Category Archives: Voting

America, American Politics, Diversity, Faith, Hope, Joy, Optimism, Voting

Exhaling After The Earthquake

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Allow me to holler from the rooftops a hearty “hell yeah” for the earthquake that hit the ballot boxes last Tuesday. The results of the mid-term elections were beyond my wildest dreams. We Americans voted in numbers that were, as they say, “too big to rig”. Ever since the results came in, I feel lighter and more relaxed and just… joyous. Full of hope for our country.

We did it!

One of the many things that I love the most about what we collectively did to begin this overdue reckoning and rebirth of America is that we now have a much more diverse pool of elected representatives. We have our first Muslim senator. Minnesota has its first female governer. Mississipi has it’s first Black senator, and Wisconsin our first Black governor. And those are just a few examples.

That said, I think it’s wise that we not take this humongous win for granted. To not become complacent and disengage from what is going on in our government even though it’s now going to be in more capable hands. Trump has been neutered but he’s still, for the next two years, assuming his medical conditions don’t do him in first, the President. Part of me worries there’s a shoe that’s going to drop. Like one that comes seemingly from out of nowhere. Perhaps an enemy of ours will use this brief moment in time where we’ve all breathed a huge sigh of relief and for just long enough our eyes will be off the prize and this enemy will strike.

I really can be a skeptic, can’t I? I suppose that’s the result ot 10 years of Trumpism and MAGA.

It occurred to me the other day that the entire decade of my 50’s has taken place in this polarized-by-MAGA “Christian” Nationalist alternate galaxy. Yet, I’ve got 70-some days until I turn 60, and I’m feeling like I owe it to myself to make the very most of it. Which is easier now that the clouds have begun to lift with the good guys winning and there is tangible hope on the horizon for my beloved America and it’s beautiful people. I’m exhaling now.

How about you?

Maybe I’ll step off my political soapbox on this blog for a bit and embrace a new term I learned this week: pronoia. It’s the opposite of paranoia. It’s the mindset of believing that the universe has got your back and is consipiring to bring good things to your life. Maybe pronoia is just another word for faith. Anyway, it fits in well with my general optimistic nature, which has been brutally challenged in the last 10 years. It needs tending to.

I took my pent up anxiety just before the mid-terms and channeled it into completing a thorough organization of all my craft supplies. It was a happy little distraction, a trip down memory lane, going through it all (old greeting cards, some pictures, and other do-dads), which I hadn’t anticipated. It’s all organized and waiting for me down in my rec room now. I’m all set to dig in and create to my heart’s content.

Before I leave you with the song that immediately came to my mind’s ear when I read the definition of the word pronoia, I want to share this snippet of something the author Kurt Vonnegut said to his wife one day that really amused me. For context, he had just told her that he was going out to the store to buy one envelope.

“Oh she says, well, you’re not a poor man. Why don’t you go online and buy 100 envelopes and put them in the closet? And so I pretend not to hear her. And I go out to get an envelope because I’m going to have a hell of a good time in the process of buying one envelope. I meet a lot of people. And see some great looking babies. And a fire engine goes by. And I give them the thumbs up. And I’ll ask a woman what kind of dog that is. And, and I don’t know. The moral of the story is-we’re here on earth to fart around. And, of course, the computers will do us out of that. What the computer people don’t realize, or they don’t care, is, we’re dancing animals. You know, we love to move around. And it’s like we’re not supposed to dance anymore.”

American Politics, Anxiety, Blogging, Creativity, Halloween, Life, Mental Health, Photography, Voting

And Now it’s November

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Hi. How is everyone doing?

This is the first original blog post I’ve written in a few weeks. Actually, since September.

I had an epiphany at the beginning of October. After almost a full year since I went through The “Artist’s Way” course, I “got” it. The “it” is that while writing is surely my first creative love, it can’t be my only one. I didn’t do a great job of honoring my creativity by regularly doing “Artist’s Dates” when I was going through the course, and I’ve recommited myself to them.

That doesn’t mean I went hog wild with arts and crafts projects since my last post. I did, however, spend time collecting things, primarily through indulging in my second favorite hobby, thrifting, to use for the craft projects in my head.

So I’ve got plenty to do, which is a good thing, considering the nervous energy I have about tomorrow’s mid-term elections. Distractions are going to be what will get me through till all votes are counted and winners have been declared.

