Sheeple Panic/"New Normal" No Way

After deleting a bunch of junk mail, I came across History’s “This Day In History” newsletter.  On October 30, 1938, a very young Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre group decided to air an updated version of H.G. Wells’ book The War Of The Worlds.  They didn’t realize or expect the extreme panic it caused.  More details here.  I learned about it in an independent reading sometime when I was a teenager and my reaction was: how dumb could people be to fall for this?  A few years ago, I saw and episode of Cold Case called World’s End that gave an accurate depiction of the panic.

It seems what happened was radio listeners tuned in to the show late because they’d been listening to another show first.  They thought it was real and totally freaked.  I still wonder about it.  How could so many people not recognize the story?  How many could possibly ignore the parts of the show that clearly indicated this was fiction?

Well, then I thought about tRumpers.  Not the radicalized violent followers, nor the we-know-we’re-lying-but-we-don’t-care Rethuglicans.  I don’t mean them.  I mean your average voter.  They remind me of the people who freaked and panicked in 1938 because they believed what they were hearing.  These voters are swallowing The Big Lie because it’s been repeated to them  so many times it must be true.  They are drinking the Kool-Aid and are wearing blinders as well.  They don’t hear or see the truth and they happily vote against their own self interests. 

They don’t seem to mind when their representatives and favored famous idols say or do something cruel or commit acts of violence. They’re either celebrating over what happened or are silent.  They'll happily accept the "new normal" behavior from their representatives and heroes.

There are not even cricket sounds from our Rethuglican representatives and senators after the vicious attack on Paul Pelosi.  I saw something from Mitch McConnell that condemned the violence but not a single word from the House Rethug leader, Kevin McCarthy.  Some of those folk even have the nerve to mock what happened or, even worse, to celebrate it.  It was a horrifying attack against an innocent victim who just happened to be married to Speaker Pelosi.

The threats against Speaker Pelosi have been increasing.  There are threats against the members of the House Special Committee on January 6^th.  All of them need protective detail…but family members don’t qualify for that protection.  That’s how that tRumper was able to break in and injure Paul Pelosi.  Now family members are being targeted? Even organized families had an understanding to leave spouses, kids and grandkids alone.

Election officials and workers are being threatened.  Armed tRumper violent militia extremists have shown up to intimidate voters.

Is this America or is it AmeriKKKa?

And are we going to accept this as the new normal?  I would think that every Democrat would be loudly condemning this political violence that tRump and his cronies are inciting.  I am so not impressed with the lack of strong responses from the Democrats. 

I am not going to stand for this.  I will get up on my pedestal and holler from my laptop.  What’s happening now is NOT OKAY.  I know there are others who feel as I do.

Here are other columns that I read that tie in to all of this:

Dispatches From A Collapsing State

Raw Story

Michael Moore

Dan Rather

Mad As Hell But Taking Dan Rather's Advice

It all boiled over yesterday after that vicious attack on Paul Pelosi (meant for Speaker Nancy Pelosi), Ke being approved back into Facebook, and the threat implied in Randy Quaid’s GQP tweet.  What happened is very clear proof the coup on our democracy is not over.  And people like Ke and Quaid and are making outrageous disgusting behavior the new norm. And “Christian” nationalists keep dragging God and Jesus into their sorry behavior. 

This is how I feel:

I'm As Mad As Hell

And then I read Dan Rather’s tweet.  Dan Rather is one of the very few journalists I trust for the truth. His advice today makes complete sense to me.  I plan to put aside thoughts, grief, and despair about the evil doings of the GQP, trumpers, and “Christian” nationalists.

Today my daughters are coming for a visit.  I’m planning a nice roast chicken dinner and we’ll visit and then either watch a movie or a Netflix series.

I am going to reread Jane Goodall’s The Book Of Hope.  She said that many times she’s felt anger and despair about what was happening but still kept nourishing that flame of hope that things will get better.  She suggested several things to remember during dark times and now, of course, I can’t remember them all.  Worthy of a reread for sure.

