The Most-Annoying, Gobsmackingly Asinine Justification I Saw For Voting For Trump

This fellow is a Facebook Friend, but right now I want to dropkick him to New Caledonia. Should I Unfriend him? SOOOO STUPID!:

My fellow Americans,

I am but one person, who, like at present count, over 130 million others, let his voice be heard last evening. As we begin this journey into tomorrow, I offer you this:

I am a father, a brother, a Christian, bi-racial, a cousin, a neighbor, and a friend. In a word, I’m an American. Remember that as we move forward from today. I can’t begin, in my limited concept of language, to convey all the reasons some made the choice they made – and while others didn’t. I can, however, speak to my house.

I am lucky enough to have a job that provides for the things this life demands. I am lucky enough, to receive regular raises in that job. To date, since this current administration has taken office, I have received eight. In that time, regrettably, I, like so many others I have talked to – have found it harder and harder to make ends meet. I, through the grace of God have been able to keep the lights on, so to speak, but I have felt the tightening of the belt. This is the first time, in my adult life, that I have had such an experience.

I have a relative that was not born here. She, legally, immigrated to the land I call home, has made a life for herself here, and is a part of our family. I have watched, in recent times, those who cheat the system, seem to get a better handout than those who have resided here their entire lives.

On college campuses throughout America, a hatefulness (burning American flags, threats to Jewish students) has stemmed from the war. When I first joined the voting public, I was a registered Democrat. As I have journeyed through life, socially, I have become more of a moderate, and fiscally, conservative. This shift brought about a change in my party affiliation in recent years. Another deciding factor for the change has been, my perceived belief that one party deals much more in identity politics. As a member of one of those ‘tribes,’ I felt labeled. My question was – why are we not looking for an American answer?

What am I saying? For those whose party affiliation is not the same as the presumptive nominee – your worst fears did not materialize in 2016. I again believe, your worst fears will not materialize as a result of this election. I am ever hopeful that America, not demographics, will prosper in this new/old administration. I am ever hopeful that we as a people, can focus on our similarities, not our differences. I am ever hopeful that prosperity will return to the corners of our lives that has lost it in recent years.

Stay positive my friends. Different isn’t bad. Different isn’t evil. I have no hate/ill will toward those who disagree. My vote was not an attempt to do anything more than return this land to a better time. A time where I felt more productive, more financially sound – where the outlook of tomorrow was brighter.

If you are part of a group that has fear – know I hear you, know I care, but also know – prosperity for some is not prosperity for all. That is my hope. All. 

I chose to rise above demographics this election – and shoot for the greater good. I hope you will stay positive for that outcome as well – and we can together keep those appointed accountable for that achievement.

Let this be our prayer. 

All my love,

The Simplest Explanation

The big mystery this month is accounting for Trump's victory. Most of the explanations I've seen have so many counter-examples that they aren't persuasive. This essay has probably the simplest, most-useful explanation:

Despite the trauma and death of Covid and the isolation of lockdowns, from late 2020 to early 2021, Americans briefly experienced the freedom of social democracy. They had enough liquid money to plan long term and make spending decisions for their own pleasure rather than just to survive. They had the labor protections to look for the jobs they wanted rather than feel stuck in the jobs they had. At the end of Trump’s term, the American standard of living and the amount of economic security and freedom Americans had was higher than when it started, and, with the loss of this expanded welfare state, it was worse when Biden left office, despite his real policy wins for workers and unions. This is why voters view Trump as a better shepherd of the economy.

I think people will be shocked by what the Republicans have in store for them now!

The Erasure of History Has Already Started

@tadstoermer Colonial Williamsburg’s deletion of their ‘OurAmericanRevolution.org’ site—an invaluable, honest resource on the American Revolution’s complexities—feels like ‘obedience in advance’ to those who’d rather see history sanitized than examined. This was more than a website; it included crucial perspectives on slavery, Indigenous histories, and insights from leading historians. Now? Gone. This erasure isn’t accidental—it’s a warning. Are we about to see more sites, more resources, vanish in favor of a ‘comfortable’ narrative? Watch closely, folks, because history doesn’t disappear by itself. #honesthistory #colonialwilliamsburg #publichistory ♬ original sound - Tad Stoermer

I Updated My Yard Sign

First and Foremost

Election Day Night

I’m going to get up tomorrow morning and be the best damned anti-fascist I can be. The hell with this rule by lunatic traitors.

Chappell Roan - Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl

How Can Climate be Predictable if Weather is Chaotic?

Election Day

Just returned from morning walk around the neighborhood with Jasper. 

An unfamiliar homeless guy was tottering silently around the dumpster for nearby apartments. He looked way, way gone. 

