Is It Wrong That I Want One?

I saw an article last week, saying that these hats were being worn by a lot of people in Greenland in advance of the visit from the Vice-President and the Second Lady. 

Is it wrong that I want one? I don't want America to go away, really. Just the current iteration of leadership, from the top right down to the local level. They really all need to just go away.

*****

Here we are, on the last day of March. I know that Kym's birthday is here, so best wishes! It's always nice to find another March birthday person. 

Of course that means that tomorrow is April 1, aka April Fool's Day. I have my volunteer gig tomorrow morning, so I hope the kitties are not planning a prank for me. 😊 (Though I should probably be more worried about my own kitties at home, to be honest ...)

Have a good rest of the day, and here's hoping that April has good things in store for all of us.

Yep, They Went There ...

After the events of last weekend in the 'burbs near here, the Philadelphia Inquirer published this cartoon.

(Meanwhile, my friend Lisa has a son who is friends at his college with a single mom who works at McDonalds full-time and goes to school part-time. Her shift was cancelled that day because of the "event." Apparently she told Vince that "Even a day of crappy pay is better than a day of no pay." Sigh.)

May your weekend be completely uneventful, unless it's something good. 😊

Enjoy!

Happy Indictment Day to all who celebrate!!

😊

Membership So Far: Just Us

For any of you who don't live in Pennsylvania, you may not even be interested in this post. Heck, even those in the state may not be, so let me say up front that this post is about politics. Which, like it or not, is part of every single part of our lives, in one way or another. So if you don't care, don't agree, or it makes you angry that this post is not about knitting, reading, cats, etc., my best advice would be to move along right now.

In the upcoming November general election, we have two statewide races that are big ones: John Fetterman, the current Lieutenant Governor (D), and Dr. Oz, television personality and resident of the state of New Jersey (R). 

You don't want me to get started on Dr. Oz. Trust me, you didn't even want that to happen before he decided to use his in-laws' address to "prove" his state residency. I was a non-fan of Dr. Oz before it become de rigueur here.

Then there is the gubernatorial race, which has Josh Shapiro, the current Attorney General (D), and Doug Mastriano, currently a PA state senator (R).

BUT.

Doug Mastriano is a danger to both PA and the country at large.

What you need to know more than anything else about Mr. Mastriano, is that he participated in the January 6 insurrection at the United States Capitol. He would be more than happy to de-certify the election results, is happy to oppose abortion on any terms, and thinks climate change is "fake science."

Did I mention that he participated in the insurrection?

Anyway, on one of the commercials featuring him, he is wearing a cap that says, "Cold War Veteran." This has put me over the edge. WTAF? It's the most ridiculous thing I've seen, and makes no sense. 

Why does he not have a hat that says "January 6 Insurrection Veteran?" Because, did I mention that he was there?

Anyway, I just cannot get over that stupid hat, I'll admit it. It represents everything I think is well, stupid about him. 

But then I realized - guess what? The Tim and I are also "Cold War Veterans!" Granted, we do not have gear proclaiming it, but we spent time as children hiding under desks to practice in case the Russians invaded, or dropped a nuclear bomb. We lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis - granted we were kids, but it happened. We spent many of our formative years hoping and praying that the Russians wouldn't find a way to get us, or our family and friends. 

I pointed this out to The Tim, and he agreed but mostly rolled his eyes as he is both annoyed (by having to always hear about it) and amused at my rants regarding Doug Mastriano.

Anyway, current Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro is the complete opposite. He has done a LOT of good as Attorney General - working to combat opioids in the community, filing a report showing the abuse rampant in the past in the Catholic Church here in the state,* to name just two - and is a reasonable, educated person. (OK, he also has two dogs, one of which is a Golden Retriever, so ... well, you know. 😉) He also seems to be a genuinely good guy. For a while he was the chairman of one of the local county's Board of Commissioners, and was well-liked.

You know what he's never been involved with?

The January 6 Insurrection.

And so, when the opportunity arose to get a yard sign to show our support, I hopped right on it. The sign arrived the other day, and we are now proudly declaring ourselves to be "Cold War Veterans" For Shapiro:

Membership So Far: 

1. Me

2. The Tim

But every great journey starts with a single step, you know?

No matter where you live, PLEASE VOTE IN NOVEMBER. More than ever before, our country's future hangs in the balance.

My name is Bridget and I approve this message.

*For the record, I was raised Catholic and still consider myself to be one. I am not offended by Josh Shapiro's report and the evidence produced, because guess what? Priests do and have done things that are terrible and should be prosecuted. They should not be above the law more than anyone else should be. So no, I'm not "anti-Catholic." Thank you for reading.

