Mitch McConnell freezes for the second time publicly:

[ADigitalArtist]

I don't want any 5 year olds holding elected office, for obvious reasons of their mental capacity. With upper age limits that logic gets harder to apply, because there is no upper age at which everyone is clearly incapable of holding public office.

Most politicians don't die in office, so I'm not sure how pressing that concern is. Interesting food for thought, though.

That's why I mentioned most age minimums aren't the legal adult age. It's usually around 30 for most public offices. Way beyond being a legal adult. Any such age limit is going to be inherently arbitrary to some degree. But it's still a necessary consideration, imo.

Most politicians don't die in office I think because most political offices don't have lifetime term limits, tbf. Maybe we shouldn't have any with those. But thaaaat's another topic.

Right now the average age of the senate being 63 is appalling to me. Nobody that's going to live to see the result of long term policy decisions.

 

[Left Coast]

That's why I mentioned most age minimums aren't the legal adult age. It's usually around 30 for most public offices. Way beyond being a legal adult. Any such age limit is going to be inherently arbitrary to some degree. But it's still a necessary consideration, imo.

Point taken.

Most politicians don't die in office I think because most political offices don't have lifetime term limits, tbf. Maybe we shouldn't have any with those. But thaaaat's another topic.

That's true. Though even for those offices where people could serve for their whole lives, the norm seems to be retirement or getting defeated in an election. I think that's mainly because people don't want to work forever, or recognize at a certain point they're too weak, tired, etc. for the job.

Right now the average age of the senate being 63 is appalling to me. Nobody that's going to live to see the result of long term policy decisions.

That really doesn't bother me in itself. I want Senators to be highly experienced people with impressive resumes. To obtain that, you've gotta have years of relevant education and professional experience under your belt. Most 30 year olds just don't.

 

[Yazata]

I oppose age limits for public office. As long as a person is still sharp, it doesn't matter if they aren't as spry as they used to be. If that wasn't so, why are blind people and people in wheel chairs allowed to hold public office?

But that being said, I could strongly support all candidates for public office over a certain age being required to take a cognitive exam with the results made public for the voters to know. (I'd love to see the results of Biden's.)

 

[Firenze]

A person of Integrity would retire for the good of the Nation. But this is a Nation run by old white men.

 

[We Never Know]

A person of Integrity would retire for the good of the Nation. But this is a Nation run by old white men.

And women

 

[Yazata]

And non-whites

 

[ADigitalArtist]

That really doesn't bother me in itself. I want Senators to be highly experienced people with impressive resumes. To obtain that, you've gotta have years of relevant education and professional experience under your belt. Most 30 year olds just don't.

Impressive resumes don't really impress me when the education and experience they had is decades out of date. I'm still depressed over the Tiktok hearings and how woefully uneducated our leaders actually are, and how easily they fall sway to dinosaurian McCarthyisms.

But again, another topic.

 

[Left Coast]

Impressive resumes don't really impress me when the education and experience they had is decades out of date. I'm still depressed over the Tiktok hearings and how woefully uneducated our leaders actually are, and how easily they fall sway to dinosaurian McCarthyisms.

But again, another topic.

There's no perfect selection mechanism. Like any career, politicians have to stay up to date with current trends in society and in their field. And Congress can surely do better at that. But I'm generally going to favor hiring someone for a job who has more experience rather than less experience. 60 year olds have had a 30 year head start to climb the professional ladder and attain high-level leadership positions that 30 year olds haven't.

This is also why I don't vote for people to be Senator or President who have never served in public office. They simply don't have the requisite knowledge and experience of how government works from the inside to hold a position with that much power. That's part of why Trump's transition to power was such a mess. He and his team didn't even realize how many different staff positions in the White House they'd have to replace, so they were behind the curve from the start.

 

[ADigitalArtist]

There's no perfect selection mechanism. Like any career, politicians have to stay up to date with current trends in society and in their field. And Congress can surely do better at that. But I'm generally going to favor hiring someone for a job who has more experience rather than less experience. 60 year olds have had a 30 year head start to climb the professional ladder and attain high-level leadership positions that 30 year olds haven't.

This is also why I don't vote for people to be Senator or President who have never served in public office. They simply don't have the requisite knowledge and experience of how government works from the inside to hold a position with that much power. That's part of why Trump's transition to power was such a mess. He and his team didn't even realize how many different staff positions in the White House they'd have to replace, so they were behind the curve from the start.

I agree with you to a large extent, but I would gladly vote someone in their 40's who has held public office over someone in their 70's who has held public office, all platforms being equal. There's no continuing education requirements for politicians like doctors and attorneys (maybe something else to consider) and I'm more concerned with relevent knowledge to current events and proposals around it than I am how many years they've served in general.

We need more young blood in government. People who are going to feel the effects of their decisions, and who were not insulated from the effects of their predacessors.

