I’m thinking of going limp. What can I do to fend off the disaster bearing down on us in November? Vote, of course. That’s easy. Speak up. No shortage of that going on. But otherwise, I think I have to disengage, at least a little, from the doomscrolling. It’s not good for me, or anyone else.
Sunday morning is a good example of why. Almost the whole NYT op-ed section is full of Doom, so I turned to a reliable quality read, M.L. Elrick in the Free Press. His column today is about Kwame Kilpatrick, the disgraced former Detroit mayor granted clemency by Donald Trump in the final hours of his presidency. He’s up to his old tricks, needless to say. In the last four years he’s married, gone into “ministry,” and is living large — very large — while ignoring the money he owes to the city and to the IRS. He’s accomplishing this via a number of tried-and-true strategies — putting things in his wife’s name, or a company name — and doesn’t care what anyone thinks, because there’s a sucker born every minute.
Now he’s working to repay the only debt he feels obligated by, to Trump, in this case, an appearance at an event called “Let Us Reason Together: Our Faith, Our Values, Our Politics.” Elrick attended. The column is paywalled, but I’ll quote a few snippets beyond my three-paragraph limit here:
I’ve said for years that Trump and Kilpatrick are white and Black versions of the same person: charismatic, compelling, energetic, engaging, egotistical, materialistic, vain, thin-skinned, utterly untethered to the truth, quick to blame others — especially the media — for their self-inflicted wounds and, yes, horny. And now they share convictions, ranging from the kind juries hand down after a trial to a belief that Trump should be returned to the White House.
…As I left Monday’s event, after participating in a convivial but unanticipated photo op with Kilpatrick, I couldn’t stop thinking: Trump gave Kilpatrick his freedom, but if Hizzoner helps persuade enough Black voters to abandon the Democratic Party, Kilpatrick could help give Trump the world.
More:
…Kilpatrick told his audience there are many reasons he supports Trump. Like Apostle Ellis Smith, the evening’s co-host, Kilpatrick hit on conservative flashpoints like gender identity. He said the Democratic Party he helped lead while serving in the Michigan House of Representatives from 1997 to 2002 “doesn’t exist anymore” and that he was shocked Democrats supported laws that said children don’t have to talk to their parents before seeking a sex change. He said he never would have let such a law pass when he was a legislator, adding, “we have come to a transformational time.”
Kilpatrick said style is another reason young Black men are turning to an old white man (Trump is 78).
“Because people like somebody to be real,” he said, adding that Trump “is saying it in a way like we’re in the back of the house talking.”
Kilpatrick said he met with Trump and, “he’s a real cool guy for sure. Real cool, real comfortable. But he’s smart.”
And how was this speech landing?
Aeisha Reeves, of Clinton Township, said she is preparing to become more active and outspoken.
“I really loved his honesty today,” she said of Kilpatrick. Even though she didn’t vote for Trump in 2016 or 2020, Reeves said: “I plan on voting for him this time.”
Jimmy Lee Tillman II, who said he is the son of civil rights activist and longtime Democratic Chicago Alderwoman Dorothy Tillman, told me he came from Chicago to hear Kilpatrick.
“We’re here on the ground and we’re trying to bring the victory home for Trump. And Detroit is going to play a key role,” Tillman said. “When you got a voice like Kilpatrick and a base, that’s all you need.”
I really don’t worry if black people vote for Trump in ones and twos, and I really don’t think Kilpatrick will swing all that many. But I believe far more will stay home, and that’s the dangerous cohort.
I should add that there is a case to be made that Kilpatrick was over-sentenced for his crimes. Public-official corruption, in the federal system, generally carries far shorter sentences than the 27-year bid Kilpatrick was doing, but now Kilpatrick joins Rod Blagojevich in owing his freedom to a fellow criminal. And like Blago, he’s saying thank-you in a way a fellow criminal will understand.
You can see maybe why I need to disengage from some of this. Here’s another picture of those pretty radishes. I’ll see you later this week.
ROGirl said on June 30, 2024 at 12:05 pm
I have no desire to engage any more, either. The disaster is looming and it doesn’t feel like anything will stop it. Donald Trump could probably shit his pants on live TV and be praised for his honesty. Joe Biden shouldn’t have run again and he can’t undo the damage at this point.
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Sherri said on June 30, 2024 at 12:39 pm
All this is doing great things for my strength training, though. I competed yesterday at a powerlifting meeting and set new personal bests in all three lifts!
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nancy said on June 30, 2024 at 12:52 pm
Sherri, likewise. I tell people I’m training for my Swim to Freedom, in 2025 or whenever the borders close.
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brian stouder said on June 30, 2024 at 1:20 pm
I still say, Biden/Harris will win walking away, and if Father Time comes calling for Joe, then we get our first woman POTUS, and she’ll preside for the rest of the ‘20’s and into the 30’s
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Dorothy said on June 30, 2024 at 2:29 pm
Brian Stouder let’s sit next to each other and hold hands and smile and maybe we’ll reassure everyone. Eventually. I feel the same as you. Maybe it’ll come down to a fantasy but I’m clinging to it right now.
