Election 2024

 Donald Trump will be our 47th President of the United States

Not my choice. I believe our elections are (and have been) free, fair and reflect the will of the people. I hoped it would be a surprise Kamala Harris victory, but it was completely opposite.

The Trump people will control the White House and the Senate. Will they have the house as well?  That will take a little longer to determine.

I wonder what the Trump voters will think of Trump when (if?) he implements some of the policies he ran on: retribution, mass deportation, religiously Christian cultural values, less taxing and regulation of corporations, and dismantling the federal government? 

My hope is that President Trump won't be as dangerous to democracy and vulnerable people as many of us fear (based on Trump speeches, his admiration of Orban and Putin, and the Project 2025 document). In this flush of victory, I hope he will find grace. compassion, and kindness for ALL Americans.

This Blog Endorses Kamala Harris for President of the United States of America

 Since the Washington Post won't do it, and The Los Angeles Times won't do it, and USA Today won't do it, and the Tampa Bay Times won't do it (among others).  I will do it. 

Official portrait, 2021

THIS BLOG ENDORSES KAMALA HARRIS FOR PRESIDENT IN THE 2024 ELECTION!!!!

Why? Because she aligns with my view of the role of government in the USA. I believe government's role is to create a vibrant active environment for all - ALL OF US - to thrive and realize our greatest potential. That includes Safety, Housing, Nourishment, Education, and Health Care. My values are equity and justice for all. I think many people achieve this in the normal course of their lives. But, for many other people the past behaviors and present prejudices of people in power create negative environments. The government's role is to help redress those imbalances via the Power of the People.  Not the power of money and influence and threats - but the Power of the PEOPLE. 

The government has this power to stand up to big money, big influence, and big bullies by the very nature of its size - because it represents the multitude of people in this country who don't necessarily have money, influence, or power (though the nature of democracy is that the people who do have power get to vote too). 

Am I alone going to be able to stand up to the corporation that's polluting my river? No. But, the government will represent all of us along the river and the corporation that's polluting will be required to stop. 

Am I alone able to make sure my food sources are safe to eat? No. But the government will represent all of us who are dependent on third party food manufacturers to make sure our food is safe to eat.

Am I alone going to stop invading forces from broaching my home? No. But the government will protect my property against all intruders, foreign and domestic.

The government isn't someone else - it's all of us. It's regular folks - some who want to work, and others who have expertise to iofer. Do I have time to test my water safety, police the neighborhood, design a road system, install sewers? No. We are a united group that divides the labor to benefit all of us. That is government. 

Kamala Harris supports that idea of government. Donald Trump does not.

Listen, the truth is Donald Trump has said racist and belittling things about people. How anyone can get past that is beyond me. If he'll say it about 'them' he'll say it about 'you' if it suits his purpose. 

In this campaign, he's made clear he would move from just speaking badly about people. and he'd misuse the power of the government to force changes in how we live day to day.

Donald Trump uses fear and threats to scare people. He exploits people's naturally good natures to get what he wants for himself. He's a prideful, vengeful person. I guess people must think that he'll be prideful and vengeful on their behalf, so they're willing to overlook all his negative qualities. 

I believe, for the most part, us regular folks want basically the same thing...we just want to live in peace. The 'division' is about how we go about creating peace in a society as large and varied as the United States of America. 

Trump wants to create peace by sowing doubt, mistrust, and fear. 

Kamala Harris wants to create peace by sowing hope, kindness, and tolerance.

In this election that's the choice. 

I CHOOSE KAMALA HARRIS!!

These people are bugging me!

All these people are bugging me!

Donald Trump

I don't like the way Donald Trump talks about people he doesn't like.  I don't like the way he taps into the negative emotional energy of his supporters at rallies by denigrating and making fun of other people.  I don't like that he uses mob energy to instill fear in people who might otherwise stand up against Donald Trump's tactics.  

I'm not convinced he has a political ideology for himself.  He is a cynical person who wants attention and people to adore him and will say and do anything to get that for himself.  I can imagine he's a fiscal conservative and I think he prefers to be in the dominant population (white, male, heterosexual) and will do what he can to maintain that dominant position.  Is that an ideology?  Maybe.

I don't think he should be the President of the United States. 

