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David Mitchell

I must be confused.

(I promise you, I would have voted for the nice lady - yes, on the anniversary of the day they taught pigs to fly heliccopters, but,,,,,,)

I keep thinking you're talking about the guy who we see in the news every day. The guy who loves to brag about groping women. The guy who used to fly his wife to conventions and meetings in one plane and then fly his own personal whore (whom he later married after dumping teh first one) on another flight to a nearby hotel with her own "bodyguards", then "visit" back and forth between sheets - er, I mean hotels.

The guy who got into Wharton without passing the entrance exam because of an inside connection with his brother - and who's professor called him one of the dumbest students he ever taught. The guy who likes to insult monorities, mock the handicapped, and praise a man who is one of our most devious enemies in the world.

The guy who's daddy gave him $1,000,000 cash and over $100 million in apartment untis in NYC - and who later had it all taken away from him by the banks (who decided to keep the brand name and paid him $30 million for the name). The guy who failed with an airlines business, and a Steak Business(???) and who had to settle up incourt (or lose big time) for his fleecing of thousnsds of people who were paying $30,000 for his "Real Estate University". A "University" that friends tell me had almost zero worthwile content whatsoever. (with a 4 year BSBA  degree in Real Estae Development, I feel somewhat qualitied to judge that - and one of my sources is a life long New Yorker in the Commecial R.E. busniess in Manhatten).  Oh, and there was that run of bankruptcies with the Casino ventures. What a "successful" business man?

The guy who's campaign group appears to have Russian fingerpritns all over their handiwork. Disputeable? Yes. But where there is so much smoke, could there be fire ?

I keep thinking you guys are referring to the guy who's daddy bought him out of the draft - more than once. And who called a man who went in his place and was shot down over North Vietnam and served 6 1/2 years in a prison (with three broken limbs) a loser!  And one of my all time most endearing quotes, who once said "My fight with venerial disease was my own personal Vietnam".

But I must be confused. You guys are probably talking about the man who holds the highest office of the greatest nation on earth.

(Yikes - I must be thinking of somebody else!)

Mark Schweickart

Dave -- You may think you are confused, but, you are not. SO SAD!

Kathleen Wintering (Nagy)

I just keep thinking about all the high school kids( and junior high students)  that counselors and teachers are working so hard with to get them to treat each other with polite speech and kindness . How hard it must be to get the point across with President Trump`s speech and behavior since he was elected. It still seems like a bad dream we are going to wake up from soon. Sadly this is not going to happen.  Incomprehensible that this man was elected by our citizens. I hope the membes of the House and Senate will hang in there to balance him out and let the world see that we still have intelligent people,  with good judgement,  working for the good of our country and the world. Kathy W.

James Hamilton, M. D.

Joseph Gentilini

 I am more with the thoughts of Kathleen Wintering  on Trump.  I think he is crude, makes fun of persons with disabilities, treats women with distain when he wants to.  He lies everyday and no one challenges him (some have tried to). I believe Trump is a dangerous man with a mental health diognosis.  I try to keep my heart at peace in my relationship and with God.  Joe

Mary Ann Nolan (Thomas)

Kathy, I agree with you about Trump. What do you say to young  people who are being taught that it is ok to lie?   People who defend Trump’s actions, behavior and lies should need to worry about their children and grandchildren and the example they are setting.

John Jackson

Responding to Tim’s recent post, I don’t think the media should be faulted overly for not predicting the Trump win.  One of the things that bothers me most about the media (I’m thinking mainly of the networks and cable news where many of us dinosaurs get a lot of our information) is that they focus way too much on polls and who’s winning or losing rather than covering issues. 

As an example, let’s take health care (which people at our stage of life ought to be paying attention to).  With all the coverage of retaining/repealing Obamacare, rarely is anything discussed beyond the headline numbers about how many people will gain or lose health insurance.  While this is certainly important, there is rarely any mention of the fact that while the individual components of our health care system (doctors, medical schools, hospital facilities, etc) are excellent, our highly privatized and poorly organized system spends 50-60% more and has worse health outcomes than the other 35-40 most advanced nations in the world, all of which have much more “socialized”  health care systems than we do.  If these facts were better understood, I think a lot more people would realize that we have far from “the best health care system in the world” and would be open to support modest reforms like Obamacare, and, eventually, the much more major reforms necessary to make our health care system competitive.

