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In this age of Donald J. Trump and the Mueller investigation, you can expect updates on what is happening to our country and its Constitution.

Requiem for a Dream: Trump Wins; World Loses

By Connie Wilson

On November 6, 2024

In Editorial, Essays on Politics: Best Political Essays & Ideology, Politics

Donald Trump

I’m sitting here on election night, watching the blue wall fall and feeling dejected, but not as “taken off guard” as I felt in 2016 after Hillary Clinton lost her much-vaunted race against Agent Orange.

I am convinced that Donald J. Trump (and cohorts) have bought the presidency (Thanks, Elon!, she said ruefully) and misogyny, racism and incompetents in office are going to be the order of the day. Think about RFK, Jr. running Health Care. No, don’t think about it, if you can put that aside, which any sane, thinking individual cannot. It will just depress you further.

At least Vance is ostensibly a smart guy and has certainly learned how to suck up to power. He will be the future of the GOP/Trump Maga cult. Eat your heart out, Ron DeSantis!

FEARS

Donald Trump

I never felt that Harris had it “in the bag.” I sent a copy of a very insightful article about why not to a friend, which was pulled from a book that was written by Democratic strategists in 1970, pointing out where the Democratic party had lost its way, as far as determining the mood of the country. Just showing up at my local gym, run by young Black athletic types, told me how they viewed the geriatric Trump as way superior to Biden (then the candidate), and they definitely would not have been keen to vote for a woman to be Boss—even though it is past time.

I would not put anything past Donald Trump. He would order “hits” on people if it meant keeping himself out of jail and that is what this election meant to him. If Kamala Harris had been able to prevail, DJT would face consequences for his crimes and misdeeds, but now he’s going to be like a bull in a china shop. I wonder if I can take up a hobby that allows me to transport myself to another dimension in order to forget that we might face 4 years of DJT (unless he is successfully impeached, which looks unlikely now that Republicans are seizing the Senate) or worse.

DISGUST

I don’t feel sad so much as I feel disgusted. How dumb is the average rural voter that they can’t tell that the man is a congenital liar and you can’t believe a word he says? It seems to be rural voters who have prevailed to place him back in office. (Shame on you, Iowa!) Now we U.S. citizens will have to hang our heads in shame, worldwide. Richard Gere sold his house in the U.S. just in time. He is moving to Spain with his Spanish wife. [Good move, Richard!]

Many more savvy analysts than me will be analyzing this election for years, but I will just give you some thoughts off the top of the head of the woman who was named Yahoo Content Producer of the Year for Politics in 2008. I knew that Obama was going to win in 2008 because I traveled all over following him. He represented change. We were sick of Bush and company and endless wars. The pendulum has a way of swinging and it has swung. I was not traveling the country with this year’s candidates and, therefore, had no “gut” feeling for who would win this thing. In fact, after 2016, I was concerned. As it turns out, I was concerned for good cause.

CHANGE

Barack Obama

People saying that “change” (even if it is change from an honorable person to a convicted criminal) is a powerful vote getter at all times. You had a man who lied constantly during his appearances and ranted on about how “bad” the country was doing—even though it wasn’t. He failed to mention what a terrible manager he was for Covid, but talked about higher grocery and gas prices (When did things NOT go up over time?) He failed to mention that we need to address climate change and, instead, called it a hoax. Good luck to us during this period of climate catastrophes brought on by people like DJT and good luck to the Ukraine!

Obama’s win represented change. The backlash to a Black man being elected to the White House is part of the racism that has now propelled a man (convicted way back in the 70s of refusing to rent to Blacks) into office again.

So, Change, Misogyny, Racism, and a guy who was literally running for his life, because if he lost, he probably could have gone to jail for his incitement of the January 6th coup.

MONEY TALKS

Let’s not forget the Big Money Donors (Elon Musk, anyone?) who got behind DJT. Or those like Jeff Bezos who did not have the courage to try to help the better candidate prevail (even though she is a woman. That, in and of itself, is difficult to overcome). Get ready for rich people to get richer, and poor people to get poorer.

DAVID AXELROD & VAN JONES

Photo by Lauren Gerson.David Axelrod

“She handled herself well. She tried to appeal to the better angels of people’s nature.” (from David Axelrod) He went on to say that her debate performance was one of the best ever and that was why Trump did not want to debate her a second time. My sister and I agreed, noting how the Democrats way back in 2000 showed the gracious way to behave during an election, even one that was probably handed to the opponent by the opponent’s Governor brother. The Trumps of life fight dirty and have no compassion or empathy or respect for science. “Drill, baby, drill!” is not the rallying cry that will save the planet, but rural America did not like the thought of giving up their gas-guzzling vehicles in favor of electric ones.

Van Jones thinks that Kamala’s own words beat her and mentions the phrase “Nothing comes to mind” used by the GOP in their attack ads. That WAS a bad ad. Van also brought up the Israel issue, which I felt was going to lose Harris the Michigan vote. “I can’t think of anything offhand” was disastrous, says Axelrod. She should have just said she was grateful to him and talked about the future and not criticized her mentor. I agree.

The Republican on the debate says that the “green new deal” was not what the American public wanted to buy. (“They were selling what the American public did not want to buy.”)

TRUMP’S REMARKS

West Palm Beach, Florida at 2:31 a.m.

“I’m proud to be an American” is playing in background. (Lee Greenwood)

Melania looks like the cat that swallowed the canary.

J.D. Vance is smiling smugly.

“Incredible movement….a movement like nobody’s ever seen before. The greatest political movement of all time. Never been anything like this before in this country. Help our country heal. We have a country that needs help and needs it very badly. We’re going to fix everything about our country, We overcame obstacles that nobody thought possible Look what happened. Is this crazy? It’s a political victory that our country has never seen before,” from Trump.

“I will fight for you and your family. Every single day I will be fighting for you. I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe America. Will truly be the Golden Age of America. It will allow us to ‘make America great again. ’“We’re going to make you very happy and proud of your vote.”

North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Predicting 315 electoral votes for himself. Also glad to have won the popular vote.

Unprecedented and powerful mandate: control of the Senate.

Right now, 266 to 195 (Trump to Harris).

“What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up, like a raisin in the sun?” When Al Gore failed to fight for the position in 2000, we lost 25 years of preparation against the catastrophes of climate change. We are now reaping that poor election choice, 25 years later. I can only assume that climate change will get worse, under Trump, before it gets better, because he has called climate change a hoax.

Good luck to us all.

What I Did to Help Kamala Harris Win the Presidency Over DJT

By Connie Wilson

On November 5, 2024

In Editorial, Health/Medicine

My 2020 twentieth anniversary edition of the Toyota Prius

Gassing up along the way.

Driving to Austin (Texas) from Illinois is always a multi-day trek.

We generally spend one night in St. Louis with family. (Thanks, Mark!)

After that, normally, we take our own sweet time, but my spouse decreed that we would not leave until Saturday (Nov. 2) and that has made all the difference. I don’t know why I meekly accepted that departure date. I’ll just say it was because I was dumb.

Why dumb?

Because I wanted to make sure to vote for President on November 5th and now we’re registered in Texas. The U.S. cannot afford another 4 years of Donald J. Trump. It barely withstood the first four horrible years of Covid, climate denial, cronyism, insults and incompetent people in sensitive government posts followed by a January 6th coup in an attempt to seize power when DJT lost the 2020 election. Enough! We are the world’s laughing stock to even think of putting a convicted felon in a post where he travels the world representing us, as a nation, when his Access Hollywood tape displays plenty of reasons why a man accused of (and convicted of) sexual assault is not a fit person to lead the greatest nation on Earth. How can a man who calls our military “chumps” and “losers” be made Commander-in-Chief ? It’s preposterous and unthinkable. Not only that: how can any parent be proud of holding up DJT for their children to emulate— a guy who is a congenital liar and hawks everything from watches to shoes to any other con known to man. (And also rode the Lolita Express to his friend Jeffrey Epstein’s private island on more than one occasion.)

6 books in "The Christmas Cats in Silly Hats" series

The Christmas Cats Fear for the Deer

I wrote 6 books in a series called “The Christmas Cats in Silly Hats” and all of them were about helping others and being good citizens. And then Donald J. Trump—a convicted felon and world class liar and con man—somehow (with Russia’s assistance) became our representative abroad as President of the United States. I’m still in shock over that and just read a very interesting “New Yorker” story about the extent of Russia’s aid to DJT back in 2016, which Attorney General Bill Barr downplayed when it was very real. (I own a copy of the Mueller Report and have read the entire thing, not the Bill Barr Cliff Notes version.)

We had received all kinds of absentee Illinois ballots, in Rock Island County where we previously voted. My question is whether or not we could have voted using the absentee ballots we received (in Illinois) as long as we didn’t “double up?” (i.e., no voting twice.) Since I did not know if we could pick and choose, we went with the “drive to Texas and vote when we get there” plan, which has revealed itself to have many drawbacks, just as I had feared.

