Getting Old Isn't All Bad

Most days, I say or hear --or both-- some reason that getting old sucks.

Last week, I got a bit emotional telling my daughter that I had realized another great thing about aging. The longer I live, the more I realize how much people influenced my life. Often, even though I appreciated everything everyone did for me all along, the significance of their contribution didn't become apparent until much later. The people who brought out the emotions last week were the pharmachists I had worked with at the hospital. And talking about them led to my appreciation of the dietitians, and the poor daughter had to listen to me recount the entire staff because that's what we do in this family. 

One of the benefits of being an employee at the hospital was that I could fill presecriptions while at work, and I got a discount on anything that wasn't covered by my insurance. The added benefit of working with the pharmacists on committees was that I got to know them well enough to ask for advice and they'd either hang around after meetings or join me for lunch and share their knowledge and advice.  

As I went through years of new symptoms, and new diagnoses, and an assortment of doctors trying to guess what to do with me, I discussed every new prescription, in depth, with a pharmacist. Together, the they and I ruled out most of them after weighing benefits against probablity of side effects that would require a new drug to treat it, and more side effects requiring more drugs . . .  

Together, the pharmacy staff and I developed my no drugs unless they are necessary to keep me alive policy. And I found doctors willing to work with me on my terms.

Those pharmacists undoubtedly saved my life. That didn't occur to me until decades later so even if it's possible to track them down and thank them now, they probably don't even remember me.

Tonight, as I loaded my prescriptions into daily dose slots so I will know immediately if I miss a day, I realized it's a good thing I never considered pharmacy as a career choice. I really do hate that chore.

Not being able to remember if I took my meds last night is one of the sucky parts of getting old.

Straaaaaaawberries, Strawberries, Can I Get Them From Amazon?

When I was young, Sealtest paid Mr. Shane to come to our back porch, pick up our empty bottles, and place our standing dairy order into a little cooler provided by the company for this purpose. Another guy came to the front door with huge cans of potato chips and fresh bread. Donaldson, I believe, was the company that provided this. National Food Service came twice a year and stocked the huge freezer and shelves in the basement with meat, cheese, frozen and canned goods, and laundry products. A Fuller Brush guy came to the door with cleaning tools and first aid supplies. In season, a guy walked down the street shouting straaaaawwwwwberries, strawberries and ice cream trucks came by a couple of times a day. I have no idea who Mr. Morris worked for but he showed up about once a month, much like Mr. Haney on Green Acres, with an assortment of things like dishes, sweaters . . . if I had to guess, I'd think maybe a Fingerhut sorta place. And, once a year, the company that sold us the encyclopedias sent someone by to see if we wanted the annual yearbook update of things that happened after our encyclopedia was printed.

A person like me - disabled, poor, unreliable transportation and hips - could almost get everything she needed without leaving home. Wednesday, I bought a birthday gift for Kaia. Today, it was delivered to my door. I could have bought almost anything I want, including all of the grocery items I mentioned above, the same way I bought the birthday gift.

Amazon did NOT take jobs away from Mr. Shane, Mr. Morris, the strawberry man, the Fuller Brush man, or any of these people. Those jobs were gone decades ago because people stopped being at home and wanting the services. Everyone preferred to drive to a bunch of places, supporting Shell, Exxon, BP - and destroying the planet. Now, Amazon (and many others) are providing ways to fix this even for people who aren't at home to answer the door or run out the door as the case may be with the strawberry man and ice cream trucks.

Another company that is far less socially responsible than Amazon ran small businesses out of town decades ago and they still get more praise and business than Amazon, much of it from people demonizing Amazon. 

Shouldn't we at least stop to think who might be behind demonizing them?

I am a fan of Jeff Bezos because and hope to make you wonder why people demonize him, and others jumping right on without researching or thinking. He pays a $15 minimum wage, provides benefits (including tuition), and takes a small salary, despite being one of the wealthiest people on the planet. He thumbed his nose at a blackmailer and stands up to critics. Amazon tells us which other companies offer the same product for less, lets us to one-stop-shopping even if the product will be shipped from another company. There might be something(s) to criticize but not one of them isn't true about many other companies that aren't being constantly scrutinized and demonized, some of whom are not nearly as responsible. Take GE, for example. They get huge tax breaks from cities/states, don't pay their fair share in taxes (if any at all), and instead of increasing wages and jobs, they cut jobs and wages. 

