It’s hard to put into words what this election has meant to America. Yes, we fired Donald Trump in no uncertain terms. That asshole lost. And, no, it wasn’t even close. It only seemed close because it takes a long while to count all the votes, particularly the increase of mail-in votes because WE’RE IN A FUCKING RAGING PANDEMIC YOU ABSOLUTE SELFISH NON-SCIENCE BELIEVING MORONS. Not that I have strong feelings about that last part - or any part of the last four years. But more than 5 million Americans choose sanity and competence over unchecked hate, greed and dishonesty. So that is at least something.
The uninhibited and hard-earned joy we felt on Saturday, when the race was called, has since evolved into extreme relief and continued exhaustion. So much still must be fixed, even to get back to where we were let alone make real progress.
And then there’s the fact that so many millions upon millions of our fellow citizens still voted for that man. It’s beyond disheartening that nearly half of America saw Donald Trump and his racism, his sexism, his homophobia and transphobia, his corruption, his ineptitude and his pathological narcissism and said, “Yep, four more years of that, please and thank you.” And it’s just as disheartening that just about the entire Republican Party is indulging his vanity and vengeance with this “stealing” the election nonsense. It’s all lies, per usual, but they’re politically expedient lies and the GOP cares about holding power above all else and especially above helping people.
I know it won’t be easy these next four years. Heck, I know it will be pretty much hell these next two months and change as we watch That Orange Stain wallow and lash out. There is perhaps no one more accustomed to getting his way than Donald Trump. But now he’ll forever be an impeached one-term loser who let more than 240,000 Americans die and couldn’t even protect himself or his family from a deadly pandemic.
It’s sad to say that the relief I feel in us at very least ridding ourselves of this monstrous excuse for a human being has somewhat overshadowed the history this election represents. Vice President Kamala Harris. Madam Vice President. The first woman vice president, the first Black woman vice president, the first South Asian vice president. So many first we should be reveling in but instead we’re all just waiting for that hateful, grifting Oompa-Loompa to exit the Oval Office.
The duality of these emotions reminds me of 2008, when the elation of electing the first Black president was tempered by the passage of homophobic Prop. 8. One step forward, but also one step back. The arc of the moral universe is indeed long, and some days it feels like it just keeps getting longer. But at least we keep trying to bend it toward justice. Well, at least 77.5 million and counting of us are. Happy safe, healthy and righteous we’re gonna have a new president weekend, all.
p.s. It is just now dawning on me that I get to write Vice President Straight Bette Porter for the next four years. See, 2021 is definitely already looking up.
p.p.s. To the "Anonymous" dropping novels in the comments, no politician is perfect. Not Bernie. Not Liz. Not AOC. Not Obama. None of them. You vote for the best candidate with the best chance of winning and moving the government and society toward the goal of full equality and civil rights for all - especially the marginalized and the underrepresented. You have the audacity to call Kamala pure evil when Trump has been president for the last four years? Damn that Kool-Aid must be delicious. Has she made political decisions I disagree with? Sure. Every politician has. But if you want to write a novel about her being pure evil find another blog to haunt. And if you want to deny the science of the pandemic, well, I invite you to sincerely and with my full blessing kindly fuck right off forever. It's my personal blog, and your freedom of speech is not being infringed upon. Go start your own blog and write posts on it every day for 14 years. It's still a free country.
Russian collusion shoved down our throats for four years! Zero proof. Zero. Four. Years.
ReplyDeleteI hate to admit it as I don't support trump but there is fraud. Provable, factual, evidence that needs investigation. So you seem very desperate and display absolutely no integrity by lying about this.
And while trump is a demon joe is a bought and paid for puppet with dmimished mental ability who is clearly compromised by foreign interests. Hunters laptop is also real. And beyond disturbing.
Harris is pure evil. She worked against everything just and decent in her career and her sex or race mean absolutely nothing to me. Her past and her agenda are what matters. And both are awful.
There is no cause to celebrate. And sorry, no, there isn't overwhelming "science" that correlates to this "pandemic". Just a lot of fear mongering, psychological warfare, deliberate obfuscation, and blatant lying.
Divide and Conquer is their strategy and you are played like a fiddle.
Psst, the media doesn't call presidential elections. The electoral college does.
ReplyDeleteI really wanted to respond to Anon above in a genuine way -- like, ask questions to probe their beliefs and their "evidence" -- but even as I typed it all out, I just couldn't commit. ("Harris is pure evil" was where I really faltered. Then the "no science" line sealed the deal.) I know we need to bring these people back to reality, I just don't know how.