Joe Biden

In 2020, Joe Biden told us he would be a 'bridge' president.  He would help the country recover from the policies of the Trump administration and COVID and usher in a MAGA-NO era (naively people thought Trump would slink away after losing).  Now he wants another term as President.  If he weren't 81 years old already, I would be fine with it.  He had a bad 'performance' in the debate.  The one thing everyone has been afraid of about Biden was laid out for all to see.  It made everyone sad because he's a good person and has done a lot for the country.  He should never have run for a second term.  And now that he is, and he's clearly not up for it (yes, I understand he had a cold and jet lag from two recent trips to Europe), he should recognize it and step down.  Instead, he's convinced he'll win against Trump.  He barely won last time.  Listen - this is fine for people like me and most of the people I know who will not vote for Trump.  We'll vote for Biden because we worry about what a second Trump presidency (directed by the Project 2025 folks) means for the country.  This election doesn't depend on us.  It depends on the unengaged voters in 5 battleground states who say they could go either way (which I don't believe).  Those are the people who might have been turned off by Donald Trump's hateful rhetoric, but they were likely also turned off by Joe Biden sounding like a person who is his age (fyi - there's nothing inherently wrong with slowing down in older age and most of us will experience it). They will either not vote or vote for none of the above.  That's who Biden should be talking to.  Not Democratic governors (he met with them yesterday) who of course will vote for him if he stays in.  That's not where the problem is!!!  

The polls are already showing Biden is behind Trump.  Things could certainly change, but it's been uphill for Biden the whole time.  I'm not sure he's ever been ahead of Trump.  If he was it wasn't by much.  I suspect there are a lot of people who think they will be vilified for saying they want to vote for Trump and will take any excuse they can to vote for him.  Biden gave it to them.  Now they don't have to feel awkward about it at all.  

Yes, I think Biden should withdraw.

The conservative members of the Supreme Court

Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Bret Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas, John Roberts, Sam Alito

During this 2023/2024 term we saw precedent thrown to the side, originalism hypocrisy, money for opinions, a weakening of the agency system for governing, and a new American motto - 'nobody is above the law except the President who can do any damn thing he wants as long as he's the President and doing his official duties - which includes everything he does 24 hours a day because as President he is always 'on call''

Plus, certain members are working for a dawning of the Christian Renaissance in the USA.  

I don't think these conservative justices and I have the same idea of what a democracy is and what it means to be the UNITED STATES of America.

Another year ends, another year begins...

(Pretend there's an image here that says Thank you 2023, Hello 2024)

Another year ends, another year begins...Thank you to whoever's in charge of that.

We get to keep going.

I don't have anything planned as a personal retrospective of my year for this blog entry Am I forgetting something major? My recollection in this last 3 hours of 2023 is that, in my personal life, this was a year of telling myself the truth about some of my blind spots and limitations, such as:

Work people are likely not friend people. Don't confuse the two.

I don't incorporate lessons for improvement into my daily life.

I still believe something magical, or to me unexplainable that I don't know how to replicate, will be the change agent for my life.

I'm still waiting for the change agent to come into my life.

Oh yeah - the change agent needs to be me.

I don't know why I continue making log entries here.

I guess this is a way to announce to the world that I'm still here and I'm still trying.

It would be remiss not to mention all the turmoil in the world at large right now. 

My heart and wishes for 2024 go out to all the people in the world suffering at the hands of their fellow human beings. What a tragedy it is that we, humans of Earth, have the capacity to hurt each other so profoundly when we are fearful.

I hope that people will feel the light inside them (wherever we think it comes from) and let that little light shine. We have to show each other the way out of the darkness of fear.

Let's all envision a world where everyone is valued and loved. 

I have a theme each year that I use to inspire me. When I started doing it years ago, I noticed that I would almost immediately forget my theme. At the end of the year I'd remind myself of the theme and realize that somehow (magically?) I had made at least some amount of progress. I figured that putting the idea in my head got my brain and my spirit and my soul working on the theme while I continued my day to day schedule.

No wonder I believe in magical things happening!!

So, last year my theme was Authentic Empowerment. 

I guess the fact that I learned a few truths about myself this year could be thought of as a bit of authentic empowerment.