I’m going to be phone banking, encouraging voters to mail their ballots or go to the polls.  Some of the dialers I use have software that will bring up locations for voting and if anyone is unsure where to show up, I can give them answers.  I do feel much better when I talk to voters and share our views.

There will be music almost 24/7 this weekend.  Right now, I’m listening to Tran Siberian Orchestra’s Lost Christmas Eve. Yes, I know we haven’t had Halloween yet.  This music comforts and soothes me. 

And then there’s Country First.

I do have hope in spite of being angry.  I am staying steady.

 

Country First Gives Me More Hope

Yesterday I was feeling meh.  My mood’s been a little dampened because of all the onslaught of hateful news. Kanye West, a popular rapper now known as Ye, has been sounding off in all his racist glory against Jewish people. This isn’t really new for him but because he’s popular and black to boot, Rethuglican white supremacists are loving it. They held this disgusting huge banner over a major throughway in CA proclaiming that Ye was “right about the Jews.”

Then there’s continuing mind-blowing news from the battleground states. In Georgia, there is a good, Christian man serving right now and running for re-election. And he’s a minister too! You’d think the voters there would be overwhelming in favor of Rev. Raphael Warnock but … he’s in a tight race with the Rethuglican candidate.  Is it because Rev. Warnock is black?  No, his opponent is also black, a tRumper former football player who is now brain dead, Hershel Walker. Walker is a tRumper who has talked big about right-to-life and no-abortion-no-exceptions but … he’s had at least 2 women abort their babies and paid for the procedures.  He has out-of-wedlock children he doesn’t see.  It should be a no-brainer, right?  Well, nope.  The reason the tRumper sheeple are going for Walker is because tRump supports him.  Warnock is a Democrat.

In Pennsylvania, the Lt. Governor John Fetterman is running against snake oil salesman Dr. Oz.  Dr. Oz has been criticized for pushing and selling products that’s supposed to improve health for this or that reason.  It’s all bullshit and he’s been called out on it.  He is slick and knows how to perform for cameras.  Fetterman has some excellent ideas but recently suffered a stroke.  He’s recovering well but still is working through auditory processing issues and speech issues.  So, they had a debate and to hear mass media tell it, Fetterman was a disaster.  Other more independent journalists say he did a good job. Fetterman’s doctors say he’s doing great. The polls show them running neck and neck.

Stupid people are blaming Joe Biden for the so-called recession and high prices.  But it’s happening because of tRump policies.  Corporations are gouging customers openly and freely.  Why is this Biden’s fault?  The Rethuglicans voted against a measure that would stop the gouging.  Yet it’s all Biden’s fault.  I could scream.

President Biden has gotten so much done in the last year and it’s been mostly with partisan cooperation.  He gets zero credit from the media and therefore from Rethug voters—like that doctor who told me he’d vote for a dead possum in the road before he’d vote for a Democrat. Such anger. Why?

Many stupid people are determined to vote against their own self interests.  Rethug legislators have come right out and said they were going to tear social security and Medicare down, rip it to pieces.  One elderly woman I was interviewing just scoffed and said she didn’t believe it would happen.

Yeah? Didn’t we all believe Roe would never be overturned?

So, for all these reasons my mood has been a bit low.  I’m not saying I’m not without hope.  I continued to nurture a small flame all through this avalanche of evil and stupidity.  But I’m weary from all the hatred, divisiveness and the downright mulish stupidity of tRump supporters.

Out of the blue yesterday, I got an email from Rep. Kinzinger, one of the heroes on the January 6^th investigation committee.  He and Rep. Cheney both stood up to support democracy and the Constitution and they have both lost their seats and positions within the new GQP that has taken hold of what used to be the GOP. Rep. Kinzinger’s email invited me to attend a seminar for a group called Country First.