 

[Left Coast]

I agree with you to a large extent, but I would gladly vote someone in their 40's who has held public office over someone in their 70's who has held public office, all platforms being equal. There's no continuing education requirements for politicians like doctors and attorneys (maybe something else to consider) and I'm more concerned with relevent knowledge to current events and proposals around it than I am how many years they've served in general.

We need more young blood in government. People who are going to feel the effects of their decisions, and who were not insulated from the effects of their predacessors.

I agree, depending on which public offices each of them have held and for how long. If the 40 year old has only been a dog catcher, and the 70 year old has been a governor and member of Congress...yeah, the 70 year old wins for me there (this is ignoring their actual policy positions, obviously).

At this point, even a 50 year old in the Senate is "young blood." So I agree, it would be great for experienced, competent younger folks to be in government. But resumes do matter.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Yup. Driver's license should be periodically require a driving test. Accidents and stuff happen and there is just no reason to assume being young means you can while being old means you can't.
Actually testing for ability I do believe is the only fair way to do, along with term limits for all elected positions.

Along with a nice hefty fee and surcharges to boot for the government coffers to pay for *cough* processing of course.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Not my fault of you deny facts with video evidence. But you do live her state.

Like I said even the youth get confused. What presented is no evidence or suggestion of something to be concerned with or not. It could be a momentary mental fog brought on by some condition that is of no concern.
Now, if you look at what has been explained amd provided by others you'll see there is a conflicting viewpoint. One sourced, one based on the anecdotals of others. And then theres you with a claim and others doing more explaining and providing evidence despite that burden not being theirs.
Now, why should I consider your little inputs when you won't defend or explain? "Here, watch it." No, that's not an effective way to convey a message because where you see certainty I see questions and a need for more information. Information you have thus far been reluctant to provide.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Along with a nice hefty fee and surcharges to boot for the government coffers to pay for *cough* processing of course.

Whatever.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Lmao. At a vote she is so confused when its her time to vote, she starts reading a paper and has to be told its a vote and told to vote aye by an aid but still confused she is told again by another senator to vote aye so she would know to vote aye.

It is clip taken out of context so your claim that she was confused is not necessarily accurate. I do believe I posted an article that had an explanation. I am not sure if I but it myself. But you cannot judge by one action. Also note, she recovered extremely quickly in that clip. We did not see that with McConnell. if she does it again then you might have something. But right now you only have a nothing burger.

 

[We Never Know]

It is clip taken out of context so your claim that she was confused is not necessarily accurate. I do believe I posted an article that had an explanation. I am not sure if I but it myself. But you cannot judge by one action. Also note, she recovered extremely quickly in that clip. We did not see that with McConnell. if she does it again then you might have something. But right now you only have a nothing burger.

Lol. There's more out there. All one has to do is look.
After being gone for 3 months with shingles upon returning and asked about her absence she replies....

"Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California insisted that she had not been absent from the Senate when asked about it by reporters on Tuesday, according to Slate and the Los Angeles Times.

"No, I haven't been gone," she told the Times' Ben Oreskes on Tuesday when asked how her Senate colleagues have responded to her return. "You should follow the — I haven't been gone, I've been working."

Oreskes then asked her whether she had been working from home.

"No, I've been here. I've been voting," she said. "Please, you either know or don't know."

.......

Feinstein has long faced questions surrounding her ability to serve, owing to both her health and a series of public lapses in her cognitive abilities.

Insider asked the senator in December why she had decided not to seek the position of Senate president pro-tempore , a role that typically goes to the longest-serving senator from the majority party.

Feinstein appeared unaware that she had already issued a statement through her office on the matter, prompting an aide to intervene.

"Okay, well then, I guess it's out," said Feinstein at the time.

Dianne Feinstein says she hasn't 'been gone' despite lengthy absence

The 89-year-old senator was apparently confused when asked by a reporter on Tuesday about her nearly 3-month-long absence from the Senate.

www-businessinsider-com.cdn.ampproject.org

 

[Subduction Zone]

Lol. There's more out there. All one has to do is look.
After being gone for 3 months with shingles upon returning and asked about her absence she replies....

"Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California insisted that she had not been absent from the Senate when asked about it by reporters on Tuesday, according to Slate and the Los Angeles Times.

"No, I haven't been gone," she told the Times' Ben Oreskes on Tuesday when asked how her Senate colleagues have responded to her return. "You should follow the — I haven't been gone, I've been working."

Oreskes then asked her whether she had been working from home.

"No, I've been here. I've been voting," she said. "Please, you either know or don't know."

.......

Feinstein has long faced questions surrounding her ability to serve, owing to both her health and a series of public lapses in her cognitive abilities.

Insider asked the senator in December why she had decided not to seek the position of Senate president pro-tempore , a role that typically goes to the longest-serving senator from the majority party.

Feinstein appeared unaware that she had already issued a statement through her office on the matter, prompting an aide to intervene.

"Okay, well then, I guess it's out," said Feinstein at the time.

