Very nice post, thanks!

I agree completely that those attitudes have always been there. It is, frankly,, revolting.

I’m glad that there has been a positive response from organizations like Starbucks and ABC/Disney, but I keep wondering why more “just citizens” aren’t speaking out.

L

And, with the partisan nature of SCOTUS, there’s still the possibility that trying to introduce fairness into the system will come to nought!

The gerrymandering thing really, really, really bugs me. Corruption is built into the system, and no one does anything about it once they get power. Those of us in other countries can’t even imagine such a situation because we have truly independent electoral commissions setting boundaries using non-partisan criteria. The idea that the Supreme Court should even have to get involved is a disgrace because it means nothing would change without a very expensive and time-cconsuming effort.

Don’t worry – I didn’t take it that way.

I’m quite proud of the lengths our government goes to in order to protect native flora and fauna, so I go on about it a bit. Even in such a small country there are literally thousands of private organisations that raise money and do stuff too. Yesterday the province of Taranaki (which borders my own to the west) announced it was going to (try and) wipe out introduced predators that prey on native species by an earlier date than the countrywide goal of 2050. (They did say a date but I can’t remember.)

I suspect part of the problem is comparing myself to Jerry. (And it doesn’t help that due to the time difference with the US, the most suitable time to Skype is the same time I usually write. I was writing yesterday when he called, and once you lose your flow that’s it for the day. Not that I’m complaining of course! Friends are ALWAYS more important.)

People talk about how people feel emboldened to express vile opinions like Roseanne did yesterday. However, those opinions must always have been there, and having a bi-racial president and first lady, acting with grace and dignity for eight years (whether you agreed with their policies or not), seems only to have made things worse for those with “deplorable” attitudes. If those opinions didn’t still run deep in parts of US society, Trump wouldn’t be emboldening anyone.

I worried about the racism I saw in US society. When Obama was elected, I had hope that things had changed. It seems they haven’t for millions.

I found him as a baby cat in the Hospital grounds, he was wildly fighting me when I put him in the pocket of my jacket, and once in the house he fled under the sink. Stayed there for about 48 hours, and after that, when he came out, we suddenly were great buddies, The food I gave him under the sink broke the ice, I think. He was kinda voracious.
When I left Mafikeng, early 2002, I left him with a Cuban surgeon (who went to live in my house), who was also a cat lover, his wife and 2 children even more. The children took him out for walks too.

I share your fears, that the “blue Tsunami” will turn out to be a “Blue Ripple”.
Indeed, how much has ‘Cross-Check’ been checked? Is there impartial or bi-partisan overseeing of the counting? Has the Russian trolling or botting, been suppressed? Has the Gerrymandering* been undone?
No, no, no and no.
*Note, the Gerrymandering might, just might, result in the opposite of the intended goal. Smearing Rep voters out over several districts with a small majority margin, carries the risk of them losing most of them, when even they are fed up with the situation or the Dems show up in greater numbers. All those ‘gerrymandered’ districts with a relatively small margin are vulnerable, in other words. But I fear I’m clawing at straws.

Wow, that is some cat. One of our cats wants out real bad because he use to get out when we lived in the country but not here in urban land. If he got out we would never see him again. I do not know from Mafikeng but will look it up.