A follow up from my previous about how shallow and “found-to-be-wanting” any slate of Democratic Presidential candidates might be in 2024:

Perhaps Gretchen Whitmer could  well be the outlier that will rise up from the dross of the current list of Democratic hopefuls or wannabes:  Could it possibly be that Michigan’s current governor might become 2024’s version of Barack Obama in 2008?

This article, “Michigan Is Becoming The Anti-Florida On LGBTQ Rights ― And A Lot More” raises that very question – and also raises my hopes.  We should perhaps stay tuned to the news coming our way from The Great Lakes State.

So… According to the AP Article, “Trump says he expects to be arrested, calls for protest,”  he seems stupid enough to go right back to the January 6th playbook and begin what appears to be a concerted effort to incite violence again.  The verbatim quote (including CAPS in the original) said, “IT’S TIME!!! WE JUST CAN’T ALLOW THIS ANYMORE. THEY’RE KILLING OUR NATION AS WE SIT BACK & WATCH. WE MUST SAVE AMERICA!PROTEST, PROTEST, PROTEST!!!”

Is Trump really this stupid?  OR… is he truly the narcissistic sociopath many of us believe him to be?  If the Grand Jury returns a true bill in the Stormy Daniels hush money investigation, then he properly SHOULD BE arrested.  But this idiotic – or more likely, conscious and premeditated – attempt to stir up violence once again from his “True Believers” (the Trumpkins that make us wonder how THEY can possibly be so stupid and naive to continue supporting this grifter) then he should also be arresting for inciting to riot and any other pertinent charges that may apply.

All of which begs a question I simply cannot wrap my head around.  How is it possible that ANYONE, ANYWHERE, at ANY TIME, can actually think this deplorable excuse of a human being could ever be an appropriate and valid choice to be the President of the United States?

People effing amazing me anymore…

A follow up from my previous post on why Joe Biden is pretty much dead in the water in 2024.

If THIS ARTICLE is anywhere close to being accurate, then the Democrat candidate pool of potential Presidential nominees is far shallower than anyone might have thought or hoped – Indeed, if this is the best the Democrats can offer, we might as well go ahead and order something red to wear on November 5, 2024.

• Kamala Harris has been almost a non-entity as Vice President.  She’s stayed so far in Biden’s shadow that she might as well have no more record to run on than she did as Attorney General of California; and plenty of us remember how tainted she was with that background.  (Some of us even remember how her first foray into public office came as a result of sexual / romantic nepotism.)
  
• Stacey Abrams is a 2-time loser in the state of Georgia.  How can anyone seriously believe she can win a nationwide race when she couldn’t even sway a state on the virtual razor’s edge between red and blue politics?  And how many remember the millions she allowed her close friend’s law firm to siphon off from her nonprofit “Fair Fight Action?”  ($9.4 million in 2019 and 2020 alone – a figure that will no doubt grow.)  Not a chance is she a viable candidate.
• Pete Buttigieg?  Come on folks… seriously?  Like him or not, with the current political divide in our nation, there’s simply no way a gay man can possibly be elected President of the United States.  Maybe in 25 years, but right now?  With the razor thin margins almost every election is decided with?  (We don’t have to like it; but we do need to stick with reality.)
• Amy Klobuchar?  Two words – with a corresponding date – say it all.  “Walter Mondale; 1984.”  Another milquetoast Minnesotan, whose 2020 campaign went absolutely no where and whose record is questionable like hers will only lead to another GOP landslide like  Mondale’s embarrassing loss to Reagan in ’84.
• Gavin Newsom might possibly be an able leader, but he’ll be tarred and feathered with so many divisive labels, beginning with “California,” then moving on through “San Francisco,” “Liberal,” “Prop-8…” which will turn into a never ending list in the “zero sum game” of conservative / liberal warfare;  he’ll be dead in the water BEFORE the main artillery of “RECALLED” Governor gets tossed his way.  (And it won’t matter in the least that he survived the recall vote; anymore than it matters to far left liberals that Trump wasn’t “CONVICTED” in either impeachment trial.)
• Elizabeth Warren?  Her “use by” date expired quite a while ago – probably sometime around the time when she allowed herself to be turned into the “Pocahontas” target that Trump used to essentially kill her last campaign.  That ugly attack that lasted through far too many news cycles than it should have will almost immediately rear its ugly head again should she decide to run in ’24.  She’s done a lot of good for a lot of folks not limited to her constituents in Massachusetts, but that’s not and never will include the title of President.  (And let’s not forget; she’s only 6 years younger than Biden, who is already being called senile.)
• Gretchen Whitmer:  Maybe / possibly, she could be a viable candidate.  But she’ll have huge mountains to scale to mount an effective and successful campaign.  She’s a woman, from Michigan, (the “rust-belt” baggage will be weaponized for certain), controversial enough already in that she’s been the target of a real kidnap plot… All of these will mean any campaign of hers will face an uphill battle from day one.  She could well be – possibly / maybe – the next Obama to emerge from relative obscurity, but Obama was elected in a much less clearly divided and toxic political environment.