I was in Chicago right up until October 28th (Chicago International Film Festival), so I began packing immediately upon returning to East Moline, Illinois, and was ready to leave after 2 days of packing. I would have preferred arriving a day or so prior to the vote, just in case anything unexpected happened on the drive down (see photos). I would have liked to have left no later than November 1st. Even more, I wish we had secured absentee ballots, because now I will have to stand in line in Austin, Texas. (*Mind you: I also spent July 25 through September here in sunny Austin; the back-and-forth continues). But I accepted the “November 2” departure pronouncement without a word of protest. That’s on me. I should have known better. As one friend pointed out, I should have voted absentee. But, honestly, this plan to vote in Texas is so new that I did not know how to get an absentee ballot from Texas here. I’ll have to work on that for future elections.

In an attempt to make the Choctaw Indian Casino and Resort in Durant, Oklahoma, to spend the night there on November 3rd, we were caught up in the tornadoes, heavy rain and 70 mph winds that swept through Oklahoma on Sunday. We drove from 10 in the morning until the accident that you see pictured here, which took place around 7 p.m. in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, (which is not close to anything and only has about 11,000 residents.) We had decided to give up on the push to make it to Durant by nightfall, because of the weather, and were stopped at an intersection that had red blinking lights. It had been dark since 4:30 p.m. (thanks to Daylight Savings Time). We stopped at the intersection (U.S. 75 and 6th Street), just as one is supposed to, but the car heading from the driver’s left either did not stop at all or stopped way too briefly and then gunned through the intersection, in the driving rain, and side-swiped my 2020 Prius Anniversary Car.

I was and am very, very sad about this. It was one of only two that were even sold in Moline from this 2020 Special Edition. (I have owned about 6 Priuses going back to 2002, when they cost $20,050 and you got a $500 rebate from the government, along with 0% interest.) Moline got a white one and a red one; I bought the red one. We drove it less than 100 yards to the bottom of Kennedy Drive and John Deere Road, after picking it up, brand new, when an uninsured driver from Texas rear-ended me. Not a great beginning and now, not a great ending—if it is the ending, [which it well could be.]

My door frame was sprung. I could just barely get in and/or out of the car. I’m pretty sure I incurred a broken rib (from the seat belt) upon impact, as it hurts to laugh, cough or hiccup. I think my side of the car does looks like it got hit harder. My husband, fortunately, was unhurt. We both feel very lucky that injury was avoided. But now what?

My 2020 Prius by the time we reached Austin

‘By trip’s end, more pieces of my poor car had given up the ghost. [This Thanksgiving trip is but one of many I can make, but most would be with air miles or using the daughter’s flight attendant perks.

I had an app on my phone that showed us that there were only 2 places one could stay in the small town. Someone called in the accident and three policemen appeared and took down data. (I was in search of a women’s rest room, so I missed most of the initial conversation with the kid who hit us—Jimmy Hawkins—or with the firemen and/or policemen. Two medics also came and took my blood pressure, which the technician said was better than his own.) While my chest hurt, it felt like a broken or bruised rib, not tachycardia or arrhythmia.

After I ran 150 yards to a Subway store with a bathroom (of paramount importance at that particular moment in time), we found the Holiday Inn Express 1.6 miles down the road and checked in. I think I was experiencing PTSD, because it was only 7:30 p.m. but I was exhausted. It could be auto-immune hepatitis, which the liver people think I may have and which makes you tired. (I start CellCept soon).

I fell asleep (until 4:3o a.m.) and went back to sleep until 8 a.m., but we also contacted Triple AAA and someone was supposed to come help us out with our car situation in 90 minutes.

We waited for 2 hours and nobody showed up. We canceled the appointment and decided we would attempt to drive the damaged car farther. I do not recommend this and we hoped that we were invisible to highway patrol along the route, because the main reason for continuing, despite the risks, was so that we could vote tomorrow. I hope to be among those from northern states who are “purpling” up the state of Texas, in time. (After all, if we voted in Illinois, the state will go blue; if we vote in Texas, the state will go red. But more people are moving to Texas than are moving to Illinois, so...).

Ironically, the interior of the car seemed fine. The headlights were dubious, but the taillights worked fine and, although the dashboard was signaling all kinds of issues with various dashboard services (no cruise control; passenger door not able to be fully opened; etc.) the actual motor seemed to be okay, the radio worked, the tail lights and signals worked, as did the windshield wipers. It was primarily the headlights (and my door) that were not working well. My husband spent the night restlessly trying to figure out how we were going to get a rental car when we had been told the closest one was 50 miles away in Tulsa. And there was no way to get to Tulsa but to drive the injured vehicle there (which is why we should have left earlier for our voting trip down). I, on the other hand, felt exhausted and passed out early, [which never happens.] I seriously don’t know if it was the dealing with this unexpected catastrophe, riding all day from St. Louis, or AIH, but I was totally out of it and remained so for about 12 hours.

On Monday (Nov. 4, today), my spouse got up at 7:00 a.m. (to call the AAA guy at 7:15 a.m.) and we were on the road fairly quickly, once we had waited (and waited and waited) for the Triple AAA guy [who did not show up in 90 minutes, or 120 minutes.] Our kids suggested flights out of Tulsa, but we had beaucoup crap to get to Texas packed in our car, including a rather large painting I want to hang over the TV set. How would we deal with getting all of that stuff into a different car—if we could even get one in Tulsa, 50 miles away?

BEE GONE, available on Amazon

We talked about our options. My Big Concern was getting down here to vote for Kamala Harris. I am, after all, the author of “BEE GONE” (available on Amazon) and I really want to see DJT “BEE GONE.”

So, we decided to chance it. (Kids: Do NOT Try This At Home!)

First, we purchased zip ties and tied everything down on my poor red car that we could.

That didn’t keep the right front fender from beginning to become really wonky by the time we hit Waco. We pulled off and—somehow—my husband removed the front panel that had (previously) been zip tied and left it in the parking lot of a tractor supply store. (Apropos), We would have transported the fender to a dumpster if we could have put the piece of metal in our overcrowded car. We had to drive for 5 hours in my damaged 2020 Anniversary Edition Prius. Can it even be saved? Don’t know. Can’t tell you.

KAMALA: I HOPE YOU APPRECIATE THIS! We risked tickets and personal injury to get to the polls tomorrow.

I read that older women prefer Kamala 68% to 25% or some such and I believe it. I fought hard for women to have the right to decide about what happens to their own bodies, back in the 60s and 70s. I still have my ERA bracelet from the 70s. Watching it all disappear under this guy is not on my Top Ten list. We will NOT go back. It is time to give Agent Orange his walking papers.

I managed to read half of Steven King’s book “The Long Walk” during our drive down but we forgot to charge the e-reader and it gave up the ghost about the same time my front right fender did. We’ll finish it on the way home. I also was reading Bob Woodward’s “War” and a book entitled “Watchdogs.”

We prayed for invisibility when driving, as this is obviously not the kind of vehicle you want on the road in that condition. But I was NOT going to be denied the ability to vote DJT into oblivion. “BEE GONE.”

My thumb (right hand) after the fingernail got ripped off at the Austin airport

OUCH!

I just hope that my liver doctor, who saw me on July 26 when I had just had my right thumbnail ripped off at the airport (see photo), isn’t disappointed in my ability to follow her directions to me, which were, “Try not to hurt yourself before I see you again.”

I see her on November 7th for a fibrescan and now I have a rib that hurts when I cough, laugh or hiccup.

I just hope that’s all I have.

Wish me luck.

And vote for good over evil and hope over fear.

Ladies, it’s up to us to save democracy. I’m doing my part. Do yours!

“Life and Other Problems” Screens at the Chicago International Film Festival

By Connie Wilson

On October 20, 2024

In Editorial, Movies, Pop Culture, Reviews

Marius the giraffe at the Copenhagen zoo.

Ten years ago in 2014, the news that Marius the giraffe was being put down by the Copenhagen Zoo went viral all the way from Hollywood to Chechnya. This Matt Kestner directed 98-minute documentary about that Marius controversy is a nominee for the Gold Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival. It’s a philosophical examination of life, spurred by the decision by Bengst Holst of the Copenhagen Zoo, to euthanize a perfectly healthy two-year-old giraffe, simply because Marius was fighting with his father within the zoo. Holst took a very hard-nosed clinical view of life-and-death. You get the feeling that he would have done well in the Third Reich. There is no romanticizing of the death of a relatively young animal nor any feeling that Holst is remorseful about the path he has chosen (and sticks with, despite massive criticism). Bengst Holst definitely becomes “the bad guy” of the narrative, which is nominated for a Gold Hugo for Best Documentary at the Chicago International Film Festival. The documentary opens October 20^th in the United States.

BENGST HOLST: aka THE BAD GUY

Bengt Holst, Copenhagen zoo director, and television interviewer.

