Only an Expert

Yes, I know it's another Laurie Anderson post. 

I'd apologize, but I would't truly be sorry. 

This time it is not music or performance art. It is Ms. Anderson reading an essay (of sorts) off her phone by American writer, historian and activist Rebecca Solnit in regards to the 2024 election. 

We are a week in and my anger - yes, grief is long gone - still has a tight grip on me. This has been a discussion with my therapist and myself. I honestly don't know if it will go away, or as I told him, I'm not sure it want it to. Or if it can. Or should. 

Part of me really wants to be able to let this go, or at least somehow compartmentalize it. I'm not sure how, even if I truly wanted it to happen. 

I hear Ms. Solnit's words here. I don't disagree with them and Anderson's voice makes everything sound not just better, but rational......but once the reading is done, my core feelings of distain rise back to the top. 

I get it. I'm a broken record. I just about fucking flipped when Stephen Miller was named as Deputy Chief of Staff for the new administration. Evil embodied. And that's saying something in this administration. 

I post the below for some of you who are struggling, but probably in a better place than I. Here's hoping I get there. 

Song by: Laurie Anderson

Unknown

Right now, it's 21:03.

The tv is (still) off. If election results are coming in, I haven't seen. 

My sister and niece have sent vague texts about Ohio leaning blue in some races, then retracting the statement. They don't say what office, what county or city. 

I'd think if it were senate or White House level stuff, they'd have been more specific and more boisterous either way. 

I really don't know the outcome. Clearly. 

I can't bring myself to turn on the tv, and yet, I don't want to hear 710 breaking the news to me when we wake up. That was devastating in 2016.  .....and I was stronger emotionally and mentally then. Now, not so much. 

Blobby ingested an edible around 17:30.  It's mellowed me out a bit, but done nothing more for me. I suppose it doesn't have the ability to place me in an alternate universe. That'd be asking a lot. 

Oh, WP is giving me text updates with electoral counts. I'm not sure I want those. Soon my phone will be in snooze mood and I won't / can't see them. 

I live in Cuyahoga County, so it will be blue - it always is. But when I picked up Shep from daycare, one polling station had 400-500 folks in line waiting to vote.   .....at 15:30. Traditionally, that is not a busy time of day.  I'm taking that as a good sign. 

Maybe today should have been a Cooking post? That seems disingenuous and that I'm glossing over things. Perhaps I should be. I don't know we will have answers tonight - whether they are ones I want or do not. 

I cannot even fucking believe it is close. 

Song by: Hozier

Today's the Day

This is it.  

The image isn't even hyperbole.   THIS is it.  

I have no other words for today. Good luck all. 

Song by: America

Vote for Me

On the way out of the grocery store, I was approached by an individual who asked if I was a registered voter (yes), and would I sign a petition to get independent candidate(s) on the Ohio Presidential ballot (no). 

It was a quick and resounding, but nice-ish 'no'. 

To be fair to the guy, he was doing what he thought was right and he didn't beg, nor did he ask why. He simply moved onto the next person exiting the store. 

In his defense too, he had probably heard all the answers, and even if not, he had a goal, which whether it has my approval, is admirable. 

Now maybe - just maybe - it was a candidate other than Wormtail RFK Jr.. It seems unlikely, but one never knows, nor was that information given at the time of request. I suppose I could have asked, but then it sounded like I'd have to engage him when my answer would not change. 

I am not opposed to a strong third party candidate. Well independent. There are plenty of other parties, be it Communist, Libertarian, Green, Jedi.....what have you. But in 2024, especially if it's a well known (I did not say "respected") name like "Kennedy", regardless of what I think about Pappy Joe, I cannot risk Wormtail syphoning off votes that would lead Von ShitzinPantz to get back to office. 

The thing is, as of early this month Kennedy says he had enough signatures to be on Ohio's ballot. He also said a doctor said he has a worm in the brain. Nothing that comes out of his mouth actually has had back-up by anyone official. I see nothing from the state of Ohio that confirms this. 

.....so, in that regard: politics as usual. 

As far as I can tell, he's only on the ballot in Hawai'i, Michigan, Utah and California. Hardly enough for the popular vote, let alone the electoral one. And like it or hate it (and it is the latter), it is the Electoral college that matters. 

I see no way that the 2024 election results will stay out of the courts (though I said that after the 2000 election for all elections going forward). None of us need Jr. battling with VSnP and Pappy Joe. It's gonna be fucked up enough as it is. 

