Imagine

Look, I admit I've had a bizarre day...But I was sitting here writing my check to the US Treasury for my 2014 Income Taxes when the song "Imagine" by John Lennon came on the radio. It catapulted me away from my day-to-day woes (sometimes it feels like always-and-forever-woes).

For some reason I thought about the rush to announce the intention to run for the US Presidency already starting. Seems ridiculously early to me.  But then, the House and Senate aren't really getting much done these days.  So why not grab the personal distraction of running for President? I mean, what can it hurt? An elected official of the United States has to have something to do, after all.  Otherwise, he or she might get bored.  We can't have that.

After all, as most of them have forgotten, we pay their salaries, we care what they do.

They are working for us, be they federal officials, or the governors of states.

Sobering, thought, huh?

I'm sure dodging the reps of special interest groups is taxing, not to mention tiring. Maybe running for higher office changes the dynamics of dealing with those of special interests.  Who knows? I don't and never will.  I have never had the desire to run for public office. I'd be more likely to run FROM public office...

And then there are all those barnstorming trips one gets to take to small cities and smaller towns in the heartland.  Course if I were to run for national office, I'd want to court the voters of the Hawaiian Islands, a sadly neglected population....uh huh. Then I'd probably swing by New Mexico and back home to Austin, just to get a feel for the electorate and some GOOD Mexican food.

Anyway, I don't like hearing about the rift between the parties, the stubborn refusal to cooperate with each other, or the blatant gamesmanship that takes place between the executive and the legislative branches.  It makes me sad to see our country's ideals tarnish and drop away on all sides. I'm not saying anyone who disagrees with me has no right to their opinion.  Freedom of speech is one of the founding principles of our nation.  It's fine to disagree, but you can't dig your heels in and refuse to work out a compromise. Such behavior stalls the work of our government on many levels.

To paraphrase the late Strother Martin in his role in the movie "Cool Hand Luke" - "What we got here is failure to cooperate."

Boy do we ever.  I don't see any light at the end of this horrendously long tunnel.

So I'll stick to watching entertainment and only watching the news or current affairs when I feel up to it.

The "second" season of television is in full swing, so there are distractions aplenty.  Outlander (sigh) is back.  As of last night so is Game of Thrones...I knew Dani would have trouble with her dragons!

Hmmmm, I wonder if she'd like to run for president?

Take care until next time...

P.S. Shout out to Jordan Spieth, the 2015 Masters Champ.  He is a Longhorn from the University of Texas.  HOOK 'EM HORNS!!!