Hot Sauce Mental Vacation with Sally

By the time I'm done, I'll have prepared approximately 150 bottles of hot sauce made from the 33 different chillies I've grown here in the upper Hudson Valley. Considering our shorter (but getting longer) summers, this is not the most ideal climate to grow super-hot peppers. A frost killed my crop last week and I now have boxes of green fruit ripening in the coziness of our house. Still, I've never experienced such a nuanced collection of tastes. I think our soil makes up for the season. 

Nearing the end of this year's capsicum experiments, I just now prepared 15 bottles of "Peachier and Keener" (pictured)... and I'm absolutely convinced that this mash tastes like a peach flambé (if you were to eat the dessert while still on fire). Like pretty much everyone in our family and virtually(?) all our friends, I'm election-fretting like Jimi in a tempest. But harvesting, preparing, tasting and mixing these concoctions is proving to be a healthy (and dangerous) distraction. 

Making tasty fire sauce from fruit is a food science of elements... and my occasional assistant is this beautiful bird: Sally came to us as a gosling four months ago and she's already ruling the roost. She protects our flock, keeps the roosters in check, and loves (and by "loves," I mean, LOVES) to socialize. Pulling pods from plants, Sally helped me (not) as I madly harvested all the fruit just before the frost. 

Winter might be coming and the goose is getting fat (on Carolina Reapers), but the election panic is calmed by the capsaicin burn -- an unexpected relief. 

Because she's a woman...

First thing this morning, I shared with Maria the recent New York Times polling suggesting that Trump is significantly leading in Georgia, Arizona, and North Carolina. Flabbergasted, as usual, Maria said, "It's only because she's a woman. They're not listening to her!"

They complain that they don't know anything about Kamala; so, she tells us, repeatedly and passionately, her life story. And yet they STILL say they don't know who she is.

They complain that she doesn't detail her policies; yet, she employs actual, accurate numbers and directly addresses what her policies entail and how they will affect our lives. But then they say she only talks about her upbringing and avoids direct questions from journalists.

These are criticisms coming from the right AND left (read, The New York Times). There is something profoundly wrong with how we are treating the two candidates: One, a democracy-threatening demagogue; the other, a lifelong public servant. One, a 78-year-old, senile man with the comparative ego of Pinochet or Mussolini; the other, a 59-year-old woman with a sharp mind, an open heart, and a clear vision.

He scowls, drones, and jigs as if he were jerking two penises; she laughs, sings, and smoothly dances to the groove.

He's the deepest, darkest closet in American history.

She's an open book.

Compare their policies.

Compare their manners.

Compare their fortitudes.

Compare their experiences.

Compare their understandings.

Compare their brains!

But stop the false equivalencies because, frankly, the 5'4" woman will kick the 6'3" man's ass in every, single way.

As if you didn't know...

"... for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

-- John 8:44

His hate-infused beguilement of many Christians is exactly the work of the "father of lies." From his extraordinary vanity to his heinous manner to his hate mongering speeches; from the stream of lies, sexual deviancies, and gross susceptibility to flattery: he is the absolute embodiment of everything Jesus Christ opposed.

He is, unto himself, the representation of every, single "deadly sin": pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth.

He is, unto himself, the extreme opposite of what America represents.

Donald J. Trump IS the Anti-American!

Donald J. Trump IS the Antichrist!

The Namby-Pamby New York Times

I don't need the New York Times and CNN to tell me what I want to hear -- I have MSNBC and NPR for that (and they can be predictable bores). Still, I feel like my once favorite source of information (the Times) and the formerly reliable stream of basic news (CNN) are going out of their ways to legitimize Trump and all the contemptuous "isms" attached to him. It has taken me longer than it should've to outwardly admit that "mainstream," centrist media seems hellbent on sabotaging Harris. I almost get the feeling that our "foundational" news outlets are preparing for Trump redux and his vitriolic, authoritarian plans by avoiding the corrosiveness of his extended, bloodthirsty gaze. Wimps! Simpering cowards!

Just Sayin'

If I were a conservative Christian, I would feel outrightly betrayed by Trump's waffling, hypocritical statements on issues that matter to me... like abortion. As it's, I'm the extreme opposite and all I see is an incomprehensible, malignant narcissist with the intellectual capacity of a carved pumpkin willing to say anything to win votes. If I were a conservative Christian I would hate, HATE Trump... and that's not a stretch for me.

The Man, the Movie, and the Monster

Trump's Project 2025 party IS NOT Ronald Reagan's party. 

'Nuff said, right? Nope, I can't help myself.

I’m an old-school liberal… and by “old-school,” I mean, pre-cancel culture liberal. I have no love for Reagan – his domestic and social policies were disastrous. But in the light (or darkness) of today’s Trumplican Party, I have a kind of head-scratching appreciation for the days of Dutch (and that's not easy to write).

A biopic starring Dennis Quaid as Ronnie is set to open this weekend. Its roster of filmmakers includes a few well-known conservatives and one outright loon, Jon Voight. "Reagan" is being viewed and discussed as a propaganda film intent on swaying the election for the Right. Subsequently, it is receiving a fair amount of social media canceling. I haven't seen the film. I'll probably never see the film... but it is vital that Americans understand the drastic differences between Ronald Reagan and the Nectarine Nemesis:

Reagan was an excellent communicator and, along with his reliable team, conveyed the meanings of complicated policies for a general audience. Duck Sauce Donald is, unto himself, a digressive policy void -- a mumbling imbecile with delusions of intelligence.