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brian stouder said on June 30, 2024 at 2:45 pm
Dorothy, I’ll buy us a couple of Diet Pepsi’s!
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Julie Robinson said on June 30, 2024 at 3:55 pm
Congrats, Sherri. I hope all of us have coping mechanisms. My favorites are either being creative or participating in others’ creativity. And this week we were blessed with three incredible theatre shows; Hello Dolly, Les Miserables, and The
Play That Goes Wrong.
I’d never seen that last one, and not only did I laugh so hard and long that I cried my makeup off, it was *this close* to actually being pee-your-pants funny.
Today our entire church had a potluck and baby shower for a sweet family, and it was such a wonderful thing. My ovaries have long since shriveled, but seeing those miniature outfits, they might just have attempted a comeback!
I believe these are the moments known as joy snacks, and I’m grateful for them.
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Deborah said on June 30, 2024 at 5:34 pm
I’m also needing something to overcome the doom I’m feeling. I think Biden/Harris will ultimately win but not sure my anxiety levels can take this ride to November.
On top of that, now I think I have aggravated the stress fracture area I had 13 years ago in my right heel bone. It hurts like hell and I’m limping from the pain. This is very aggravating because doing physical labor helps me calm down and quit thinking about all of this shit. Sitting around is not good for my mental health right now. I got my old boot out and I have a message to my Chicago Dr, should I just start wearing it again because that’s all they did for it before. It needs a new liner though and there’s a place in Santa Fe where I think I can get one tomorrow. I’m not sure why I brought it to NM but I’m glad I did if it helps.
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Dexter Friend said on July 1, 2024 at 1:54 am
I am watching the Peter Santenello video where he walks around D.C. with a lawyer who explains in great detail just how crazy Washington politics are. It’s mind blowing.
If Mitch McConnell would not step away after his 2 brain freezes, Joe won’t quit either.
From my observation, Kamala Harris has reached her zenith as VP. The West Wing has pigeonholed her into the very important women’s health issue, but she won’t be President unless Joe succumbs to health or worse. More today than yesterday, Whitmer and Shapiro are waiting in the wings to see what happens as Chicago nears. What a convention awaits there, if Joe can’t hack these next few weeks. The New York Times editorial stunned me; who do they want to step in?
Roofers coming in 6 hours, allegedly. The material is here, the dumpster is here, I just need the 8 man crew of nail pounders to get the job done. Last time I was on that roof was to adjust the old-school DirecTV dish. Rain came, I slipped and slid down to the edge and barely stopped. Down the ladder I went, then burned the fucking ladder so I’d never go up there again. This was many years ago.
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David C said on July 1, 2024 at 6:25 am
I pinched a nerve in my neck this weekend. So now I have that searing, hot poker, electric shock pain in my shoulder and going down my arm. There’s one chair I can get comfortable in and make the pain mostly go away. Other than that it’s terrible. I probably slept 3 hours last night. All because I replaced the bottom seal on the garage door. I don’t know why I do stuff like that anymore. I could easily pay someone else to do it.
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JodiP said on July 1, 2024 at 8:54 am
Deborah and David C, I hope you both get pain relief soon!
This was Pride in the Twin Cities plus my birthday so there was lots of various joy. My wife and I joined our favorite non-profit in the parade. Hundreds of thousands of people cheering, all wishing each other happy pride.
We also booked flights and hotel for a trip to London in September.
Still, I have an undertone of worry not just for the election but the Supreme Court decisions handed down this week. We can arrest the homeless for sleeping but let’s not make it too easy to prosecute the insurrectionists. And Chevron doctrine, it was nice having you for a while.
So yeah trying to avoid too much news…..
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Mark P said on July 1, 2024 at 10:18 am
I saw this but I don’t know who said it: The thing that scares some conservatives about Biden’s age is Harris’ skin color.
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Suzanne said on July 1, 2024 at 10:54 am
SCOTUS has ruled that the President has absolute immunity for anything done as an official act. Sent it back to lower court to figure out what constitutes “official acts”.
We are doomed. I am glad I watched the Nazi rising documentary last week because these types of things will no longer be allowed if Trump gets back in office.
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Dexter Friend said on July 1, 2024 at 10:54 am
Trapped! The roofers started at 6:30 AM and now there is so much equipment, ladders and machines and debris , I can’t get off my porch and the garage door is blocked by another machine. I asked the owner if I should move the Honda , no, “not our first rodeo…” and so, the Odyssey is tarped and covered with debris. I could squeeze by and get out but I am waiting. The truck and dog van are parked in the yard.
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alex said on July 1, 2024 at 10:58 am
David C, I’ve had the same recurring problem for the last 15 years or so. I did physical therapy on it the first time around and the best exercise they gave me was to lie prone on a bed with my head hanging over the edge, then repeatedly raise my head and do chin tucks. Also, you can do chin tucks anytime wherever you are and this helps. Also helpful is massage or chiropractic where they do traction on my neck to pull the vertebrae apart.
