Contrasts

I watched Sleepy Joe's speech last night. It was a short speech. I thought I was impressed when he tweeted he would be stepping down and handing his baton off to competent hands in a younger generation. Now I am impressed even more since I heard the words come from his lips.

There are many quotable bites from his speech; too many to mention all of them. The one that sticks with me this morning is :

"I revere this office"

"But I love my country more"

Meanwhile yesterday, at a rally in front of some of his cult members, Donald Trump said:

"We're a stupid country"

With over fifty years of public service, can anyone on either side of the aisle deny Joe Biden's love of his county? Yeah, yeah, the fools on the Right will, but they are all infected by Trump's self serving vision of the country he would like America to be; afraid, subservient, with the poor safely in their place shining his shoes.

Sleepy Joe on the other hand has always wanted to see America at the top of whatever mountain we chose to conquer. Joe did his best to help us get there. He has been a selfless leader his whole life even in the face of so much tragedy in his life. Passing on the torch to a younger generation was exactly what a Joe Biden would do and he did. He buried his own self interest to help our nation continue to be one of the strongest beacons of Freedom in the World.

Donald Trump - "We're a stupid nation". The contrast of visions could not be greater.

'Nuff said.

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Picking a song is all too often a daunting task for me some days. I have an opinion on everything and of course it is because I know everything or at least anything that is of the slightest importance to all of us; but ask me to pick a song on the Juke Box and I freeze. I can't stand the pressure, please, please pick someone else, I am about to crawl into a fetal position here........

Okay, okay, I took a minute, got up and refilled my coffee cup and contrary to my new effort to not spark up a doob before noon, I just sparked up a fat joint to help mellow me out. 

................ Ah, that's better.

I finally decided. I feel that no matter the result of this years 2024 election cycle, I am pretty confident in saying our nation is in for a serious change. One result, we keep an even keel. The other result, we head into rough seas. As Sleepy Joe said last night , "It is up to us, the American People".

Here is a cover of Sam Cooke's, "A Change is Gonna Come". I think it fits right in.

Post Sleepy Joe

Ran across the meme to the right on "Democrats for Texas", a group page on Facebook. Made me laugh out loud. I immediately caught the wonderful irony of the statement and how it might affect the Right's mindset as they try to come to grips with a world without Sleepy Joe. 

The Right, especially the White Pride Christian Nationalist gang are simple, salt of the earth types, you know, morons who depend on guidance from a currently unproven entity who is conveniently vengeful and/or empathetic depending on how their day is going and who might have pissed them off or made them happy. I don't need any fictional characters running things in my brain. Got over that during my LSD period that lasted several years in the late1960s and early 1970s. Nothing like like a lot of LSD to reset someone's compass. 

Imagine the Right's confusion these last few days after Joe dropped out. I can envision a flurry of frantic genuflection, restocking ammo, and calling up one more time about that missing shipment of Freeze dried food guaranteed to last 30 years if the seals are not broken. Yeah, they are going to be some busy this next week or so until their thoughtful leaders offer them solace with new tales of fire and brimstone if a DEI woman (wink wink, a black woman) takes over the White House.

I am a fence sitter when it comes to God. There may have been or even still is an intelligent designer or god kickin around out there in space. But until a god is scientifically proven to exist, I'll lean totally Scientific Method's way. Scientific Method is all we have to factually verify anything. Hope and faith don't cut it.

Organized Religion can be and often is rigid, with no wiggle room dogma and unproven at this point. Science changes when proven it needs changing. 

Neither are perfect, but one is a damn sight closer to perfect than the other, what with the huge back log of proven facts already stashed in Science's quiver. Religion has no cred that relies on provable information. Organized Religion totally depends on fears, hopes, and dreams.

My belief that either could be correct stopped being an issue for me the day I dropped Organized Religion from my must have list. I shifted to "I don't Care" because frankly from all the observable evidence over my lifetime, if there is a god, that god's actions seem to have little to do with how we run things here on planet Earth. We are on our own. 

At best, "God", as we refer to this intelligent designer, may have indeed set up the scene with the props, the actors, and the set, but that is as far as they went. Contrary to the claims of billions, God, if real, left for parts unknown without a second thought about us and our petty interactions. This intelligent designer is not interested, so why should I be interested in whether they exist or not? The outlandish claims of a group of people who can't live their lives without convincing themselves some greater being is monitoring and judging what they do seems a waste of time. I won't do it.

They can go ahead and pray to whomever or whatever they want to, but as soon as they bring those beliefs into the political arena, they are my enemy. Leave the crucifix at the door. I don't want any part of their circus.

As always, please strive to ..................... Keep it 'tween the ditches.

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Finding a tune that fit became an instant struggle today. Music and religion don't coexist in my mind very well. They could I guess, but again, who cares? Anyway, as I struggled to come up with a new tune dissing religion, I remembered "Eleanor Rigby", by the Beatles. It may be my favorite song by them.

The New Candidate?

Well okay. The Presidential election has just become even more of a clusterfuck. Joe Biden has chosen to back out and now 8 hours after the announcement, most of us it seems, are sitting back not knowing what to think; maybe a few thoughtful Trump voters included. The Election dynamic has changed course; the old contest has been uprooted and tossed in the trash. The party that takes the best advantage of this turn of events will win I think. 

Biden stepping down does in no way mean a slam dunk for the GOP. They have bet everything on beating a certain candidate who is now no longer in the race. They will have to come up with a whole new bag of lies and deceit damn quickly to meet the challenge of whoever gets the Democrat's nod.

