Tag Archives: Paul Pelosi

dreams, music, politicians, politics, slut shamers, social media

Strange morning dreams, and rude comments from MAGAts….

I’ve been having some interesting dreams lately. Yesterday morning, I dreamt that Richard Carpenter had quit playing music and become a dentist, and he was MY dentist. I don’t know how good Richard is at math and science, but based on his looks alone, I could totally see him as a dentist. But, because I do admire his piano skills so much, and I’m sorry I dreamt he changed careers, I decided to download a few of his solo albums. As I write this, I’m listening to this year’s Richard Carpenter’s Piano Songbook, in which he plays intricate piano instrumentals of his biggest hits with his sister, the late Karen Carpenter. And, as I write this, I realize I’m turning into my dad. This is the kind of thing he’d probably enjoy himself. He used to play Carpenters albums in the car when I was a kid. If I was lucky, that’s what he would play… otherwise, it would be straight up Muzak. Thankfully, I’m not that bad off yet. If I ever become a Muzak fan, please just put me out of my misery so I can be beamed out of this existence.

Then this morning, after I fell back to sleep after waking up at 4:00am, I had a dream that I went back to my parents’ former home and place of business in Gloucester, Virginia. Somehow, I had forgotten that they had sold it to Deborah, the lady who worked for my dad for about 20 years before he finally let her take over the business. Before Bill and I went to my old house, I dreamt we were at some kind of pond in Germany. I was standing on the shore, looking for fish. I saw a whole lot of them. One was a giant goldfish– size of a frying pan, which jumped out of the water and bit the air. A German woman standing next to me managed to get a shot of the magnificent leap. I was about to try to do the same, when all of a sudden, an iPad came flying through the air at me. It was somehow magnetized with a powerful force, causing it to stick to me and push me to the ground. I couldn’t get up.

Then, I was at my old house– Deborah’s current house– walking around, noticing how my mom’s needlework shop was full of kids’ bikes, and there was a water slide made of foam rubber cushion installed near the front porch. Just as I was about to try out the slide, I remembered it wasn’t my house. I figured we better leave, but as we were about to leave, a bunch of people showed up, claiming they were Deborah’s friends. They were an odd group– people who would be considered “weird” in many circles. I have no idea if Deborah has any friends who resembled the ones in my dream. There were also cops, and they wore black uniforms instead of the brown ones they wore when I lived in Gloucester. I should also note that Deborah, herself, was not in attendance.

That’s when I woke up for good… and I looked at Facebook on my iPad, and saw a bunch of notifications for comments people made to me last night, after I dared to post to Nancy Pelosi that I had already voted straight blue and wished her husband, Paul, a speedy recovery. Now… on the surface of it, I don’t see why this statement should have attracted rude and angry comments, and inappropriate reactions, from MAGA trolls. I don’t understand, either, why they are hanging out on Nancy Pelosi’s Facebook page, harassing her supporters and well-wishers. Even if I still voted Republican, I would wish Paul Pelosi a speedy recovery from the injuries he received at the hands of David DePape, an unhinged QAnon supporting person who broke into the Pelosis’ home and attacked her 82 year old husband with a hammer. Why wouldn’t I wish him, and his wife, well? That’s called just being a decent human being, don’t you think? He’s not in office himself. He’s just married to a high powered Democrat. No one deserves to be violently attacked, especially in their own home, but I don’t see why I should wish Paul Pelosi ill, simply because his wife is a powerful woman who pushes Democratic policies.

As for my votes, I figure I have every right as an American person over the age of 18 to choose the people I think will do the best for the country. I do not think that Republicans, especially as they are today, will do the best for America. Even if I believed that voting “red” would improve the economy and help people with their bills– and I don’t believe that, by the way– I have seen way too many people with questionable morals and narcissistic personalities running for office. Decent humans who actually care about others and want to do what is best for America are in very short supply in the Republican Party. Sorry… I just can’t align with folks like Lauren Boebert, Ron DeSantis, Marjorie Taylor (Greene), Matt Gaetz, Glenn Youngkin, Kari Lake, Greg Abbott, any Trump family member (besides Mary), or any of the other truly disgusting and hateful people who are stumping for the Republicans right now. I won’t do it, even if it means my stocks will finally go up again. Voting for decent, professional, caring people in leadership matters more to me than money does. I’ve been broke before, too… so I do know how important money is. But if bad people run the country, do you really think they will want me to hang on to money? My answer to that question is “no”.