How about you? Are you seeking distractions to keep from spiraling out like me?

This doesn’t mean I’m not hopeful about these elections. It just means I am worried about what we Americans are going to have to go through to ensure democracy prevails. I worry about the state election workers and their well-being and safety (remember what happened in Georgia with Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shay during the 2020 elections? Just horrible). I worry that people who don’t have white skin are going to be intimidated by agents of the federal government and their cheerleaders to not exercise their right to vote. I worry that violence will break out at polls across the country. And I worry about what could transpire between the time all votes are counted and the duly elected Congress is set to be seated.

I pray for the safety of the election workers and the voting public. and for us all to get through this no more scathed than we already are after this nightmare of an administration and the Trump sycophants in Congress have tried to have their way with us.

I pray that all of that “trying” to get their way with us, the American people, will be rewarded with an utter and complete rebuke of this adminstration and anyone who supported it in any way at all.

May the pendulum swing, as pendulums do, to the left.

As a result of this nervous energy I have about the mid-terms and what may follow, I’ve been trying to distract myself. I’ve been pouring my mental energy into work-work and my physical energy into work around this house. Ignoring the texts and emails that clog up my phone and my laptop with pleas to donate to political campaigns. I have already donated more than I ever have in this election season. I’m just ready for the whole process to be over and antsy to get to the part where we find out who won what races.

Distractions can be a good coping mechanism in these times, right?

Other recent distractions I’ve enjoyed include going to the movie theater with my sister-in-law a few Saturdays ago to see “Practical Magic 2”. It was the last weekend that our only local movie theater was going to be open. I knew it was going to be a long time before we got a chance to catch a movie together because of this. A couple of weeks prior, I watched the original “Practical Magic” at home. While I love both Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, it really wasn’t a good movie at all. It was silly and kind of all over the place. But the chemistry between these two actors was undeniable. So I wasn’t expecting “PM 2” to be much better. Funny thing is-we both really enjoyed this movie! Yeah, it was silly but it had so much heart and it featured good music (Brandi Carlile doing a Billy Joel song and sounding like Bette Midler?! Say what?). I highly recommend this movie, in particular if you are looking for a flick to watch with your favorite chicks. I think it’s streaming now.

Another recent distraction was putting together a “punny” Halloween costume. It was inspired by this gal I follow on Instagram (Liz on the Radio) who comes up with the most clever but simple costumes. I got myself a plain black sweatshirt and sweatpants, cut out images from little cereal bags, taped each one to a piece of cardboard, got out the fake blood and “decorated” my cereal bags with it. I then affixed the bloody cereal bags to my outfit using safety pins, and voila! I was a “cereal killer”. I only got a couple of pictures of myself in it, which were taken from a bit too far away to tell what I was, so I’m not sharing them here. Next year I’m thinking of going as a “deviled egg”, wearing yellow with a white jacket and devil horns on my head.

Did you dress up for Halloween this year? Or did you see any especially creative costumes out there in the wild?

I’ve also been using the camera on my phone more intentionally, as a way to keep myself grounded and present as well as distracted from all the overwhelm that is America these days.

I’ll leave you with a song I heard for the very first time yesterday while listening to https://www.thecurrent.org/. It seems pretty perfect for my mindset about Election Day tomorrow.

America, American Politics, Hope, Voting, Washington DC

“Small Potatoes”

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In case you haven’t seen or heard this, the current resident of the White House recently commented that the damage to the U.S. in the war he chose to embark on with Iran, was “small potatoes”.

Can you imagine? The 18 families grieving their loved ones who died in this debacle certainly don’t think this is “small potatoes”. What an insult. What an abhorrent thing to say or even to think. The man has no respect for anyone.

It is astonishing to me that his fat orange ass is still in his job. That in spite of all the damage he’s caused since he glided down that escalator, he gets to keep his job. It’s like, America, are you for real right now?

I believe that this issue, this war with Iran and his casual dismissal of the damage it’s caused and lives it’s taken, will be the last straw that will get people to the polls in November. You would have thought the last straw might have been the Epstein files, his tarrifs, or his insistence on desecrating the White House and the Kennedy Center. But disrespecting our troops and not having a plan to get them out of there…it’s gotta be the beginning of the end for this evil White House mafia’s reign, right?