And sure, there is now tremendous pressure on the Democrats to switch gears, find a candidate on the run and get a new campaign up and running ASAP. Their job may seem daunting, but I think if they are quick to choose and wholeheartedly support a new challenger to Trump, the pressure will blow back on Trump and his clown circus to come up with a campaign strategy that works. 

First of all, the only age issue existing now is Trump's age. Anyone the Dems pick will certainly be pre-Octogenarian. Second, in my opinion, if they are smart they will strongly consider Kamala Harris as a first choice. She's already in the race. She has proven she will take on Trump like an attack dog. And finally, this accident of events may just be the moment and time we finally put a woman in the White House.  Nothing would take the wind out of the Right Wing sails faster than a Woman of Color and Asian ancestry sitting in the Oval Office running the show. Kamala is certainly more qualified than Trump to do that. His first term proved my dog would have been a better president..

Joe Biden had my full support right up to the moment I think he made the decision to withdraw. And at this moment my feeling is upbeat. I think Kamala has a serious chance of kicking Trump's ass if the Democrats stop wringing their hands, come together as one and jam a better candidate down Trump's throat. ...............  Best of Luck Kamala!

I will wait with jaundiced eye for any sign the Democrats really want to kick Trump's ass. In the meantime,, please ........

Keep it 'tween the ditches ...................................

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I decided rather than browse Youtube videos to find a tune that fits, I told myself I had to come up with a song on my own that might just put Kamala Harris in perspective for me. From what I know now, she has spent a lifetime being disrespected and then turning that disrespect into earned respect and sometimes real admiration from the people she interacted with in various public service positions.

Without further ado, here is "Respect" by Aretha Franklin.

Flies in My Coffee Blues

I can't keep up with the planet's constant change of pace as it whizzes past my pucker brush protected corner here in Maine, USA. Thankfully, another natural cycle will swing by in time to remind me some things will never change. 

No matter what's currently shakin and quakin out of control beyond the comfort zone I have built for myself, the natural cycles of the Real World have become dependable, tried and true sanity anchors for me. Each season, each month brings with them events, tasks, and concerns none of the others have. No matter how insane Humans get, the natural cycles can often temper the worst of our craziness and stupidity; at least in the short term.

Some of those cycles I look forward to and some I don't. No matter what, every cycle brings both the good and the bad. Pick your poison. A certainty is that, at the very least, a minor inconvenience accompanies every moment we annually count on.

I'll skip over the long list of cycles I look forward to and skip right to the ones, well one specific one that involves me every June and July in the same insane struggle..... House Flies and their never ending efforts to drive me out of my mind.

We don't usually have a high annual influx of houseflies. I'm guessing about an average total for an old house with an infinite number of ways for beasties, small and even smaller to invade our house. Along with ladybugs, some very confused wasps, houseflies are more than benign visitors like the others. I don't count spiders because well, I like spiders and do what I can to protect their turf, inside or out. Besides, they love to eat houseflies.

There are surely an infinite number of critters dumber than a housefly. but not many more annoying. They don't need to be smart, their abilities exist in the reflex DNA that is in every fly I guess. They have speed and reflexes on their side: me, well, it's supposed to be no contest but usually ends up in a draw.

This year the housefly invasion came late. At this point, the ones showing up are nummer and dummer than the average housefly. They are easy to kill, they'll wait for you. They're attraction to being extremely stupid however has a serious downside. In the last 72 hours or so, I have picked at least 5 flies out of my coffee. There have been so many, I am now a tad concerned about how many I might have missed.

At this point, I am in quandary regarding which kind of housefly is better for me;  The dumb a a bag of rocks flies that are easy to kill but will often find a way to fall in my coffee or the fast un-killable kind, who irritate me in so many other ways but at least have the courtesy to not fall in my coffee and drown.

Keep it 'tween the ditches ......................................

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I found a cool kids tune, "Housefly Blues", by The Wee Hairy Beasties. The song is for kids, the music is for everyone. It's a pretty kick ass Blues tune.

A Mindless Trio - WWP # 371

"A Mindless Trio" - Weekend Writing Prompt #371 – Timorous - 54 words

A mindless trio of rhinoceros bounded my way

I felt they would not eat me

As Google contended they fed herbivorously

I stood my ground, sure I was safe

But as they came closer

The ground heaved and shook so vigorously

I began to feel mildly timorous

For being such an obviously oblivious ignoramus

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People go online and if they hang out long enough, they find something that sucks them in and will not let them go. They cannot help themselves. Whatever the something is; a game site, group site, a writing site, they are not happy until they have had that daily fix, weekly or even monthly fix. 

I have a couple of games I sometimes play. Word related entertainment though, is my itch. Crossword puzzles, letter boxes, find the groups and flash fiction and poetry are my weaknesses, addictions, internet substance abuses. If I am not dickin around with words in one form or another, I am not happy.

I have never planned to monetize my writing. First of all, making money writing is easier said than done and once money enters the equation, that indicates writing is now labor and could easily turn into drudgery or worse, something I only do for the money.

I write because it makes me think, which in turn keeps everything else I have on board running like a an almost finely tuned old analog wind up clock. Writing keeps the pace in my brain on those manic days down to a dull roar. On the Depressive days, writing can help me climb out of it sooner than later.

I don't pretend to be any good or even in the ball park of good. It does not matter. I am having fun and that is all that matters.

Keep it 'tween the ditches .................................

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Figured finding a song about or containing Rhinosceros or is it Rhinoseri, then maybe it should be Rhinosceroses..... we'll let the Rhinos decide. I quickly , like almost instantly within five minutes or so, this Jazzy tune from Jon Gomm caught my attention. Excellent instrumental by again, an artist I never knew existed. Here is "Dance of the Last Rhino", by Jon Gomm. Enjoy mellow or loud, it works well on all levels.