I didn't incorporate it into my daily life. Although I did read the majority of "The Seat of the Soul", which was my guidebook, I don't think, though, I can truly say I am Authentically Empowered!

That goal will remain ongoing.

In 2024 my theme is "Act on commitments, not feelings"

I'm pretty good at following through on commitments I make to other people. I'm not good at keeping commitments I make to myself. Even things as simple as household chores or caring for my health. I very easily can say "Eh - I don't feel like it today," because I'm tired, too hungry, not in the mood, overwhelmed, frustrated, uncomfortable, or scared.

Actions will make change in my life (I'm pretty sure I wrote about that a few years ago!!) 

So, this year I'm trying to be more specific about goals and then will develop the habits that will help me reach those goals.

Goal - by the end of 2024 I hope I can successfully pass the sit down-stand up test; sit on the floor from a standing position without using your hands, arms, or knees to slow your descent. Then stand back up—without using your hands, arms, or knees to help boost you back up, if possible. (Hint: Crossing your legs on the way down and the way up seems to help, and loosely holding your arms out to your sides can help with balance.). The test requires flexibility, motor coordination, balance, and ample muscle power relative to body weight. I've been leading an excessively sedentary life in the last ten years. It's time I recognize that I'm aging. I should be able to do more than I'm currently able (I huff and puff walking up/down stairs for example).

Goal - eat more healthy foods. One of the reason my body doesn't respond the way I expect (even with my acceptance of growing older) is because I don't nourish it properly. I haven't worked out what my specific daily plan will be yet. I read that one way to get started without feeling overwhelmed is to pick three healthy meal options that I feel I can accomplish, and that I don't mind eating repeatedly. Practice with those three, make them the foundation. Develop the habit of eating healthy. Try preparing some aspect of the meal ahead of time (such as prepare a batch of quinoa) so a quick meal is always at the ready. I don't have my three recipes nailed down yet, but it involves potato, sourdough bread, carrot/celery/tomato/cucumber/spinach, quinoa, chickpeas, falafel, and hummus.  Maybe a few other things, but those feel like standbys to me. 

Goal - read 12 fiction books and 6 nonfiction books.

Goal - get window blinds

Goal - dental health <-- the one that scares me the most.

Goal - stop saving articles and books I won't read, plus don't spend excessive amounts of money on app games!!!!

That's a lot to accomplish this year. And I feel very cliche putting health and fitness as goals. I want to remember that (sigh) yes, I'm as ordinary as everyone else who wants to lose weight starting out on New Year's Day, but that also means (Yay!) I'm not alone.  

Honestly, I'm sitting here, New Year's Eve night - it's now 10:22 pm when I'm writing - and already dreading this lifestyle change; I don't want to have to do movement/exercise/cook food starting tomorrow and forevermore after that!!!  I want to be a blob (I've had an active couple of days).

This isn't going to be easy.

To me and all the others making plans and goals for themselves, for New Year and all year, who struggle with motivation and consistency...I wish us courage.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

We have a Speaker of the House.

From Axios AM 1/7/2023

8. 🖼️ Framer

Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Rep.-elect Katie Porter — a Democrat from Orange County, Calif. — reads in the House chamber last night.

• Later she tweeted: "The 15th time's the charm, apparently."

*****

15 times indeed...sheesh!

Here are my observations.

1. Elise Stefanik's standing ovations and McCarthy's humble surprise...each and every and each and every and each and every time McCarthy was nominated. It was like performance art. 

2. Campaign speeches included many references to all the 'investigating' and 'oversight' they'd be doing on the government (the Jan 6 investigation was a waste of taxpayer time and money, though, according to Republicans).  We can expect hearings about how the government tried to influence Twitter, Hunter Biden's laptop, the weaponization of the FBI and DOJ, the withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the origins of COVID-19, and lots of Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi investigations. 

3. As noted by CNN multiple times last night, particularly from John King...the faction of the Republican party that includes Kevin McCarthy, Scott Perry, Marjorie Taylor-Green, Matt Gaetz, Lauren Bobart, Steve Scalise and others are people who either directly or tacitly supported the January 6, 2021 insurrection.

4. Kevin McCarthy wanted this position more than anything, which is why he seemingly gave away everything. Naked ambition. I wonder what matters to him more than being Speaker? 

