OMG: Election Edition

 

(Yes, I wrote in Harris/Walz as I on the other side of the signs.) Bob and I went shopping on Saturday and Lo! There was a rally at the corner. I thought initially they were all maga lunatics, and yes, the supporters of the twice-impeached felonious orange monster had staked out the corner. But to our delight, they were flanked by Harris/Walz supporters on both sides of the corner!!

We shopped and I drove Bob home as he was not in a socially-engaging frame of mind and I returned to lend my enthusiasm to the Democratic cause. I'm glad I did!! It made me feel happier to see the energy of my fellow lovers of the Constitution and our democracy. Hooray for clear-headed people, unmuddled by the racism/sexism/homophobia/xenophobia/insanity pumped forth by trump and his weird followers. (A little Tucker Carlson, anyone? Don Jr.? JD Vance? Margery Taylor Green? Steve Bannon? Steven Miller?!?!? Oh what a weird list of certified weirdos!!)

Anyway, that's me, hoping crazee incels in big wheel trucks don't decide to pull a Charlottesville and off road all over us!! I made instant best buddies with the people on the Harris/Walz line and we all bonded over our rights and the stakes being as high as they are. We all face-palmed over "undecided voters" and the occasional mis-guided woman driving by giving us the finger. Please!!!

Some good signs and good messages! Happily, there (honestly) were more of US than THEM and I enjoyed the nice weather and nicer people. The maga crew just stood and glowered and generally looked like they had eaten something bad for lunch. (Dogs? Cats? Pets?!) 

I spent a good hour in the company of my fellow patriots and we cheered as people honked at us... although because of where we were positioned, it was hard to tell if they were honking for us or for the nut jobs at the very corner... I'll assume they were cheering us on!

Boy, I hope you can read these signs! The one on the left says, "It's Not Your Body". Well, whose it it then?!? This was the "pro-life" side with a woman carrying a sign reading , "Only Demons Kill Babies". Ay carumba! You make decisions for your body and let others make their own decisions... but I guess they really don't think it's a woman's right to chose even after rape or incest or her physical well-being. Oh don't get me started... 

Exhaustion... And Relief!

 

I'm so relieved! So relieved, in fact, that I am starting a new piece that has NOTHING TO DO with The Orange Menace or all the lies and trouble he has caused. How's THAT for radical??!?! Although when I was shopping for fabric, I had three people exclaim, "Oh! that's such pretty material! What are you going to make?" (I think they expected me to say, "A winsome frock!" or some such nicety.) I replied, "I make profanity-laced political banners." One woman retorted, "Oh, that's nice." Another older (even than me) woman asked and I once more offered that I make political banners. She suggested that the election is over... implying that there's no room for politics anymore. I replied that although I was very happy with the outcome of the election, as an artist, there is always something political to address. Such is my mission!

But yes, relief and exhaustion. I know that many of us are experiencing this combination. I wanted to call friends and sing praises of democracy in action, but I've been so tired that crawling into bed and reading and then... YES!! SLEEPING!! Deep, restful sleep. Or, more to the point, safe and restful, sleep, sleep, sleep.(*1) I am certain we face many up-hill and stupid battles between here and inauguration day (biggest one EVER!!) thanks to intransigent rethuglicans and a little poor-loser dictator that just won't quit. But we won!

And how's this for a hopeful sign? I was walking past the compost pile and I spied something orange. It was a gazania, alive and still in bloom despite last week's below freezing temperatures and being chucked out of a pot. A bit of sunshine to help us along!

(*1) Although I did have a truly weird dream that Rudy Giuliani helped me steal a very large (blue) dump truck to help try and rescue someone. He was actually a good person in the dream; how warped is that?!?

 

 

I Throw My Hat Into the Ring

As it is reported that there is a lack of enthusiasm among likely Democratic voters and many potential voters are wavering and still undecided AND there are still umpteen Democratic candidates, I thought, "Why not? Why don't I declare my intention to run for president?" Certainly, while my qualifications may seem skimpy, I could do no worse than The Orange Menace. At least I have read the Constitution!*
I plan on spending most of my time in my studio anyway, so I'll carefully select experts and pundits and pros and sages to actually run things. I'm simply running on the all-encompassing platform of WTF. Let's face it, I already have the tee shirts available!
My platform is pretty straight forward. I promise to minimize conflicts and war by maximizing cultural exchange. Under my leadership, we will sing and dance and make art and plant gardens and effectively dismantle the war machinery. Think what we could spend all that money on!
Additionally, I promise the following:

1.) Free studio space to anyone who wants it.
2.) Universal health care for all.
3.) Free, unlimited red wine. (Or, if you insist, white wine).
4.) Legalized marijuana.
5.) Intelligent people of impeccable integrity and credentials will hold important positions.
6.) A Climate Crisis task force will immediately convene and we will re-join the Paris Accord. 
     Alternative energy sources will be implemented and  SUVs will be phased out, along with coal
     fired power plants, nuclear reactors and fossil fuels.
7.) No guns, period. Fuck your 2nd Amendment.
8.) Nasty old men will never again make decisions regarding women's bodies.
9.) Artists, teachers and farmers will be paid more than CEOs, lawyers and politicians.
10.) Animals will be given a bill of rights. (Robin the Good and Maggie will help write this.)
11.) Anyone involved in racist, sexist, homophobic or in any other ways hateful behavior will be sent
       to re-education programs and taught tolerance and be required to perform community service.
12.) All of the errors/mistakes/evil and stupidity of the last three years will be corrected.
13.) The pursuit of happiness will be our guiding principle.

This is just the beginning! I could keep thinking of issues to deal with all day long, as I'm sure you all could add your own wishes to this list. Please contact me with your concerns! See you on the campaign trail!

*And for god's sake! If that weird Lincoln Chaffee is seriously running as a fucking Libertarian?!?! Why not me run?!