On Bipartisanship

 

When it comes to including Republicans, and especially Trump supporters, in political discussions, I see some significant barriers.

If we are going to work together to use the government to help make this country the best we can make it, we need intelligent, rational, decent people to work on the best solutions to our issues.

Unfortunately, those requirements - intelligent, rational, decent - seem very basic, and should not be asking too much, but they disqualify virtually all Republicans, and every single Trump supporter, from having a seat at the table. Here's why:

Intelligence and Rationality

• If you imagine that Barack Obama was not born in this country, you do not get a seat at the table. We don't want to discuss or debate the issue with you any more than we want to talk about whether the Earth is flat; you're just wrong, not only wrong but mentally ill - maybe not clinically, but something is definitely very wrong with you. In addition, we do not need you to be part of any other political discussion about anything, as you have demonstrated that you are willing to stand by your own imaginary ideas drawn from make-believe world rather than accept evidence and facts. No one wants to know about anything you have to say. You're out.
• If you believe Joe Biden lost to Donald Trump in 2020, you're out.
• If you think that the activities of humans are not contributing to climate change, you're out.
• If you think that the FBI and/or Antifa attacked the Capitol building on January 6, 2021, you're out.
• If you think that Joe Biden is cognitively impaired, and you thought that was a reason to vote for Donald Trump...are you nuts? Why yes, you are. You're out.
• If you think that Donald Trump did not deserve to be impeached and removed from office, both times, you're out. You would think the opposite if a Democrat had done the same thing, and you are probably incapable of realizing that.
• If you think COVID is a hoax, you're out.
• If you think that not getting vaccinated for COVID is a good idea, because "freedom" or some other stupid non-medical reason, you're out.

If you believe some of the things in the list above, you are probably a Republican, and if you are a Republican, you probably believe some of the things on the list. There are many more. This kind of fairy-tale nonsense is not limited to some small group of fringe Republicans; these kinds of stupidities have become the heart and soul of the party.

If we need intelligent and rational people, Republicans are out.

Decency

Spoiler: no, not if you voted for Trump.

When Donald Trump ran for President, it was obvious to anyone that he was unqualified for the office. He had zero experience in political office, and he did not demonstrate a great knowledge of issues or even a particular interest in learning about them. He claimed, for example, that he knew more about the military than military generals know, but there was never any reason to believe him. Voting for Trump had to mean that you thought his personal traits made up for his lack of any qualifications for the job.

And what were some of those personal traits?

• Racism
• Sexism, including more than a dozen women who accused him of  exactly the kind of offensive behavior he bragged about on tape
• Xenophobia
• Inciting violence
• History as a business cheat
• Childish name-calling
• Cheating on each of his wives
• Lies - even before he was elected and told over 30,000 lies as president, he lied all the time as a candidate.

If you voted for Donald Trump, that list of traits appealed to you in some way. Donald Trump is truly one of the most despicable people on the planet, but somehow, he represents your values. This is who you chose to run the country, not because he was capable, but because you liked him.

Now, does that mean anyone who voted for Trump is a bad person?

It kind of does. I'm not sure how you get around that.

I admit I am somewhat reluctant to label all Trump voters, including some people I know, as bad people simply because they voted for Trump. That said, certainly there is something wrong with the moral compass of every single Trump voter. Certainly the choice to vote for Trump was a morally bankrupt decision.

So let's just say that when it comes to politics, Republicans cannot be trusted to be intelligent, sane, and decent. Maybe at work they are smart. Maybe they are kind to their neighbors. But the country has no use for them in politics.

Walk progress

This update is through 27 days, and I have over 236,000 steps in, which seems like a lot and also not that much progress toward my 7,000,000 ultimate goal. I have travelled 118 miles, which puts me two miles from Port Townsend, WA, maybe on the edge of town. From Port Townsend, I will take a ferry to Whidbey Island, so I can smell the water from here.

The most steps I had taken in any month this year was 214,000 until this month, and now I have 236,000 in October, headed for 270,000, so my motivation scheme has me walking more so far.

Star Wars Episode III: Fight Fight Fight

Four light sabers should be cool, sorta

I watched this movie recently for only the second time ever; however, I tried to rewatch it two other times years ago, after first seeing it in a theater when it came out, and both times I got bored and did not make it through. So there's that; it is safe to say that this is not my all-time favorite Star Wars movie. Still, when I rewatched it this time, it seemed tolerable enough.

Let's start with the weakest part of the movie. In a continuation of the major problem with Episode II, Anakin continues his transformation from talented but sulky teenager to murderer of children and galactically evil villain. And it doesn't work, does not work at all. Maybe Hayden Christensen is part of the problem, but the writing seems to be the biggest culprit. We just don't see the justification for his actions.

The rest of the movie feels like a series of light saber battles: Obi-Wan and Anakin versus Count Dooku, Obi-Wan versus General Grievous, Yoda versus Palpatine, Obi-Wan versus Anakin. Palpatine becomes emperor, Luke and Leia are born, Padme wills herself to die, Anakin becomes Darth Vader and his voice changes, and we're ready for Episode IV, which was where we needed to be.

It's OK, just not very inspiring.

Chronologically, Rogue One comes just before Episode IV, and it's a good movie, so I will watch that one next.

Walk Update

After two weeks of walking, I have covered 62 miles, which leaves me 14 miles short of Port Angeles. My goal for week three is to get past Sequim, 32 miles down the road.