I had a bad flare-up recently but I’ve managed to get things pretty much back to normal with the neck exercises and massage. Same symptoms as you describe — extreme pain in the shoulder with symptoms going all the way down the arm and numbness/tingling in the hand.
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Jeff Borden said on July 1, 2024 at 11:09 am
The Supreme Court is now a branch of the ultra-conservative movement. . .a goal of the Federalist Society for decades. The six zealots are power mad –especially Alito, Thomas and Gorsuch–and the chief justice has lost control of his court. Fifty years of progress will be rendered moot by six people. Fucking SIX people. Roger Taney must be looking up from the lowest reaches of Hades and smiling. Roberts will replace the old racist as the worst chief justice in our history.
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Mark P said on July 1, 2024 at 11:22 am
I would order the military to arrest the six judicial democracy destroyers and bring them to the White House in chains. And then I would ask them if this is what they had in mind.
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Bob (not Greene) said on July 1, 2024 at 11:32 am
Biden should take advantage of the opportunity he’s just been given. He won’t, but he should.
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David C said on July 1, 2024 at 12:37 pm
Holy moley Alex. Thanks for that exercise. I’ve only had a chance to do chin tucks a couple of times in thee past 45 minutes but it already feels a little better. Poor Mary, she hates to drive so I do 99% of the driving but we had to get out this morning and she had to drive. She was rusty but she did fine. I wish I could persuade her to drive more but I guess everyone is entitled to not do some things in life.
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Scout said on July 1, 2024 at 1:54 pm
I have reduced my doom scrolling to a few minutes a day just to take the pulse of what is being said. I too believe Biden and Harris will win, despite the cheating and the huge assist Team 2025 For Fascism is getting from the media. I’m confident that if Joe doesn’t have another four years in him, Kamala will be ready on day one to step up and she’ll be fantastic.
Yesterday I made my debut with the Phoenix Mercury Golden Grannies Dance Squad in front of 17,000 people at Footprints Arena. The game was sold out because the Mercury was playing the Indiana Fever starring Caitlin Clark. CC and the Fever won, which was disappointing, but it was an exciting game. On the packed light rail ride home I overheard two women talking about what a great game it was but that their favorite part of the whole thing was the Golden Grannies! It was a blast and I can’t wait to do it again.
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Julie Robinson said on July 1, 2024 at 2:35 pm
Scout, you found your joy snack, excellent! Maybe one of your performances will be on YouTube so we can all share your joy.
I’m also reducing doom scrolling and skim many stories, or even just read the headlines. Still dealing with a grieving mother missing her cat, so I have to preserve my emotional energy.
We are also heading overseas in September!
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Heather said on July 1, 2024 at 3:12 pm
Even if Biden does win, I suspect there will be another armed uprising or the SC will do whatever Trump wants to reverse it.
Time to arrest or at the minimum impeach some SC justices.
I also have to reserve my energy. My boyfriend’s mom died yesterday. She had ALS and went downhill fairly quickly in the last two years, and basically couldn’t move at all. She told her husband a few weeks ago she didn’t want to live anymore, so I suppose it is a mercy.
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Deborah said on July 1, 2024 at 4:44 pm
Scout, I’m jealous, what a great way to get rid of pent up emotion. I wish I could dance.
Alex and David, my physical therapist called exercises like that “putting the toothpaste back in the tube”, it helped me.
Julie, where are you headed? We were thinking about France again in October but since we went to Japan this year we’re going to give it a rest for a bit.
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MarkH said on July 1, 2024 at 5:44 pm
What Mark P. said @17.
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Julie Robinson said on July 1, 2024 at 6:59 pm
Yesterday Mom asked me why Kamala Harris is talked about as Black. Her mind is slipping, and she either didn’t pick up on it in 2020, or she doesn’t remember. It felt a little awkward.
Heather, please pass my condolences along. ALS is just plain awful.
We’re traveling 9/3-17, to England, Ireland, maybe Wales, and France. Trying to visit as many of the family heritage sites as possible. Fortunately our daughter is going along and she’s doing all the planning. We give her the credit card and she works her wonders.
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Sherri said on July 1, 2024 at 10:55 pm
So, the president can order the military to haul his opponent off to Gitmo with immunity, but doesn’t have power to forgive student loans?
Of course, I’m being silly. The president can do whatever he wants if he’s a Republican, and nothing if he’s a Democrat.
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Sherri said on July 2, 2024 at 1:43 pm
Look, I know things feel gloomy right now. Donald Trump is not going to go to prison. But Donald Trump going to prison was never going to solve our problems.
What can we do to help solve our problems? Act locally. You can’t fix the Supreme Court, you can’t fix Congress, but you can do something about your city council or school board. How are marginalized people being treated in your local municipality? Are homeless people being helped and housed, or arrested and swept somewhere else? What are cops spending their time on? Where are people incarcerated? Who provides services to people incarcerated? Is it the government, or a private equity owned company like WellPath, which makes money by denying adequate health care to inmates (and inmates die as a result.)
You can actually make a difference locally, and that will help mitigate the feeling of doom the national picture brings.
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