Get Out & Vote!

I tend to be more politically active these days, mainly because I cannot turn a blind eye to the devastation and depravity being wrought by the so-called President of the US and the horrific regime behind its bloviating, useful idiot. I haven't been able to hold back since 2016, when it became clear to anyone with two brain cells that even accidentally bump into each other that there was nothing remotely right or decent or even sane about the state of affairs under this "administration." And no, contrary to every very vocal MAGA assertion, it's not the "Liberal media," or "fake news," or the ubiquitous screech of "TDS!" that informs the resistance to this regime; it's the content of Project 2025 (which has been out there for all to see, and by rights should have been the biggest, brightest red flag to anyone who even claims to be a patriot); it's the absolute vileness of unfiltered Donald Trump, largely via his press and social media releases; it's the tangible results of MAGA policies, such as a needless war with Iran; inflation far in excess of that under the previous administration, which ostensibly spurred so many votes for Donald Fucking Trump; it's the alienation of our best allies and trading partners; it's the stunningly overt favoring of totalitarian policies, exemplified by the admiration of Russia's and (sometimes China's) despots — despite the desperate MAGAT screams that it's the Left promoting "communism" (if only any of them knew the difference between totalitarian "communism" and what the term really means); it's the tearing down of our most worthy institutions, which represented some of the most important guardrails against an autocratic chief executive; it's the blatant grift that is enriching the occupant of the White House (hideously damaged by that self-same occupant) and his degenerate family.

I could go on. And on. And on.

So, yeah, when the organizers of the local No Kings rallies announced a day to show up and encourage people to vote, then yeah, I signed up. It's true that this rally represents protest against the awful goings-on in this country, but the number one message was, indeed, "GET OUT THERE AND VOTE!" At today's event, about 60 people showed up, which for this sized community — and with very little publicity — proved pretty damned respectable. The vast majority of passersby showed obvious support as well, which was heartening.

No one — NO ONE — in this group is some radical who hates America. That's total MAGA bullshit. This is a solid group of very intelligent, very decent, very moral Americans who believe strongly in policies that help more people than they hurt. Religion plays no part in these ideals; no one is espousing the imposition of radical Islam and Sharia law; no, you're thinking of Christian Nationalism, which is closer to Sharia law than any other belief system in this country.

Now, if you're quite happy with the status quo, then by all means, vote your conscience. However, if your conscience isn't mortified by the goings-on of this regime, well, you and I have nothing in common. And you just have yourself a nice day with your head in the sand, you hear?

Another Election Day

Virginia held a special election yesterday to approve or disapprove new congressional districts, created primarily in response to the Republican redrawing of Texas districts to pick up new seats. For me, as a local elections official, this meant another big day working at my polling precinct (fortunately, it's at my old elementary school, a short distance up the road). Especially for an aging dude like me, it's pretty grueling. Up at 4:00 a.m. to be at the site by 5:00 a.m.; get the polling area all set up (we did some of it the day before); open at 6:00 a.m., work until 7:00 p.m., with a brief lunch break midday; and then break down/repack all the equipment, as well as tabulate/sign off on all the results. This means getting home a bit after 8:00 p.m.

It was a busy, busy day, with at least three times as many voters coming in as in the previous elections I've worked (about 650 at our precinct). The redistricting issue was the only one on the ballot, so at least tabulating and reporting the results weren't very complicated. There were two hardware snafus during the day (these seem almost inevitable on Election Day), but fortunately, they were relatively brief inconveniences. Oh, and one unhinged fellow who clearly wasn't a registered voter who had a little fit when we wouldn't allow him to vote without going through the full registration/affirmation of identity/provisional ballot process.

Having been on the other side of the voting booth, it's safe to say that while I'm not a fan of making voting difficult, I'm certainly a proponent of requiring a valid ID to vote. It's sensible and practical. No, not in the way the SAVE Act proposes. There's too much potential for disenfranchisement in the terms of that proposal. What we currently have in Virginia is absolutely sufficient.

I don't have it in me to editorialize on the results of the election, other than to say that what's good for the goose is good for the gander. I hate gerrymandering, but when one party starts using it so blatantly to gain an advantage, you cannot be surprised—or legitimately disapproving—that the other does so only to level the playing field. You start cheating, and cheating comes back to bite you.

At least in Virginia, the voters approved the measure. In other states, it was foisted upon them. That said, however the election might have turned out, I am happy to have been part of the democratic process that functioned exactly as it should. By the way, if you believe Trump's typical, unhinged rant about how the election was rigged, I have one question for you: How is the air there on Planet Moronica?

Another Longest Day

Back in June, I took my first turn as an elections officer in my home precinct for the Democratic primary. Election Day, even for a smaller one like the primary, is a pretty long one: up at four a.m., at the polling place by five a..m., work the station for thirteen hours, then break down and repack all the equipment and complete the mountains of required paperwork, which takes from sixty to ninety minutes. Very tiring, but since I found working the previous election ultimately gratifying, I decided to do it again. I'll probably even go for it again next year for the mid-term election.

