There are times when I feel as though the only headlines that matter are the ones pertaining to what Trump and his band of misfits are up to. The rest of the stuff seems a bit irrelevant, but I guess we need the appearance of normalcy, of life moving along as it should, despite what we see and hear from inside the beltway or as we go through a day of grocery shopping or filling the gas tank or hoping that our insurance covers a drug the doctor has prescribed, or that a blockheaded invasion of Iran doesn’t precipitate WWIII.

At some point, if the Heritage Foundation and Russell Vought and JD Vance and the rest are allowed to keep going, we’ll be looking back at these current days when we worry about the cost of gasoline and ICE agents behaving like Gestapo as some sort of halcyon time compared with what’s coming if we don’t vote these people out and keep them out.

Of course, this nightmare doesn’t go away if Democrats take both House and Senate. It doesn’t go away if Trump were to step aside or suddenly buy the farm– there are people worse than Trump waiting in the wings. But a blue wave in November might give us a footing to start undoing what has been mindlessly and traitorously abandoned since January 2017.

I’m beginning to see why George Carlin and others could take such a dim view of the right to vote. I can’t remember an election where we’ve heard so much about the importance of getting to the polls and casting that ballot. And it’s largely because I’ve become aware of the level of deception among candidates on any side of the aisle.

Whether D, R or I, they all claim to be going off to Washington to—single-handedly, apparently—get things done. They speak and make promises as if it’s going to be easy to check off items on their laundry list, starting on Day 1.

Huh?

How can any of them be so transparently ridiculous? Do they not understand that we understand the difficulty in passing a piece of legislation, any legislation? Well, except maybe for something like declaring the first Tuesday of every month The First Tuesday of Every Month. They might get that done without too much stonewalling and pork.

We’ll vote, because it’s the least we can do and it’ll make us feel better. But surely we must realize that what we’re hearing now, ahead of the election on November 3, is just one likely empty promise after another, uttered in hopes of securing that precious vote.

It makes sense for Republicans to hold off on all the draconian measures until after the midterms, though I’m not sure why such a delay even matters.

We already know their intentions, that they ensured certain guidelines and measures wouldn’t be implemented in the BBB until after November 3. We already know who they are and that they have no heart, no great urge to care about anyone but themselves.

So they’ll just postpone the inevitable in case it gives them a bump at the ballot box? They’re not even trying anymore.

There are only two reasons anyone would still vote for Republicans: either because the stock market is still producing results for them, or they have no problem with the racism and ineptitude and false bravado and all those draconian measures about to hit the fan, some under the guise of “fiscal sanity.”

Forget about the treasonous buddy-buddy stuff with Russia and China, as Ukraine gets abandoned. Forget about the over-matched leadership at HHS and everywhere else. Forget about the general air of ugliness and bad attitude that’s pervasive among the entire Trump administration.

It’s the liberal commie Democrats we must worry about—you know, the ones who are arguing for basic benefits and lower prices and sensible foreign policy and awareness of need. Such awful stuff.

They are so completely in over their heads. Embarrassingly incompetent. They may have motivations, they may even have some semblance of a plan, but that would only be to the extent that it allows them to avoid culpability.

The Trump administration goes on the offensive in Iran but now faces a resultant widening conflict they have no idea how to stop. Trump is so desperate that he’ll cut deals with Putin and probably Xi, he’ll compromise whatever values remain and consider traitorous options to cover his own ass.

Republican prospects after November 3 are looking dicey, to say the least, so we best be on guard for all the rotten things yet to be rolled out as either distraction or roadblock.

It makes me furious, but at the same time hopeful that enough of us won’t buy the emotional manipulation, the intentionally over-the-top, purposely dark political ads leading up to November 3.

The airwaves are saturated with low blows and accusatory drivel, painting opponents as evil, using foreboding music, grainy black and white footage. And the intent? To, as one source puts it, bypass logical scrutiny in favor of immediate visceral reactions.

It seems lazy and craven to me. Even if it has proven effective in the past, I’m hoping that this time around, people recognize it for what it is: cheap, uncreative drama aimed straight at an unexamined reaction.

And she’s gone. Five days. New record. Donald is feeling the heat of an impending midterm challenge, and he needed to cut his losses. Goodbye, Ms. Zacharia, and good riddance.

Ah yes, a new day, college game day, the consummate distraction on tap, respite from the storms, something that keeps us anchored in a preferred reality, helps us feel like things are normal when they’re far from that.

Seventeen days from the midterm elections. Seventeen days from finding out if a sense of hope is warranted, or if it’s just gonna be more of that sinking feeling. I prefer to think that George Carlin was off base regarding his resignation and futility in thinking that our votes make any difference– that in reality, our precious right to cast a ballot is mere window dressing and balm for all who have been told that this “responsibility” is something sacred, something we preserve at any cost, and not just a paltry whisper in a windstorm.

We should all be tired of being played and lied to and underestimated.

Daily writing prompt

What’s the best online course you’ve ever taken?

View all responses

I have never taken an online course. The closest I’ve come is trying to learn Spanish on Duolingo. I was doing that for a few months.

I think about it every now and then, but would need to decide on subject matter I find relevant or interesting before making such a commitment.

It’s all about appearances.

The new Press Secretary is just another pretty face who gets fed what she needs to say, taking softball questions from three friendly outlets at her first press conference and really not distinguishing herself. She’s got some ground to make up, though I see no reason for giving her the benefit of any doubt. She’ll try to make Donald happy, and if she can’t, he’ll find the next bleach blonde.

No one will touch Ms. Sanders, when it comes to doubling down and shoveling the bullshit. Wow, she was a bulldog, a real arteest. Donald must have loved her. For a time, anyway.