Television interview with zoo director Bengt Holst, who condemned Marius to death.

Holst appears in the film articulating his view that death is a part of life (which, of course, it is). He calls dying “the natural conclusion to life” and says, “Everything is life. We take life all the time. We now have a surplus to put down,” in regards to Marius the giraffe.

The backlash is immediate and harsh. One letter writer tells Holst, “You deserve to die a cruel death.” Offers come in from Sweden and the United States to give Marius a new home, but the Copenhagen zoo director rejects all offers suggesting that one zoo, in particular, is no better than a pet shop and might attempt to sell Marius for financial gain. Holst says things like, “We can’t act like death isn’t part of real life. This isn’t Disney. Death is a sad thing in our lives. You can’t live without death. It’s a sad thing, of course, but it belongs together. We’re all left alone in the end.” Another pragmatic, hard-nosed remark: “For some to survive, others must die. That’s how nature works.”

CONSCIOUSNESS

Marius.

One question that the film asks is if animals like Marius have consciousness. “Because we know we have consciousness. Do giraffes have it?” As Max Kestner says, “You look for the consciousness of other things.” One good line is “How much cognition and what kind? That’s the right question.”

The shots of owners with their pets— dogs, swans, pigs and horses— certainly makes an argument for kindness towards animals, an emotional commodity in which Holst seems lacking.

A PETA representative enters the debate saying, “They’re their own beings. Leave them alone. They’re just like us.” But Holst disagrees, saying, “We can’t even explain how a thought comes into being” and “It doesn’t matter if Marius lives or not.”

Do pets have consciousness?

ROUGH

Still, it is hard to deny that Holst has correctly pointed out that all beings on planet Earth will ultimately come to the end of their time on the planet. He is nothing if not pragmatic about the end we all will face. The next chapter in his determination to teach us all a lesson in the natural circle of life seems harsh, however. There is a public butchering of Marius’s carcass, followed by feeding the meat to the lions at the zoo. It gets even more brutal when a young girl’s pony is euthanized onscreen. That animal, too, is fed to the carnivores at the zoo.

I accept the fact that “in the midst of life we are in death” but there are a number of little kids watching Marius the giraffe being publicly butchered. Holst praises the curiosity of little kids at such a time. Judge Jeanine Piro called it a bloody spectacle and referenced it as the start of serial killers like Jeffrey Dahmer, who first killed animals. While not a Judge Jeanine fan (nor a Fox fan) I had to agree that watching Marius be cut up wasn’t exactly family friendly viewing.

I can speak to the trauma that a small child may experience when witnessing an animal being butchered—especially one that seemed quite sweet and docile.

When I was the age of the young children shown watching Marius’ being butchered, I was present for the slaughtering of a hog that had broken its leg on an Iowa farm. Of course, my father didn’t know that the animal was going to be strung up by its hind legs and have its throat slit, in full view of his 8-year-old daughter, but that’s what happened. I had nightmares for weeks. I remember the horrific noises of the dying animal. It is still vividly etched in my Little Golden Book of Unfavorite Childhood Memories. It is one thing to explain the circle of life and how Marius has gone to his great reward. But to display every aspect of Marius’ butchering and show lions eating the friendly giraffe might have been a bridge too far.

Marius’ remains.

FUZZY FOCUS

What is the meaning of life? How did life evolve? Does life end at death? Is life heading for something specific? Is there an end goal to life? Is the opposite of life not death, but loneliness, because all of life is about relationships? Is death a transformation?

There are no religious answers in this one. There are no definitive scientific answers, either, but the documentary does lean towards the scientific in search of explanations for why Herr Holst seems to act heartlessly and without any true fond feeling for poor Marius—an animal he claimed to love. You come away with the definite feeling that Marius could have been saved, but not while Herr Holst was in charge. As a sometimes Texas resident I got the feeling that Bengst Holst and Governor Abbott of Texas would get along famously.

For me, I enjoyed the philosophical discussions and sidelights. The experts choose to answer the question about life’s purpose using physics and saying that there are really two categories: the purpose you give to your own life and the purpose you claim for life, in general. After that, you have to roll up your pant legs and wade into the deep discussion, parking romantic religious illusions of a gauzy focus reincarnation or reunion after death at the door. It can get a tad pedantic, but it interested me, even though some might find it less-than-riveting.

Carnivores eat meat.

CONCLUSION

This is a film that will stir up animal activists, engage those of us asking ‘What Is the meaning of life?,” and leave viewers with more questions than it answers. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I do think that just the “pro” versus con argument of Marius’ life or death (“To be or not to be?”) would have been enough for the film, but it ambitiously took on the universal questions of life. At times, the philosophy became pedantic to the point of growing dreary, but then it comes roaring back with an animal death or a young girl witnessing the death of her pony.

With humans described as “just another evolutionary branch on the tree of life” we hear one of the scientists say, “Oh, shit! I hate humans!” Since it is a human who has decided in his infinite wisdom that Marius must die, without much support for his point-of-view, the human contention that life on earth is about the survival of the fittest does paint a picture of human life on Earth as terrible and horrible, without any higher purpose but predation, ending in death. But there is a muted plea for some sort of equilibrium between life and plants on the planet that will prevent man from turning Mars into a cold bleak planet or Venus into a boiling one. Watching Hurricane Milton ravage Florida while writing this, I certainly agree that we must be better stewards of the Earth. I mourn the opportunity that electing Al Gore would have given us 24 years ago to start on that journey of saving our planet.

Tackling a documentary in 98 minutes that addresses All of the Big Questions of Life, inspired by the death of a giraffe, is very ambitious. Maybe TOO ambitious. But Writer/Director/Editor Matt Kestner keeps the train on track, with expert assistance from a team of 6 cinematographers (Jacob Sufussen, Maria Von Hausswolff, Sturla Brandth Grovlen, Emil Aagaard, Masafumi Seki, Noah Collier) and with the able editing of Michael Haglund. I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time.

Walz versus Vance on CBS in VP Debate on 10/1/2024

By Connie Wilson

On October 2, 2024

In Editorial, Essays on Politics: Best Political Essays & Ideology, News, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Politics, Television

J.D. Vance and Tim Walz debated on 10/1/2024 as Vice Presidential candidates on CBS.

I just watched the Vice Presidential debate between J.D. Vance and Tim Walz.The Talking Heads are suggesting that Walz may have been “in over his head” in debating the slick and chameleon-like Vance, who seems to have made a career of being all things to all people. Vance described Donald J. Trump as “America’s Hitler” in e-mail pronouncements of yore and severely criticized Trump’s performance in office, but tonight he was all in on supporting DJT.

Most people consider it a situation where the more experienced debater (Vance) performed better on style, but Walz did just as well (a tie) on substance. Vance’s statements were often duplicitous and that of a chameleon who takes the position that he says what he thinks people want to hear. It reminded me of the recent Supreme Court candidates who answered Congress the way they thought would win them lifetime seats on the Court and then went ahead and did exactly what they planned to do all along, overturn Roe v. Wade.

I did my usual copious note-taking. I want to resurrect a couple of moments in the debate that stood out to me, just as the “eating dogs and cats” remarks in the last Harris/DJT debate stood out.

THE 2 WORST MOMENTS: WALZ & VANCE

VANCE

J.D. Vance (GOP candidate for VP) and eyeliner.

For me, the worst moment from J.D. Vance was his failure to admit that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. As Tim Walz said,“A President’s words matter. It is not right to deny what happened. 2020 was the first time that a President tried to overturn the peaceful transition of power. The winner has got to be the winner.” Walz called it “a damning non-answer.” He was right.

WALZ

For Governor Walz of Minnesota, his weakest moment was when he was called out on having said that he had been present in China during Tiananmen Square. Rather than wade into that murky water and admit that he misspoke or was caught in a situation that caused Brian Williams to be removed from his post as chief anchor (and end up much less visible on our TV screens), he gave an answer that David Axelrod said would have been more comprehensible if given in Chinese.[When Vance at the outset after Question #1 was cornered, rather than answer the very first question that he was asked about Iran, he dodged and weaved and gave us 2 minutes about himself without answering the initial question.]

Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota and Democratic candidate for Vice President on 10/1/2024.

In the summer of ’89 Walz traveled to China, he told us. He also told us that he started a program to take kids to China. “My community knows who I am. I’ve tried to do the best job I can. I was elected to Congress 12 times. Governor of Minnesota twice. To make sure that I make this right. (*Wasn’t the question about whether he was at Tiananmen Square protests? So far Walz hasn’t explained the discrepancy.)

ABORTION

Vance said he “never supported a national ban,” a lie, because he DID support a national abortion ban. In 2022 in an interview when he was running for the Senate he said, “I certainly would like abortion to be illegal nationally.” On his website, he said he was “100% pro-life” and GOP ” has got to earn people’s trust back.” Tonight, he talked about how the GOP needed to “reach out,” which made no sense at all. This “softening” of his intractable anti-abortion stance was part of the plan to try to make DJT seem more “sane” and reasonable.