ReplyDeleteKristan. Do some research. It's all there. Sorry.
ReplyDelete" The backlash nearly cost Harris her shot at becoming the California Attorney General in 2011 after police unions didn't endorse her. After Harris squeaked into office by one percentage point, she tacked toward the center and never lost the police unions again. As attorney general, she defended the California death penalty and opposed efforts to increase oversight of fatal police shootings.
ReplyDeleteAs Beinart wrote, Harris did what she had to do to survive politically. It would be one thing if Harris said that working within the system required her to moderate herself, or that her views have shifted since her days as A.G., but instead, she insists her career in law enforcement was progressive. Whenever Harris is pressed about specific instances where she was decidedly unprogressive, she dodges, misleads, or glosses over the facts. "
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/17/opinion/kamala-harris-criminal-justice.html
ReplyDelete“Do some research” — as if I don’t spend all day reading up on our politics already.
ReplyDeleteBut fine. You want me to research. Where do I start in terms of verifying “Harris is pure evil”? That’s too broad. What am I looking for specifically? I will genuinely look if you help point me in the right direction, and if you will show me the same consideration in reading things that I find and share that may contradict your position.
Thank you Dorothy!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI cried with joy and relief when it became clear that Kamala Harris and Joe Biden had won.
First Lady Jill Biden is extremely intelligent, and caring, and it will be wonderful having her in the White House as well.
It is very sad that so many television stations put ratings above truth and broadcast Trump spewing his propaganda. Twitter should have deleted all of Trump's accounts years ago for constantly and unrepentantly violating their terms of service.
It is also sad that so many paid and/or brainwashed Trump-trolls infest social media.
I know your policy is to leave comments un-moderated, but I hope you might reconsider and delete any hateful, false and inflammatory comments being left by Trumpholes and TrumpTrolls on your posts.
P.S.: I LOVE Vice President-elect Straight Bette Porter!!!!!!
P.P.S.: When all the votes are in, President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris will have won by a lot more than 5 million votes, despite all the voter suppression and disenfranchisement efforts perpetrated by members of the Recrooklican Party.
Good riddance to the temper tantrum throwing infantile orange troll, #LoserTrump.
Promoting censhorship eh? You all would fit perfectly in 1930's germany. Unbelievable really.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.reviewatlas.com/news/20200815/letter-harris-prosecuted-innocent
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/Y8zh1fIaneY
ReplyDeleteI feel like it is time for a messy divorce:
ReplyDeleteget the papers started,
take detailed pictures of the assets,
do an independent audit of EVERYTHING he has even looked at,
Freeze all bank accounts,
notify the IRS,
Issue the restraining orders,
Get all the Keys Back.....so many Locks to Change.
I am not going to miss the sycophants & extended family/hangers on from the last 4 years.
Make therapy appointments. It is time to stop the madness.
Above video clip---yeah id say that is evil.
ReplyDeleteOne of the Trump trolls above said "Promoting censorship eh? You all would fit perfectly in 1930's germany. Unbelievable really."
ReplyDeleteActually what is unbelievable is the degree to which audacious Trump trolls like 'Anonymous' practice derailing and truth-denying projection, accusing others of the very things their own side is guilty of.
It is, after all, Trump and his minister of disinformation Stephen Miller who are chillingly similar in political beliefs to Adolph Hitler and Joseph_Goebbels
I suggest reading this article from The Nation titled: You Don't Have to Publish Both Sides When One Side Is Fascism
Among top slogans pushed by Adolf Hitler+the Third Reich was "Law and Order"
The Nazi SS+SD were thoroughly racist+ combatted 'enemies' of the Nazi regime. The Nazi SS+SD (German Police in the Nazi State) were among the primary perpetrators of the Holocaust.
There can be little doubt that Trump would love to be the world's next Adolf Hitler.
Good riddance to Trump and his troll Followers who, like the comment troll above, choose to spam their hate in blog comments anonymously or keep their profiles private, like the Trump troll named 'Kristen' above.
Thank you again, Dorothy, for your insightful and uplifting posts!!!!!!
It's your blog, and I love what you post and write.
All my best wishes for the future! xx <3
@Panty Buns-
ReplyDeleteExcuse me? I'm not a "Trump troll." Lol. What on earth gave you that impression?
* * * * *
@Anonymous-
Nobody here is promoting censorship. Curating comments on a private blog is not censorship.
Anyway. I watched the Joe Rogan Experience clip, I looked up cases they mentioned (Gage, Cooper, the truancy law), I read the NYT op-ed you shared, and the Review Atlas letter as well (which was really just a redirect back to the other two things). I knew about some but not all of "Kamala's dark history" already; I did feel disappointment upon digging into some of the details.
