This Week's Quote

Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress, delivering a decisive rebuke of Republican governance in Washington and ushering in a new era of congressional resistance to President Donald Trump.

Tuesday’s midterm elections laid bare voters’ deep frustrations over high prices, the Iran war and concerns over government corruption. Democrats routed their rivals across the map, flipping states that have voted Republican for decades and that Trump won by double digits just two years ago.

Jill Colvin, Mary Clare Jalonick and Will Weissert

Source:  The Associated Press

The Day Before

Image:  Facebook

In his final speech before Election Day, Donald Trump chose to show off the Reflecting Pool. He couldn't be more out of touch with voters' concerns if he lived on Tatooine.

Over in Ohio, Donald Trump Jr. warned a Toledo crowd that Democrats "want to make Ohio a state."

Can we as a nation finally admit that being led by this mediocre clan doesn't cut the mustard?

Okay, ketchup?

Reckoning?

Image:  Facebook

Some of us have hated Donald Trump for a long time. We're experts. Virtuosos, even.

But it's the MAGA folks, and others who saw fit to vote for him in 2024, who absorb me now, days before the midterm elections.

If they voted for Trump because he promised not to take the country to war, well, that ain't Jenga we're playing with Iran.

If they supported him because he pledged to reduce prices on day one, his war—see above—and tariffs have done the opposite. Inflation is up, and gas has risen higher than Trump's ego.

Those were two of his biggest promises in 2024. Two years later, he hasn't just broken them, he's exploded them. Trump has effectively given all Americans the bird.

Are Trumpers still glad they voted for him instead of the scary black woman?

On the other hand, if they chose Trump because he vowed to erase transgender people, they're downright giddy right now. Their small problem is that hate doesn't fill a gas tank.

Not Real, But Still Outstanding

 

Hoop Nightmares

Image:  Facebook

Although my team didn't make it to the WNBA finals—my team never left the cellar, actually—I've been faithfully watching these exciting finals between the Atlanta Dream and the Golden State Valkyries.

This morning I checked the newspaper listings for which channel today's game would be on. The contest was slated to run on USA . . . and Syfy.

I know we're in the Halloween season, but it seems like a lot to ask of the players that while dribbling downcourt they suddenly sprout tentacles.

This Week's Quote

Image:  Facebook

I couldn't tolerate seeing kids come to class hungry and needing shoes. I thought I could do more by organizing farm workers than by trying to teach their hungry children.

Dolores Huerta (1930-2026)

Source:  Brainy Quote

Hey, Kids, Let's Put on a Show!

Image:  Facebook

Now I get it.

I've been mystified by Donald Trump's insistence on barnstorming the country prior to the midterms, only to spend time talking to his audiences about such compelling national concerns as the rumps of Jon Husted and Nicki Minaj.

Last night the political experts on the "PBS News Hour" clarified things for me. Trump is a showman, said Tamara Keith. "This is a two-hour weave-filled show that is part comedy routine, part body humor, part campaign message."

"This is not designed to win over swing voters, these rallies," explained Amy Walter. "They are for the people who are in the audience and designed to get the response that they got."

She noted that normally a president with a 38 percent approval rating would be hiding out in the White House john, avoiding the campaign trail, but that's not Trump.

So he's a hambone and an impresario, the modern P.T. Barnum. Makes me wonder what kind of a butt Barnum had.