Posts Tagged ‘CONGRESS’
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In Bureaucracy, History, Medical, Politics, Social commentary on November 24, 2025 at 12:06 am
On November 2, New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani surprised patrons at a gay night club when he stopped by to campaign at 1 am.
Five hours later, he walked across the Brooklyn Bridge at 6 am.
On the social media platform, Bluesky, a post took notice of this:
“To anyone who’s been awestruck by Zohran’s campaigning stamina in being able to end his night at a gay bar at 1 am and then walk across the Brooklyn Bridge at 6 am….
“This is what happens when you don’t have 76 year old candidates running for office.”
Zohran Mamdani is 34.
Zohran Mamdani
Dmitryshein, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
On July 4, 1776, representatives of the original Thirteen Colonies met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to affix their signatures to Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence.
In July, 1776, the ages of key American Revolutionary figures were:
- Marquis de Lafayette, 18
- James Monroe, 18
- Aaron Burr, 20
- John Marshall, 20
- Nathan Hale, 21
- Alexander Hamilton, 21
- James Madison, 25
- John Paul Jones, 28
- Thomas Jefferson, 33
- Benedict Arnold, 35
- Ethan Allen, 38
- John Hancock, 39
- Thomas Paine, 39
- Paul Revere, 41
- George Washington, 44
- Samuel Adams, 53
- Benjamin Franklin, 70
Signing of the Declaration of Independence
Youth was a commonplace among the signers of the Declaration. Their average age was 44.
In the hit play (and later movie) 1776, several members of Congress—including Thomas Jefferson—are surprised to learn that John Adams—who’s 41—still “burns” for his wife Abigail, who’s waiting for him in Boston, Massachusetts.
Today, a nation that once prized youth among its leaders is now moving toward government by gerontocracy.
The average age of members of the House of Representatives is 57.9 years. In the Senate, it’s 64.3.
During 2024, the major Presidential contenders were:
- President Joseph Biden, 81
- Donald Trump, 78
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr, 70
- Jill Stein, 74
- Asa Hutchinson, 72
- Chris Christie, 61
- Doug Burgum, 67
- Marianne Williamson, 71
- Cornel West, 71
- Kamala Harris, 60
A visit to the Soviet Union in the twilight of its 74-year existence reveals where the United States is heading.
In May 1982, 75-year-old General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, suffered a severe stroke. He had ruled the U.S.S.R. since 1964, but by the early 1980s he was essentially a figurehead. On November 10, 1982, he finally died of a heart attack.
The Kremlin
Succeeding Brezhnev was Yuri Andropov, 69, who until May, 1982, had been chief of the KGB.
Andropov suffered from kidney failure and was often on dialysis. By December, 1983, after barely more than a year in office, he was totally bedridden. On February 9, 1984, he joined Brezhnev at the great Party Congress in the sky.
Andropov had realized that the Soviet Union needed a younger and more energetic ruler. Not long before he died he suggested that Mikhail Gorbachev, his aide, succeed him.
But the Central Committee instead chose Konstantin Chernenko, who, at 72, was older than Andropov. On February 13, 1984, he became the U.S.S.R.’s third leader in a year and a half.
Suffering from emphysema, occasional heart failure and liver disease from alcohol, Chernenko died on March 10, 1985.
Only then did Kremlin rulers decide to choose a General Secretary who was likely to live more than one or two years. One day after Chernenko died, the Politburo chose Gorbachev, a relatively young 54.
Mikhail Gorbachev
RIA Novosti archive, image #850809 / Vladimir Vyatkin / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Gorbachev survived to retire as President of the Soviet Union on December 25, 1991.
So what does this mean for old men and women seeking the White House?
According to Dr. Michael Roizen, Presidents effectively age twice as fast while in office. Roizen, a chief wellness officer at the Cleveland Clinic and co-founder of RealAge.com, bases his opinion on his research of medical records of previous presidents, back to Theodore Roosevelt.
“The main cause is what we call unrequited stress—they don’t have enough friends to mitigate the stress. The major way most of us handle stress is through a number of techniques, but the most prominent way is to discuss it with friends.
“The problem with presidents is, some of them lose friends, and the closest friend they have is usually the spouse.”
Thus, a person who has been president eight years has the risk of disability or dying of someone who is 16 years older. When you’re already in your late 60s or early 70s, that doesn’t give you much room for risk-taking.
Of course, given America’s Politically Correct social norms, pointing out the disadvantages of combing extreme age with extreme pressure is taboo for many persons.
Julian Castro found this out when, in a debate, he questioned Joseph Biden’s mental acuity.
“In a cultural way, it shocked me,” said Gerson Borrero, a New York City political commentator. “We respect our elders—there may be a point where we smile at their ‘disparates’ (gaffes), but at the same time we stay respectful.”
As the United States approaches the 2028 Presidential election, the perils of gerontocracy loom even larger: Donald Trump has “hinted” he wants to run for a third term in 2028.
Even if he weren’t barred from a third term by the Constitution’s 22nd Amendment, he would be 82 years old when he took office in 2029.
FBI agents have a mandatory retirement age of 57. Airplane pilots must retire at 65. Air traffic controllers must leave at 56.
It’s past time to bring a mandatory retirement age to members of Congress and the Presidency.
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In Bureaucracy, Business, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Politics, Social commentary on October 15, 2025 at 12:06 am
It’s wonderful to believe that when you have a problem, you can write your local / state / federal representative and s/he will “give it my fullest attention.”
Unfortunately, that’s usually not what happens.
Two cases on the futility of expectations:
Case #1: On August 12, 2021, Mark (a pseudonym) wrote a letter to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. The subject: The disgraceful performance of San Francisco’s Municipal Railway (MUNI) bus lines during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mark had previously complained to MUNI and his member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors—without result. So now he decided to literally make it a Federal case:
“MUNI bus drivers are the highest-paid in the nation: The average MUNI driver makes $79,617, 51% above the national average bus driver salary of $52,730. This pay is 27% higher than the combined average salaries of drivers in Dallas, Boston and Atlanta.
“Yet for more than a year, many of these drivers have been ‘earning’ their pay by staying at home—or going on what amounts to an extended vacation at the expense of San Francisco voters and MUNI riders.”
Many bus routes, Mark wrote, had been eliminated. This forced riders to cram themselves aboard the first bus available—making it impossible to “maintain social distancing” as recorded messages aboard MUNI buses advised.
Other routes had been substantially altered, with passengers learning this only after they were deposited far from their expected drop-off point.
These changes were especially difficult for elderly and/or disabled riders.
