Condo Boards and Congress, Fight Clubs!

Dear you,

This week, Republican Senator Mullin of Oklahoma challenged Sean O'Brien, Teamsters president, to a duel, a fisty one, right on the senate hearing floor. "Stand your butt up."  "You stand your butt up."  That was the challenge and the retort, very fifth grade playground. Fabulous Senator Sanders, brother Bernie, had to remind Mullin that he was a senator, for god's sake. And then, in the House, former Speaker McCarthy was accused of elbowing an enemy congressman in the kidney.

Is this happening or am I failing to distinguish between (once again) satire and reality? As for shenanigans in Congress, in the current online Onion, see "Woman Comes Out of Manic Episode to Discover She's Been Elected U.S. Representative."  (From Florida, naturally.) In the sassy piece, the fictional congresswoman comes out of the episode and recalls some things she stated at rallies that her supporters loved: "I do know I said something about foreign oil being a juice concocted by Jesus Christ that would make U.S. troops grow tall enough to marry the Statue of Liberty." Actually, this sounds like something many Florida folks would cheer for.

What a hot mess, petty violence and idiocy. Like here, in my zone and the utter shit-show of my HOA.  This idiocy was on full display during the yearly owners meeting last Saturday.  Newer owners with ego problems have been working on their own little version of January 6, Lilliputian insurrectionists.  On forums such as Eneighbors, one standout ego-maniac lobs personal attacks on older board members and accuses the management company of something close to fraud.  After the vote for  next year's Board of Directors failed to meet his expectations (the older, calmer souls were actually re-elected), he suggested the management company had purposely "botched" the election.  Yeah, like "the election was rigged!"  I could not resist responding to all the infighting by quoting from Palahniuk's real Fight Club:  "The things you own end up owning you.  It's only after you lose everything that you're free to do anything." I also stated that I would be happy to let my condo go for $50 and exit laughing since everything here is so ridiculous.  (Word has it the owners who are currently listing their condos for sale totally freaked out about that.  Talk about blowing the comps!)  Sadly, the infighting here will probably not end any time soon, as it will probably not end any time soon in Congress. It's all Fight Club, but without the philosophical inspiration or literary sizzle.

To close, I wish you all well.  I shall now "stand my butt up" and try to carry on as the tragic-comedies continue.

Love,

Joyce