July 4

 Happy Independence Day

So far it has been quiet. Last night not so much and probably tonight as well. Our neighbors across the street fired of some very loud firecrackers last night and our  cats were definitely not happy. They cuddled close all night. At least we haven't had fireworks going off every evening for the previous month and, I hope, might not for the next three weeks like we had some years.

I don't plan on doing anything much today except read and, maybe, some needlework. Mainly because I have done both almost every day for the last 60+ years and they still give me pleasure. So here's what I am reading today:

Starting off is this piece by Robert Reich which seems rather pertinent given the political situation. Given all of the "pearl clutching" on the Democrat side about Biden's abysmal performance at the debate the issue of age might be a good topic of discussion. What isn't is the fact that there is no similar discussion on the other side. Biden is old, unquestionably old. But Trump is only three years younger. While Biden admits the fact Trump tries to cling to an illusion of youth which is shattered every time he opens his mouth and issues another incoherent or insane "thought." On a personal level, Reich's observation resonates with Mom and me. We aren't as spry as we once were. We forget where we put the keys. We make lists of groceries we need to buy and errands we want to accomplish. We nod off while reading, watching TV, or playing a game on our computers. Sometimes it is damned frustrating. A stray thought on all the political crap: I wonder who will be the "power behind the throne" with either candidate. With the Supreme Court decision on Presidential immunity, that phrase is very appropriate nowadays. I would rather trust the advisors behind Biden than the Heritage Foundation twits trying to return the society to their notion of godliness who are behind Trump. I lived a third of my life when women couldn't open a bank account, open a credit card or get a mortgage without a male cosigner. Or when you couldn't get a divorce unless you could prove fault. Reno and Las Vegas did profitable business in providing divorces to those who could afford to establish residence. I have no desire to go back to that just so some self-righteous and smug assholes can feel good about themselves because someone else has to feel worse.

Michael Klare at Tomdispatch has a good piece on American foreign policy. One aspect of Klare's essay reflects something I have thought for some time. Our foreign policy as he describes it rests heavily on our military power but military power is a hammer and not every problem is a nail. Englehardt's intro to the piece notes that our circle of "friends" seems to be shrinking. I don't think many countries in the "developing" world were ever really friends though we often tried to portray them as such. Russia and China, have been making diplomatic advances in that group for some time. Trump's last administration and the possibility of another is cracking the alliances within NATO and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza have cracked other relationships as well. A third part of Klare's piece also reflects my own thoughts: we are still stuck in a Cold War mindset even though the Cold War ended, so we were told, in 1991. Neither of our adversaries today are the same as the respective countries in 1991 but we are pursuing the same tactics. Andrew Bacevich wrote extensively on this matter in ON SHEDDING AN OBSOLETE PAST. Unfortunately, we have on candidate for President who following a Cold War strategy and another who is the front man for a cabal that wants to throw us back to even more distant time.