If he can't be decent about it, then when campaigning in California, maybe RFK Jr can make his exit through the Roosevelt Hotel kitchen. 

Song by: Chicago

Rejected

Thank Fucking G-d!

Issue 1, which I wrote about here has failed!   And not by a small margin. 

With 45% of the votes in, the margin was not as large as I'd like, but I'll take 59% to 40. 

I was hoping for 85%, so no one could contest anything - though you know the voter fraud is about to raise its ugly head......again. 

But I am so beaten down the the bad guys always winning, I wasn't so sure about this vote. I was afraid. 

I assumed anyone who didn't have a 'No' sign out in their yard was voting 'Yes'. Maybe that's illogical of me, but I always fear the worst. It was hard to gauge in our 'hood since it is so liberal. Oddly we were the only ones on the street with a sign. 

Even in the conservative areas of Cleveland, I saw more 'No' than pro. I wasn't hopeful. I wasn't hopeful last evening either when I logged on to news sites. Usually I try to avoid that stuff, but this was too important to bury my head. 

So, for now, we are safe. 

This means reproductive rights is up for grabs in the November election. It won't be up to 40% of the voters to decide what a woman can and cannot do. 

We will be getting our signs soon and start our support ASAP. 

Song by: Muse

Fly Me to the Moon

Well, it's mid-term day.  And I am scared as fuck.  ....and it ain't because of the moon. 

This is a first real test since BLOTUS has gone and an insurrection has taken place.  And there are a lot of fucking whack-a-doodle candidates out there running. 

The ones out front?  All - and I do mean all - 2020 election deniers. 

Sigh. 

Not once - though I rarely watch news or political shows like Face the Nation - has one "reporter" asked these deniers if they think only BLOTUS lost, or if the people who won (i.e. other Republicans) shouldn't have if the votes were tampered with, 

I mean, stop these turds in their tracks.  Does anyone think that a bunch of Democratic voters submitted multiple ballots and votes only top of the ticket as a Dem and the rest as a Republicunt?  I want to see them talk their way out of that. 

It would nice to hold either the House or Senate, but I'm not holding my breath on both. I'm not even holding my breath on either.  Hence me be scared as fuck. 

Word on the street is BLOTUS is waiting until this election to announce his 2024 candidacy.  Fuck. Me. Hard. 

Here's the other timing device:  Musk: Twitter: BLOTUS. 

Mark my words, BLOTUS' reinstatement will come with the mid-terms and his announcement to run again.  You know what he's like on Twitter. 

None of this is coincidental.  And I'm not even a conspiracy theorist.  Well, maybe a little. 

I'd tell you all to vote, but I'd like to think my readership are responsible adults who do the right thing. 

Let's see how things wrap up tomorrow - though I expect a lot of lawsuits claiming election fraud with no clear winners for weeks.  I blame Bush and Gore on that one, and called it 22 years ago and most elections won't be decided by the voters, but the courts. 

I haven't really been proven wrong yet. 

Song by: Frank Sinatra & Count Basie 

Lost Cause

Oh no........Liz Cheney lost her primary.   

Oh........noooooooooo.   

Now do the 'oh nos' but with the intended flat affect. 

I appreciate the tenacity Cheney has been doing regarding January 6th hearings. But you do know that a few months of work she was supposed to be doing ANYWAY does not absolve her of being a truly horrible fucking woman, right? 

Granted Cheney shouldn't have to be one of two (three?) republicunts who are against, oh staging a coup and being ok with taking, lying and hiding classified nuclear documents, yet here we are. 

Yes she is doing her job, the one all of her colleagues clearly are not, but she's not really going above and beyond here. This IS the expectation. It just seems like she's above it all because Jim "Sure, Go Ahead and Sexually Abuse Students on my Watch" Jordan & Co are so low it only seems like she's a good person. 

She might be a 'better' person, but let's be honest - there is not a Cheney alive who is 'good'. 

Lord, there are reports saying she might run for President, to stop BLOTUS. IF she finishes this Jan 6th thing before she has to leave office, she can stop him there. Indict the motherfucker.  I mean, if you want to run to stop Ron DeSantis, there's that too. 

If she wants to fuck over the GOP like they've done her, then run as an independent. She could bleed off enough votes to become the Ralph Nader of Wyoming. Maybe the GOP loses enough to her - where she can't possibly win - that the Democrat takes the victory. 

My friend Peter - who has lots of time on his hands and equally hates the Dem as much as he does the GOP - has dozens of FB posts per day. So much so, that I lovingly call it - to his face -  Peter's House of Discontent TM.    Peter has it in his head that the Dems suck so much that they'd give Cheney the chair of the Department of Defense. 

