If you live in the US, today is election day. Yeah our system sucks and needs change. Fucking do something about it by voting. I don’t know what will happen. Nobody does.
You do have a choice. While the federal races are frustrating and only matter if you’re state is considered a swing state where the race is close, your local races matter far more in your daily life. Change starts small at the local level. District race margins are far smaller. It’s an odd year election so turnout will likely be lower. That means you have a bigger impact.
If there are any problems you have with where you live, or feel that you don’t like something where you live, voting gives you that opportunity to voice your opinion with choices. It’s not perfect, but that’s life.
Voting is about having faith in democracy. To have faith that generations before have fought for in the trenches of war and the trenches of the streets to battle to earn the right to vote. So that everyone can vote or the choice to vote. For the choice to run for office. For the choice for change.
You don’t even have to completely fill out your ballot. It doesn’t take more than 20 minutes.
July 4th. American Independence day weekend. I don’t feel like celebrating.
Living in America feels like a bad dream. A never-ending nightmare of bad news. Yeah, there was that legislation to improve gun safety. But will it really change anything? I doubt it. It feels like another feel-good, a little too late, a middle-ground bill that pleases nobody… And the violence continues. We really need young people in charge. We really need non-corporate slaves in charge. Voting Republican isn’t a solution. Their goal is to create more problems. Way too many were cheering when January 6th happened when America almost became a fascist state.
I’m tired of Joe Biden being a caretaker president. Nothing has changed. His best argument when running was that his long record as a Senator would help him pass legislation through our deadlocked (by republicans) congress. That hasn’t happened. Sure, he has signed many Executive Orders, but those will be canceled by the next eventual republican. We gave him a good shot to get things done, to make big changes… And it hasn’t happened. I’m not voting for him again. I’m so tired of getting my hopes up with politicians only to be disappointed.
So far, he’s been the “Not Trump” candidate.
We need an actual liberal as president. Who isn’t another corporatist wearing a democrat mask? We need leadership that will be alive after their time as president is over, so they must live through the consequences. We need a president who hasn’t lived in the DC bubble, has worked a regular job for a living recently and is not wealthy. I love Bernie Sanders, but the man has done enough for the US. AOC would be a good choice for any of The Squad. There aren’t enough women holding office anyway. It’s embarrassing that we still haven’t had a woman as president. It’s fucking time.
I’m so grateful to live in Washington state. I wonder if things will improve in my lifetime here in America. It sure doesn’t look like the corporate hold over this country will soon disappear. Problems keep piling up, and these piecemeal, half-ass (aka middle ground) solutions won’t cut it any longer. So no, I won’t be celebrating this independence day weekend. Because we, as a country, are dependent on capitalism and corporations. As long as wealth exists, there will never be true equality. Never because some person will be able to be above another.
What am I supposed to do when I can be outspent by some rich person who can donate more money than I will make in my entire life? What am I supposed to do when those same rich assholes own news companies and can indoctrinate millions into what they want? My one vote only goes so far. I can only convince so many people. What am I supposed to do when a group of appointed assholes makes decisions based on their beliefs and not the law? Do we even need the supreme court? Do I even want to be an American?
I’m so exhausted from watching this country slowly disintegrate from a democracy to some nightmare straight out of 1984.
Also, fuck fireworks. They are loud and noisy everywhere these days. They cause pollution. Most of the time, they are set off late at night on a random day and time when you’re trying to sleep, just like a car alarm going off. Of all the amazing things in life, and this modern world, seeing or buying fireworks is the last thing I want to do.
Fireworks’ long history in a nutshell. 😑
Alright, enough complaining. Here are things I can celebrate.
I opened the WordPress app today and saw that the all-time views passed 5000! Wow! That’s a big deal for a personal blog like this! I’ll take it!
I dropped the ball on the 1000 likes landmark and should’ve celebrated it sooner. It happened with this post:
I’ve blogged about it quite a bit. I keep talking about it, but I am not moving forward. Well, not quite. Last week, I began seeing a therapist again. I started seeing a life coach. My scrolling Instagram for hours is paying off because most of that time is spent watching therapy-related reels and images.
