Afterglow

 

                                                                                  


I spent a lot of time yesterday, reading various accounts of the debate.  Much was predictable--the Former Guy saying he had a Great Night--his Best Debate Ever--and various Maghats wringing their hands and calling the moderators biased. And suggesting that Harris's earrings were actually transmitters, sending information.

I think it was an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal that said Harris overdid it with the personal attacks and sarcasm. 

What? When personal attacks are the Former Guy's go-to strategy and sarcasm is his explanation for being caught in a lie or inconvenient truth.

I got the impression that the writer of the opinion piece felt Harris was being unladylike--and just barely managed not to say so.

Hurrah for her! 

Back in 2016, I watched Hillary ignore a looming adversary in a debate. She was a model of calm ladylike behavior and full of well-reasoned statements. I hated it when she lost the election by the slimmest of margins.

Kamala, on the other hand, took control, beginning with the handshake and went on to catalog his many failings and bait him into evermore unhinged responses. 

And oh! her facial expressions! They spoke for her. (Great article HERE about this.)

 She ate his lunch. 

And how I enjoyed it.

Rabbit, Rabbit

                                                                             

Work in Progress

                                                                 

I Saw America Last Night . . .

                                                                            

                                                                             

     

 I saw America last night . . . 

A rainbow of people . . .

Ordinary, extraordinary people . . .

United in purpose, in joy, in love.

As it should be . . .

As it could be . . .

And, if we do the work,

As it will be.

Well, Okay Then!

                                                                       

What a guy! 

The Harris/Walz ticket is already bringing joy to a lot of us who long to keep grownups--positive, progressive grownups-- in the White House.

On the one hand, there's Felonious Dementia Don with his hellfire and damnation rhetoric, plus JD, his seriously creepy sidekick who's somehow a hillbilly and a venture capitalist.

Or there's the level-headed ex-prosecutor VP and now this teacher/coach/veteran/legislator/governor with a real rural/farming background.

There's a definite Coming Home vibe to this pair.

                                                                     

         

Tiny Toad and Thoughts on VP Pick

 About the size of my little fingernail. They are everywhere, making mindful walking a necessity.

I'm looking forward to seeing who Kamala picks. It seems to me there are lots of good choices. Of course, there's so much to consider, beyond background, political views, and personality. Would the choice of X lose a Dem seat? Would the choice of Y bring more swing voters to the ticket? Would the choice of Z better balance the ticket (whatever that means.)

Our NC governor Roy Cooper was under consideration, and he would have been a good pick. But like Joe Biden, he put the good of the party and the people before personal ambition and chose to withdraw his name, rather than leave our state at the mercy of the radical right Lt. Gov. Some Folks Need Killing Robinson.

I liked a suggestion I saw in an op-ed (link HERE): that perhaps Kamala needs a team. Yes, pick a VP--but go on to announce her picks for Cabinet and other positions. Unlike the Orange Bloviator's "I alone can fix it," it would be "Together, we can fix it."

Shades of the Justice League and the Magnificent Seven!

A Giddy Delight

                                                                       

It's been a real pleasure to see more butterflies this year. I can't identify the one in the picture (update: I think it's a Question Mark aka Polygonia Interrogationis or maybe a Comma) but there was an abundance of yellow swallowtails dodging around my car when I went to the grocery on Wednesday. And yesterday, a Black Swallowtail tried hard to come in the basement when I was doing the laundry.

Butterflies don't appear to have much sense--just giddy with pleasure at their existence, brief though it may be.

Which puts me in mind of some things I read recently: two pundits (male, of course, is there any other kind?) warned Democrats against being 'giddy' over Kamala's candidacy.

I plead guilty. 

After the sad disaster of the Biden/Trump "debate," and after the orgasmic crowds at the RNC, Kamala's new ascendancy and the rapid coalescing of the party around her are a real delight.

I know it's going to be a fight. I know nothing is certain--especially after watching Hillary lose, despite her overwhelming victory in the popular vote.

But so very many people are energized by this fresh start--young people, women, minorities--how can I keep from feeling just a bit giddy?

The Joy of Bubbles...and a Sunday Surprise

This was meant to be a wordless post, but after President Biden's laudable and selfless withdrawal from the race, I must say I'm delighted that Kamala Harris has the support of so many. What a historic moment if we elect the first woman president! 

I'm with her. For the sake of Josie and all the other little girls who deserve to grow up in a world where they are not second-class citizens, valued only as baby-makers, a world where climate change is taken seriously, and the social safety net is preserved.

As I said before, I will vote for whomever the Democrat nominee is--anything other than the dark vision of Project 2025 and the incoherent rage of the MAGA candidate.

But I'd really like to see a woman as POTUS. And I'd LOVE to see Kamala debate the Big Orange Liar.