Friday Potpourri: 23 August 2024
Today, I am far less amused than usual
I am struck by the nasty things that their side does, that our side never does. Matthew McCaffrey was the Republican municipal chair for Upper Merion, PA. Upper Merion, as an aside, is a municipality known for the King of Prussia Mall. He decided to endorse Kamala Harris for president. The Montgomery County Republican Committee removed Matthew from his position. This is straightforward and normal. If a Democratic official decided to endorse a Republican, they would be ousted from their position, too. But the Republicans? They took it a step further. SOMEONE (and we don’t yet know exactly who) swatted Matthew and his wife.
[S]omeone emailed the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement officials shortly before 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 16, 2024. The email falsely claimed that a hostage situation was occurring at McCaffery’s home.
“My boyfriend has locked my daughter in the closet and he’s now got a gun to my head, forcing me to withdraw all money to him. Please send help,” the email, obtained by NBC10, stated.
The culprit then included McCaffery’s home address in the message.
McCaffery sent video to NBC10 that he says shows two Upper Merion police officers arriving at his home after the false report was made. The clip shows McCaffery walking out of his home with his hands up. McCaffery said the officers later left after determining the report was false. Source.
As a lifelong pacifist, I avoid all forms of violence and know that swatting can end very badly for the victims. I do not understand why the Republicans are so committed to violence, why they are so very angry. I am not surprised, because they devalue most human life. But the “why” eludes me. If you have any insights, PLEASE put them in the comments. Perhaps understanding their vile hatred would lead to constructive solutions.
Another mean and nasty thing that the Republicans did yesterday was to make fun of Gus Walz for being so emotional about his dad being up on stage. Gus has ADHD, a nonverbal learning disorder and an anxiety disorder. The extended Walz family, aside from Tim and Gwen, was never before exposed to big crowds, to the excitement of a convention. It’s overwhelming to the most experienced of us, and to someone brand new to the situation, even more so. Republicans attacked a 17-year-old boy for crying tears of joy and pride, and mouthing “that’s my dad!”. Shame on them. OH WAIT: Republicans have no shame.
Apologies to the registered Republicans who spoke at the convention, and via other venues, to explain that they would never vote for the convicted felon, and will be voting for the Harris-Walz ticket. They have some shame. I wonder if they will be voting for down-ballot Republicans. I wonder why they don’t change their registration. Again, please use the comments if you’ve got some insight.
Have you checked your voter registration this week? I know, I know, I posted about this previously, but DO IT AGAIN. Voting puts people at the table, and if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu. Purges continue in multiple states. Let me know if you need help checking.
Theoretically, RFK, Jr. will be withdrawing from contention today and throwing his support behind the Convicted Felon. Worm brain is angling to head HHS, but it’s highly unlikely that he’ll get it because trading an endorsement directly for a cabinet position is, um, illegal. Wait. I forgot about whom we were talking. Still, it’s unlikely. For those of you who follow the polling numbers, we’re talking about a tiny fraction of voters since worm brain is polling under 5%. He WAS polling at 10%, but most of those people were double-haters and left for the Harris camp. Many of the rest will likely stay home on Election Day.
This week, construction of the platform for the Inauguration on 20 January 2025 was begun. Honest, did anyone else tell you that? Facts and figures here.
A fun thing…this link will show you cool swag available at the convention.
Another fun thing:
The Wieners Circle, an iconic hot dog restaurant in Chicago, is featuring a “footlong” hot dog this week during the Democratic National Convention.
By “footlong”, The Wieners Circle clarifies that the hot dog is actually three-inches long, a nod to convicted felon Donald Trump’s history of exaggerating the size of his… crowds. Source.
Thanks for reading. Back on Sunday.
Wieners Circle🏆😂
Well... my Online Psychology Degree [I've seen ads on social media] imagines this type of violence stems from lack of education, the lack of the ability to think critically...
Lashing out with violent behavior because they can't reason; they can't see another option or solution.
And I think it's a critical reason the right is banning books, trying to make criminals of librarians, and dictating what and how a teacher can teach, forcing women to have children, keeping them in poverty. They *want* and uneducated, easily swayed, frightened population because they're easier to manipulate and to keep themselves in power.