Doom and gloom

The American election is over.  What the hell happened??

Hindsight is often 20/20.  Here's my take on it.

Kamala came out of the gates to great fanfare.  Biden made it clear in the debate that he's in no condition to lead the U.S. for a second term.  If it were more clear that he wasn't running for re-election, perhaps the selection process could have been more concise.  Harris was basically coronated upon Biden's stepping down.  Now we're left wondering if Biden was right all along... could only he have defeated Trump?

Harris didn't have ample time to really mount an effective campaign.  Here's the ugly truth:  The very people Trump threatened all of his campaign to deport voted him into power.  Hispanic voters put him way over the top.  There was no shortage of black voters for him either.  I really hope that Muslim voters for Trump survive this, because they need to see what they've done to themselves.  And that's IF they get to stay.  And IF they survive the hate that's about to swarm their existences.

And here's my takeaway from the whole ugly situation - this election was all about estrogen vs testosterone.  On Kamala's side, you had the "swifties" (that's a small 'S' on purpose there), Beyonce fans, movie stars, and countless celebrities vouching for her.  On Trump's side, you had your Dr. Phils, Kid Rocks, Dana Whites and Joe Rogans.  The fact of the matter is this:  America is not ready for a female leader.  They should be, but they are not.  They are not evolved enough.  Neither is Canada, for that matter.

Rogan has a massive, massive audience, rife with machoism and alpha-male delusion.  Trump's campaign was a counter to Kamala's women-can-do-it-better appearance which very much upset the egos of the right.  She went on Fox and basically did the job, but she skipped Rogan, who fully endorsed Trump upon his interview with him.  Not being on Rogan may have been the tipping point.  She was fully capable of handling herself, so her decision not to appear on the podcast is a puzzling one, especially in retrospect.

Looking back, not giving Gavin Newsom, governor of one of the world's biggest economies (California), should have been given much more serious consideration.  Instead, he wasn't given any.  The fact that he's a man evidently would've given the Dems more of a chance.  One must wonder how different this outcome would have been had Newsom been in Harris' place.  The short-sightedness of Trump voters is staggering.  The dirt poor actually helped billionaires elect a faux-billionaire into power... again.  The entire rest of the free world sees what a threat he is to the world's democracy factions, steadily being whittled down by the far right.  

The ramifications of the results of this election are going to be felt for many, many years.  Ukraine will now be forced to surrender to Russia, who will then proceed to invade more European territories in its bid to re-establish the Soviet Union.  Trump will stand idly by while this happens.  Tariffs will be erected and crush taxpayers.  All the criminals responsible for the Jan. 6 debacle will be freed.  White supremacist groups will be empowered.  Jobs will be lost.  The poor will remain poor, and perhaps become more so.  Lumber trade in Canada will be choked by Trump's protectionism.  NATO will once again be bullied by him, and will return to its weak pre-Biden stature.  Under Biden, NATO was never stronger.  That will change.  By the way... Trump has said outwardly that he would not support a country that doesn't pay the full 2% of its GDP on the agreement.  Canada pays around 1.6%.  Also... after Alaska, Russia is right next door to us.  Literally.

The FDA is toast.

Reproductive freedom, at best, will be state by state in its acceptance.  Trump himself may cause abortion rights to be completely eliminated.  If your crazy uncle raped your 12 year old daughter, too bad for her.  Miscarriage?  You might get charged and even go to jail.  Gilead is upon us.  

The Dems gambled on reproductive freedom being the sole issue for voters, basically ignoring the male electorate.  That's what a lot of it comes down to.... Trump catered to the men, Harris to the women.  Somehow, he managed to convince more men than Harris did women.

Elon Musk will get carte blanche to do whatever the hell he wants with the aerospace industry, including militarization, and also including colluding with Putin, which has already been happening anyway on a regular basis.  The U.S. will become Russia.  If Trump dies, J.D. Vance will take his place, which could be far worse.  Don't count this out from happening.  Trump is 78 and unhealthy.  Upon this happening, you may see Vice President Marjorie Taylor Greene.  Don't laugh or shrug.  There's a real chance of this coming true.

And what's the next January 6 going to entail?  Will the Dems peacefully hand over power?  They must.  Not to do so would undermine what the party is all about to begin with.  Biden appointed Merrick Garland to AG with confidence he would resolve the legal matters regarding the attempted coup in 2020.  Garland dragged his feet the entire way, only hiring special counsel Jack Smith near the homestretch of the election.  Smith didn't have ample time or resources to get the job done, as much as he wanted to get it done, and even with a real measure of urgency.  But the Supreme Court is already stacked in Trump's favor.  And the 6-3 republican ruled judges have Trump's back if worse comes to worse and he actually was looking like he had to resort to it.  I've said for years that Garland is in Trump's pocket.  I still think he is.

Trump is to be sentenced later this month for his 34 felonies.  He can pardon himself when he takes office.  He will get away with everything.  Everything.  Tell me, "pro-lifers", is it worth it?  Because abortion will not be wiped out.  Only legal abortion will.  Support for newborns is the ideal anti-abortion strategy.  Quell the fear of what's to come for expecting mothers.  Don't fucking threaten them with jail time.  And stop giving excuses to deadbeat dads.

So long to Obamacare.  Trump's "concepts of a plan" will take good care of you, I'm sure.

Brace for more heartless deportations and more kids in cages, being separated from their families, likely permanently.

Oh, and one more before I go.... the next pandemic, if it happens with the Orange Turd in power like last time, will be an even bigger shitbowl than Covid-19.  A potential Covid-20 may just be unrecoverable.  And Robert Kennedy Jr. will see to it.

