Friends, President Trump is (presumably) dancing a jig tonight, as his "big, beautiful bill" has been passed by the House. Much bare-knuckles legislating remains, of course, as the House and Senate must come to terms on taxes and spending priorities. Nevertheless, this is a huge victory for Trump and Republicans, which at least some voters may genuinely appreciate, as it will lower their tax obligations. Of course, there is plenty in the bill that Democrats may use against the GOP as well, so the political ramifications are unknowable at this stage.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/22/politics/house-vote-trump-agenda-bill
In a tangentially related development, Denmark has raised its retirement age. Why is this news related to the big, beautiful bill? Because it reflects the need for all Western countries to get their fiscal houses in order to address the massive numbers of retirees who are already draining public resources, and in future will do so even more. Here in the USA, of course, we prefer to ignore this problem for as long as possible. Very courageous!
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg71v533q6o
Finally, a new poll indicates that Elise Stefanik has a fighting chance of being elected New York's Governor, mainly because Kathy Hochul is about as popular as Osama Bin Laden's ghost. Much naturally would depend on the state of national politics in November 2026, which I wouldn't dream of hazarding a prediction about now (and even doing so in October 2026 would be risky).
Dr. Waddy from Jack: If I were vacuous Hochul I would dread facing formidable Rep. Stefanik in debate. Of course as Stefanik's prospects advance, we can expect the basilisk gaze of the Dem personal destruction monster to be released upon her . The Dems can I'll (this device insists on misspelling it)afford a turn toward democracy and common sense in their "Empire State" fortress . It could put them over the brink of emotional dissolution.
ReplyDeleteJack, I can think of one election in which a debate truly mattered to the outcome (2024: Trump v. Biden), so I wouldn't count on Stefanik's silver tongue to put her over the top.
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy from Jack: Oh but the elderdeluge is already here. isn't it? Why my forever young, forever exalted , forever omniscient boomers have arrived at ,gasp, that age for which they harbored such disdain, of "eyes purging thick amber . . . . together with most weak hams", and a wealth of other debilitations BUT, most belatedly , graced by wisdom. A generation so favored by time - not all ,to be sure, but a shamefully large faction of which - chose imperious presumption of their own unique justice and enlightenment contrasted to the manifest ignorance and error of those who preceded them. How very comic it is that now inexorable time brings them to that very stage of life they once so excoriated!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, with all of us arthritic husks still shambling about has our country not already arrived at the time of test for its ability to support us? One thing is for sure, we are, too many of us, a very self indulgent and self pitying bunch, we boomers, so don't expect any sympathy or help from us in the political and economic difficulties posed by our mutitudinous dotage. Why, it wouldn't be "fair" to ask that of us, of all people. Remember, we can yet vote.
Dr. Waddy from Jack: I was much moved by a local news account of veterans, many of Vietnam, returning from a gratefully provided air trip to Wash. DC to see war memorials. They were welcomed at the Buffalo airport by a large and demonstrative crowd which enthusiastically cheered them. For some of them this may have been the first time they have received public thanks for the ordeal they underwent in the war and, most unjustly, when they arrived home to hatred and excoriation from far left automatons who spat on them both in expression and physical action. When will those who perpetrated such evil get what
ReplyDeleteTHEY deserve: public recognition and denunciation.?
Dr. Waddy from Jack: In my sarcastic preroration against the leftist seduced mob within my generation , I should have said " ironically graced by SOBERING wisdom".
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy from Jack: Wow, I think fortune has smiled again on common sense America in the form of Speaker Johnson. The antiamerican far left now has another Nemesis to plague them, joining DJT, VP Vance, AG Bondi and Elon Musk. They can't win for losing!
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy from Jack: Hochul vs Stefanik. Well, Nixon vs Kennedy, Carter vs Ford, Reagan vs Carter: in all of them debate helped the winner.(I know, I'm digging deep) It wouldn't necessarily be a decisive factor for Stefanik but she could make this hopelessly leftist Governor look like a fool. Politically, Stefanik is on the way up and Hochul is on the slippery slope. Just maybe, NY and Kalifornia are the final redoubts for the "American" far left and its not entirely out of the question that both are at hazard. We continue to witness astonishing developments which in the main tend to the redemption of common sense in our polity. Perhaps much more "transformation" (yes Barack?) is at hand.
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy from Jack: Perhaps todays '60s admiring vicious young radicals could take a lesson from some of today's boomers. We are in the last one tenth of our lives, so many of us. And with the rise of MAGA it may be we are seeing the end of the '60s "revolutionary" dream of destroying America which ordered so many of our lives. America is back!
ReplyDeleteHillary is the personification of that numbing realization. ". . . remember you almost had it allll", except of course for that pesky American electorate. Her life of degrading allegiance to her caddish "husband ", for the sake of power, is wasted. So also may well be the painful intended temporary acquiescence to despised American political culture embarked upon by the post'72 radical mob in hopes of corroding from within. Look what their efforts have brought them today!
Jack, your point is well taken. Our seniors will not surrender a single one of their privileges gracefully. In fact, the easiest way to solve our entitlement mess will be to make entitlements much less generous for those who haven't YET received them. In other words, make the next generation(s) pay!
ReplyDeleteJack, I will concede that Hochul is a dolt, and, if there's a Democrat who would blow it in deep blue NYS, it's probably her!