Mark suggested that Buttigieg threaten MUNI with:
- The loss of the Federal monies it received through the Department of Transportation; and
- An Americans With Disabilities lawsuit on behalf of San Franciscans unable to receive the transit services they needed.
Mark never received even the courtesy of a reply, let alone a positive change in MUNI’s operations.
Pete Buttigieg
Case #2: Janet, a chef in Los Angeles, was fed up with getting Spam calls on her cell phone. Each time she got one, she blocked the number. Being on the national Do Not Call Registry, she believed she had an airtight case to take to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which regulates the airways.
So she called the FCC and spoke with one of its representatives.
She said that she had saved to her phone the numbers of Spam callers—and she was prepared to turn these over to the FCC.
The FCC’s rep applauded Janet’s willingness to turn over this information.
“Then what happens?” asked Janet.
“We’ll put it into our files.”
In short: the FCC had no intention of acting on the Spam-caller numbers that Janet was prepared to turn over.
Janet didn’t hide her disappointment: “If someone went to the FBI and said, ‘I’m being shaken down by the Mafia,’ and the FBI said, ‘Well, we’ll put this into our files’ but wasn’t willing to do anything more, how many people do you think would be willing to report crimes to the FBI?”
The FCC rep admitted that this would greatly reduce the willingness of the public to report crimes to the FBI. But she made no effort to help Janet stop the harassing Spam calls.
Incidents like the ones above are a potent reason why so many people have lost their trust in government—at all levels.
Untold numbers of average citizens feel their elected officials—and the agencies they administer—don’t care about their problems. Even worse, they believe—accurately—that if they were wealthy contributors to the Democratic or Republican party, their complaints would be addressed promptly.
On April 24, 2016, CBS’ longtime documentary series, “60 Minutes,” aired a segment titled “Dialing for Dollars.”
It opened with the following: “The American public has a low opinion of Congress. Only 14 percent think it’s doing a good job. But Congress has excelled in one way. Raising money. Members of Congress raised more than a billion dollars for their 2014 election. And they never stop.
“Nearly every day, they spend hours on the phone asking supporters and even total strangers for campaign donations—hours spent away from the jobs they were elected to do. The pressure on candidates to raise money has ratcheted up since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in 2010. That allowed unlimited spending by corporations, unions and individuals in elections.”
In short: Members of Congress—the branch that writes the laws governing the lives of 328.2 million Americans—have essentially become telemarketers.
People who write to their members of Congress expect at least the courtesy of a reply addressing their concerns within a reasonable period of time. Many constituents will not receive even that.
Or the “reply” they receive arrives weeks or months later—and opens with: “Thank you for writing me to support my bill….”
Usually they haven’t even heard of the bill cited—and couldn’t care less about it. As they scan the letter—no doubt drafted by a low-level staffer—they search in vain for an offer of help, or at least empathy.
Millions of Americans will have no other contact with government officials than this. And it will convince them that if government isn’t their enemy, it’s certainly not their friend.
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In Bureaucracy, History, Military, Politics, Social commentary on February 23, 2024 at 12:10 am
The headline in the February 6, 2016 edition of The World Post read: “Geneva III: The Stillborn Conference and the Endemic Failure of the International Community.”
Then came the waterworks:
“While approaching the fifth anniversary of the Syrian civil war on March 15 — which claimed more than 300,000 lives, approximately 700,000 wounded, 4 million fled the country, and another 6 million displaced within Syria — the international community has failed to put an end to bloodshed in this war-torn country.”
The Syrian conflict began on March 15, 2011, triggered by protests demanding political reforms and the ouster of dictator Bashar al-Assad.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights—which is safely located in Great Britain—the total number of dead is now more than 310,000.
And who does the Observatory—and The World Post-–blame for this Islamic self-slaughter?
The West, of course:
“The silence of the International community for the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Syria encourages the criminals to kill more and more Syrian people because they have not found anyone that deter them from continuing their crimes that cause to wound more than 1,500,000 people; some of them with permanent disabilities, make hundreds of thousands children without parents, displace more than half of Syrian people and destroy infrastructure, private and public properties.”
Got that? It’s the duty of non-Muslims to bring civilized behavior to Islamics.
And why are all these murderers eagerly slaughtering one another?
Because of a Muslim religious dispute that traces back to the fourth century.
Yes, it’s Sunni Muslims, who make up a majority of Islamics, versus Shiite Muslims, who comprise a minority.
Each group considers the other takfirs—that is, “apostates.” And, in Islam, being labeled an apostate can easily get you murdered.
On November 30, 2023, the Global Center for the Responsibility to Protect estimated that at least 580,000 Syrians had died in the war.
There is, however, an optimistic way to view this conflict:
- Put another way: 580,000 potential or actual Islamic terrorists will never pose a threat to the United States or Western Europe.
- The United States cannot be held in any way responsible for it.
In fact, it’s in America’s best interests that this conflict last as long as possible and spread as widely as possible throughout the Islamic community.
Here are four reasons why:
First: In Syria, two of America’s most deadly enemies are waging war on each other.
Yes, it’s Hizbollah (Party of God) vs. Al-Qaeda (The Base).
Hizbollah is comprised of Shiite Muslims. A sworn enemy of Israel, it has kidnapped scores of Americans suicidal enough to visit Lebanon and truck-bombed the Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, killing 299 Americans.
Flag of Hizbollah
Al Qaeda—which gave us 9/11—is comprised of Sunni Muslims. It considers Shiites as heretics and seeks their extermination. It has attacked the mosques and gatherings of liberal Muslims, Suffis and other non-Sunnis. And despite the death of its creator, Osama bin Laden, in 2011, it still seeks to destroy the United States.
Flag of Al Qaeda
Second: Since 1979, Syria has been listed by the U.S. State Department as a sponsor of terrorism.
Among the terrorist groups it supports: Hizbollah and Hamas. For many years, Syria provided a safe-house in Damascus for Illich Ramirez Sanchez—the notorious international terrorist known as Carlos the Jackal.
Illich Ramirez Sanches “Carlos the Jackal”
Third: China and Russia are supporting the Assad dictatorship—and the brutalities it commits against its own citizens.
This reflects badly on them—not the United States. And any move by the United States to directly attack the Assad regime could ignite an all-out war with Russia and/or China.
What happens if Russian and American forces start trading salvos? Or if Russian President Vladimir Putin orders an attack on America’s ally, Israel, in return for America’s attack on Russia’s ally, Syria?
It was exactly that scenario—Great Powers going to war over conflicts between their small-state allies—that triggered World War I.
Fourth: While Islamic nations like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan wage war within their own borders, they will lack the resources—and incentive—to attack the United States.
