Major news last week was the long awaited Democrat debates on Wednesday and Thursday nights. To start off with, it is probably well to compare the two nights. The first night was a rather pallid exposition of the lower tier of Democrat candidates. The only one with some stature was the lone female Elizabeth Warren. Her annoying shrill voice was quickly surpassed on the second night by female candidates Harris and Gillibrand. The person who got the most airtime on the first evening was Senator Booker who is well known for his bloviating. On that same first night the liberal moderators threw a number of softball questions to those on stage and never once delivered any piercing follow up questions. It seemed like on the initial night the liberal moderators were not about to do anything to taint the liberal contenders. Not one time did any of the contenders mention the name of the Democrat front runner Joe Biden. Most of their vitriol was directed at President Trump.
On the second night all hell broke loose in the first half hour when it seemed like the moderators had lost control of the situation with people on stage interrupting one another and running overlong when answering questions. The gloves finally came off when Senator Harris played the race card against Joe Biden for his cozy approach to segregationists and anti-busing stance. For the first time Biden seemed to be uneasy on his feet and was slow to respond. As a result, most TV pundits gave Harris the winner’s crown for the evening. The most appalling moment of the second night occurred when all of the contenders raised their hand in support of free health care for illegal aliens. This caused President Trump to issue a statement decrying Democrats support of illegals over American citizens. Also Trump may have criticized two front runners, Biden and Sanders by noting that Joe seemed exhausted and that Bernie was nuts. Most observers commenting after the debates said they didn’t favor any one candidate with the gravitas to take on Trump in a debate. It looks as if the 2020 election will be one of Socialism vs Capitalism***.
THE GAFFE MASTER. When it comes to the Democrat front runner Joe Biden he has already made several odd statements on the campaign trail. One of them was when he said he wanted to restore dignity to the American public. Perhaps he was thinking of how dignified it was for some thirteen million people to be on food stamps during the Obama-Biden administration. He sounds more like an Evangelist as he wants to restore the moral fiber as a populist. Apparently he is seeking the moral high ground that is home to the holier-than-thou James Comey.
In essence, Biden is being pulled to the left by the extreme progressives in the Democrat party who favor open borders, Medicare for all, elimination of ICE, reparations for descendants of slaves, free college, elimination of college debts and more attention to illegal aliens than to American citizens. In addition to the above, one of the candidates proposes $1,000.00 a month be given to every American.
One of the more absurd suggestions from the first night of the debates was issued by Senator Booker when he said that he would institute a buyback program for gun owners. We can only imagine a long line of criminals in front of the Booker White House with their guns in hand while they leave other weapons behind at home***.
REMEMBERING BUZZ HOWELL. In this day and age it is difficult to estimate how many fourth generation Nevadans live in this area, but their number was diminished by one with the recent passing of Eugene
“Buzz” Howell.
I first met Buzz at our annual Christmas trip to the Howell manse. The house was at the northeast corner of California Avenue and Hill St. It still stands there today.
When you rang the front door it was quickly opened by a slender, well dressed teenager who said “Hi, my name is Buzz, welcome to the Howell house”. The first thing you noticed as the door opened was the sweet aroma of fresh baked goods that Neal Howell was preparing in her kitchen. Once inside the spacious living room you were treated to an enormous Christmas tree encircled by a complex and interesting electric train set that Buzz and his father Gene had assembled over many hours.
If ever a Norman Rockwell painting came to life it would have been the Howell mansion at Christmas time with the daylong coming and going of guests, friends and relatives.
As for Buzz he enjoyed a long and successful business career in the Bay Area before returning to Reno to enjoy his retirement years.
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