Time to use executive power

       After the holiday airline debacle featuring Southwest Airlines cancelling thousands of flights due to insufficient numbers of crews to staff the planes there is pent up anger among consumers.  Meanwhile, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg is conspicuous by his absence from the debate.  While he has no direct power to order the airlines to compensate consumers for egregious actions, he has plenty of coercive power to make the airlines uncomfortable.  He can at least hold them accountable for the scheduling which resulted in many flight cancellations.

      As Republicans in the House prepare to go all Hunter Biden all the time, the Biden administration will have to use its executive authority to the max in order to get anything done during he next 2 years.  The various cabinet secretaries have the power.  Will they use it?

What's Goin' On

       I believe I have quoted the iconic Marvin Gaye's immortal refrain before.  In a world gone mad, it is the most perceptive question one can ask.  Gaye was referring to the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement and societal breakdown as centuries' long taboos were challenged. 

      We face more existential threats today.   Climate destruction, nuclear proliferation and tRumpism occupy most of the time not devoted to making a living in a rapidly changing world.  What's goin' on, indeed.

The new Gilded Age

       The Brits have the royal family to obsess over.   Here in the US we consciously advocate for a meritocracy, however, we are agog at the antics of the billionaire class.

      Having enough of the "superrich" to constitute a class is a relatively recent phenomenon.  I can remember when Bill Gates and Warren Buffet and a few others were the only billionaires in the world.  With the recent run up of stock prices, there are literally hundreds of billionaires around the world.  You can argue they are a class above the merely wealthy.   These are people who travel in private jets.  They have legions of yes men who will take care of their every whim.

     The public for the most part believes these wealthy people can do no wrong, unless caught in the act like the recent fall of crypto king Sam Bankman Fried.   We unconsciously attribute super human powers to the billionaires as if the act of making money has put them beyond the ken of us mere mortals.  

     We did the same thing in the era which gave us John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie and many others.   We woke from the Gilded Age when Teddy Roosevelt started treating them like they were our fellow citizens.   What will it take to shake off the current idolization of wealth in America?

Farcial tragedy or tragic farce

      The Divine Mrs. M and I watched the 2nd installment of the "Knives Out" series by director Rian Johnson and "ripped from the headlines" doesn't do it justice.   The Glass Onion was made before Elon Musk and Sam Bankman-Fried imploded as the nation witnessed, but its premise could have been extracted from the id of either of them.  I won't do any spoilers, but would only suggest you see the movie, currently on Netflix.

Feeling the love

      It's hard to feel the Christmas spirit with a cold rain falling from a grey sky with more on the way.  All the carols in the world won't make sky lighten up and frankly, in many parts of the world, Santa will have to watch for anti-aircraft fire on Christmas Eve.   So, what's to celebrate?

      It's going to be family traditions which will redeem Christmas this year.   We'll gather on Christmas morning and celebrate another year with a festive brunch and thanks to the Divine Mrs. M a tree loaded with presents for one and all.  Later, we'll gather for dinner and count our blessings.  It doesn't sound too exciting, but that's what the holiday means to me.

      I hope all the readers of this blog celebrate the season in whatever way gives you the most joy.  Merry Christmas to all!!

Zelensky and freedom

       I watched Zelensky's speech to the joint session of Congress last night.   No one will ever mistake him for Winston Churchill.   There are no deathless quotes such as Churchill's " We will fight them on the beaches," speech in 1940.  He did, however project confidence and calm while making the case for continued support from the West as Ukraine continues to fight Russia to a standstill.  He is now a world historical leader.

       It remains to be seen if the many standing ovations he received last night translate into monetary support in the next Congress.  It will be difficult for Republicans to back away from Zelensky after the outpouring of support on the House floor.   Not since the Nazi occupation of Sudatenland in the runup to WW2 has there been such a clear cut case of naked aggression.   Let's hope the world reacts better than it did in 1938.

What George Santos' lies say about America

      It seems another tRump supporter has been shown as a pathological liar.   According to a recent NYT story, the recently elected congressman did not graduate from Baruch College, did not work for Goldman-Sachs and probably is in legal trouble in his home country of Brazil.   The New York State Democratic party is still trying to formulate some excuses for its laughable oppo research of Santos and the state's Republican party is bound to be criticized for not vetting him more extensively.

      I doubt it would have made much difference if everyone had done their diligence.   Much of Santos' district is in suburban Long Island which seems to be in the throes of Democrat derangement syndrome.  If tRump wins the 2024 GOP nomination for president, I'm sure he will carry Nassau and Suffolk counties by double digits.   Much like the Dixie Chicks and Texas, I am ashamed to say I grew up on L.I.

     What Santos' campaign says about America is we seem to live down to P.T. Barnum's oft quoted maxim concerning suckers, "  There's one born every minute".