Good Morning. Hello. How are you? #1213
Weekend update and then a whole lot about our crazy political life.
Good morning, hello. Why, oh why, did I say I was going to talk about politics today. Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue. Man, there are people out there who don’t get Airplane! references. What a grey life.
First let me tell you about my weekend, because, why not.
I spent almost all Saturday working and doing computer chores. It is stupidly, pointlessly hard to wipe a MacBook these days, and just put on a nice, blank install of the OS. Takes forever. I hate it. I miss target disc mode. I miss USB installers. I still make one of almost every OS, but for some reason it didn’t want to work this time. Total pain in the ass.
Made a big presentation for the (rest of) the board at work about all the big discoveries and findings at the Summit. Could I have done that today? Yes, I suppose I could have. It’s not due till Wednesday, and that was a self-imposed deadline. So why did I do this on the weekend? I dunno, man, it was stressing me out, and I was worried my note-taking was not up to snuff and I was worried I would forget things. And I probably have! So best to get a draft a few days early.
I did not get to pool company business which is a problem and I need to carve out time to do that this week but god knows when that is going to happen.
I have more or less confirmed that the Zepbound is causing my headaches. It’s not the Zevia, still got them unabated in my 3-week pause on Zevia. Now I gotta learn to like the stuff all over again, gah. Moved my Zepbound shot date to Friday so I didn’t have to deal with a headache during the summit. And sure enough, headache arrived 48 hours later. Which was Sunday, which sucked because it was the only day I had to do outdoor chores. I pushed through, but it was unpleasant. So now I am in a miserable Sophie’s choice: do I have a debilitating headache once a week during a work day or a weekend. Neither is a good option. Will probably try and time it to Thursday, my least busy work day.
I DID manage to install a cool gear rack on the dash of my Lightning, and vastly improve my phone mounting system, freeing up a beloved cup holder in the car. I also got the dash cam installed after way, way too long. Excited for that. The company that makes the macho gear rack system is called Bulletpoint Mounting Systems and I hate their name and swag so I spent time using a Sharpie (Pro, Industrial grade, really have leaned into learning all of the various Sharpie products) and blacking out the logo everwhere. Felt very satisfying. The whole thing works great.
I cleaned the workshop garage and that involved a bajillion little tasks. That was deeply mindless and satisfying, the perfect chore to do with a headache so you are still productive but don’t have to think. Then I worked on the garden sink for a bit and I am SO CLOSE to finishing, but I had to make an adjustment cut in the counter (forgot to account for the hose), which means I had to paint it, so I gotta let that dry, and I need a 3/4” Female faucet to 5/8” female garden hose adaptor which means I also have to remember all the fuckin different hose thread type acronyms which I hate hate hate. Hoses in America are too complicated this is the platform I would run for the presidency on.
Oh shit transition.
Take a week off from writing about politics and the world changes vastly like five times. It’s too much, too much.
I had a whole essay planned about the assassination attempt and how I felt about it and how you can’t say how you feel about it online because, you know, fascism may come to America soon and they might round you up and every right-thinking person is already depressingly factoring it into their speech even though no one wants to admit it. And how nice it was to see a real actual human friend in person where you could just say exactly what you think about the whole thing. Had a whole section planned about how I can rationalize these feelings as ethical, a complex flow chart of various ethics, and it does kind of work, even though I know deep down my feelings on the matter were maybe not exactly ethical, but I don’t care, I am keeping them, I stand by them, but, you know, not enough to say them out loud on the public internet, because even though I am rich and white and male and old I am not at all convinced I wouldn’t number amongst the rounded up eventually because, you know, I have read a history book or two and unlike, say, that bald creepy dude in the last Trump administration who fancies himself a student of Hitler and History, I took the right lessons away.
But I do not have to write that essay now.
I had a whole essay planned about seeing “MASS DEPORTATION NOW” signs at the RNC and how never have I seen something so Nuremberg-esque in my lifetime and how absolutely disgusting it was. That should really not be forgotten. I will never forget that. Terrifying. Their own wives, I assume, are exempted. And the Au Pairs.
I did write an essay about how angry I was with Biden, and I stand by that essay, though the dude has now righted his wrong and I forgive him. It does seem, to me, that a 79 year-old should not pin the fate of the planet on his ability to predict his personal health in the next four years or even four months, but he is not the only old person who has this problem, in fact it feels like most of them do, and Biden just rocketed to #1 Boomer/Greatest Whatever because he’s the only one to just let it go, maaan. Good for him.
So, yeah, not so mad at him today.
I do think that before yesterday, the only single day where we could have avoided this entire shitshow was for him to not run for re-election at all. But hey, even I did not think that at the time. I strive for self-awareness but even I am not perfect. There but for the grace of god go I oh wait I am not a hubristic sociopath trying to be president of the United States. Wait do I really believe all politicians are narcissistic sociopaths? I hate it when people say that shit it is so negative and cynical. But also…
I am not a great pundit, I do not pretend to know what is going to happen. I am wrong far more than right when I try and predict the future. I have no wish to influence the events of the world. I feel guilty that I said anything bad about Biden because I assumed he was staying in and I knew that any single thing you say bad is a potential influencer.
I was ready to get on board. I was not particularly into the whole “dump Biden” movement, even as I was pissed at him. It seems tactically unwise. No one in particular was polling better, except Bernie and Michelle and no one was talking about them. I think there are a million possible points of catastrophic unexpected consequences: AOC did a good job laying some of these out in her much-vaunted talk this weekend (forgive my linking laziness). I think we have seen a few of those be mitigated in the last 48 hours — people do seem to be coalescing around Kamala. The campaign money seems to have been moved over successfully with no problem. But several remain, and it is silly to pretend they don’t.