I don't see that happening. Even if Pappy Joe tried such a thing, confirmation from the Senate would never happen. 

OMG - I just thought:  wouldn't it suck if Liz was the first female president? 

So no, I don't feel bad for Liz. First off, Mary Ingalls could have 'seen' the loss coming. Nate Silver, not so much (probably), but Mary, yes. 

Don't blame the loss on her though. That was all McConnell and McCarthy. They eat their own. And it worked / works. No one else  - other than Adam Kinzinger - has remotely stepped out of line due to this. Double down and go down with the ship. 

Except the won't. They've been this evil for the last four years and no sign of any wear and tear. Horrible. 

Song by: Billie Ellish

a Heartbeat is a Lovebeat

So, I have a theory about this whole Texas / Abortion Ban / Bounty shit.  But I'm sure you thought I would. 

Personally, I think that Texas had to go WAY out there for this, but only so they get the abortion ban part to stick. 

The bounty piece is so egregious and I think totally unlawful, I don't even think the legislature figured a court would uphold it - state, federal, appellate or supreme.  However, they also figured that would be the sticking point and the thing folks focused on the most.  And they weren't wrong.

So they will be well and good and happy if the bounty part gets dropped, but the abortion ban part stays in place. And I think that is on which they are counting. 

As evil geniuses goes, this isn't a bad plan at all. 

While, of course, this is a continuation on a War on Women, let's be completely frank: it is a War on Women of Color and Economic Means. 

White women, who can afford it, will always have access to abortion. Those without funds, transportation, jobs or the ability to take a day off will never have this ability. 

And BT'DUB.....

SURPRISE.  

White women in Texas overwhelmingly voted for BLOTUS and his ilk. So it's not just men dictating what happens to a woman's body. White ladies also want to continually deny anything and everything to women / people of colour and the poor. But it's Texas, we know they knowingly and willingly entered into this coven of horribleness. 

And you know - once again - it's a War on Women of Color and Economic Means when there is zero punishment for men in any of this. As you know, women get into these situations by themselves. So unless a dude drives them to the abortion or knows about it and doesn't stop them, then it's a bounty issue. 

I have a friend who works at Planned Parenthood and FYI - Mississippi, South Dakota, and Ohio are the next ones looking at the same restrictions and bounties. If Newsome loses the California recall and a Republican gets in as governor, your can add that state to the list as well. 

Oh, and 22 states have laws currently in place - Ohio being one - if Roe falls, the state follows Federal law. State laws will no longer apply. Look for more states to add that before SCOTUS truly hears this full-on. 

Here MIGHT be a silver lining?   Mid-terms. 

IF the Dems have the fucking balls to galvanize behind this issue alone, they could rally and really make the mid-terms their own. Unfortunately, I don't see that happening. They have no leadership in Pelosi or Schumer. The minority seemingly has, if not all the power, then the most of the media attention. McCarthy and McConnell still rule the roost and we, once again, get beat up for our lunch money.

Oh - and $$$.  I have long been a customer of AT&T.  They were better than Sprint and less annoying than Verizon. But they gave $291,000 to members of the Texas legislature who passed that law. I will be looking to change my carrier, as soon as I look into other's donation habits. And I will be cutting off auto-pay before I do it, because if they think I'm paying an early termination fee {see what I did there?} they as fucked as the women that Texas is fucking over. 

Song by: the DeFranco Family (ft. Tony DeFranco)

Count on Me

I'd say we have a petulant, whiney, immature president, but that seems like overstating the obvious. 

I get this digging his heels in - as he's never one to say he's wrong or lost. I do believe BLOTUS is incapable of that. 

Still, I don't get the end-game. 

Voter recount in two areas only in Wisconsin - where a republican hasn't won since 1956 ?   I'd say why is he spending $$$ on that, but I already know. 

Voter wannabe recount in Georgia and maybe Michigan. 

Say he does. Say he takes back those states. If my math is correct - and I did take Math 104 twice, so.... - I do not believe that still gives BLOTUS enough electoral votes to win anything. Again, I'd ask why, but I think we know why. 

He is fucking with us. With Pappy Joe. With the world. 

He's doing it because he can. He's doing it, because he's a dick. 

Song by: Jefferson Starship

White

Wow.  White people suck. 

Mostly us white men. 

Well - almost completely us men. Though you cracker women are scaring me more than a bit. 

