WHAT'S NEXT?

Can't believe it, but summertime is here in Southern California with temperatures in the 80's -- pushing 90 degrees in record February heat.   We're all wondering what happened to our El Nino rains?   Something about a high pressure system pushing the storms to the northern part of California as instead we're receiving dry hot high winds..

That's just fine as long as they keep dumping snow in the four mountain ranges -- Shasta Cascade, Klamath-Siskiyous, Sierra Nevada, and the Coastal Mountain Range -- all together said to be a total of 138 mountains more or less.   Snowmelt from those Sierra Nevada mountains  provide many of us a portion of the water we rely on as described here.    Now weather predictors tell us El Nino's rains will come the end of February and in March -- we'll see!

Last Weekend I checked out my local area strawberry patch as February had been the earliest I had ever known those addicting luscious red fruits to be ripened for sale.   Not only was the stand open, but they had first begun selling berries this year in December -- just before Christmas!   Had I only known I would have been their first customer.   One more indicator of our climate changing.

I continue to wonder what's next in this political year as candidates have rigorously pursued voters, first in Iowa and next in New Hampshire.  Now they're off to South Carolina with their numbers not winnowed down enough to suggest who would actually receive their political party's nomination though both major political parties have unexpected front runners.   Rumbling in the background continues that a possible third party candidate may join the fray if he doesn't like the two major party finalists selected.

So far this rather unorthodox election campaign has resulted in an increase in the number of election primary voters.  More citizens fulfilling the voluntary responsibility expected of those of us  living in our democracy/republic is encouraging.   Pundits, candidates and voters are finding not much is predictable which makes this election of interest to more people, I think.  

I  know what principles, political issues and plans to resolve our nation's problems are important to me.  I know the candidates whose views I can most closely share presently.  But we have many more election primaries in the months ahead as each candidate tries to effectively express themself to convince voters to select them.  The bottom line is the candidate in each party who becomes their party nominee needs to be electable!  

I don't think Madeline Albright and Gloria Steinem did their candidate and women voters  any favors by suggesting we should vote on the basis of gender.   Coming from an older generation, cognizant first hand of gender discrimination, I do understand the intent of their words.  But, frankly, I was offended, and I think many younger generation women might be resentful, too.  Hopefully, the candidate won't be penalized by voters.    

Some pundit discussions I've heard have included observations that democracies around the world are being clobbered by extremist anti-establishment candidates.  The world is truly in a state of flux and our nation is not an exception.  What could this mean for our future?