Which leaves us with the real question.  The “BIG” question.  The “ELEPHANT-IN-THE-ROOM” question… Is this all you Democrats have to offer?  Really?  Then God help us; we may have already lost – and your failure could well mean the end of our Republic.

My last post indicated that I’m done with Joe Biden.  Republicans are already lining their candidates up for next year and more news is coming about how Biden is already taking our liberal support for granted.  The “slide” towards the middle, towards concession, compromise and ultimately another failure has begin, if you believe anything at all that THIS article is talking about.

Amazing how brazen, if subtle, Democrats like Biden can be.  They might as well be saying to those of us whose votes swung an incredibly close election their way, “Bend over;  We’re gonna stick it to you again.” 

I’ve emailed the White House several times recently.  My latest was clearly telling the President that he’s lost my vote.  I hope you are willing to express the same sentiment.  You can do that very thing by sending a message HERE.  (Doubtful if the President ever sees it, but it’s about the only option we have to express our thoughts and desires.)

At this point, the REALLY depressing thought is that the Democrats don’t have anyone – as in NOBODY – who appears to be remotely able to garner enough support to blunt the juggernaut Ron DeSantis seems to be poised to launch.  I dearly hope I’m wrong, but they appear destined to once again snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, reminding me how glad I am that I’ve never identified with any political party.

I just finished sending an email to President Biden at the White House; my 2nd email to him in in as many days.

The first was imploring him to stand behind his word when campaigning for the office he’s desired for so many years.  In 2020 he pledged to us that “I would transition away from the oil industry, yes.”  (This said in the presidential debate’s closing minutes under peppering from Trump.) “The oil industry pollutes, significantly. … It has to be replaced by renewable energy over time.”  I candidly told him (not that he himself will ever see that email) that going back on his pledge turns him into the same kind of liar he repeatedly reminded us Donald Trump was, and if he did that he’d lose my support – and more importantly – my vote.

Today, he approved ConcoPhillips’ Willow Project, thus proving to us that he’s nothing more than a politician who will lie whenever it suits his purposes.  Despite his repeated pledges to be a positive influence in our current climate emergency / disaster, he just approved something that has been denounced as a “carbon bomb.”  Thus I sent my 2nd email to the White House, informing him that I was done; whoever is his primary opponent in the next Presidential election has both my vote and my support.

I’ve been open about my misgivings vis a vis President Biden’s leadership before.  Not only was he a vote of “last resort” to do whatever possible to correct the nightmare of Donald Trump in the White House, I also called on him some time ago, for the good of our country, to resign immediately, turn the office over to Vice President Harris, and for good or bad, let her do whatever she could to keep ultra right-wing republicans from once again taking the Executive Branch.  Today, for me, Mr. Biden removed all doubt.  If the Democratic party continues to throw its support behind him, they will simply be paving the way for another Republican disaster:  We all better start getting used to saying “President DeSantis” if they don’t wake up and actually give us a credible candidate for 2024.

To everyone who stopped by our parents home for the estate sale this past weekend:  Thanks for giving a new home to some of mom’s and dad’s stuff.

We expect that both of them are smiling and happy that some of their dearest possessions will have new homes to give pleasure and service to others as they did for so many years to mom and dad!

We appreciate you all stopping by and spending some time with us.

Rodger, John, Judy & Lisa

A multi-media sermon for this Sunday, from Matthew 2:12 (the magi go home by a different road) set to James Taylor’s iconic song “Home By Another Way.”

A bucket list paddle:  Charleston Harbor from Remleys Point to Shem Creek.  In the middle we paddle around the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown and I get to actually touch her hull at the bow and right on the waterline.  (You wouldn’t believe the rust that flaked off on my fingers!)

This was one for the books!  A long slog by the time we finished paddling up Shem Creek against both tide and headwinds; but worth every single paddle stroke!

We spent Thanksgiving day hiking Cumberland island off the south Georgia coast.  Had Thanksgiving dinner – complete with turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans & corn, and apple turnovers for dessert – on a picnic table at the Dungeness ruins on the south end of the island.  A truly great day.

For the family:

This shows clearly that the markers are at the foot of Dad’s parents and Issy’s graves.  Beside them, Mom and Dad’s marker will be right beside Issy’s and at the foot of their site.  The flat bronze marker behind will be on the SE side of their plot.