tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208928.post4536404488140331031..comments2024-03-29T03:16:05.261-04:00Comments on Start Making Sense: Major landmarkDaniel Shavirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14710628584922961682noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208928.post-70833884175844084892007-05-12T17:15:00.000-04:002007-05-12T17:15:00.000-04:00Happy (slightly belated) birthday!Happy (slightly belated) birthday!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12094275209278752558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208928.post-1592903190058976682007-05-11T14:45:00.000-04:002007-05-11T14:45:00.000-04:00That's depressing, Anonymous. I had forgotten tha...That's depressing, Anonymous. I had forgotten that I am now eligible to join AARP. But once you reminded me, I went to their website to check into the discounts. It was hard to tell how much is really there, although certainly joining is pretty cheap.<BR/><BR/>Would/should I join AARP if the benefits more than pay for the membership fee? I'd have to think about that. Certainly I don't line up with them on entitlements policy or on the question of whether affluent seniors should bear some share of the burden implicit in addressing the fiscal gap. Then again, a reverse version of the voting paradox applies here - how much difference does one person's joining make?<BR/><BR/>When it comes to actual voting, I have ceased to honor the voting paradox in recent years, figuring that, when there are candidates I despise, the expressive act gives me a sufficient emotional payoff to justify the time spent. But there are certainly institutions in this world, and indeed in the U.S. political system, a lot worse than than the AARP.<BR/><BR/>When and if Bushism / Rovism is finally defeated and as a serious fiscal crisis nears, the AARP will rise on my negatives list, relative to the list as a whole, simply by staying in the same place. But until then, what may keep me from joining is simply the cognitive dissonance. I still don't quite feel fifty, and I'd like to think I don't look it either.Daniel Shavirohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14710628584922961682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9208928.post-62753617564410311652007-05-11T12:54:00.000-04:002007-05-11T12:54:00.000-04:00Congratulations on now qualifying for AARP discoun...Congratulations on now qualifying for AARP discounts! :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com