About Last Night . . .

 Dear you,

Yes, I watched the first Republican debate last night.  Yes, I was horrified but not surprised by my horror.  One big car crash, I could not look away.  Of course the majority of players on that stage will support a (probably) convicted criminal if they themselves don't secure the nomination. And of course the main points of debate were about how depraved liberal cities are, how America as a whole is in decline, and how teachers' unions are the cause of all ills.  I won't rehash what you saw and heard.  I will, however, attempt to confront horror with humor.  Take Vivek, the empty bloviator "businessman".  Watching him, all I could think about was this:

Do you remember that Friends episode when Ross got his teeth whitened at a mall?  That's all I could think about when the camera focused on Vivek. Of note, after the debate when Hannity interviewed this isolationist barbarian, he made a big deal out of those teeth, complimenting his smile. "Politicians should smile more." (WTF.)

And then there was the poor governor of North Dakota, all banged up after a game of basketball.  Did you catch his final remarks to the audience?  He looked like he was on the rack; perhaps his pain meds had worn off.  He babbled about his work ethic and said something about his hygiene routine. It made no sense to me.  What the hell was his point?  My friend James in NYC clarified it for me:  "he showers at night".  Side splitting. This makes him an ideal candidate for POTUS.

Finally, there was poor Mike Pence reminding us about his born again status.  We learned (again) that Jesus is his personal savior.  This, in his view, makes him a leader of moral authority.  What do we know about right and wrong?  What do we "unsaved" know about the best way to run a country?  Mike's theocracy is the way to go!  Question, Mr. Pence, you might be saved, but who will save us from you?

Enough about that.  Just stay tuned; the comedy will continue.

Love,

Joyce

 

Trust?

Dear you,

A poem by Christopher Logue:

Come to the edge.

We might fall.

Come to the edge.

It's too high!

COME TO THE EDGE!

And they came.

And he pushed,

And they flew.

I love the three voices there; we hear the inspiring leader, the doubtful followers, the objective observer/teller of the tale.  The leader's assertiveness convinced them to take the risk and they flew. Happy ending. But if that leader was a shady con-man or con-woman, there would be lots of blood in the valley below the cliff.  It's a matter of trust. Sometimes we trust the wrong people. See the indictments and testimony about Mr. Trump. See what his "leadership" did to those who believed him. He pushed. They fell. All this is going down and yet he took time out of his day this morning to lash out at his fan-spokespeople on Fox and Friends.  From the New York Post:

“Why doesn’t Fox and Friends show all of the Polls where I am beating Biden, by a lot. They just won’t do it!” the former president posted on Truth Social. “Also, they purposely show the absolutely worst pictures of me, especially the big ‘orange’ one with my chin pulled way back.

Well, not that I typically want to defend Fox and Friends, but come on, Donald.  You are BIG and ORANGE and have NO PERCEPTIBLE CHIN. What other image could they use? Poor Fox and Friends, long time defenders of the Donald. They trusted a really bad guy; they trust him still.

It's always a matter of trust.  Zoom in to a Florida story, also featured in the New York Post.  A woman named Nichole Maks shared a home with an elder (a Mr. Cerasoli) who probably trusted her.  She murdered him, then fled to a local fast food joint. (Nothing like homicide to work up an appetite.)  There, she was apprehended by the police and taken into custody.  "After she was read her Miranda rights, Maks told detectives that she never entered Cerasoli’s bedroom and only set foot on the second floor of their shared apartment to “feed her spiders.” When asked about the weapons she had dropped, police said, Maks became “agitated” and demanded a lawyer. Police returned later with a warrant to test the woman’s bloodied body for DNA evidence. Maks then asked for a can of Diet Mountain Dew and police obliged her."  She then doused herself with Dew, attempting to erase the DNA. Well, the attempt failed.  She's legally doomed but at least she's not dead like poor, trusting Cerasoli. Bless his heart. The "I keep spiders as pets" thing should have been a major red flag.  He trusted a really horrible woman.

We have to take risks; we choose who to trust every day in different contexts. We must trust or we'll never "fly".  But these are the days when our senses must be sharp and our choices well-informed. Go to the edge, please. But do your research first.

Love,

Joyce

Leprosy and Lies

Dear you,

I have become an indoor girl, more than ever before.  The brutal heat along the Gulf Coast is not slacking off. Yes, yes, yes, Florida is hot in the summer, but this is (the word of our times) unprecedented.  Bad as it is here, it is worse in Texas, so Texans on the run are packed in our rental units. This is a major drag. Add to this weather trauma the constant bad news for the sunshine state. Like the cases of resurgence of leprosy. Leprosy?! Another nightmare revival of something we thought was over, something that would never happen here. We melt, deal with crowds and accelerated living costs, and now worry about our digits dropping off.  Florida, a really expensive, annoying leper colony. Has Governor DeSantis blamed this on Biden yet? Give it time . . .

I have also become a metaphorically indoor girl in terms of local chit-chat, even in the friendliest of contexts.  The rage around here is defense of free speech and I just cannot endure having one of those conversations. The free speech right, of course, does not apply to artists, educators, writers, progressive activists, environmental warriors or anyone "woke" (how sick of this am I).  The defense is all about the thrice indicted Mr. Trump.  Any/all blaringly obvious charges noted in the Smith indictment are declared to be protected speech.  Even though the document clarifies that lies are protected, it asserts criminal actions are not.  This too is dismissed by the cult of DJT.  I don't know why any of us thought reality would cure their addiction to MAGA. Everything is just speech! Free, free, free speech.  We are dealing with this diseased perspective, a leprosy of lies. Trump's fans will believe and defend anything; current statements of support prove that to be true.  Those statements are so absurd, they rival these from my beloved satirical friend, The Onion.  From their piece "Republicans Explain Why Trump Is Innocent":

"Eyewitnesses, verified text messages, recorded phone calls, physical evidence, his own confessions caught on tape - It's just not enough to go on."

"Donald Trump came to me in a dream and told me that not only is he innocent, but that I am his one true successor."

(This one attributed to Marjorie Taylor Greene) "He doesn't have the ridges that characterize the skull shape of a criminal."

"Committing a crime or two doesn't mean you're not innocent."

"Title 18 S 371 of the U.S. Criminal Code is obviously a slut who's just lying for attention."

Now, consider NOT SATIRICAL statements made regarding Trump's indictments (DC and Florida cases):

"It is unconscionable for a President to indict the leading candidate opposing him."  That is from House Majority Leader Kevin MaCarthy who knows damn well the charges came from a special counsel representing THE PEOPLE, not from POTUS.

"If he wants to store material in a box in a bathroom, he can do that."  That is from Jim Jordan, House Judiciary Chair who  knows damn well . . . never mind.  He's an idiot.

With that, I sign off and send indoor regards from the land of leprosy and lies.

Love,

Joyce