that have been on my mind of late. I’ve been quite busy, moving from a tower in a bustling northern city (swing state) placing our lives in storage, and driving south to a small (slightly under 1,000 acres) cattle ranch in Trump Country.
It’s temporary, and quite an ordeal to find out that my drivers license expires on my birthday next month and the state of Texas requires everyone to prove they’re a US citizen for everything, presumably so that all those millions of “illegal” rapists and murderers can’t vote for Kamala Harris. They did it backwards, though. In order to get a drivers license for a new resident one needs to register their car in the state and in order to get proof of address in a hurry, one must have something like… a voter registration card (!!!) to prove it. So yes, I’m registered to vote here and early voting started today. No, I didn’t have to get a certified copy of my birth certificate because a US Passport is sufficient but most of the folks here don’t have passports and are mighty upset that they have to go back to vital records in the town where they were born for a certified copy. Especially older folks, and especially since many of these elderly courthouses have burned over the years and lost many records.
I read that the The Heritage Foundation (one and the same as Project 2025) did a study over several years of over a billion voters and found that fewer than ONE HUNDRED had voted as an unregistered immigrant, and most of those were accidental. So red states are going nuts about immigration and murderers and insane people descending on communities, taking their jobs and eating their pets…for nothing.
A Criminal Oligarchy
If Trump wins, we’ll definitely have the first but in my mind, not the last part of that description. Why? An emboldened Trump will try to break all the rules, including the Constitution. And he will grift every day in office like he’s doing now and did throughout his first term. Jared and Ivanka will be in charge of foreign grift (laundering money for favors, see how much he’s returned to his $2 billion investors, ZERO), and Eric and Junior domestic through crypto and other schemes. Elon will be cast aside after his $75 million is spent, because Trump is notoriously transactional and has no friends to prove it. And Elon gets as much press as Donald. Donald won’t share power, or limelight, with anyone. But the White House will definitely be for sale, look for high prices on Lincoln Bedroom stays and signed photos of Breakfast with Barron.
The Politics of Less
All my life I’ve strived to be more, more than others expect and more than I expect for myself. I joined public service to actually serve the public, and non-profits because I believed in their missions and wanted to help them grow to better serve their niche whether it be education for the poor, theatre, and other worthy causes even spaying/neutering of feral cats.
Donald Trump works on the philosophy of less. Fewer voters, only appeal to the base, deny emergency funding to states that didn’t vote for him. Deny the oath of office and stay past his welcome using every ruse possible, including the violence of January 6.
A few weeks ago I read that one voter is casting his vote for Trump because “he hates all the right people.” Funny (not), politicians are supposed to add to their voter base, identify and pose solutions to the problems of everyday Americans. Running on proud hatred of women, Jews, Muslims, immigrants (legal as well), African-Americans, Latinos and anyone who’s not at least a millionaire. Not to mention that Democrats and anyone Republican or Independent who doesn’t vote for Trump are now the “enemy within” and may be thrown in the gulag with no legal rights or hope of reprieve.
Perhaps I’m just naive. But I never wanted to join a club whose motto is “hating all the right people.” I don’t like book banners or people who patronize women posing as “protectors” while they take away our Constitutional rights.
Another Person’s Shoes
Have I led a charmed life? Maybe. I grew up in an upwardly mobile, middle class family and always knew I’d go to college. I had good jobs, not the best paying but post-college they were challenging and interesting. Now we’re living temporarily in a town of about 5,000 people, many quite poor. It’s a shock to go to the grocery store, which is nothing like my local Whole Foods Market.
It’s an historic town, that manufacturing left perhaps fifty years ago, so it’s an older community. Very conservative and religious. My husband was born and raised in Texas and retains a hint of the regional accent but I’m definitely a Yank and a Democrat to boot. It’s temporary, so I’ll vote but not make a stink about it.
I’ve always thought it would be advantageous for every American to go to a foreign country and meet the people and see that even if we dress a bit differently, worship a different faith and speak a language we may not understand in the end everything is familiar. We all have family, friends, like to eat good food so there’s always something to talk about. Same with Americans meeting Americans from different regions and socio-economic realms. Republicans still try to make rural folk hate city folk. There’s no difference except there’s a heck of a lot more space out here and in this particular place there may actually be more cows than people. It’s a taste of another world, one which I truly appreciate while I might not choose it for myself on a full-time basis.
Do unto others. It’s always been my philosophy. Political leaders, especially presidents, must serve all the people, lifting them up instead of beating them down. We have a choice before us that will determine the future of our nation, our 250-year experiment in democracy. Vote wisely. Our lives literally depend upon it. Cheers! Dee
Cooking with Dee 