Not everyone does, of course. I'm just not sure what happened to the ones in the middle. Seems like people are either over here on the left, with me, or waaaaaay over there on the right, waving their Confederate flags and wearing their "Don't Tread on Me" t-shirts.
What's happened to the common good? That's what we should be asking everyone running for Congress next year.
My hope is that this Congressional clusterfuck has woken people up to the idea that we must find the middle again. I'm not going to get everything I want (cough – reduce military spending – cough – end the drug war – cough – protect the environment – cough). But in their quest to dismantle a law they didn't like – a LAW that helps millions of their constituents – the radical right-wing Republicans ended up getting, um, nothing.
[If you are a radical right-wing Republican, riddle me this: How can you be against providing birth control or legal abortions, and also against providing health care and food stamps to underprivileged and/or abused children?]
I just hope voters remember this in November. Congressional representatives are elected every two years. With the 24/7 news cycle these days (/sarcasm font/ thank you, cable news /sarcasm font off/), it seems like they're campaigning all the damned time. Most people aren't as fanatical about politics as am I. (A friend recently asked, puzzled, "Isn't the election in 2014? Not next month?" And of course, she's right.)
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| Photo credit: Jonathan Tamari, philly.com |
Perhaps the tide is turning. Perhaps we truly are ready to take a look at where the country has been going, and where we'd like it to go. Cory Booker was elected to the Senate last night, and a nicer politician you ain't gonna find. The special election cost millions of additional dollars, since New Jersey voters will be electing a governor in just three weeks. But the current Republican Governor decided it would be better to have all those Democrats voting yesterday, hoping they'll stay home November 5.
(Christie enjoys a HUGE lead against his Democratic opponent; he really didn't need to schedule an additional election day. And if he were going to, why didn't he schedule it earlier, so Booker could have voted curing the budget crisis? The questions, oh, the questions.)
A Democrat being elected to fill a Democrat's seat isn't especially news-worthy, but Cory Booker is a newsmaker and a genuinely good guy. He's been ridiculed for his excessive use of social media. I happen to think his tweets and Facebook updates are pretty darned perfect.
But that's just me. Heh.
Yesterday (warning: NO politics ahead) I picked up the second chair at Target. Shopping at Target is truly a wonderful experience for me. Yes, it's a long drive and no, I don't go often, so I don't have much to go on. But I have been consistently impressed with the helpfulness of the staff. My chair was waiting for me in Guest Services. I thought I'd have to hang out while they brought it from the stockroom. I was able to pay for the chair and my other purchases right there in Guest Services. The lines at the regular check-outs were so long that staff members were directing customers (whom they call guests) to the newly opened registers (and shortest available lines).
Seriously. I heart Target. There are only six in all of West Virginia, and the closest one to me is a two-hour drive. "My" Target is Virginia is about an hour and 15 minutes away. And well worth the drive.
There's a TJMaxx near that Target, and I stopped to try on jeans yesterday. Those five pair I've hung on to all these years are already getting a bit baggy. I especially want to replace the single pair of black jeans, which I frequently wear.
I am NOT the skinny-jeans type, and that's what nearly every retailer is pushing now. (I'd already looked at the Gap Outlet.) The one pair I found that I thought might fit just by looking at them on the rack were a size 10 and … too big. SIZE 10! TOO BIG! Whether it's vanity sizing or for-real-for-real sizing, I don't know. (Is Bandolino a pricey brand?)
So I came home jeanless, but I have all the furniture I need to redo the "den." Oh, and I bought a food processor to replace the one that died a couple months ago. And a couple of V-neck knit tops with 3/4 sleeves, one chocolate brown and one black. How boring is that?
Finally … and also having nothing to do with politics … winter's right around the corner. Need a hat? One of my favorite online vendors* has garter-stitch beanies, handknit in Bolivia using baby llama wool, for ONLY $89. Or you could check a knitting book out of the library (or watch a how-to-knit demo on YouTube), pick up a pair of needles and a skein of wool from your local yarn shop and make this one for less than $20. (Or try my beanie pattern, which has a garter-stitch cuff; the top part is stockinette.) And since you have the needles, the next one will cost less than $10. And if you're like me, you've got more time than money. Get those needles clicking and your Christmas gifts will be done while you're watching football games.
*Kauffman Mercantile really is one of my favorite online vendors. But ninety bucks for a garter stitch beanie is, um, ridiculously expensive. They have reasonable prices for Weck jars, though, and a great replacement policy if something is broken in shipment.
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