Every dead Hizbollah, Al-Qaeda and ISIS member makes the United States far safer. So does the death of every sympathizer of Hizbollah, Al-Qaeda and ISIS.
The peoples of the Middle East have long memories for those who commit brutalities against them. In their veins, the cult of the blood feud runs deep.
When Al-Qaeda blows up civilians in Beirut, their relatives will urge Hizbollah to take brutal revenge. And Hizbollah will do so. Similarly, when Hizbollah does, those who support Al-Qaeda will demand even more brutal reprisals against Hizbollah.
No American could instill such hatred in Al-Qaeda for Hizbollah—or vice versa. This is entirely a war of religious and sectarian hatred.
In fact, this conflict could easily become the Islamic equivalent of “the Hundred Years War” that raged from 1337 to 1453 between England and France.
When Adolf Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, then-Senator Harry S. Truman said: “I hope the Russians kill lots of Nazis—and vice versa.”
That should be America’s position whenever its sworn enemies start killing off each other. Americans should welcome such self-slaughters, not become entrapped in them.
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In Bureaucracy, History, Medical, Politics, Social commentary on January 29, 2024 at 12:14 am
“Congress has become the most privileged nursing home in the country,” said Republican Presidential candidate Nikki Haley at a rally in Conway, S.C., on January 28.
American voters, she added, deserved to know that those charged with protecting the nation were “at the top of their game.”
“Don’t you think we need to have mental competency tests for anyone over the age of 75?” asked Haley, 52.
On July 4, 1776, representatives of the original Thirteen Colonies met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to affix their signatures to Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence.
Signing of the Declaration of Independence
The ages of key American Revolutionary figures in July. 1776, were:
- Marquis de Lafayette, 18
- James Monroe, 18
- Aaron Burr, 20
- John Marshall, 20
- Nathan Hale, 21
- Alexander Hamilton, 21
- George Rodgers Clark, 23
- James Madison, 25
- Edward Rutledge, 26
- John Paul Jones, 28
- Thomas Jefferson, 33
- James Wilson, 34
- Benedict Arnold, 35
- Samuel Chase, 35
- Ethan Allen, 38
- John Hancock, 39
- Thomas Paine, 39
- Patrick Henry, 40
- John Adams, 41
- Paul Revere, 41
- Richard Henry Lee, 44
- George Washington, 44
- Josiah Bartlett, 46
- Lyman Hall, 52
- Samuel Adams, 53
- Roger Sherman, 55
- Benjamin Franklin, 70
Youth was a commonplace among the signers of the Declaration. Their average age was 44.
In the hit play (and later movie) 1776, several members of Congress—including Thomas Jefferson—are surprised to learn that John Adams—who’s 41—“burns” for his wife Abigail, who’s waiting for him in Boston, Massachusetts.
Today, a nation that once prized youth among its leaders is now moving toward government by gerontocracy.
The average age of members of the House of Representatives is 58.4 years. In the Senate, it’s 64.3.
During 2020, the major Democratic Presidential contenders were:
- Vermont United States Senator Bernie Sanders: 79
- Former Vice President Joe Biden: 78
- Massachusetts United States Senator Elizabeth Warren: 71
- Minnesota United States Senator Amy Klobuchar: 60
Opposing them was President Donald Trump, 73, as he sought re-election. On Election Day, he would be 74.
A visit to the Soviet Union in the twilight of its 74-year existence reveals where the United States is heading.
In May 1982, 75-year-old General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, suffered a severe stroke. He had ruled the U.S.S.R. since 1964, but by the early 1980s he was essentially a figurehead. On November 10, 1982, he finally died of a heart attack.
The Kremlin
Succeeding Brezhnev was Yuri Andropov, 69, who until May, 1982, had been chief of the KGB.
Andropov suffered from kidney failure and was often on dialysis. By December, 1983, after barely more than a year in office, he was totally bedridden. On February 9, 1984, he joined Brezhnev at the great Party Congress in the sky.
Andropov had realized that the Soviet Union needed a younger and more energetic ruler. Not long before he died he suggested that Mikhail Gorbachev, his aide, succeed him.
But the Central Committee instead chose Konstantin Chernenko, who, at 72, was older than Andropov. On February 13, 1984, he became the U.S.S.R.’s third leader in a year and a half.
Suffering from emphysema, occasional heart failure and liver disease from alcohol, Chernenko died on March 10, 1985.
Only then did Kremlin rulers decide to choose a General Secretary who was likely to live more than one or two years. One day after Chernenko died, the Politburo chose Gorbachev, a relatively young 54.
Mikhail Gorbachev
Gorbachev survived to retire as President of the Soviet Union on December 25, 1991.
So what does this mean for old men and women seeking the White House?
According to Dr. Michael Roizen, Presidents effectively age twice as fast while in office. Roizen, a chief wellness officer at the Cleveland Clinic and co-founder of RealAge.com, bases his opinion on his research of medical records of previous presidents, back to Theodore Roosevelt.
“The main cause is what we call unrequited stress—they don’t have enough friends to mitigate the stress. The major way most of us handle stress is through a number of techniques, but the most prominent way is to discuss it with friends.
“The problem with presidents is, some of them lose friends, and the closest friend they have is usually the spouse.”
Thus, a person who has been president eight years has the risk of disability or dying of someone who is 16 years older. When you’re already in your late 60s or early 70s, that doesn’t give you much room for risk-taking.
Of course, given America’s Politically Correct social norms, pointing out the disadvantages of combing extreme age with extreme pressure is taboo for many persons.
Julian Castro found this out when, in a debate, he questioned Joseph Biden’s mental acuity.
“In a cultural way, it shocked me,” said Gerson Borrero, a New York City political commentator. “We respect our elders—there may be a point where we smile at their ‘disparates’ (gaffes), but at the same time we stay respectful.”
As the United States approaches the 2024 Presidential election, the perils of gerontocracy loom even larger.
Biden turned 81 on November 20, 202. If re-elected in 2024, he would be 82. If he lived out his full term, he would be 86.
Trump, who still lusts to be President, is 77. If re-elected President in 2024, he would be 78 upon taking office in 2025.
FBI agents have a mandatory retirement age of 57. Airplane pilots must retire at 65.
It’s past time to bring a mandatory retirement age to members of Congress and the Presidency.
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In Bureaucracy, History, Politics, Social commentary on April 17, 2023 at 12:52 am
“Many Founding Fathers Were Shockingly Young When the Declaration of Independence Was Signed in 1776.”
So read the headline of a July 5, 2014 story in Business Insider.
On July 4, 1776, representatives of the original Thirteen Colonies met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to affix their signatures to Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence.