I went and saw my buddy on Saturday. He’s going through a hard time, and it’s tough to see him in pain. I’m grateful to have been there for him. That I do have him as a friend.
Feels like everyone is struggling these days…
Since I started in March 2020, the hardest part of this journey has been to pick myself up from rock bottom as my life started over at that time. Relationships changed. People changed. I changed. Life changed. So much so that I’m still adjusting to this new normal.
I had to learn the hard way that the only person to save me is myself. It’s okay to ask for help. Or for support. The bottom line is that I have to be the person to do so. Others do want to help. Others want to be in your life. However, you have to advocate and be there for yourself. It’s part of being an adult. To be healthy.
Despite all the difficulties, there are little things to celebrate. So that’s something… Guess I got that going for me. 😑🙃
I’d like to thank everyone who has taken the time to stop by this blog, read these posts, comment, and like them. I appreciate it. It makes my day. Doing so makes me feel not alone because others connect with my writing. It’s the one way I feel connected to the world and others. It’s hard to cope when I take a lot of time to write, edit, and advertise a post and few people read it. Please continue to stop by.
Song of the post, United in Grief by Kendrick Lamar
(I’ve been listening to this album on repeat, it’s a new favorite and I captured this moment in time perfectly.)
I wish I could say that this is a surprise, but it isn’t.
Abortion is a right.
A woman’s right to choose is a right.
This supreme court decision is the first domino to a worse US.
Anyone who votes Republican is a monster. I’m done being nice.
I have little trust that my fellow Americans will make this right by showing up to vote in November.
Fetuses are not people.
In fact, this argument and the argument about how many weeks until they are human is built around the fact it can be measured by science. That isn’t how science works. You don’t get to pick and choose.
While we are on it, Covid is real, Vaccines are safe, to choose not to get vaccinated or mask up means you are a selfish asshole.
You can’t be pro choice and pro life with vaccines and abortion.
If you think you can get a choice not to get vaccinated, then you don’t get a say when a women chooses to get an abortion. You aren’t Pro Life if you feel you can get covid and spread it to others, causing them physical harm. Unlike Fetuses, coronavirus is real.
If you think abortion is murder, then I think you are a murderer for not being vaccinated. It’s murder to force birth, and not give any support to the child or the parents. It’s murder to not be vaccinated and be around children.
If you vote Republican, you don’t deserve any of the rights or benefits that liberals and democrats have fought for everyone since the start of this country.
You can only read this because schools exist, which are paid by tax dollars. Private schools exist because of government.
If it was possible to abort with a gun, Abortion would be legal. Not that you care what would happen to the mother after as we’ve seen in this debate. It’s always been about power and control over others.
So, no guns, no right of free expression of religion, no legal protection, no social security, no medicaid, no social security, no right to vote, no equality… Nothing. Not like you pay taxes or want to. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps and do in on your own. Oh wait, that’s impossible without voting or government.
Fucking go it alone.
Hate me because you don’t have a say? Because you don’t have a choice?
I woke up this morning just in time to see the headline that Trump has left the Whitehouse. His term as president is finally over. I could relax just a little as his plane took off.
I dunno about anyone else, but I let out an exasperated exhale. Good riddance. Soon he’ll be held accountable in DC, but that can wait. Today we can breathe again.
I could breathe again after 4 years of bracing myself every day from Trump’s bullshit.
Not going to miss this feeling
Relief
I can relax and breathe easy as Kamala Harris is sworn in as VP. There was no time to celebrate after the election as Trump there a fit every step along the way as the biggest sore loser in American history. No more.
We’ve made it. It’s safe. Kamala Harris, is Vice president of the United States of America. The first woman, the first black woman, and first Asian woman to be VP in history. She’s got the experience and skills to get the job done. I had to remind myself today that she is all these firsts, and this was really happening. I’m still in PTSD shock because of the president-eject.
