Remember This
This is a political post.
If interested, please scroll down.
I’ve gone cold turkey regarding all news.
I refuse to have more years of my life dominated by an orange monster.
One thing through has trickled through:
The orange monster had been bragging (he does that) about his “landslide”, giving him a “mandate” to inflict his special brand of evil across the land.
The orange monster is, as always, lying. Of course.
- He won by 1.5 points.
- He did not get the support of a majority. He never has. The majority doesn’t like him.
- Only about 1/4 of Americans voted for him.
Remember all this. And remind those you know in other countries.
And his new best buddy? Elon? One small company is doing a brisk business selling bumper stickers to Tesla owners:
I purchased this before I knew he was an asshole.
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I’m severely limiting my news intake as well. I don’t want to see his face or hear his voice. Thankfully I have installed an extension on Chrome that replaces any photo of him with photos of kittens. It’s called “Make America Kittens Again” for those interested.
Meidas Touch is my main source of news now since the main stream has dropped the ball too many times and Ben will not show his photo or video or audio of his voice. He just reports. I especially like Michael Popok keeping me up to date on all of the legal excrement the Right is flinging to try to stay in power. It is disgusting to what lengths they will go.
I understand Bluesky is booming with new people who have migrated from the former Twitter. I revel in referring to what used to be tweets on Twitter to farts on X.
You and I are not the only ones battling the current situation with extreme nesting. I have heard from my friends that they are doing the same thing. Gardening like mad, going through the to-do list of repairs and “round tuits”, baking, cooking, all sorts of house and yard stuff. A flurry of activity that has nothing to do with anything outside the borders of their apartments or homes.
I am baby stepping™ my way to finally repairing a fence and gate that has been broken since 2018. Finished the concrete block post foundation and will be setting the post tomorrow. I’m moving slow and doing it right with bug prevention and two coats of sealer/stain. I plan on this thing lasting the full 20 years as promised on the can. Doing it right the first time. It may take me four years to replace the entire fence one section at a time, especially if the price of wood skyrockets due to those Canadian tariffs. The price never came down after Covid and it’s not going to come down after the Felon’s term is over either. That’s just capitalism. I would stockpile it if I could but I have no space and no money to buy all of the wood I need in one big purchase. Especially since it will take me years replacing one or two sections per month.
But at the end of four years the fence might be done, the pergola out front repaired, the pergola in the back replaced, the fruit trees I’m planting will be bearing fruit, my yard will be a picture of abundance and my house will look like a magazine spread. And I will be a better cook thanks to Chef Jean -Pierre on YouTube. I am going to be going through all of his videos and learning new or practicing old cooking skills.
I don’t think President Felon is going to be able to do as much damage as he thinks or wants but he will be able to do enough just by executive orders.
Here’s hoping in two years we’ll have majorities in both houses of Congress and maybe grounds for some sort of impeachment despite the Supreme MAGA kangaroo court.
Meanwhile, keep those photos coming. I’m not decorating this year as I have too much on my plate and no one comes to visit so there isn’t much point. I enjoy seeing your lit up giant Christmas tree. If you have a dinner or decorate either house, put those photos up. I will celebrate vicariously through your decorating and entertaining.
IMO, The “T” on Tesla now stands for Trump, so now not interested in Elons company or products anymore.
Yep. I won’t watch legacy news but do read indie reports and alternatives online with far more honest reporting. It’s so dangerous to normalize Donno and his billionaire crew who truly don’t have the best interests of average Americans in mind.
I cannot watch the news anymore either. I’ve simply had enough. I confess that in my life I’ve always had a little weird thing that messed up in my brain sometimes – some sort of niggly premonition thing. It went off in 2015, when that orange turd came down that elevator. Just a mild vibration of course, an “oh oh, that’s not good” kind of thing which gradually blossomed into a full on, gut-screaming horror that had me glued to the news like a onlooker to a fiery car crash.
I can’t do it anymore. Before, I suppose I was looking for something that would refute that gut feeling. It never really went away, even when Biden came to office.
But now I know. I’ve come to accept that gut feeling.