You don't even want to get me started on Humana. 

We  have so many much bigger problems than Amazon. Until we expect the same from every company, I think we need to stop hating on Bezos and Amazon. And even then, I'm not sure there's a reason to hate them.

If nothing else, I promise to make people think. 

Reading with Sandy - National Review on Kavanaugh

Words in black belong to Matthew Continetti

My words are in red

All the Kavanaugh coverage has been intended to undermine his tenure and lay the predicate for structural reform of the U.S. judiciary.  The words “has been intended” were added to make it look as though the Kavanaugh coverages does not  . . .

It is impossible to separate the latest attack on Justice Brett Kavanaugh from the political strategy of the Democratic party. I guess we can assume that McConnell’s use of ‘A G E N D A’ wasn’t working well enough so they’ve upgraded to ‘political strategy’ but what will happen when people talk about the BRILLIANT [SIC] political strategy of McConnell? Are they taking a risk here, or assuming that their base will remain totally inconsistent?  On September 16, two days after the New York Times’ “Sunday Review” section told of another allegation of sexual misconduct during Kavanaugh’s college years, but this wasn’t anything new. Those of us paying attention knew about this during his hearing, when Republicans ‘rammed through’ (to use McConnell words) the vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation without allowing a thorough investigation or witnesses to testify  Axios AM, an online newsletter, described Democratic CREDIT WHERE DO – THIS AUTHOR USES DEMOCRATIC INSTEAD OF DEMOCRAT  plans “to portray President Trump, Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell as the three villains defining the three branches of government for the 2020 campaign.” The reasoning: “Each of these white men, they will argue, symbolizes Republican corruption and rule-bending.”  Democrats aren’t portraying this, Trump, Kavanaugh, and McConnell have demonstrated this– PROVEN it beyond reasonable doubt – made it so blatantly obvious that anyone who isn’t in a coma surely had to see it.

Because opinions of Trump do not change, the Democrats have decided to rally their base against the two other “white men.” I am quite certain that Democrats didn’t need to rally the base, whether or not opinions of Trump change, because we are intelligent and concerned, whether or not whichever Democrats this author is crediting point it out to us. That is why all the major Democratic presidential candidates except for Joe Biden and Amy Klobuchar called for Kavanaugh’s impeachment after the publication of the Times essay. Says who? It is why the media gave the accusation, heard by reporters secondhand, saturation coverage. Ummm, no, define saturation. How does the number of articles and minutes of network news coverage of this issue compare to all of the other issues in these few days? And it is why Ayanna Pressley, a member of the “Squad,” introduced a resolution to start an impeachment investigation. Oh, not a bit hilarious that this guy invokes the buzz-word Squad, to piss off both Republicans and sane Democrats who know that no matter how hard Republican media tries to convince people they are the voice of the party, it’s so far from truth that anyone with any sense would stop reading right here.

Democrats are not dissuaded by the fact that Kavanaugh and the Court unite the conservative movement and Republican party like no other figure and issue. WTAF does this even mean? Like no other figure and issue? I’m willing to bet the majority of Republican voters can’t spell Kavanaugh or pick him out of a lineup. What counts to them is the Democratic base, not the Republican one. Anger, outrage, and animosity whip up voters, boost enthusiasm, and drive people to the polls. See my banner and hear this admission.

Nor does it matter to the activist Left if the source of the allegation did not speak to the Times; if the alleged victim does not recall the incident; if the Times accompanied its story with a weird and gross tweet that it later deleted; if everyone involved in the publication of the essay turned on each other in an orgy of blame-shifting and buck-passing; if one of the authors resorted to sharing Vox articles on social media to rationalize her behavior. The goal is neither objectivity nor factuality. It is delegitimization. Oh, nice use of semicolons. If I still owned the semi colon group, I would give this guy a badge. Pathetic use of another misused buzzword –activist—one of the words that Trump and McConnell use to incite violence against people who get involved in trying to save this country from them. The rest of this paragraph is utter bushit. Even IF a victim doesn’t remember the crime committed against her, if witnesses saw it, it counts. Actually, even if no one saw it, it counts.

