Grumpy Grandpa

 A. New Scam--Or an old One Refined? Within the past week, we received 12 notifications of "Sweepstakes" that we might--emphasize here "might"--have already won.  Each one was filled with vague promises of riches, such as "Issuance of this statement and Payment Registration Lavel affixed to your envelope verifying this NOTICE regarding the February 2024, $10,000.00 Grand Prize Payment is yours."  Plus, warnings to "Hurry! Just a few weeks" and If you fail to return the winning Winner  Payment Form in time, it would be like throwing $10,000.00 out the window."  The sponsor of these sweepstakes, whose Grand Prizes (emphases in printed notices) is either vague or not given.  The amounts range from $10,000 to one million dollars, with some very odd amounts in between, E.G. $23,164.37. Included in each colorful and full-page announcement is a small disclaimer that (a) we have not won and (b) donating to a charity will no effect on the outcome of ...

 To Give, or Not to Give?  (A continuation of an earlier Grumpy Grandpa blog)      During the period from November 22nd—just before Thanksgiving, 2022—and December 11, I tried to collect and keep track of all the appeals for donations that came in the mail.  Of the ones to both me and my wife, we got 77 (sic) that I was able to look at before they were discarded—more were thrown out without being opened. . Looking them over, I was surprised to find that the majority were from animal-based charities, including some one wouldn't ordinarily think of (“Alley Cat Rescue,” “Baby Rhino Rescue” “Speak Up for Horses,” and “Mara Elephant Project,” for example.)  Also of surprise, given that we are Jewish and not in the upper tier of religious practice, we received appeals from Catholic Charities, and Society of St. Vincent DePaul.   Native American groups (St. Ann's Indian Mission, St. Labre Indian School,) sent small gifts and donation appeals, not to...

  Quite a year and a half !   Time sometimes zooms by.  To my surprise, it's been a year and a half since last I posted anything.  The events of the last 18 months have been stonishing, to say the least.   Not only the toll from the COVID-19 pandemic, but the events in Ukraine, and our own explosion of mass shootings.   My Democratic leanings, and background as a psychologistg interested in crime and violence, has left me more and more irritated with the national situation.  The shooting in HIghland Park, Illinois on July 4th, and the knee-jerk Republican reaction, finally galvanized me to write a note to Rep. Boerback ("controlling guns DOES NOT stop mass shootings.")  The rest of this is what I wrote to her, and Sen. McConnell and Rep. McCarthy.  I would very much appreciate your feedback, good or critical, and any thoughts you have.     "Rep. Lauren Boebart US House of Representatives 1609 Longworth House O...

  MAKING A DIAGNOSIS??  This post is really my giving voice to a genuine dilemma I have, and that is making a diagnosis of D. J. Trump, currently president of the this country.   Truth in writing:  The American Psychological Association's rules of ethical behavior are very specific.  A diagnosis should not be made of a person without first-hand interaction, interviews, background data, and, if possible, the help of psychological tests.  OK, I'm retired so being in good standing with the APA is not very high on my priorities.  But I digress. DJ Trump sharpened the problem for me when I heard the tape recording of his hour long telephone conversation last Saturday with Brad Raffensperger.  Raffensperger is the Georgia Secretary of State, and has some control over the election and reporting of it.  During the phone call, Trump repeatedly trotted out arguments that he won in Georgia though election fraud denied him the win.  He baldly...

SPENDING TIME DURING THIS LOCKDOWN .    We are already retired, but not being able to do the usual stuff (daily gym, daily shopping, visiting friends, folk dancing, etc.) means that there is a lot of time to fill in during the day.  Somehow, I have evolved a routine that seems to have become, well, routine.  Before getting to it, I would love to hear how others are filling the spaces.   My day seems to consist of a two hour breakfast drinking coffee and doing the daily crossword puzzle.  kudus to my friend David for forwarding the Philly one, which helps fill that time slot.  I have painfully amassed a few weights, so I can do curls and squats, tricep curls, and what my better educated friends call "flies." (flys?)  For those with a sense of humor, I also do sit-ups on the living room floor, and an ever-diminishing number of push-ups.   Gardening takes up some time, as I have learned how to coax grass to grow, after 55 years of frui...

My life is being endangered by DJ Trump--along with hundreds of thousands of others.  My anger is growing at the wanton disregard for my life by this president and his allies.  And he doesn't even know me--we've never met and never will.   He is endangering my life, that of my wife, my neighbors (in their 70s and 80s, respectively), my children-in-laws' parents, and millions of others who have never met him.  Many voted for him.  Many support him.  Many seem to fear him and kowtow to him.    He is doing it passively, by refusing to cooperate with the incoming administration.  So plans for dealing with the Covid-19 plague are tied up in his childlike opposition to the election results.    The longer it takes to initiate a transition, the slower and more complex the distribution of the two candidate vaccines will be.  Every day of delay means that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people will get the infection.  Hundreds...

  Sometimes hard work doesn't pay off--or does it? Today, two days after the election polls have closed, it is still not clear who has been elected president of the United (?) States.  Biden is edging closer to the magic number of electoral votes (270), and if his razor-thin lead in Nevada holds up, he will be the elected president.   Politicians from the dominant groups have been working very hard for over a hundred years to keep minority voters from the polls.  Democrats from the end of the Civil War until after World War II, using special taxes on voting, excessive requirements to register, intimidation, and even murder to keep non-Caucasians from voting.  Republicans have taken up the challenge, and their efforts have accelerated as more and more of electorate become non-Caucasian (I am told that over half of eligible voters are now from what used to be known as "ethnic minorities.")  The ploys include increasingly strict voter laws (photo identif...

