Politics is the art of choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable. —John Kenneth Galbraith
Politics be damned. There are things more important. A lot of things. Time to re-focus
My newsfeed is full of comments,articles, statements, and quotes regarding last night’s Presidential debate. I’m doing my best to ignore as much of it as possible. I was having hot chocolate and cherry pie while the debate was occurring, enjoying time with family. I went to bed before the debate was over. I slept well, not giving a second thought to  either candidate.
With a field of candidates more unlikeable and unqualified than we’ve ever seen, the intelligent move would have been to shut down the conversations, ignore the buffoonery, and focus on issues we could actually change for the positive. Apparently, we’re not that smart. From the very beginning, we went for the clown show, laughing at how absurd it all was. Our constant attention encouraged even more stupidity and it grew to the point we now have a circus that is nothing more than really bad slapstick.
Meanwhile, Â there are really important things going on in the world. There are probably thousands of things I could list that are more important than politics, but we’ve narrowed the list to five in hopes that maybe someone will actually pay attention this time. Take a look.
People In Haiti Are Digging Mass Graves
The death toll is over 1,000 in Haiti now. Cholera is beginning to sweep the island, which could kill more than Hurricane Matthew did. Rural areas, once again the hardest hit, are in desperate need of help with the most basic of necessities, such as clean water and sanitation. If you live anywhere in the United States, even if you are homeless, you are better off than the people of Haiti at this moment.
Calls for help are, of course, going out, but one thing we learned from the aftermath of the earthquake there three years ago is that the government is so incredibly corrupt and cares so very little for its people that very little aid actually gets to the people who need it. By some accounts, as much as 90 percent of aid sent to Haiti never reached its intended destination. Instead, it was hoarded by government leaders who used aid funds to line their own pockets.
What do we do? I don’t know. There’s no aid that does not have to go through government channels.While NGOs such as the Red Cross and the UN are doing their best, what we are seeing so far is a repeat of the disaster from three years ago. Haiti’s government doesn’t care if people die. Only a full-scale takeover of the government gets people the assistant they need, and no one is going to do that. The people of Haiti are screwed.
Meanwhile, the death toll from Hurricane Matthew in the US is at 17. That story is buried in most newspapers this morning, too. I had to hunt for it.
Santos Gives Nobel Prize Money To Colombian Victims
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize last week for his efforts to end the long civil war in his country. Some were surprised that he won despite an election that turned away an agreement that would have ended the conflict. Yet, the Nobel committee chose to acknowledge his efforts, saying that the election results were out of his control.
The monetary piece of the Nobel Prize is 8 million Swedish krona, which, based on this morning’s exchange rate, is just under a million dollars US. That much money buys a lot in Colombia and President Santos had many options. Politics being what they are, no one would have been too surprised had Santos chosen to put the money behind something that would benefit him politically. Instead, he chose to give it to those most affected by the ongoing war.
With the peace agreement having been shot down by voters and a cease-fire set to expire this week, fears in Colombia are mounting. The rural people have that country have been especially hard hit. Yet, unlike the situation in Haiti, they have a President who, at least on the surface, seems to care.
Stew Is Better Than Steak
Food is so much more important than politics. With the weather having cooled off, we can once again turn our attention to the savory and flavorful dishes that not only fill us but keep us warm. I made my first pot of chili for the season last night and will probably do some manner of veggie stew later this week.
Is stew actually better than steak, though? Really?
Think about that question for a moment. Think of the variety, the flavors, the options one has with stew that simply doesn’t exist with steak. Â If I prepare a steak for dinner, I have to be careful to choose just the right cut of meat, prepare it in just the right way with a limited group of appropriate spices, and pray that I’m not distracted and ruin it by cooking it a touch too long.
Stew, on the other hand, is a rainbow food. Toss at it whatever’s left over in the fridge, or what you’re still pulling from your garden. Maybe you add meat, maybe you don’t (though, by definition, most stew at least has a meat stock base). One can get really fancy with the ingredients, or one can play it loose and adventuresome. Making a bad stew is almost impossible. Oh, and cutting the meat into chunks also makes it more tender and flavorful, something you can’t do with a steak.
See? So much more important than what the Republican called the Democrat.
The Cubs
Tonight is game 3 of the National League playoffs, Cubs vs. Mets. The Cubs took the first two games. They have a talented pitching staff. The bats have worked when they were needed. The Cubs could sweep the Mets tonight.
Politics? Who needs politics when there is a more than reasonable chance that the Chicago Cubs could end up in the World Series for the first time in 108 years?
I have to admit, it has been interesting to watch the playoff coverage in the Chicago Tribune. They have been so very careful to not get too excited, to not be overly positive, to not give the Cubs any undue credit.  We’ve  been down this road before: the Cubs make the playoffs but can’t seal the deal. To be a  Cubs fan is to spend every October crying into your beer.
Yet, this year, with this team, things could be different. Maybe. Just maybe.
Tomorrow Is The Deadline For Voter Registration In Indiana
Okay, this is sort of political. Although, politics aren’t the only reason we vote. Duty, commitment, love of our country, and an obligation to participate in our government are why we vote. Politics are merely an annoying side effect, rather like anal leakage.