If all goes as planned, the trip will take me through Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Surprisingly enough, I have been to all of those states, although my drives through Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi did not amount to much. Walking even a short distance through them would be a very different experience.

Jigsaw Puzzles

I assemble a jigsaw puzzle every year, a nice big one, usually 5,000 pieces. They take a long time - this year's was a picture of the Sistine Chapel ceiling which I started in February and finished in late September.

And I try to justify this unproductive use of time by thinking of a puzzle as a long-term project that demonstrates that you can achieve many things if you just do a little day after day and don't quit. Put up shelves and get that room in the garage ready. Weed around the lawn and put down bark. Learn to cook.

 An example that occurred to me is that you could walk across the United States if you wanted to; if you can walk ten miles every day, then you can just keep walking until you reach the end of the road, presumably at either the Pacific or Atlantic Ocean. You would get across in less than a year.

And then I realized, I could actually do that if I wanted to, sort of. I don't really want to deal with the logistics - being outdoors, walking next to cars, having to find a place to stay each night, arranging for food and water. So I decide that I could do the walk virtually, in a way: map out a route, then keep track of my steps and track my progress as if I were walking the route. For example, once I have taken 100,000 steps, I will be 50 miles from where I started (2,000 steps ~ one mile.)

Big jigsaw puzzles really are like that - you sit down for an hour and sometimes put maybe 25 pieces together, and it looks and feels like you have not made any progress, but you have. Eventually, small increments will get you there.

Since I live in Washington State, I chose to start my trip at Cape Flattery, the northwest corner of the state and of the United States. I chose Miami for the endpoint, because why take the shortest route when you can walk north to south as well as west to east? Then I plugged it into Google and selected walking as my mode of travel. The entire walk is 3,491 miles per Google, so round to 3,500 miles. That's seven million steps. No problem.

Next, I needed a timeframe and a distance-per-day goal. Ten miles is too far; I doubt that I can walk that far consistently (maybe not even once), and that would mean over three hours of walking each day. I don't have that much time. So, after a bit of fine-tuning and discussing my goal with Jackie, I settled on 10,000 steps per day for 700 days.

I started on October 1, the day before I went on a cruise. A cruise is a good place to walk, but not such a good place to set a routine. So blame that or blame me, but I am already 15,000 steps behind the pace (although that is far ahead of my pace for any month so far this year.) But I figure I have to walk an extra 20 steps or so each of the remaining 690 days to make that up, so it's not really a big deal.

The fun part of this is definitely going to be tracking my progress on the map and seeing where Google sends me. Google decided that the first part of my journey will be to cross the northern end of the Olympic Peninsula, crossing east through Port Angeles and Port Townsend. At Port Townsend, I will take a ferry to Whidbey Island, then walk across the island to another ferry terminal, then take the ferry to Everett on the mainland.

After one week, I had walked far enough to pass Clallam Bay, Washington, on the way to Port Angeles. By the end of week two, I will not even make it to Port Angeles, which, if you know that area, gives you some idea of how slow my progress is versus how far I have to go. Even making it to Oregon seems like a real stretch.

But I think I will make it.

Star Wars II: I Don't Like Sand

Seriously, I don't like the stuff

This one is clearly the worst of the Star Wars nine episodes. Parts of it are OK, even good, but some of it is excruciating.

The first three episodes are the story of Obi-Wan, but as I mentioned in my post about Episode One, these films tell two major backstories in the Star Wars saga: how Senator Palpatine became Emperor and leader of the evil Republic, and how Anakin became the ultra-evil Darth Vader, and this film mostly follows those two tracks: Obi-Wan chases down a clone army, and Anakin begins his fall toward darkness by falling in love with, and marrying, Padme.

Obi-Wan's part of the story works well, as he follows a lead to a remote planet where he discovers that a clone army has been constructed for the Republic, unbeknownst to the Jedi Council or the Republic Senate. After a skirmish or two, he is captured, and when Anakin and Padme come to rescue him, all three are prepared for execution in a large arena, complete with a large crowd of spectators and big, nasty monsters. Of course, the execution does not go quite as planned, and when a whole bunch of Jedis show up, there is a big battle in the arena that is the high point of the movie.

Sadly, there are lower points. First, we begin to see that the reasons that Anakin, who seems like a perfectly happy and friendly kid, becomes one of the great movie villains of all time are that he is a pouty teenager and he is in love with Padme and wants to be with her, even though Jedis don't really partake in distractions like wives or girlfriends. The thing is, when we see a character go from normal kid to mass murderer on a galactic scale and embodiment of evil, moody teenager in love just does not feel like enough motivation. Good God, we would all be potential Hitlers if that were all it takes.

Also, the love affair between Padme and Anakin feels rushed and poorly explained and maybe a bit creepy. When they meet in Episode I, Padme and Anakin clearly see something in each other, but she is in her twenties, maybe, and he appears to be about eight or less. The spark between them ten-ish years later when they meet again (and she is presumably still more than a decade older) is a very different kind of affection, and it cannot be explained by their earlier encounter.

So to explain this great attraction, we get a conversation about sand and a scene with land-blimp animals bouncing around in a field, and we laugh and shake our heads when we are meant to be appreciating how deeply these two feel for each other. It doesn't work, and at times it's bad enough to make you cringe.

In the end, half a good movie plus half a really bad one is not the worst experience ever, but for the Star Wars franchise, it's a disappointment. The disappointment will spill over into the next movie somewhat, but the failure of the Darth Vader storyline starts here, and this one earns the Worst of the Nine Episodes designation.