Month: November 2018

The mid-term elections are finally over and, as predicted, the Democrats now control the House of Representatives. The elections were all about Trumpism… and America has spoken.

After two years of doing basically whatever he wanted, President Donald Trump will now have to share governance with Democrats. If he was frustrated by Democrats when they had no power, then he’s going to absolutely hate the next 24 months.

Not only will Mr. Trump have to deal with Congress on budget and tax matters, but he will also now be on the receiving end of Congressional inquiries and hearings. These are the political tools that the Republican Party has gleefully used during the past ten years to publicly pester the Obama Administration and Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Donald Trump loved this stuff when he was a candidate and, later, as President, using House stooges to trump-up charges against Mrs. Clinton and any government employee who dared to oppose his goofy policy initiatives. “Lock her up!” was his rallying cry to his MAGA supporters. Oh, what fun it was, watching public servants squirm on camera under a barrage of loaded questions and scandalous accusations!

The thrill will be gone when the Democrats start to torment the President with oversight hearings on immigration travesties, bone-headed tariff wars, insulting foreign relations embarrassments, scandals within the Administration, lack of transparency, huge tax breaks for billionaires, climate change denial, and, of course, Mr. Trump’s obsequious behavior towards murderous Russian and Saudi Arabian despots.

Some mighty embarrassing stuff is likely to hit the fan during the next two years, as the political world gears up for the 2020 elections. One can imagine that the Democrats will use this exposure to their maximum advantage, just like the Republicans did by constantly raking Obama and Clinton over the coals for transgressions both real and imagined.

It’s not hard to imagine that Donald Trump’s elusive tax records might see the light of day via some sort of Congressional hearing regarding the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution. (That’s the provision which prohibits a public official from profiting from his work as a public servant.)

Of course, the Russia-gate investigation by the FBI Special Counsel Robert Mueller is still ongoing and will also come to some sort of conclusion during the next year or so.

 

As the dominoes continue to fall, and the President gets more nervous and angry about this drama, there seems to be a new version of the “truth” being offered up by Trump and his cohorts as to what happened and why.

 

The so-called “Witch Hunt” seems more and more not to be a wild goose hunt…that there is something at the bottom of this suspicious behavior that is worth covering up by incessant Trump lying and threatening.

“Why do criminals lie? Because they’re guilty.” I believe that quote came from Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s attorney, when he was Attorney General of New York.

Just sayin’…

All of this could have been avoided if Donald Trump, who lost the popular vote for President by some 3 million votes, had made even the slightest effort to win over Americans who voted against him or failed to vote at all.

Instead, the narcissistic doofus has focused 100 percent of his Presidential efforts on sucking up to the MAGA minority who have already drunk his Kool Aid.

At the same time, he has focused his childish temper, nasty Tweetstorms, and mean-spirited policy initiatives toward the very people that he needs for his Administration to succeed. Trump’s approval ratings have never been higher than 40 percent.

The booming economy is on a sugar high from tax cuts fueled by debt. The United States now owes $1.4 billion per day in debt repayment obligations, thanks to borrow-and-spend tactics of Trump and the GOP.

And, to make matters worse, he has gone to war with the news media. That’s a conflict that he’s bound to lose.

So much for a guy with such a large brain, a “stable genius”, a guy whose gut tells him more than the smartest scientists.

As Donald Trump says, it’s “Sad”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charlie and I are starting over again.

The big move from Southern California to Nevada is now complete. What an exhausting month that was! My knees hurt, my hip’s acting up, and my back is sore; I feel 85 years old. Charlie, who is older than me, is plain tuckered out. Getting old sucks.

(BTW, Charlie is letting her hair grow out, revealing a nice silvery-gray hair color. It’s part of her retirement effort…i.e. cut costs wherever possible. I think that it’s going to look great, as long as she keeps it short. Nothing looks worse than an old lady in long, gray hair.)

The good news is that Mesquite, Nevada is a very nice place, the weather is great, and we’ve already met a dozen very nice neighbors. In fact, residents of the existing three structures on our street (Buggy Whip Court) are throwing a “Welcome Neighbor” cocktail party in our honor on the 30th.

The whole scene here reminds me of Bear Creek way back in 1988 when we bought our home there. It was a brand-new country club community set in a rural area, and all of the new homeowners were setting off on a great adventure together. There were no cliques back then; everyone, whether they were working folks or retired millionaires, socialized together. There was a very prevalent, positive vibe. It was fun.

