Au Cochonnet Marin

“If you don’t vote, you lose the right to complain.” – George Carlin

 It is every citizen’s sacred duty to vote. And to cast a vote with lucidity, not blind passion.

I have never made a secret of the fact that I intensely dislike the present tenant of the White House. A crude, narcissistic bully who trampled over every achievement of his predecessor… AND who doesn’t give a damn about climate change.

Very soon we will vote again. We will have to elect somebody who will lead America (and hopefully unite the world) for the next 4 years. We need to choose carefully and not be derailed by single grievances.

All democratic candidates have strong points… and liabilities. But to slay the dragon, we have to pick a person who can win. Somebody pragmatic, with a quick mind, a strong shield and a mighty hammer. While campaigning, the candidate needs to use his shield to deflect any blow and hit back forcefully with the hammer. Somebody like Captain America or Wonder Woman.

We need somebody who will aggressively counter, and forcefully smash any scurrilous claims made by the incumbent. And he will make ridiculous statements!

Right now, I am leaning toward Mayor Pete, Amy Klobuchar, and Tom Steyer… all eloquent moderates. I would also love to see a man and a woman on this ticket.
Joe Biden is a nice fellow, but he is past his prime. Bernie is also long in the teeth and above all, he sounds too “extreme.” America doesn’t need a revolution; it needs a sensible evolution.
Elizabeth Warren is smart, knowledgeable and articulate. But like Bernie, she sounds a little too strident. Bloomberg just entered the race; he has the right words and the means to fight a protracted battle, but I am a little leery of another authoritarian billionaire.

The stock market is doing well, are saying some people… don’t rock the boat. Vote for the incumbent. But how does this incumbent benefit Joe Sixpack? He is just an ant toiling to enrich another fat cat.

Our president does not empathize with “the little people” the majority of the US population. He belongs and cares only for an exclusive club of fat cats.

In conclusion

No matter who wins the Democratic nomination, we all need to rally around him/her to achieve the demotion of a failed commander.

We need to get behind a new Fletcher Christian to get rid of Captain Bligh.

Alain

Politics, n. A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage. Ambrose Bierce.

Yesterday was the kind of day when any sane person would have chosen to stay home. It was a blustery, cold day with biting winds approaching 20 mph. Even my cat, a known fitness fanatic, elected to forego her daily tai chi exercises in the garden and stay home.

When I arrived at the field, around a quarter to nine, there were very few people present and I wondered how many individuals would be crazy enough to show up. But little by little, they came, those magnificent bastards. Braving the elements, they trekked to our field dressed like eskimos.

Around 9:30 am Noel Marcovecchio and Christine Cragg had cobbled 14 “doublette” teams… 28 brave souls who came from the least expected places.

The tournament format was “mêlée », and I had the good luck to be paired with Holly Sammons. Everybody knows what a great player she is.

The weather being what it was, most of the people showed up with winter attires. Personally, I sported five layers of clothing, which probably made me look like the Michelin Man. But I would rather look ridiculous than shivering.

We played 2 games in the morning and 2 games in the afternoon. As usual, the winners would be determined by the number of victories and the number of points accumulated during these games.

Holly and I did well, winning our 2 morning games. As I always said, it is often the pointer who determines the outcome of the game, and Holly proved it one more time.

The wind that had been blowing full blast in the morning abetted a little bit in the afternoon and allowed us to remove some clothing. After lunch, Holly and I hit a slump and we lost one game against the very good team of Jean-Michel and Max Lofaro.

We won our last game, and around 3:00 pm we were done for the day… with 3 winning games under our belts. Not too bad.

With very little time  to spare between games, I still managed to steal a few photo shots to give you an idea of the ambiance of the tournament.
I hope that you will like them.

Final results:

1^st place: Mike O’Leary & Richard Bell                   $56.00 ea
2^nd place: Jean-Michel Poulnot & Max Lofaro     $42.00 ea
3^rd place: Erin McTaggart & Monique Bricca         $28.00 ea
4^th place: Alain Efron & Holly Sammons                  $14.00 ea

Alain

Enjoy the pictures and don’t be shy with comments. “I can live on a good compliment two weeks with nothing else to eat.”

When I became an American citizen, I swore allegiance to the Constitution of the United States. I abjured fidelity to French mobocracy and promised to support and defend the American Constitution.

But I never swore allegiance to any particular individual. I reject the cult of personality, and I am also extremely allergic to any sort of cult. We should remember that that we are all fallible and temporary actors of a brief time frame: like a flag, we will lose our shine after long exposure to various elements.

We elect somebody expecting great achievements. But as time goes by, we realize that many of the campaign promises are unrealistic and unachievable. Our allegiance to our sworn leader falters and we begin to lose some of our original enthusiasm.

This is partly why I am not fond of any banners or signs proclaiming eternal allegiance to any individual. Loyalty is often something like a fling; a short period of elation and wild behavior, followed by regrets and remorse.

It seems that some people are keen on displaying their colors and preferences upfront. Recently, a brand new flag pole flying 3 different banners popped up in my neighborhood. At the top, the American flag, underneath the 49er’s pennant, and in 3^rd position, another banner proclaiming Trumpist sympathies.

This individual is signaling, that he loves America, venerates the San Francisco football team and wants Donald Trump to remain the Commander in chief of our republic. But does this also mean that, in his mind, football ranks above government?

I have always wondered why some people support Donald Trump. Is he such a likable person? I don’t think so. But it looks that sometimes a single issue is enough to embrace a candidate.
If you are pro-life for instance, you might not like the candidate, but if he supports your belief, it is enough to throw in your lot with him. Just because you are so intensely involved with your cause, you will discard all other issues and make a pact with the devil. Damn global warming, the planet, and the environment!
It is that simple and horrifying.

It is said that our president greatly values loyalty; some observers think he might have been greatly influenced by the British monarchy’s oath of allegiance:

I, (Insert full name), do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs, and successors, according to law. So help me God.

I understand that mister Trump’s minions are considering putting the same oath to good use:

I, (Insert full name), do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Donald Trump, his heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God.

For my part, I prefer to paraphrase William Wallace  of Scotland who said:

“To Edward, I cannot be a traitor, for I owe him no allegiance; he is not my sovereign; he never received my homage; and whilst life is in this persecuted body, he shall never receive it”.

 Alain