I listened to JD Vance this morning on Meet the Press state forcefully that Donald Trump believes abortion is a state’s rights issue – not a federal issue. Vance went on to say he understands that California’s abortion laws will be different than Ohio’s – “and that’s OK.”
Either way, both Trump and Vance believe it’s appropriate for the state to decide what kinds of reproductive health options are available to women. So, suppose you’re a woman who happens to live in a state with a total abortion ban, and you’re a victim of rape. In that case, you have no right to terminate the pregnancy – and Republican lawmakers also want to criminalize crossing state lines to get an abortion.
In a Trump / Vance America, your geography determines whether or not you have rights around reproductive care.
The Republican party used to be the party of limited government and individual freedom. That changed when religious groups became players in American politics, wielding influence by promising votes and converting religious lecterns into political pulpits. As soon as Republicans saw votes in those church pews, they began crafting legislation and policies catering to religious groups (so much for individual freedom and limited government).
Harris and Walz and the democratic party believe reproductive health decisions should always be up to the woman, regardless of the fate of geography.
If you care about individual freedom and don’t want to live in a country that says your state determines what women can and cannot do in terms of abortion care, then vote blue in November.
In Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign against Hillary Clinton, he said:
“If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks,” Mr. Trump said as the crowd began to boo. He quickly added: “Although the Second Amendment people — maybe there is, I don’t know” – queue July 13th, Butler, PA.
People who love Democracy and hate Donald Trump want him to just go away. They go to sleep at night hoping the twice impeached rapist and convicted felon would just die of a heart attack, stroke, or maybe a domestic “Clue-like” demise (Melania at Mara Lago with a My Pillow).
While millions let out a sigh of relief Saturday, just as many (if not more) were thinking, “A few inches to the left or right and problem solved.” – that’s where we are in this country, and we have Donald Trump to thank for it.
It’s hard to separate the attempt on Trump’s life from the divisive political discourse that coincides with the Trump / MAGA brand. Trump and his MAGA base have ushered in the idea that sometimes violence and retribution are theanswer.
In recent years, we’ve seen MAGA members of Congress posing with and filming campaign commercials with the AR-15. Marjorie Taylor Greene created campaign posters of herself posing with an AR-15 and threatening other members of Congress. We’ve seen angry citizens at town halls across America talking about taking up arms because they believe the Trump-based lie that the left stole the 2020 election.
Donald Trump has incited, condoned, and threatened violence throughout both of his candidacies and during his presidency. He has divided our country and pitted Americans against one another by lying and demonizing people along political, racial, and religious lines.
With the help of foreign adversaries, Trump has transformed the Republican party from a party that detested autocracies and dictatorships to a party that aligns with them. Trump continuously heaps accolades on dictators and authoritarians who use violence and retribution on political opponents and suppress dissent and freedom of speech. As we know from former members of Trump’s cabinet, President Trump wondered aloud, “Why not just shoot protestors in the legs?”
All of this is bound to alienate people on both the left and right. Is it any wonder that someone decided to take things into their own hands?
It’s also worth noting that a significant number of Americans connect the right to bear arms with the right to topple a tyrannical government. That message has been marketed and sold with great success – primarily by gun-loving Republicans. It’s a message that taps into our deeply held beliefs around freedom and independence. Combine that message with our lax gun laws and protected access to assault weapons, and you get what happened in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
Whether it’s an 18-year-old incel, a deranged congresswoman from Georgia, or a registered Republican from Pennsylvania who saw Donald Trump as an existential threat to Democracy, each views guns and violence as an acceptable way to neutralize threats.
People who live by the sword die by the sword. Trump and his supporters are seeing that Trump’s loose and comfortable affiliation with violence can cut both ways – perhaps that’s what they want?
We’re approaching a tipping point in America, where we must choose between bullets or ballots.
At sixty-one, I’m not as mentally agile as I used to be, and I’m sure this natural decline will continue as I age.
I suppose what I’ve lost in mental acuity is somewhat offset by the wisdom I’ve gained through experience (personally and professionally) – but I’m not burdened by the need to prove this to anyone – Joe Biden is.