But. But but but. The situation on the ground has changed and I do my best to adapt to reality (Emma and I have had some long discussions over the last few days about when people accept reality and move on, when they hang on to the past and pout, and how and when people choose, consciously and consciously, when to do which, and whether people even realize that we are all, deep down, hypocrites on this, because no one always does one or the other).
I think Joe Biden has done something incredibly brave and difficult and my esteem has risen for him considerably. I have never been the biggest fan, I accept but do not love political triangulation and tactical wins. I do not like his Israel policy. I have been deeply dubious of him on several issues due to his past positions on them, when even I could have told you back then they were wrong. But he has been a fairly decent president in a lot of ways, and history may well arguably state he saved the planet from environmental destruction (this probably sounds insane to people who do not follow the impact of the infrastructure and environment bills, but that’s just fine if the solution sneaks through without people noticing, that was part of its genius).
So, yeah, hats off Joe.
And, dare I say it, I feel some excitement.
As for his replacement, well, I am of two minds: he wants Kamala, Kamala earned it, and we need to do this quickly. I do not love black or female erasure. I crave the decision being settled. I am political junkie enough to remember her amazing senate hearing performances and her solid debate performances (they were in group debates and I have zero doubt she’d do even better 1:1).
I think Trump’s nickname for her — “laughing Kamala” is just great because all she has to do, all anyone has to do, is point out Trump never laughs, because he doesn’t, and it is creepy AF and I think it’s just fine if the Republicans spend endless cycles digging up old clips that are the exceptions that prove the rule. One or two Trumpers may even pause and think about this, but I suppose that is wishful thinking.
Yes Kamala is a “cop” and I would characterize myself as ACAB-lite (kinda into cops who process rape kits and solve murders and keep the internet from further descending into BSOD all day every day) but more to the point I don’t think it hurts her a single bit in this election. Ditto her Israel policy, which I do not love. A man wiser than me texted me this weekend that if she is smart and avoids Netanyahu’s congressional speech this weekend it may just sway Michigan. She has run at the presidential level and she is “vetted,” more or less, from unexpected scandals. The watchers of The View seem to love her. Charlie XCX just made her cool with the kids.
I think, ultimately, Kamala should win the nomination, and I think that the pundit class can spend their masturbatory time on predicting her VP pick: pundit class needs to pundit.
My masturbatory VP pundit take: I think Kamala can take MI without Gretchen. I think ditto for PA. I think Mark Kelly in AZ is an excellent pick. The daring pick would be Roy Cooper, because I do think he could probably deliver NC, which would be game over. BUT it is risky. Cooper outperformed Biden and Hillary, won both elections here where Trump won. But Cooper’s political mojo has always been a mystery and its exact mechanics are unclear to me. It might fail as a gambit. But, god, if it won, and it carried Josh Stein to the governor, and, oh god, let me dream for a moment, if it broke the super majority in the state legislature… oh man oh man. And NC has two more delegates than AZ. Also Kelly in AZ feels too west-coast centric. Other assorted VP thoughts: It would be hilarious if it was Manchin and WV’s 4 delegates made a difference. I wish there was an obvious Georgia choice, I guess maybe Raphael or Ossoff or Abrams but none seem patently able to “deliver” the state like Whitmer or Shapiro or, maybe please maybe, Cooper.
I also don’t quite get why some people are bowing out of the VP race, I mean, you bowing out means you think Kamala is gonna lose, because if she wins, her VP might have to wait 8 years but they’re obviously the heir apparent now. So in my mind, any Dem who says no to the pick without a good reason is a doomer and I don’t like them anymore.
So. In the end.
I have to admit:
I feel a sense of excitement. I feel dread too — so many things could go wrong — but hey, I already felt a sense of dread. It’s nice to have excitement too.
I think its not terrible to have a bit of a contested convention, I kinda hope fuckhead Joe Manchin runs because why not but, really, big picture:
Because Trump is now scared of all of this and my god, as much as I don’t want to admit it, I fuckin love that so much. No nominee, no one to train his bitter mockery on. He has no play, and he is not in the spotlight, and people are gonna forget about his stupid performative band-aid on his ear. They wanted Biden in and so now they are scurrying.
I am excited to hear every RFK supporter who went on about how Biden was too old and couldn’t win to now think of excuses why Kamala can’t win, without sounding racist or sexist.
I am excited to hear every person who said “both candidates suck” now magically change their mind hahaha lol yeah right.
I am excited to hear every person who said “Biden’s tool old” to now immediately turn their attention to Trump, a mere 3 years younger, who would also be the oldest president ever, who is older than Biden was last time when they said he was too old. That is definitely gonna happen hahahaha.
A friend who is far more well versed in politics thinks that Trump also won’t make it to the general and honestly I believe it. There’s still so much to go. So much chaos. So many history-defining moments. Dude still has to get sentenced! He is obviously losing it! His mind is obviously going! He is going to absolutely lose it not being the center of attention.
So, yeah. I am anxious, but I can live with this. I have an ounce of excitement again. My pocketbook has opened back up. I can breathe a bit. I was not expecting these emotions. I still think this was probably mistake, but hey. Maybe not.
LFG.
Here’s a live playlist for you today. I cheated and added a few tracks just now — nothing was done. Nothing will be, probably, till mid-week. Oh god I’m gonna have to think a few more Media of the Day my brain has enough in it already. Man I am so excited Japandroids are back.
All right back tomorrow to our regularly scheduled noble pedestrianism. Ta.
I hope your political friend is right