shake our windows; rattle our walls

     A college professor on the news was being interviewed about why he has left the Republican Party.  He wrote an article about his reasons -- they quoted a couple of passages from it, there was something about today's Congressional Republicans are like a swarm of bees....


     I was looking at the dubious Brett Kavanaugh and thinking, "This smug, smirking, whining yo-yo is the best person they can come up with to nominate to the Supreme Court?"  

And then had to remind myself of what I already sort of know but often forget -- on occasion, the person nominated for a position is not the "Best Person" for the job of making "Fair Decisions" for the American people; it's the person they believe will vote their way -- in this case, to roll back civil rights, women's rights, and voting rights:  the main things the good guys got accomplished in the Sixties.

     Polls said 60% of the American people do not want that guy on the Supreme Court.  One argument says, Well, you don't want a tyranny of the majority.  (On the other hand, we don't want a tyranny of the minority, either -- "minority" meaning, in this instance, people who think like Mitch McConnell.)

     ("Swarm of bees" -- lol...[I think...])

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     I'm not scared.  (I think...)


     I'm concerned.  And I've learned the necessity of watching our country's (and the world's) news and current events more closely and paying attention and voting.  

If you don't want to vote, you can encourage people you know to vote, and express to them your concerns about voting rights, civil rights, women's rights, and also that we don't want Donald Trump declared "Dictator For Life," to be followed by his sneering, ratchet eldest sons.

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     The fact that President Trump seems hostile toward America's allies and extra friendly toward Putin seems weird and amusing on the surface -- "Oh, that silly crazy Trump, he's our reality-show man!  Always sayin' somethin'...!"  

But in Actual Reality, it's concerning if not alarming.  That's the scariest thing, really, the Supreme Court notwithstanding.  (Did I just type the phrase, "the Supreme Court notwithstanding"??  Like -- 'Never mind the -- uh -- Supreme Court.  No biggie, 'tsall-good!'...????)

     A business owner said to me about eight years ago that the reason she doesn't vote is because it isn't necessary, now, because nothing important is going on.  She said, "Like my aunt, she's your age, and she votes.  Because back during the Vietnam War, you had to vote and pay attention to what was going on.  But my generation came after that," she said, "and we don't vote."

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What can the individual person do, to make things better in today's America?  Two things to start with:

1.  Vote.
2.  Read one serious news story per day.

I noticed on the Internet there was a "news" headline about a very large snake someplace.  I think we can all remind ourselves that if it's --

a large snake,

a betrothal between celebrities,

ladies wearing bikinis,

and similar...

that is not our Serious News.  That is entertainment, to be partaken of after we have read our Serious News.  Like sherbet is enjoyed after our chef salad.

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     One tv comedian was discussing the intermittent "protests" which have erupted, including individual members of Congress being heckled when they try to go out to eat.
     He said, "Remember, we need people like Ted Cruz out of Congress, not out of restaurants."

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