Three Amendments--Yes or No

                                                          

 Early voting begins today! John and I will be there--voting a straight Democratic ticket. As far as I'm concerned, the GOP has lost all credibility with their blind allegiance to the deteriorating DJT, the war in Iran, their support for the ICE thugs, their disregard for affordability, and oh, so many more things.

The three proposed amendments to the state institution sound good--at first. But a closer examination reveals problems. The first two mainly benefit the wealthy. And the third works to disenfranchise many. This below is from the League of Women Voters of NC -- a traditionally non-partisan organization.

I'll be voting against these amendments.

Why the League Opposes the Amendments

The League of Women Voters of North Carolina believes constitutional amendments deserve particularly careful scrutiny because they establish durable limits and requirements that are more difficult to change than ordinary laws. These policy decisions are better addressed through legislation, where elected officials can respond to changing circumstances and voters can hold them accountable.

LWVNC opposes the income-tax amendment because current law already keeps the individual income-tax rate below the proposed 3.5% cap, and the amendment itself would not lower current taxes. Placing the cap in the Constitution would limit the ability of future elected leaders to respond to changing economic conditions and state needs.

LWVNC opposes the property-tax levy amendment because it would shift greater authority over local funding decisions to the state while leaving the actual limits, formulas and possible exceptions to future legislation. The League is concerned that restricting local property-tax revenue could affect funding for public education, elections and other local services and/or increase reliance on fees.

LWVNC opposes the photo ID amendment because state law already requires identification for absentee voting and provides for voters who cannot reasonably provide ID. The proposed amendment would place the requirement that all voters present photo identification into the State Constitution without protecting those existing safeguards. The League is concerned that this could create additional barriers for military, student, rural, and older voters.

What's With the Eyebrows?

                               

599 × 747599 × 747

Fashion is so fickle. Today, for a certain segment of the female population, huge black eyebrows are the thing, along with swollen lips and breasts.
Have we reached a peak moment? Will deflation eventually set in?

                                  

Are we due for a return to the pencil-thin arches of the 1920's and 30's? Maybe the flat silhouettes of the Flappers and the Cupid's Bow lips of Clara Bow and her ilk? Or the shaved brows of the Renaissance?

Heaven knows, it seems to be part of being human--wanting to modify one's looks. Powdered hair, bleached hair, dyed hair, makeup in general, Ubangi lip plates, bound feet, blackened teeth, elongated necks, tattoos, piercings, and any number of extreme body modifications . . . if you can imagine it, someone's done it.

I watch and wonder and mark myself safe (except for pierced ears) from such silliness.

             

Looking East Yet Again

                        

 

 

 

 

Retired

                     

They make an attractive display, these tools from our past.

Yes, we actually used these things, once upon a time. The tobacco planter on the left had a reservoir of water so you could job it into the ground and release the seedling and a little water at the same time. (I wish I still had the cooked stick that I used planting our first crop.)

The tobacco basket was what we took our tobacco to market on. Hands (bundles) of graded tobacco were arranged in a circular stack on the basket. Horribly labor intensive and in the latter years of our tobacco growing, everyone had switched to baling the cured leaves--easier, but not so elegant.

The little wheel hoe/cultivator never got much use-- our soil was too rocky for it to work well. But I love the way it looks.

Old times they are not forgotten. It was such hard work but we we fortunate to have participated in a dying culture.

Ahhh!

Oh, the pleasure of a much-needed rainy day and a fire in the fireplace--not really necessary but a real delight.

Though we haven't yet had a frost, it's really feeling like fall. Now I need to go buy some decorative gourds . . .

 

How Low Can We Go?

 Pretty low, apparently. The news that the Pentagon plans to livestream an execution puts us in the company of North Korea and Iran and brings to mind archival photos of folks turning out for a hanging (bring the kids!) not all that long ago.

When this disgusting regime is finally gone, it's going to take more than bleach to rid us of the stain on our country.

October Gems

 

Paradigm Shift

Check out the black tee shirt. And the shiny black boots. I should have seen this coming when her new backpack was khaki, rather than the pink with unicorns and rainbows of previous years.

And the pierced ears. And the black hi-tops (with, however tiny embroidered flowers.) And now these boots! (Still untied--we have more work to do.)

Our little girl is growing up.

Can Doc Martins be far behind?

 

Sun Arise

                                            

Every time I watch the sunrise, I play host to an ear worm from 1963--the didgeridoo hit from Australia--"Sun Arise". You can hear it HERE.

As I watch the light fill the room, I'm hearing the twang of the didgeridoo and the simple lyrics "See the sun, come in the morning, spreading all the light all around. . ."

Apparently the lyrics were inspired by the Aboriginal characterization of the Sun as a woman, spreading her glowing skirts over the land.

Works for me.

 

And the Sky Was Carolina Blue

 

Dear Sirs

What has your party done to my beloved country? Your president is wreaking havoc on some of our treasured institutions. He is threatening journalists and endangering the freedom of the press. He attempts to bribe voters. He is visibly mentally and physically impaired. (He has always been morally impaired.) And now he is using TAXPAYER DOLLARS (yes, I'm screaming) to pay for propaganda style ads praising his regime. How is this even legal--how is any of it legal?

Meanwhile, children as young as 3 sit alone in court, being asked if they would choose to self deport. The thugs of ICE continue to terrorize our neighborhoods. The Trump criminal organization  family continues to enrich itself through self dealing disguised as diplomacy and investment in weaponry for a war of choice.

No, we are not great. Your president has turned his back on our historic allies to embrace dictators like Putin and Kim Jong Un. His war and his tariffs have hurt our farmers, our builders, and, in the long run, all of us.

I am past hoping that you will do anything to rein in this obnoxious regime. I can only hope that the coming midterms will send a very strong message.

I can't wait to see the back of you.

 

Fall Comes Creeping

 Nothing spectacular yet--just a yellow tinge on Barnett Mountain and more and more yellow on the nearby trees.

The slow spread of fall color is fine by me--when we get into the bright reds and oranges, it's beautiful but over too soon.

There's still time (and favorable temperature) to sit on the porch and enjoy the slow progression.

Where Did the Day Go?

Sometimes I wonder if I'm accomplishing anything these days, moving at a snail's pace as I do. My morning started with laundry and housekeeping (cleaning the cat's litter box) then moved on to my mental calisthenics (Wordle, Connections, and Spelling Bee.) Read the two Heathers and the NY Times. Enjoy the Schmitt memes.

Breakfast then clean up the kitchen and water the porch plants. Dive into the refrigerator to rearrange the fruits and veg that got shoved in after shopping on Tuesday. Make and refrigerate a galette crust for an apple galette in the evening.

Put away laundry, make lunch. Eat lunch.

Work on the watercolor of agri dolci (sp.?) peppers and squash. Not finished but getting there.

Go pick up Josie. Take a deep breath and tell her that today we are going to learn to tie shoes. She tells me she doesn't need to--none, well, almost none of the kids in her class can tie a bow.

I am firm. We sit at the table and I try to demonstrate. She HATES trying to learn something challenging. There are tears and whining and refusals. I tell her there will be no tablet time till she has tied a bow. 

After a lot of time spent saying she couldn't do it, couldn't see what I was trying to show her, when she finally realized I was going to hold firm on the no videos thing, she suddenly paid attention and after a false start or two, tied a creditable bow.

Mean Meema. But she got to watch her videos and actually apologized for being so unpleasant (so toonky, as my late MIL would say.) 

By this time I had a migraine coming on and went and lay down. But the tied bow was the highlight of my day!