Signing of the Declaration of Independence
Below is a list of the ages of key American Revolutionary figures on July 4, 1776. (Those who signed the Declaration are listed in red.)
- Marquis de Lafayette, 18
- James Monroe, 18
- Henry Lee III, 20
- Aaron Burr, 20
- John Marshall, 20
- Nathan Hale, 21
- Alexander Hamilton, 21
- George Rodgers Clark, 23
- James Madison, 25
- Edward Rutledge, 26
- John Paul Jones, 28
- Abigail Adams, 31
- Thomas Jefferson, 33
- James Wilson, 34
- Benedict Arnold, 35
- Samuel Chase, 35
- Ethan Allen, 38
- John Hancock, 39
- Thomas Paine, 39
- Patrick Henry, 40
- John Adams, 41
- Paul Revere, 41
- Richard Henry Lee, 44
- George Washington, 44
- Martha Washington, 45
- Josiah Bartlett, 46
- Caesar Rodney, 47
- Lyman Hall, 52
- Samuel Adams, 53
- Roger Sherman, 55
- Philip Livingston, 60
- Stephen Hopkins, 69
- Benjamin Franklin, 70
Youth was a commonplace among the signers of the Declaration. Their average age was 44.
In the hit play (and later movie) 1776, several members of Congress—including Thomas Jefferson—are surprised to learn that John Adams—who’s 41—“burns” for his wife Abigail, who’s waiting for him in Boston, Massachusetts.
Today, a nation that once prized youth among its leaders is now moving toward government by gerontocracy.
The average age of members of the House of Representatives is 58.4 years. In the Senate, it’s 64.3.
On Election Day, 2020, the following Democratic contenders were:
- Vermont United States Senator Bernie Sanders: 79
- Former Vice President Joe Biden: 78
- Massachusetts United States Senator Elizabeth Warren: 71
- Minnesota United States Senator Amy Klobuchar: 60
- California United States Senator Kamala Harris: 56
- Former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke: 48
Of these candidates, the oldest ones—Sanders, Warren and Biden—were considered the frontrunners for the Democratic nomination.
Opposing them was President Donald Trump, 73, as he sought re-election. On Election Day, he would be 74.
To get an idea of where the United States is heading, let’s revisit the Soviet Union in the twilight of its 74-year existence.
In May 1982, 75-year-old General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, suffered a severe stroke. He had ruled the U.S.S.R. since 1964, but by the early 1980s he was essentially a figurehead. On November 10, 1982, he finally died of a heart attack.
The Kremlin
Succeeding Brezhnev was Yuri Andropov, 69, who until May, 1982, had been chief of the KGB.
Andropov suffered from kidney failure and was often on dialysis. By December, 1983, after barely more than a year in office, he was totally bedridden. On February 9, 1984, he joined Brezhnev at the great Party Congress in the sky.
Andropov had realized that the Soviet Union needed a younger and more energetic ruler. Not long before he died he suggested that Mikhail Gorbachev, his aide, succeed him.
But the Central Committee instead chose Konstantin Chernenko, who, at 72, was older than Andropov. On February 13, 1984, he became the U.S.S.R.’s third leader in a year and a half.
Suffering from emphysema, occasional heart failure and liver disease from alcohol, Chernenko died on March 10, 1985.
Only then did Kremlin rulers decide to choose a General Secretary who was likely to live more than one or two years. One day after Chernenko died, the Politburo chose Gorbachev, a relatively young 54.
Mikhail Gorbachev
Gorbachev survived to retire as President of the Soviet Union on December 25, 1991.
So what does this mean for old men and women seeking the White House?
According to Dr. Michael Roizen, Presidents effectively age twice as fast while in office. Roizen, a chief wellness officer at the Cleveland Clinic and co-founder of RealAge.com, bases his opinion on his research of medical records of previous presidents, back to Theodore Roosevelt.
“The main cause is what we call unrequited stress—they don’t have enough friends to mitigate the stress. The major way most of us handle stress is through a number of techniques, but the most prominent way is to discuss it with friends.
“The problem with presidents is, some of them lose friends, and the closest friend they have is usually the spouse.”
Thus, a person who has been president eight years has the risk of disability or dying of someone who is 16 years older. When you’re already in your late 60s or early 70s, that doesn’t give you much room for risk-taking.
Of course, given America’s Politically Correct social norms, pointing out the disadvantages of combing extreme age with extreme pressure is taboo for many persons.
Julian Castro found this out when, in a debate, he questioned Joseph Biden’s mental acuity.
“In a cultural way, it shocked me,” said Gerson Borrero, a New York City political commentator. “We respect our elders—there may be a point where we smile at their ‘disparates’ (gaffes), but at the same time we stay respectful.”
That does not, however, make such truths magically disappear.
As the United States approaches the 2024 Presidential election, the perils of gerontocracy loom even larger.
Biden turned 80 on November 20. If re-elected in 2024, he would be 82. If he lived out his full term, he would be 86.
Trump, who still lusts to be President, is 76. If re-elected President in 2024, he would be 77, taking office at 78.
FBI agents have a mandatory retirement age of 57. Airplane pilots must retire at 65.
It’s past time to bring a mandatory retirement age to members of Congress and the Presidency.
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In Bureaucracy, Business, History, Law, Law Enforcement, Politics, Social commentary on September 14, 2021 at 12:05 am
It’s wonderful to believe that when you have a problem, you can write your local / state / federal representative and s/he will “give it my fullest attention.”
Unfortunately, it’s also usually a mistake.
Two cases on the futility of expectations:
Case #1: On August 12, a man I’ll call Mark, wrote a letter to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. The subject: The disgraceful performance of San Francisco’s Municipal Railway (MUNI) bus lines during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mark had previously complained to MUNI and his member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors—without result. So now he decided to literally make it a Federal case:
“MUNI bus drivers are the highest-paid in the nation: The average MUNI driver makes $79,617, 51% above the national average bus driver salary of $52,730. This pay is 27% higher than the combined average salaries of drivers in Dallas, Boston and Atlanta.
“Yet for more than a year, many of these drivers have been ‘earning’ their pay by staying at home—or going on what amounts to an extended vacation at the expense of San Francisco voters and MUNI riders.”
Many bus routes, Mark wrote, had been eliminated. This forces riders to cram themselves aboard the first bus available—making it impossible to “maintain social distancing” as recorded messages aboard MUNI buses advise.
Other routes have been substantially altered, with passengers learning this only after they are deposited far from their expected drop-off point.
These changes are especially difficult for elderly and/or disabled riders.
Mark suggested that Buttigieg threaten MUNI with:
- The loss of the Federal monies it now receives through the Department of Transportation; and
- An Americans With Disabilities lawsuit on behalf of San Franciscans now unable to receive the transit services they need.
