Lovely day today – the rain has left and it’s sunny and beautiful.

We have a primary election today, so we’ll be going to vote this morning. We want to make sure we’re back in time for the 1 pm January 6th hearing today. I’m very intrigued because the Committee had previously stated that there would be no more meetings until mid-July. But late in the afternoon yesterday, we learned that there would be a hearing today. It must be pretty important as it’s taking place when Congress is in recess. I’m looking forward to it.

We will be wearing masks when we vote. Basically, we wear masks when we’re shopping or running errands which require us to be indoors and we’re not about to stop that for the time being. I see less and less of them when I’m out and about, but there are still some people who wear them. So far, we haven’t run into anyone who has confronted us about that. It’s sort of live and let live around here – except for the crazy person who has “Impeach Biden” signs high up on the trees on the edge of his property…his house is on the main drag into our town, so we pass it all the time. By the way, he’s had those signs up since before  Biden took office. One wonders just what Biden did – according to this guy – that was impeachable, even before he took office. (I’ve had fantasies about nailing a sign right below one of his signs that has an arrow pointing upwards with a “laughing so hard I’m crying” emoji.

I’d have to do it in the dead of night.

Of course, I wouldn’t really do that. (Though it’s tempting.)

Oh, and the guy who drives a noisy pickup with a Confederate flag attached to the rear of the truck. A Confederate flag in New York state – go figure.

There is so much that is awful in the news that I often feel overwhelmed by it all. But then I get a chance to vote – in this case for our pro-choice Governor, Kathy Hochul and for Dems who support a woman’s right to choose and don’t support insurrection – and I’m grateful.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

I had a surreal day yesterday, alternating between rage and happiness. As I was talking to my sister on the phone, her eldest son told us that Roe v Wade had been overturned. I called Don (who was not at home at the time) to tell him and then I spent hours rage-scrolling Twitter. At the same time, I was wrapping presents and running last minute birthday errands.

I wanted to make sure that my anger didn’t intrude on my beloved’s birthday. It wasn’t easy, but I pulled it off.

He had a lovely day. We had a sweet celebration at dinner time and he loved his presents. Thank you for your birthday messages to Don. They are so appreciated.

I woke up this morning feeling rested and two seconds later I remembered what had been done to us yesterday. For make no mistake, this is about control. It’s a war on women. It’s not about babies or fetuses. It’s about the erosion of our privacy and our constitutional rights.

Next up, according to Clarence Thomas, who is married to an insurrectionist, sexually harassed Anita Hill and never should have been confirmed, marriage equality and contraception. Which means the war expands to the LBGTQ community.

They must be stopped. The only way to do that is at the ballot box. We must vote out anyone who was a part of the insurrection, who still won’t acknowledge that Biden won, as well as any candidate who doesn’t support women or people of color or LGBTQ. If they voted for Kavanaugh, Coney Barrett, or Gorsuch – bye bye.

We need a majority in the Senate that isn’t limited by Manchin and Sinema. We need to suspend the filibuster. And we need to codify Roe v Wade into law.

Women are angry. We are formidable. The GOP and the Supreme Court have no idea what they’ve unleashed.

No comments supporting this despicable action by SCOTUS, please. If you don’t support the right to choose, then don’t get an abortion. It’s that simple.

Okay. I have to go.

Stay safe.

Happy (sort of) Saturday.

Soul crushing.

This is what I wrote this morning:

I no longer have faith in this country.

Money and power fuel every decision. Every bit of legislation.
Innocent citizens become the ‘collateral damage.’

America is no longer what I once thought it was.

It has succumbed to madness.

People buying groceries, going to church, going to the movies, attending a concert. Children going to school. People going about their lives who are gunned down because our politicians are financed by the gun lobby and the NRA and will do NOTHING to stop the easy access to guns. That money is more important to them than the lives of innocent Americans.

No “thoughts and prayers.” I have news for you: God wants you to take action. Use your free will for something good.

I lost a beloved student to gun violence. He was murdered by a 17 year old girl who had easy access to a guns.

If I was younger, I’d leave this country. I no longer recognize it. I want nothing to do with it. Yes, I know we should fight. But, I’ve fought all my adult life and at this point, I’m damn tired.

Anyway, we can’t afford to leave. We’re stuck here.

Please, no lectures on taking action or voting or any of that. I have always been politically active. I never miss an election. I always vote. I donate to Everytown. I donate to the ACLU. I donate to the candidates I believe in. I sign petitions. I make calls. I write to my Senators and Representatives.

I’ve had it.

A word to the wise: If you’re going to leave an anti-gun control comment here, it will be deleted.

My father, when I was young, belonged to the NRA. We often argued about that. In later years, he left that organization. He wanted nothing more to do with it as it had become something he no longer recognized. The NRA had succumbed to the desire for power and money and control.

Always follow the money.

Every day, every hour, we hear of new atrocities. We see politicians selling their souls for power. We see them ignore climate change, health care, gun control. We see a Supreme Court that is bought and paid for.

Women are being forced to carry babies to term because of the ‘right to life’ but apparently that doesn’t matter once those babies are born. Then it’s every child for himself. Good luck kids!

In Texas, you can’t get an abortion, but you can purchase an AR-15 when you turn 18.

Amanda Gorman, the young poet, said this: “One nation, under guns.”

I’m rambling, I know. I’m heartsick.

Thank you for your wonderful comments yesterday. If you don’t mind, I won’t respond to them. I just don’t have it in me today. But please know they are appreciated.

Hug your loved ones today.

Stay safe.