So Much Good and Happy

Well.  The inauguration was more than pleasing to me, and the fact that it seemed to go off without any hitches visible to the average person seems even more impressive.  Most pleasantly of all to me was the skipping of inaugural balls, and I know it was mainly due to the pandemic, but I find them discordant and somewhat offensive even in the best of times.

In any case, I enjoyed the day and evening and truly felt like a weight had been lifted.  Not that I think Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are perfect people, but because I believe they are good people who truly do think of others.  So I'm only hoping that things can improve and move forward as much as they did on Wednesday.

Plus, we had champagne and a cheeseball to celebrate, so it really felt special. 😊

The completely shallow part of me also enjoyed looking at what everyone wore, and how they looked, and their interactions with each other.  And in that way, no one was a disappointment, at least in my opinion.  People watching is one of my favorite things to do, and it's even more enjoyable on a cold day when you can do it from the comfort of cozy clothes on the couch.

I have also been enjoying all of the Bernie memes.  A lot of people think they are terrible and mean, but I think they are not mean-spirited at all, just having fun.  Let's face it, Bernie Sanders makes a point of how simply he lives and how frugal he is, etc., so the fact that he wore what was probably one of the warmest coats of anyone with hand-knitted mittens was a perfect example of the Bernie look.  

My favorite one is this one - this is me, even on my very best day, and it made me laugh out loud!

I'm looking forward to a weekend without having to hear from, or think about a certain person or any member of his family.  As I said when Joe Biden was officially sworn in, just like that, every American lost 260 pounds and started to feel healthier!

Have a good weekend - I hope you can be cozy and content.

In Which I Think About Life Lessons

Hi everyone - I've had an interesting few days, and they have given me a lot to think about, which for better or worse, I'm sharing with you.

I have been flabbergasted at the stories of the governor and attorney general of Virginia, and their current problems resulting from at one time or another in the 1980s, wearing blackface.  This is something I just cannot wrap my brain around.  I knew as a child that it was beyond wrong.  I had a father who was not in any way fond of pretty much any minorities, but he always let us know that in that particular way, we should NOT be like him - and he would enforce it, even if we did or said something without consciously planning/realizing it.  So to think that in the 1980s, *anyone* would do it, even as a joke, just does not compute in my brain.  And yes, I realize that sadly there were and are plenty who still see it as either funny or not harmful, but wow, pay attention to the world, would you?  And I know that each of them claim it does not reflect their persons now, and I hope that is the case, but at least in the case of the governor, own up to it and resign.  Geez.

Staying on the topic of white privilege/prejudice/stupidity, we move to the discussions recently on Instagram about the exclusiveness of the crafting community.  (If you are not aware of it, it all started with this post.)  The past few weeks have seen so many people speak up for themselves and others like them, and have helped others realize just what is actually going on.  For example, there have been non-white knitters who have told numerous stories of not being welcome in yarn stores, knitting groups, etc., to the point of being followed around by yarn store staff while they are browsing!  (While I am not surprised, I will admit that it never occurred to me when I worked at a yarn store to be suspicious or iffy around any customers except for some regulars who could just suck the life force out of you even if they just stopped in for 10 minutes.)  I believe that the dialogue has been important and illuminating.  There have been backlashes against a few people who do not believe it's been a problem, basically only because they have never seen/experienced it themselves, and I do wish that could be handled in a better way somehow, but I have no solution in mind to be honest.  Anyway, in a new twist on the whole thing, apparently the other day the company Knitters Pride put a post on Instagram with a photo of some products, and the caption was: "Tell us your #CraftyProblems & you could win one of these great prizes!" A personal friend of mine, who I have actually worked with in a yarn store, commented that her problem was (and I am summarizing as I don't have the exact quote) that there was a problem in the crafting community related to BIPOC, and rather than continuing to deal with it, we were just moving on with contests and giveaways.  The company blocked her, and now the comments are blowing up. 

I have to be honest with two things here.  First, it was stupid that they blocked her, as her comment was not rude or vulgar, only her honest thought.  And second, I have to say that on a personal level, I was somewhat annoyed by her comment.  (White privilege, I admit.)  Because the first thing I thought was that we can still work on being inclusive and understanding others' problems and at the same time still have some levity and fun with contests or giveaways.  Admittedly, using the term #CraftyProblems" was tone-deaf.  But I am a firm believer that you can devote every bit of your being to resistance, change, helpfulness, etc., and still be able to enjoy  something or have fun.  In my opinion, life is not pie where you can only deal with a piece at a time, and people are capable of many things and many feelings at once.  I also admit that I am too chicken to post this to her, because I could face her wrath, but don't want to deal with everyone else's.  I guess you can call me #chicken.