Of course, the map itself is scary. As minorities are the disenfranchised voters, and with so much red EVERYWHERE, it's a wonder that any democrat anywhere, ever, has ever ever ever ever been elected to anything more than student council. 

That's really all I got too. Clearly I don't get how people get elected. But neither does BLOTUS - and I don't sue everyone to change the results............but neither do I lose. 

Ok. Bedtime for me. I'm exhausted. 

Song by: the Cult

Defeated

 

Four years ago (+ a few days), upon waking up and hearing the new of BLOTUS' win, 710 rolled over and said: "Ride out the Apocalypse with me?"

I'm not quite sure truer words had been spoken in our decades together. We didn't need any of Dionne Warwick's friends to be that prophetic. 

Apocalypse. Indeed. 

MSNBC called the win first.  Who knew?   CNN was close behind.  It took the above NYT to jump on the bandwagon, and even long for the Washington Post. 

Of course, I had to go over to see if Fox had anything to say.  Of course, you know the answer. 

{insert eye roll emoji}

So yes, the last four years have been into the depths of hell. I am not even sure I can comprehend the crazy that is about to come our way, because I don't believe this is over. 

Oh. I believe the election is over and unless the Electoral College thing is a huge fuck-up (and it is 2020, after - the year of the continual fuck-up), I don't worry too much about Pappy Joe not being 46. 

And yes, yesterday I started looking at news. It seemed to be safer, as a win seemed a more 'when' than 'if'. 

Also, I think the 4-5 days of not knowing helped me decompress a bit into whatever the news would be. I think that is why I was peaceful with the news, but not ecstatic. Of course I was happy, but I also know how much work is to be done once the transition has happened.  

So, I think it's really more a sigh of relief than it was of happiness. It's like we can all take a collective breath finally. 

I am also hoping (I know........I know) that this 4-5 decompression time is a thing for the nut-bag GOPers. Maybe it's like the 'cat is stuck on the roof' scenario, so when they get to the 'news', it won't be rootin' tootin' gun shootin' everywhere. 

Wishful thinking? 

My nephew, who lives in Chicago, went downtown to the gathering. He said the streets were impromtu dance floors.  They had raised the bridge over the river making it hard to get to the BLOTUS hotel. 

We looked for a celebration in Cleveburgh, but we came upon none. Sure, there were a few honking horns, but nothing like the parades in DC, Columbus or even P-Town.  I mean, Ohio is solidly in the red, but Cleveland is not. Where was the love?   (I semi take it back........we are just now getting fireworks!)

Like Pappy Joe's record number of votes (~75,000,000) I think it might have been a record day for received texts to my phone.:  family (well some), friends, co-workers, etc. It was nice. 

I do hope the Electoral number goes up past BLOTUS' 2016 count. As he wrongfully said he had the highest electoral count EVER!, it would be HI-larious if Pappy Joe got more. 

I see more tantrums and pardons on the way over the next 73-ish days.  I think I'd spend a year's salary just to watch BLOTUS get dragged out of the White House. 

Bet Pay Per View Event ever!

Song by: Roy Orbison

Nevada

I haven't quite caved to listening to the news. ....but one hears things. I mean, I am out in the real world during the day. 

For all the ins and outs of what is happening (no worries, the Postmaster General is going to a BLOTUS pardon soon enough), I did have to laugh when it came to a recount in Nevada. 

If any of you have watched Veep, you'll know what I mean. 

Oddly, a few weeks back when friends Becky and Anita and I grabbed two socially distanced beers, we referenced this very scene - though there are actually a number of them regarding the pronunciation. 

Song by: Duke Ellington

Boy in the Bubble

So, I got my assignment - FINALLY - less than 11 hours before I was to report for duty. 

My music post on Monday might have had you believing I had worked the night before the election to set up. I should have edited all of that. I crafted that post a week ago. Ditto with yesterday's. 

But at 05:30 I arrived and Lady of the Lake church basement to help final set up.  Or a lot more, since they didn't do what they were supposed to the night before.  People were lined down the block before 06:00 - polls opening a half hour later - and the manager was calling because the memory sticks weren't there. So we started a few minutes late. 

After moving the heavy stuff - as I was the ONLY male there - I kind of decided to help at the scanners, since no one had given me a job. There was one other woman there.........who almost promptly left to sit down somewhere, leaving me to run / direct all three machines. 

At first I was annoyed - and then I figured she would have gotten in my way, as I early on found a system to keep things moving. 

