Trump

Reviews

~ MaryG ~ 5 Comments

I did a bunch of GenX things last weekend:

1) Went to see a cover band. The band was called Tusk and they are a Fleetwood Mac Tribute band. They were really great musicians and played all the songs really well. It was a beautiful, warm night. I danced and had fun. Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours album came out in 1977 and it was my junior high jam. I loved that album so much. I did my majorettes try-out to “Second Hand News.” Hearing it all again, 47 years later, I have to admit, it’s yacht rock.

Tusk playing “Go Your Own Way” – don’t they sound just like Fleetwood Mac?

2) Went to see Fly Me To The Moon in a movie theater. All the movies out this summer seem like they’re for twenty-somethings. This one looked like it was geared for my age group and it was. If you ever drank Tang or Tab, this movie is for you. I thought it was very entertaining. ScarJo’s luminous beauty, the US space program of the 1960s, and a couple of very solid jabs at the Nixon administration were highlights for me. On the downside, the portrayal of the creative, gay movie director seemed like an over-the-top caricature, complete with ascots and limp wrists. Also, the whole plot seemed to feed into the whacko, conspiracy-theory, alt-reality culture we’re now living in.

When we came out of the movie, I had texts from both of my kids telling me Trump had almost been iced. A quick social media search revealed that Trump had stood up after the shooting and dramatically urged the crowd to “fight” and Republicans were blaming Democrats for the entire thing. Conspiracy theories were already in full bloom.

3) On Sunday night, with a growing sense of despair about the inevitability of the United States’ descent into right-wing madness, I happened to watch a Netflix comedy special and it was SO FUNNY. I laughed and laughed. Leanne Morgan was the only female comedian who appeared in the lineup of Netflix specials, so I took a chance on her and I’m so glad I did. She’s exactly my age (born in 1965) and I just loved her references to the 80s and all things wife/mother/grandmother-related. She avoids politics entirely. This bit about Dexatrim being speed had me in tears.

Highly recommend

The Daily Prompt and Joe Biden

~ MaryG ~ 7 Comments

According to WordPress, I’ve already answered today’s daily prompt, so I guess I’ve lapped myself. I’ve been posting regularly for about a year now. Here was my answer from last time this prompt came up:

Yeah, no, I don’t think so

Regarding Joe Biden, I’m getting more and more fearful that he’s just totally going to F*** us all by not dropping out. This article by Mark Leibovich is pretty harsh, but I tend to agree.

“It is now obvious that Biden has in no way internalized the disaster toward which he is defiantly ambling—or, more to the point, toward which he is leading his party and his country (and, for that matter, NATO, Ukraine, thousands of as-yet-not-deported immigrants, and unprosecuted Trump “enemies”). He seems fully indifferent to any consideration beyond his own withered pride and raging ego.”

I’m trying not to care about politics as much, because it’s just so damn depressing right now. I’m spending a lot of time trying chicken salad recipes and rearranging furniture. I’m trying to take heart in the fact that I (and most everyone I love) live in Massachusetts and perhaps we will be relatively insulated from Trump 2.0, but I know in my heart that nobody will escape it.

Complicated recipe, but very good in the end, especially on Day 2. The flavors really seemed to ripen.

Cold Rice Noodles with Grilled Chicken and Peanut Sauce

Cold Rice Noodles With Grilled Chicken and Peanut Sauce RecipeDownload

Back from the Brink

~ MaryG ~ 4 Comments

OK, I just watched Biden’s interview with George Stephanopoulos and I’m of two minds.

On the one hand, I’m worried that Biden thinks this whole thing is about him. If we lose to Trump, Joe will be just fine because ‘he tried his best.’ Yeah well, what about US?

On the other hand, he did remind me about his stature on the international stage. He held NATO together and even expanded it in defense of Ukraine. He’s accomplished many things — most importantly, he defeated Donald Trump.

So, here’s where I’m landing. If he doesn’t drop out and hand the Presidency and the nomination over to Harris soon, I want to see him involve her in everything. I want her prominently featured in the campaign. I want her leading the charge for women, and prosecuting the case against Trump (Kavanaugh hearings style) at every turn! I want to know that he’s truly mentoring her to takeover for him.

And yeah, he’s still old and mixes up shit, but it seemed more like normal old guy stuff, not like at the debate — where he seemed dementia-level confused.

