The other day I posted a little essay (in our travel blog, see links) that began with a short bit about the ultra-conservatives here in the Allegro Campground who routinely monopolize the customer lounge’s one TV set and keep it pointed at FOX News, making one hater comment after another about Obama, Pilosi…well, about virtually everyone who’s political affiliation start with “D”. I was chastised for some about those remarks but really one of the things that offends me about them is how SURE they are of everything, in comparison to myself, as I don’t seem very sure about anything, (at least I don’t think I am, but maybe I’m wrong) and always feel capable of seeing other sides (unless I’m wrong about that). Take today:

1. 5:45 AM – brew pot half-café, drink my share. Caffeine is bad for me, increasing my jittery-ness. Plus some medical evidence indicates it can hurt those with anxiety disorders, like me. Caffeine is good for me, as it improves my waking mood. Plus some medical evidence indicates it can significantly improve mental function, especially over the short term, which, my being joe-oldster, may be all I’ve got.

2. 6:07 AM – boot computer, feel around in the dim dawn light and find glasses, begin reading news headlines. Struck by articles showing the (good) Obama Administration’s positions on the elements of fighting terror (e.g. use of interrogation techniques, closing GTMO, continued detention of “enemy combatants” on American soil, targeted killings in Pakistan, and so on) are remarkably close to the later, (bad) Bush Administration’s policies.

3. 8:31 AM – walk dogs with Renee-girl, pass young person with car-wash sign. Says it benefits her junior-high cheerleadergroup. Go get car, take over next to True Value Hardware to the wash, which is “donation only”…smart, go for the guilt vote, they know emotionally I can’t risk paying them too little. Is $5 too little in Red Bay, where mechanized car-washes are in abundance and you can wash your own car everywhere for a dollar? On the other hand, could I ever do as good as job as tiny Marjorie was doing on my tires? Is $12 too much?

4. 10:14 AM – I’m sent out for milk for cereal, and I find no Lactose-free brands here, but all choices of fat-content are on display. So, if it can’t be lactose-free, should it be zero fat, or 1,2 or 4%? Or soy, rice or the five other milk-like products, which, interestingly, all Alabama Blue Star stores carry? How about if you just dump about two cups of half-and-half on your cereal? We already have half-and-half.

5. 11:43 AM – fix lemonade to take to play pickleball over in Golden. Should lemonade be made with sugar, which can raise blood pressure and increase weight, or with one of the various death powders, which probably cause cancer? Should I make it half-lemonade and half-tea, and if so, should the tea contain caffeine (see #1, above)?

That took me up to noon. When we came back from pickleball it was humid, rainy, I was tired, I was gonna nap but instead started thinking about doubt. Just for ducks I got up and googled it….. and, probably not surprisingly, found a very interesting debate raging…well, continuing, anyway…this time in The New Republic, which I’m finding I like all the time just because it discusses this kind of pseudo-intellectual crap. In fact, one of the articles was even debating both sides of the usefulness of doubt! Now, that’s my kind of article, being unclear about even the need for clarity, or at least I think it’s my kind of article, although, again, maybe I’m wrong. Hell, what do YOU think?

http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/linker/default.aspx