5. Hakeem Jeffries gave a speech. It was a good speech...kinda rousing. He even went through the whole alphabet using alliteration. I didn't notice until it was halfway through. Pretty creative even if it was 1/2 millimeter too much. The Republicans heckled him at a couple points (not just the alphabetic alliteration part [!! hey, I did it too!!]) but because he was giving a long-ish speech. If I were Jeffries I would have said, "every day I had to wait to give this speech I added 4 new paragraphs to it.", or "what do you think I was doing waiting for you all to get your act together?!", or "On Tuesday, this speech was 2 minutes long.", or "your indecision and inability to decide on a speaker gave me time to revise.". Something like that. He didn't respond to it, which I suppose is the right thing to do, but it wasn't 'satisfying' to the petty side of me that I'm trying to move beyond.

6. McCarthy's speech was an indicator of the horrible things to come. The one phrase that stands out to me was 'indoctrination in our schools'. I'm not sure that was the exact wording, but it was definitely the point.

7. The big question is what McCarthy 'gave' to all those holdouts. Some of them wanted what could be reasonable changes in how the Congress does business. (I don't know enough about the rules of the house to comment at this time). Others, though, wanted to be given leadership on committees or subcommittees. Matt Gaetz, one of the last holdouts who voted 'present' in the end, said they got everything they asked for.

I watched all hours of this drama on CNN. I was hesitant to do so because of the troubles they've been having. But I wanted to be immersed. I was. The good and bad side of CNN is that they have so much time to fill. That's good because it gives the panelists time to flesh out all the ins and outs of strategy (at one point I thought McCarthy and his allies should use strategy from 'Survivor'). It's also bad because they do a lot of speculating that may or may not end up being true, and often go over the same details multiple times.  As it turned out I liked the panelists  well enough and was interested in how things would work out - which I knew they would. It didn't work out for me or America, but it worked out for Kevin McCarthy and cable news.

The Republican House of Representatives

The House of Representatives - before they can swear in the new members - must select a Speaker of the House. Republicans hold a narrow majority of the seats. Under normal circumstances we would expect the Republicans to elect a person from their own group. Representative Kevin McCarthy - who apparently has always wanted to be Speaker of the House - can't get enough Republicans to vote for him (no Democrat will vote for him). They've had, over the last two days, 7 different votes and he loses each time. He needs 218 votes, but up to 20 Republicans will not vote for him.

McCarthy wants to be Speaker so bad he's been accepting all kinds of demands from the 20 who won't vote for him. It makes him seem like a shallow, empty vessel. He'll do anything to be the Speaker. It's disturbing to see naked ambition right out in the open. 

On top of it, McCarthy, and most of the people who don't want him, are Trump people and voted against the certification of the 2020 election. In my mind, they're extreme right wing. I listened to many of the nominating speeches and their view of the world is so different from mine, it's disheartening. Especially when I think about the world view of all the people who voted for them. 

It's likely this will work out for McCarthy - I say that only because these things usually do. Even if it doesn't and someone else becomes Speaker, it still looks like the extreme ideologues have shown that they can exert power over shallow, ambitious men. 

To be clear, this is my view of the extreme idealogues: they think Biden and Obama are the cause of every 'bad' thing in this country, they think federal government is too big and they want to destroy it by saying no and no and no, they believe there's a 'deep state swamp' that is run by elite liberals who are all Jewish, and they think white Christianity is being attacked, among other things. Their goals are to legislate their religious beliefs and deny rights to people who they don't like. They believe in freedom for all as long as the 'people' are white, Christian, heterosexual. and male. 

And then, there are the regular conservatives who think entitlements are handouts for lazy people, they believe in trickle down economics, they believe in everybody looking out for themselves, and they care more about their money than people. 

So, this is not good. I fear for the America I believe in.

From Dan Balz at The Washington Post

            https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/01/04/house-republicans-dysfunction-points-more-chaos-ahead/?outputType=comment

Thank you 2022, Let's go 2023!!

 

Another blessing of another year to look back on. I will always be grateful.

I'll be honest - I completely forgot my themes for 2022 until I just now looked at last year's blog post: Avoid Avoidance and Trust Myself.