All the Kavanaugh coverage for the last year has been intended to undermine his confirmation and subsequent rulings and lay the predicate for structural reform of the U.S. judiciary if the Democrats win the presidency and Senate. No shit, Sherlock? That’s the purpose of vetting sexual abuses and liars so they don’t get on the court.

You really should just stop reading here. At this point, it’s more than obvious that you should not trust a word this author says.

But, since it is my responsibility to keep a certain ratio of my own words to those of this irresponsible, dishonest, unethical, sorry excuse for a journalist, I will keep typing words to make sure he can’t sue me.

The disastrous nothing disastrous about it – and it obviously concerns Republican fake-news writers like this guy, or he wouldn’t have spent all of this time writing all of these stupid words about it. Unless, of course, he’s afraid that a Republican or two considered trying to think a little and he wanted to tell that person or two exactly what he/they are supposed to think . . .  rollout of this latest smear DICTIONARY needs to pay this guy a visit because he clearly doesn’t understand the meaning of the word ‘smear’ has had the ironic effect of highlighting the weakness of the original charges against him. Author Ryan Lovelace uncovered footage of Christine Blasey Ford’s attorney, Debra Katz, saying that the desire to put “an asterisk” next to Kavanaugh’s decisions “motivated” her client to come forward. Holy shit! You don’t say? An ASTERISK?! Has anyone filed charges, or attempted to have her disbarred for her use of the ASTERISK? Does that compare to the use of a weapon-of-mass-destruction by a homegrown, radicalized, Republican terrorist who wants to shoot up an elementary school, movie theater, grocery store, or church? If so, I vote to remove all guns and asterisks from our society.  Authors Mollie Hemingway and Carrie Severino report that Blasey Ford’s friend Leland Keyser did not believe her story and does not recall meeting Kavanaugh. Blasey Ford’s father, who along with Blasey Ford’s mother was noticeably absent from last year’s hearing, is reported to support Kavanaugh. There is not a single corroborating witness to Blasey Ford’s account, and the “seven witnesses” to Deborah Ramirez’s story are less than they seem. Know what else is less than it seems? The qualifications of this fake-news writer to publish in the real world.

NOW WATCH: 'Trump Urges Kavanaugh To Sue New York Times For Libel'

Watch: 0:47

Trump Urges Kavanaugh To Sue New York Times For Libel

The Kavanaugh controversy is not, as one reporter for the Washington Post described it, a “journalistic mishap.” Nor is this trash a journalistic mishap. It would have to climb a ladder qualify for a checkout lane rack. It is a case of Democratic activists and lawmakers using journalists precisely as intended: as instruments of a political agenda. SEE MY BANNER. This guy needs a priest if he is going to keep confessing at this rate. Democrats are much more aware than Republicans that the very survival of their party depends on the maintenance of the “living Constitution,” as opposed to the Constitution as written and subsequently amended. The courts have been the Democrats’ backstop. If Donald Trump transforms them, liberals would have to reckon with the voting public.  There are no words to describe how hideously ridiculous this is. If I had the stomach for it, I would read a few more articles published by this guy just to see if he uses these same canned lies in all of them. I’m betting he does. Things could get ugly. Is this a threat? A nudge to your thugs and militias?

If the judiciary were to overturn Roe, end affirmative action, roll back the administrative state, protect the Second Amendment, and limit congressional power to regulate interstate commerce, American politics would look vastly different, and the constituent groups of the Democratic party would be radically disempowered. Bullshit. But you know what would happen? Republican women would be furious when they couldn’t get abortions. Children and husbands would be sad when their mothers and wives/mates died in childbirth. Republicans who have a bunch of kids they don’t want and can’t afford would need even more food stamps and Medicaid than they’re already getting . . . Shit could get real real. Not much would change since law-breaking, killing Republicans would find some way to kill, with or without guns to kill each other and anyone else who gets in their way. And, sooner or later, when Republicans have no jobs, they’re going to realize they’ve been duped by jerks like this guy misleading the about EVERYTHING. That is why the Democrats have responded so fiercely to nominations of conservatives to the bench, beginning with Judge Robert Bork in 1987. They know the stakes. LIAR LIAR LIAR. You are a fool for not having enough pride to stop you from making a fool of yourself in writing this way.