I simply don’t believe that if the Republicans get all the power, they will make American better, let alone great. They are interested in enriching themselves and staying in power, PERIOD. So, because I have the ability to do so, and a functioning brain, I’m choosing NOT to vote for Republicans… probably ever again, if I’m honest. As a legal, law-abiding, adult American, that is MY call to make, just as it’s your call to vote for Republicans, if you want to do that. Leaving me horrible comments, especially on a Democrat leader’s Facebook page, is NOT going to change my mind. Laughing at me will only cause me to use my block button, because by laughing, you’ve shown that you don’t have any respect for me, anyway. So why would I want to read anything you post or see your profile picture? We have nothing in common.

I don’t make a habit of following social media pages made by Republicans. I don’t sit there and harass Republican voters for leaving supportive messages for their candidates. Frankly, I’ve got better things to do with my time. In fact, as an American, I believe that everyone has the right to vote their conscience. I am also smart enough to know that if I was inclined to try to change people’s political beliefs, I’d likely get further by being nice about it, rather than being insulting. Too bad some of these MAGA trolls aren’t busier making their lives more fulfilling somehow. Maybe they should go to church or something.

I totally agree with Beau on this. The Republican Party is not about helping the people. It’s about money and power, and they WILL come after yours, even if you vote for them.

I was telling Bill about my strange dreams, and he was especially interested in the one about the iPad that was so powerful that it was holding me down to the ground. What a concept! I spend too much time online, and way too much time being irritated by social media. I don’t like all liberal ideas, and would actually rather have the choice to vote for more moderate candidates who have chances to win. But I prefer liberal agendas to the truly distasteful fascism I’ve seen coming from the right wing these days. I’d rather vote for “woke” policies, even if I don’t really like the whole “woke” thing, where women have privacy and bodily autonomy, than align with people who cheer for guns as they try to force women to gestate at all costs. And as they force women to stay pregnant when they don’t want to be, can’t afford to be, or it’s not safe for them to be, they offer no solutions or support to those women, or the babies they will birth. All they do is slut shame. I think access to abortion and healthcare privacy are both very important, so I will always vote for candidates who support that. I care much more about already BORN people. The MAGA trolls can just fuck off.

I am glad to spend another year abroad. This year, on Election Day, I will see James Taylor perform. I have had tickets for his Frankfurt show for awhile now. We were going to see him in February of this year, but COVID numbers were too high then. It looks like the show will still be going on this Tuesday, and we have second row seats. This may be my last time seeing James perform in person, so I look forward to that. It will be a nice diversion from the disasters at home in the United States. Hopefully, my dreams then will be inspired by James Taylor, rather than MAGA morons.

ETA: Sadly, James Taylor had to postpone again. COVID has invaded the band.

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politicians, politics, true crime, Trump

Today’s politics are scarier and more violent than ever…

Yesterday, I heard about how yesterday, Paul Pelosi, the 82 year old husband of Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, was attacked by an unhinged intruder in their San Francisco home. The intruder, allegedly 42 year old David DePape, reportedly screamed “Where is Nancy?” repeatedly before he struck a man almost twice his age in the head with a hammer.

While it’s not lucky that Mr. Pelosi was attacked by a psychopath in his own home, it is fortunate that he was able to call for help before the violent attack began. Police arrived at the Pelosi home at about 2:30am and witnessed Paul Pelosi and DePape both holding a hammer. The attacker was able to get the hammer away from Mr. Pelosi and began savagely hitting him with it. The police immediately tackled the barbarian home intruder, disarmed him, and arrested his ass. While the police have not said what the motive for the attack was, I think it’s pretty clear that it was an intentional attack, rather than random. That guy meant to murder Nancy Pelosi, who was in Washington, DC. Instead, he beat her husband– an 82 year old man– with a hammer.

The suspect had entered the house and attempted to tie up Mr. Pelosi until Nancy Pelosi got home. Mr. Pelosi told the intruder that he needed to use the restroom. That was when he called 911 and left the line open so the dispatcher could hear what was happening. The dispatcher was able to think quickly enough to figure out what was happening and sent the police.

