Time to put some out to pasture.

If Joe Biden runs and wins a second term of president, he’ll be in his final lame duck period as he turns 86. I’ve been around enough people of advanced age to know that most are mentally sharp till they’re 85ish, though slower physically. Most, however, are displaying mental declines by the time they’re 90. No candidate for president should be older than 82 when Election Day comes (Biden will be 82 when he takes office for a second term).

Yes, I’m ageist on that point. Similar rules should apply in the three branches of the federal government. So who’s the oldest?

Dianne Feinstein returned to the Senate yesterday, still recovering from shingles. In a month, she’ll be 90. She plans to work a light workload. Maybe she should just leave.

Three months younger is Senator Grassley.

There’s a few nearly as old in the House.

So those 7 are too old and should leave at the end of their current terms. Yes, they wield real power on committee assignments but it’s best to leave before any signs of mental deterioration occur.

Nancy Pelosi and Jim Clyburn are right on the cusp now too and Pelosi intends to run again.

By comparison, the Supreme Court members are way younger. The oldest is Clarence Thomas at 74. He’s approaching 32 years on the court. In 4 years, he’ll be the longest serving SCOTUS judge in history.

There have been others who overstayed their mental capacity, such as Strom Thurmond, a South Carolina senator who served till June 2003 when he was 100. He spent the last 15 years of his Senate career groping women and in his last 10 years, it was well known by Senate staff that he was a figurehead, with his staff doing all the work because many screws were loose upstairs by then.

One more picture: Is this the latest install at Mme Tussaud's Whacks Museum or just some weird sicko's Worst Diorama in recorded history? I dunno.

Grassley or his bust is being patted by the wax likeness of Senator Lady Bugsy (R-SC)

It’s understandable that young people don’t feel at all connected to most of these geezers and choose not to vote. But the real way to fix it is for them to start running for office much earlier. A 25 year old can run for the House and at 30, for the Senate.

If we’re going to get the meaningful stuff passed to protect women’s rights and LGBTQ rights, to get necessary police reform and to really tackle climate change, more young adults are gonna have to step up quick. If you’re young, don’t complain…. run for office.

Why do some federal government elective officeholders work so long past normal retirement age? Why do voters enable them?

( I inadvertently limited some comments on this newsletter. I apologize for that error.)