CSotD: Hiding in the mountains
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Well, the Foothills, anyway. I'd love to be up in the mountains, but the glimpse of them on the way from the airport to the conference hotel will have to do.
Speaking of the airport, it didn't take long to see that there's some excitement going on around here.
My sister, who lives here, sent me a Broncos AFC Champion T-shirt, and I was tempted to wear it Sunday when I'll be flying home, mostly because the first leg of my return is Denver to Charlotte, and I wanted to be able to tell people at DIA, "Of course I'm going to the game! They're playing the Carolina Panthers!"
The urge passed.
But if postings here are not as extensive and riddled with links over the next few days, that's why. And, speaking of the Super Bowl, Joe Heller's take fits nicely with a couple of things going through my mind.
To start with, this conference could not have been better scheduled: As Jerry Holbert notes, we're all a little anxious to get this over with. And I have sympathy with those, like Holbert, in bordering states, who have had to endure the commercials without even getting to cast a ballot.
So what I've managed to do is arrange to be hiding in the mountains foothills on the other side of the country through the final push, but back in time to vote. And I can write the trip off. It doesn't get much better than that.
But, going back to Joe Heller's cartoon, there is a link between the current political debate and the anti-sports snob who feels compelled to proclaim the fact that he is not only against sports, but proud to be completely ignorant of them.
That latter part being similar to the person who can't understand why the ballet just doesn't hire taller girls.
And the old adage about opening your mouth and removing all doubt, and that's where the crossover with current politics begins.
As for sports, it's just silly, and most of the arguments don't hold up to a rigorous discussion:
The "overpaid" thing simply ignores the revenues produced. It might be a good argument if you also believe the Walton family — not their employees — should get the lion's share of what their business brings in, and if you promise never, ever to talk about the short shelf-life of actresses, since most of them have more time to rake in money than pro athletes.
And it's certainly fair to denounce bad behavior among certain athletes, as long as you also cite Byron's personal life as the reason you never, ever read poetry.
The connection being that I'm seeing that same priggish self-righteousness being applied to the Clinton/Sanders race.
Apparently, there are some sexist jerks who prefer Sanders. Which I would not know if I weren't hearing complaints about them.
Not saying they don't exist, but they certainly don't exist in big enough numbers to matter. And, if you are seeing them on social media, well, I'm not, so maybe you need to do a little curating. You are who you friend.
Are there sexists? Sure. Geraldine Ferraro faced gutter jokes back when she was on the ticket, and Shirley Chisolm got both barrels.
And, if Bernie gets on the ticket, the antiSemites will vote against him, but I am not about to declare that anyone who doesn't line up behind him hates Jews.
Or is ageist, although I have heard people say that being the age Clinton would be at the end of her first term disqualifies him.
Bertrand Russell lived to be 98, and he was a socialist. But he wasn't a Jew. So if you vote against Bernie, it's not because he's an aging socialist. It's because he's an old Jew. Like Abe Vigoda, who only made 94.
Anyway, I cast my first ballot in 1972 and the first legislator I ever voted for was Pat Schroeder, as in "She Wins, We Win."
Yes, they had women in those days, even out here in the mountains foothills.
Meanwhile, back in New Hampshire, where only our governor, both Senators and one of our two Congressional reps are women, I'm probably missing some lectures on the topic, but that posturing does show up on my social media, and I wish it didn't.
I suppose I should ignore the Hillary fans who whine about "Bernie Bro's" in the same way they should ignore those mythical creatures, but the Clinton fan base, well-positioned as it is in the elderhostel section of a campaign being largely carried out on social media, may be creating a narrative that is going to distract from an honest exchange.
It certainly wouldn't be the first time.
And we're already seeing cartoons and commentary based on the "common knowledge" that Bernie is all promises, no plans.
It may be already too deeply embedded to exorcise, and who's going to take the time to actually go on the Internet that everyone knows Al Gore claimed to invent, and find out any different?
Voting against Bernie because he makes empty promises is like voting against Hillary because she murdered Vince Foster.
However, as Dan Wasserman, another Boston-based cartoonist (I guess you have to be there) points out, we're going to get a chance for a better look at the candidates tonight.
And tomorrow morning we'll see the 30-second sound byte that emerges.
I'll be back in time to vote.
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