Sigh.  I haven't found the 'magic' process to remind myself of my intentions.

When I think back on 2022, I think of Mom breaking her hip, Little Kitty living with me for about seven months, the January 6th committee, the Supreme Court (Dobbs decision overturning Roe - a women's right to choose, and other decisions in which the religious and extreme conservative block of five - Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett - are gleefully dismantling rights and remaking America...it's as if they think America should be a Christian nation. It's really shaking the foundations of our country.), Putin invading Ukraine, Elon/Kanye/Trump, and MFJ quit our company. 

I had personal insights during the year but can't find a way to write about them today. So, I won't.  The bottom line: the struggle continues.

And speaking of the struggle...this year's theme is AUTHENTIC EMPOWERMENT.

It's a combination of the continuing effort to discover who I am with an emphasis on my spiritual self.

I started with the word AUTHENTICITY because I am always struggling to discover who I am without the influence of nature or nurture.  I'm not sure it's possible to know the answer - human beings are born to be influenced by both; it's our blessing and our curse.  

In the last couple weeks, I decided I'd like to be closer to my spiritual self again. I pulled out three books from my bookshelf that called to me. I have varying degrees of familiarity with each. My goal is to give them more attention and focus this time around.

"The Seat of the Soul" by Gary Zukav 

"A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle

"The Nature of Personal Reality" A Seth Book by Jane Roberts

I started with "The Seat of the Soul" and it turns out the goal of the book is to discuss authentic empowerment - the alignment of the personality with the soul. I decided that the word 'authentic' was a sign that I'm on the right track for my 2023 theme. I refined my theme to AUTHENTIC EMPOWERMENT.

I spent a lot of 2022 on Twitter (now owned by Elon - ugh) and YouTube and reading newsletters.  I played June's Journey and Lily's Garden.

I also watched television and some movies as well.

Here are the highlights:

Television

• New Amsterdam S4, S5 (NBC) - I'm sad this is the last year
• Ghosts S1 (CBS) and Abbott Elementary S1, S2 (ABC) - good, friendly comedies
• The Bear S1 (Hulu) - compelling, with an easy/pat season finale.  
• Tehran S2 (Apple TV+) - intense.  I'm okay if there's no season 3, but I will watch if there is.
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+) - enjoying the cast, good stories.
• Masterpiece: Grantchester S7 (PBS) - love the characters and the ending
• The Resort (Peacock), engaging puzzle/mystery, good characters.
• The Mole S1 (Netflix) - good show
• The Big Brunch S1 (HBO Max) - good judges, good cast, good competition
• Andor S1 (Disney+) - excellent, story is perfect for our times. Empire and revolution
• The Peripheral S1 (Prime Video) good story, good characters who didn't unnecessarily hide things.
• Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan S1 (Prime Video) spy stuff - it was gory in places, but also good story.
• Only Murders in the Building S1 (Hulu) - I'm late to the game, but it was fun, funny, surprising.

Movies

• CODA (Apple+) Well done, father was fantastic, family was great, traditional coming-of-age story.
• Free Guy (HBO Max) Surprise to me - very fun
• Central Intelligence - another surprise that made me want to watch Kevin Hart and The Rock movies.
• Jumanji - Welcome to the Jungle and The Next Level - fun, funny, Kevin Hart and The Rock.
• Everything, Everywhere, All at Once - Wowza - great movie.  Lots of depth under all the mayhem. Michelle Yeoh is fantastic.
• The 355 (Amazon Prime) - female badass spies.  
• What the Constitution Means to Me (Prime Video) - beautiful and stirring.
• Glass Onion, A Knives Out Mystery - I like this better than the first one and more in retrospect.
• Top Gun: Maverick - Who woulda thunk it? Great movie.  Not cheesy.

So that's where I'm leaving this year's blog post. I have a couple things on my mind so I can't focus on being as retrospective as I'd like to be. I'm running out of storage on this computer and spent a good chuck of the day moving items from OneDrive and this Surface to an external drive. I haven't quite settled on my next year's bullet journal plan, and I didn't do my Saturday Finances this morning.

Peace, Love, Joy, and AUTHENTIC EMPOWERMENT, to everyone in 2023!!!