Post-Thanksgiving Greetings

During the long (extra long for me since I took last Wednesday off from my day job) Thanksgiving weekend, I had free HBO, Showtime, and other premium cable channels, so I binge watched a lot of stuff including the second season of The White Lotus. What a hot mess that show is (and I'm here for it)! I enjoyed the first season, particularly Murray Bartlett who (rightly) won an Emmy for his performance as the hotel manager, Armond. 

The second season of The White Lotus has whole lot of messiness: hookers, married couples who are supposedly friends but really seem to hate each other, a sour wife, a sleazy husband, a suspected rent boy, a questionable "uncle and nephew" (insert laughter here) relationship, a frustrated lesbian, bad lounge singers...the list goes on. Unfortunately, my free HBO cut off after Monday, so I won't be able to see the final two (?) episodes unless my cable provider gives me another free weekend soon. (Maybe I'll get lucky over Christmas.) I can watch stuff like this all day long. So entertaining. Say what you want about Mike White, but he knows how to provide interesting dramas for TV. 

SMH

I'm shaking my head once again over the actions on a nut job who shot and killed innocent people. This time the tragedy happened in Colorado at Club Q, a hotspot for the LGBTQ+ community. Folks are out trying to live their lives and have a good time and some psycho comes in with a gun and shuts everything down. People are killed, people are injured, lives are destroyed. And for what? Because some guy is depressed or angry at the world or with his family? Give me a break. Better yet, lock him up! I've said it before and I'll say it again: some folks can't be saved. Lock them up and throw away the key. I'm all about rehabilitation and I understand that mental illness is real. However, I also understand that we can't coddle murderers. Do the crime, do the time. People need to reach out for help, not for a gun. These psychopaths need to stop taking their distress and unhappiness out on innocent people. 

With the Thanksgiving holiday quickly approaching, we all should be thankful for the things we have in life, for the people we love, and for living another day in this world because, sometimes, with all of the bad news around us, that's hard to do.

Step Aside!

My post last week encouraged folks to vote and it seems that they did! The expected red wave didn't happen, but Republicans will control the House of Representatives next year and the Democratic control of the Senate is razor thin, so the Dems shouldn't be celebrating either. 

Nancy Pelosi will finally be stepping down as Speaker of the House. She should have stepped down some time ago, in my opinion. I hope Hakeem Jeffries replaces her as Minority Speaker next year. I don't think Pelosi did a bad job as speaker, but she stayed in the job too long. Like a lot of folks in government across both parties (McConnell, Graham, Feinstein, Schumer, Durbin, etc.), these people need to retire already and let someone else have the job. They've stayed in government too long. I know they keep getting elected and that's the fault of the people in their districts, but they also don't seem to know when to step aside. Their egos and selfishness have caused a lot of the gridlock we see in government. Sadly, many of these folks are too concerned with holding onto whatever power they have instead of serving the people of their districts. 

Vote!

Tomorrow is election day, so get out and vote (if you haven't already). I voted last week since we have early voting in my state. God help us if the Republican candidate wins for governor here. Darren Bailey (aka Gomer Pyle) would sink Illinois if he won. I'd seriously have to consider moving and I really don't want to move again right now. So many nutjobs are on the ballot around the country. I'm worried about my former home state of Pennsylvania with the whole Fetterman/Oz situation. (Fun Fact: I actually was in the audience for an episode of Dr. Oz's show years ago when I worked in NY. Two friends and I got tickets. I never even saw the actual show when/if it aired. I don't even remember what the topic was. Weight loss, I believe. But I digress.) The Keystone state (the Philly area in particular) needs to come out strong for Fetterman. Does Oz even actually live in Pennsylvania, or does he just own a house there? Ugh. 

I just read today that Nikki Haley said Raphael Warnock (who's running against concussed Herschel Walker) said Warnock needs to be "deported." Girl, bye. Hey, Nikki/Nimrata/Whatever, how about you self-deport and save us all from hearing her mouth. Warnock was born and raised in the US and his family probably stretches back for many years in this country, unlike hers. And, lo and behold, Warnock uses his real name and doesn't try to present himself as someone of a different race, unlike phony-baloney Nikki/Nimrata/Whatever. The nerve of that woman. South Carolina rears its ugly head again. I can't believe I wasted 9 months of my life there in the 90s. Ugh again. 

But I say all of this with the hopes that everyone who can vote gets out their and votes. Have your voice heard! Democracy is at stake in this country. No matter how things shake out, at least after tomorrow the never-ending political ads will stop (at least until the next election cycle).