I can breathe easy now that Joe Biden is President of the United States of America. He’s been here before as VP, and many years as a Senator.
The election didn’t feel real until all the mail in ballots were counted.
It didn’t feel real after all the recounts in swing states and certification of the votes by electors.
It didn’t feel real because Trump never acknowledged reality.
It didn’t feel real when his supporters threatened violence.
It didn’t feel real when they went and raided the capitol during the count of electoral votes by the senate.
It didn’t feel real or safe as the inauguration was locked down and had a heavy police and military presence in case of violence.
After these past 4 years, it felt like anything bad could happen.
It only felt real, and final, today when both Biden and Harris were sworn in. It was actually nice not to have Trump there at the inauguration. It would have been like a bad ex showing up to a wedding. Thank goodness for this new day, this new administration.
Biden signs three documents after his inauguration ceremony: his inauguration day proclamation, his nominations for the Cabinet, and his nominations for sub-Cabinet positions.Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool/AP Source
Despite this mask, I can breathe
It’s not going to be easy. America is in its deepest hole yet. The threat of racial injustice is burning hot. Climate change rages. The pandemic takes our breathe away… Literal and figurative as feelings override fact. Never have we been so divided. No it will not forgive or forget those that attacked our nation, and egged on by the president-eject. Justice is on the way. Equality has taken steps forward after being kneecapped by white privilege. By enemies domestic. Terrorists. For now, we can breathe. We can put down the news and live our lives instead of worrying about the news. So much needs to be done, and its on the way. Change is here.
If there is two things I have learned the past year, it’s one day at a time, and celebrate the little things.
Biden, Harris and their spouses leave the US Capitol after the inauguration ceremony.Sarah Silbiger for CNN Source
For now, we can breathe. For now we can rest from this awful hangover caused by the last 4 years.
I’m pretty pessimistic that republicans will actually work with Biden. Not with how they acted after Obama was elected and they abandoned him right away. Not after all their awful enabling behavior the past 4 years with the President-Eject. Guess we will see what happens next. For now, I am completely exhausted from the last administration, and haven’t had time to heal until the President-Eject’s twitter account was banned.
Starting tomorrow, I’m taking a break from the news. I also need to take a break from being on the pc and phone. I’ve been on both far too much since October and I am worried that I am addicted to them again. I was planning on taking this break after the election, but since it dragged out, I didn’t feel safe not to be up to date to stop. I finally feel like I can without the threat of Trump causing destruction.
Thank you for reading this, if you enjoyed it, please give it a like, tell me what you think in the comments, and share on Facebook. Don’t forget to subscribe to my email list for updates!
Please wear a mask outside that covers your mouth and nose, wash your hands, clean your cell phone, and keep your physical distance (6 feet) from others to fight Covid-19!
On a date that should’ve ended in joy as Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff won the senate election in Georgia. It feels like a miracle… The state of Georgia turned blue after decades of being a deep red Republican state.
But that was ruined when the Trump protesters turned into a riot. The election results certification for POTUS Joe Biden was interrupted by a domestic terror attack. An attempted Coup trying to keep Trump as president.
It didn’t matter that Vice president Pence was there. Doing his job as Vice president presiding over the election certification as electoral college votes were tallied. It didn’t matter that fellow republican party supporters were there. Trump and his supporters would do anything to stay in power. Even if it would mean treason.
It feels fucking strange to mention or give credit to Mike Pence of all people after these hellish four years of Trump. After all the illegal criminal shit Trump has done, Pence supported him every step in the way. I still don’t like him, and hate his politics, but props for following the constitution. He believes in this democracy and this country. It feels weird to feel patriotic for my country as a liberal. I’m absolutely horrified at the violence, livid that this terrorist attack happened with little resistance by police. A protest follows the laws. It’s not a protest when you force your way into a closed building. It’s not a protest when you go in with weapons and tactical armor. When you carry in the flags of enemies of America, it’s not a protest.
