There are a lot of really smart people in the United States. There are far more stupid people and I define “stupid” to include, among other things, stubborn, bigoted, close-minded, racist, inflexible, and an assortment of other characteristics.
My candid assessment of myself is that I am smarter than many and not as smart as many. My best guess is that at least 5% have me beat, maybe more, maybe less. I know I am really good at some things and hopelessly bad at others.
However, if it is really simple, I generally get it. I learned all my multiplication tables, I can read well, and probably write better. I have some mental blocks. For example, Barbara has shown me how cut-and-paste works dozens of times. It does not help. My partner Stuart Singer, brilliant lawyer, has explained a particular corporate doctrine to me multiple times, but I still call him to have it explained each time I encounter it.
I am not good learning other languages, but I am good at connecting dots and rarely forget anything once I have it in my brain.
For sure I know that 2 plus 2 is 4. It is not 22. It is not anything but 4. You can dazzle me with all the bullshit in the world, my answer will not change.
Now, every single Republican Senator, forget that asshole Manchin, is against abortion of any kind. There is no more debate, they voted and offered no alternative.
Now if this is an important issue to you for any reason, then you cannot vote Republican. You can vote Republican if it is not important to you. This is not rocket science.
Let’s start with something really easy. I want every father who has a daughter 14 or over to look at his child and ask himself, "If, God forbid, my child got pregnant and she could die if this child were born, would I want her to be able to end the pregnancy?"
All I am asking everyone I know is to start asking questions and answer them honestly. Come out where you may, reach any conclusion. However, take your collective heads out of your asses and DO IT. ———————- In the last two days, I was out of bed a grand total of half an hour. I have not been out of our apartment since I left the hospital last Saturday. Today, with Barbara’s help and a private large car, we are hosting a lunch for our closest friends. The lunch is in Scarperia. I know I cannot sit with my leg down in the customary van and I will not be able to sit at a long lunch. Rather than disappoint many, we are trying it this way. It is over a week since I fell and, at some point, I need to start trying to get around. ———————————— For me -- and I hope the vast majority will agree with me -- the biggest issue facing us is not Roe v Wade standing alone. It is Roe v Wade and what comes after it. Unless the tide turns, the United States as we know it will be no more.
This is a bigger issue than the war between Russia and Ukraine, it is a bigger issue than inflation or any other single issue. There is no more a Republican Party. There are a bunch of hoodlums who want to end our Democracy who call themselves Republicans. If they win in November it is over. The only thing that will stop a total free fall is that we will still have a Democratic President for two more years.
Biden will be virtually crippled, but maybe in his last two years, things will get so bad that the people will finally wise up and throw the Republicans out. This assume that there is still the ability to cast a vote that is counted fairly. —————————— The big sub-story today is that McCarthy and four others have finally been subpoenaed That should have happened months ago, and I said so then.
No one will comply. There will be multiple huge legal battles and the Republicans will take their time trying to run out the clock until the November elections.
This process has been badly mishandled. The legal fight should have begun months ago. These will be cases of first impression. They need to be fast tracked, maybe even consolidated. Clarence Thomas needs to be taken On A Slow Boat To China ( all to himself alone).
I expect to have a lot to say about all the pending litigation. For now, I just begin with a simple little saying I repeat more times than not when I make a legal argument: "Just because we are in a courtroom does not mean we should leave our common sense at home."
Those under subpoena could, no doubt, have crucial information concerning the overthrow of our government. There should be no fancy legal theories that should prevent what these people know from coming out. Give them immunity, do whatever it takes to get to the truth. ———————- I am looking forward to seeing the Dolphin schedule. We have really good seats and with the election well into November, I will be in Florida for a good part of the football season. We have our Thanksgiving in Florence. ——————|——— An old friend came for lunch Tuesday and then wrote a beautiful note to us which, with her permission, I shared. I am at the point in my life where, if you have anything nice to say about me, say it now while I can still hear it and have the satisfaction that, in some small way, I made a positive difference. [See it posted on this blog under "Stories."]
Those who have bad things to say, I see not need to hear them unless it is possible to make amends. There are two situations about which I can do nothing and gave up trying a long time ago. —————————- Euro to dollar $1.04 —————————— Go Ukraine