Things Have Changed

 

 

As you get older, you realize things change. Sometimes for the better, sometimes not.

We used to go out without our phones. There were two reasons for this. One, the phones were attached to our houses. Two, they had "pay" phones in which you could drop a dime (hence the lyric from "Operator": "you can keep the time") or, later, a quarter (from the Travis Tritt song, "Here's A Quarter, Call Someone Who cares.")*

Now, we make sure our phones are with us all of the time, and we are naked without them. 

I took my wife to an appointment and accidentally left my cell phone in the car.  I had to wait for a WHOLE 15 MINUTES without something to look at.  I don't know how I survived.

I thought about how things had changed when I watched the confirmation hearings on Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. becoming the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

There used to be something magical about being a Kennedy.  They were part Beyonce, part Taylor Swift, and part Timothee Chalamet.  They were always the best and the brightest for reasons we just can't explain.

Of course, John Kennedy was the youngest President of the United States when it was cool to be young.Unfortunately, he was assassinated and succeeded by Lyndon Johnson, who, let's be historically honest, was ugly. 

History buffs remember that Kennedy's Attorney General was his brother, Robert. That could not happen today, although it would have been a hoot to have Billy Carter as Attorney General.  (Nobody under 60 understands the humor of this past sentence.)

Then, in 1968, which I contend is the year everything went to the septic tank, Robert ran for President and was assassinated, too.

You had this aura of sympathy for the family because of all the tragedy, the glitz, and the glamour.

Shoot, a Kennedy could drive a car off a bridge, leave a girl (who was not his wife) in the car to drown, and still run for President.  You can't buy that type of magic.

However, history has caught up with the Kennedys.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was carrying the torch by being an attorney, of course.  He made a pretty good living suing companies over something called torts**. According to a major legal scholar, Wikipedia, a tort is a "civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act."  

What distinguished Kennedy from all of the other lawyers, besides his last name, was he spoke out against Big Pharma and vaccines.

For years, he said vaccines caused autism. Apparently, this is not true, and apparently, he doesn't care.  He has said he wants improved science and information so people can make informed decisions.  Which means he doesn't want people to listen to a physician about a vaccine, but rather, listen to a lawyer.

I've been hearing about the evils of vaccines for years because we have a chiropractic college in Marietta and knew a lot of students who said vaccines were terrible. I also listened to the Imus in The Morning radio show, and he used to say vaccines caused autism. 

But still, as for me and my family, we chose to listen to physicians instead of chiropractic students and disc jockeys.  I know, I'm a chump.

Kennedy has been saying all of this for years.  I never heard one word. Nary a peep. Not a grunt from our friends on the left bank of politics. 

 But things have changed. One of the marvelous, wonderful, perfect Kennedys has aligned himself with one of the true all-time icks of the world, Orange Hitler himself, Donald Trump.

Kennedy endorsed Trump, and as payback, Trump nominated Kennedy to be Secretary of Health And Human Services.

Suddenly, Kennedy became enemy number one of the Democrats.

Last week, his cousin Caroline Schlossberg, the only living child of John Kennedy, said, "I have known Bobby my whole life; we grew up together. It's no surprise that he keeps birds of prey as pets because he himself is a predator."

 It is well known that RFK, Jr. likes the ladies, and he had a well-known sex-texting affair with a young reporter last year.   All I can say is that it is a family tradition.

At his confirmation hearings, the Democrats followed the tried and true method of yelling at people they disagree with, especially about things that seem odd.

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont noted "The gist of what you are trying to say today is you're really pro-vaccine, you just want to ask questions," Sanders said. "Yet your organization is making money selling a child's product that casts fundamental doubt on the usefulness of vaccines."

The onesies have anti-vaxx slogans like "Unvaxxed and Unafraid" and "Get you dirty paws off of me you dirty ape". ***

Elizabeth Warren wanted Kennedy to promise he wouldn't sue a pharmacy company for five years after he left office.  That's his jam, Liz.

I've never seen a Democrat treated in such a way  years.  It was like he was almost a Republican, which he is not. Or a conservative, which he is not.

He's just on another team.  Things have changed.

 

 

* Travis Tritt is from my hometown of Marietta, Georgia and went to Sprayberry High School. Fun fact: "Remember The Titans" was filmed at their football field. 

** The Torts was the name of Travis Tritt's band in high school.   Just kidding, Travis.

*** Just kidding again. Although, that would look good on a onesie.