Here are a few lines that struck me beyond the ones mentioned above:

Walz on the Middle East and nuclear weapons: “Iran is closer to a nuclear weapon because Donald Trump nixed the plan we had and left nothing in its place.”

Walz on Climate Change and our changing weather patterns (especially as they apply to farmers): “Our #1 export cannot be topsoil from these massive storms.”

Walz on statements that foster divisiveness: “This is what happens when you don’t want to solve it. The remarks about eating cats and dogs vilified a large number of people in Springfield, Ohio, who were in the country legally. The Governor had to send National Guard to escort first graders to school.”

I also enjoyed Walz’s response, “Just mind your own business. Things worked best when Roe v. Wade was the law.” Another good one-liner was when Walz gave an incredulous response to DJT’s “I have a concept of a plan” response about an overhaul of the Affordable Care Act that he now has had 9 and 1/2 years to develop. Walz said, ““I have a concept of a plan. That cracked me up. I have a fourth grader who wouldn’t have given me that.”

Margaret Brennan (“Face the Nation”) who moderated along with Norah O’Donnell on CBS.

After the scripture quote from Matthew (”What we do unto the least of our brethren,” etc.) by Walz, Vance commandeered the time and ranted on virtually uninterruptedly. The female moderators (Nora O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan on CBS) finally cut his mike. You go, Girls! Vance’s Ivy League polish showed; the man’s not a dummy. The split screen favored him, not Walz, even though Walz is without a doubt the more genuine and truthful of the two.

About the Democratic party: WALZ – “We’re pro women. We’re pro freedom. We are pro freedom for women to make their own choices.” He cited the Democratic Party’s $6,000 child tax credit and Amber Thurman, who was made to drive 600 miles to get health care in North Carolina.

Two Big Lies that Vance made were to say that DJT gave up power peacefully and that DJT saved Obamacare. Vance’s nose must have grown a foot, at least, after those remarks.

One good thing that everyone seemed to appreciate was the relative civility of the debate, “like the old days.” However, when one realizes that it was Vance’s Master Plan to lie to the public, just as happened with the testimony of the Supreme Court appointees who then went ahead to do what they had said, under oath, they would not do re Roe v. Wade, well—–

The Attorney-Client Relationship: How Legal Professionals Help You Win

By Connie Wilson

On September 27, 2024

In Editorial, News

The attorney-client relationship is a cornerstone of legal success, serving as the bedrock upon which effective legal representation is built. This relationship is not just about the exchange of legal documents and courtroom appearances; it is fundamentally about trust, understanding, and collaboration. Legal professionals play a crucial role in guiding clients through the often complex and intimidating legal landscape, ensuring that they feel supported and informed every step of the way. By fostering a solid attorney-client dynamic, legal professionals help clients navigate intricate processes, leading to more favorable outcomes in their legal matters.

Building Trust and Communication

At the heart of any effective attorney-client relationship is the ability to communicate openly and honestly. Effective communication is vital in establishing trust, which is essential for a successful partnership. When clients feel heard and understood, they are more likely to share vital information and concerns, allowing their attorneys to build a stronger case. This mutual trust creates a safe space where clients can voice their worries and ask questions without hesitation.

Open dialogue is particularly important in understanding client needs and concerns. Each legal situation is unique, and clients often come with their own set of experiences and emotions. Attorneys who prioritize clear communication can better grasp the nuances of their clients’ situations, enabling them to provide tailored legal advice. Whether discussing the intricacies of family law or the challenges of a divorce, divorce attorneys in Tulsa exemplify how effective communication can bridge gaps and foster a deeper connection, ultimately enhancing the client’s experience and the quality of representation.

Navigating Legal Complexities

The legal world can be a labyrinth of jargon, regulations, and procedures that may leave clients feeling overwhelmed and confused. This is where the expertise of attorneys becomes invaluable. They possess the ability to distill complex legal concepts into straightforward language, making it easier for clients to understand their rights and options. By breaking down legal terms and processes, attorneys help demystify the law, enabling clients to make informed decisions.

For instance, in the context of family law, divorce attorneys in Tulsa play a pivotal role in guiding clients through common scenarios such as asset division, child custody arrangements, and alimony discussions. When clients face the prospect of dividing shared assets, an attorney can explain the principles of equitable distribution, clarifying what clients can expect. Similarly, during custody negotiations, an attorney can outline factors that courts consider, helping clients understand how their circumstances may influence the outcome. This simplification of legal complexities fosters confidence and empowers clients to actively engage in their legal matters.

Strategic Planning and Representation

Once the complexities of the law have been clarified, attorneys work closely with their clients to develop tailored strategies that address their specific needs. This strategic planning is essential in navigating the legal system effectively. Each case is unique, and a one-size-fits-all approach rarely yields the best results. Attorneys take the time to assess individual circumstances, goals, and concerns, allowing them to create a comprehensive legal strategy that aligns with their clients’ best interests.

In negotiations and court proceedings, the attorney’s role as a representative becomes even more critical. They advocate for their clients, ensuring that their interests are prioritized and protected. For example, during divorce proceedings, an attorney may negotiate terms that favor their client, whether that’s securing a fair division of property or advocating for the best possible custody arrangement. Their expertise in the legal arena equips them to effectively counter opposing arguments and present compelling cases, giving clients a significant advantage in achieving favorable outcomes. Ultimately, the strategic planning and representation offered by attorneys can be the deciding factor in the success of a legal matter, underscoring the importance of a strong attorney-client relationship.

Emotional Support and Guidance

Legal matters, especially those related to family law, often carry significant emotional weight. Clients navigating divorce, custody battles, or other family-related legal issues frequently experience feelings of stress, anxiety, and uncertainty. This emotional turmoil can cloud judgment and complicate decision-making. Attorneys understand the profound impact these emotions can have and provide crucial reassurance and support throughout the process. By offering empathetic listening and guidance, they help clients feel more at ease during what can be one of the most challenging periods of their lives.

In addition to providing legal counsel, attorneys act as a source of stability and encouragement. They validate clients’ feelings and help them process the emotional aspects of their situations. For instance, when a client faces the daunting task of confronting a spouse in negotiations, the attorney can offer both strategic advice and emotional support, helping the client maintain composure and confidence. This dual approach not only aids clients in navigating the legal terrain but also fosters resilience, empowering them to approach their cases with a clearer mindset.

Conclusion

In summary, the attorney-client relationship is vital for navigating the complexities of legal matters, particularly in family law. Effective communication and trust-building allow attorneys to simplify legal concepts, enabling clients to engage meaningfully in their cases. The tailored strategies developed by attorneys further enhance their ability to represent clients’ interests during negotiations and court proceedings.

The Moose Is Loose on Friday the 13th (2024)

By Connie Wilson

On September 14, 2024

In Editorial, Essays on Politics: Best Political Essays & Ideology, Humor and Weird Wilson-isms, Local, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Politics, Pop Culture

@trump_mania
President Trump stops by TreeHouse Pub in Bettendorf, Iowa! #trump #donaldtrump #donaldjtrump #trump2024 #trump #maga #makeamericagreatagain
♬ original sound – JH

Amanda and I were mightily amused by the Moose. (It doesn’t take much to entertain us).

Harking back to my post-debate piece on the Harris/Trump September 10^th debate, faithful readers—all 3 of you—will remember that I asked the question “IS LUCY SAFE?” regarding a pet cat that we were forced to re-home because of our wintering in Texas. Lucy—like the pet cats and dogs that Donald J. Trump claimed during the September 10^th debate are being kidnapped and eaten in Springfield, Ohio—was an indoor/outdoor cat, as she had come to us from the ravine behind our house. Could she have become a statistic in Trump’s always unreliable statistics?

The newspapers on the day after the debate, were filled with memes and comments on that unlikely topic of the debate, i.e., the kidnapping of cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio and their alleged use as an entrée by Haitian immigrants. In Springfield (a town that Bart Simpson calls home) it has apparently gotten so bad that the city fathers have asked for understanding. They have acknowledged that their city’s sudden fame and prominence has become a real problem, complete with bomb threats.

Taylor Swift and cats

The dog/cat debate came on the heels of the RFK, Jr. revelation ( made to Roseanne Barr while on television) that he once picked up a dead bear that was road kill and took the animal with him to clean it and eat it. While this may be normal behavior for the Kennedy clan, most of us would not stop and scavenge a dead animal, taking it along to clean and eat later.

In the version I read, RFK, Jr.. then remembered that he had reservations at Peter Luger’s Steakhouse—an establishment I have actually eaten at once—and, therefore, decided to forgo cutting his own steaks from the dead bear. Instead, the young RFK, Jr., dumped the dead bear in Central Park, along with a bicycle. This may have been imeant to make others think the bear bicycled there and expired. (I’m not sure I understand the part where one stops and picks up road kill, saving it “for later,” but I definitely found the bear/bicycle story to be even more unbelievable than the Springfield cats & dogs story.) Also, I wondered if the Moosehead was much smaller than the whale head that RFK, Jr., is said to have cut off with an electric saw after the animal washed up on a beach.