  Well, Why driver's licenses?  Between 1905 (New Hampshire) and 1947 (Texas, where else?) every state in the union enacted laws requiring people who drove self-propelled vehicles to have a driver's license.  For most states, this required a relatively simple test of knowledge of local laws, and an on-the-road test of driving ability.  I got my license at age 16 in Michigan 32 years after its law was adopted in 1919.  (Truth in reporting:  I failed the first driving test, but passed the second time around) I was now deemed a safe enough driver not to endanger other, hapless drivers or pedestrians.  To my knowledge, no one in 2020 questions the need for drivers to have driver's licenses, to protect themselves and others.  The right to drive can lead to some tough results:  Vermont has a lot of drivers whose licenses have been suspended or revoked, due to DIU (driving under the influence) offenses.  But, most of Vermont is rural, and with ...

GRUMPY GRANDPA FOUND SOME NICE THINGS ABOUT BETHESDA.  Our world has become more constricted and isolated since the Big C started, but there are a few nice things that have emerged--or maybe just noticed.   First, people do their best to keep a safe distance.  If the dog and I are on the street, others move to the sidewalk, or vice-versa.   Almost the same, though not universal, is behavior in stores.   Second, total strangers now smile and wave as they walk nearby, and drivers wave as they go by.   Third, a sort of informal library system has emerged (or come to light).  At least four homes in the area have small revolving libraries in front of their houses--take one, leave one.  Now that our library, The Davis LIbrary, is closed, it is a real comfort for voracious readers like my wife, Eileen.     Fourth, a sort of "repurposing" system has become quite common.  Members of our area LIstserv announc...

A 79 YEAR OLD TRADITION.  Today being Sunday, I scanned the news, then turned to the "colored funnies" for my daily treat--reading the cartoons.  This has been going on since I learned to read English--roughly 78/79 years now, and it has been interesting to see the comics come, go, and change over time. Some of the ones that were there in 1941 or '42 are still being published, though not necessarily in the newspapers : Dick Tracy , still being published, was inspired by Elliot Ness, and introduced--albeit sometimes in carriture form-- a variety of villains, and a variety of (then) fanciful gadgets.   Most notable was a wrist-phone used to communicate with police headquarters and others,  then a magnetic space vehicle, etc.   Others also are still appearing, though over the years the writers and illustrators changes, such as Blondie which started in 1930, and was so popular that it inspired movies (28!), Two short TV series, and a radio series t...

Post 4.    Black Lives --All lives-- Matter .     Just in case you missed Sunday's (June 7) Washington Post , Here are some of the reasons that African-Americans, people of color, minorities, and folks in general are so shocked and outraged.  The following is a partial list of people killed in the last six years due to police violence:      1.  2014--Michael Brown, age 18, shot scuffling with a police officer, Furgason, Mo.       2.  2014-- Eric Garner, age 27, choked to death by NYC police.      3.  2015 --Freddie Gray Jr., age 25,spinal cord injury in police custody in Baltimore.      4.  2015--Sandra Bland, age 28, died in jail after arrest for traffic violation, Prairie View, Texas.      5.   2015--Corey Jones, age 31, shot at his disabled car, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.      6.  2016--Alton Sterling, ...

Post 3.  Today, almost a week after George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police, the national toll is still to be calculated.  The trauma of witnessing his unnecessary death remains, and will remain, etched in our collective memory.  The protests which seemed to evolve naturally should have been no surprise to anyone.  In this age of instant communication, with seemingly endless slayings of unarmed but also minority citizens, the anger develops and builds up.   Add to that the frustration of our national helplessness in the face of the Covid-19, the millions and millions out of work, hanging on the barbed wire of financial ruin, the uncertainty of infection, and the feeling of vulnerability shared by most of us, and the fuel for protests and violence was amply present.   That some miniscule minority would see the protests and unrest as opportunities to wreck mayhem and to loot should not be surprising.  What we, as a society, have to ...

Blog 2:   Stuff closer to home.  Now that the states are gradually allowing a re-opening of businesses and places, it is so sad to note the utter lack of concern on the part of DonaldDuck Trump for the ills and deaths of CoronaVirus victims.  And his total disregard for what the experts say about the lurking dangers of re-arousing the spread of Covid19.  It is interesting that the Ethical Standards For Psychologists warn against diagnosis without contact and full information.  Yet judging from frequent speeches and proclamations, it is almost certain that Trump would qualify for two diagnoses:  Antisocial Personality Disorder (more commonly, "psychopath") and Narcissistic Personality Disorder (more commonly "egomaniac.")   Except for one important qualification.  And that is, that to be diagnosed with a mental disturbance, the symptoms have to cause "vocational, educational, and/or social difficulties" for the person.  Trump, for al...

Grumpy Grandpa's first post.  In these times, everyone wants to help others, and everyone is asking for help.  Gifts of $25 spread around a variety of charities, should be helpful.  Are they ?  Many are quite worthy, but in my opinion there is a problem, a real problem, with the salaries of the chief executives.  What follows is data for some of the best known charities--ones whose appeals I get regularly--and their presidents (or CEOs).  The last number on the right is the number of $25 contributions it will take to equal the salaries of the highest paid executives:                                                                                                                 ...