History/Herstory, Kamala Harris for POTUS

Dear you,

I write this night with  gratitude.  I thank President Joe Biden for his service and for his decision to, as they say, pass the torch.  Happy, so happy, to welcome Vice President Kamala Harris into this fight for democracy, leading the charge.

I exhale.  I knew this would happen.

But let me zoom in, to the local, as I always do, and share the "scenery" on 30A in Seagrove Beach.  I refer to the signage on Marvin's house to the west of me.  After the assassination attempt, he hung signs saying "bullet proof" and (hold on for this one), "you missed."  You?  As I drive back from the grocery store, Marvin is happily declaring I missed?  What is wrong with this dude?  Who is the "you" he is targeting?  We know.  He wants to imply we who are not Trump cult members were pulling the trigger.  Horrible to consider.  But there you have it.  Fine.  Accuse away.  But what this signage does is more than inflammatory, it is insulting to the man who died, the man who took the bullet.  "You missed"?  Like nothing happened just so long as Donald is fine?  God, these people are indeed deplorable.

So, what is my point tonight?  What do I need to say?  I need to say this to President Joe Biden:  Thank you for decades of work for us, for the USA, for trying always to do the right thing.  Thank you for going high while they go low.  Thank you for never exploiting a tragedy, as Trump just did with that bizarre helmet-kissing thing he did during his RNC acceptance speech, to make yourself look heroic.  Thank you for your grace.  Thank you for your support of Kamala Harris.  Thank you for never giving up.  This torch-passing thing is just another example of you winning, winning for us.  

Sleep well this night, Mr. President.  You are loved; you are honored.

Everyone else, including me?  Sleep just enough to be fit for the work that lies ahead.

#StandWithKamala

Love,

Joyce

#248

Dear you,

Last week, we (sort of) celebrated the nation's 248th birthday.  Was it just me or were you feeling less than celebratory too? Even the fireworks seemed sad. One big reason may be those killer SCOTUS decisions; they put a knife in our  would-be-holiday-happy hearts.  New reality: We have an imperial presidency, severely limited regulatory powers, semi-unlimited access to weapons of war, and our homeless people are not allowed to sleep in public. WTF? Another reason might be President Biden's "performance" during that highly anticipated 6/21 debate.  A man from Arizona summed it up nicely:  "Oh, no" (for Biden) and "Oh, HELL no" (for Trump).

How do we celebrate considering where we are? Many did, here in Seagrove Beach, feeling all 30A fabulous and free as they drove around in monster trucks flying those MAGA flags.  Well, at least somebody's happy. I did my best when encountering the celebrants to put on a brave face, a mask of unfazed stoicism.  But, yes, it was a mask.  This week, I am recovering and leaving the mask behind.  Whatever is, is and all we can do is resist, stand with Joe, and create ways to undo some of that SCOTUS damage.

As for that SCOTUS damage, I am sure you were astonished by Judge Gorsuch's bizarre dismissal of expertise as they overturned the Chevron doctrine that protected informed regulation.  See the title of New Republic's commentary by Kate Aronoff:

This Is Why the Supreme Court Shouldn’t Try to Do the EPA’s Job.

Conservative justices this week confused nitrous oxide with nitrogen oxides and then insisted that they, not the EPA, were the final word on environmental regulations.

The subtitle for her piece is "Laughing Gas."

Perfect.

And now, a press conference is in progress with reporters pushing about Biden's medical condition. Boy, they are riled up! Good, they should be.  We need facts.  However, there is very little "riled up" questioning about the Orange Jesus, his lies, his convictions, or his SCOTUS protection racket.

Give us all some laughing gas. We need harmless narcotics to get through this long hot summer, the 248th summer of independent us.  Hopefully, it is not our last.

Carry on!

Joyce