They also understand that sentiment and social position matter much more to the new woke progressivism than fact, evidence, and due process. Seriously, it takes guts to make this big a fool of yourself. For the Left, Kavanaugh is a symbol of structural racism and the patriarchy, the cool kid in high school envied and loathed by outsiders. Democrats don’t think liars and sexual abusers are cool. We don’t envy monsters who have no self-control or self-esteem. He must be projecting.  Accusations against him are “credible” No, they are credible (stupid use of quotation marks) because they are true. simply because he is the target. Only by confessing his privilege and repenting for his beliefs would Kavanaugh gain absolution and relief. The high price he and his family have had to pay for replacing Justice Anthony Kennedy also acts as a deterrent. Some judges may now think twice before accepting a nomination to the Court. Thanks for reminding us that Kennedy also needs to be investigated. Kavanaugh’s family is paying the price OF HIS CRIMES and poor character.

“Mankind is an incorrigibly myth-making species,” wrote James Burnham in 1958. “It is marvelous to observe how, in the history of great struggles that seem too complex for rational understanding, the participants invariably find an outward and visible symbol by which to express the essential meaning.” Brett Kavanaugh has been put in such a position. He is a stand-in for the crisis of legitimacy that is coursing through our institutions, as an emboldened cultural progressivism seeks to upend traditional understandings of American history and citizenship.

The irrepressible conflict over his office testifies to the overwhelming power of the judiciary, and to the tenuous nature of the rights the Court has invented over the last 50-odd years. Kavanaugh matters because he is a living reminder that the threat to the Founders’ Constitution comes from a left willing to break rules, and lives, to achieve social transformation.

Matthew Continetti is editor in chief of the Washington Free Beacon and a fellow at the National Review Institute. @continetti

Stop the Stupid: Professional Protesting and Petitioning Edition

 In response to 60 Minutes tweeting a promotion for #Megxit, what appears to be a smear piece about how Meghan Markle has, ‘lost her sparkle’, a wheel-spinning pro jumped in to suggest a campaign to alert the advertisers. The response tweet also pointed out that 60 Minutes is, “second, third, and fourth-hand interpretations,” and called it "gutter reporting."

I agree that second, third, and fourth-hand recounts or interpretations fall in the gutter reporting category and rage about it often. But, instead of creating a petition, protest, or boycott of the advertisers, I boycott the program, publication, or network (if the problem is across the board) that produced the gutter reporting. 

My question to the response was: Why boycott advertising instead of the program or networks airing it?

To which a third person said:

“Because advertising is where the money is and this isn’t a boycott its making sure companies become aware of the content they are paying to support, they can then decide for themselves- racism & misogyny should not be profitable” (copied exactly as written, spellcheck)

I replied:

You think those companies aren’t aware, or that the network won’t replace them with new deplorables? Or, you want to make this a lifetime of spinning wheels?

The person who wisely doesn’t use a real name ignored me and promised everyone else a list of advertisers to tweet. Smiley faces and flowers followed.

Now, the Like/Share/Follow people who resist in hashtag only will cover Twitter, for months, with reminders to like and share tweets (and remember to follow the #resistor who shares tweets but doesn’t resist watching) to each of those advertisers asking them to kindly refrain from supporting 60 Minutes. No doubt, these advertisers have already been asked a zillion tweets worth to kindly refrain from supporting other irresponsible media. And, when they finally caved to the people giving them all of this free advertising and pulled their ads, enjoyed the profits flood of purchases the #resistance made to show gratitude – until they have to repeat the entire process when they move their ads to another program, and new people advertise on the irresponsible program that has just been accused of being racist and misogynistic, making twice as many tweets to like and share.

Is your head spinning? Mine does, too, every time I watch it.

Meanwhile, 60 Minutes continues as they were, with people who resist in hashtag only still watching. My logic says that you support both the people you call racist misogynists and their advertisers when you continue watching, reading, clicking, or in any way giving attention to what they produce. Is there a flaw in my logic?

