Wondering on Wednesday (v56)

Hard to believe it's been just over a month since I last wondered, on Wednesday. Or, I should say, since I last told you what I was wondering about, on Wednesday.  Here's what made today's list.

Am I happy that a woman has been declared the presumptive Presidential nominee of a major party here in America?  Sure I am. It's frustrating to think that the US is still in the dark ages when it comes to having a woman at the helm. Am I excited that it's Hillary Clinton? Not really. But, it could have been worse, I guess.

I admit to a significant amount of confliction about Clinton, confliction that I've had going a long way back, to the days of the 'vast right wing conspiracy' days when she was First Lady. She has accumulated more baggage and more enemies in the 20-odd years since then, including of course Benghazi and the email scandal.  While neither of these particularly point to any issue with her ability to lead the country, the sum of the baggage she's carrying point to whether she's the right person to lead the country.  The piles of Louis Vuitton also provide more than ample fodder for the other side to use as a hammer, something that the media will fall into gleefully, leaving all of us to wonder when we'll have a discussion of issues that matter, rather than on how much her outfit cost.

A friend of mine posted on social media today that he weeps for America - which I know comes not just from his dislike of Clinton, but also because of his dislike of Donald Trump. I can almost see where he's coming from.

Meanwhile, the primary season is, finally, almost over. I always wondered what it would be like for the entire season to have meaning, for New York (and California!) to still be relevant when it came time for our primary. Now that I know, I'm not sure we need to go through being relevant again. No, I'm kidding - I want ALL states to have relevance in choosing their party's nominee.  Even when one of the candidates isn't really a member of the party he's running to represent, and when his supporters are not members of the party he's running to represent, and when his platform actually more closely resembles the platform of a party he is not running to represent. Yes, I'm talking about Bernie Sanders. If nothing else, at least we're nearing the end of the 'rigged system' complaint life cycle. I wonder, is a vast left-wing conspiracy any better or worse than a vast right-wing conspiracy?

I'm looking forward to the Dems and the Independents coming to terms with each other, so that they can move forward to defeat Donald Trump in November.  Assuming he's still in the race, in November, that is.

I believe he's still working on his Trexit strategy, because I'm convinced he doesn't want to be president, and because I'm convinced his supporters will go ballistic if he gets muzzled by the GOP, as he was in his victory speech last night.  Reading from a teleprompter, which he hates and for which he mocks all other politicians, he told everyone unemotionally,

I understand the responsibility of carrying the mantle, and I will never ever let you down.

He might as well have been reciting the multiplication tables. No bluster, no 'big hands', no nothing. Just another candidate. which is everything that he and his supporters hate.

Yeah. It's going to be an interesting summer, don't you think?