The mid-terms are right around the corner-a mere 39 days away now, my fellow American friends. This is our chance to use the power we have and get these bums out of office and welcome in new, progressive energy. After we vote in people who can right this ship, just imagine what America can begin to look like. I believe the pendulum is going to swing harder than ever to the other side at this point. History is on our side.

Our job now is to get through to the mid-terms. Knowing there will be shenanigans, as the MAGA coalition is going to do all it can, legal or not, to thwart the will of the people. I don’t know about you, but I can’t not do anything at all to try to push things in the right direction between now and then. I recently found a company that you can puchase postcards from, which provides you with a list of names and addresses of people who tend to vote progessively, but do not have a history of voting in mid-term elections. I spent about an hour a few weeks back writing out 20 postcards and sending them out to American voters in about 4 different states, encouraging them to vote and signing with “Rhonda, from Osceola, WI”. The theory is that people are more likely to take action on something if they receive a handwritten note from another person. I encourage you all to do this. It’ll be a small way for you to stand up for a better America.

Here’s the website: https://www.signsofjustice.com

And let me leave you with a song with an important message from badass American musical icon, Sheryl Crow:

4th of July, America, Americana Music, Blogging, Community, Faith, Memories, Mental Health, Voting

Happy Birthday, America

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Happy Birthday to you, America, I guess.

Please forgive me for not feeling as enthusiastic about your special day as I did when you turned 200.

Of course, at the time, I was 9 years-old, living a safe, somewhat sheltered, comfortable life with my family in a small town in northern Minnesota. I rode my red, white, and blue bike in the 4th of July parade that year. Carefree and happy to celebrate you with my family and friends.

Let’s just say I’m conflicted about celebrating your birthday this time around. On one hand, I grieve for you and what you have become on account of three things: greed, hatred, and fear. On the other hand, I’m pissed at you. You got played so hard by our current administration and their allies and associates. Decisions you made and “truths” you were groomed to believe have put us in one hell of a mess.

Your flag, which is the greatest physical manifestation of who you are (next to the Statue of Liberty) has been used and abused by those seeking power over you and yours. You’ve allowed it to become sullied. Disrespected.

The people that thought you up are long gone now, but surely the state you are currently in was not their vision.

It’s time for you, (and me and you and you, and you), to start taking you more seriously and stop taking you for granted. One could argue it’s past time.

I can only speak for myself, but there are things that can be done to put you on the right track. Speaking up and speaking out in ways that feel authentic, staying informed about current events and sharing what you learn with others, and voting for candidates that most closely align with American values, like civil liberties and justice for all.

(Yes, I am a proud card-carrying member of the ACLU and you, my kind and smart readers, ought to consider financially supporting this vital organization).

My hope is that when you turn 251 next year, you will be in much better shape. I hope by then you will have weathered the storm that began in earnest in 1980 (with the election of Ronald Reagan) and picked up speed in 2025. That you will finally have realized in your soul that when we work together, we all benefit.

We can pause the news cycle to sit down and look at each other and figure out the best ways to get you in better shape. So you can continue on and be there, in all your glory, for generations to come. We must shine our brightest lights to lead the way for you to become who you were intended to be: a place where people are all on equal footing, the air and water is clean, tyrants are not tolerated, and other countries like yourself trust and believe in you.

Because I believe in you still.

As Senator Paul Wellstone from Minnesota said: “We all do better when we all do better”.

With Sincerity,

An American Woman

The song I’m sharing today is a cover of a famous Woody Guthrie song, which I think all of you are familiar with. The cover is done by an American rock band that I’m starting to dig more and more these days, My Morning Jacket.

Do yourself a favor and stop what you’re doing and revel in this masterpiece of a song, a loving ode to America.

American Politics, Anxiety, Climate Change, MidTermElections2022, Voting

Vote, Vote, Vote!

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I’m just one vote.

Each one of us, here in America, are but just one vote.

Let’s get over that, shall we? Because if there’s justenough of those with the “I’m just one vote” mindset who uses that as their free pass to sit one out this week here in the U.S., we are doomed.

In my opinion, anyway. Not that you asked for it, but you know I’m going to give it regardless. This is my blog and the mid-term elections are going to be consequential.