My other gripe about the media, especially cable news, is that most days they basically cover just  a single story and beat it to death (this may be what Tim is alluding to later in his post).  It’s either Trump’s latest outrage, or the impending hurricane or…but you pretty much get only one story each day.

So I support Mike’s plug for the New York Times because they don’t cover just a single story and they dig beneath the surface.  8-10 years ago I subscribed to the print edition for a year or two but felt guilty wasting the newsprint because most days I had no time to do it justice.  But after the election I decided I had to do something to combat fake news and support serious reporting that checks and double checks stories and sources and prints corrections on those rare occasions when they get it wrong.  So I got an online subscription to NYT for $99 per year (and I just checked and you can also get it  for just $8 monthly if you want to try it out).  I get their headline news emails a couple of times a day and wind up reading a story or two most days.

And for those of you who are suspicious of NYT, remember that they (together with the Washington Post) broke most of the original stories on Benghazi and also on Hillary’s email server.  Very recently their investigative reporters broke the story about Hollywood liberal Harvey Weinstein’s sexual predations and also the embarrassing story last week that the Hillary campaign and DNC had paid for the dossier on Trump’s Russian dealings (I hope Fox News, now covering this story pretty much 24/7, thanks NYT appropriately).  For the foreseeable future, however, I think you’re likely to see many more stories critical of the Trump administration, but that’s only because it’s such a target-rich environment.

David Mitchell

Jim,

As a moderately consrvative thinker I am in some degree of agreement with much of what you argue we needed, and had not gotten in some prior years. Of all people, Chris Matthews ("Hard Ball") offered a pretty fair assessment of what "the Donald" had achieved. He ("the Donald") had tapped into a segement of our population who were tired of "nambypamby-ness" in our leadership, and felt their voices had gone on unheard long enough. 

However, I simply cannot accept that this man has done much other than cheer the stock market upwards, and maybe drop one huge bomb on the right target. I cannot square his behavior with my third grade Baltimore Catechism, nor can I square this with the truths my conservative Christian parents taught me. 

A popular "Christian-Right" author and lecturer, Max Lucato, published an article about two years ago asking if the leader of our country should not at least measure up to the standards we would set for a young man coming to our door to date our daughters. I wish I could find it - it really was well written.

I personally cannot compromise basic fundamental priciples of social behavior and moral character for my politial interests. In fact, "my" political party seems to have gone a course that I am forced more and more to question. 

e.g. Why do we champion laws that forbid our health care plans to bargain with "big pharma"? (the VA is allowed this right, and does a much better job of holding the line on drug costs.) Why do we pass laws in the IRS code that allow double tax right-offs for violent video games? Why are we passing a law that forbids individuals to sue banks, but big banks can still sue individuals? These seem to be faustian bargains with power of the worst kind. Whay did all of our candidaates beat their chest about more and more military (armament) spending, while battle-wounded combat veterans cannot even get a doctor's appointment. I only have to wait months for my own appointments, but at least there is no parking for me when I do get there anyway. 

I seems to me that our Grand Ole' "Party of Lincoln has either sold themselves to Wall Street, or Big Pharma, or they have run off to join Mr. McConnel's royal order of the circus clowns - as was so aptly demonstrated in our last campaign where 20 odd guys acted not like statesmen, but more like little boys who needed someone in the building to call their parents.   

As for John's press comments (wow John - you're back on!). I agree, and it annoys the heck out of me. As Bill O'Reilly said so succinctly, "It's not about accurate journalism. It's all about the "entertainment value."  Important issues be damned!

I remember being asked who I voted for. They assumed I voted for the thrid party candiadte (who eventually proved himself to be a complete ignoramus). I finally confided to a few friends that I had voted for the 4th party candidate. - a conservative lawyer in Nashville or Memphis who opposed abortion and favored legaized medical marijauna. I chose him for one reason. That was that he and his wife had funded and ran a home for child orphans of Romania. My friends all commented that I had "Wasted my vote." I just looked them in the eye and said "No, You wasted your vote."

I accept that we have had a number of egomaniacs in this office before, but an ignorant, raving, narcissistic psychopath is more than I can take.

So, as for this topic - In the immortal words of Billy Joel,  "We Didn't Start the Fire" - Tim did. (it's all his fault)

And Jim, I wish we could play some golf or go off on a photo-shoot together. I miss you buddy.