A woman was picking up her “Harris for President” signs that had been torn down and tossed. I told her I was pleasantly surprised that I hadn’t seen ANY Trump signs in the neighborhood this election season. “No one would dare put up a Trump sign in THIS neighborhood,” she replied, as she reassembled her signs. And it’s true, this is the bluest precinct in the entire city, with 90% of the voters typically voting Democratic. 

Jasper and I passed by the neighborhood voting location. Two women with the “Cofer for Mayor” campaign chatted with approaching voters just outside the 100 foot limit signs out front. Things looked orderly.

The Inimitable James Carville

@realjamescarville

Professional Truth Tellers 🤦‍♂️ @politicon_news | Get tickets to Matt Tyrnauer's documentary "Carville: Winning Is Everything Stupid" at CarvilleDoc.com/tickets or through the link in my bio 🎬🍿 #politicstiktok #politicalnews #political #documentary #jamescarville #carville #politics #news #carvilledoc jamescarvilledoc #carvilledocumentary #politicstiktok #funny #fyp #foryou #bts #behindthescenes #politicon

♬ original sound - James Carville

Elon Musk’s America PAC Door Knockers for Trump

The abusive conditions under which Elon Musk’s America PAC Door Knockers for Trump work under in Michigan. Somehow you just knew it was going to be this way:

Muldrow and the rest of her canvassing group of roughly a dozen people had just been fired en masse, after WIRED reported that they had been tricked and threatened as part of Musk’s get-out-the-vote effort. Speaking publicly for the first time about her ordeal, Muldrow says that the canvassers in her group were fired with little explanation beyond a complaint that someone had spoken with the press. Many, including her, were still owed money. Muldrow had to find her own way home; others are still stranded in Michigan.

Getting to the Essence of it All

Getting to the essence of it all. Someone I know once told me “People keep saying Trump is a racist, but I don’t see that at all.” The guy keeps skating.

@convosfromtennessee These two absolutely crush it when talking about “white privilege” and how we simply give Trump a free pass for all the terrible shit he says and does because of it, a pass that noone else could ever get. #moveon #kamalaharris #white #whiteprivilege #fame #wealth #genz #fyp #greenscreenvideo #vanlathan ♬ original sound - A-Aron

They Are After Me

Jasper and I walked over to V and 19th Streets this evening. Jasper was keen to explore the neighborhood beyond, called Newton Booth: new smells, new dogs, and an expanse of lawns never visited before. I pulled him back. “It’s just too far away,” I said. Despite his pleading we began returning home. 

Passing the Broadway light rail station, a woman approached and asked, “Can I walk with you? I was over by the Catholic store, and I’m worried about all these black men. They are following me! I should have gotten on that light rail train. Should I have gotten on that light rail train? Can we walk, maybe towards the McDonalds? They are after me.” (She seemed to have a kind of nervous, paranoid energy. I looked around. There were several black men nearby. They were all shuffling along while looking at their shoes and didn’t reveal or express the slightest interest in her. I said, “It looks pretty safe right here.”) 

“Can we pray?” she said, and paused for a few seconds of prayer. 

“You don’t understand,” she said. “I have an envelope with money in it. Five thousand dollars! They know I have it!” (I wondered how anyone might know she had lots of cash?) “They’ve taken my purse and my car and my belongings” she said. (Who are ‘they’?) “I need a place to stay. I was staying in two motels in West Sacramento, but all they had there was cold water. The Econo Lodge was better, but they wanted a deposit.” 

“A deposit? I’m afraid I can’t help. I don’t have any money,” I said. (And it’s true, I rarely walk Jasper while carrying a wallet.) “No, you don’t understand,” she laughed, rolling her eyes. “I don’t want anything like money. I need to explain. I wish I had my wig with me. I’m quite the good looker!” (Really? Something seemed up with her teeth.) “Maybe I should find a place to couch surf?” she said. 

She continued: “My father is a billionaire. A billionaire! But he doesn’t let me take out more than a hundred – no, fifty - dollars a day.” (“Oh, so he’s just parsing out the money,” I said.) “Yes!” she replied. (Then I got distracted, because parsing was clearly the wrong word. What is the right word? English has so many words. I must be tired. It’s all this walking to reveal to Jasper a tantalizing new neighborhood.) 

“My father is one of those corrupt billionaires,” she said. (“Ah, a corrupt billionaire. Not one of those straight-arrow billionaires,” I thought.) “Yes, he tried to kill me in prison!” (“That’s interesting,” I thought. “Was it her prison cell or his prison cell? Or were they both in prison together? And why? Maybe it was all that close company? It can drive anyone bonkers.”) 

“What I really need is a place to stay,” she said. “Can we pray?” (And she paused for prayer again.) 

“I’m afraid I can’t help,” I repeated. So, she walked off to wait for the light rail train, surrounded by various inattentive but I assume menacing black men, and Jasper and I headed in the opposite direction for home, clearly not fully understanding her plight. 

(The well of human need is infinitely deep.)

The Concept of a Landfill