What is your plan to vote this election season? Before work, after work, on your lunch break? After you drop the kids off at school or first thing in the morning? Or maybe you’re ahead of me and have already voted absentee or via mail in ballot. If you don’t have a plan, please, for the love of American democracy, make one now. One that will work for you, whatever your circumstances may be.

Time is of the damn essence here, friends. Our future, and more importantly, the future of generations under us (for me, that’s Milennials and Gen Z) is on the fucking line.

Anyway, that’s how I see it.

I am voting straight blue, so that:

  • Roe v. Wade can (finally) be codified into law. It just blows my mind that SCOTUS took women’s bodily autonomy away from them after 50 years.
  • More will be done legislatively to address gun violence in this nation.
  • Climate change can be comprehensively addressed, providing scores of American workers with jobs in the clean energy field and protecting Mother Earth against further destruction.
  • We have a shot at leveling the playing field when it comes to taxes; the rich paying their fair share and the not-so-rich getting fair tax breaks.
  • Social Security, not an entitlement program, but one we all pay into as workers, will remain in place.
  • Our LGBTQ+ citizens can retain their right to marry and adopt children.
  • American educational institutions will be supported and not become further eroded.
  • Access to health care can expand and costs can be reined in so our seniors and others with health issues can afford their prescription meds and co-pays. No one in this country should have to choose between paying their utility bill or getting their health care needs met.

I’m nervous as hell about these mid-term elections. I suspect some of you are as well.

Let’s all do our part and get to the polls on Tuesday!

2020 Presidential Race, American Politics, Climate Change, Compassion, Hope, Positivity, Spirituality, Voting

After November 3rd 2020

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I refer to former Vice President Biden as “The Bridge” because that is how I see him.

Assuming he wins the election, it doesn’t seem likely he will have two terms as POTUS to me, given his age. But I think of him as “The Bridge” that will get us from the shitty place we are in as a country to a better place. He’s going to get the ball rolling, with the help of Kamala and all the other smart and capable people he will put in his cabinet.

Then after his 4 year term is done, the torch will be passed to someone who will continue Joe’s legacy.

Here’s what I’m hoping to see once (fingers and toes crossed) Joe and Kamala are in their new jobs:

Everyone gets masks, hand sanitizer, easy access to free and reliable Covid-19 test kits, a vaccine, and clear health education and guidance (supported by the administration) from the world’s top health experts. Like…Yay Science!

So that’s quite obviously Job #1.

Then we will see them utilize our DNA scientists. To use DNA kits on each one of those over 500 immigrant kids living in detention centers. Get a whole team of smart IT folks to work collaboratively on matching them with the DNA of their relatives. Engage mental health professionals and social workers to be the supports that are needed to reunite the families and guide them through getting set up as a family unit together, whether it be in the U.S. or their home country. Wherever the families choose to begin their lives together anew is where they will land.

They will get “BidenCare” up and running. They will make sure that health insurance does not have to be tied to employment. But if you have health insurance via your employment and you’re happy with your plan and your health care providers, you can keep it. Additionally, our new administration will make sure our out of pocket costs for medical care (including mental health and those complementary services like chiropractic care) are as low as they can possibly be. Whether we keep our health insurance through our employment or we choose the public option.

The new administration will incentivize Americans to pay more attention to climate change. To accept it as fact. To make it easier to recycle, standardizing the process across the whole country. It will bring jobs, man! As will switching to solar energy!

The Biden/Harris administration will address racial injustice and reform how we do policing in this nation. Cops will be partnered w/social work and/or mental health professionals for the majority of calls. President Biden will install a “pit bull” as AG to oversee this.

These are the things I pray for on the daily. You can call me a bleeding heart liberal, a snowflake, whatever. That is not going to stop me from hoping and praying for a better future for all Americans.

****Header image courtesy of https://fourseasons.teleioscn.org/blog/good-grief-1-0-1-0-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

2020 Presidential Race, American Politics, Climate Change, Education, Hope, Voting

Dear Undecided And Non-Voting Americans

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I know some of you personally. That is why I’m writing this letter. Because I care about you. I want good things for you. Sometimes it helps to hear the advice of someone in your life that you didn’t know you needed to hear. The unsolicited variety.

I’m going to cut to the chase here. You need to vote in this election. I know you say you’re not “political”. You tell me that you’re confused. Your ears and eyes pick up bits and pieces of what the candidates are doing and saying but your life so busy you haven’t had time to process it all. You brain is full of other things that feel more important to you. Your kids. Your job (or lack thereof). Your spouse. Trying to follow all the Covid-19 restrictions and maybe worrying about the health of those who are not.