(And I'd walk a mile for a good political arguement. Are we havin' fun now!)

James Hamilton, M. D.

James Hamilton, M. D.

David Mitchell

I think Tim will be serving Gin and Tonics on the front porch if y'all wanna head on over and have a good ole' fashioned "whack a mole" party in the front yard. 

(I think the caption should read - "Go ahead, make my day")

Oops. I think maybe that IS Tim in the picuture.

Joseph Gentilini

Just a note to say that I am enjoying the conversion between Jim, David, and John (and others) and can find things I agree with and  things I don't.  There is truth in all of these back-and-forth messages.  I don't respond to them on this message modality all the time, but I am enjoying them.  This is a great way of staying in touch as I found myself going to the 50th reunion and the mini-one also.  Thanks.  Joe

Joseph D. McCarthy

Now, two weeks after the fires started, authorities say they expect them to REALLY be fully contained by this Wednesday. 

Feeling the need for a change, I had time to read the Sunday paper.  There was an article from the New York Times "The lost children of Taum".  Any of you who have access to the New York Times, or saw it reprinted in your local newspaper, I would love to hear your reaction.

Joe

Michael McLeod

Really happy to see a lively and respectful debate.

Happier still that the Bucks won.

This was the first game I was too nervous to watch.

I worked outside and kept checking the score via internet. (I live in Orlando where the weather is essentially indian summer from now until March)

Then I'd go out to my car and listen to Paul Keels on the radio via Sirius)  (I do not have a television, which is anohter story altogether: I just began seeing it as an addiction, and my life is much more peaceful and thoughtul without it).  

I did this throughout most of the game - keeping it at a distance, getting texts from friends all over the country about it.

Finally, when the fourth quarter rolled around, I was listening in the car, on the way to visit a friend, and when I realized that we had a chance I pulled over to a sports bar to watch the wonderful end of the game. I was ecstatic, but there were no buckeyes in the crowd, so I called my friend, John Porentes, who owns a Buckeye website, the Ozone, but now lives in Florida, too, and we screamed at each other through the telephone as if we were right there in the middle of the fans who stormed the field.

I'm being a bit more longwinded here than usual but I just thought it was interesting all the different ways - via internet, satellite radio, telephone, sportsbar tv, and last but not least, heartstrings, that connected me on Saturday to home, and the Bucks, and memories I cherish, and a home that still, to this day, keeps me in its embrace. Always feel luck to say "OH" and know that somewhere, somehow, I'll get an "IO" back.

Donna Kelley (Velazquez)

        -IO

Frank Ganley

And here we go all of us arguing over a settled matter. News Trump won and is the President of the United States and Hillary Clinton finds herself on the outside, so she is now trying to create unrest, weeping and gnashing of teeth. It is time for all to stop all of this undermining of the USA. We all need to keep our eye on the ball and that is support and pray for the success of this country. With all of this misplaced energy calling Trump every name and accused of every sin against man we are not helping our country go. If you are so against him join someone campaign and work for 2020 to change. For 3 more years no matter what you say or do Hillary ain’t gonna be president. Let work for America. As president Kennedy told us ask not what America can do for you but for what we can do for america

Frank Ganley

I O I had a few buddies over for the game  included in the mix a Penn State grad , great fiend etc  as we are getting ready for the game, beers, wings, and brats, and pregame posturing  it’s kickoff and Casey is even louder than usual his cheers and who rha  could be heard throughout the neighborhood  he was loud enough to have a few more stop in  as the game went on I could not believe he could get louder but he did  as I told him in the 3rd quarter I told he about the last laugher but he said only we were done  what a epic ending , to the game,and to Casey  

Michael McLeod

Thanks for that, Donna. All the way across the pond. 

David Mitchell

Donna and Mike,

Sorry, It appears you missed the memo that they are getting ready to close Ohio. They have all moved to Hilton Head and there will only be a skeleton crew remaining behind to turn out the lights.

(You should see the common license frame here: it is the two O's on each end with an "H" before the Harbor Town lighhouse image (as the "I").  Second largest group here are from Michigan. There are Micigan and Ohio State bars on the Island. And the largest activity club in nearby retirement community of Sun City is the Ohio State club - among whose residents is former basketball coach Thad Motta's dad, a friend of mine when I worked there for a few years. That is out of about 160 clubs at Sun City.