Helpful reminders to keep in mind:
A post from reddit, adapted from Arrested Development that sums up the insurrection:
“Bro….
Getting caught up in a moment is making an off-color joke in front of your boss at a Christmas party…
Getting caught up in a moment is laughing at a fart noise without realizing that your wife is on speaker phone with her parents.
Getting caught up in a moment is forgetting to say thank you for a gift because you were distracted by how hideous the sweater is.
Getting caught up in a moment is being caught staring at someone attractive for a second when your gf/bf notices.
“Caught up in a moment” is for minor faux paus and small infractions of behavior and decorum.
Wearing tactical gear, helmets, gas masks, taping cellphones to your chest… planning for months to attend an “overturn the election (Democracy)” rally… buying airplane tickets, renting a car, getting a hotel room, meeting up with your co-conspirators, marching en masse to the capitol building, climbing over and through barricades, smashing windows, doors, fences, battering, crushing, and murdering police as they scream for help that never came, shoving past them screaming for blood and chanting horrific slogans, calling the few black cops you see the ‘n’ word over and over, while you wave the confederate flag, rummaging through files, stealing laptops, taking peoples files and decorations, climbing into the senate or house chamber, overturning tables and chairs, leaving heaps of garbage…
That is sedition. That is insurrection. That is not ‘caught up in a moment’
Your whole life listening to Trump and his enablers is based on lies, and hate. That is why it resulted in the very thing you say you believe in being tarnished, damaged, and very nearly broken. (Freedom).
You need to re-examine how your beliefs led you to invade our nations capital like a Vandal or Gothic Tribe, with others of your ilk who came for literal blood, and why you are now part of a dangerous and growing insurgency, that is cancer to our country, and very well may lead to many more people dying. Stop listening to white rage radio, stop allowing people who hate your guts and could care less if you live or die to pull your strings like an automaton.
You weren’t caught up in a moment. You were/are in a cult, where the leader doesn’t care how many people get hurt as long as he is still loved. You were “caught up being what you are”, a riotous dangerous criminal in the midst of an attempt to end democracy, and usher in mob rule.”Source
Or said in my favorite Dave Chappelle bit, Chivalry is dead, and…
Thank you for reading this, if you enjoyed it, please give it a like, tell me what you think in the comments, and share on Facebook. Don’t forget to subscribe to my email list for updates!
Please wear a mask outside that covers your mouth and nose, wash your hands, clean your cell phone, and keep your physical distance (6 feet) from others to fight Covid-19!
Photo from the brownie batch I made for myself earlier in the week.
Brownies
3 cups almond flour (if substituting for regular flour, use 2 cups)
4oz butter (or one stick)
1 cup cocoa powder (The quality of your cocoa powder makes the difference in how tasty your brownies are. I haven’t found a cocoa powder as good as this one yet… https://amzn.to/3gYL6a9
3 whole eggs (2 if using regular flour. Almond flour needs an extra egg in the recipe to have the same consistency)
1 cup chocolate chips
1.5 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
Pinch cayenne pepper
Equipment needed: A whisk, a spatula, mixing bowls, glass 8×8 pyrex pan, a metal pan if using stove melting method.
