If it quacks like a duck…

“The problem with the world is that intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones a full of confidence.”
Charles Bukowski



Let’s face, very few politicians (if any) ever enter the field of politics to better the condition of their fellow men.
They do it, strictly out of personal ambition and primarily to line their pockets.
For there is plenty of money in the smelly fields of politics… and plenty of wildcatters.

A politician is above all a man who sails close to the wind and (regardless of his intimate convictions) will tell his followers what they want to hear.

“I have to follow them, since I am their leader.”

To make a name for himself, a politico has to be outrageous.

Donald TrumpAnd that’s what Donald Trump is: outrageous, bombastic and utterly ignorant.
He is a different kind of animal though.
He is not a politician per se; he is a dabbler doubled as a showman. He has no political experience whatsoever and like an Old West gunslinger he shoots from the mouth.
But many people like that. They care little about the message but they like the macho image.

Trump aspires to become Donald the First, king of America. He dreams to be the equal (and buddy) of Vladimir Putin, czar of all the Russias.
Imagine (for a nightmarish minute) what America would become under the reign of Donald The First.
When in power, he will surround himself with a new Nomenklatura and dissent will not be tolerated.
If somebody dares to contradict the king, he will be sent to some Aleutian island or dealt with like Alexander Litvinenko with polonium-210.

But we are not there yet. The Donald’s dreams of royalty may be a little premature. The man who would be king still has a long way to go.
There are a lot of bananas peels on the path to the White House. And Trump University and the KKK are some of them.
Lately in Orlando Florida, Trump asked his followers to raise their right hand and swear allegiance to him in a way eerily reminiscent of the Nazi salute. And like good little stormtroopers they did!
Keep this in mind when going to the polls.

But he will face increasing scrutiny as he approaches the finish line.
Insults and belittlement won’t be enough. He will have to convince the American people with solid arguments that he is the best man to lead America in 2017.

Fortunately there are still many levelheaded people in America. The Oval Office is not a slam-dunk, far from it.
Even the sanctimonious Republican establishment is fed up with his excesses.

Before facing Hillary, Donald will have to deal (he is an expert in that matter he says) with his Republican frenemies and there is nothing more dangerous than  geeks bearing gifts.

Will the dragon be slayed?

To be continued…

Alain

Inefficiency

“Poorly paid labor is inefficient labor, the world over.” Henry George

 

Nothing irks me more than inefficiency. In all ways of life.
It aggravates me to no end when I have to wait an inordinate amount of time due to the ineptness of some dimwitted employee.
I will (reluctantly I admit) put up with waiting if I perceive that the person in charge is doing the best he/she can do. But it absolutely drives me crazy if I recognize that some schmo is not up to the job.

IMG_7238This morning I went to a local Safeway store to do a little grocery shopping. I went there out of convenience. The store is close by and it has a good array of products.
But, convenience is often another term for poor or inexistent service.

One shops at a certain place for its products, its prices, but most of all you patronize a store (at least me) for its service. If I encounter a problem, I know that it will be quickly resolved to my satisfaction.

In Marin County by the way, I highly recommend a hardware store called Pini. It has the best customer service anyone could wish for.
In a perfect world, all stores would be Pini clones.

When in a supermarket, after your shopping is done, you ultimately have to pick a cash register line. Your goal is to get out of the store as quickly as possible and go about your business.
You gauge the people waiting in the different lines, the employees in charge of the cash register and you place your bet; you pick a line.

But many things can go wrong.
You can have pesky customers, a slow cash register handler or both.

My cash register jockey this morning happened to be an elderly black woman who was either very inexperienced or brain-dead. It also looked like that she desperately needed a pair of glasses.
She was so agonizingly slow that I felt like screaming.

The problem with poor service has generally something to do with compensation. As I pointed out, “Poorly paid labor is inefficient labor”.

I have no doubt that this woman was trying her best, but she was definitely not up to the task. I suspect that she got this particular position not because of her skills, but rather because of the scarcity of people applying for this low paying occupation.

In my opinion, this person has no business dealing with the public.
It is not her fault but the store’s management. If they want capable employees they need to compensate them adequately.

Personally, I am willing to pay a little more to get decent service, but low pay is still no excuse for lousy service.

Alain

PS: An enlightened company has a website with an online customer service receptive to criticism and quick to correct a problem.
I didn’t see any such thing on Safeway’s website.

Abrazo

Nowadays everywhere I go I see men hugging, and I am not talking solely about homosexuals.

Once a taboo among young heterosexual males, hugging has become a fashionable ritual for tattooed young men.

I don’t mind an occasional “abrazo”, but I balk at being subjected to this ostentatious routine on a regular basis.
With guys, I favor the tried-and-true handshake.

huggingIt is said that the handshake originated as a way to prove that your hand was not holding a knife.
Even though handshakes are known to spread germs, they are much safer in my opinion than the embrace. Especially among mafiosi.

As a fan of The Sopranos, I have learned that the embrace is often the prelude to a violent demise. You embrace a guy to allay his fears and soon after, you whack him.
And technically speaking, it is much easier to plant a knife in the back of your “amico” while hugging than when shaking hands.

You might have noticed that I very seldom hug anybody on the pétanque field. You never know who is a sore loser.

“Keep your friends close and keep your enemies closer” is another common saying. It makes sense.
I am pretty sure that Marcus Brutus embraced Julius Caesar before stabbing him to death.
A handshake could have prevented this ignominious ending.

I also favor the old-fashioned handshake because it gives you the measure of a man. A weak grip betrays an untrustworthy man.
He is definitely not into you, when with a limp shake he professes to enjoy meeting you.

When on September 22, 1938 Hitler shook hands with Neville Chamberlain I bet you that he probably offered Neville a very limp grip.
In his overwhelming desire to prevent war, Chamberlain probably did not notice this. Too bad.
Had he been a little less focused on peace, he should have embraced that malevolent little man and speared him with a cheese knife while he had the chance.

If you are a guy, when you see me, don’t hug me.
If you like me, just extend your hand and offer me with some moola.
That will do very nicely and it will be very much appreciated.

Alain