Replace 60 Minutes  with CNN, MSNBC, The Hill . . .  Same accusations, same spinning wheels, same people, different day.

Stop the Stupid – Primary 2020 Edition

The ‘only this person can beat Trump/McConnell’ attempt at manipulating voters should anger everyone. It’s a glaring attempt at manipulation by media and by certain campaigns, as well as by party leaders in some cases.

Before I get to the presidential primary, I will focus on the Senate primary in Kentucky, since nominating the most qualified candidate to run against McConnell is equally (if not more) important as finding the right candidate to clean up Trump’s disasters. The best Democrat in the White House (remember Barack Obama?) doesn’t stand a fair chance unless McConnell is gone from the Senate (remember Barack Obama?).

Recently, a candidate who was reportedly hand-picked by Chuck Schumer  announced she was running in Kentucky’s Senate primary to replace McConnell. She rolled out this big announcement on Morning Joe. Yeah. MORNING JOE, one of the most RW, irresponsible, examples we have of punditry posing as news. MORNING JOE on MSNBC, the network that did everything they possibly could to help team Sanders/Trump/Putin in 2016 and gives Joe Scarborough, registered Republican until 2017 when he switched to independent, the hours of 6 - 9 a.m., Monday through Friday for his TALK SHOW instead of real early morning news. The network that always helps GOP in election season and then feigns outrage after they succeed to recover viewers who might have caught on, and to retain people who join them in the practice of self-fulfilling prophecy. 

Adding to my skepticism about choosing Morning Joe for a rollout is the fact that this candidate didn’t register as a Democrat until 2017 (just like Joe), when she wanted to run on our ticket for another race, which she lost. Her husband, who worked her first campaign, didn’t even change his registration to vote for her in the primary and still hasn’t as far as I can find.

Worse than any of this, on her first day, she said she would have voted to confirm Kavanaugh and indicated that she was sympathetic toward Trump because McConnell stood in his way. Yes. McConnell, who paved the way, provided his tabled agenda, loaded the courts, blocked President Obama’s attempt to warn citizens that Russia was compromising the election, and abetted Trump every single step of the way. She actually did that and was dubbed a Trump Democrat [sic - it hurts me to type those words together because that is an oxymoron]. After receiving appropriate outrage in response to her statements, she tried to walk them back later, saying she hadn’t been fully aware of the Kavanaugh problems. This tells me she is totally unqualified. My grandchildren were more informed so her lack of involvement is inexcusable to me.

So, who do you think sent her supposed record-winning donations that first night? 

1. Irresponsible Democrats who don’t have a single clue about a primary?

2. People with money to burn who thought she looked like as good as any fire to toss it on? 

3. Responsible, thinking, informed Democrats who think the early bird gets the worm? 

4. People who had fully vetted every potential candidate and believed she was the best?

5. People who know how easy she would be to beat if she wins the nomination, and how difficult that record amount would be for other primary candidates to compete with?

Remember, we’re stopping the stupid here. Look at those choices again and decide which make the most sense.

At the time McGrath rolled out her DOA (pronounced by ME campaign), Steve Cox had already announced. He had a website, linked to google search, and a video of a more-impressive interview than hers without the shockingly wrong Trump and Kavanaugh supporting blunders. Yet, when I ask people who sing her praises because, “She was on MSNBC!”, they know nothing about him and aren’t the least bit interested in learning anything about him.

Since then, Jimmy Ausbrooks, Mike Broihier, and Benny Smith have announced, and two others are considering. I’ve looked at all of them and consider each to be a better choice than Schumer’s and media's pick. I will also say that from all I’ve seen (which is very little because he has been totally ignored by media who are pushing Schumer’s pick) Broihier seems far more able to win and to represent Kentucky and the country in the Senate, as does Jones, who is still considering. (Update: I was present to hear Broihier say he wouldn't have considered voting to confirm Kavanaugh.) 

Why are people allowing media to manipulate them?

            And then there’s the 2020 Democratic Party presidential race primary, where the same is happening. Democrats are openly allowing themselves to be manipulated by media and rhetoric.