Does this moosehead rival the whale head that RFK, Jr., also is said to have removed with a chain saw?

So, with the two paragraphs above as preamble, imagine my surprise when, upon leaving a restaurant known as the Treehouse, there was a $1,795 dollar moose head sitting outside the door in a flimsy wooden cage. Wow. This was random even on a Friday the 13^th! And WHY was the moose head—worth nearly $2 grand—sitting there with no security and no obvious owner? Was Brian Rashid planning on mounting it somewhere within the restaurant? Did it have anything to do with the Bull Moose Party? (That’s the last time a very questionable assassination attempt went awry when the bullet struck a copy of Teddy Roosevelt’s speech, as I understand it.)

THE TREEHOUSE

Brian Rashid, owner of “The Treehouse”

The Treehouse (Bettendorf, Iowa) is owned (or co-owned) by Brian Rashid, who is a big Donald J. Trump admirer. On September 20, 2023, DJT stopped by the Treehouse restaurant in Bettendorf, Iowa, after campaign stops in Maquoketa and Dubuque. Articles online suggest Rashid has had 12 or 13 DUI arrests and may have been illegally triggering alarms to see if law enforcement responded promptly enough to suit him. It is somewhat remarkable that the GOP party in Scott County was not aware of all this about the owner of the Treehouse, since it isn’t what most campaigns would want associated with their candidate…unless the candidate is Donald J. Trump. Trump handed out pizza to random patrons; he signed autographs for some of the lovelies assembled in the restaurant.

DJT at the Treehouse in Bettendorf, Iowa

Trump at work charming Iowans and signing…uh…autographs?

THE MOOSEHEAD

The moose is loose.

As we were exiting the restaurant on September 13^th (FRIDAY, the 13^th), there was a large moose head immediately outside the door, with a price tag commensurate with the going rate on large moose heads: $1,795. (The moose is loose!). I couldn’t help but wonder if RJK, Jr., had a hand in this random moosehead situation right outside the door of one of the area’s most vocal Trump supporters.

DINING AT THE TREEHOUSE ON FRIDAY THE 13th

I cannot fault the food, (although the Scott County Health examiners have done so after inspections), but on Friday the 13^th the women’s bathroom was tied up the entire night. No idea what, exactly, was going on in there, but there is only one rest room for the men (a one-holer) and one rest room for the women (also a one-holer). I stopped and tried to enter the women’s rest room on our way into the restaurant, as I had consumed two Diet Dr. Peppers prior to our trek across I-74 to dine. A full 40 minutes later it was still impossible to gain entrance. Then our friends (a couple with two children, one a third-grade girl) arrived.

Isla wanted to wash her hands. I accompanied her to the rest room that had been “busy” when we entered.

It was still busy. At least 40 minutes had passed since my first futile attempt to use the rest room.

If you want a Moose head, be prepared to shell out Big Bucks. (But money well spent—right?)

I encouraged my small companion to give the door handle a good try. She certainly did.

Later, she announced her intention of standing by the door until the occupant emerged. (That was way more than I was willing to do.)

Soon, Isla returned to our table and shared the news that the toilet in the women’s rest room was “all backed up” and that she heard a woman “throwing up” behind the door. (She gave a very good imitation of the noise she heard. Bravo, Isla!). She advised that any of us wanting to use the bathroom should try the men’s rest room. (Nothing like a smart third-grader to cut to the root of the problem and figure out what is going on behind a locked door.)

The food and service was satisfactory, but the rest room situation was not great. I told our server that the women’s rest room had been continuously occupied for at least an hour and he acknowledged that it was “probably a staff member.” (Ewwww)

So ends my tale of the Treehouse Restaurant in Bettendorf, Iowa, (which offers the Plantation Salad, well-known in the area if you are 50 or older). And a story of cats, whales, moose, RFK, Jr., DJT and Friday the 13th, 2024.

“Luki & the Lights” Helps Foster Understanding of ALS

By Connie Wilson

On September 12, 2024

In Editorial, Health/Medicine, Movies, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Reviews, Science and Medicine, Uncategorized

Luki & the Lights robot Luki from the Oscar-eligible animated film

This ten and one-half minute short, “Luki and the Lights” came to my in-box. I watched it while knowing that there would be no happy ending to this story. Here was the synopsis provided:”Toby Cochran’s LUKI & THE LIGHTS shares a charming and touching story of a robot named LUKi who is slowly starting to malfunction. But even with the struggles ahead, LUKi demonstrates unwavering resilience, painting a vivid portrait of what it means to truly live and the power to find light even in the darkest of times. This poignant animated short was made to raise awareness of ALS as well as to create a platform for children to understand what the disease is. It has qualified to be considered for the 2025 Oscars®.”

ALS ON FILM:

Sascha Groen and her husband, Anjo Snijders, were searching for a tool to help explain his recently-diagnosed terminal disease to their children. Director Toby Cochran is the founder and creative force behind Big Grin Productions. He has 20 years of animation and production expertise. Cochran’s roles span story artist, writer, and director and extends across various entertainment realms, including games, commercials, live-action, and animated series. His distinguished career includes collaborations with studios and companies such as Netflix, Marvel, Disney, ReelFX, Discovery Channel, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Nestle, Lego Universe, and Kuku Studios.

THE SHORT FILM “LUKI & THE LIGHTS“

The decision was made to have an active, charming upbeat robot named Luki shown being struck by ALS. Do robots get ALS? While I applaud the idea of helping children understand this horrible and debilitating disease, a robot is made by man and can be fixed by man. People are different from robots. Currently, the ability to “fix” a person who has ALS is beyond the reach of science.

This 10 and 1/2 minute short has won over 20 awards and claims the distinction of being “the first ever animated short film featuring the first-ever animated character to have ALS.” This sounds good until you stop and think that the “character” is not human, so it (he) could perhaps have been “fixed” by a trip back to the robot factory? Not the case with human beings.

To date, the film has taken home twenty awards including the “Audience Award” at the Florida Film Festival, the “Audience Choice Award” at Indy Shorts International Film Festival and Siggraph Electronic Theater, the Children’s Audience Award at Animayo Gran Canaria, “Best Animated Short” at the Phoenix Film Festival, and the “FilmSlam Student Choice Award for Best Short” at Cleveland International Film Festival.

Producer Adrian Ochoa is an award-winning producer, prior to joining Big Grin, Adrian worked at Pixar Animation Studios, PlayStudios, and Penrose Studios. His credits include Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Wall-E, Cars 2, Monsters University, Inside Out, and The Good Dinosaur. He also worked on various shorts including Cars Toons, live-action shorts, and the animated short Day and Night. He’s also produced over 45 mobile games, including three with Shaquille O’Neal and the award-winning VR animated short film Arden’s Wake.

Throughout the film, there is charming music, but there is no dialogue as such. More accurately, what we have as “dialogue” is mostly incomprehensible, just like the disease itself.

ALS PRIME DOCUMENTARY: “NO ORDINARY CAMPAIGN”

Back in 2022, Katie Couric produced an ALS documentary about the struggle of Brian Wallach, a worker in the Obama campaign who was a successful Chicago attorney at the time he was diagnosed with ALS. Brian was only 37 years old and had just returned to home with a new child with his wife, Sandra Obrevaya. (They have two children.) Chris Burke, a friend who was a filmmaker, set out to make a film about Brian’s struggle as the couple are thrust into the medical system where they must advocate for themselves and, hopefully, for others.

By the time this film came out the “Ice Bucket Challenge” was 8 years in the rear view mirror (2014). When diagnosed in 2017, Brian was given only 6 months to live. The couple chose to publicize Brian’s struggle to continue to survive by promoting a bill to fund research into this killer disease. He got some help from former President Barack Obama, who appears in the film. It was during Obama’s campaign in 2008 that Brian and Sandra had met while working to help elect our first Black president.

Normally, ALS kills you within 2 to 5 years. Brian has been fighting the good fight for the past 6 years. He is in the top 20% of survivors. From their home in suburban Chicago, the couple has seen their efforts to pass “Act for ALS” turn into $100 million for research for the next 5 years. Since Brian was diagnosed in 2017,and the law passed the Senate unanimously on December 16, 2021, is time running out on the additional funding to solve this huge problem?

If you are as sympathetic to this fight and for funding to continue as I am, you should follow up the 10 and 1/2 minute animated ALS short”Luki & The Lights” with the longer documentary. It is a Prime Video documentary entitled “For Love and Life: No Ordinary Campaign.”

Kamala Harris Emerges #1 with Swiftie Support

By Connie Wilson

On September 10, 2024

In Editorial, Essays on Politics: Best Political Essays & Ideology, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Politics, Television, Uncategorized

Presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

As the Trump/Harris debate wound down, I turned to my spouse and said, “I think Kamala Harris just talked herself into the White House.” I have liked her ever since Joe Biden selected her to be Vice President, so that’s fine by me, Boss.