I would say things were busy up until 1l:00. Then it just kind of petered out. I was surprised. I thought lunch hour would bring a lot.  Nope.  I thought after work would have them out the doors.  Nope. 

We had 2,596 registered voters at this polling station in the system. Only about 1,000-1,100 came through. All but 200 came my way - those other were provisional ballots. So, if you did the math, we had around 40% show rate. I don't know what that means - in terms of good or bad.  It seems bad - especially THIS year. 

I'd say the populations were semi-equally split. Maybe a few percentage points higher for people of colour. I tried not to look at ballots but when people had trouble - and they did have trouble - sometimes you had to. 

Hey - 30 something guy with the dyed absorb-all-light black hair in the Ramones t-shirt: why the fuck are you voting for BLOTUS?  Take that fucking shirt off right now.  NOW!

I kind of / might of got that one person accidentally voted for both Pappy Joe and BLOTUS on the same ballot, but 19?  WTF people?   I finally told one of them, 'when they told you to vote twice they meant two different ballots'. 

The Russian and Ukranian women were voting for BLOTUS. Most of the white men too - I assume. The guy in the Ruger gear (guns), I'm sure was. One of the other poll workers said the local gun store is sold out of bullets, so............yay! We're doomed if BLOTUS wins or loses.  

Over the course of the day I was called Chief, Pal, Sport and the Guy in the White Shirt. 

We only ad one non-masker, which wasn't bad for 1,100-ish people. Ironically (?) she had some semi-bogus Freedom of Speech organization lanyard and t-shirt. This all surprised me, as I assumed it would be contentious with some folks about masks. 

I have to say, the best part of the day was a young mother telling her 2-3 year old son to stop playing his video game and take in what she was doing. She was showing him the importance of her vote. I made sure he got an "I Voted" sticker too. 

It was a fuck of a long day. I barely left the building - barely left my 18 linear feet of space and still clocked more than 16,000 steps. That's kind of fucked up, but I paced.......a lot. 

I opted not to turn on or read the news after my shift. Or anything like it. It will give me angst and I won't sleep. So I but this post to bed not knowing a thing about 'how it's going'.  

Maybe I can make that last a few more hours. 

Song by: Patti Smith

As If Your Life Depends On It

That is plan and simple as I can get this post. 

Today is THE day*. 

I would venture to say that today could be the most important day of our lives. This might surpass burying my parents, buying a house or getting married. 

If you haven't voted yet, and are registered, I cannot urge you enough to go out - regardless of the crowds or the weather. 

Prepare. Take the appropriate clothes, jackets, gloves, umbrella-ella-ellas, what have you.  Bring snacks, apples, cookies, protein bars.  Go easy on the liquids in case you have to wait too long.  You don't want to have to leave just so you can pee. 

I will be working at my assigned polling place, starting at 05:30 (see JP, all this training of getting up early is paying off!) and will be there at least 15 hours - which doesn't include if they opt to keep polling places open later than 19:30.  But still must be here to gather the ballots, shut down the machines - and depending on my role, transport the ballots (along with a republican counterpart) to a tabulating center. 

This will keep me busy the entire day to not wring my hands on how things are going nationwide. 

But seriously........................

..............because it does.  

*with a probable unprecedented number of mail-in / absentee ballots and certain states laws on how they count them, it might be a days before all are completed.  Then, of course, there will be the inevitable lawsuits. So.......it might be a while. 

Song by: Juliana Hatfield

People Get Ready

 Well, we are two full days away from Election Day.  g-d help us all. 

Oddly, I STILL don't have an assignment for work at the polls. WTF.  I'm READY.......oh, and it's TWO DAYS AWAY.  

So today is the final installment of the voter sign series I've been doing. There seems to be no shortage of signs out there. A lot of basic ones (including in our yard), but some more attention getting - and I'm all for that. 

We live in a fairly liberal area, so you're not seeing too much outward support for BLOTUS, but it's there. And at this point, if anyone doesn't have any signage out in and around our 'hood, I'm assuming they are BLOTUS supporters. 

Last week friends Morty and Craig sent me some of their findings. This week, others from this here blog readers have sent in a few as well.  I'm very thankful for those. 

Settle in. I have a few more than I did in the other two.............combined!

While I took this one near work, GregM sent it to me also. 

A street over from us. I loved it. 

Made a U-y when I spotted this. 

Since Pappy Joe WILL be like 78 if he is inaugurated, I'm really kind of voting for Harris anyways. 

To the point. 

Allllllmost alliteration. 

Definitely GregM sent this one. 

It is fucking perfect. 

