Wondering on Wednesday (v176)

Well, well, well. It's Wednesday again already? I'm so not ready.

But the president's ready, yes he is - ready to Keep America Great, now that he's made it grate.  Oops - made it great, sorry. Great, not grate. I heard someone who was at his rally say his most enthusiastic comments came when he was complaining about everything, rather than when he was talking about his accomplishments.  Hence the whole 'grate' thing (well, that's part of the whole 'grate' thing, anyway.) I guess I don't have to wonder whether he can make it through a rally without mentioning the Fake News - he hit that within seconds of beginning his speech, and so I stopped. I'll watch later, with a jug of wine or something.

Who else is running for president, and complaining about it?  That would be none other than Bernie Sanders, who of course, is still not a Democrat. I replied to a tweet of his that maybe if he joined the party he's trying to represent, he might have something to complain about. And of course, I have no reason to wonder whether the complaining and whining will continue - -that's a given, It could be his new campaign slogan: I'll stop whining when I win!  Think that's gonna have legs?

What else is going on? Well, it seems New York State will not legalize pot this legislative session. Our newly officially declared to be full-time Assembly members and State Senators are winding up their session, and there's really no reason to think they'll come back for a special session just to make weed legal for recreational use. Staten Island's Sen. Diane Savino said

Everyone who was opposed to it had a different reason. The two sponsors did everything possible to appease the concerns of members, and I'm sure they are going to continue to try but with each passing moment it gets harder and harder.

Now, I'm one of those who thinks that acting with such ridiculous urgency on this issue is crazy, so I'm not crying any tears here. But I wonder why we didn't act with as much urgency to, I don't know, add mental health and substance abuse beds across the state, which will address a real need, or adding regional treatment centers for autism, so that New York parents don't have to send their kids out of state for intensive treatment, or here's a fun one - why didn't they cut some spending plan with extreme urgency, one that might benefit a significant number of New Yorkers?

Oh wait, I know the answer to that last one, sorry. There's no progressive merit badge for spending cuts, silly me.

I again call on Republicans across the state to get out of the gate and get some candidates, get a plan, get a platform that includes meaningful reforms (not taking their toys and running) that moderates can get behind. I wonder if they're listening?

And finally, I'm wondering (because I haven't checked lately) if there are any moderate Democrats left in New York?  If yes, I'd love to hear from them, too.