To date—one month later—Mark has not received even the courtesy of a reply, let alone seen a positive change in MUNI’s operations.
Pete Buttigieg
Case #2: Janet, a chef in Los Angeles, was fed up with getting Spam calls on her cell phone. Each time she got one, she blocked the number. Being on the national Do Not Call Registry, she believed she had an airtight case to take to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which regulates the airways.
So she called the FCC and spoke with one of its representatives.
She said that she had saved to her phone the numbers of Spam callers—and she was prepared to turn these over to the FCC.
The FCC’s rep applauded Janet’s willingness to turn over this information.
“Then what happens?” asked Janet.
“We’ll put it into our files.”
In short: the FCC had no intention of acting on the Spam-caller numbers that Janet was prepared to turn over.
Janet didn’t hide her disappointment: “If someone went to the FBI and said, ‘I’m being shaken down by the Mafia,’ and the FBI said, ‘Well, we’ll put this into our files’ but wasn’t willing to do anything more, how many people do you think would be willing to report crimes to the FBI?”
The FCC rep admitted that this would greatly reduce the willingness of the public to report crimes to the FBI. But she made no effort to help Janet stop the harassing Spam calls.
Incidents like the ones above are a potent reason why so many people have lost their trust in government—at all levels.
Untold numbers of average citizens feel their elected officials—and the agencies they administer—don’t care about their problems. Even worse, they believe—accurately—that if they were wealthy contributors to the Democratic or Republican party, their complaints would be addressed promptly.
On April 24, 2016, CBS’ longtime documentary series, “60 Minutes,” aired a segment titled “Dialing for Dollars.”
It opened with the following: “The American public has a low opinion of Congress. Only 14 percent think it’s doing a good job. But Congress has excelled in one way. Raising money. Members of Congress raised more than a billion dollars for their 2014 election. And they never stop.
“Nearly every day, they spend hours on the phone asking supporters and even total strangers for campaign donations—hours spent away from the jobs they were elected to do. The pressure on candidates to raise money has ratcheted up since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in 2010. That allowed unlimited spending by corporations, unions and individuals in elections.”
In short: Members of Congress—the branch that writes the laws governing the lives of 328.2 million Americans—have essentially become telemarketers.
People who write to their members of Congress expect at least the courtesy of a reply addressing their concerns within a reasonable period of time. Many constituents will not receive even that.
Or the “reply” they receive arrives weeks or months later—and opens with: “Thank you for writing me to support my bill….”
Usually they haven’t even heard of the bill cited—and couldn’t care less about it. As they scan the letter—no doubt drafted by a low-level staffer—they search in vain for an offer of help, or at least empathy.
Millions of Americans will have no other contact with government officials than this. And it will convince them that if government isn’t their enemy, it’s certainly not their friend.
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In Bureaucracy, History, Military, Politics, Social commentary on May 31, 2021 at 12:14 am
Saving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg’s 1998 World War II epic, opens with a scene of an American flag snapping in the wind.
Except that the vivid red, white and blue we’ve come to expect in Old Glory have been washed out, leaving only black-and-white stripes and black stars.
And then the movie opens—not during World War II but the present day.
Did Spielberg know that the United States—for all its military power—has become a pale shadow of its former glory?
May, 30, 1945, marked the first Memorial Day after World War II ended in Europe.
On that day, the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery became the site of just such a ceremony. The cemetery lies near the modern Italian town of Nettuno.
In 1945, it held about 20,000 graves. Most were soldiers who died in Sicily, at Salerno or Anzio.
One of the speakers at the ceremony was Lieutenant General Lucian K. Truscott, Jr., the U.S. Fifth Army Commander.
Lieutenant General Lucian K. Truscott, Jr.
Unlike many other generals, Truscott had shared in the dangers of combat, often pouring over maps on the hood of his jeep with company commanders as bullets or shells zipped close by.
Among Truscott’s audience was Bill Mauldin, the famous cartoonist for the Army newspaper, Stars and Stripes. Mauldin had created Willie and Joe, the unshaved, slovenly-looking “dogfaces” who came to symbolize the GI.
When it came his turn to speak, Truscott moved to the podium—and then did something truly unexpected.
Looking at the assembled visitors—which included several Congressmen—Truscott turned his back on the living to face the graves of his fellow soldiers.
“It was the most moving gesture I ever saw,” wrote Mauldin. “It came from a hard-boiled old man who was incapable of planned dramatics.”
Bill Mauldin and “Willie and Joe,” the characters he made famous
“He apologized to the dead men for their presence there. He said that everybody tells leaders that it is not their fault that men get killed in war, but that every leader knows in his heart that this is not altogether true.
“He said he hoped anybody here through any mistake of his would forgive him, but he realized that was asking a hell of a lot under the circumstances….
“Truscott said he would not speak of the ‘glorious’ dead because he didn’t see much glory in getting killed in your late teens or early twenties.
“He promised that if in the future he ran into anybody, especially old men, who thought death in battle was glorious, he would straighten them out. He said he thought it was the least he could do.”
Then Truscott walked away, without acknowledging his audience.
Fast forward 61 years—to March 24, 2004.
At a White House Correspondents dinner in Washington, D.C., President George W. Bush joked publicly about the absence of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) in Iraq.
One year earlier, he had invaded Iraq on the premise that its dictator, Saddam Hussein, possessed WMDs he intended to use against the United States.
To Bush, the non-existent WMDs were now simply the butt of a joke that night.
While an overhead projector displayed photos of a puzzled-looking Bush searching around the Oval Office, Bush recited a comedy routine.
“Those weapons of mass destruction have gotta be somewhere,” Bush laughed, while a photo showed him poking around the corners in the Oval Office.
“Nope-–no weapons over there! Maybe they’re under here,” he said, as a photo showed him looking under a desk.
In a scene that could have occurred under the Roman emperor Nero, an assembly of wealthy, pampered men and women—the elite of America’s media and political classes—-laughed heartily during Bush’s performance.
Only later did the criticism come, from Democrats and Iraqi war veterans—especially those veterans who had lost comrades or suffered grievous wounds to protect America from non-existent WMDs.
Bush had dodged the Vietnam war by joining the 147th Fighter-Interceptor Group of the Texas Air National Guard on May 27, 1968. His military service ended on November 21, 1974—by which time the Vietnam war was safely over.
Bush Laughs at no WMD in Iraq https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCTfEf6Rrmw
Then fast forward another 11 years—to July 18. 2015.