I’ve stopped questioning where we’re going. Not just the U.S., but the entire world. I know the die is cast and we are going down a road I’ve never been down – or ever wanted to be down – in my lifetime.
As a gay man, I have lived in an era of great privilege – far more than any of my predecessors ever even hoped to experience. I have been truly blessed in my lifetime, to have watched the angry faces of hatred that I saw in the television and the media and in my community eventually give way to acceptance, flags of celebration and even of love. I’ve been able to not just survive in this world, but to thrive in it.
The only consolation that I get is that like all dark times, this too will eventually end. It will not be in my lifetime sadly. Nor yours Ross I fear. But my gut also tells me that something better is coming. I feel like there will be a great undoing in this world, and that from that a better foundation will come.
I hope my grandchildren live long enough to experience it.
Sorry Ross for such a bleak comment, but I suppose out of the shit that is happening today, someday roses will indeed bloom.
May you have a blessed and peaceful Christmas.
Thank you, Paul, for your heart-felt words.
A few years after Obama was elected, a well-known sociologist said: “If he has one term, not much will change. But if he gets two terms? The next president will be an open racist.”
At the time I just filed that away…thinking: impossible…but boy oh boy was he proven right.
Things are so vastly better now than when I was born in 1957. Yet, it chills me to realize that all the improvements that you and I have cheered these past 6 decades, Conservatives have cursed. They don’t want equality for everybody. They don’t care about protecting the environment. They suffer from zero-sum thinking: If X person gets something, I will get less. They view progress as happening in a finite world. I view progress as happening in an infinite world.
And now I fear that all that we’ve cheered these 6 decades will be rolled back. I fear that The Handmaid’s Tale will transform from fiction to fact.
I’ve little confidence that there will be mid-term elections, and even less confidence that there will be an election in 2028. Evil people have taken over and they will assure that, this time, they retain power.
I’ve 24 years left on Earth, and have no idea if Light will replace Dark in my lifetime.
The saddest thing is that the people who will take over in January has zero interest in helping you and me, nor the majority of American’s. All the good things which could have happened under a President Harris and her crack team of honest, intelligent, and non-criminal people, will now never happen.
I will never understand people who grasp for the dark rather than embrace the light.
Just look at any archival image of crowds surrounding a lynching. They look happy. Pleased. Satisfied. And those kinds of people voted for Trump.
If there are no midterms, 1789 will happen quicker than I expected. If the oligarchs take away the ACA, Medicare and Social Security, it will happen even faster. President Felon’s own cult will turn against him.
90% of people are inherently good and 70% act on it.
As you pointed out, less than 25% voted for the Felon. He only won by 1.5% and was helped by a lot of election interference that is only now being exposed. Of those less that 25%, plenty of them are going to turn when they find they have no job, no healthcare, the price of everything has gone up and their friends or family have been rounded up and placed in camps for either being “not white” or being critical of the new regime or deported. The oligarchs aren’t going to have the support of the military either. The more they squeeze the stronger the backlash.
I’ve got one of those. Only it went off in 2000 when the Supreme Court stopped the Florida recount and gave the presidency to Bush. Had it continued, Gore would have won Florida and things would be very different now. To me, the slippery slope had already been set and that was the push that tipped. The ride down has been bumpy but has been inevitable and accelerating. 2016 pretty much sealed our fate.
My gut is telling me that soon the public will not be focused on people of color, other religions, genders or sexual persuasions. It’s the economy, stupid is going to turn all eyes to the oligarchs that just took over the country. It’s going to be the über-wealthy white men who are suddenly going to be in the limelight. People are going to realize the threats aren’t from where the oligarchs are pointing but the pointers themselves. Health insurance was a natural starting place as it is so pervasive and abusive. Remember how Shkreli was vilified? Pharma will get it. It will spread through Wall St. Just think of everything people complain about. Price of food, price of gas, price of housing.