I am so glad I got that email.  I attended the webinar and was impressed with the speakers who were there.  They all had very compelling messages.  There used to be a time when Democrats, Republicans and Independents would work together to come up with needed legislation.  Their policies and beliefs were different but they were able to find common ground to work with.  They stood by the Constitution and our democracy.  I remember; I lived through years of cooperation between the parties even when they disagreed.

Country First wants to find common ground again so that the country can function. Right now, it’s an obstructionist mess with nothing getting done. This is going to involve a lot of seed planting. The obstruction and bipartisanship won’t change overnight but it can change by supporting politicians like Kinzinger, Cheney, Andy Kim, and other legislators who have the courage to do the right thing for our country.

I’ve shared information about Country First on social media platforms. I’m sharing the link here and hope that people will visit, read all the mission statements, join and volunteer in some way.  I know there’s a lot of us out there that feel the same way Country First feels.  We’ve got to plant those seeds.

 

Lost in the Twilight Zone

 

It’s funny: everyday I collect news stories on topics I want to write about. In the last week or so, I just keep setting them aside.

I feel like I’m wandering around in the Twilight Zone.

Or, a more up-to-date type experience: I’m in the Upside Down and can’t find my way out.

I’ve written about this before but it seems every day news items are more mind blowing.

The midterms are in less than two weeks.  Almost everywhere it seems that qualified candidates are in a virtual dead-heat with mind-dead, tRump parroting, ultra-right-wing conservatives. And why? I still don’t get it.

In Georgia, voters have a current senator now that is a thoughtful, rational, and even better yet, Christian minister in Raphael Warnock. Yet many are going for brain damaged or just flat-out stupid Hershel Walker.  Not only has he been lying and making ridiculously stupid remarks, Mr. Pro Life has at least 2 women publicly testifying he wanted them to abort his babies with them. In normal times, this would be a total deal breaker for Mr. Walker.  Apparently, the Upside Down is now known as the “New Normal” where it’s OK to be a fool, a liar and a hypocrite as long as you are a Rethuglican.

In Pennsylvania, there’ve been positive and negative takes on Lt. Gov. John Fetterman’s debate with snake oil salesman Dr. Oz.  Fetterman had a major stroke less than 6 months ago and is doing amazingly well in his recovery.  He still has some processing issues and needed some accommodation for the debate, to have the questions in text for him to read.  Dr. Oz has been in hot water for his many erroneous medical claims.  Not only that, he doesn’t even live in PA.  In spite of all that, major media is all gloom and doom about Fetterman.  It’s depressing.  The man is intelligent and has some great ideas; Dr. Oz panders to the tRumpers.  His most recent statement during the debate was that a woman’s reproductive care should be up to the woman, her doctor and, oh yeah, local legislators. 

In all the other battleground states, decent Democratic candidates or office holders are struggling to keep even with inept Rethuglicans endorsed by tRump—and some of these clowns are just evil.  Why? Because Rethuglican millionaire/billionaires are pouring in ad money to support the idiots on the Rethug ticket.

A sense of simple decency and kindness barely exists online at all.

I can’t look at major media anymore.  The headlines are infuriating and depressing as Democrats & President Biden are bashed without quarter and tRumpers are fawned over like they’re gods.  No wonder they walk around arrogantly broadcasting their anti-Semitic, racist, ugly views. There’s no blowback. Their own party members won’t say anything and, surprisingly, neither will the Democrats.

The Democratic leadership has been asleep at the wheel almost the entire time President Biden has been in office.  There have been so many blown opportunities for talking points to connect with voters.  It’s like that whole party has OD’d on Valium or something.

I set aside topics I want to write about because going down those roads would only serve to make me more discouraged.  There are only 2 weeks to the election and I want to keep a flame of hope kindled.  From now until the election is over, I’m going to set news aside and just focus on job hunting and writing for NaNoWriMo in November.  If we do have a blue wave or tsunami, I can write about things that need to be changed.  If we don’t, it won’t matter because we won’t have a democracy anymore.