kamala, obviously

If you’ve known me for awhile, relative to who I will be voting for in 17 days – it’s pretty clear already – Kamala. Obviously.

Kamala Harris is – simply put – the more qualified candidate, by leaps and bounds. She is highly educated, a former prosecutor, has served as Vice President. She has clear, coherent plans and actions to address key issues. That’s all there is to say about her.

Unfortunately, I have many more personal opinions and thus much more to say about her opponent.

I do not think Trump is fit to hold any office. I don’t think he’s even fit to be a manager in a midrate corporation, frankly. As far back in his checkered past as you want to look (from the Roy Cohn days to the Central Park Five to his media circus marriages, bankruptcies, reality television, pageants) – he has never been anything except out for his own best interests. He is a felon. He is a sexual abuser. He has made sexually suggestive statements about underage women including his own daughter.

He has stated that we will never vote again if he becomes president. He has blatantly said he will be dictator on day one. He has said terribly disrespectful things about our military and our veterans and has shown to me that his use of patriotism, Christianity and the Bible are cheap and exceptionally crass gambits for legitimacy without a shred of honesty.

I think he’s every bit as addle-brained and affected by issues of competency and coherence as anything that was ever said about Joe Biden.

I despise his racially biased rhetoric, his unwillingness to disavow white supremacy, his contempt for women, the shambles he has made of SCOTUS, and how he has stripped away healthcare for women and their right to bodily autonomy. He has inspired a clown car of stupid, crude, and hateful followers who now feel it’s acceptable to voice their hatred of anything not male and white. They demonize women and immigrants and think school shootings are false flags (to the point that they will harass, verbally abuse and threaten survivors and follow them around during visits to Washington DC – hello, Marjorie Taylor-Greene). He’s given a voice to ignorant and dishonest politicians who are equally selfishly motivated (Vance, Taylor-Greene, Gaetz, Boebert, Lake, Abbott, Cruz – I’m looking at you).

He inspired, fomented, and encouraged an armed insurrection, despite his current claims that it was an unarmed ‘day of love’. He encouraged his supporters to do violence against elected politicians of his party and those across the aisle. He watched them trample our capital, deface it, assault police officers, loot, steal, rob, all the while sitting in the White House eating fast food. He has shown that he does not respect the fundamentals of our democracy, he does not support a peaceful transition of power, and he will sow discontent and undermine our country’s democracy to stay in power. After January 6, which I watched live on multiple channels, as it happened, I cannot believe we are having any conversation that involves his political viability.

I believe Donald Trump was unfit to be president the first time around. The only thing that has changed is that he’s gotten worse. He is unfit to be president (or hold any office) ever again.

a few good things

  1. I bought a cinnamon broom for the den and it smells sooo autumnal.
  2. It has been a very hot and dry month in Michigan yet this evening we are sitting here with the windows open listening to a gentle cool rain.
  3. I just finished a fantastic creepy book – one of the best books I’ve read this year, I think – highly recommend “Mexican Gothic” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. It was EXCELLENT. So atmospheric with a heroine you immediately are staunchly behind and the most chilling and fascinating setting. I’ve just picked up another by her (“Gods of Jade and Shadow”).
  4. We spent all day yesterday at the first marching band competition of the year. Unfortunately it was 85 degrees with a blazing sun on a high school football field with zero shadow (and zero parking which meant street parking blocks away). Wool uniforms are still de rigueur and if we parents in the stands were red faced and running with sweat then the kids were truly suffering. But I love a good marching band and so I was deeply satisfied and even more so when our kids won second place in Class A competition, best percussion, best color guard, and best in music!
  5. Next week is Homecoming. Insert happy face emoji surrounded by hearts.

I need a few good things today because I have a case of the Sunday Scaries. My beloved boss has moved up and out of Widget Central and I am left with a mass of complex tasks, exponentially increasing workload, and instability. I keep telling myself it isn’t my first time at this rodeo but – let me bury my nose in a gothic horror novel and a delicious cinnamon broom for a bit longer, okay?

weekend plans

A few august highlights

What’s everyone up to for the long US holiday weekend? I’m off today so it will be a nice 4 days for me. I haven’t taken one long vacation this summer, just a few long weekends, which have been welcomed. This week felt like a really long one with storms and a power outage one day as well as the kid’s first marching band performance at the first home football game. (I don’t like the early season games – it’s so fricking hot and last night the stadium was almost as full of bees and wasps as it was half-dressed hormonally charged teens.)

The kid started school on Monday which feels weird to me as a Gen-Xer who always started school after Labor Day. Lots of memories of that last sad Labor Day weekend (possibly spent watching the Jerry Lewis telethon on my grandparents’ screen porch) which I usually couldn’t enjoy because of the looming back to school jitters. However she has today off so assuming she gets up in time we’re going to do some back to school shopping. Otherwise, this weekend I want to get a couple of runs in, have breakfast with my bestie tomorrow, and do some cleanup in the yard. We still have lots of branches down from the storms.

Oh and my knitting mojo ramps up as we near the ‘-ber’ months. Finished a pair of socks for the kid and have pulled out another sock wip to hopefully make good progress on this weekend – maybe listening to my current audiobook “The Villa” by Rachel Hawkins.

Hope everyone has a very safe and happy Labor Day.

It feels so good to post a finished object! These are the “Vanilla Socks on 9” Circulars” which is a fantastic pattern by Kay Litton aka Crazy Sock Lady. The yarn is Knitting Lizard Fibers Super Soft Sock (75% superwash merino & 25% nylon) in the “Carlson’s Fishery” colorway which was a special offering via Wool & Honey’s Sleeping Bear Yarn Club.