But I also felt pride and understanding (for lack of better words) when I read more deeply about the reasoning behind some of her choices, or some of the other programs she put into motion.
For well-balanced reporting on the specifics behind her truancy program, please see: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kamala-harris-truancy-arrests-2020-progressive-prosecutor_n_5c995789e4b0f7bfa1b57d2e
For a broader look at the pros and cons of her record as DA, as well as the inherent contradictions of that position, please see: https://www.npr.org/2020/10/13/923369723/lets-talk-about-kamala-harris
So, I can agree that Kamala has a complicated, imperfect record as DA -- but that is hardly "pure evil." (The very NYT op-ed you shared bizarrely spends a lot of time calling her out for a handful of things, but then at the end comes back to say it's not the full picture, and lists several significant and praise-worthy accomplishments.) Interestingly, that time period of her life/career is really the only one that seems to draw any criticism, and it's always limited to the same 4-5 specific cases/laws.
Is she perfect? Of course not. But to go from that to the hyperbole of "she worked against everything just and decent" is... not realistic or helpful in any way to anyone.
Which is why I felt unable to engage with your original comments. And I probably should have just gone on my merry way this morning, but I didn't, and you shared links, so I wanted to fulfill my end of the deal and read them and fully consider. I hope you'll do the same.
I don't have the time or energy to go through the other points in a similar fashion (Hunter Biden's laptop; Joe Biden's stutter, which is not in fact "diminished mental ability"; science and the pandemic) so I'll just say goodbye now. Thanks for this exchange.
Kristan, if you actually wanted to find the truth about the pandemic, it's really simple.
ReplyDeleteTrust no-one.
Like, really trust no-one.
The people you are reading about on the pandemic? Don't trust them. Everybody has an agenda. Do not trust them. What do you think, they are sisters of mercy that tell you the truth for free? Why do you think anyone would tell you the truth for free, if it's valuable? You get what you pay for.
You may trust global raw data. And your own maths on that data. (If you don't trust global sources of raw data, what are you doing on the Internet? It shouldn't work at all. Computers shouldn't work if global raw data can't be trusted.) If it's too much work to extract the information about mortality rates, whether lockdowns work, etc, from the raw data, you may trust your own doctor. Since you are trusting them on matters of your own health already.
Apart from that, why would you trust anyone else? Your feelings? Come on! The elites have been manipulating feelings since forever. Your feelings on any issue that isn't purely personal aren't to be trusted. (Sorry, Dorothy, I know you probably won't agree with this).
There may be other good reasons to trust other public figures, but you will have to convince me. And I'm not going to let you off the hook easy.
As for your politics, I honestly don't care. An idea is dangerous if it actually kills people (like a number of wrong ideas about the coronavirus). Anything that doesn't kill people, I think is minor in comparison.
ReplyDelete..."This is very easy to explain. The Democratic Party offers Blacks, Gays, Latinos and so called ‘diverse minorities’ to be marginalized forever in an amalgam of ‘Others United’. The GOP is offering those people an immediate integration as ordinary people into the American realm. All you need to do is get yourself a red Trump baseball cap and join your next local Trump rally. It is this most basic existential togetherness that was so vivid within the Left revolutionary discourse, but only materialized into a populist sustained tsunami of political resistance within the contexts of right-wing populist politics.
In the upside-down world in which we live. The Republican party has become the party of the American working-class people. People who are defined by their adherence to family values, the church, hard work and see themselves as the ‘Americans.’ The Democratic party that claimed to be the voice of those working people, has gradually morphed into an urban identiatrian conglomerate. A collective of ‘as a’ people: humans who insist to identify with their biology: ‘as a Woman,’ ‘as a Gay,’ ‘as a Trans,’ ‘as a Black,’ ‘as a Jew.’
In the upside down world in which we live, the Left ended up adopting the most embarrassing and problematic Hitlerian ideological aspect: Unlike Italian fascism that adhered to the concept of ‘socialism of the Italian people,’ or early Nazism that pushed for the idea of ‘equality of German speaking people,’ Hitler insisted upon ‘socialism of one race.’ Hitler believed that people’s politics is intrinsic to their biology. As opposed to traditional inclusive Left thinking that was class oriented, the contemporary Left pushes people to identify politically on biological terms: ‘as a woman,’ ‘as a black,’ ‘as a gay,’ ‘as a trans’ etc. The GOP on the other hand, is coming closer and closer to universal class politics.