               If we stop the stupid, the truth is, any candidate can beat Trump if we get out the vote. So, the wisest thing would be to carefully evaluate the pros and cons of all primary candidates. Discuss. Reflect. Think. Cast an informed vote for the candidate who will fight for what will best serve the most people concerned. 

               Demand responsible media who give all candidates equal time without pundits ‘shoulding’ on them and their campaigns, pimping push polls, presenting survey/poll questions as news, etc. And choose the candidate who can fix this mess. We don’t have the ridiculous ‘it’s only four years’ that people always use to blow off the possibility of an error in judgment. The world is literally burning and blowing away, babies are dying in cages, women are being told to accept rape and unwanted pregnancies as an expected part of life, education is in the toilet, and this country is hanging by a thread as I type.

I Know Something You Don’t Know

When I see a recurring lapse in critical thinking, it seems obvious to me that maybe it’s something we should all talk about and see if we can’t tune-up our collective critical thinking skills. The problem I will address is one that first hit me hard years ago, that I addressed twice yesterday with two different groups of people, and that has bothered me the years between.

The experience that hit me hard was one in which a woman, who had followed for years but said little in an internet group, posted a long, in-depth character assessment of about twenty of the group’s most active members. She claimed she had observed and written this as a class project. For the most part, I agreed with her assessments of others, so I was relieved and flattered by her complimentary words about me.

One member decided, since the words about me were more positive than the assessments of others, the only explanation was that I had pretended to be the student writing the paper. Anyone the least bit familiar with me knows that I speak my mind and would have no desire to hide my opinions behind a fake name. How could that have been lost on her? Not only did she decide and state that, she spent days insisting – INSISTING REPEATEDLY IN EVERY WAY SHE COULD FIND TO SCREAM IT – that she knew, positively, that it was me.

My last words to her on this or any topic were: You have made a fool of yourself and you must now live with the tormented doubt that I know something you don’t know. I absolutely know that I did not write this, and you can’t possibly know if I did or didn’t.

At least half of the group sided with her. Years later, the woman who posted it admitted that she had posed as two members in the group, a male and a female. The male character she played was her husband, who had no idea. ‘He’ and been a close friend of mine, who private messaged me constantly to talk about topics from the group, about his problems in his marriage, about our kids (who also were friends on the internet), and about the other women in the group who flirted with him despite knowing he had a wife. A couple of those women also talked privately with me about their crushes on him. The real wife, of course, knew all of these conversations because she was posing as him. She also called me on the phone often, but I didn’t know she was posing as him at the time.

The ‘damage’ was only to me and I honestly don’t consider it damage. Losing friends who didn’t believe in me in the first place wasn’t much of a loss. Finding out Kyle never really existed and was his wife’s pretend character on an internet site was funny to me. I had no reason to be ashamed because I had advised Kyle wisely on how to deal with his marital problems instead of trying to lure him away from his wife.

But, when this same lapse in critical thinking enters political discussions the damage can lead to conclusions that are life and death for people, or that result in babies locked in cages to die, or activists wearing targets on their backs for militias that have been incited to 2A them. It matters. There should be no game playing, misinforming, refusal to think things through, denial of truths in political discussions.

I stated a fact about a candidate yesterday. A woman mocked me. I said she was making a fool of herself and if that hadn’t been her goal, she might want to rethink and start over. She doubled down.

Someone else confirmed that she, too, had seen exactly what I said I had seen. The woman was unkind to her, too. This went back and forth a few times so I googled, and delivered the words from the candidate’s Wikipedia page, with the comment STILL THERE.

The woman who had supported me told the one who had mocked me that she should probably apologize. I honestly wanted her to say, “Oh my gosh, I really didn’t know this, thanks for telling me.” Something like that. Instead, she blocked me.

Within an hour, I was on another page where someone was insisting that the same candidate had not done what someone claimed she had. A couple of people said they had seen it. Like the mocking woman, he doubled down. Someone suggested he google it because it was out there to find if he wanted. His response was, “I work with her. I know more about her than you do.”

My response this time was to remind him that, no matter how close you are to someone, you don’t necessarily know everything about that person. He could just ask anyone whose mate had cheated to realize how true this is. But ‘I know something you don’t know’ is apparently something he believes he can hide from if he wants.

