Squinting Into the Future – Day 1086

Posted on November 2, 2021 by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment

Squinting For Sure – Photo: L. Weikel

Squinting Into the Future

Tonight’s post is one of my short ones. Ha ha – I say that, and I haven’t even written it yet. But I speak with confidence and believe my squinting into the future is accurate because because I’m sitting here, covered in warm snoring puppies, unable to keep my eyes open.

And tonight, while I would love to shake the cobwebs from my head and do whatever it takes to gain my second wind, I must refrain. No; I must do what I must to fulfill my commitment to my 1111 Devotion, but I also have a responsibility to be awake and aware tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn. So I need to get to bed.

Rare Sighting

The primary photo for this post contains a rare sighting of yours truly. I tend to be the one behind the camera far more often than in front of it, and I’d much prefer to post photos of anything else.

But the message conveyed on my mask (hat tip to my middle son, who actually owns this mask) is the reason why I must succumb to slumber far earlier than usual. As I’ve written about in the past, a very small contribution I’m happy to make to upholding and facilitating our democratic ideals is serving as an election official at our local polling place. And since my colleagues and I need to get everything set up and ready to throw our doors open to the maddening throngs of neighbors exercising their franchise by 7:00 a.m., I need to get bed earlier than usual.

And I’m tired.

My Message

If you live in a state (or commonwealth) that’s having elections tomorrow, I entreat you: please vote. Our elections have never been more safe or secure, yet far too many people in our country are operating under the illusion that fraud is rampant.

It is not.

Our machines are safe. Our elections are safe. The people with whom I work, and have worked for decades, are people with integrity and a passion for (small d) democracy. We care about the preciousness of everyone’s vote.

But we must exercise our right to vote if we’re going to keep that right. And nothing could be more important than taking a stand for free and fair elections. So please: take a stand for truth and integrity. Take a stand for the Earth. Take a stand for our children and their right to a free, well-rounded, public education. Take a stand for equality and inclusiveness.

Do not make the mistake of assuming that we’ll always have the rights and privileges we enjoy at this moment. If we don’t use our right to vote, we could easily lose it.

Vote.

Pacha and Brutus Approve This Message – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-25)

Weird Stuff – Day 651

Posted on August 24, 2020August 24, 2020 by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment

Potential Prey – Photo: L. Weikel

Weird Stuff

OK. I just sat here and started a post. I wrote a couple paragraphs and then looked away from the document I was working on because a text message made my phone chirp, which momentarily distracted me. When I returned to the document moments ago, nothing was there. Nothing other than ‘Day 651.’ That’s some weird stuff.

This is all in keeping with the way the rest of today has unfolded, which is both unnerving and infuriating. I sent myself at least six different photographs from my iPhone – possible inspirations for whatever I was going to write about this evening – and I sent them significantly earlier in the day, too! (For once I can’t blame this on me being ‘last minute.’) But they have yet to arrive in my email inbox. I also sent photos to a friend and colleague in England a good eight hours ago – and they have yet to arrive in his inbox.

I’d laugh if everything wasn’t just so seemingly bolloxed up. When electronic stuff doesn’t go through or doesn’t get delivered, there’s not a lot we can do. And it’s not even as though we can drop back and punt by sending things out via snail mail. Nope. Can’t rely on that anymore either.

What’s Sacred Anymore

The fact that our ability to communicate via the written word can be so easily and profoundly derailed is troubling. Or it should be. And the fact that it is our own government that’s sabotaging delivery of the physical expression of the written word should be more than alarming.

We’re seeing some profoundly weird stuff being passed off as the usual hyperbole associated with an election season. It is not. We are being bombarded by insanity. And if we don’t stand up and demand accountability, we will soon be buried by the bullshit.

The entire argument that disabling over 600 massive mail sorting machines could possibly be appropriate as we approach the election is disingenuous at best. And I do not buy it. But to destroy the machines? What fresh insanity is that? Why would that be done in any case, for any reason, other than to sabotage our mail system?

If you haven’t paid attention yet, here’s an article that describes quite literally what’s happening as a result of this deliberate assault on our mail system.

We’re living through disturbing times and witnessing some truly weird stuff. We need to dig deep and refuse to accept this assault on our institutions, our rights, and on what we know is right and true.

We need to take care of each other and what’s really important. This week is sure to be a wild, dystopian ride. We need to keep each other sane and not succumb to all the weird stuff being thrown at us from every direction.

Potential Predator – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-460)

Backlash – Day 445

Posted on January 31, 2020January 31, 2020 by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment

Photo: Wired.com

Backlash

Let’s hope there is one.

Let’s hope a vast majority of our fellow Americans look within, soon, and say, “Hey. This just isn’t right. The Senate is saying it’s ok for one branch of government to stonewall another. It’s ok for one branch of government do whatever it wants and thumb its nose at another branch of government that was given specific authority of oversight.”

I wanted to write about something other than the expected decision by Senate Republicans tomorrow to actually vote against allowing testimony and the production of documents in the impeachment trial of DT. But what is unfolding before our eyes is compelling. It is every bit as irresistible as passing a terrible car accident – but I guarantee more people will be hurt or killed as a result of this abdication of responsibility than by any car accident, no matter how huge a pileup.

If you do not see a problem with what is unfolding in Washington D.C. right now, I guarantee you are going to be shocked when you see the depths to which we’re going to be dragged, as a country, over the next several days, weeks, months, and I shudder to think how much further. And I do mean depths will be plumbed so fast and so blatantly our heads will spin.

Dark Days Ahead

I saw a clip of DT tonight performing at a rally in Iowa. It was chilling. He is visibly giddy with power. Drunk with the possibilities unfolding before him.

When everything starts to crumble – literally (because those tax breaks have to be paid for by somebody, and we just don’t have the money in our budget anymore to fix roads and bridges) and figuratively (power unchecked is going to get ugly unbelievably quickly and will inflict horrors on our communities, our neighbors, ourselves in ways I guarantee people have said “can never happen here”) – where are we going to turn?

To the courts? Sorry. They’ve been packed by McConnell with young, extremely conservative people who actually believe in an executive branch that holds unchecked power. They believe in the judiciary being less powerful than the executive branch! They are not going to save you, me, or themselves.

To our representatives? Sorry. You can kiss your deeply held belief in the power of your vote to elect people who will write laws that will correct this miscarriage of justice. Because those very representatives have (or will within the next day or so – you know, before the Super Bowl, because that’s the centerpiece around which our Senate now makes decisions that make or break our Constitution) voted to abdicate their own authority.

Genie’s Out

Sorry, within the next few days the genie will have effectively escaped its bottle and all the safeguards our founders put into place to keep it from escaping in the first place will be worthless. No one in the history of our country has experienced such an abdication of power by our legislative branch, and thus, because there is a lack of imagination and maturity in those whom we rely upon as our elected representatives, we are going to face consequences I guarantee we will hear people say, “But I never imagined it would get this bad so quickly.”

How many times do we have to hear and see and witness firsthand the propaganda and manipulation that’s bombarding us daily before we realize this shit is real?