Dianne Feinstein says she hasn't 'been gone' despite lengthy absence

The 89-year-old senator was apparently confused when asked by a reporter on Tuesday about her nearly 3-month-long absence from the Senate.

www-businessinsider-com.cdn.ampproject.org

Now that is more substantial. And yes, it does appear that she has problems. The good news is that unlike McConnell, she has already announced that she is not running for reelection in 2024. so we have another year and a half of Feinstein. Since she is not in the upper ranks as McConnell is her apparent early onset dementia is not a threat to the country. I would like to see the process for her replacement work out naturally rather than almost handing it to the next person in line.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Lol. There's more out there. All one has to do is look.
After being gone for 3 months with shingles upon returning and asked about her absence she replies....

"Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California insisted that she had not been absent from the Senate when asked about it by reporters on Tuesday, according to Slate and the Los Angeles Times.

"No, I haven't been gone," she told the Times' Ben Oreskes on Tuesday when asked how her Senate colleagues have responded to her return. "You should follow the — I haven't been gone, I've been working."

Oreskes then asked her whether she had been working from home.

"No, I've been here. I've been voting," she said. "Please, you either know or don't know."

.......

Feinstein has long faced questions surrounding her ability to serve, owing to both her health and a series of public lapses in her cognitive abilities.

Insider asked the senator in December why she had decided not to seek the position of Senate president pro-tempore , a role that typically goes to the longest-serving senator from the majority party.

Feinstein appeared unaware that she had already issued a statement through her office on the matter, prompting an aide to intervene.

"Okay, well then, I guess it's out," said Feinstein at the time.

Dianne Feinstein says she hasn't 'been gone' despite lengthy absence

The 89-year-old senator was apparently confused when asked by a reporter on Tuesday about her nearly 3-month-long absence from the Senate.

www-businessinsider-com.cdn.ampproject.org

Now, why didn't you do that from the start?

 

[We Never Know]

Now, why didn't you do that from the start?

Your post was about how she does her job.

Does this reflect on her actual ability to do the job?

I showed you a video of her at her job, a simple vote, she was very confused and had to be told what to do, just vote aye(twice).

 

[wellwisher]

Mitch McConnell freezes, struggles to speak in second incident this summer

McConnell, 81, initially seemed to struggle to hear when asked at an event in Covington, Kentucky, about his views on running for reelection.

www.cnbc.com

This happened to my mother a few times towards the end of her life. It can be a sign of an impending stroke. It looks identical to the TIA's or Trans Ischemic Attacks that she would have. The person that has one is usually totally unaware of the event. Sadly (even though I do not like the man he is not the worst of all Republicans by a long shot) they need to start looking for a replacement for him soon.

Transient ischemic attack: Don’t ignore the warning

A transient ischemic attack is a medical emergency. Find out how to prevent a more severe stroke.

my.clevelandclinic.org

To me it looked like a brain fart, where your memory does not automatically recall for you.

When I was young; childhood into my teens, I used to have a type of social anxiety disorder, years before it was popular in medical science. I was comfortable with being among people, but interaction with some strangers would trigger a switch in my brain, between talking and thinking, causing me to stay stuck in thinking, and become sort of temporarily mute.

Some people are stuck on talk mode; don't think, with that being annoying, but not considered a pathology. But being stuck in think mode in social situations, creates pregnant pauses, which can make people feel uncomfortable. The fear of the switch activated and it becoming uncomfortable, was the primary source of my anxiety. I was often worried about the switch shutting off my voice, at awkward times, when I wanted to say something. Maybe it was a type of self censor, to avoid saying what was unfiltered, on the top of my mind; arrogant or mean.

I can sort of see Mitch, having a switch moment, which is fine among his close friends who know him, but which can become awkward to those who are not used to this, from a politician, whose living depends on talk mode.

 

[We Never Know]

To me it looked like a brain fart, where your memory does not automatically recall for you.

When I was young; childhood into my teens, I used to have a type of social anxiety disorder, years before it was popular in medical science. I was comfortable with being among people, but interaction with some strangers would trigger a switch in my brain, between talking and thinking, causing me to stay stuck in thinking, and become sort of temporarily mute.

Some people are stuck on talk mode; don't think, with that being annoying, but not considered a pathology. But being stuck in think mode in social situations, creates pregnant pauses, which can make people feel uncomfortable. The fear of the switch activated and it becoming uncomfortable, was the primary source of my anxiety. I was often worried about the switch shutting off my voice, at awkward times, when I wanted to say something. Maybe it was a type of self censor, to avoid saying what was unfiltered, on the top of my mind; arrogant or mean.

I can sort of see Mitch, having a switch moment, which is fine among his close friends who know him, but which can become awkward to those who are not used to this, from a politician, whose living depends on talk mode.

I think its was...
1. The concussion
2. His age

Had he been 50 when he hit his head IMO the effects wouldn't have been like they are now.