On a positive note, another person just said to me, “Oh Yikes. I definitely need to research her. Thanks for the information.” And restored my faith that there are people who will seek truth – she neither grabbed my words and ran with them nor denied them. She said the word research and made my day.

Please defend truth and critical thinking so they don’t disappear.

Real Hit Me Hard Today

Real hit me hard today. It doesn’t seem like very much or very many people are real to me right now.

One thing I know for sure – as real as it can possibly get – is that Mitch McConnell does not care if a zillion people stand in downtown Louisville if he isn’t in downtown Louisville, or if they march on Washington, even when he’s in Washington, unless they block his office door or stand between him and his car. Or if they drive a caravan around the country ten times talking about him or gun control. 

HE DOES NOT CARE because none of that affects him personally.

• Your safety does not affect him personally. 
• Your health does not affect him personally. 
• Your wellbeing does not affect him personally. 
• Your fear of guns killing you or your children does not affect him personally.

Nothing you do bothers him personally unless you make it bother him personally.

‘Moscow Mitch’ apparently bothered him personally and I can only guess that it scared him because it hit home and he fears prison. It bothered him enough to knock him off balance, maybe literally since he took a fall shortly after letting his emotional discomfort show in a speech on the senate floor. And while he was off balance, some real people decided to take the fight home to him.

A real woman – someone who is real and does real things every day, a real cofounder and core organizer of Black Lives Matter Louisville live streamed to what she thought was a controlled group and was overheard using profanity in what most people would have laughed off as a joke.

Within hours, the live stream was leaked and Mitch and his fake news network had managed to smear this real woman. And, as everyone should know, when McConnell and his party purposely smear people it is with the intention to incite violence against them. Funny how a word can offend Mitch more than multiple mass murders, climate change, knowledge of a stolen election and the vulnerability of our system that means there will likely be another, the placement of suspected rapists in the White House and on the Supreme Court . . . 

No, not funny at all. Nor is it funny how instead of rushing to defend and support this real woman, the people with Black Lives Matter yard signs, and people who swear they’ll do anything to see that Mitch McConnell is out of office soon, and all of those, “Just stop with the thoughts and prayers we want real action,” people, and the people who complain that Mitch just doesn’t hear us . . .  didn’t show up to defend or support the real woman who obviously found the way to get him to see and HEAR us, and managed to shake him up and prove that, when we are on his doorstep disrupting him personally, he notices.

The very next day – NEXT DAY – two groups decided to take their actions downtown where Mitch would not be and would not care because it would not personally reach him. HUNDREDS of people went where he wasn’t while ten people went to his doorstep, where he had at least three law enforcement officers waiting for each of them and more swarming the entire neighborhood. And the ten real people stayed for two hours to show him that they are serious about being heard even though they were warned not to make any noise this time.

I’m not going to pass a Black Lives Matter yard sign now without wondering if a real person who hadn’t seen any news or was sick or working that night lives in that house, or if an unreal person who just wanted a social life, or to be seen by other activists instead of having to actually DO SOMETHING real lives there.

I’m so confused about how people who cared about anything or anyone could show so little support for and defense of the person/people who were dragged by Mitch, GOP, Fake News, and fake people who feigned outrage over a word – and, once again, had targets put on their backs. *I* -- known for being fearless – realized and voiced the fact that I knew I might not make it home alive as we approached the house to stand with them. My sister-in-law said, "I'll take one for the team and my kids," and kept walking, too. I can’t imagine the strength it took for people whose skin colors made them even bigger targets to Mitch’s incited militias to be there, and I sure as hell won’t take my support for them, defense of them, or admiration away from them. As long as they go, I’ll be with them when physically able. Because I think it matters more than anything else I could do.

Unless Mitch McConnell loses this election, nothing anyone protests, thinks and prays about (or says the words thoughts and prayers about), stays awake to show concern for (or whatever words appropriately cover attending a vigil) will matter. He does not care and never will care how many people do any of those things that don’t affect him personally.

Groups that come TO Mitch’s hometown but don’t bother to go WHERE HE IS don’t convince me that they want to get a message to him. Or that they are real.