She was definitely the more detailed of the two debaters. I thought that DJT came off as a loon but he always does. Anyone who brings Hannibal Lecter and windmills onto the stage of a political rally is, well, weird—(to quote the next Vice President of the United States.)

Not since Pizzagate have I seen a loonier set of statements than Donald J. Trump talking about pets in Springfield, Ohio being kidnapped and eaten by out-of-control immigrants.

IS LUCY SAFE?

We had a cat named Lucy. She was a stray kitten whose mother had either abandoned her or been killed. She came to us from the ravine behind our house because my daughter began to feed her. As winter came on, nothing would do but we had to rescue Lucy and bring her inside. We did, indeed, feed her and she became a very fat cat.

This new cat adoption caused a great deal of stress, as we already had a cat named Kitty Kelly. I ended up writing 6 children’s books entitled “The Christmas Cats in Silly Hats.” (Available on Amazon). When we began spending winters in Texas, I actually paid a woman who worked at my veterinarian’s office $3,000 (plus a complete box of cat food and an automatic cat box) to take my indoor/outdoor cat and give her a good home where she could go in and out, as she had at our house.

Taylor Swift and cats

Now I’m worried: HAVE HAITIAN IMMIGRANTS KIDNAPPED AND EATEN LUCY? “In Springfield, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there,” (a Trump quote). This ridiculous claim originated from a Facebook post. There are no credible reports of this happening. Even J.D. Vance admitted it might turn out to be viral nonsense.

SPECIFICS

Kamala Harris was very specific about her plans for bringing down the costs for middle class families. She talked about a $6,000 child tax credit and $25,000 credit for first-time home buyers, while DJT had the look of a puzzled puppy throughout. His worst answer was in regards to health care and a bill for same, which he claimed to be working on for 9 and ½ years (“we have some concepts”).

The Biden Harris camp was left with a 6.4% unemployment rate, but it was significantly down from 14% earlier in the pandemic. (Fact checker on CNN calling out the only falsehood that Kamala may have made during the debate, while DJT made at least 33 untruthful statements.)

TAYLOR SWIFT

The Christmas Cats Fear for the Deer

I hope that Taylor Swift is holding onto her cat, Benjamin Button, very tightly tonight, especially since she endorsed Kamala Harris tonight, after a fake A.I. endorsement appeared on Trump’s site, which caused her to come out and transparently endorse Kamala Harris.

It appears that the GOP will now be whining about how “unfair” the moderators were tonight, because their guy did such a poor job.

Works for me.

Below this short recap are my typed notes on the debate of September 10th, with some interesting lines that struck me. Enjoy. Or not.

**************

MY NOTES ON THE DEBATE:

DJT:

“The tariff will be substantial in some cases…” (Trump, re China). “When I had it I had tariffs and yet I had no inflation.” Probably the worst inflation in our nation’s history. This has been a disaster for people. On top of that we have millions of people pouring in from mental institutions and taking jobs of African American and Hispanics. (Springfield, Ohio)

2025.” “Everybody knows what I’m going to do. Cut taxes. “We did a phenomenal job with the pandemic.” “Nobody’s ever seen anything like it. “We built ventilators for the world. “They don’t give me enough credit for the great job we did with the pandemic.”

HARRIS RESPONSE:

“I am offering an opportunity economy.” The best economists have reviewed our plan. Goldman/Sachs. Wharton School –DJT’s plan would explode the deficit. 16 Nobel laureates say it would increase inflation and invite a recession. “You just have to look at where we are and what we have to offer.”

TRUMP RESPONSE – Many of those professors at Wharton think my plan is a brilliant plan. He has no plan for you…..”She doesn’t have a plan.”

Drill down on tariff: national sales tax

HARRIS RESPONSE:

Tariffs up to 20% on goods coming into this country would mean higher costs on gas, food, etc. $4,000 per family. All of the countries that have been ripping us off for years. Tariffs there 3 and ½ years now in place. “I had virtually no inflation.” “they’ve destroyed the economy.”

Keeping the tariffs in place: “The Trump policy = he ended up selling American ships to China to help them improve and modernize their military. We need to focus on American based technology, on what we need to do to support America’s work force, so that we don’t end up on the short end of the stick.”

President Chi thank you on Twitter mentioned by Harris.

DJT ATTACK:

“She’s a Marxist. Her father is a Marxist professor and he taught her well. Look at the millions of people pouring into our country daily. I believe it is 21 million.”

They’re criminals. I believe that many of these people are criminals.

HARRIS ATTACK:

Calling him out on his reversals on abortion (6 week ban in Florida). Why should they trust you?

“They have abortion in the 9^th month. The previous governor of WV: “The baby will be born and we’ll decide what to do with the baby.” DJT said (of Tim Walz) “He is REALLY out of it.”

Execution after birth. That’s not okay with me. Hence the vote (in Florida).

“Through the genius and heart and strength of 6 Supreme Court Justices we were able to get it.” (Roe v. Wade).

A 12 or 13-year old survivor of incest. I promise you I will proudly sign it into law. If DJ were to be elected, he will sign a national abortion ban. There will be a national monitor who will report on abortions.

DJT RESPONSE:

Trump: “We’ve gotten what everybody wanted. For 52 years this issue has torn our country apart. What she says is an absolute law. This issue has now been taken over by the states.

Went on about student loans:“All these students got taunted by this whole idea.”

“She’ll never be able to get it. (student loans) They could never get this approved.

HARRIS ATTACK:

Reinstating the protections of Roe v. Wade. “It’s insulting to the women of America.” People are being denied IVF treatment.

[Trump’s face: that of a puzzled dog.]

“The majority of Americans believe in the rights of women to make decisions about their own bodies.”

DJT RESPONSE:

Trump: “I’ve been a leader on fertilization and IVF.

Why did the administration wait until 6 months before now to act (on border bill)?

HARRIS RESPONSE (citing the bill that Trump killed):

Bill would have put 1,500 more border agents on the border. More resources to crack down on fentanyl.

He’d prefer to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem. A leader who actually addresses the problems at hand. People start leabing his rallies early because he talks about Hannibal Lecter and windmills. You deserve a president who puts you first.

Why did you kill that bill?

He refused and wanted to go on about his rally. “We’re a failing nation. Our country is being lost.” WWIII Border. In Springfield, they’re eating the pets of the people. (Kamala laughed).She’s destroying our country. If she becomes President: Venezuela on steroids.

Springfield, Ohio: dogs. “We’ll find out.”
Kamala: “talk about extreme!”

Kamala mentions the endorsement of 200 Republicans, including the VP alive. His former Chief of Staff: Kelly: contempt for the Constitution. Sec of Defense: The nation would never survive another Trump term.”

“I think the choices are clear in this election.”

DJT RESPONSE:

Trump: “I’m a different kind of a person. I fired them not too graciously. When somebody does a bad job, I fire ‘em. Esper: fired. Wrote a book. They didn’t fire any of their people. I got more votes than any Republican in history by far.

Immigration – “the largest deportation move in history (11 million illegal immigrants). Question:

“They allowed terrorists, many many millions of terrorists.

They’re destroying the fabric of our country. (How would you get rid of them?)

Crime in this country: migrant crime. The FBI has said no….”fraud”—

HARRIS ATTACK:

She brings up Trump’s many legal cases. Respect for the rule of law.

It is important that we move forward…that we turn the page and address the problems of the American public. Address bringing down the price of groceries. The American public is exhausted by thi same old tired playbook.

Trump tries to defend his convictions in court. Every one of those cases was use of the justice department. Weapnization…fake cases.

“terminate” the Constitution of the U.S. Trump has openly expressed disdain for members of our military. Understand what it would be like if this man were back in the White House without any guard rails.

“I probably took a bullet to the head….

HARRIS RESPONSE:

Fracking….decriminalizing border crossings…”I will not ban fracking.” She was the tie-breaking vote on the inflation reduction act (IRA).

DJT:

Rambling on about solar and the desert.

Peaceful transfer of power: He tries to take the debate away from the Capitol riot to the border.

Anything you regret Jan. 6th^h? Minneapolis. Seattle. (Repeated the question 2x) Trump claims that he offered 10,000 troops to Nancy Pelosi and the Mayor of Washington and they turned it down.

HARRIS ATTACK:

140 law enforcement officers were injured. Some died. (Charlottesville is brought up by Kamala – there were fine people on each side. Proud Boys: Stand back and stand by.)

Stand for rule of law. Donald Trump the candidate has said there will be a bloodbath if you don’t like the outcome of this election.

Energy? Now he’s bringing up the border again.

DJT RESPONSE:

“She’s so bad. It’s been so ridiculous.” Get him out of bed at 4 o’clock in the afternoon. They have the right to do it (i.e., shut the border).