Start by combing the almond flour, salt, cayenne, and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl.Mix together with a whisk, or fork.It needs to look close to this to be mixed properly. It’s okay if there are little chunks of cocoa powder. Mixing properly ensures that the brownies turn out.Add the eggs,sugar, and vanilla extract into a bowl, and vigorously whip them with a fork or whisk. Unrelated, but also included in the pictured… A dirty cutting board from cooking dinner, and 70% isopropyl alcohol for cleaning.This is the consistency you are looking for your egg mixture to be after whipping. It should run in a stream like this when lifted from your mixing instrument, in this case a fork.Add the chocolate chips and butter into a pan on the stove on low heat. The goal is to emulsify the butter and chocolate into a new mixture. You can also do this in a microwave. If you done in a microwave, slowly heat in 20 second increments, stir, then melt another 20 seconds, stir, until it is the same consistency as this picture. Low and slow melting is the goal.Pour the egg-sugar-vanilla mixture, and the chocolate-butter mix (also called a ganache!) into the center of the bowl of dry ingredients.Mix the shit out of it with a spatula. Note: if using regular flour, you must be careful of over mixing as the gluten in flour changes the process. Almond flour doesn’t have gluten so you don’t have to worry about this.Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, or 176 C. This is the batter partially mixed.Your brownie batter should look like this when fully mixed. Before spooning it into the Glass Pyrex pan, spray the Pyrex with nonstick oil spray.Spread the batter around the pan with your spatula. This is how it looks when ready. Bake in your oven for 45 minutes at 350F/176CThis is how they look, hot out of the oven. To tell if they are ready, poke the center with a toothpick or thermometer, and it it comes out clean, they’re ready. It’s okay if it has cracks like this. Once cooled the cracks should recede. Its important that you allow the brownies to cool for a minimum of 1 hour. Almond flour brownies are much more delicate hot and will fall apart if not given enough time to cool. Its hell when they smell so good, but patience is key.Money shot at my computer desk of the finished brownies.
A look into America this week…
My neighbors tribute outside her house to George Floyd.
As American as….
I first must acknowledge that I despise the current format for recipes rewarded by google in food blogs, so I’ll leave this entry after the recipe for those interested in reading it. Gimme the damn recipe, not your story about it. Put it after the recipe. So I will, even if I get less views. Be the change you want to see in the world. I apologize for being two days late on this post.
As a white man of privilege on the autistic spectrum, I only know a little bit about being an outsider, to be considered different from society. I’ll never know what it feels like to be a person of color in America. I’ve been absolutely ashamed and disgusted at America since 2016. Growing up, it seemed like things were finally getting better for everyone in this country. I thought the future was finally here in 2008 when our first black president, Barack Obama was elected. That change was finally on the way. Like many progressives on the left, I was disgusted at the outcome of 2016’s election with POTUS 45. I never thought things would be this bad.
I’m 34, so the first election I could vote in was in 2004 with Bush v Kerry. I didn’t agree with George W Bush’s policies, but at least he cared about America. At Least he considered the voices of everyone, and reached across the aisle when things got tough. POTUS 45 never has given a fuck about anything other than himself since 2016. Republicans took their masks off, and fell in line treating him like a king. This is a direct attack to the very soul of being American. Our country is built upon protesting the King of England, “No taxation without representation!” Where the hell is the representation? Seems rich old white men continue to rule the world, while everyone else is supposed to beg for scraps with the government.
This week I have been questioning how I can make an impact. How I can best use my voice to help those that are struggling. It felt like a weight too heavy to bear alone. So, after running into paths that led nowhere, I had to simplify things and recharge from this emotional ride this week. I felt like I had to be there for my family and friends. I didn’t know what to do, thoughts racing, feeling paranoid even going outside at night past curfew to smoke so I could even sleep… When every other self care method I used wasn’t working. I realized that I was overwhelmed by PTSD from this traumatic week. I needed to recharge. Making decisions while angry isn’t productive if you aren’t able to use your anger in a healthy way.
Sometimes, the answer to what to do is right in front of you. My answer to all this is: Meditation, cooking, music, and anime. All of which are cultural symbols from across the world. I’ve learned from meditation that you can always close your eyes and focus on breathing to calm yourself. To clear your mind of thoughts. It is our ultimate privilege as the living. Nothing made this more apparent than the murder of George Floyd. Unfortunately kneeing a person on the neck is common practice by police across America, as demonstrated as the protests amped up and police brutality escalated by the worst departments such as the Seattle Police Department. Maybe all this suffering will finally lead to an overhaul of the American police system. November can’t come soon enough. While dumping the current POTUS will greatly help, even more important is to vote in your local elections. Change starts at the local level, and every vote counts. As broken as voting for president is, it’s still effective in enacting change at the local level. Vote!
Reilly's blog 