Hate, ageism and the 2016 presidential election

On Trump

I’m saddened by the hate expressed in my state last week as demonstrated by Trump’s sweep in the Republican primary. It was manifested again this week by the events in Chicago, where reports are genuinely upsetting and heartbreaking. Trump protesters faced verbal and physical assaults outside of the venue. At the same time the media replayed video from previous Trump appearances where he encouraged his followers to attack protesters and offered to pay their legal defense fees. Is this really who we want as our president? (Time.com, March 10, 2016)

NPR - Getty Images

“This Can’t Go On In Chicago,” Says Anti-Trump Protester,” NPR Weekend Edition, March 13, 2016

Listen to the disrespect this American suffered at the hands and minds of Trump supporters. Listen to his message. “America is great without the hate.”

On ageism and the presidency

Senior Planet

Those around me who think Bernie Sanders is too old to be president have captured my attention. He’s 74, Hillary’s 68 and the Donald Drumpf is 69. I don’t get it and apparently the youngest voters among us don’t get it either since they seem very comfortable with everything Bernie.

When Hillary started up her campaign machine again, so shortly after the 2012 election, “too old” was a common question and comment among the pundits. (“Is Hillary Clinton too old to be president?” MSNBC asked. ” Hillary is too old to run,” the New York Post claimed. Politico opinionator Pete Seat echoed the sentiment: ” Hillary Clinton is too old to be president.”) (Erica Manfred, Senior Planet: Aging with Attitude, May 28, 2015)

Senior Planet looked at this question in a great article: How Old is Too Old to be President? (May 28, 2015). In the article, the experts are split on the effects of age and office holding. Dr. Nir Barzilai, professor of medicine and genetics at Albert Einstein and director of the Institute for Aging Research, says, “biological and chronological age are not the same. The older you are, the more your genes rather than lifestyle are likely to predict longevity...Someone like Hillary, who functions at very high intensity, has the gene for longevity. “ Her mother died at 92.

Barzilai also points out that Alzheimer’s isn’t a forgone conclusion with age: “[t]he more educated and intelligent a person is, the less you’ll see the decline even if they have Alzheimer’s.” (According to Barzilai, if one of your parents lived to be over 85, your likelihood of getting Alzheimer’s is reduced by 25 percent, even if that parent had the disease.)

Also quoted in the article is Dr. Robert Epstein, a research psychologist and former editor in chief of Psychology Today. “As long as the candidate shows no signs of senility – say, from early Alzheimer’s – an older candidate is probably your best choice if you think the world is a fairly stable place. As we get older, our judgment regarding matters we know about generally gets better. Experience is a great teacher.”

But, Epstein says, “If you think the world is rapidly changing, that’s another story. The older we get, the harder it is for us to quickly learn, master and evaluate new information.”

The article goes on to point out that the issue for candidates today isn’t about age but about how visible they are to the voters through social media and how savvy their campaigns are in using these communication platforms to reach all of the voters.

Does age matter? You can vote 

Erica Manfred, the article’s author reports that the “jury is still out on age and the presidency.” You can vote on the site for how old is too old to be president. (at the bottom of the article)

No time to lose

Help! 

Somebody stole an hour from me while I slept last night! And I don’t have the time to lose!

Give it back!

Adding insult to injury. I have to be reminded of what I've lost as I run around the house resetting all of my clocks. That's just cruel. Crank me out of bed an hour early and leave all of the clean up work to me. Well, I never.....

A bi-partisan bill in the state seeks to eliminate the daylight savings time shifts twice a year. Sponsors of the bill, Rep. Pete Lucido, R-Shelby Township, and Rep. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, cite educational, health and safety issues as the basis for the change, according to an interview on Michigan Public Radio (March 1, 2016)

We’ve been around long enough to remember daylight savings time (DST) taking effect in Michigan, but the process probably escaped us then.

According to Jeremiah Webster on MyMcKinley.com (March 8, 2013), Michigan and Arizona were the first states to exempt themselves from DST in 1967, but the exemption statute was suspended in June of that year when a referendum was invoked. From June 14 until October 1967, Michigan observed DST and did so through 1968. From 1969 – 1972, Michigan did not follow DST. A general election ballot issue, November 1968, sustained the exemption statute by a “close vote.” Michigan has observed DST since 1973.

Whatever the legislature and the grownups were doing at that time, all I remember is that it messed with the schedules of my TV programs. How was I ever going to keep track of the changes on all three channels! (I wasn’t into PBS yet.)

Like most people as well, I thought it had something to do with farming but indeed it has nothing to do with farming. Daylight Savings Time was first adopted to conserve electricity by Germany during World War I (History Channel, March 9, 2012).

But in recent years, studies have found that it no longer saves energy and there is an increase in car accidents and other health issues with each Spring Forward are Fall Back. Michigan Public Radio

Rep. Irwin suggests leaving us in Spring Forward mode to provide summer tourism with longer days to play under the Michigan sun and in its “salt free, shark free, no worries” waters. I say, good plan for those of us with pitchers full of ‘ritas who want the sunsets to last forever.

I can still Spring Forward on my ankles --- for get the knees --- but I’m not much interested anymore in Falling Backwards even if it is on my well padded bee-hind and thankfully not on my achy-breaky joints.

What’s your preference?

HBO’s Last Week Tonight weighs in DST in his “How Is This Still a Thing?” segment

Old Men Grooving

So you think you still can't dance huh?

Well, you still have the music in you.

Dance to the beat.

Let "Old Men Grooving" remind you how!

Old Men Grooving bust a move, and maybe their backs! - "Britain's Got Talent 2015"

Old Men Grooving  - Semi Finals - "Britain's Got Talent 2015"

Get your groove back.

Keep on keeping on. ;-)

Video's courtesy of "Britain's Got Talent" and YouTube