You’re doing the best you can to get through each day. You’ve got a good heart. And you are smart. And you can think for yourself.

But. The man who is elected President in another couple of weeks is going to impact your life. Whether you like it or not.

I know you care about education, for example. You want your kids and your friends kids, and your kids friends and all the kids you don’t even know to have access to a great education.

I also know you care about health care. That’s the number 1 concern in American voters minds right now. You may have have health insurance. Maybe you don’t. If you do, you might think you’re paying too much for your premiums. Or you think your prescriptions or your co-pays are too high. Or maybe, God forbid, you or a loved one were surprised by an astronomically high medical bill because insurance only paid so much. And you have no idea how you’re going to pay that bill. Or you don’t have health insurance at all. So you are not getting the routine care you need. So you have to get yourself to an emergency room and hope it isn’t too late to get the care you need to get better.

I also know you, like the rest of us, want our country’s leaders to do all they can to combat Covid-19. You’re troubled by seeing the cases and the deaths from this monster climb each day. You want to get back to a time where masks are not required everywhere you go. You want this to be dealt with so you and your loved ones can get back to “normal”. You’re just plain sick and tired of it all.

I suspect you also care about our climate. You may not see yourself as educated in scientific matters but maybe you don’t like seeing news coverage of whales dead on the beach from pollution in our waters. You don’t like that this summer was oppressively hot where you live. You don’t think it’s right that big companies pollute our waters to the point where in some places in this country the water is not safe to drink.

I am certain that you worry about how Americans are treating each other these days too. The hatred, the violence, the injustices. The self-righteousness that gets spewed on the daily by extremists on both sides of the political aisle. Everyone thinks they are right but none of us actually are. Everyone seems to be distracted by their own opinions.

I urge each of you to give some serious thought to what you see around you and in this country as a whole and decide what it is you think ought to change for the better. Maybe it’s the topics I mentioned already: education, health care, climate change, violence. Or maybe it’s that and more.

Give yourself the courtesy of thinking about which Presidential candidate is more likely to bring about the changes you believe need to happen going forward. Or the one who you believe will attempt to do so to the best of their ability.

Make a plan. If you’re lucky like I am and live in a state where your ballot is mailed to you, sit down and fill that thing out. Bring it to your nearest drop off place. If you don’t, find out where your nearest polling place is and if and when they are open for early voting. Or look at your calendar and think through what 11/3/20 will look like. When can you get there to vote? After work, before work? Or maybe in the middle of the day, because you are unemployed because of Covid-19?

Then follow through. Don’t let yourself be that person who didn’t exercise their right as an American to vote.

Because I know that you know America is messed up right now. And I hope that you also know, as I do, that the only way to expect anything to change at this point is to vote.

***Header image courtesy of https://www.pine.edu/current-students/student-life/student-senate/get-out-the-vote

2020 Presidential Race, Hope, Humor, Politics, Voting

Impeachment and Beyond: A Political Pipe Dream

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Disclaimer: My blog is not a political one. I am not aiming, nor do I believe I possess the energy/skill-set/desire for it to become one. However, I’m an avid political news consumer. And I’m simultaneously sickened by the current political state of affairs and hopeful that with our next election, there will be positive changes in this country. For every single one of us.

And I have a blog. A space where I can spout off my opinions and ideas, political or otherwise.

So, here I go.

Having a positive mind-set does not mean one doesn’t ever have negative thoughts or feelings. Negative opinions of others.

For instance: I have numerous negative thoughts and opinions about Donald Trump. Such as: He’s an awful human being. He lacks compassion. He is narcissistic. He is unintelligent. He is a racist and a misogynist. He is wholly untrustworthy. He’s in over his head, has been since he got elected POTUS, but he’s so delusional he’s unable to admit that; likely even to his own self.

We as a country need him to be impeached. Or he needs to resign. We need him out of the fucking Oval Office, stat. However it happens is however it happens. It just needs to happen. Like yesterday.

Impeaching “Don the Con” needs to be the focus right now, in this moment. Granted, we all know he and his minions (until they all scatter away from him like drowning rats of course) are going to do their damndest to provide “distractions” from the looming impeachment. We need to call out those distractions for what they are: a manipulative means of switching the American voters focus on anything other than the immediate threat: Donald Trump as our President. He is a tumorous cancer on our country.