Voting is always more important that the politics surrounding your vote. Â There are too many people in our country who would take votes away from people whose voice needs to be heard. If you have the ability to vote, you have a moral obligation to do so. This is the way our country was designed to work. You not voting is exactly the same as Congress spending roughly two-thirds of the year on vacation: neither are doing what the country needs us to do.
No, voting doesn’t make the politics go away. Sometimes, the politics get worse. We are such an ideologically diverse country that our passion sometimes gets in the way of doing what is right.
Voting is not an endorsement of a candidate. Voting is saying to those elected, “Hey, I’m a citizen. My life matters. And I’m watching you.”
If you are not registered to vote, do so now.
Morning Update: 08/13/24
How well do you know your kids? As parents, we want to think that we know our kids pretty well. We’ve taught them what to do in different situations and we’ve seen how they’ve reacted to surprise and change. Yet, all that can disappear in a moment when you get a text from the school saying, “Your child is marked present to school, but absent from advisory. Please talk with them about following their assigned schedule.” That hit my phone at 12:15 yesterday afternoon. Fortunately, I was awake and able to respond quickly.
“Why are you marked absent from advisory?” I messaged her. Sure, they’re not supposed to have their phones out at school, but I assumed that if she was skipping for some reason she would at least take her phone with her.
What was eventually revealed was that one of her friends, the one that took her to the far Saturday night, had gotten sick. Part of her message said, “…I had to watch him literally empty his stomach which was literally only water. I was scared for him.” We chatted briefly and soon after that I got a call from her support coach. She confirmed Tipper’s account and said that Tipper’s level of empathy left her exhausted. The coach recommended we pick her up. Unfortunately, Kat was booked and, of course, I had no way to go get her. Kat gave her permission to leave early and ride the bus home.
When she got home, I gave her a big hug, she cried a bit, and then she went to lie down.
Yeah, this is our child. We’re proud of her. And while her absence will be probably unexcused, her continuing education in caring about other people is just as important. Her empathy is immense and learning how to respond in a caring and appropriate way is more important than immersive Spanish.
Situations like this, however, are why I’m infuriated that women don’t have complete autonomy over their own bodies. The Associated Press ran a story yesterday about how hospital emergency rooms are turning women away despite federal law requiring them to be treated because of punitive state laws promising severe penalties, including long jail sentences if they end a pregnancy for any reason. This is the direct result of allowing Republicans to be in charge of anything. This also emphasizes why it is just as important to vote for Democrats down ballot as well as at the federal level.
We’re at this point where doctors and hospital administrators are afraid to do their jobs because we were lazy at the ballot and let Republicans win. We’re okay with autonomous cars, autonomous volocopters, and autonomous robots, but not autonomous women? As much as we can’t let Republicans grab control of Congress and the White House, we must wrestle control of state houses away from them as well. At the state level, dangerous plans such as Project 2025 are more likely to be successfully implemented. States are more likely to gut education systems, prohibit the teaching of critical race theory, eliminate DEI programs, ban books, limit or eliminate medical funding for poor and elderly people, cut or eliminate food assistance programs, and generally make the world a less tolerable place to live.
I find it interesting that both presidential candidates and President Biden support cutting taxes on tips, but no one’s talking about the fact that the minimum wage for servers remains at the bottom of the barrel where their work is being exploited by restaurant owners. Perhaps we’d rather have a nation where teens are so hopeless and angry that they don helmets and bulletproof vests and then randomly stab people.
The US stands at a tipping point. How we vote in this fall’s election will drastically shape the future and no one is going to be more affected than our children. What happens if empaths like Tipper help a trans friend get the gender-affirming medical care they need? That’s on the ballot this fall. What happens if schools provide a safe space for LGBTQ+ students? That’s on the ballot this fall. What happens if the rules requiring overtime pay are gone? That’s on the ballot this fall. What happens if water becomes undrinkable? That’s on the ballot this fall. What happens when people lose the right to organize at work? That’s on the ballot this fall. What happens when 48 million women lose access to contraception? That’s on the ballot this fall.
Are you beginning to get the picture? This year’s election is much more than winning the White House, which we must do. We have to win at the state and local level as well. Otherwise, living conditions in the US will inevitably suffer. Labor shortages will become common. Safety at every level will decline. More police violence as training programs are cut. Less aid for small businesses after a weather disaster. It’s all on the ballot this year.
Yes, there’s a lot of other news this morning, including the disastrous interview between Elon Musk and the Orange Felon. But you know what? Almost every issue comes down to how you vote this fall. Israel/Gaza. Russia/Ukraine. Global warming. Space exploration. Almost every corner of the globe is going to feel the effects of your vote.
Let’s not let up on the focus on this election. Even when the news seems positive, we must continue pushing all the way through November. Remember, a week before the 2016 election, polls held a 93% certainty that Hillary Clinton was going to win. We see how horribly that turned out. Apathy is a killer. We must keep up the pressure and make sure everyone votes.
We have great kids. Let’s not give them a shitty country.
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