Mike's mention of Saturday night's game - and what a game! - reminds me of an idea I posted several hundred ago. (re; my dad growing up playing in the construction of the stadium around 1922 and '23.).  I know my Dad's position as head of a department in the Medical School (for 43 years) afforded me many priviledges. I had free passes to just about everything! I was a spoiled, lucky kid. I thought I'd share a few more of my own "Scarlet and Grey Memories" from time to time, and naturally, it starts in the "shoe".

It must have been about 1955 when Dad first took me to a game. He thought I was old enough. Ha Ha!  They kept talking about "Hopalong Cassidy" and I couldn't figure it out. Nobody on that football field was in black, with a white ten-gallon hat. And I never did see anyone on a white horse.I must have driven dad nuts with my questions and my fidgeting and my frequent trips to the men's room. What interested me most were the guys with the hot dogs, pop corn, and coke. But many more fun days were to yet to come for Dad and I.

Notice the young Wayne Woodrow Hayes (Woody) standing to the right at the award table. 

(And I think one or two of Hoppy's kids were at Watterson in a class just ahead or behind my kids.)

Donna Kelley (Velazquez)

Dave, thanks for the heads up. You are right... I definitely didn't get that memo. 

Michael, over to you to comment on the rest of Dave's entry.  Years ago I had to make a conscious decision whether to allow football or futbol (soccer) info and rules to take up that limited number of brain cells dedicated to organized sports.  Guess which won. Visca Barca!

Timothy Lavelle

Hi,

You don't know me. My name is "Matey" because my less-than-original human lived in Australia for awhile and everyone there calls everyone else "Mate" all the time. He even picked up the habit and now I have to grin to see the look on the Fed-Ex driver's face when my human says "Thanks Mate" for my most recent delivery of chew toys. Humans should have chew toys too but who listens to us dogs?

This photo of me practicing yoga is one my human calls "Upward Facing Matey"...which I don't get. I really don't get a lot of what he mumbles about.  I think he means well but I also believe that he is operating at diminished capacity (The Rottweiler next door taught me that term...pretty cool). He actually grew up believing all the stuff he was taught because there was no one in his family to say "Jeez, that's nonsense". He is still hurting because humans don't have flying jet cars. He never talks about Viet Nam becase he felt upended and betrayed by his countrymen for doing what he had been taught "made America Great"...serving in the armed forces. So now he is disappointed in "who we are" if that makes any sense at all. My friends like Pal and Fluffy and Cooper don't care at all who we are...but we are respectful of each other enough not to pee on each others lawns. OK, ok, we do pee on each others lawns but we try not to make a huge deal about it!! My human thinks he is respectful enough too, but I do think he will pee on your tree! Because he worked in civilized and some uncivilized countries he is paranoid of how America is understood by other peoples. As an example, he believes that Obama was at least very good because 'Murica so desperately needed a President who could speak without stumbling or projecting violence and mayhem. He also thinks Clinton was a schmuck for letting us all down morally and his wife should have dumped him. He thinks he is an independant thinker! Isn't that cute. How cat like, am I right? He believes that humans should "challenge our premises; stand up to bull$hit; be respectful and polite" unless you have a chance to walk around a reunion carrying stand-up posters of a mouse and a pope.  

My human is the disappointing result of growing up in this country, since the end of WWII. Like you he was taught that America saved the world and America was the greatest nation ever to exist. That put his beliefs in this country and his countrymen on a too-high pedestal. So many things have happened in this life of his that make him doubt everything humans have been taught. I feel sorry for him in a way because it might have been better if someone had been around to say "Don't believe all the press clippings, we can be just as screwed up as those 3rd world countries we so easily make fun of". Sorry for the prepositon there but Hey, I'm a dog right? But there was no one to say, "Think for yourself". In his growing up time, humans were guilty of a breach of faith if they didn't automatically agree with what was accepted dogma.  Like the dogma that still says the youth of America are supposed to be the police force for the world.

OK, that's all for me, Matey. I don't know about you but I am off to smell some butts. I promise not to pee on your tree, but I can't vouch for my human...he's untrainable.  But I will tell you what, he has a tattoo of the 'Murican flag on one of his TEETH! Confused, maybe....Nuts, well fer shure Mate!!

David Mitchell

Hmmm  -  a dog's life?  

Arf!   Arf! 