It seems to be like that here, as well. Everyone we meet is upbeat and friendly, and anxious to share what they’ve learned about Sun City Mesquite and the blossoming community outside of the new subdivisions. There are lots of ex-Californians here, probably because living here in retirement is cheaper (and, no fires to worry about!)

Our new home is beginning to take shape. We brought a lot of stuff from Southern California and have managed to find places to put it. We also bought a number of new furniture pieces to make this house distinctively different from the one in which we spent the last 30 years.

We’ve got a separate suite for guests. A nice Queen bed with Tempurpedic mattress and nice en suite bathroom; we may have to limit guest stays! (But, if you’re reading this…please drop in!)

I have put in a lot of time here installing window coverings that Charlie sourced from Amazon Prime. They look fine, and we saved thousands of dollars. My son Jonathan set up my workbench area in the garage and it looks great. We also used some of Charlie’s old office cabinets to furnish our walk-in closet, providing us with lots of drawers for “free”.

Our new house is good-sized for two people…2,413 square feet on one floor. Plus, we have a large corner lot with a huge backyard…which is all dirt right now.

We popped for a very nice, custom-built BBQ, with sink and refrigerator. Unfortunately, it is not completely done yet.

We’re getting bids on a pergola for the front entryway, to created a shaded garden area for Charlie and her succulents.

A fence is coming in the next couple of weeks so that the dogs can roam freely and safely in their new Paradise. They’ll need it, as there are coyotes and foxes on the prowl in this area. I have yet to see any of them, and haven’t encountered any snakes or scorpions, either. But, I’m sure they are here, as well. Plenty of roadrunners, though.

The weather here is wonderful. We moved in at the very end of October, and the high temp has held steady in the 65 to 70 range with clear skies. Looking east from our home, across the Virgin River Valley, there is a mountain range 15 miles distant that is 5,000 to 7,000 feet high. It will probably be dusted with snow within a month.

Locals that we’ve met say that snow on the ground here in town is rare here, as are sub-freezing temperatures. We are at 1,800′ elevation and the air is very dry; I am thirsty a lot. Winter here will probably be ten degrees cooler than what we’ve grown used to in Southern California.

Behind us is a mesa.

The existing community here in Mesquite has the basics: a large Kroger supermarket; a WalMart; an Ace Hardware; a Medical Center; a nursery; and a veterinary hospital. (I will be taking Booger to the latter tomorrow; she has a foot infection.) In addition to gas stations and fast food joints, we also have three well-worn casinos. However, there are large expanses of graded commercial and light industrial lots near the Interstate, and construction is brisk. I anticipate many more businesses popping up within five years.

(If we want something special, St. George (Utah) is only 40 miles north on I-15. They’ve got virtually every chain big box store imaginable, lots of restaurants, etc. Plus, it is a very pleasant and scenic drive through the Virgin River Gorge. Charlie and I might go up there this evening to shop and have dinner.)

The front-yard, drip-irrigated landscaping of our new home was minimally provided by the developer. We got a 15-gallon tree, eight 5-gallon shrubs, and five 1-gallon plantings spread out over a graveled terrain.

I spent this past Saturday replacing most of the plants with larger and more interesting varieties of drought-resistant vegetation. Our remodeled front-yard now contains several varieties of yucca, some hardy grasses, and cacti.

I have a Palo Verde tree and an Ocotillo cactus in the driveway that I need to plant today. More bending over!

Most of the yards have large landscape boulders in them to punch-up the desert look. I will probably order a few of the several hundred-pound specimens, as well. But, yesterday the dogs and I took a couple-mile drive out into the desert to scavenge some medium-size boulders. I found two beauties that I could wrangle up into the back of the Jeep…each weighing 70 pounds or so. Wow, that was work! (I sound old, don’t I? I’m an AARP member, you know.)

Our grand plans for backyard landscaping will have to wait until we sell our Bear Creek home. Nothing much is happening at that end: lots of Lookie Lous, but no offers yet.

Some lady came by yesterday for a second showing, according to our realtor, but no word yet as to her interest. Supposedly, she is meeting with our agent again today at 4:30 p.m. Fingers are crossed…prayers are being offered…rabbit’s foot is being deployed, etc.

The little doggies seem to love it here, but who knows what they’re thinking.

I take them on walks all over the neighborhood, there is a little pocket park nearby, and there is several thousand square feet of dirt in our backyard that they can investigate, play in, and track into the house and dust-up our beautiful hardwood floors.

Those dogs are a pain in the neck, but they mean well.