November 6, 2024
Amidst the grief, there’s always room for some amateur punditry. After I’m done, it’s time to go and rake leaves to work it off. So here goes:
– it is fair to call into question the character of who we are as a nation, and whether character is even relevant anymore. We have become dismissive of the disrespect for others, and it has become pervasive in our personal and family relationships as well. Political leadership has exemplified that.
– as much as women were forecast to be a force in this election, it was the men (and women who should know better) who showed up. It’s to women’s dismay and to their ultimate peril. A toxic masculinity and concerns of the economy superseded worries of installing an authoritarian, who has all the designs of being one. Don’t be deluded in expecting unity out of this guy. Your eggs might still be three bucks, but filling jails and camps aren’t out of the question.
-the change of a candidate in the midst of an electoral process is fraught with risk; although the excitement of a Harris candidacy was palpable, it did not translate into enough converts. Democrats will need to find leadership that will resonate to counter this; without the current GOP default route of teaching us to hate each other.
-categorical descriptions of those who should worry: journalists and broadcasters. As he has said, Trump will encourage indictments, arrests, and license revocations of press that he deems unflattering. Orban has done that in Hungary, Putin to a more brutal extreme in Russia. Opposition candidates. Women. Anyone who has an accent. Anyone whose “lifestyle” will be deemed inappropriate, especially by Christian nationalists.
– our little corner of the NW (and west coast) are a bastion of blue liberalism. Some counties in WA (Jefferson, San Juan) pulled 75% Democrat. Whether we are punished from DC for that will remain to be seen, don’t expect to be immune. Expect rumbles of secession from those in CA, OR and WA (even western BC) and a possible left-wing radicalization if Trump pushes too far. Again, the GOP will have to do some soul-searching; although Dave Reichert was no Loren Culp, he didn’t make a dent, and the frothing-at-the-mouth MAGAs will be kept in their pens in Kapowsin and Goldendale. Get some policy, my Republican friends, that is articulate – the MAGA shtick is like shooting fish in a barrel here.
– Pierce County has a new D Exec, and 4-3 D majority on the Council. Hopefully this will translate into quality of life issues such as more parks and open space. We may be getting paved over, hopefully not as fast as the past eight years. Amy Cruver will become even more irrelevant. Hopefully, the sheriff’s race will flip to Patti Jackson in later returns; if not we have the potential of another Dale Washam running the Sheriff’s department; and I will be really hesitant to call them for anything unless it’s true peril. (Hint: this should be an appointed position).
Yeah, I’m hurting and grieving, not unlike 2016 when the first round of chaos began. My daughter in Sweden sent me an email essentially saying “I’m sorry” and I responded “Be thankful you got out in time.”
Right now, though, there’s leaves to rake.
Then there we’ll be fighting for our freedom.
“
- – – – — – – — – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
I was honored to have been the featured artist again on the AAEC website November 3, Go to the AAEC website and support them. www.editorialcartoonists.com
Below is some recent rolling blog history. Be well and chin up!
January 17: Three drown while crossing the Rio Grande at Eagle Pass; the Texas Department of Public Safety blocks the Border Patrol from saving them. Later, they said, “that’s ok, they were dead already anyway.” Gov. Abbott says in a right-wing talk radio show, “we’d shoot them, but we’d be charged with murder.” Duh. Problem is, the white Texas Republicans think they’re so much closer to God than darker-skinned people, they completely lose perspective of compassion, dignity and thrive on dehumanization. It’s a fundamental trait of Trumpism.
January 15: Escambia School District in Florida bans dictionaries and encyclopedias from their shelves; while they claim they are “under review” there’s no timeline for their return. How the hell do kids in Florida read and write? (Hint: maybe that’s the plan, Trump said he loves the “uneducated.” (A follow-up: while visiting Grand Turk, my wife and I met a woman and her husband who were both educators in the aforementioned school district. A homespun take is that she was from Washington State initially and had moved there. I asked about the “book bans”; she said they have straightened that issue out. I hope so, fascists, populists and conservatives (which can be used interchangeably more and more) would just as soon keep you angry as well as stupid.
January 10: Stanley Cup confusion, Taylor Swift football draw, as an attempt to add a little humor (especially since I’m cooped up due to the weather).
January 6 is the anniversary of the attack on our democracy.
I can remember walking with my wife at a park when I heard of the events unfolding.
I was unspeakably angry, ready to deck any Republican I saw – if I could only find one.
I still am angry, and will be til the end of my days. I understand anger is not healthy, but I will channel it int he best, most helpful ways I can.
This was a dress rehearsal for authoritarians who would love to enrich themselves, have poisoned our relationships with each other and say to hell with your freedom. As Liz Cheney said, “There are no bystanders in this fight.” If you want to be ruled by them, then go on about your business.
If you don’t, better get ready for a fight, because they’re not stopping until they rule, unchecked. And never forget January 6 – it’s just the rehearsal.
Thanks for tuning in.