close to the feeling of hopelessness.

    And that’s what makes me very uncomfortable with myself.

  • It’s the Media’s Fault: The New Godwin’s Law?

    There is a Kids in the Hall sketch where an employee is reprimanded for using the word “ascertain” too often. You can see for yourself. I started thinking about this sketch again when I see some political post from friends, and even non-political posts.

    Such as, no matter what the topic is, at some point someone will chime in that the “problem” of the topic is being caused by the media. That the root cause is the media, or it is being made worse by the media.

    Example: Supply chain issues? Being blow out of proportion by the media. Covid infection rates among children? Media is making it sound worse. Debt ceiling debate? Media.

    I think you get it.

    But now, the more I hear someone say it’s “the media’s fault” the more I begin to think that the person saying it is just lazy. I think it’s a new form of Godwin’s Law, which states that the longer an online discussion goes, the likelihood of a Nazi comparison increases.

    Personally, I think it’s a thought-terminating cliché, meaning a person thinks they are saying something insightful and profound to bring a discussion to their desired end, but in reality, I think they gave up on trying to think through the problem and defaulted to the cliché.

    Seriously, everything can’t be the fault of one industry. Somethings, sure, but not everything.