Trash Talkin’ Trump

Dear Donald;

Since you have so little respect for me, I don’t believe “Mr. Trump” will do. Your perspective on women is unbelievable. I mean this sincerely; I can’t believe that any decent man in the 21st Century would refer to women as bimbo, disgusting, fat pig, gold digger, 

But Donald, you outdid yourself when you knocked Megyn Kelly for being a strong debate moderator. You called her a lightweight, one attempting to be tough. Your statement would have been bad enough if you stopped there, but what came next was (I have to pause and take a breath) – what came next was this. “You could see that there was blood coming out her eyes, blood coming out of her [brief pause] wherever.”

Make no mistake, Don, we know exactly what you meant. By implying that Kelly was tough on you because she was menstruating, you put yourself down much more than you did her. Ever see the movie Annie Hall? They had this discussion in Annie Hall, how the male lead responds to everything the female lead says by blaming it on her period. 1977, Don. The movie came out in 1977. The calendar today says 2015.

Hey, Don. I’ve got news for you. Women make up just over 50% of the American electorate, and we vote. You have insulted a lot of individual women during your very public life, but they’re not the women that ought to worry you.

You should be worried about women who vote.

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The Harvest

We had three rabbits visiting all weekend because La Petite was here. You know what that means: lettuce!

Fresh as it gets!

Fresh as it gets!

It’s been the strangest season for lettuce. Normally, the second batch of lettuce is done by mi-July, if not sooner. I’m harvesting the first crop of lettuces right now.

Still waiting!

Still waiting!

Even after harvest, there’s more to be had. I predict a lot of salads and BLTs this week.

Meanwhile, “Chuck” was busy relocating a peony that we’ve had in the backyard since we moved in. It meant a lot of digging on a hot and muggy day, and thirst quenching with strawberry lemonade.

Dig. Dig. Dig.

Dig. Dig. Dig.

The large peony is now beside the northwest corner of the house. It’ll get enough sun, and we’ll enjoy it more.

The new home!

The new home!

If you look closely, you’ll also see the sod from the peony’s new spot. It’s filling an area that had been weeds. If you look even more closely, you’ll see the little black dress, er, fence. I picked those up at a rummage sale a while back, and I knew we’d use them eventually. Chuck’s research (a la Google) told him that tomato cages would be good, but I haven’t used traditional tomato cages for years.

My harvest wasn’t big this week, but you can see other gardeners’ bounty at Daphne’s Dandelions.

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There’s a Storm Coming In – not quite an encore

It’s literal and it’s figurative. There’s a storm brewing in my state.

Skies are clouding over and the temperature is dropping. The radar shows lots of green (rain) with patches of yellow and red representing the stronger storms within. The forecast predicts thunderstorms overnight and through tomorrow.

That’s the literal storm.

On the figurative side we have a storm of ideology, a flood of hard feelings, and the thundering sound of voters wanting their voices heard. There’s a yard sign here and a bumper sticker there, with patches of letters to the editor representing the strong emotions within. And this, the figurative storm, continues.

I first posted this in spring of 2012 as we headed toward a recall election – the recall that Scott Walker survived. in the all-too-long lead up to the 2016 presidential election, winds are swirling and the storm is gathering strength.

I prepare for literal storms with a fire in the fireplace and my tiny seedlings under cover in the mini-greenhouse. We unplug the computers to prevent trouble in the event of power surges.

Preparation for an election storm isn’t quite so easy. We can unplug the landline the day before the election to avoid the thundering sound of the Get Out the Vote phone calls. I’m always  on edge all day on Election Tuesday, awaiting results that carry as much meaning for me personally and professionally as the meaning and messages that are national in nature.

After this storm passes, the winds of change will pick up. The perfect storm of anger, disillusionment, and disbelief fighting with self-righteousness and misinformation threatens to blow up into a cyclone of another kind. The resulting funnel cloud will…well, let’s not think about it.

We’re already experiencing a dark and stormy period in Wisconsin history. It’s beyond frightening to imagine that storm spreading to the nation.

Readers, we’re all in its path. How do you hunker down and prepare for a storm that’s political in nature? Leave a comment.

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Unite or Divide and Conquer?

I laughed out loud – almost snorted coffee out my nose, to be honest. It wasn’t funny, though. It was…highly ironic is the best I can do. Ridiculous? Unbelievable? Illogical? Unreal? All of the above.

Governor Walk-a-Mile-in-my-Shoes, according to one of his top advisers, is running as a “Uniter”. His campaign managers have decided to market him as one who cooperates, reaches across the aisle, and works in a bipartisan fashion.

Let’s see. Gov. Walk-My-Way introduced what he called a budget repair bill that was really a union busting bill. He knew the votes would be split right down the party aisle with a win on his side, so he wanted to rush it in for a vote. Did he reach out to the Democrats in the Senate? Hum the Jeopardy theme while you mull this over.

Time’s up! He couldn’t reach out to the Democrats. They left the building to delay a vote because without them, there would be no quorum, and without a quorum, budget bills cannot come up for a vote. Meanwhile, he reached out to the Democratic Senators by threatening to send state troopers to round them up. Instead of waiting patiently, those on the left side made a run for the border: the Illinois border.

Enough about the rapid evacuation of the Senate. We were talking about Mr.Walker as peacemaker, one who unites. Let’s see: anyone remember the video of Walker with his billionaire sponsor, telling her how he would handle the union busting bill? “Divide and conquer,” he told her. He must have had different campaign advisers then because divide and conquer doesn’t mean the same thing as unite and concur.

How about name calling? I keep hearing the term “Union Thug” tossed around, but it seems the only time Walker actually used the term was when he was asked how he would deal with the terrorist group ISIS and he drew a comparison to his “handling” of thousands of public employees marching on the Capitol. I won’t blame the gov for creating the phrase until I can find a reliable source that quotes him, but the point still stands. Scott Walk-my-way-or-the-highway is not one who unites. The Gov. is not one to reach across the aisle or pursue bipartisan cooperation.

Back to my first reaction. Ironic, at the least, this vision of Walker. Ridiculous? Unbelievable? Illogical? Unreal? Yes. All of these, at least, and more.

Feel free to leave more reactions in the comments, folks. I’m listening.

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Harvest and Market Prep

Status

Green beans and Google Docs – market produce to prep, tutorials to watch, and a Google Site to create. A teacher’s work is never done, so I multi-task.

Multi-tasking Mama!

Multi-tasking Mama!

Here’s part of the actual harvest:

1 lb beans

1 lb beans and a handful of peas

I also brought in a large bucket of lettuce, but I had it washed and dried and stored in the refrigerator before I thought to take a picture. The lettuce looks great; it’ll be a week full of salads!

Meanwhile, check in with Daphne’s Dandelions for more gardeners and their harvests.

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