OPKs

I'm fascinated with the views of Republican VEEP candidate (for now) JD Vance regarding childless people that have come to light recently. Vance seems to think that childless people (women, in particular) are morally deficient and that the childless should have less of a vote than people who have kids (who should get more votes in elections because they have more at stake or some nonsense he proposed). As someone who doesn't have kids, how about I take back the tax money I contribute to pay for public schools and government programs like WIC, etc. that help kids because I'm tired of supporting OPKs (other people's kids)? How about that? 

Vance is annoying for a variety of reasons and if I was to put him on the couch (no pun intended) right now, I'd say that he has some really negative feelings about single people and primarily single women because of how he grew up and how his own mother and father failed him. I didn't read his book (and I don't intend to), but I know enough about it to know that he had a rough upbringing and it seems like he's trying to overcompensate for his shitty early life by pushing the theory that having a nuclear family (a spouse and kids) is the only way one can be whole or fulfilled in life. Bullshit. Just because I don't have kids of my own doesn't mean I'm a miserable person or one who doesn't care what happens to OPKs. 

My extended family is huge. I have over 30 first cousins just on my father's side of the family. I care what happens to these kids and their kids. I care what happens to my friends' kids too. I care about the kids in my community. I care about humanity as a whole. Besides, there are many bad parents out there who have kids and they treat them like shit, so being a parent doesn't necessarily make you a more empathetic person. There are plenty of assholes in the world who have kids (looking at you, JD) and plenty who don't.

(Try to) Get the House in Order

Today's big news is that Biden has dropped out of the race for POTUS. This is something that should have happened a long time ago. Hell, he shouldn't have even run for a second term, but he did and we are where we are, so my advice to the Democrats is to pick up the pieces and try to do the best they can to move forward and avoid another four years of Donny T. (Ugh.) 

Democrats are their own worst enemy sometimes. They often manage to shoot themselves in the foot. When Biden shit the bed at the debate a few weeks ago, I found myself wondering if he'd been set up by people inside of his inner circle who knew he was sliding downhill and wanted to expose his decline to the American public (and to the world at large). As the weeks passed, I found myself believing that scenario more and more. (The calls are coming from INSIDE of the house, Joe!) Look, I would have voted for Biden if they'd wheeled him out on a stretcher in a straight jacket and face mask, a la Hannibal Lecter and I'll vote for whoever the Democratic candidate is who'll replace him. That's how strongly I feel about NOT suffering through another four years of Donny T. (Ugh again.) (RFK, Jr. is a non-entity in my mind, so no use even going down that road.)

The Dems have their work cut out for them and I have low expectations that they'll truly be able to get their house in order and nominate someone who can win. It's possible, but the road to victory is difficult and time is not on their side. In the event that Donny does become POTUS once again (ugh x 3), I'm not going to curl up into a ball and cry. I. I'm going to keep on keeping on. I won't allow allow some nut job to make me into a nut job too. I was born during the Nixon administration. My parents didn't let some loser in the White House stop them from living their lives and carrying on and neither will I.  

Karma Police

Regarding last weekend's event with Donny T, get the Karma Police on the case. (Apologies to Radiohead.) When you incite violence against others on a daily/weekly/monthly basis, are you really surprised when violence comes knocking on your door looking for you? A smart person would learn a lesson from this and make some changes in his/her life, but I highly doubt Donny will because he's not the kind of person to learn anything from anyone anymore. 

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

I went to see the musical version of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil at Chicago's Goodman Theatre last weekend. It was...interesting. Having read the book, seen the movie, and visited Savannah, GA and took the "Midnight" tour many, many years ago, I was interested in seeing a staged version. Some of it was good, but some of it wasn't. I have to say, Midnight turned into The Lady Chablis Variety Show and that wasn't a good thing. Yes, Chablis is a huge character in the book and movie, but she's not the main focus of either. Midnight is about Jim Williams and the murder of Danny Hansford. That's the main story here, yet the musical overshadowed the actual murder to showcase Chablis, the drag queen. I wouldn't have minded that much if the actor playing Chablis on stage had a better singing voice. Sadly, that wasn't the case. (I'm using the term "actor" here for all actors in the play whether male, female, trans,  non-binary, etc.) The actor's voice wasn't terrible, it just wasn't that great and to keep giving musical numbers to someone who isn't exactly what I'd call a "Broadway singer" was just a mistake. The actor who played Jim Williams didn't have a great voice either, but he didn't have as many musical numbers as Chablis. There were some really great performances in the play by the actor who led the Savannah preservation group and the actor who played the young black debutant. Those two ladies had wonderful voices. Too bad there were no Johnny Mercer songs. How do you do a musical about a murder at the Mercer House and there's no Mercer music in it? Come on!

Seeing the play made me want to re-read the book. I used to have a copy, but I must have gotten rid of it. I purged a lot of books when I left New York 10.5 years ago. I've been listening to the movie soundtrack also. It's got some great Johnny Mercer songs including a really beautiful version of "This Time the Dream's on Me" by Alison Krauss. Krauss has such a lovely voice. I could listen to her sing the phone book. I highly recommend checking out her song that, unfortunately, only seems to be available on the soundtrack. I'd like to see the movie again, but I don't think it's available on any of the streamers. I might have to get the DVD from my local library. I'm willing to suffer through Kevin Spacey to see it also. (He's not a bad actor, just a terrible person!)