On July 18, then-candidate Donald Trump disparaged Arizona Senator John McCain: “He’s not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”
McCain had served in the United States Navy as an aviator during the Vietnam war. He was shot down over Hanoi in 1967 and spent five and a half years as a heroic POW. His wartime injuries left him permanently incapable of raising his arms above his head.
Nevertheless, Republican voters turned out heavily to elect Trump—a five-time Vietnam draft dodger—over Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Trump continued to attack McCain even after the Senator died of brain cancer in 2018. But the overwhelming majority of Republicans continued to rabidly support the draft-dodger.
Of the 535 members elected or re-elected to the House and Senate in November, 2020, a total of 100 have served in the U.S. military.
Small wonder that, for many people, Old Glory has taken on a darker, washed-out appearance.
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In Bureaucracy, History, Politics, Social commentary on September 25, 2019 at 1:03 am
“Many Founding Fathers Were Shockingly Young When the Declaration of Independence Was Signed in 1776.”
So read the headline of a July 5, 2014 story in Business Insider.
On July 4, 1776, representatives of the original Thirteen Colonies met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to affix their signatures to Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence.
Signing of the Declaration of Independence
Below is a list of the ages of key American Revolutionary figures on July 4, 1776.
- Marquis de Lafayette, 18
- James Monroe, 18
- Henry Lee III, 20
- Aaron Burr, 20
- John Marshall, 20
- Nathan Hale, 21
- Alexander Hamilton, 21
- George Rodgers Clark, 23
- James Madison, 25
- Thomas Lynch, Jr., 26
- Edward Rutledge, 26
- John Paul Jones, 28
- John Jay, 30
- Abigail Adams, 31
- Anthony Wayne, 31
- Thomas Jefferson, 33
- James Wilson, 34
- Benedict Arnold, 35
- Samuel Chase, 35
- William Paca, 35
- Ethan Allen, 38
- John Hancock, 39
- Daniel Morgan, 39
- Thomas Paine, 39
- Patrick Henry, 40
- John Adams, 41
- Paul Revere, 41
- Richard Henry Lee, 44
- George Washington, 44
- Martha Washington, 45
- Josiah Bartlett, 46
- Caesar Rodney, 47
- Lyman Hall, 52
- Samuel Adams, 53
- Roger Sherman, 55
- Philip Livingston, 60
- Stephen Hopkins, 69
- Benjamin Franklin, 70
Youth was a commonplace among the signers of the Declaration.
In the hit play (and later movie) 1776, several members of Congress—including Thomas Jefferson—are surprised to learn that John Adams—who’s 41—“burns” for his wife Abigail, who’s waiting for him in Boston, Massachusetts.
Today, a nation that once prized youth among its leaders is now moving toward government by gerontocracy.
The average age of members of the House of Representatives is 57.8 years. In the Senate, it’s 61.8—among the oldest in U.S. history.
With the 2020 Presidential contest now in full swing, the advanced age of most of the candidates has become a central concern for millions of Americans.
On Election Day, 2020, the following Democratic contenders will be:
- Vermont United States Senator Bernie Sanders: 79
- Former Vice President Joe Biden: 77
- Massachusetts United States Senator Elizabeth Warren: 71
- Minnesota United States Senator Amy Klobuchar: 60
- California United States Senator Kamala Harris: 56
- New York United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand: 53
- New Jersey United States Senator Cory Booker: 51
- Former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke: 48
- Former mayor and HUD Secretary Julian Castro: 46
- Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard: 39
- South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg: 38
Of these candidates, the oldest ones—Sanders, Warren and Biden—are most likely to win the Democratic nomination.
Opposing them will be President Donald Trump as he seeks re-election. On Election Day, he will be 74.
To get an idea of where the United States is heading, let’s revisit the Soviet Union in the twilight of its 74-year existence.
In May 1982, 75-year-old General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, suffered a severe stroke. He had ruled the U.S.S.R. since 1964, but by the early 1980s he was essentially a figurehead. On November 10, 1982, he finally died of a heart attack.
The Kremlin
Succeeding Brezhnev was Yuri Andropov, 69, who until May had been chief of the KGB.
Andropov suffered from kidney failure and was often on dialysis. By December, 1983, after barely more than a year in office, he was totally bedridden. On February 9, 1984, he joined Brezhnev at the great Party Congress in the sky.
Andropov had realized that the Soviet Union needed a younger and more energetic ruler. Not long before he died he suggested that Mikhail Gorbachev, his aide, succeed him.
But the Central Committee instead chose Konstantin Chernenko, who, at 72, was older than Andropov. On February 13, 1984, he became the U.S.S.R.’s third leader in a year and a half.
Suffering from emphysema, occasional heart failure and liver disease from alcohol, Chernenko died on March 10, 1985.
Only then did the Kremlin rulers decide to choose a General Secretary who was likely to live more than one or two years. One day after Chernenko died, the Politburo chose Gorbachev, a relatively young 54.
Gorbachev survived to retire as President of the Soviet Union on December 25, 1991.
So what does this mean for old men and women seeking the White House?
According to Dr. Michael Roizen, presidents effectively age twice as fast while in office. Roizen, a chief wellness officer at the Cleveland Clinic and co-founder of RealAge.com, bases his opinion on his research of medical records of previous presidents, back to Theodore Roosevelt.
“The main cause is what we call unrequited stress– they don’t have enough friends to mitigate the stress. The major way most of us handle stress is through a number of techniques, but the most prominent way is to discuss it with friends.
“The problem with presidents is, some of them lose friends, and the closest friend they have is usually the spouse.”
Thus, a person who has been president eight years has the risk of disability or dying of someone who is 16 years older. When you’re already in your late 60s or early 70s, that doesn’t give you much room for risk-taking.
Of course, given America’s Politically Correct social norms, pointing out the disadvantages of combing extreme age with extreme pressure is taboo for many persons.
Julian Castro found this out when, in a recent debate, he questioned Joe Biden’s mental acuity.
“In a cultural way, it shocked me,” said Gerson Borrero, a New York City political commentator. “We respect our elders—there may be a point where we smile at their ‘disparates’ (gaffes), but at the same time we stay respectful.”
That does not, however, make such truths magically disappear.
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In Bureaucracy, History, Military, Politics, Social commentary on December 20, 2018 at 12:04 am
The headline in the February 6, 2016 edition of The World Post read: “Geneva III: The Stillborn Conference and the Endemic Failure of the International Community.”
Then came the waterworks:
“While approaching the fifth anniversary of the Syrian civil war on March 15 — which claimed more than 300,000 lives, approximately 700,000 wounded, 4 million fled the country, and another 6 million displaced within Syria — the international community has failed to put an end to bloodshed in this war-torn country.”
