respublica

An Open Letter from Senator Ben Sasse

The Nebraska senator wrote this letter to his constituents and it is one of the better explanations of why he (and they) should not be voting for Donald Trump. No emotional rhetoric, just fact after quiet fact.

IDOT thanks so much

There are no words other than, "this is going to be awful". Beginning today and going on for a year, IDOT will close the right westbound I-55/64 lane from the King Bridge exit to the Poplar. This occurs just after the merge of 57-70 and 64.

The news reports are telling drivers to expect long delays for a year! Every single spring either MoDOT or IDOT begin messing with the route from Illinois to Missouri causing backups and long jams. Yes, find another way. You and everyone else.

Primaries make no sense

After watching the national political news last night I came away with one thing: The races in both parties are over. Clinton will be the democratic nominee and Trump the republican. On every channel experts had no doubt about this.

Ok. What's the deal here? We've watched 4 primaries/caucuses out of 50 and that makes it over? Someone said this is because it's all about statistics. What statistics I don't know.

This whole thing makes frustrates and angers me. Why should the rest of us even bother when 4 states have given us the nominees? I guess the news people can go onto something else is nothing matters anymore.

Strong and fast at 78

I hate to use the word crazy to describe what goes on in this Post Dispatch story, but I can't think of any other.

A 78 year old woman who uses a walker and lives in a senior living center in Chesterfield, crosses the busy 4 lane Olive Blvd each day between 4 and 5 o'clock to have dinner with her husband who lives in an Alzheimer's unit at Garden View Care Center which is across the road from her. This is a busy busy 45 mph road with no lulls in traffic or a stoplight especially during the evening rush hour.

Her senior living place offers transportation but she prefers to be independent. I'm not sure what the point of this story is other than human interest because there is no demand for stoplights or crosswalks or bike lanes.

"But she isn’t about to stop doing what she wants. She still does her husband’s laundry — a task the nursing home would take care of, but she always has done it and wants to continue — and often loads up his dirty clothes on her walker to take back to her apartment to wash.

And she’ll keep walking across Olive Boulevard for their visits, as long as she can.

“I am 78, but I don’t feel like it and I’ve been very active all my life,” O’Hare said. “I don’t want to give up.”

What bothers me is her complete disregard for the motorist who some day won't see her crossing Olive with her walker until it's too late.

 

This primary season is one never ending joke

I'll confess, I am enjoying  Mario Rubio going after Donald Trump just like Trump goes after everyone else. Some of Rubio's insults make me laugh out loud in both surprise and joy. The fact is, Rubio has turned out to be darn good at this and just keeps going.

Today he said this: "He (Trump should sue whoever did that to his face".  Which made me think about how DT insulted Carly Fiorina in September during the time she was getting a lot of good press while running for president. "Look at that face!" he cries. "Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?!"

So I wonder if there's some schadenfreude going on with Carly. 

 

How can we stop him?

Oddly and probably not so coincidentally, two major newspapers have stories/editorials today on the urgent need to stop Donald Trump. An editorial in the Washington Post is headed this way: "GOP leaders, you must do everything in your power to stop Trump." There's a front page story on that site as well dealing with this. The New York Times has a front page header dealing with several stories on this issue: "GOP Fears What's Next If Trump Can't Be Stopped".

All of a sudden our media/journalistic world is worried Trump can't be stopped. They have been enablers of this guy since day 1. First it was a great and funny story no one took seriously but he was good copy. From then on he was the headline, the lead in every news cast and every cable and network news program to the detriment of all the others running. So they aren't innocent in all this Trump mania. So what's different all of a sudden.

I'd be lying if I wasn't cynical about the news people's motives. Why do they suddenly want the GOP to knock him out? I'd venture that being the left leaning people they are, they are suddenly worried that Trump has the distinct possibility of beating Hillary Clinton as well as all the republicans. That this is suddenly the story after months of non stop reporting on Trump and mostly only Trump, is questionable. I'd guess the word has gone out among the media that they have to work to stop Trump for the sake of the GOP but underlying that is for the sake of the democrats.

Hey Media. How about you begin demanding real answers from Trump to questions instead of loud brags.

Nothing to Snicker about

Big news for those of us addicted to Snickers bars and other candy made by the Mars company. There is now a recall in 55 countries for all Mars candies after a "small piece of plastic was found in one of its products." For us in the U.S. we can go on as usual because the company believes the problem originated in their Netherlands plant. If your Snickers or Milky Way or other Mars bar doesn't say on the packaging, "Mars Netherlands", you're ok.

I'll confess to being a Snickers person. I take a bite out of a Snickers here and there throughout the day. I just don't feel right if I don't have that Snickers bite. I have also noticed that the company has now created a Snickers Crisp bar which is similar but has a rice krispy center. I tried one the other day but it didn't have that deep caramel, chewy texture I like. 

In case you missed it

Two major figures in Washington abruptly resigned one ahead of this week's scheduled hearing before the House Oversight Committee and one after a hearing.

Department of Chief Information Office, Danny Harris is now gone and yesterday Donna Seymour chief Information Officer in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) resigned just days before she would be on the hot seat for mismanagement in office.

Good to read of a House Committee doing their job.

How we live today

We live in a post-factual age. Facts mean nothing, emotion is all.

Best story of the day-senior citizen version

This woman is my hero.

An 81 year old Pennsylvania woman had come home from shopping and was parked in her driveway when 2 men who had followed her home reached into the open car window, stole her purse and then ran back to their car and raced away.

"Not one to take the robbery lying down, Makla decided to give chase. The pair managed to escape, but not before she rammed the vehicle, leaving behind evidence that authorities could use to track down the vehicle and the culprits inside it.

Police were notified of the incident and using the information, as well as the reported damage, they were able to find the damaged car in a nearby Shop Rite parking lot a short time later."

And the robbers were caught and jailed under 50,000 dollar bond.

Yay for this brave woman.