Ha, no not the last one. I wish. The rest are my spring seedlings. But those tiny seedlings above are petunias I way overplanted into those containers and it will be interesting to see if I can thin and separate them and transplant them before heading outside with them. I think they are all blue/purple, but we’ll see. I am trying to just buy mulch and some side plants like vines to make pots interesting.
My aerogarden is making flowers already, or starting too, tomatoes. Couple peppers next to them and a little lettuce I’ve been harvesting already.
So I haven’t had much to say, posting a bit less. The good news: we got closed on our family home, refinancing and putting in our name, after about 8 months of messing with banks. Not sure what that was all about. My brother has similar experiences in Florida. Frustrating but over. So that’s nice.
Otherwise, it’s a period of readjustment. Making a few new friends, having to let go of some old friends–at least temporarily. One of my friends called me and and told me I was evil and horrible and kept hanging up on me after I called back. Then when I gave up, called once more to hang up on me. It’s always been that way, though. She will actually bring up politics, say what she wants then announce she doesn’t want to talk about it as soon as it’s your turn. Now, of course, we are being silenced en masse or censored or demonized.
I’m not comfortable that I have cut off contact with one friend for now since I’ll always love her –but I can’t write to her without writing about politics. And she won’t engage or have a discussion anyway. All three of them–very close–are fine with my censorship and even being cancelled in my writing/teaching career. That behavior on the left is so egregious to a writer that it’s hard to have anything in common–so the better part of valor is to leave things for now and hope they get smarter when they see where this fascist behavior will lead us.
Of course most of them don’t want to engage when I can give them a huge list of authoritarian behavior and actual actions taken by leftists, but when I ask them to name me one thing Trump actually did that was authoritarian–they can’t. That ends all conversations. The closest was saying people should not kneel for anthem–which I agree with, they shouldn’t — but had he made a LAW saying you couldn’t, I would have opposed him. His America first, isolationst policies were demonized by the left and media, and they made up the Russia hoax and tried to delegitimize a sitting president for four years, incited violence, even the politicians. But my friends hate it and end the conversation when they can’t point to anything he did and instead keep repeating the rhetoric of the left media that he was a white nationalist, which was the height of irresponsibility. And absolutely no reason to think so.
Lies about charlottesville, etc.
He was nothing of the sort.
So even your friends censor you when they can’t form a coherent argument.
So that has made me feel quieter, I guess. But yet you can feel the grass roots forming here. People who still believe in freedom and believe our forefathers had most of it right. And we are becoming the activists we should have been for decades. We will no longer ignore these people or give them their way and we are finding ways to fight back.
I suppose the second hardest thing to take after this censorship is that you have “friends” sit in your kitchen and lump all conservatives in with white supremacists, again listening to an irresponsible media (or say you are “part of the problem if you don’t understand BLM and Antifa violence”) — ( when of course, 98% of all conservatives are nothing of the sort–nearly all protesting election integrity and perhaps cancel culture, and nothing more.) The problem with calling America “systemtically racist” instead of a country who ended slavery and makes positive strides all the time–is that they are purposely fomenting racial unrest for political reasons–right out of a socialist/communist Marxist handbook.
Even more annoying, this unrest is being fomented by white elitist, patronizing Marxists. The BLM and Antifa protestors are professional agitators, not grass roots responses. And the saddest thing of all: the black people and minorities will be hurt by these identity politics, not helped. As they always have been by the left policies. They’ve always been used by these people. Trump was starting to really help.
So I feel less angry than I did, I suppose. Sadder that people are allowing these leftist politicians and pundits to tear apart this country–like one black man realized–swearing at CNN about how it was THEM making this all worse. and indeed they are. Sadder that open debate is no longer allowed as we move into this police state, aided by corporate monopolies seeing where their bread may be buttered. Or worried as Obama threatened them “it’s me between you and a pitchfork” or some such thing.
But I’m more resolute, more resolved to exercising my God given rights that cannot be removed by the State. More resolved to try to stop their cruelty: It’s also interesting that these virtue signalling elitists who call people haters are the same people killing full term babies on operating tables and setting up lists to punish people or cancel those that disagree with them. Who don’t care about creating humanitarian crises on purpose for political capital or actual votes.
Interesting they tried to crucify Tucker Carlson for accusing them of “replacing” American votes. White supremacist again–EVERYTHING now is racist. ALL American votes, Tucker was saying. ALL Americans’ votes are dilluted with them purposely courting non-citizens for their purposes. Black, Hispanic, Asian, all American citizens. Not just white votes. And that doesn’t include national security and health standards.
But again, I think I speak for many of my conservative friends when I say we’re less angry.
We’re regrouping.
We’re gaining strength.
We’re more resolute.
Leftists have pushed the right further left for decades, and they think we will pushed again, but they may be surprised to see what we have in mind.
So just a few thoughts. Not a political rant, just a sorting of emotion.
It’s Monday after all. I have planted seeds (physically and metaphorically), now I’ll peel potatoes to make scalloped potatoes, ham, and pees for my father. Get in some yoga, and then hit my tub.
I hope your Monday is good.
L.E.K. 