Our subdivision enforces three rules on trashcans:
- They must be stored inside.
- Filled trash cans may only be at the curb less than 12 hours before pick-up.
- All trash cans must be ‘presentable.’
Storing them out of the weather helps keep the cans presentable.
Still, the plastic cans we bought shortly after getting the house 30+ years ago had issues. Somehow the rim which catches the lid just pulled off the body of one can.
So, one trash day I taped a note to that can: THIS IS TRASH.
The note and the can awaited me after the truck went down the street, my guess is that the garbage guys thought, ‘Duh, of course there’s trash in a trash can.’
The next week I put the bad can inside the better can. Both got dragged inside, the bad still in the better.
This brings me to Donald Trump…
Those who read newspapers, watch real TV news and understand the need for government – including me – continue to wonder how the hell could an effective majority of American voters elect Trump.
Turns out THIS IS TRASH isn’t clear and obvious.
Per the election data analysis, blue collar guys like my trash men did not see Donald J. Trump as a dangerous threat to the nation. They saw a guy promising to lower grocery costs, make China pay tariffs and bring back pride in America. They probably decry “woke” things (though I bet they don’t know what they are) and resent “liberal elites” such as school teachers. Infidelity and felony convictions are just Donald being Donald. And, if you don’t like the election result the vote must have been rigged.
Remember, Merriam-Webster’s Word Of The Year is “Polarization.” [CNN 12-9-24] Compromise equals weakness, the political middle ground remains a desert.
Don’t worry, things will get worse.
For example, among the prefilled bills for the Missouri legislature’s next session is a plan to effectively kill initiative petitions. To carry, the issue must not just win a majority of votes statewide, it must also carry in a majority of Congressional districts. [House Joint Resolution 18, Brad Banderman, R – St. Clair] Amendment 3, the minimum wage increase and most every citizen proposal ever submitted would fail under that scheme.
Dozens of ideas just as bad have been pre-filed. More will come, some will pass and get signed by the governor. That’s just Missouri’s reality.
Basically, every level of government has become a war zone. Look at our region’s school boards where education takes a back seat to ideology. Or, look how the nominated head of American health denies vaccines are effective (when he’s not cutting the heads off of bears). And, well, a former Missouri Auctioneer of the Year will probably run IRS.
Meanwhile, I still have to get rid of that unpresentable trash can. I haven’t figured out how to get through to those garbage guys.
Glenn