Number One: I’m angry that my tax dollars are being used to send weapons to evil men in the Middle East to be used on innocent civilians, whether by Israel in Gaza or by Saudi Arabia in Yemen.
Ever since George H.W. Bush sent the U.S. military into Kuwait in 1991 to put his friend the Emir back on his throne, I think our country’s policy in the Middle East has been driven more by the desire of rich men to help their local friends than any interests we share as Americans.
Joe Biden deserves credit for getting us out of Afghanistan. Now let’s get out of the Middle East. We have no business taking sides there.
Number Two: I’m angry that the war in Ukraine is being allowed to drag on and on, with economic consequences that we’re all feeling. President Biden sent the navy into the eastern Mediterranean to deter the Iranians as soon as the shooting started in Gaza, but he did nothing of the sort during all of Russia’s months long buildup to its invasion of Ukraine. Nor have we ever put pressure on Russian interests elsewhere in the world as a way to divert Russian resources from Ukraine and strong-arm the Russians into negotiating peace.
Number three: people hereabouts are having problems making ends meet, and nobody in Washington is doing anything about it. It’s not enough that inflation is moderating; the cost of living is too high. Gasoline may have got cheaper, but not heating oil or natural gas, and winter is coming. Housing is ridiculously expensive; rents are through the roof. If I hadn’t bought my house forty-odd years ago, I could never afford to live on what I make. People hereabouts are very unhappy, and I live in a blue state.
Number four: Joe Biden has been the most effective President this country has had in decades. I’m not angry about that; I’m very happy about it. But I’m angry that he’s running for reelection at the age of 81. Nobody has any business running for President of the United States at that age, and it sends the same message that too many of our superannuated politicians send: that they care more for their own career prospects than for the interests of the people they are supposed to serve.
Mind you, I’ll be voting for Biden next year, because the alternative is disaster. And I’m praying that I’m wrong about Nikki Haley besting Trump for the Republican nomination, because Haley would wipe the floor with Biden. New Hampshire will be the key, I think. New Hampshire, the stone the builders rejected — those would be President Biden and the DNC — is about to become the cornerstone. If Trump loses New Hampshire, he crashes and burns.
Number five: my neighborhood, and every neighborhood in my area, is becoming less affordable. The modest house next door was sold by my long time neighbors for $800,000 to a developer who is going to tear it down and put in a McMansion that will sell for a couple million. This is going on all over the metropolitan area, and no one’s doing anything about it.
Number six: the public transit system is coming apart at the seams, and traffic on the roads is becoming intolerable. The state of New Hampshire — not my state, thank God, but one I do a lot of business in and need to visit frequently — will not spend a dime on anything but highways. There is a beautifully preserved train station next to one of my places of business; it last saw a train around 1960, and the track itself has been gone since the 1980s.
Number seven: it’s dark and cold outside, and getting darker and colder. I can’t blame anyone for that, but it still pisses me off.