 

Yesterday, the election for state governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general, plus several local positions, brought out a record number of voters in town for a non-presidential election. Whereas the first time around was a slow day (I even managed to get in a significant amount of work done on my then-current novel-in-progress), yesterday was busy, busy. Very little downtime, and quite a few hours on my feet, which I'm feeling a bit today.

 

The other officials on our team are all fantastic, consummate professionals, and I'm proud to serve with them in one of the most important democratic processes in this country. No matter who the members of our community voted for, it was my honor to be part of making their votes count.

WDBJ Channel 7 from Roanoke did a short segment about our election, and you can even get a quick glimpse of ye Old Dude in action in the video story. The link is here.

The Longest Day

Not to trivialize D-Day or anything, but for me, Tuesday, June 17th was one helluva long day. Since I retired, I've committed myself to more civic-minded activities, so this year, I signed on as an election officer for our district here in town. So, a couple of weeks ago, I went to training; on this past Monday, I went to the polling place (my former elementary school) to help set up; and on Tuesday, we had the Democratic Primary Election. So, I was up at 4:00 a.m. (after a night of almost no sleep), at the polling site at 5:00 a.m., and ready for voters at 6:00 a.m. Being a primary, there wasn't a massive turnout, but I sure got to know the ropes. I'll be working the November election as well (for numerous positions in Virginia, including governor). It promises to be far busier. The polls closed at 7:00 p.m., and afterward, it took most of an hour to break down and pack up all the equipment. I think I crashed around 10:00 p.m., which is far earlier than my usual bedtime. That made for a solid 22-hour day, given my lack of sleep the night before. Whew!

 

Regardless, it was a rewarding and enlightening experience. I was impressed by the professionalism and dedication of every member of this team. There was no question that all of us were committed to following all procedures to the letter and ensuring the accuracy of the final count at the end of the evening.

 

Much to my surprise, one of the election officers, Lanita Hall Herlem, is quite the fan of my writing (I think she owns all my books), so she bought copies of The House at Black Tooth Pond to give out to all the other election officers. Talk about going above and beyond! Many thanks to Lanita!

 

There were several extended periods with no activity during the day, so I spent those hours either walking to get in my daily steps, or writing (I made some forward progress on my as-yet-untitled sequel to Black Tooth Pond).

It was very cool to revisit my old elementary school (which is now the local city school administration building). I went to school there from first through sixth grades, and this was the first time I've seen much of its interior since I "graduated" (back in 1971).

 

Anyhoo, I'll be an election officer again in November. Something tells me I won't be fitting in quite as much writing, but I am actually looking forward to it.

 

Y'all be sure to get out and vote! 

A Challenge

Philosophically, I am in absolute agreement with my wife, Kimberly, whom I shall quote below. That said, if things transpire as they seem destined to, and she can't get the health insurance she needs, then the grudge I hold will be profound. And that's just one wee part that might affect us personally and gravely. Many, many others are going to be hurt, badly and so needlessly.

I'm going into this Trump presidency with exactly the same attitude I did the last one. People who have voted for Trump said he will make our lives better and the United States better. Prove it to me. And prove it to me with things that aren't already on the upswing...immigration is now at the same level as it was when Biden/Harris took over, inflation has slowed, and violent crime is down. (I've fact checked these statements with multiple sources.) So Trump ran on a platform that he would fix things that are already fixed. Prove it to me that he will improve my healthcare. Prove it to me that he won't be an authoritarian dictator who takes away the rights of so many people. Unlike many, I can absorb information and change my views according to that information. I'll be waiting for proof."—Kimberly Ann Brugger

There are a million issues I could talk about, vent about, but I fear it would be belaboring the obvious for anyone with eyes to see, and simply fatigue me further. I have no illusions that we, personally, as well as the entire country are going to have issues challenges to confront that we certainly would not if the election had gone the other way. But that's a non-issue now.

Yesterday, I headed out early to work the polls for local city council candidate — and winner — Julian Mei, an acquaintance of mine who I believe will be a fine shot of tonic for Martinsville. There were five candidates for three positions, and sadly, the other two were not his first choices (or mine), but I believe the council will still be in a much better place in the coming year.

Last night, Brugger and I went to Wild Magnolia, one of our local pubs, to watch the city council election results and hang out with some of the candidates. It was, as you might expect, both rewarding and disappointing.

Today, my stress/anxiety level is down some from yesterday simply because certain unknowns are now known. There are plenty of unknowns to come, but we'll just have to deal with them as they come down the pike. This morning, I had business to take care of at the bank in uptown, so once that was done, I took a long, relaxing walk partly through town and partly on the nearby Dick & Willie Trail. The temperature out there is ridiculously warm for November (yet climate change is "not our problem!"), but some of the foliage remains purty.