The Syrian conflict began on March 15, 2011, triggered by protests demanding political reforms and the ouster of dictator Bashar al-Assad.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights—which is safely located in Great Britain—the total number of dead is now more than 310,000.
And who does the Observatory—and The World Post-–blame for this Islamic self-slaughter?
The West, of course:
“The silence of the International community for the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Syria encourages the criminals to kill more and more Syrian people because they have not found anyone that deter them from continuing their crimes that cause to wound more than 1,500,000 people; some of them with permanent disabilities, make hundreds of thousands children without parents, displace more than half of Syrian people and destroy infrastructure, private and public properties.”
Got that? It’s the duty of non-Muslims to bring civilized behavior to Islamics.
And why are all these murderers eagerly slaughtering one another?
Because of a Muslim religious dispute that traces back to the fourth century.
Yes, it’s Sunni Muslims, who make up a majority of Islamics, versus Shiite Muslims, who comprise a minority.
Each group considers the other takfirs—that is, “apostates.” And, in Islam, being labeled an apostate can easily get you murdered.
On April 23, 2016, the United Nations estimated that 400,000 Syrians had died in the war.
There is, however, an optimistic way to view this conflict:
- Put another way: 400,000 potential or actual Islamic terrorists will never pose a threat to the United States or Western Europe.
- The United States cannot be held in any way responsible for it.
In fact, it’s in America’s best interests that this conflict last as long as possible and spread as widely as possible throughout the Islamic community.
Here are four reasons why:
First: In Syria, two of America’s most deadly enemies are waging war on each other.
Yes, it’s Hizbollah (Party of God) vs. Al-Qaeda (The Base).
Hizbollah is comprised of Shiite Muslims. A sworn enemy of Israel, it has kidnapped scores of Americans suicidal enough to visit Lebanon and truck-bombed the Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, killing 299 Americans.
Flag of Hizbollah
Al Qaeda—which gave us 9/11—is comprised of Sunni Muslims. It considers Shiites as heretics and seeks their extermination. It has attacked the mosques and gatherings of liberal Muslims, Suffis and other non-Sunnis. And despite the death of its creator, Osama bin Laden, in 2011, it still seeks to destroy the United States.
Flag of Al Qaeda
Second: Since 1979, Syria has been listed by the U.S. State Department as a sponsor of terrorism.
Among the terrorist groups it supports: Hizbollah and Hamas. For many years, Syria provided a safe-house in Damascus for Illich Ramirez Sanchez—the notorious international terrorist known as Carlos the Jackal.
Illich Ramirez Sanches “Carlos the Jackal”
Third: China and Russia are supporting the Assad dictatorship—and the brutalities it commits against its own citizens.
This reflects badly on them—not the United States. And any move by the United States to directly attack the Assad regime could ignite an all-out war with Russia and/or China.
What happens if Russian and American forces start trading salvos? Or if Russian President Vladimir Putin orders an attack on America’s ally, Israel, in return for America’s attack on Russia’s ally, Syria?
It was exactly that scenario—Great Powers going to war over conflicts between their small-state allies—that triggered World War I.
Fourth: While Islamic nations like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan wage war within their own borders, they will lack the resources—and incentive—to attack the United States.
Every dead Hizbollah and Al-Qaeda and ISIS member makes the United States that much safer. So does the death of every sympathizer of Hizbollah, Al-Qaeda and ISIS.
The peoples of the Middle East have long memories for those who commit brutalities against them. In their veins, the cult of the blood feud runs deep.
When Al-Qaeda blows up civilians in Beirut, their relatives will urge Hizbollah to take brutal revenge. And Hizbollah will do so. Similarly, when Hizbollah does, those who support Al-Qaeda will demand even more brutal reprisals against Hizbollah.
Al-Qaeda terrorists–now taking aim at Hezbollah terrorists
No American could instill such hatred in Al-Qaeda for Hizbollah—or vice versa. This is entirely a war of religious and sectarian hatred.
In fact, this conflict could easily become the Islamic equivalent of “the Hundred Years War” that raged from 1337 to 1453 between England and France.
When Adolf Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, then-Senator Harry S. Truman said: “I hope the Russians kill lots of Nazis—and vice versa.”
That should be America’s position whenever its sworn enemies start killing off each other. Americans should welcome such self-slaughters, not become entrapped in them.
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In Business, History, Politics, Social commentary on August 30, 2017 at 1:54 am
On August 25, Hurricane Harvey smashed into Texas with torrential rain and winds of 130 mph.
Within three days, thousands of homes were flooded and hundreds had to be rescued from rising flood waters.
Rain-flooded streets in South Texas
And Texas United States Senator Rafael Edward “Ted” Cruz quickly requested full-fledged Federal relief for his state.
But in 2012, Cruz voted three times against federal aid for victims of Hurricane Sandy.
Then he reversed himself in 2013, by seeking “all available resources” for victims of the April 17 explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, McLennan County, Texas.
The blast killed 13 people, wounded about 200 others, and caused extensive damages to surrounding homes.
In October, 2012, Hurricane Sandy had killed about 150 people and caused an estimated $75 billion in damage across the Northeast.
The Republican legislator stood foursquare against the Sandy Aid Relief bill, claiming that it was loaded with “pork”:
“Hurricane Sandy inflicted devastating damage on the East Coast, and Congress appropriately responded with hurricane relief,” said Cruz.
“Unfortunately, cynical politicians in Washington could not resist loading up this relief bill with billions in new spending utterly unrelated to Sandy.
“Emergency relief for the families who are suffering from this natural disaster should not be used as a Christmas tree for billions in unrelated spending, including projects such as Smithsonian repairs, upgrades to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration airplanes, and more funding for Head Start.”
Another Republican, Rep. Bill Flores, who represented West, McLennan County, also voted against the Sandy relief package. But this didn’t stop him from requesting federal aid for the disaster in his home district.
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas)
According to PolitiFact, “A big portion of the $17 billion in ‘immediate’ assistance, more than $5 billion, went to replenish FEMA’s disaster relief fund, which may fund relief from future disasters.”
Furthermore, Rick Ungar, writing at Forbes, pointed out that the “pork” came from having to bribe red state Republicans-–including Texas—to get the package passed over their filibuster:
“However, as it turns out, the pork portions of the Senate bill were not earmarked to benefit Democratic members of the upper chamber of Congress….
“The answer can be found in a quick review of the states that are set to benefit from the Senate’s extra-special benevolence—states including Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana.” All of these have solid Republican constituencies.
In fact, Texas had the most FEMA-declared disasters since the start of 2009, according to a September 29, 2011 article in iWatch News
“Eleven Republican U.S. senators who represent the states with the most FEMA-declared disasters since the start of 2009 voted against a bill designed to keep the agency’s disaster relief fund from running out of cash.”