If you are still reading (and bless you if you are), now let's move on to something that I have found to be such a positive and happy experience, I wanted to share.  I'm not going to name anyone specifically, because it is not overall my story to tell.  But here is what happened.  Yesterday, I read a blog post by someone whose blog I regularly read.  She was writing about something she watched on TV and how it made her feel.  It was a well-written and thoughtful post about her reactions and her thoughts.  It struck a chord with me, but mainly because I disagreed.  I almost just moved on, but rather than be a #chicken again, I wrote a comment on the post stating my own thoughts about things.  Of course, once I hit "Post" I thought it was a mistake.  Not because I hadn't said my piece, and tried to make it as thoughtful as her post, but because I didn't want it all to become A Thing.  Later that day, I looked at her blog again, and she had written a very kind and thoughtful response, clearly understanding that I was disagreeing BUT NOT SHOUTING and saying she was wrong.  Shortly after I saw that, she sent me a direct message on Instagram, asking if I had seen her response and saying that she hoped I was not offended. 

This is one of the best experiences I have had recently.  We disagreed.  But we exchanged opinions in honest and civil ways, without devolving into name-calling or personal grudges.  As far as both of us are concerned, we are still cyberfriends, and are moving on to the next thing.  I am forever grateful for her kindness and her understanding of what I was doing when commenting on her blog. 

Finally (sigh of relief heard), I just wanted to say that I know that I have a long way to go before I fully understand other people and the world.  But one thing that has been helping me lately is listening to the Pantsuit Politics podcast.  The women who are on that podcast are opposites in so many ways, yet they can have a reasonable discussion on a level we should all aspire to reach in our dealing with those who may disagree with us.  They sometimes have guests who delve further into some fo the topics they discuss.  Occasionally, religion comes into it, but it's not something that I would call overly   "Jesus-y" (my term).  I am especially looking forward to reading a book they just published, called I Think You're Wrong (But I'm Listening).

For the record, I'm not in any way a representative of theirs, or being paid in any way to promote their podcast or book.  I'm just sharing, because I think the way they handle their discussions is a valuable example to the rest of us.

And that, my friends concludes this post at last.  I shall return to my usual blather and ridiculousness in the next day or so, but these thoughts were spending too much time swirling in my head, and since I had no one else to discuss them with, I wanted to post them here.

Have a good day, and remember to try and be kind.  There are days when I'm happy if that is the only thing I can accomplish.

Politics, World View, and Civility

I don't usually write politically-themed posts, because unless we are speaking one-on-one, and you really want to know what I think, I keep things to myself.

Don't get me wrong - I'm a very opinionated, political person.  I am not, however, a preaching type.  I find true discussions about opinions, facts, and philosophies interesting, but if someone preaches to me that a certain thing or person is the ONLY right one, I cannot wait to run away.  I love thoughtful, intelligent political discourse.

I'm not a big fan of politics, though.  Especially the kind that are related to any given presidential campaign.  And I don't know if it's because I'm getting older and grumpier, or if it actually is true, but this way too long campaign season has been one of the worst I can remember.  Not just the sniping back and forth, but the whole world view of the candidates and the lack of common every day civility.

I do believe that it's a mistake to only think about foreign policy to the detriment of thinking about the people in your own country.  Only thinking about your own country is just as bad.  The world we live in right now is truly a global community, whether or not anyone likes it.  You know the recycling mantra, "Act locally, think globally"?  Well, I think it applies to politics as well.

I am philosophically and I guess politically a democratic socialist; however, for my own person, I am actually rather conservative.  That does not mean I am automatically supportive of any candidate on either side.  I am spiritual, if not overly religious, but turned off by evangelically religious types.  I fervently believe that people should be responsible for their own actions, and their own selves.  I also fervently believe that government should help people whenever it can.

I am a one person mass of contradictions, with my own ideas and strong opinions.  I fully expect people to disagree with me, as I fully expect to disagree with them.  I am also only interested in having any conversation about it if it can be done in a civil manner.

To be perfectly honest, I'm not a huge fan of any of the presidential candidates.  I will do my research, and vote for the person who for better or worse, I think is the least of all evils.  I hope with all of my heart that whoever is elected next November will be a reasonable person who can get something done during their term.  I have to say I'm not really very optimistic about it, but you know how it is, hope springs eternal.

Sadly, I don't know the answer to how to make all of this work better.  I do wish the campaign season was not years long, but even with a shorter "official" time, I'm not convinced any of the current crop of people would be any more appealing, or civil than they are.

The other day, I read this blog post, and I think it's right on the nose about what a lot of people (including myself) want to say.  And I had to laugh at this line;

"That's just a sampling of the Democrats.  Let's not even get started on the Republicans."

Yes, I think it's funny.  But deep down, I wish it wasn't *that* funny ...