This story is chilling. Donald Trump has blood on his hands.

It’s hard to imagine any decent person responding to this story with anything but disgust and outrage. Unfortunately, the Republican Governor of my home state of Virginia, the disgraceful Glenn Youngkin, had this to say about the attack on Paul Pelosi:

“Speaker Pelosi’s husband had a break-in last night in their house, and he was assaulted. There’s no room for violence anywhere, but we’re gonna send her back to be with him in California. That’s what we’re going to go do.”

I wonder what Youngkin would say if someone broke into his house and beat the hell out of his wife with a hammer, looking for him. His response should have been one of empathy and disgust, and nothing else. What’s very sad about Youngkin’s inappropriate comment is that some people are no doubt cheering him on. He won’t pay a price for making such a tasteless, unkind remark. The Republican Party, egged on by the vile Donald Trump, who literally ordered his followers to “fight like hell” on January 6, 2021, has become a gross distortion of what it once was.

While it’s true that many people on either side of the political spectrum believe that the other side is going to destroy the country, there are quite a few of us who are moderates that would like to see things get back to normalcy. I hate to read about crazy, politically motivated criminals plotting to kidnap governors who are just trying to do their jobs. I hate reading about police officers abusing their power because of politics. I hate reading about family members of political leaders being viciously attacked in their own homes. That’s the kind of thing that happens in what Trump would call “shithole countries”.

As for Paul Pelosi, he is now recovering from a fractured skull. He also has injuries to his right arm and both hands. He is, fortunately, expected to make a full recovery in spite of the scary, violent attack… physically, anyway. I’m sure psychologically getting over this attack is going to take more time. Maybe more time than he has left in his lifetime. Mr. DePape, who is also currently hospitalized, is now facing charges of attempted murder of Mr. Pelosi, as well as charges of assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and several other felonies, according to San Francisco Police Chief William Scott. I hope they throw the fucking book at that guy. He doesn’t belong in a free society.

Naturally, in the wake of the attack, the press has been looking into DePape’s online activities. Sure enough, they’ve found lots of evidence that Mr. DePape is a right wing, QAnon nut, with plenty of anti-semitic posts on social media in which he denies the Holocaust and makes false allegations of election fraud. He refers to far-right Web sites, conspiracy theories, and right wing blogs. He’s well known to the police, as he was also a nudist activist who promoted quartz crystals and hemp, and once declared himself a member of the Green Party.

The funny thing is, DePape is a Canadian who grew up in British Columbia before invading the United States. He’s estranged from his family. I suspect he probably has a mental illness, which means maybe I should show compassion. But his crime makes me very angry. I think of my own father, who died at age 81, and was very frail and suffered from dementia. I didn’t always get along with my dad. In fact, I had a disturbing dream about him this morning in which he had morphed into a young Chinese man and was berating me for writing a blog. Still, senseless violence, particularly when it’s directed at children, pets, or the elderly, really pisses me off.

This isn’t the first time Nancy Pelosi has been targeted by criminal right wing zealots due to her work in politics. On January 6, 2021, her office was one that was ransacked by the lunatics who attacked the Capitol building. This isn’t to say that people on the left haven’t sometimes gone unhinged. On the other hand, I remember the actress and comedian Kathy Griffin got canceled simply for holding up a picture of Donald Trump’s bloody head. I don’t condone what Griffin did. Violence isn’t cool. But no one actually got hurt by that stunt. I see she was also condemned by Democrats for doing that. The same right wing idiots who sent Griffin, and her mother, death threats about a mere picture of Trump are now actually hurting real people. I find it depressing and scary… and it really makes me ashamed of my country.

What is especially gross are the people who are laughing about this. When I did a search for David DePape on Facebook, the first result that came up was from some shithead who was making a joke about this event. I honestly can’t understand the mindset of someone who would laugh about an 82 year old man being violently and viciously attacked in his own home, simply due to his wife’s politics. It’s disgusting and abhorrent. Do these people really think their actions make America better? Because as an American living abroad, watching this unfold makes me think I don’t ever want to go back there.

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