Truth in these times: you won in a landslide. Are you now acknowledging that you lost the presidential race of 2020? We need good elections and walls/borders. (Anti immigrant blather)

DJT:

60 cases. No judge looked at it. They said we didn’t have standing.

That’s old news. “We have a nation in decline and we have put it into decline.”

HARRIS ATTACK:

Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people and clearly he’s having a difficult time processing that.

World leaders are laughing at DJT. “They say you’re a disgrace.” We do not have the right temperament of the man to my right. (Victor Orban of Hungary)

Nordstream pipeline. Excel pipeline.

Israel/Hamas issue:

The NATO allies are so thankful that you are no longer President.

DJT RESPONSE:

“We have a President who doesn’t even know if he’s alive.”

HARRIS RESPONSE:

A dictator (Putin) who would eat you for lunch…

DJT:

Putin would be sitting in Moscow …he’s got nuclear weapons. (“Nobody ever thinks about that”). “Everything they said was weak and stupid. The war stated 3 days later. She’s worse than Biden.”

Trump accused Kamala of causing the Ukraine war because of her poor negotiating. “The American people have a right to rely on a President who understands that we have stability and not sell them for the benefit of personal flattery.

Afghanistan – (Trump goes on about how “he got them to pay up.” Re NATO.

HARRIS:

He does not understand the role of the American president and the work that we must do to uphold the respect of the role of the U.S. around the world. (Invited the Taliban to Camp David). Abdul, the leader of the Taliban.

Negotiated an agreement. (She says the Taliban got 5,000 prisoners released.) The agreement was terminated by us because they didn’t do what they were supposed to do. “The most embarrassing moment in American history,” said DJT.

MODERATOR:

RACE – “Why do you think it is appropriate to weigh in on the racial identity of your opponent?”

Harris: I think it’s a tragedy that we have someone who uses race to divide the American people. We don’t want this kind of approach that is constantly trying to divide us. (Brings up the failure to rent to Blacks and the full page ad about the Central Park Five and the birther thing against Obama.) We see in each other a friend, a neighbor, we don’t want a leader who is constantly having Americans point their fingers at each other. (Confused dog lead)

DJT RESPONSE:

“There’s never been anything like it. Going back many, many years. Mayor Blomberg agreed with me. This is a person who has to stretch back 40 or 50 years because there’s nothing now.”

HARRIS RESPONSE:

Harris: Clearly I am not Joe Biden. What I do offer is a new generation of leadership for our country,. One no brings a sense of optimism. I believe in what we can do to strengthen small businesses. Let’s talk about our plans. I have a plan. I have a plan that is about allowing people to pursue the American dream.
Belittling, name-calling is all he has.

DJT:
She has a plan to confiscate everybody’s gun.

Repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. (Obamacare)

CNN: 63% say Harris won the debate. 37% say DJT won the debate.

“Melissa Etheridge: I’m Not Broken” on 9/22 at Nashville Film Festival

By Connie Wilson

On September 9, 2024

In Editorial, Movies, Music, Pop Culture, Reviews, Television

Melissa Etheridge appears in a series streaming on Paramount Plus as of July 7^th, entitled “Melissa Etheridge: I’m Not Broken.” The two episodes are being shown on Sunday, September 22, from 7 to 9 p.m. as part of the Nashville Film Festival.

Young Melissa Etheridge.

A native of Leavenworth, Kansas, Etheridge is shown visiting the Topeka Correctional Facility for Women, after having corresponded with many of the inmates for 9 months prior. It was a homecoming of sorts for the singer, as, like Johnny Cash, she had performed at a Kansas prison when she was only 12 years old, in 1973. Brian Morrow and Amy Scott directed the series and five of the inmates of the prison are shown reading the letters they wrote to Etheridge. Etheridge talks with the five women and performs for them.

Saying that their letters inspired her, Melissa wrote some original music for the concert and said, “I realize I can’t save anyone, but I’m looking to inspire.”

HIGH POINTS

The Mayor of Leavenworth, Jermaine Wilson, who did 3 years in prison himself, is shown talking with Etheridge about the upcoming concert. Wilson and Etheridge, together, stressed that they wanted to inspire and encourage the imprisoned felons, saying, “Mistakes don’t define you. You are not a failure. You are not a mistake. You were created on purpose for a purpose.”

Mayor Jermaine Wilson of Leavenworth, KS.

Mayor Jermaine Wilson of Leavenworth, Kansas.

In addition to much charitable work, Melissa also founded the Etheridge Foundation which attempts to legalize cannabis and other drugs that might be useful for therapeutic purposes. She shared with the crowd of women—many of them incarcerated specifically for selling, using, or possession of drugs—that she once had an arrest as she entered the U.S. from Canada through North Dakota, where cannabis was illegal. “The best I can do is to be an example—a light that holds you up and says you matter.”

PRISON STATISTICS

Meghan Davis, an employee of the facility, said that the likelihood of a woman being the victim of a crime never drops for women as it does for men. Women do not grow up and become less likely to become victims of crime. In fact, over the last 40 years, there has been an 84% increase in women convicted of crimes and imprisoned, many of them crimes that originated with a drug habit.

Of the 760 women incarcerated in Topeka, 500 are mothers or grandmothers. Prison employee Dani Essman talked about how many of the imprisoned women lose their identity. One of the women expressed gratitude for Etheridge’s actions, saying, “We were just grateful that she gave a shit.”

POIGNANT SHARE

Melissa and her then-partner Julie Cypher had 2 children. Cypher gave birth to Bailey Jean and Beckett.^[⁶⁵^] Cypher became pregnant via artificial insemination using sperm donated by musician David Crosby.^[⁶⁶^] Cypher and Etheridge separated in 2000. On May 13, 2020, Etheridge announced on Twitter that her son with Cypher, Beckett, had died at the age of 21 of a drug overdose related to opioid addiction. (Her daughter, Bailey Jean, graduated from Columbia in 2019).

Beckett and sister Bailey.

When Etheridge shared this personal heartbreak with the crowd, she sang the song “Shadow of a Black Crow,” which she said she seldom performs. One of the lines in the song is, “I would rather die fast than ever drive slow. Father, forgive me, for what my mother don’t know.”

Etheridge—speaking to so many women who know only too well the curse of addiction—said, “He (Beckett) was either gonna’ find his way out or not, and in his case not.” Referencing the lyric “The scratch marks on my soul from the shadow of a black crow” Etheridge said, “I miss him here, but I know he is here (gesturing upwards).”

SECOND HALF

In the second episode of the Melissa Etheridge Paramount Plus offering “I’m Not Broken” Ms. Etheridge composed a song especially for the inmates of the Topeka State Prison. We witnessed the actual creative process as Etheridge discusses the evolution of the song. Band member Joe Ayoub tells us that they worked up the band’s part from Friday to Sunday.

Onstage.

particularly heartbreaking story, told by one of the five women spotlighted in the special (Andrea, Cierra, Jessica, Kristi and Leigh) shared with the viewers was that she became hooked on drugs and was pregnant by 19. Her baby died ten minutes before she gave birth.

Etheridge opened up about her son Beckett’s death on May 13, 2020. Beckett was born on November 18, 1998. Etheridge explained his addiction as stemming from Vicodin administered after a snowboarding accident. His addiction quickly spiraled out of control.

Beckett was 21 when the police found him dead after a wellness check that Melissa and her former partner Julie Cypher requested.

THE ODD

Beckett and Bailey.

I found Melissa Etheridge’s sharing of her personal trauma brave, but odd.

Melissa and son Beckett.

She said, “I do not let it take me out of my own sense of well-being. You can accept a person’s choices and it doesn’t have to destroy you.” She seemed remarkably calm and distanced from grief at the death of her son. I couldn’t help but wonder if, like the devotees of the new meditation start-up Jhourney, Etheridge has internalized the life rule “true peace comes from accepting things just as they are.” I admit that I was taken aback at the calm way Etheridge discussed the death of her 21-year-old son, Beckett. It was shocking and surprising; she seemed somewhat clinically detached. The death had taken place three years prior so that may help explain the low-key dispassionate discussion the film showcases.

CONCLUSION

The 2 part serial look into Melissa Etheridge’s life and creative process was interesting, but repetitive. There were too many shots of Etheridge performing on the temporary stage set up outside the prison walls. The interviews with the five inmates (Andrea, Cierra, Jessica, Kristi and Leigh) were conducted in less-than-optimal settings and there were a lot of those table shots. Perhaps film of the five inmates establishing the women’s relationships with their families of origin before they were incarcerated would have helped?

Onstage.

What comes through loud and clear is that Melissa Etheridge is a time-tested talent. She asks the assembled women if they are familiar with her music. Some are not. For them she described her audience as those aged 50 and up, as her Grammy-winning years were approximately 1993 through 2007. That’s a pity, as she is just as talented now as she was in earlier years— more seasoned and just as creative. She continues to write. This series is a tribute to a true talent trying to bring redemption and empowerment to incarcerated female prisoners. It is a wonderful humanitarian concept.

