FROG HOSPITAL -- February 3, 2019
By Fred Owens
What's
the Hurry? Democrats are in a big rush to condemn Howard Schultz
because he wants to be the next president. Schultz is on a book tour and
giving interviews. He's got some ideas and I would like to spend a week
or two thinking about that.
At first glance Schultz steals votes
from the Democrats, but are we so sure about that? The case can be made
that he steals votes from Trump.
Schultz
is Trump without the embarrassment. Schultz is not a bankrupt who
sleeps with porn stars. Schultz actually made his own money without a
boost from his Daddy. Schultz does not wake up at 5 a.m. and write nasty
Tweets. Schultz does not consort with white nationalists. He is not allied with
Christian fundamentalists. I'll bet he even reads books. He has been
known to apologize and admits his mistakes.
And if there were only two jobs left in country and you
had to pick one -- would you work for Trump or Schultz? ... Well, you
could do worse than work for Starbucks.
He
is exploiting the gap, that yawning hole in the center between Kamala
Harris and Trump, space that is not currently occupied. That's called
opportunism. Businessmen like Schultz exploit opportunities and fill
unmet needs. That's how they make money. He's the Good Billionaire,
although that title is more rightly claimed by Bill Gates and Warren
Buffet, whom everybody likes because they give money away and don't run
for office.
Not
Schultz. He no sooner opened his mouth and they started throwing bricks
at him. Look, I am not endorsing this guy, I just say it's early in the
game and give him a chance. Schultz is especially despised in Seattle
because he used to own the Seattle Sonics but sold that basketball team
to Oklahoma City. Oklahoma! Yes, they hate him in Seattle. But do you
think the rest of the country cares about that? Ask somebody in Ohio
about Howard Schultz and they will say who? Oh, the guy who owns
Starbucks. That guy. Yeah, they make a good latte.
So it's not the end of the world if Schultz runs as an independent. It is not a gift for Trump. It is too early to panic.
I got this note from a Frog Hospital reader, a retired nurse who lives in Los Angeles She wrote, "Just heard about Howard Schultz and am thrilled that
there actually exists a centrist Independent willing to buck the
Democrat machine and run for president."
So I had to think about that.
New Orleans in 1967
In
the early winter of 1967, Mark Mikolas and I both dropped out of school
at the University of Toronto. We decided to hitchhike to the Haight
Ashbury in San Francisco, and do that by way of Mexico City. So we
packed our bedrolls and headed for Chicago and stayed with my folks for a
few days. They were concerned about this careless journey but they
ultimately endorsed it.
We
headed south, thumbs out, through Mississippi on the way to New
Orleans. Long-haired hippies like us had some trepidations about
hitching through Mississippi in 1967. A cop picked us up on the north
side of Hattiesburg. He said get in the car, pointing to the back seat.
Not you're under arrest, just get in the car, and he meant this in a
friendly way. He drove us across Hattiesburg asking questions about our
journey, where we were going and where we were from. I guess he wanted
to find out if we were communist agitators or just two young white boys
out on a lark. I guess he thought we were all right as long as we kept
going, and he dropped us off on the south side of town.
The
next stop was New Orleans. We got there in the evening and the friend
of a friend of a friend who was going to put us up demurred at the
opportunity of our company. But he pointed to the park across the
street, Audobon Park, and said he would sleep in that field. That
sounded all right. We spread out our bedrolls and fell asleep to the
sound of barking seals -- because it was right near the zoo.
We
slept good that evening and into the morning. At sometime past eight
the cops came, driving right across the field and they said get in the
car, although this time not smiling. We were under arrest for sleeping
in the park. But no handcuffs, just get in the back seat. They said we
had to pay a fine of $25 each. We said do you take travelers checks.
They said no, but they drove us to a small grocery store nearby. We
cashed a fifty dollar check, gave the cops the money and they let us go.
That was a little scary. So we left New Orleans right then and there.
We decided Mardi Gras just wasn't our party. Onward to Houston, then
Laredo and then across the border to Mexico City.
We
slept in more than a few parks on that journey, but we always got up at
the crack of dawn after that, because if you sleep in til half-past
eight you're a bum.
Twenty Years. Frog Hospital is celebrating 20 years of
publication in 2019. Over 700 issues and some of them were pretty good. Our
Credo has always been tell the truth and don't waste people's time -- meaning
keep it interesting. We have done that. And we plan to keep going. Our motto is
Onward!
Frog Hospital Blog There are more than 900 posts on the Frog Hospital blog going back through the years. Somebody of these old posts are still vital. Take a look.
Frog Hospital Blog There are more than 900 posts on the Frog Hospital blog going back through the years. Somebody of these old posts are still vital. Take a look.
have a good day,
Fred
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