We may have different colors or spots, but me thinks we could still run together in the same back yard.

Timothy Lavelle

Frank,

My dog wrote earlier. Maybe it was your dog writing before when you posted something like "He is our president, so suck it up".

Because of the position he holds, you seem to think we should bow our heads when his name is mentioned. Frank, his effing job is to make us proud; to be the most adult and the most canny and by far the most respectful and RESPECTED man in any room. He is supposed to be someone who, no matter what, has our backs. What we have is a man who makes Nixon look good. What we have is a man who lies so often, it seems to become OK to lie, because he does it.  

I think it was you who asked why we are always beating up on this guy? Frank, why did all of us, once upon a time, keep saying "Sure Don" in HS? We did it because we were old enough to know BS when we heard it and to call it out. Luckily that Don was not a Holland or Elderbrock or we might have spoken under our breaths, huh?

You seemed to think, I may be wrong here, that Clinton and Obama sailed through their terms without any push-back from your GOP. Buddy, you know that's not true and you also know that there were more e-mails going around in Obama's time using the N-word than ever since the 1950s. That is so shameful. Your conservative side has nothing to be proud of or to brag about when it comes to stopping the other side "no matter what it takes". Tea Party...jeez, c'mon. We all want our country to be solid and in the right, but where does it say "If you don't get what you want, pick up your political football and go home". (Y'know, like, Shut down the gov't).

To quote one of my favorite classmates: "...Trump is an a$$hole..." and any thinking individual has a right to wonder how the hell we ever got to this point.

Mike, thank you for your answer. Sheila also. Shouldn't every newspaper be the NY Times? I realize no one is perfect but if our journalists in this country are excellnt, why is there only one NY Times? Trump has become the train wreck that commands "me too" journalism. Granted, he is the biggest train wreck of the century. I might be stupid...go for it....but me asking a journalist about the state of news in this country is probably similar to me asking Steve Hodges or Dan Cody how the Catholic church is doing these days. I am not likely to hear back "We are as effed-up as Hogan's goat" from those excellent people. I think I got your philosophy more than facts.

Love you all; don't agree with many of you.

Jeanine Eilers (Decker)

Thank you, Tim.  Your candid and well written response renewed me.  I couldn't agree more.

Frank Ganley

Tim, my learned friend from the desk next to me, I read your brief and I agree with so many points but the question that begs to be answered is what is "presidential? Is it the politically correct pablum that for the past 20 years they , those that look presidential", have been spewing? I am not sayoimg that Ttrump is perfect but he is a change and a change was needed. He is a ruthless business man that only accepts winning. If the deal can't be made in his favor he walksaway till you come back. Then he will wrench your balls till he is in the position of winning. Foir the past 30 plus years since reagan we have been back tracking on our position in the world. This is the greastest country in the world, our freedoms aree endless but we have become ignorant of the threatsfrom outside ans in that want to destroy the country we love. Youy can see it in the devision of the group. I've y et tohear him ssaayhe is against gays. Why would he? Blacks,? amd ll who claim his disrepect for women , look at his companies and most major positions are held by women. We hear the bitching about his father giving him a million dollars. Look what he built with that. John Kennedy was given mnillions as were his brothers all they did was go into politics and use the money for their own good. How many people have the trump enterrprises put to work. For give me I knoiw he was sued forwhat, n payment on contratswere not done or done incorrectly. Bt this is not the argument.Is He is presidential? I want him negotiating our positions, I want him to reestablish the United States as the world power is was, He will make thgis great because he has no othert agend. He could have just played golf, build more monuments to the trump name but he saw it was his duty to bring us back. I do not bow my head to him, i do pray for him. Thoise of you who wish for his failure are like psassengers on a big airplane, you loved the last pilpy but when he left you didn't like this pilot and to prove it we'll do everything in our power to mahe sure he crashes. 

Once again I ask , with amount of effort you go to hate him offfer ideas that we all can embrase. In the movie American President , The Predsident told of his oppenent , he will tell you everything that is wrong with america but he can not give you one idea as to improve it. In closing I wish everyone peace and understanding of and with each other. I take no offense when disazgrred with it the exchange of ideas. I jut want everyone to look at the growth of the paychecks if still working, and look at the growth in your 401 K and your stocks and bonds. that all goes to the country's faith in our president PSkeyboard malfunctioning