My two cents.

The Future

~ MaryG ~ 18 Comments

What are you most worried about for the future?

I’m most worried about a second Trump term, which seems quite likely following last week’s debate in which Joe Biden’s advanced age and cognitive decline were on full display.

It is my hope that Biden comes to accept this and allows the Democratic Party to nominate someone younger—who can more vigorously rebut all of the convicted felon’s lies—in the coming weeks.

I believe that a second Trump term would mean the end of the United States as we’ve known it. Women’s rights, the Supreme Court, democracy, and the climate are my main concerns. I think I’ve actually given up on the United States ever controlling its gun violence problem.

On a much lighter note, I wore the pink side of my reversible skirt on Saturday. We had a joyous family celebration of my son’s college graduation and my granddaughter on the way. I cannot wait to meet her! 💗

Permanent damage

~ MaryG ~ 4 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What fears have you overcome and how?
View all responses

I had a fear that I was never going to be able to get past knowing that certain people in my family had supported Trump for President in 2016 and 2020. When Trump finally lost in 2020 (after multiple days of waffling by the networks), I thought I’d be able to put that knowledge behind me, but then the insurrection happened and they did not condemn it.

When Biden was finally sworn in, I tried to “get over it.” For a while, I did. I never dreamed the GOP would nominate Trump again in 2024, but apparently that’s exactly what’s going to happen next month (despite the fact that Trump is now a convicted felon).

My feelings of anger towards these family members is back and now I feel they are truly permanent. I don’t think I will overcome them.

It’s sad that a once-in-a-lifetime con man and demagogue has torn apart so many perfectly good relationships. To me, supporting the new MAGA GOP is not a matter of right vs left, but right vs wrong.

Image from Pexels

Friends

~ MaryG ~ 9 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What quality do you value most in a friend?
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Now that I’m 55+ and have lost several friends my own age to cancer and addiction, I am not picky. I like all my old friends. If I’m in touch with them at all at this point in my life, it means there was/is a real connection there.

In making new friends, I gravitate to people who both listen and talk. And obviously, no MAGA. That’s a deal-breaker.

Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda in “Grace & Frankie” on Netflix. No surprise that I was a big fan of all seven seasons of this show.

Preaching to the choir

~ MaryG ~ 7 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What public figure do you disagree with the most?
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“Disagree” is not the right word (far too mild), but I feel I might be preaching to the choir here on WordPress. (As a longtime church choir member, I love that expression.)

Perhaps I’ll see what a (free) AI image generator can do with my intense feelings.

Ooooo…I like this one ^
Perps in Prison. Jerks in Jail. Dirty Old Men. Power Pervs. Catch & Chill (suggestions welcomed)

I vote so we can keep it

~ MaryG ~ 10 Comments
Daily writing prompt
Do you vote in political elections?
View all responses

National, statewide and local elections are all important. I always vote. I have a couple of friends who are very involved in town affairs. Sometimes I reach out to them before local elections. They advise me on who to vote for, when I’m unfamiliar with the candidates. There’s nothing wrong with that. If you have friends who share your values, you can ask them how to vote.

On the federal level in the United States, it’s all on the line in November. For those who missed the exceedingly well-researched TIME magazine cover story on how far Trump would go in a second term, here it is.

I hope voter turnout in November is huge and that people don’t waste their votes on third party candidates (or that creepy Kennedy who hates vaccines). Yes, Joe Biden is very old, but he’s the only candidate with a realistic chance of preventing an “imperial presidency that would reshape America and its role in the world.”

King Donald: This is not what the founders had in mind.

On September 17, 1787, at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin was 81 years old and in terrible pain from gout and kidney stones. After hashing it out for more than two weeks (seven hours per day), he finally convinced thirty-nine convention delegates to sign the Constitution of the United States, with just three delegates refusing. (It would still need to be ratified by the states.)

At the end of the day, they all went out to dinner at the City Tavern in Philly. Delegate McHenry (Maryland) wrote a diary entry describing a conversation between Franklin and Elizabeth Willing Powel who said, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” Benjamin Franklin responded:

“A republic, if you can keep it.”

Source

The Room Where It Happened:
Independence Hall, Philadelphia, where both the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the Constitution of the United States (1787) were signed

Related post:

Nervous about November