Personally, I think we are over 1933 and heading into 1789. The recent incident with a health insurance oligarch to me signals the next phase. Unless you have hundreds of millions of dollars and own or run a huge for profit corporation, I don’t think you are going to have to worry. MAGA are going to be miffed they blocked all of those reforms following Sandy Hook and the rest now that one of their own was a victim. (Have you read the comments on the news stories on the internet?) . Surprise, it’s not just their cult that practice their Second Amendment rights. I’m a pacifist and live in California but I still own two guns. They are currently dismantled and in a lock box but I have an open invitation to the local gun range for instruction and practice. I don’t feel I will be in any danger. I don’t have hundreds of millions of dollars and own a billion dollar corporation that is abusing the public for profit.
I never thought I would see fascism come to America in my lifetime. Now I think I will see it not only defeated but a drastic change in my lifetime. There is going to be a huge turnover in our entire social, political and economic system. It will be faster and less destructive than 1789. I have no sympathy for the future victims. They brought it on themselves through greed and apathy.
That’s probably the most optimistic take I’ve read on the situation and what could develop… and I so hope you’re right.
Both of us bought used teslas years ago and absolutely love them. Nor fears driving across the country, no issues with charging (fear mongering by big oil interests), and no maintenance costs. Electricity is at least 1/2 the cost of gas if not slightly more. Change the tires. It’s a dream from a gas car. BUT, now we’re in a quandary. I want a newer car to take me the next decade as does the husband. Tesla is at least five years ahead on their software and interface over all other brands. It sucks. I don’t want to buy another Tesla but at the same time I’m not going to buy another EV that has issues beyond just their software. GM has a lot of issues though I love their Lyric Cadillac. I’m super interested in the Lucid Gravity that was just released. Former Tesla folks started that company and it’s the closest one that comes to being like Tesla, software wise. In addition, they’re the only car company that is getting over 400 miles of range. Their motor and battery technology is fantastic. The problem at the moment is the SUV model that they have released first is there $94,000 SUV. Their sub $79,000 version doesn’t come out until fall or possibly earliest late summer. But anyone reading this, I would encourage you to go Electric. In all the years that I have driven an EV, I have not found any negatives whatsoever that would make me want to go back to an internal combustion engine vehicle. The maintenance alone drives me insane.
Thanks, Kevin, for the fascinating overview! Just yesterday I watched an episode of the always fabulous Jay Leno’s Garage, where he presented the Cadillac Lyric, which I was thought was stunning and impressive.
We rented an EV (a Kia) on a recent vacation to Maine and absolutely LOVED it.
I’ve decided that my next car will be an EV, but I’m hoping by the time we get there, there will be more options than just Tesla and a handful of other cars.
I want my next and likely last car to be an EV. My Prius is 16 years old but is still running fine. I’m patient. I can wait. I can’t afford $80,000 but am hoping I can get something for half that or less when I finally do replace my Prius, that I love.
I have never heard of Lucid but will look into it for when the time comes.
I’ve been a fan of EVs since buying my Prius. Did a lot of research and decided then when they had a 400 mile range, that would be my next car.
I’m not going cold turkey, but I’m definitely cutting back my news consumption and especially my Cheeto consumption.
I need to be informed for my own mental health, but for me that means reading a couple of news sources once a day instead of constantly doom scrolling. Like others in these comments, I’m trying to make time for more things that I enjoy; working in the garden, cooking, taking photos, taking the dog for a walk, etc. etc.
Just going to try to make it through the next 4 years without losing my mind.
I’ve been trying to bring news back into my life, but it’s hard… I kept it on all day BEFORE, but I haven’t been able to watch more than snippets in the last month. Even that only started back up within the last week. I am, however, reading Heather Cox Richardson religiously. Her historical perspective on what’s currently happening is helpful. I used to have my father-in-law for that, but we lost him in 2019, and I so miss the way he could pull me back from the ledge during the trump years. We need to be informed if we’re going to resist – and even at my advanced age, I really DO want to resist, if only for my kids’ sake. He can’t do that much to me (other than taking my Social Security and Medicare or making it even more expensive), but my kids have the next 60 – 70 years of their lives in this country unless they go elsewhere… and as non-white, non-Christian women of child-bearing age (and one is gay), going might be better than staying.