Reagan appealed to a broad swath of Americans, including many, many who leaned center/center-left. He did this with his mere manner and twinkling appeal. The Klownfish Kingpin has amassed a fervent army with little regard for those who don't believe in his ideological buffoonery.

Reagan WAS, for a majority of Americans, a uniting figure; the Puss-Filled Pantywaist is hellbent on dividing.

One idolized Franklin Delano Roosevelt (even after becoming a Republican in 1962); the other worships Putin.

One inhaled jelly beans by the handful; the other absorbs Big Macs by the truckload. Okay, neither is a healthy habit... but the former's is kind of endearing, and the latter's is outrightly gross (and entirely representative of who he is). 

Whether or not I watch Dennis Quaid's new movie or whether or not anyone does, there is no confusing the Gipper with Baby Bone Spurs. 

The Citrus Slug is no Ronald Reagan... and this is not the Great Communicator’s Republican Party.

Benedict Bobby and the Ochre Ogre

It’s no secret to my family and friends that I dislike Comrade Copper... and by "dislike," I mean loathe with every fiber of my being. But this morning I feel outrightly betrayed by RFK Jr.; and this treachery is as strong as the loathing I feel for the Terracotta Temper Tantrum. I mean, for fuck's sake, Benedict Bobby was once a defender of the environment. That was his cause. That seemed to be his raison d'être!

Maria and I live in the upper Hudson Valley right on the banks of the eponymous river... and although still flowing over a buried bed of General Electric's sins, nature has significantly rebounded. Heck, on mornings like today, this place sings with a verdant abundance. Believe me, the treasured beauty of New York is partly a result of Backstabbing Bobby's once noble work. And now this one time champion of something epically consequential is throwing his lot in with Damnation's own Marmalade Monster. The Carroty Catastrophe's environmental policies are a Black Plague... and the former “advocate” just sided with someone who would unleash the Dogs of Destruction on what we hold sacred: our land, our water.

Yeah, there's a new name on my list of absolutely abhorrent people: the egomaniacal, worm-brained turncoat and poster boy for "hypocrisy" -- Robert Francis Kennedy Jr.

Deaf Democrats

Some on the left are going to try and shame many of us liberals into supporting Biden despite last night's debate performance. Fine. Be dirty. Employ tactics that will only push me further away. Yes, Biden is a "patriot." Yes, I'm sure he's a "good man." Yes, he's our current nominee; and if he remains so, I will vote for him. But NO, he cannot win. NO, it's not a matter of his fine policies. He's struggling to convey a semblance of clarity and vigor -- needed ingredients for the "leader of [what's left of] the 'free world.'" What our party is foisting upon him AND us is a cruelty. When Biden (and by association, AMERICA) loses to Trump -- that diabolical, malignant, heaping pile of festering bullshit -- the Democratic party's blind adherence will be to blame. Go ahead Newsom, Fetterman et al, attack us with your blustery statements of blind loyalty [to what?]. Try and belittle me into adherence. You are bullies; or you are delusional. Either way, shame on you!

Reality Check

If you're on the political right and we're somehow still friends, this post is not for you. This is for the left side of the new American Divide (and the divisions within that caucus) and I hope it's a conversation we can have without berating each other. 

As the recently released New York Times/Siena poll revealed, we're in mega-crisis mode again and Biden's unpopularity is, at this point in the campaign, likely insurmountable. I haven't posted a political statement in quite some time... and I'm pretty sure few care to read what I'm thinking. But I'm desperate for Democrats to wake up. I appreciate the dogged support many of us continue to have for Biden... and I still appreciate him and many of his policies; however, the polls are issuing a verdict and for some ageist and actual reasons, his 81 years are his downfall. [This despite the rambling, distorted, garbage-fueled twaddle that continues to pour from 77-year-old Trump's puckered maw.] I wish reason dictated some sort of discourse, but "bigger picture" thinking is no longer practiced. So, subsequently, in order to spare the devastation of American democracy, Biden MUST stop running for a second term. Yes, I think he's still capable. Yes, I believe he's a fine president. Yes, he still has fight in him. But NO, he can't win. Kennedy's hurtful, foolish campaign will dent Biden's outcome more than Trump's. Cornel West and Jill Stein, both people I respect, inspire protest votes within the party that will further damage Biden's electability. The Never Trumpers who make up approximately 20% of the Republican vote -- votes that tend to go Haley's way -- will not suddenly throw their support at Biden in the general election. No, they'll vote for a down ballot libertarian or check "Trump '' while holding their noses and hoping for the best. [Oh, imagine if we, as a whole, were as committed to our party as Republicans are to theirs?] I truly believe that if Biden stays in, Trump -- who is a human fluoropolymer -- wins and all hell will break loose. As a country, we are well beyond rallying around the Center. "Common ground" no longer exists. Still, if all the Democratic factions, from far left to Blue Dogs, could commit themselves to a unifying candidate -- like Gretchen Whitmer or Raphael Warnock or Pete Buttigieg or... -- Trump would lose the election. Probably handily. Continuing to support Biden's reelection is support for Trump's return to power. Believe me, MAGA loves us for our Biden votes. 

Now, the Biden campaign will tell me to "Get over it," but that only proves how wrong they are. Many of us are grateful that Biden saved us from four more years of Trump. Some of us like the man despite some serious (and fatal) foreign policies. Some of us love the man as he is! But in this new, bizarre culture of virulent influencers, clarity is cloudy and the obvious is obfuscated. 

Before it is too late, let's make the change.