On the morning of the 3rd of November, the liberal press was ready to announce that the ‘as a’ philosophy had won. But as things stand right now, this battle between the ‘as a’ people and the ‘Americans’ may escalate into a real violent conflict as there is no one in America or anywhere else who knows how to unite the people into a simple concept of peoplehood. Again, this is hardly an American phenomenon. The exact same division and the lack of a political unifying prospect is currently apparent in every Western State..."
https://gilad.online/writings/2020/11/7/the-democratic-faade
The bottom line re: Kamala is your support is based solely on identity politics. If she were a man you would be in total agreement with every thing those folks pointed out. So why even bother engaging any form of debate if you're mind is already made up? This is what it has come to. It's truly sad. Her reputation is awful (uhm, willie brown anyone?) and she got it handed to her by tulsi in the debates. And keeping people incarcerated just so you can win, keep that record clean,, or push a political agenda, is evil, sorry. She is only concerned with one thing, herself ( and "winning"), obviously. To pretend anything else is asinine.
ReplyDeleteThis is an oligarchy Orwell would be in awe of. The corporate press continues to propagandize and blatantly lie. The fact that Donald trump is president tells us all we need to know. Yeah, the guy is a scumbag. No shit. But to demonize, and in fact, terrorize, folks who voted for him is shameful and contradictory to everything I thought the left stood for. Further, not endorsing Biden and being critical of current leftist policies and ideology doesn't translate into being a "trump troll" or even supporter. This dualistic paradigm is a tool pushed by the corporate controlled media ( along with intelligence agencies) to divide and conquer. And boy is it working. Wow. What y'all don't realize is that major segments of the left are as deranged and unhinged as their far right counterparts. All logical discourse has vanished.
Joe Biden is a corporate military industrial puppet who has been doing this for fifty god damn years so any hope of "real change" is mere fantasy. Not to be taken seriously. I mean, seriously? Joe Freakin' Biden!?! That's the answer? It's laughable. (Uhm, that laptop of hunters doesn't seem to be a, cough, cough, "russsian hoax" either.) Beyond disturbing.
Finally, to condone the censorship that Silicon Valley has engaged in is truly egregiously disgusting and so pathetic that anyone doing so should be ashamed.
I LOVE Vice President-elect Straight Bette Porter!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your clear and insightful writing Dorothy. I appreciate your blog so much. And it makes me very happy that you can now write about straight Bette Porter:) Have a good and safe weekend my dear.
ReplyDeleteSorry Anon-y-Mouse , I didn`t read your comments - too long .
ReplyDeleteI agree to some extent that Harris and Biden are figures of the "Democratic Machine". They are corporatists and capitalists. They own multiple homes and are millionaires. The Democratic Party had a chance to nominate Sanders or Warren and really make a difference in policy from the current regime but they went with the tired old safe bet. I am bitterly disappointed we are not getting President Elizabeth Warren in January. The corporate machine is almighty.
ReplyDeleteWow. Stunningly vacuous comments. I am not a trump supporter but I, like many many others, also detest a life long politihack and a greedy egomaniac who slept her way to the top.
ReplyDeleteHey assholes, maybe stop violently attacking these trump supporters, not a good look. Beating and terrorizing folks and trying to claim victimhood is pathetic. Unity, eh? Hahahahaha.
Shoved Russian bs down out throats for four god dam years, four!! With no evidence!!! None! And now the other side should just accept their "loss". Turn off CNN and MSNBC and put down the times. There is actual evidence of voter fraud. Now what?
The left has no policies beyond spurious identity politics non sense. A house of cards with no foundation. The family struggling o put food on the table and seeking employment doesn't give a shit about gender.
Maybe come back to earth .
And Harris deliberately and knowgly let innocent people sit in a jail cell so she wouldn't lose. I can't imagine anything more evil than fucking with someone's freedom. Can you? She can F off.
Kristan, you absolutely are promoting censorship!!! Seriously? Imagine the rage you would be feigning if the shoe were on the other foot!
ReplyDeleteMaybe stop the violent terrorizing too? Not a good look for you guys. I watched this spineless bs all summer----- harassing the elderly, even pet dogs, is not helping us all to "unite" hahaha I mean the hubris....to enact violent terror and claim to be a victim. No one buys this garbage anymore. I haven't seen any rigging wing groups, like those proud boy fools, do anything even close to antifa or blm.
You all need a serious reality check. You're as sad as the trump freaks.
I am not a Biden supporter. I wanted Sanders. I fear Biden will not pass Medicare for all and will continue to pander to Wall Street. Im grateful Trump is out but America could have done so much better. We deserve better.
ReplyDelete