It doesn’t matter if Joe Biden believes he can be a successful President for the next four years.
In fact, it doesn’t matter if Joe Biden can objectively be a successful president—what matters is whether Democratic and independent voters believe he can—and most of them do not.
I’m one of many who think Joe Biden should bow out of the 2024 presidential race.
Does that mean I won’t vote for him?
HELL NO!
I’d vote for the moldy-unrecognizable-saran-wrapped mystery in the back of my refrigerator before I vote for that fat-orange-traitorous-fuck, Donald Trump.
That said, a second Trump Presidency is not something we should leave to chance (the stakes are too high). With Joe Biden as Trump’s opponent, there is a greater chance Trump will win than if the Democrats run a younger candidate with some vitality and vigor.
Joe Biden needs to put the country he professes to love above himself.
He needs to recognize that this race is not about whether his age is a disqualifier but whether he’s able to effectively, aggressively, and convincingly prosecute the case against a second Trump presidency. That should be a relatively easy task, given all the negatives Trump brings.
President Biden had the opportunity to prosecute the case against Trump in the debate, and he failed miserably.
There’s no shortage of capable Democrats (Kamala Harris, Gretchen Whitmer, Wes Moore, Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg) who can stand toe-to-toe with Trump and cut him down to size – but the longer Joe Biden dawdles, the more logistically challenging it becomes for the party to pivot to an alternative.
Those were my sentiments after watching President Biden mumble through the first (and possibly only) presidential debate.
It was the worst debate performance I’ve ever seen.
Trump was Trump. A firehose of lies and misinformation. A verbosity atrocity.
Even though on substance, you can argue that Biden was better (or at the very least, more honest) – presentation and optics matter, and Biden looked old, confused, and unprepared.
The candidates running for President are both unqualified but for radically different reasons.
Biden is unqualified because age has diminished his ability to be an effective leader who instills confidence. Old age and its consequences have caught up to Joe Biden, and those undeniable consequences were on display for all to see in the Presidential debate. Biden’s family, closest friends, and political confidantes should be imploring him to drop out of the race.
Trump is unqualifiedbecause of fundamental ineptitude and a dangerous malevolence towards truth, integrity, democracy, and the United States Constitution. He has no redeemable qualities as a politician or person. He is a knife at the throat of our republic.
I often criticize Trump supporters for turning a blind eye to Trump’s ineptitude and utter lack of character—I’d be a hypocrite if I turned a blind eye to Biden’s age issues.
President Biden should ask himself how he wants to be remembered – as the humble public servant who derailed Trump’s naked aggression and assault on truth and integrity in 2020 or as the feeble, discombobulated, old fogey blinded by ego and deaf to public opinion who opened the door and handed the keys of our republic to a convicted felon, traitor, and rapist in 2024?
If Biden digs in his heels and refuses to step aside (which is what he appears to be doing), Americans need to ask themselves which candidate will do more harm as President. What is worse for America (Biden’s age-related degeneration or Trump’s malevolence toward democracy)?
Since then, I’ve had many interviews and reached the final stages of several Technical Writing opportunities, but I’ve yet to receive any offers.
What I notice most about interviewing at sixty-one is how conscious I am of my fake enthusiasm. For every interview, I hear myself pitching my skills and capabilities to the interviewer, even though in my heart, I know I don’t want the job – it’s a strange dichotomy where heart and head travel on different planes.
I’m also getting the impression that most companies don’t want to hire people my age, and in my case, I can’t say I blame them. If the honest answer to “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” is “3 years into my retirement,” then you’re probably not the right person for the job.
I’m no longer “hungry” professionally. I don’t have the eye of the tiger or the fire in the belly (unless you count indigestion). I’m not looking to grind, work my way up the ladder, or burn the midnight oil. Instead, I want to work for a few more years at something I enjoy and then retire.
While assessing my next move, I decided to compile some of the works from this blog, work with an editor to polish the content and publish them as a collection on Amazon.
If interested, you can purchase the paperback version of “My Paper, My Words” on Amazon.
bendingtheneedle 