Go Heights Tigers!

A fuck of a lot more - that's how much. 

A hanger in an alley would be too good of an end for this guy. 

Also sent from Greg M (and one from Morty too!)

A totally doctored sign / photo someone sent me, but I'm allowing it. 

Becky - this around the corner from Anita's place!

German Village - in Columbus, OH.  Thanks Becky for the submission. 

The above two from the same house - as seen on our dog walk yesterday. 

Keeping it large for ya.  Becky captured this down in Columbus and highlighted the less than obvious. 

Fuck the yard sign - they went all billboard in the 216. 

......Ladies........and everyone else. Please. 

Someone's homemade sign in Cleveland Hts. 

...and in Columbus.  via Rebecca. 

Columbus storefront (via Mort) made me laugh. 

Oh, Shaker Hts and their $20 words!

(slow clap)

Fuckin' A.   (also from Shaker Hts)

Scariest Halloween decoration yet! (Shaker Hts)

Hard to argue with this one lately. 

Morty provides this nugget from Columbus

Harder to argue this one. 

And a note for all.  Use it if needed!

Oh - and I took the below in Foggy Bottom (DC) in March of 2018. Believe it or not, I have not used it. And it's the great end for this post!

Song by: the Housemartins

Training

Yesterday, I spent 2+ hours learning how to be a poll worker. 

I am bound and determined to make sure all of those who can vote can vote.............Covid be damned.....USPS be damned.......BLOTUS lies, be damned........Russia be damned. 

We went through the mechanics of identifying the voter, making sure they get the ballot and that it is scanned in. 

What I didn't know is about the set-up of the machines - the DS200s......the printers, the scanners, the reports that get printed out at certain times of the day. What we do with observers - local and federal, media - local and social, and then those pesky campaigners who cross the area in which they're not allowed. 

But of course, we had to get training on how to deal with the irate and the potential active shooter. This election year, it seems all too possible...........probable, even. 

It will be a minimum of a 14 hour day. And the way it works: I will be paired with a registered voter from another party.   ......for 14 hours.....minimum. 

Any other election cycle, that might be tenable. This year........I just don't fucking know. 

This is the price we pay - I pay - for democracy.   Or murder. 

.....I guess we'll see. 

Song by: Mark Knopfler

Vote, Baby Vote

It's done. 

Our 2020 ballots have been hand-delivered to the county Board of Elections. 

We got said ballots Thursday. I quadruple checked just the Presidential ones before, and then again after, filling in the oval. One can take no chances this election year.  None. 

Each of Ohio's 88 counties gets ONE drop box per. That is is. 

Fine for a small county that has less people than all of Cleveland itself, but for ours - which is the first or second most populous - it's problematic. And it seems, short-sighted. 

But our republican-led state government does not want to make it easy to vote, even in a pandemic year. 

While I know THEY have thought about it, I'm guessing voters haven't played this all the way through: 

A probable record year for voting. Which not only brings lines anyways, but now everyone "supposed" to be six feet apart. The lines will LOOK massive, more so than they actually are. This will deter people from getting in the line as they snake out the door and down the block..................in November. 

Let's add to this - more time. I don't know the logistics (yet), but you gotta believe someone has to wipe down each voting booth x amount of times between voters. 

And the current "president" and his cronies have already tainted the voting by mail pool. I don't think it's real, but, the seed of doubt is now out there. Fuck, it's one reason why we didn't put ours in the mail. We drove down, we waited in a line of cars who were doing the exact same thing. 

But no - our state government says voters cannot drop a vote into a secure box. Because why would they want to deny people the opportunity to easily cast their vote unless they knew it wouldn't benefit them.  Obvi, limited voting also represses GOP votes, but I'm guessing it must be at a lower rate. I have to believe a republican led state has done the risk analysis on all this. 

This is why  - one of the reasons - Election Day should be a national holiday. Options. 

I had to call the Board of Elections this weekend to see where my notice for training might have gone. I am still hellbent on being a poll worker on Nov 3rd.  I have taken the day off. I'll be happy to work from 06:30 - 20:00 to make sure people have the chance to cast their ballot. 

I don't lie, of course I care if the vote is for BLOTUS or Pappy Joe, but I'd rather they be given the chance than shut out of the opportunity to even have a choice. 

So my vote has been cast - per se.  I wish I had this great feeling of relief doing it, but so far, nothing. If anything, I probably sniped at 710 part of the afternoon after doing dropping the ballot. 

Anxiety is high. 

Song by: Deee-Lite