Daniel Dale on Twitter: "Going on MSNBC with @NicolleDWallace to talk about Donald Trump, the president."

 

So once all has been revealed and Donald Trump is unequivocally out the door, I think the 2020 Democratic presidential contenders need to take themselves a respite, as a team, and come up with a comprehensive plan for our country’s future. I think if they do this, there’s no stopping them from taking the White House, the Senate, and the House.

Allow me to channel my inner political strategist.

So we’ve got 10-ish Dems currently running for the Democratic nomination who are far more capable of running this country than the Douche who’s currently in the White House. They are all, in my view, upstanding, hardworking, sincere, intelligent and trustworthy folks. They all have their own experiences, talents, and ideas to bring to America’s table.

Image result for images of democratic presidential candidates

These Democratic Presidential candidates would be wise to  hit the pause button on their own races for a bit and have themselves a meeting of the minds. Maybe a weekend retreat somewhere in the mountains where they have the space and time to relax individually; catch up on their sleep, have a massage, go for a hike.

Bernie can do some guided meditation. Elizabeth can decompress in a sauna. Kamala and Amy can get a massage.

Then, if I had my way, they’d have a couple of professional, experienced mediators equipped with white boards and plenty of erasable markers to come up with a plan that answers the question: “What do Americans most need from us as elected officials to ensure a healthy, prosperous, and sustainable future for themselves, their loved ones, and our planet?”

I would posit that the most important outcome of this whole experience would be that they would create charts of who of each of them (including some who have officially dropped out of this race) would be in what cabinet position, depending upon who is POTUS and who is Vice POTUS. Then when the time is right, make the final chart, aka plan, public.

Thing is, when we vote for our next President, we need to understand that we are entrusting this person not only to lead our country and all that entails, but also to choose their cabinet members wisely. Put the right people in the right positions. As in, the complete opposite of what Chump has done.

This is what I envision:

POTUS: Elizabeth Warren (a no brainer at this point to me)

Vice POTUS: Pete Buttegeig or Julian Castro

Secretary of Energy: Jay Inslee

Attorney General: Kamala Harris or Amy Klobuchar

Secretary of State: Joe Biden

Secretary of Defense: Tulsi Gabbard

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Cory Booker

Secretary of Labor: Bernie Sanders

I fully realize this is a pipe dream, which some of you readers may completely disagree with. But it is my pipe dream. As an American who has become deeply concerned about where our nation is headed since the Liar-in-Chief took office and enlisted the help of his kids and other reprehensible characters to do his bidding, I fervently hope the Dems can truly get on the same page and figure out how to win this next election and get to work on making America sane, functional, and respectable again.

Image result for donald trump pumpkin meme

 

 

 

 

 

2020 Presidential Race, Climate Change, Politics, Voting

Political Ponderings on the 2020 Race

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When it comes to politics in America right now, I just have so many thoughts and opinions. And I probably watch too much MSNBC. I agree with the many people who have recently said that it’s too early to pick a candidate for 2020. After all, there are over 20 people who have put their hats into the ring for the democratic nomination. I get it.

That said, I still find it interesting from a socially/politically curious standpoint, to pay attention to what the candidates are saying. And what they’re not saying. Follow their campaigns. Call me a political nerd, but seeing how things play out for the Dems fascinates me.

Let me start with some thoughts about  Joe Biden. Now, I think he’d make a fine POTUS. He’s certainly got the experience necessary for the job. The temperament. The skills. But I don’t know that I’m likely to vote for him. I found his YouTube announcement of his candidacy to be earnest, yet lacking. Earnest as he was emphatically and unequivocally stating that he is running to get Trump out of office. Fair enough. I agree with this 100%. But he forgot the part about what he’s aiming to accomplish once he’s (conceivably) the actual Commander-in-Chief.

