Thoughts From A Raging Mind

Thoughts from a Raging Mind

With every news broadcast from Ukraine….with every scene of wholesale destruction….with every sight of an innocent victim left dead on the streets and in makeshift graves…and with every denial from Putin and his despicable horde, I just want to scream! I can only think about the Germans invading Poland (and elsewhere) and the United States refusing to intervene for fear of bringing the war ‘home’. What use is to have a safe and warm home when others are under such severe attack? I don’t claim sufficient diplomatic expertise to know which genocides warrant U.S. direct intervention, but, for me, Russia has crossed the line with its unprovoked, malicious and murderous assault on Ukraine. If it were up to me, we’d be joining?Nato in fighting alongside the courageous Ukrainians, establishing the no-fly zone desperately needed and aiding in the protection of Ukraine and its sovereign people.?

But what about nuclear weapons? Won’t this provoke Putin to deploy nuclear bombs? I say we call his bluff. I say he’s a coward and is surrounded by other cowards who don’t want to risk their ill-gotten wealth for Putin’s follies. I say f$#k him and let’s do the right thing. If the US had done the right thing in the 1930’s, we might not have lost 6 million Jews and countless others. What further evidence do we need of Putin’s genocidal intentions before we act??

As for other topics, hard to concentrate on any but here are a few on my mind:

1. The upcoming elections scare the crap out of me. In North Carolina, we’re beginning to see ads from lunatics who continue to worship trump as if he’s the direct emissary of the messiah. These ads proudly proclaim allegiance to the pre-con whose indictment and conviction can’t come soon enough (Garland?). They insist that this is a Christian country, that abortion is murder, that ‘the wall’ must be finished and that “conservative values” are critical. The overt biases represented by these narcissist candidates is obvious and their absolute love for guns is showcased by the ones they wear on their hips or carry while they espouse hatred for Biden and every democrat that’s ever lived. What elevates my fears are that I’m currently in Philadelphia watching identical ads from local candidates. These people are everywhere, have extraordinary funding for their campaigns and win over centrists by scaring the crap out of them by falsely accusing liberal/progressive/democrat candidates of being pedophiles, groomers and socialists. I’ve seen no evidence of a thoughtful and effective pushback by democrats so I expect a horrible outcome to the 2022 elections and likely to the 2024 elections as well.?
2. Is Covid-19 mostly done? Are we about to see another wave based on new variants? How many boosters will we need? Do we travel internationally again? WTF! Talk about living in a time of confusion and misunderstanding. I guess the formal answer is “who knows…do what feels right to you”. We’ve had our second boosters and we plan to travel internationally this summer. Hoping for the best.
3. Electric cars are on my mind. Judy’s car is more than 10 years old and is showing its age. We seem to be in the ‘shoulder’ period when the automakers are transitioning between conventional cars to e-cars with hybrids as the demonstration vehicles to help make the consumer more comfortable with the eventuality of all electric cars. We also need the time for many more recharging stations to be built. So, what to do? Hold out a couple more years for the next wave of all electric cars with better and longer lasting batteries? Pick up a used ‘first wave’ e-car? Our part of NC has been selected by a Vietnamese company for its first US manufacturing facility (Vinfast) so we’ve put down $200 for one of them should they truly appear in the near future. Hyundai and Kia have great looking (running?) e-cars coming this year, but supply is limited and their costs seems excessively high. What are y’all doing?
4. Passover next week. All the kids and grandkids are coming. We’ll be doing a more detailed seder this year (the grandkids are older) to really explore the concepts associated with the holiday. Here’s the BBC version of the story for those who want to know more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/39565685. We’ll be talking about how people treat others; antisemitism; Jewish opportunity (Israel) and obligations (Palestinians); and about food and family. Of course, we’ll have to watch this clip from Rabbi Mel Brooks: https://youtu.be/nXeTsWGPT0w. Chag Pesach Someach!?