This Ain’t No CNN.

I did not write a blog entry on 9/11. I was too consumed by what was happening on that day. I did write a blog entry on 9/12/2001, and here it is.

I’m not going to make this a long entry as I’ll be late for work otherwise, and with news feeds and such, work is plenty busy.

I am still in shock and disbelief as to what occurred yesterday in New York, Washington, D.C. and southwest Pennsylvania. It’s amazing how fragile life can be sometimes, even living in the greatest nation on the planet. To see the second airliner crash into the World Trade Center tower, live on television, was astounding. The number of innocent victims killed or injured will be staggering. To think that human beings could commit such acts against other human beings is terrifying. There is already a renewed sense of unity in our great nation. I believe our lives changed yesterday at 8:48 a.m. forever. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.

This has been bouncing around in my head for nearly a week. After the DNC, I read too many awful statements and opinions on Gus Walz’s display of pride, happiness, joy, and amazing outpouring of emotion while his father spoke at the Democratic National Convention. The reaction from too many people was so incredibly toxic. Prime suspects like Ann Coulter and her ilk said such horrible things.

Gus’ position on the Autism Spectrum is irrelevant in this discussion. Gus is a human being. Full stop. He is a human being that is very proud of his father. Full Stop. People making fun of his display of emotion has bothered me so much, because no human deserves to be mocked for being true with their emotions. Especially when it was clearly so much love and pride that was on display.

Whether you support Harris/Walz or not is also irrelevant in this discussion. Hateful comments, remarks, and countless memes speak to the character and the moral foundation of those who share these things, of those who believe these things, and of those who support those that share these remarks.

When you come for Gus, you come for me, a fellow human being. Instead of trumpeting around about your political beliefs, let’s take a step back and find our common humanity and put that above all else.

It’s been quite a while since Randy Rainbow came across my bits and bytes, but this latest video is a lot of fun. Enjoy “JD, JD… (Married Lady)”.

Kamala Harris’ speech at the DNC last week was so inspiring. Her words gave me hope. Her passion for this country is inspiring. I haven’t felt hope like this in a very long time.

So after this amazing speech, CNN cuts to a bunch of pundits sharing their comments on the situation and then John King slicing and dicing every word, every number, every scenario.

Why can’t we just seize the moment, let the hope breathe a little bit, before we delve into the nightmare also known as “The Electoral College”. Can we live in the moment? Can we enjoy the feeling of hope? For an hour? For a week? Maybe through November.

Seize the hope. Let is breathe. We can look at the numbers after the nightmare is over.

John King … shut up.

It has been a VERY long time since I’ve felt hope for the United States of America. It has been a VERY long time since I’ve felt patriotic.

We can do this America. Go watch her nomination acceptance speech. Do it. And then vote for her in November.

Judging by the number of filtered out posts marked with “SCOTUS” on my Mastodon feed, I can only assume the Supreme Court laid out some stupid, partisan, greased palm rulings again today.

As a kid I remember being in awe of the Supreme Court of the United States. They seemed like wise people who knew the law and were to be respected. Fast forward to 2024 and I realize two things: 1. They weren’t really that supreme to begin with and 2. The court now is just a bunch of paid off hacks that are doing whatever they can for monetary gain. They’re a bunch of idiots in robes. Honestly, if their stupidity and paid off rulings didn’t impact the populace I wouldn’t give them nine of them a second thought.

It’s kind of disheartening to realize that even in my mid 50s I’ll probably outlive the United States as we know it today. It’s really a shame the Democrats are too weak to do anything about it and the Republicans are gleefully taking us back to days reminiscent of the Third Reich.

I’m still voting for a large meteor. The 50 states will be nothing more than Spirit of Halloween states come November.

I am generally avoiding news and posts and social media updates around political discourse during this Presidential election season. It’s not because I’m indifferent to the subject. I am very much aware of what can happen if Trump is elected to office again. No, I’m avoiding the subject online to maintain my personal sanity. My head is not in the sand; my mind is very much made up.

For those not aware, ultra conservative groups (I hesitate to call them “think tanks” and the like) have banded together to formulate a Day One plan should Trump be elected to the White House again. This plan is called “Project 2025” and it is horrifyingly alarming. Some high points:

• Reclassify thousands of government jobs as political appointees, instead of designating them as a civil service positions. If they’re political appointees, Trump would insist they be loyal to him
• Dismantling key governmental agencies, for example, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), because they’re “pushing the climate change agenda”
• Other agencies on the dismantled list would include the Department of Education

I’m not a huge fan of John Oliver, but his recent coverage of “Project 2025” is enlightening. Take a few moments to watch this clip. I hope I don’t have to tell you that another Trump presidential administration would be a very bad idea.