But as we are all aware, there’s still plenty of time for him to articulate to the American public what he’s going to do for us to improve the state of affairs in this country.  Coming out of the gate identifying himself as the “one” who can defeat Trump in 2020 may have been a genius move on his part. It got everyone talking. It got our attention. Perhaps now that he’s clearly stated that he wants to be the one to evict the Con-Man-in-Chief from the White House, he can move on to substantive issues, such as how he’s going to address the #1 issue (according to me anyway, and for god’s sake hopefully multitudes of other voters), which is climate change. How he’s going to fix our health care system so people are no longer losing their homes and their life savings over medical diagnoses that are out of their control. How he’s going to address immigration, the opiod epidemic, our crumbling infrastructure, our broken educational system, income inequality…I could go on.

Do not take what I have said thus far as an endorsement of Joe Biden. Because there are numerous other viable contenders. Right now, and certainly this is completely subject to change, I’m paying a little extra attention to what Kamala Harris has to say. And Elizabeth Warren. And Jay Inslee. Cory Booker and Mayor Pete of course. There can only be one candidate for the democratic nomination, and by God the Dems better pick a good one. The one who can actually defeat Trump. The one who will move us forward as a nation.

My advice to the Dems is this: work together, people. Be smart. Don’t run each other down. Focus on the issues. Lift each other up when one of you drops out of the race. Communicate to the American public who would be on your cabinet. I think an argument can be made for appointing most of the current democratic contenders a cabinet position, in fact. Examples: Jay Inslee as Secretary of Energy. Cory Booker as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Amy Klobuchar as Attorney General. Joe Biden as Secretary of State. Elizabeth Warren as Secretary of Treasury. Pete Buttigieg as Secretary of the Veterans Affairs.

Bottom line: the Dems need to use the skills, passions, and experience these folks possess and put them in the right positions for this time in our country. No matter who ends up as POTUS.

 

Hope, Politics, Voting

Hopes on Election Day

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Today is election day and I’ve made the decision to stop biting my writing tongue and speak my mind.
I’m grateful that I live in a state where the ballots are sent early, making voting extremely easy. I filled out and dropped off my ballot over a week ago. I did my civic duty, as I hope every single one of you reading this right now has done or will be doing at some point before the polls close in your state later today.
I believe that the United States of America is sick. We need healing. We need change that will benefit the masses. We need to right this ship. Or at least change it’s direction enough so that the momentum is too strong to avoid landing, eventually,  but not too far in the future, in a safer harbor.
Here is what I am hoping for as a result of today’s mid-term elections:
  1. That we as a collective vote for candidates who believe in fixing our health care system. The ones who will work tirelessly to ensure that when all is said and done, the days of our fellow Americans going bankrupt and losing their homes because they got sick and couldn’t pay their astronomical health care bills is over. The ones who will fight tooth and nail to ensure that those who don’t quite qualify for Medicaid but also don’t have the ability to afford to purchase health care on the exchanges, will have quality, affordable (free would be the ultimate goal) health care.
  2. That my fellow Americans will vote in the candidates who will make it a priority to draft and/or support common sense gun legislation. So that we no longer allow hateful, troubled, confused sociopaths to purchase guns to mow down innocent people for no good reason whatsoever.
  3. That we together, as proud Americans who are all here because our ancestors immigrated here btw,  will elect leaders who will work to fix our broken immigration system. The leaders who will protect the dreamers. The leaders who will have compassion and respect for those who are escaping ungodly horrors in their home countries, to come to a country that has the promise of turning their lives around for the better and gives their children a brighter future.
  4. That we vote in candidates that respect women and their reproductive rights. The candidates who are not willing to allow Roe vs. Wade to be overturned. The candidates who understand the importance of the health care and education provided by Planned Parenthood.
  5. That Americans vote for candidates who accept the fact that climate change is real. The ones who take it seriously and are not in any way beholden to the fossil fuel companies. The ones who will work to enact laws to protect our environment and save our planet before it’s really too late (and we are almost there from everything I’ve read).
  6. That we elect candidates who understand that there is a serious problem in this nation with both meth and opiod addiction. The candidates who will address these epidemics in a holistic, meaningful way through legislation, increasing access and funding for treatment, and supporting access and funding for mental health, which is often the underlying cause of these addictions.

Believe me when I say that I think there are other important issues we need our elected officials to address to set America onto a better, healthier path. This list of hopes I have for today’s election is by no means complete. My list, however, includes the issues that I feel need to be addressed first and foremost in order for real, positive, change to begin to occur.

Now I’m going to carry on with the rest of my day and try not to bite all my nails off worrying about what the election results might be.

I voted, and now I’ve purged. I invite you to do the same.

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