A New Year

I don't have any words. So instead, I will just post this beautiful picture. One of my last shots before Lake Huron started to freeze. It will be a while before we see freighters on our beautiful lake. 

Do something good

As we wrap up the year, we had a couple of highlights.  

We had our holiday party at the Iosco County Democratic HQ and as a bonus, Curtis Hertel, a candidate for MDP Chair joined us. He cast his vision for the role and then stayed an enjoyed dinner with us.  

Lots of fun at the holiday party, too! 

In my secret Santa, I scored a cool puzzle that was promptly taken by my friend's son (!!!) but I ended up with the best ornament.  Thanks, Theo! 

And our incredibly generous community gathered supplies, coats, blankets and snacks for those who are homeless in Iosco County. It's baffling to me that people in this country go without food, shelter, and support but we can thank the MAGAs for that.  In the meantime, we keep showing up. 

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Here's to a better holiday next year.  

Hope is a Sewer Rat

 One of my dearest friends sent me a link to this poem. It's both beautiful and perfect.  

Hope Is Not a Bird, Emily, It’s a Sewer Rat
by Caitlin Seida

Hope is not the thing with feathers
That comes home to roost
When you need it most.

Hope is an ugly thing
With teeth and claws and
Patchy fur that’s seen some shit.

It’s what thrives in the discards
And survives in the ugliest parts of our world,
Able to find a way to go on
When nothing else can even find a way in.

It’s the gritty, nasty little carrier of such
diseases as
optimism, persistence,
Perseverance and joy,
Transmissible as it drags its tail across
your path
and
bites you in the ass.

Hope is not some delicate, beautiful bird,
Emily.
It’s a lowly little sewer rat
That snorts pesticides like they were
Lines of coke and still
Shows up on time to work the next day
Looking no worse for wear.

Wealth-not-Health Companies

What a fascinating week, eh? The CEO of a villainous wealth-not-health care company is executed in Manhattan and has become some kind of folk hero. Following the stories on Threads and Blue Sky cheering on Robin Hoodie or The Adjuster, included are heartbreaking stories of insurance claim denials causing death and hardship. These companies are downright evil.  

I have long advocated for single-payer healthcare. We are the beneficiaries of Cadillac insurance; Tricare covers everything. Every. Single. Thing. And when I am eligible for Medicare, Tricare becomes our supplemental insurance. (Providing the Orange Cheesus doesn’t cut our military benefits).  

I have friends who have filed for bankruptcy because of medical debt. It’s disgusting and completely preventable. My friend, Richard Douglass, has both a book and a wonderful YouTube video on this very topic.  

I am going to start correcting people when I hear them say this is the greatest country on earth. It isn’t. Wealth-not Health Care companies prevent people from getting healthcare. Wealth-not-Health care companies have NO REDEEMING QUALITIES. They exist to create other people wealth at the expense of those who are need care.  

Why do we fold to such an oppressive and disgusting model? Oh wait, the Republicans and their greed. That's right, I temporarily forgot. 

What are you reading?

 So what are you reading?  Stopped watching MSM years ago; they are both compromised and castrated. 

Asking good friends for writers they can believe, I have assembled a fabulous list of reliable resources.  The link it here.  

We are all adults here; some of the language is salty and given the clusterfuck this country is going to become, it's appropriate.  

Here is what I wrote after the election:

I have a lot of texts and notes, thanking me for the work I did. Let me say this: I didn't do the work for me. 

I did it for the women who may bleed out in a parking lot because they can't get healthcare. I did it for my wonderful LGBQT friends (and their spouses/partners) who deserve every equal right I have. I did it for all those who couldn't because of jobs or spouses or didn't feel comfortable being public with their support. I did it to give voice and support to try and counter the years of racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, and all the other phobias I can't even list right now. I did it for those who are simply trying to have a better life; as our wonderful candidate said, "not to just get by, but to get ahead." 

We have exceptional privilege. We can go live anywhere. I will never worry about the cost of insulin or rent or gas or eggs or healthcare. But many of you, your children, and your grandchildren will have to live with the consequences of this election. For that, I am truly sorry.

Elections have consequences. We are hearing about a federal abortion ban (despite the lies that the GOP would NEVER do that); travel bans for women, veterans receive too many benefits, and oh, the promise of tariffs? Starting to waver. 

A friend this morning sent me the recommendation of Joan Westenberg. In one of her articles, Joan wrote this:

Lately, I’ve been digging deeper into the case for radical, stubborn, rebel optimism—a philosophy that doesn’t sugarcoat reality but stares straight into the void and says, “Not today, you fucker.” 

So that's my daily mantra for the next two years. I will continue to highlight the Party of Liars. And if you voted for them, you get what you deserve.  

Me? I will focus on midterms.