BACKGROUND

 I'VE HAD IT UP TO HERE!!  This latest political move, attacking the Post Office so as to 1) force it into privatization and/or 2) disrupt vote-by-mail, has pushed me over the edge.  I think age has something to do with it also.  Old people tend to lose some of their filters.  But rather than use Facebook to vent, I am choosing to do it in this blog.  I feel this is good for my mental health and perhaps writing it down will clarify my thoughts.  Also, I try to avoid confrontation; I'm not really wanting to debate a subject.  Comments are not encouraged and will be moderated.  

I've titled the blog "musings" because it will encompass whatever wanders through my mind, not just political crap.  For instance, there are ads on TV that have me wondering about the person who approved them and why they shouldn't be fired immediately.  Some I know I'm not the target audience, but others are just stupid.  I have a few conspiracy theories that'll come out.  

But this first post is political, so you know from whence I am coming.  When I first arrived in Texas in 1964 it was mostly Democratic.  But those in office became 'way too liberal and what seemed to be in the blink of an eye, a whole lot of Democrats became Republicans (I know this is a simplification, bear with me).  Texans didn't change their views, the political party did.  I voted Republican from 1964 to 2002, because in the beginning I agreed that the Democrats were too liberal in their policies.  But in 1994 I felt my vote was hijacked by Newt Gingrich and his Contract with America.  I voted Republican but certainly not because of that.  This was the first crack in my beliefs.

Things were happening at work.  I began noticing that wages were flat, and had been for quite some time. Rather than blindly believing the political pundits, I started digging into who was responsible for certain changes.  Slowly but surely I was finding that the things I didn't like or thought were going in the wrong direction were mostly the result of Republican programs.  I voted for Bush in 2000 because I didn't like Gore.  Then came the hanging chads.  Then came 911 and the lying that went on to get us into war.  In 2002 I voted for John Carter, a local judge with a reputation for being fair and honest, for congress.  He was a disappointment.  That was my last Republican vote.  Since then I've been anti-Republican.  I do not identify with the Democrats even though I actually agree with some of their programs (a separate post) and of course they get my vote.  I'm staunch anti-Republican.  

I  have to make a distinction between Old Republican and Trump Republican.  The old guys knew what they stood for and knew if they couldn't get it, they could compromise, get part of it and keep America moving forward.  Too bad they've been ousted from their own party.

One last thing: cable news is partisan (all of Fox News is partisan).  I get it, people like to hear stuff that agrees with their beliefs.  But in order to get the whole story (remember, a half-truth is the same as a lie), you might have to dig deeper, go to another source.  So if you know you are only getting half the story it is incumbent upon you to search out the other half.