thependulumswings

There is the old adage, “the only thing constant is change.”  There is the new adage, “change is coming at you faster than ever.”

The old adage is proven correct daily.  The new adage remains debatable.

Tulsi Gabbard changed, at least she changed officially.  She formally announced Monday that given the mad shift to the far left in her party, she would no longer be a part of the Democratic Party.   Her beliefs aren’t contained in a neat box, but her core values seem mostly right of center.

She didn’t declare herself a Republican though. She did not yet, and maybe not ever.  For now, she’s independent.

This has been brewing for some time.  The announcement only formalized it.   The United States Army Reserve officer and political commentator served as the U.S. representative for Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021.  She attempted to gain the Democratic nomination for President in 2020.

Why is she still news?  It says here that she would make one fine VP candidate to go along with Ron DeSantis in 2024.  Imagine a conservative Republican picking an Independent as his running mate.  Now that would be a vote for the new adage ringing true.

Hawaii is a vote for the old adage.  It’s been brewing for some time as well.

Approximately 40 to 70 million years ago, the 137 islands of Hawaii began to form. Every island originated from multiple underwater volcanic eruptions. Magma burst from underneath the seafloor until it reached the ocean’s surface.

And, guess what.  It’s still forming as active volcanos still shape and reshape some of the newer islands in the chain.

Around the same time, give or take a mere 10 million years, about 66 million years ago a massive solar system body now known as the Chicxulub asteroid collided with Earth, excavating a massive 110-mile-wide impact crater in what would later become the Yucatan Peninsula.

This collision triggered a chain of cataclysmic events which, when combined with the devastation caused by the initial strike, wiped out 75 percent of all life on Earth.

Research that analyzed geological records from this traumatic period in our planet’s history, has revealed that the devastating impact may have triggered a “mega-earthquake” that lasted for weeks, or even months before subsiding.

That’s what you would call real climate change.  If you don’t believe us ask the next dinosaur you see walking around the face of the earth.

The Republican party actually reminds us of the fossils a bit.  Merriam-Webster’s first synonym explanation of the word is “one that has passed the peak of effectiveness or popularity.”

Take off Mitch McConnell’s glasses and what do you see?  Maybe you see words related to dinosaurs?  Dodo, fogy, old-timer, fuddy-duddy, mossback, stick in the mud, and stodge comes to mind.

Maybe change needs to come to the Republican Party faster than ever.  A return to conservative principles is in order and the presentation needs a makeover.

Gabbard as a running mate would not be a mega earthquake nor a MAGA earthquake, but it would be a fine start.