This is going to surprise a lot of people who know me personally. If Marianne Williamson gets the nomination, I’m voting for her. Full stop.
Well Amazon, I Hope You’re Happy.
What Am I Saying? Of Course You Are.
In a very real sense, I miss the ‘90s. Mostly, I miss all the bookstores. Specifically, I miss trawling them with Lois. It was kind of our thing. We spent our newlywed years in Ozone Park, Queens. Saturdays were often spent doing a sweep of Austin Street in Forest Hills. Quaint shops, record stores, F.W. Woolworth, restaurants, Movie Theaters (yes, more than one), and of course Walden Books.
Once in a while we’d meet in Manhattan during the week. Brentano’s on 5th. Visiting my Dad in Flushing was an excuse to pop into B.Dalton.
I discovered Borders on a business trip to Washington, D.C. When we moved West of the Delaware, there was a Borders in Stroudsburg, PA. If you ever get a chance, ask Lois about her Coco-Latte. Borders closed its doors in 2011, leaving – what? 90% of the industry to Books-A-Million and Barnes and Noble? Someone look that one up. The hedge fund Elliot Advisors acquired B & N this year, so we can presume its days are numbered. We can count on EA to chop it up, sell off the inventory, and adapt the retail space to whatever new business model is profitable. Already my efforts to spend the gift cards my mother-in-law gave me for Christmas have met with little success.
Because clearly, THIS is the way to run a successful business.
If you had a gun to my head, you could not send me over to Amazon more effectively.
Oh, THAT Marianne Williamson… <click>
Up until a a couple of weeks ago, my first-hand knowledge of Marianne Williamson was limited to seeing her face on the cover of her books. A lot. During the 90’s, every time I pushed the doors open to the books store, there she was. The store would prominently display her book of the moment upright on a table near the entrance. And I recall her having a lot of moments. I vaguely processed that the titles of her books were kind of new-agey. I’m sure crystals came into play somewhere, or is that me just being misinformed?
The week after the two debates, as I was reviewing the Democrat Field Clown Car, I came across her name. Picking her out of the line-up is not difficult.
Not exactly your average 66-year old:
Democratic presidential candidate author Marianne Williamson speaks during the Democratic primary debate at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Thursday, June 27, 2019, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Researching her life is just as easy. She’s done a lot. A LOT.
As for her presidential aspirations, I was kind of dismissive at first. She ran for congress in 2014, and lost. Lost big. Yet now she’s running for President. That’s kind of a Beta O’Rourke move. But then I listened to her. Then I read her presidential platform and I found a lot that I liked.
“…repurposing the tremendous talents and infrastructure of our military-industrial complex in such a way as to leave us strong enough to deal with America’s legitimate needs for military preparedness, yet moving on to the urgent task of building a sustainable society and sustainable world. From massive investment in the development of clean energy, to the retrofitting of our buildings and bridges, to the building of new schools…”
OK, there’s a lot there that we’ve heard before. Every presidential candidate has an infrastructure plan, and nearly every politician Left, Right, and Center is talking about “sustainability.” Got it. Still…
And there’s her admission that “capitalism has been good to me.” Refreshingly honest.
Chinks In The Armor.
She looses me a little when she mentions, “…the creation of a green manufacturing base,” yet I like her intent to lessen America’s footprint around the world. I like the idea of pulling our troops out from foreign soil, not just from Afghanistan, but from Japan, South Korea, and Europe as well. We need to stop beggaring our nation already.
Her stance on abortion was once sensible. Williamson considers herself a Spiritual Advisor, and once viewed Abortion as damaging to the Spirit she believes resides in all of us. Her position prior to running for Congress was to advocate for three sessions of counseling. Naturally, she no longer holds this position, which tells us that the power brokers got to her. Sad. Yet, expected. The gate keepers to power insist that you pay homage.
And yes, she hits all the other criminally stupid talking Leftist point open borders, appeasement, confiscatory tax rates, etc. OK, got it.
Why She Should Really Not Be President.
Williamson from the June 27th debate: “So, Mr. President, if you’re listening, I want you to hear me, please. You have harnessed fear for political purposes and only love can cast that out. So I, sir, I have a feeling you know what you’re doing. I’m going to harness love for political purposes. I will meet you on that field. And, sir, love will win.”
I don’t agree that the current President has “harnessed fear” as much as he has dared to point out the clear and present danger. It’s disappointing that Williamson who clearly bills herself as an outsider takes this clichéd position.
We do not live in the world of Star Trek. Williamson is not Surak of Vulcan, and she cannot simply “deal peace” with our enemies. This is a harsh and dangerous world. We have some very real enemies. Some are attempting to overwhelm us demographically with invading hordes faster than they can be assimilated – millions with no concept much less a tradition of ordered liberty. There are cry bullies who have waged economic warfare against our nation for decades against whom we have only recently begun to fight back. Then there are those who just want us dead.
Williamson’s ideals of meeting her opponents on the field armed only with love would wither under such an onslaught. And that is the biggest tragedy of all.
And Another Thing…
This is not going to happen overnight. North Korea is not going to give up their nuclear weapons tomorrow or ever until they are convinced that it is in their best interest to do so. The first definition of insanity – doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result has been America’s policy towards the Hermit Kingdom for 70 years. Time to try something new. Something like this.
Selah.
Always enjoy your “manning the wall.” Great read!