Harriet Tubman on the 20 dollar bill

Trump will go down in history as the worst president ever and it won’t even be close.  His presidency will also contain an asterisk because there is sufficient evidence to suggest that a foreign government meddled in the election to help him become president.  Not surprisingly, “45’s” favorite president appears to be #7, Andrew Jackson, one of the worst presidents, IMHO, in our nation’s history.  He supported the Indian Removal Act, the product of a land deal in which a minority of Cherokee ceded all tribal lands to the U.S. The deal was challenged and struck down by the Supreme Court. However, Jackson ignored the ruling (sound familiar?) and forced the “migration” of tens of thousands of Cherokee to Oklahoma. During this traumatic forced relocation march along what was known as the trail of tears, an estimated 4,000 Cherokees died.

And now Trump, in predictable fashion, is on the wrong side of history again.  During the Obama administration, Harriet Tubman was selected to replace Andrew Jackson on the 20 dollar bill by the year 2020.  It was high time for a women to represent on paper money and particularly an African-American one who was instrumental in saving the lives of hundreds of slaves through the Underground Railroad.  For most, the move to replace Jackson with Tubman on the 20 dollar bill is not in the least controversial, until Trump set in motion a plan that would delay this action until at least 2028, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin when questioned by MA Representative Ayanna Pressley.

Today, Democratic Presidential hopeful, Mayor Pete Buttigieg was asked in an interview with Robert Costa of the Washington Post whether he thought President Trump is a racist.  Buttigieg said that Trump’s words AND his actions indicate that he is.  And this latest move, in a sign of bad faith, defending Andrew Jackson, the architect of what many consider a genocidal policy toward native Americans, over an abolitionist and national hero, who risked her own life to save many others from a life a slavery is unconscienable but not surprising. It is very much in line with his defense of preserving civil war monuments, and supporting white supremacists, and is just one more exhibit to demonstrate that Trump is hell bent on fueling culture wars and erasing Obama’s legacy, which seems to be his only governing philosophy.

Specialty Ride Sharing Idea

I’m a little old school when it comes to ride sharing.  I’d rather take public transportation when I can, or walk wherever I am, or take a taxi, or maybe a shuttle service to and from an airport.  I’ve only ever taken Uber (or was it a Lyft?) a few times with others who arranged the ride.  I do have an Uber app, but have never used it, and frankly, embarrassingly, I don’t know how.  I’m sure I could figure it out, but it’s just that the idea is still a little strange to me.  I don’t fully trust these services.  True, they are cheaper, but there have been too many terrifying incidents with rogue drivers.  And for all the honest folks trying to make a living driving their OWN cars, they aren’t compensated very well, which in part accounts for why some drivers went on strike. You might counter with the fact that there are rogue taxi drivers too, but at least, or so it seems anyway, the taxi industry is better regulated and perhaps safer, albeit more expensive than a ride sharing service and less convenient and not as accessible or available. But this post isn’t about ride sharing vs. taxi.  It’s about a novel idea I have, at least I think it is novel, but who knows, maybe someone has already thought of it and put it into practice, however unlikely.  The idea is essentially, this: speciality rides.  Now stay with me.

Let’s say you miss that old 70’s car your parents drove, maybe it was a Chevy Chevette, remember that one? My mom owned a white four speed four door. It had a clutch so tight that I had to stand up and push it down with all my weight to shift.  And let’s say you need a ride, but you want THAT ride, a 70’s Chevette, or, I don’t know, it might be an  AMC Gremlin. There’d be an app for that and it would have car categories and you could order anything, like renting a car, only it’s a ride, but not just any kind of ride. Categories would include 70-80’s Japanese subcompacts – a Datsun B210 or Toyota Tercel.  Or you could pick British roadsters from the 70’s – a Jag, Austin Healy or an MG Midget, the car I learned to drive a stick on.  If you want to ride in style, why not a 70’s Chrysler Imperial, the one that’s as long as a boat or an 80’s Dodge Monaco.  You want a musical car, why not order up a Nissan Note or a Hyundai Sonata? Go ahead, have some fun! And here’s the twist, the driver picks you up, and YOU get to drive! It’s a brilliant idea, don’t you think?