Melissa Etheridge onstage.

What else could have been done to liven up the many scenes of Ms. Etheridge talking with the inmates? The library setting was used repeatedly. Melissa performing onstage was entertaining, but also repetitive. Those were the weak points of the two-episode series, which will screen at the Nashville Film Festival on Sunday, September 22^nd, from 7 to 9 p.m., and on Paramount Plus.

THE GOAL

The goal of bringing hope to the incarcerated women of the Topeka Correctional Facility for Women was worthwhile and deserving of support. The plea for accepting drugs for therapeutic purposes is also a progressive step forward, just as Etheridge’s original song “I Need to Wake Up” for Al Gore’s 2007 documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” which won the Academy Award, was part of a good cause, trying to alert the world to the dangers of global warming. (I can’t help but regret how our weather patterns might be different if Florida and the candidate’s brother had not been allowed to prevail in the hanging chads election of 2000. A candidate whose party had no plan at all to address global warming—and still does not—was declared the winner. Al Gore, who was extremely concerned about our stewardship of the planet, stepped aside with decorum. How times change!)

Reservations aside, it’s a pleasure to watch a Top-Notch Singer/Songwriter writing and performing her work. Etheridge’s social conscience cannot be denied. This two-part Paramount Plus series is a testament to that .

“The Day the Music Stopped” to Screen at Nashville Film Festival on 9/20/2024

By Connie Wilson

On September 7, 2024

In Editorial, Music, News, Pop Culture, travel

THE EXIT/IN

Exit/In bar in Nashville, Tennessee

“The Day the Music Stopped,” directed by Patrick Sheehan is a 95 minute film that explores the end of an iconic Nashville indie music venue, the Exit/In. Last year’s Nashville Film Festival ended with a buffet meal at the Exit/In. It was great. The Big Names who have played at the iconic Exit/In venue appeared on plaques that literally filled the walls.

The room hosted its last indie concert on November 23, 2022. Fifty-one years of music as an independent venue stopped when Goliath beat David. As Wikipedia explained, Exit/In’s demise, it had 25 different owners over the years from 1971 to 2022 and was not continuously open, but it definitely was a place where many big names in music either got their start or performed over the years. It even served vegetarian food for a brief period. Comedian Steve Martin performed there while climbing the ladder of success.

LAST INDIE OWNERS LOSE

The final owners before the Big Boys of Music moved in and took over were Chris Cobb and his wife, Teisha, who put up a valiant fight to keep the venue independent. However, on November 14, 2022, club operators, Chris and Telisha Cobb, announced their departure.^[^2] In December 2022 AJ Capital Partners, was announced as the new purchasers and operators of the venue.^[^3]^[^4] The venue was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2023. There are still shows at Exit/In and the Rock Block, but admission prices to the 500-seat space have, no doubt, increased. (There was even talk of how Live Nation would charge musicians a fee simply to use their lights.) There is a hopeful bit of film showcasing (Attorney General) Merrick Garland at the very end of the film that would probably bring forth a cheer from the group assembled in the photo below this paragraph.

Exit/In’s last indie show in 2022.

This film depicts the tumultuous last show as an indie venue and also charts a path forward that gives a glimmer of hope—a national movement, Save our Stages. Watching the crowd surfing group revel one last time you could feel the joy and also the sadness in the room.

The city and the state face the reality that capitalistic greed is destroying the music culture created in Nashville over decades. As Chris Cobb of the Exit/In said, “The winds of charge are certainly upon us.” Much of the fight centers on who owns the brand name “Exit/In.” (Still unresolved). A.J. Capital Partners (of Chicago) is the villain of the piece, especially when we learn that they are in business with Live Nation. It seems to be only a matter of time before the Big Boys gobble up all of the small venues that used to provide platforms for the future Taylor Swifts and Garth Brooks of the music business.

One by one, iconic venues are listed and (mostly) shown going under—Mercy Lounge (closed May 19, 2022), Douglas Corners, Exit/In, Lindsay Corners (saw Low Cut Connie there the last time I was in town), the Bluebird Cafe. The music business is still very unstable post-pandemic. Although Exit/In closed for what they thought would only be 3 months during the pandemic, the iconic venue once reopened in 1981 by Chuck Berry which spawned so many big names through the years is one of the casualties of what is described as “a corporate takeover of America by capitalists.” Exit/In still open, but it’s not the same.

THE OLD DAYS

Up-and-coming Nashville.

Many in the documentary talk about how, if you arrived in Nashville before 2012 or 2013, Nashville was a very different town. My daughter selected Nashville as her college town in 2005 (Belmont College). She can testify to the many changes that the city has experienced.

The film does a good job of explaining why 43 buildings on Music Row were demolished between 2013 and 2018. It also lays bare the dilemma that Nashville faces. “It truly is a crisis situation here in Music City.” As the Mayor outlined “an unparalleled series of challenges for cities with only a few million in cash reserves” the picture begins to focus. It’s not good news for those who considered Exit/In “a sacred space for Nashville.”

John Cooper, Mayor of Nashville.

John Cooper, the Mayor of Nashville, explains that, although Nashville has certainly enjoyed a booming economy, “We had not been a good steward of our finances.” When tough times hit, Nashville only had a few million dollars in its contingency fund, not enough to handle the crises that beset the city, beginning in 2010.

THE FLOOD, THE STORM, COVID & OTHER CATASTROPHES

Nashville flood of 2010.

First, there was the flood of 2010, which ruined downtown Nashville.

Then came the deadliest tornado on record on March 2, 2020 (25 people died). (There’s been another since then that killed 3 people on the block where my daughter lives in December of 2023.)

Just one week later, Covid struck the nation and the world.

Indie music venues were impacted very negatively. Even today, “a lot of clubs are in limbo.” It is an eco-system that cannot survive without assistance. The Exit/In closed for what they thought would be 3 months.

Add to the natural disasters the 63-year-old Nashville resident, Anthony Quinn Walker, who blew himself up inside an RV parked outside an AT&T building on December 25^th of 2020, taking most of historic 2^nd Avenue with him, and you have the makings of the dilemma that haunts creatives in Nashville now. As the film points out so well, the residents of Nashville have to ask themselves “Where are we heading?”

A GLIMMER OF HOPE

Famous spokespeople like Ben Folds speak out about the potential closing of RCA Studio A, the studio where Chet Atkins and Elvis recorded. It was established on June 20, 1924. It almost met the wrecking ball on Chet Atkins’ 90^th birthday, until some notable names like Ben Folds and Keith Urban stepped up and made efforts to save the iconic studio.

Erica Wollam, General Manager & Chief Operating Officer Bluebird Cafe.

Throughout the film there is much information about the fight to keep the Exit/In out of the hands of Live Nation. But Live Nation bought Ticketmaster and, as one executive told the owner of the venue, “In 10 years we’ll control the business from the top to the bottom.” A 2021 Live Nation document is shown onscreen that spells out how, if an artist were to cancel his or her Live Nation concert, “the artist will pay promoters double the artist fee.” It also highlighted how the cost of insurance to artists increased from 0% to 100% and, all-in-all, while getting only 40 cents on the dollar from any gig they might play in Music City under the auspices of the big music biz entrepreneurs, it has become more and more difficult to make a living as a musician—not that it was ever easy.

There are those who are fighting to save the stages. Jeff Syracuse, a BMI executive, is a City Councilman who is well aware of the competition for space in Nashville and how new talent is struggling to find a launching pad amongst dwindling indie clubs. Mike Curb, Chuck Elcan, Chris Cobb, Representative Johnny Garrett (R, Goodlettsville) are all shown working to pass a state-wide live music fund, the first in the nation, that would help struggling indie venues, which seems to be meeting some success by film’s end.

Honky Tonk Central.

Near the end of the film Chris Cobb (last owner of the Exit/In) is awarded the Blayne Tucker Advocacy Award for his work with Save Our Stages. I’ve never heard of Blayne Tucker. But I could relate to the talking head in the film who said “Money is gonna’ win a lot of the time.”

Patrick Sheehan, Stephen Thompson, Ian Criswell (Cinematographers/Director) and Michael Gomez (Photography), with editing by Sheehan have done a great job with this film. It sounds very familiar to an Austin (Tx) resident to learn that the music industry is not a straight-arrow biz. But it does have people within it who really love what they do and want to preserve music culture in their city for all the right reasons.

And then there are the others who just want to make as much money as they can as fast as they can; they don’t seem to care about much else. The creators of “The Day the Music Stopped,” both onscreen and behind the camera compiling this engaging documentary, obviously do care. With this documentary they are trying to help preserve the true spirit of Nashville. It’s a sobering look at greed spurred by the competition for space in Nashville. I hope those fighting the good fight catch a break in their struggle. Stay tuned for further developments in Nashville and nationwide.