Parochial Political Stew….
Just some shit I was thinking about. Take it however you want.
In the coming election, I prefer Joe Biden.
When I say I prefer Joe Biden, it’s not that I think he’s perfect. I actually like him because he’s not perfect, nor does he present himself to be. He fucks up a lot. He apologizes a lot. He steps in shit and goes, “oh, malarkey.”
I prefer all his goofball shit to the blowhard who can’t take criticism while trying to destroy the Post Office.
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Remember when we didn’t spend hours and days thinking about Coronavirus or if it was safe to vote in person or wondering if that medication we were getting through the mail was going to show up?
Good times.
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People rip on Biden for choosing Harris because (among other irrelevant arguments) she tore him up during the Democratic debates and how could a man let that happen and that would never happen to Trump because Trump is a man and he doesn’t let anyone disrespect him…blah blah MAGA KAG NAFTA SNFU….
In the issue about school busing in the 70’s which Biden had apparently opposed but in truth didn’t really affect him, Kamala Harris actually was affected by it and had her best moment of the whole campaign taking him down (but not out). And yet later on, he chose her. He liked what he saw. He liked what she could do for the country as his VP. Hell, he served in the shadow of Obama for 8 years. It’s called keeping your ego in check.
He overcame the humiliation. Because he is an adult. And that’s what adults do.
After almost 4 years I’m starting to realize the value of career politicians. It’s not a huge value, but it’s important. And in many ways, Biden’s value as a calming force as a competent if unremarkable politician is what many of us need right now.
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Kamala (COMMA-Lah.)
To review…
So far we’ve heard”
She’s not Black! (Which I guess is news to her.)
She’s not qualified because she’s not an American! (Because Oakland is apparently not in the United States. I don’t remember needing a passport when I went there but maybe that’s changed since 2013.)
She’s too liberal! (also, probably news to her.)
She’s too ambitious/opportunistic/pick your word. (Because voters are asking that of every candidate, right?).
Her support of an aggressive police force that targets Black and other minorities is troubling. (Yes, it is. I have no argument there. But I don’t think the people who support Trump would consider this disqualifying, so they focus on the other more racist and misogynistic shit).
But the VP is never really the deal breaker.
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I don’t expect to change minds. I just want to put things out there. I’m keeping my eye on the news without completely immersing myself in it. I don’t watch TV news at all. Not CNN, not FoxNews, not NBC. I sometimes wind up catching 5 minutes of the local news after Svengoolie on Saturdays but that might be it. I used to watch Meet The Press on NBC but my interest (and the quality) dropped off considerably since Tim Russert died in 2008.
I read the paper. The Baltimore Sun gets delivered to my house every day. I make a point of getting through it and then…I put it in the recycle bin. Just a once over of the news. That’s it. (Ok, maybe I go online and look at some stuff, or I read an article served up on Google news, but it’s not an all-day adventure.)
I appreciate the quiet. If I get pissed off, I have fodder for the blog. But it’s not all-consuming. That’s why I do it.
I highly recommend it, if for no other reason than to eliminate some noise in your life. And to do other things…
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Assuming bad intent with everybody may work for some people but it’s just so damn exhausting. Maybe if you’re in prison or something.
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