“The top two states, Texas and Oklahoma, combined for more than a quarter of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s declared disasters since Jan. 1, 2009.”
Yet the hypocrisy didn’t end there.
“The nation’s number one resource is its workers,” said Keith Wrightson, safety expert at Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group. “But the agency that’s charged with protecting them is not given the resources to do it. I think it’s worrisome for the nation.”
The West Fertilizer Company facility hadn’t been inspected by the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) since 1985, when the company was fined $30. Why did the facility go for almost 30 years without further inspections from OSHA?
As a small employer, the fertilizer facility may have been exempt from some forms of OSHA scrutiny. Years ago, Congress attached a rider to agency funding that forbids OSHA to perform inspections of workplaces with 10 or fewer employees and whose industries have low injury rates.
Lawmakers reasoned that small businesses shouldn’t have to shoulder the same costs of compliance as larger ones.
But smaller worksites aren’t necessarily less dangerous. According to safety advocates, small companies often have fewer resources to invest in worker safety and, with less government oversight, even less incentive.
On April 20, 2013, the damning news broke in a Reuters story:
“The fertilizer plant that exploded on Wednesday, obliterating part of a small Texas town and killing at least 14 people, had last year been storing 1,350 times the amount of ammonium nitrate that would normally trigger safety oversight by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).”
Explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, McLennan County, Texas
According to Reuters, West Fertilizer, the company that owned the plant, did not tell DHS about the potentially explosive fertilizer as it was required to do.
The DHS is a major regulator of ammonium nitrate-–which can also be used in bomb making. Thus, it was left totally unaware of the potential danger posed by the plant..
Fertilizer plants and depots must report to the DHS when they hold 400 lb or more of the substance. Filings this year with the Texas Department of State Health Services, which weren’t shared with DHS, show the plant had 270 tons of it on hand in 2012.
Recently called out for his efforts to deny aid to Hurricane Sandy victims, Cruz replied: “Well, you know, look. There’s time for political sniping later. I think our focus needs to be on this crisis.”
In short, it’s a crisis when it happens in his state, not when it happens elsewhere.
Bureaucracybuster's Blog 
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GEEZERS FOR GOVERNMENT
In Bureaucracy, History, Medical, Politics, Social commentary on November 24, 2025 at 12:06 amOn November 2, New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani surprised patrons at a gay night club when he stopped by to campaign at 1 am.
Five hours later, he walked across the Brooklyn Bridge at 6 am.
On the social media platform, Bluesky, a post took notice of this:
“To anyone who’s been awestruck by Zohran’s campaigning stamina in being able to end his night at a gay bar at 1 am and then walk across the Brooklyn Bridge at 6 am….
“This is what happens when you don’t have 76 year old candidates running for office.”
Zohran Mamdani is 34.
Zohran Mamdani
Dmitryshein, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
On July 4, 1776, representatives of the original Thirteen Colonies met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to affix their signatures to Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence.
In July, 1776, the ages of key American Revolutionary figures were:
Signing of the Declaration of Independence
Youth was a commonplace among the signers of the Declaration. Their average age was 44.
In the hit play (and later movie) 1776, several members of Congress—including Thomas Jefferson—are surprised to learn that John Adams—who’s 41—still “burns” for his wife Abigail, who’s waiting for him in Boston, Massachusetts.
Today, a nation that once prized youth among its leaders is now moving toward government by gerontocracy.
The average age of members of the House of Representatives is 57.9 years. In the Senate, it’s 64.3.
During 2024, the major Presidential contenders were:
A visit to the Soviet Union in the twilight of its 74-year existence reveals where the United States is heading.
In May 1982, 75-year-old General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, suffered a severe stroke. He had ruled the U.S.S.R. since 1964, but by the early 1980s he was essentially a figurehead. On November 10, 1982, he finally died of a heart attack.
The Kremlin
Succeeding Brezhnev was Yuri Andropov, 69, who until May, 1982, had been chief of the KGB.
Andropov suffered from kidney failure and was often on dialysis. By December, 1983, after barely more than a year in office, he was totally bedridden. On February 9, 1984, he joined Brezhnev at the great Party Congress in the sky.
Andropov had realized that the Soviet Union needed a younger and more energetic ruler. Not long before he died he suggested that Mikhail Gorbachev, his aide, succeed him.
But the Central Committee instead chose Konstantin Chernenko, who, at 72, was older than Andropov. On February 13, 1984, he became the U.S.S.R.’s third leader in a year and a half.
Suffering from emphysema, occasional heart failure and liver disease from alcohol, Chernenko died on March 10, 1985.
Only then did Kremlin rulers decide to choose a General Secretary who was likely to live more than one or two years. One day after Chernenko died, the Politburo chose Gorbachev, a relatively young 54.
Mikhail Gorbachev
RIA Novosti archive, image #850809 / Vladimir Vyatkin / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Gorbachev survived to retire as President of the Soviet Union on December 25, 1991.
So what does this mean for old men and women seeking the White House?
According to Dr. Michael Roizen, Presidents effectively age twice as fast while in office. Roizen, a chief wellness officer at the Cleveland Clinic and co-founder of RealAge.com, bases his opinion on his research of medical records of previous presidents, back to Theodore Roosevelt.
“The main cause is what we call unrequited stress—they don’t have enough friends to mitigate the stress. The major way most of us handle stress is through a number of techniques, but the most prominent way is to discuss it with friends.
“The problem with presidents is, some of them lose friends, and the closest friend they have is usually the spouse.”
Thus, a person who has been president eight years has the risk of disability or dying of someone who is 16 years older. When you’re already in your late 60s or early 70s, that doesn’t give you much room for risk-taking.
Of course, given America’s Politically Correct social norms, pointing out the disadvantages of combing extreme age with extreme pressure is taboo for many persons.
Julian Castro found this out when, in a debate, he questioned Joseph Biden’s mental acuity.
“In a cultural way, it shocked me,” said Gerson Borrero, a New York City political commentator. “We respect our elders—there may be a point where we smile at their ‘disparates’ (gaffes), but at the same time we stay respectful.”
As the United States approaches the 2028 Presidential election, the perils of gerontocracy loom even larger: Donald Trump has “hinted” he wants to run for a third term in 2028.
Even if he weren’t barred from a third term by the Constitution’s 22nd Amendment, he would be 82 years old when he took office in 2029.
FBI agents have a mandatory retirement age of 57. Airplane pilots must retire at 65. Air traffic controllers must leave at 56.
It’s past time to bring a mandatory retirement age to members of Congress and the Presidency.
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