I am not a Joe Manchin fan by any means. In fact, there were times since Joe Biden became President when I would have shot Manchin if I thought I could get away with it. To say he has been a pain in the ass is a gross understatement.
I also was one of the first to point out that if the Democrats win the runoff in Georgia, Manchin goes from being a Washington power to just another Senator who cannot single handedly stop really important things from getting done.
Now, I am being constantly solicited to pay money to the Democratic apartheid to help in the Georgia runoff. The last few solicitations specifically say that by giving I help shutdown Manchin. My gut tells me that is not the right approach. It unnecessarily should piss off Manchin. It was a gratuitous swipe with which I am not comfortable. Of course, nobody asked me. ——————————— On Monday, Trump suffered another significant legal loss, at least in the lower court, when a Federal District Judge in Washington ruled that Trump does not have absolute immunity for his political actions around the 2020 election. Stay tuned while Trump appeals and keeps appealing. ——————————— It will never happen, but theoretically, a Democrat could be Speaker. McCarthy needs 218 votes. There are 221 Republicans, at least a few of whom say they will never vote for McCarthy. They will try to find a Republican alternative. None of the Democrats will vote for him. If they get together and uniformly support one Democrat, that Democrat is only four votes short of being elected Speaker. If they could find a few Kinsingers or Cheneys, who knows what could happen? —————————- Meanwhile more chaos in Arizona. Republican losers, at least two, are still refusing to concede and the election board in a heavily Republican area is refusing to certify the results. It is one big mess. —————————- I am confident most of this issue is not on the radar for most of you, but it is major. A railroad strike is looming if a deal is not made before December 9. Our economy would be significantly crippled if that were to occur and in many ways, no one thinks about until faced with things like unsafe water because the needed chemicals to make the water safe cannot be transported.
There was a time when I would not be worried about our government solving this kind of issue, but that is no longer the case. We just have too many loose screws in Washington not focused on doing what is needed, but doing only what is politically advantageous. This attitude just has to stop. ———————————+ Son Steven’s surgery went well, but too soon to know about his recovery and rehabilitation. I, on the other hand, was a wreck. I have been the patriarch of my family since before I was 30. The buck stopped with me on most family issues. I could handle everything with the help of Barbara. The one thing I could not handle well at all was when one of my children was in jeopardy.
When son Charles was very young and might have had a serious health issue which, fortunately, turned out to be a false alarm, I was a damn terror. It took me weeks to apologize to all the people whose heads I bit off while I was waiting to find out his status.
I just get eaten up, cannot relax, cannot think of much else and jump everytime the phone rings or I see an email has come in about what is happening. At least yesterday, I had a major work project where I needed to totally focus for several hours, and I did not have time to go crazy. Today, however, is another day.
Thank you daughter Beth for your heroic efforts dealing with Steven and the ripple effect of his situation, particularly his two children. Steven is single and has no “Barbara” to take charge. My Wife, among many other names, is often referred to as “the energizer bunny”. Watching her go into action is really something. Beth, whom most everyone adores after meeting her, has become a chip of her Mother’s block.
I cannot even imagine what would have happened if she were not back in Florida when Steven fell. Son Charles is in trial in Canada, so Beth was it. We may need granddaughter Alanna’s nursing skills even before she starts nursing school in the fall. As I have before, I know of no person better suited to the field she has chosen than this young lady. She would be a shoo in for the nursing hall of fame if there were one.
There was just no way we could leave Italy to go back to Florida but I wish I could have been in two places at the same time. Hell, many judges over the span of my legal career thought I could do it, but I can't. ———————————- My great friend since 1957, Bobby Baer, is also struggling with terrible back issues leaving him in terrible pain. I have the same problem dealing with the health issues of close friends as I do with my immediate family. In fact, Bobby and David are my family. F—k. ——————————— I am listening to the 7 a.m. bells in Florence as I write this post. We just love living in Florence. It is truly a great, great place. ———————— My final thought today goes back, not surprisingly, to Donald Trump and how he still has intimidated the vast majority of Republicans. It should be a damn “no brainer” to condemn, without equivocation, the fact that Trump had dinner with neo-Nazi antisemites. Yet only a very few Republicans have had the balls to do so. Shame on all of you. ———————— Go Ukraine