We'll be watching that meth lab underneath us and watch what they're cooking. 

Because Pierre Poilievre, whose campaign is being run by actual Trumpers, is next here.

May the God you believe in help us all.

The God I worship is super-clearly not the same God pop culture wants us to believe.

I pray now for awakening.  For hope.  Not to sleep.... but to be WOKE.  Yes, I said it, and I mean it.  Either wake up, or deal with it.

Peace and love to everyone.  

And I so, so very much want to be wrong about just about everything here.

Random Thoughts: Tales from the bedside

Sore backs can be tough.  Really sore backs that keep you home from work are even tougher, so here I am with a RT blog for Ragnar.

There's a whole lot about Miley Cyrus in the media these days.  While her MTV performance left most of us a bit, well, disgusted -- I'm a whole lot more sickened that this Robin Thicke creep played along with it and shoulders no responsibility for his creepiness in the matter than with Miley herself.  And for the record, her 'Wrecking Ball' video is beautiful to me.  I don't see a slutty girl licking a phallic symbol.  I see a sad girl baring her soul after hurting from a deep relationship.  The timing after the MTV thing is just a little tragic, but people will think the worst sometimes.

I try not to comment on U.S. politics online as much as I used to, because I have a lot of American friends who disagree with my views, and I find my own comments to be a little soap-boxy.  I don't think it's my place to tell friends in another country what they should think about how their country is run.  But, it's hard to hold back sometimes.

Doesn't anybody stay together anymore?  Not just talking about celebrities.  I see people all around me breaking apart from their significant others after long relationships.  It saddens me, truly, that people have such a hard time finding happiness.

As I write this, my Red Sox are on the verge of winning their first World Series at home since 1918.  I got to see Fenway Park with my family this past summer, a dream come true for me after a lifetime of being a Sox fan.  The little boy in me came out in full force, and made me feel thankful for all of the blessings in my life especially this year.  I thank God every day for all I have.

It seems my wife is turning a corner on some major health issues these days, one of those many things I'm thankful for.  It was discovered recently she has IBS, and is being very successfully treated accordingly.  This makes her very happy, and concurrently makes me happy too.

How could I not have tuned in to 'Breaking Bad' sooner than I did?  One of the best shows to ever grace television.  Solid acting and writing and production value throughout the series.  It's refreshing to see a show bow out while still at the top of its game rather than fade into obscurity.  The success of 'BB', I believe, just may revolutionize how TV shows and even movies are written.  This is the first drama I've seen in a long time with such respect to the intelligence of its audience.

After a maddeningly disappointing few seasons of 'The Walking Dead', or all of them since the stellar first season, it seems that there is hope for the show after all.  This season is finally showing that there actually can be substance underneath all the style.  All they had to do is let the actors show their depth, rather than just do constant gross-outs with no meaning whatsoever. 

I do like watching pro wrestling, but WWE is probably the worst it's been in a long time these days.  It's become so dumbed-down that it's kind of insulting to watch.  I long for the old Bret The Hitman Hart days where the lines between fantasy and reality were much more blurry.  TNA has self destructed under the weight of Eric Bischoff's ego and mismanagement.

I love where I live and my province in my country, but it's just about unrecognizable under the 'leadership' of premier David Alward and his equally inept provincial goveernment.  I knew this all would happen too, as did many of us.  Skyrocketing taxes, cuts to health care, ballooning deficit, and minus population growth have quickly made New Brunswick the tin cup territory of the country.  An election to get these buffoons out of office can't come soon enough.

While I do love my baseball, I have equal disdain for bloodsport these days.  It's hard to watch things like UFC, football and hockey, which seem to thrive on destructive practices against fellow human beings.  My views toward a lot of these things have changed since becoming a father 17 years ago.  But, it seems only that it's all become worse as time goes by.  At least the violent nature of these 'sports' is beginning to get more spotlight coverage via their consequences, so that perhaps in due time, measures can be taken to restore the sporting aspect to these activities.

How about that Pope Francis?  This man may very well bring the masses back to the Catholic church, at least to some degree.  I'm happy to see the Catholic leader finally ween the spotlight off of topics like gay issues and abortion and shine more on suffering and poverty.  Not that abortion isn't deserving of its notoriety.  But there needs to be more attention focused on the poor and unfortunate.

I'm almost distressed at how little I care about music these days.  Rock and roll truly is dead, and has been for a long time now.  We're left with great music of the distant past to fall back on, because great music isn't really being made anymore.  In this era of karaoke singing contest TV shows and artists that have to 'feature' other artists in their songs to get sales, there seems to be little to no hope for music in general.

It's been a pretty good year for movies.  I've seen more shows this year in theatres than I have in a long time.  After seeing 'Gravity' here in town, we ventured out to Halifax to see it in IMAX 3D, where we've heard the experience is intensified.  We found this to be very true.  The movie is front-loaded with how-the-hell-did-they-do-that effects, and documentary style storytelling that left me gasping for breath at times for the two characters.  I don't want to spoil anything, but there is a Nolan-ish question about the movie's ending that begs debate not unlike 'Inception'.

It's going to be interesting to see where the Canadian senate scandal takes the nationally governing conservatives, with said party splintering apart with lie after lie being exposed from our prime minister.  This government has been so secretive and underhanded over the years that it's become scary.  Every single government has its scandals, make no mistake.  But this one is the worst I've seen in my lifetime.  We'll see how good the memories of Canadians are in the next election.  The trick is, is there a party competent enough to take over the reigns?  I don't see one single party in Canada right now that shows promise for our future.  Not one.

I guess that's enough tales from the bedside for now.  Chime in on comments if there's discussion to be had.  Thanks for reading.