A fallen hero and some incredible trivia

Like most of America, I grieve for the loss of Senator John McCain tonight, but at the same time I am filled with a sense of gratitude for his life and service and a sense of hope that out of his death some good will come. In these angry, troubled times, when we are so divided, he was a statesman par excellence. He reached across the aisle with respect for his opponents, never with petty name-calling. He truly, as President Obama has said, felt a higher calling and dedicated his life to his country, a remarkable example when we see all around us people putting party and self-interest above country.

My hope is that his death will make more Americans realize the significance of his life, the values for which he stood, the importance of the country he loved. It will be a week of pomp and circumstance, with formal ceremonies in Arizona, the body lying in state in the Rotunda in DC, and a large and public funeral on Saturday.

Some will be impatient with these ceremonies—God forbid they should interrupt sports schedules, bad enough they will interrupt regular programming, perhaps draw some off the golf course or tennis court. I for one will be watching as much as I can, and I hope many others will. We need this formality to impress on our minds the significance of the seismic change in our democracy.

I did not agree with John McCain on many things—war, abortion. I admired his health care votes until the end and can only assume he had good reason for that final vote, because he never ever took a senatorial decision lightly. In spite of our bedrock differences, I respected him, and I trusted that whatever decision he made came after study and reflection.

He was a good man. To borrow a phrase from a good friend, may he rest in peace and rise in glory

On the trivia side of this major event, did you read about the Utah senatorial candidate who proclaimed that McCain and/or his family timed the announcement of the end of medical treatment to undercut the debut of her campaign bus tour? Get over yourself, lady! How dare you? Just how dare you? She did blame the media more than the family, but that did little to blunt her words.

And on to the truly ridiculous that might be called, “Get a life.” I read tonight about an underwater chess tournament. Good gravy. Chess is difficult enough—why get soggy playing it?

Maybe we need the ridiculous to lighten our days.

A little bit disappointed

Rumor was all over the place on Facebook this morning, and many of my fellow citizens were too quick to damn John McCain for accepting Medicare for expensive treatment for his cancer, which well may be incurable, and then voting to take it away from millions. The episode shows the dangers of believing Facebook, a lesson I’ve learned by bitter experience too often.

Initially, McCain voted to open discussion on the repeal bill, a much-needed move since the majority leader had kept the bill his nasty little secret. If senators had voted then, they would have been doing so blindly, voting on a bill they had not read, had not had time to study (in a way that’s what happened anyway).

McCain next gave an eloquent speech, mostly on what the Senate was in the past and what it had come to be. He blamed both sides and urged senators to reach across the aisle, to remember collegialism and cooperation. And he pledged he would not support the bill as it currently read.

Next there was some legislation yesterday afternoon I’m not clear about, but McCain voted with his party. The bill was defeated, and I gather it was a minor lead-up to today’s vote on the repeal without replacement bill. McCain along with others voted against today’s bill.

So, shame on those who damned him for a hypocrite, mocked his status as a war hero, pointed out his hypocrisy in accepting government health care funds but denying it to others. I don’t think the final verdict is in. Last I read—and I hope it was reliable—was that several Senators McCain among them, had voted no on the repeal bill and it was apparently doomed.

I hope it fails. I hope Mitch McConnell loses all his power. I hope Republicans like John Cornyn learn a bitter lesson and stop trying to ram that legislature through. Forty-seven tries now? Or does that make fifty? (McCain pointed out that the ACA wasn’t popular until Republicans got so desperate about repealing it!). They should learn revenge is a poor motive.

The other bit of news that fired up the internet was Trumpf’s pronouncement about banning transgender troops. Again, I don’t know what transpired this afternoon, but this morning, when people were aflame about it, our tweeting leader had done just that—tweet about it. He had not issued an executive order.

I was grateful for one balanced explanation of what’s going on—and scorn again for the alt-right. Apparently, some senators are upset about using Federal funds to provide medical treatment, including hormonal therapy, for transgenders in the service. They are pressuring Trumpf, threatening his pet programs, if he doesn’t pull transgenders out of the military.

This is America, the land of the free, and what medical care an individual receives is no one else’s business. The men and women these legislators condemn have offered to serve our country and, if need be, die for it. We didn’t ask their sexual preference when they enlisted, and we have no business meddling in it now.

Honestly, one wonders why so many alt-right people, Trumpf and Pence included, are so unhealthily preoccupied with sexuality. You’ve got a country to run, folks. Stop being prurient and get on with governing our country in a sane and sensible manner, if you’re capable of that.

Tonight, the full story isn’t in. Apparently everything now hangs on the CBO report, and there’s a vote on Skinny Repeal yet to come. I’ll watch the New York Times and the Washington Post and take what I read on Facebook with a healthy dose of skepticism.  Meanwhile, I’m a bit disappointed in some of us as Americans. Some days I really do think I’d like to move to Scotland—universal health care and, as far as I know, not all the extremists and greedy people. Maybe I’m fooling myself.