May 8, 2020: Oy Vey & Sidewalk Butterflies

MAY 8, 2020: OY VEY & Sidewalk Butterflies & Stuff TO READ PREVIOUS BLOGS: TERRYBAUM.BLOGSPOT.COM PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO ANYONE WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED. Click Here to Subscribe to the Blog. LEFT: WORLD'S CUTEST LITTLE CACTUS IS BLOOMING! OY VEY Our Country! Activism Kvetches about Animal Housemates Sidewalk Butterflies ONE: OY VEY Our Country! I don't know about you, but I found the current deluge of headlines ... how shall I say?.... stupifying? Terrifying? Unimaginable? SBA slashes disaster-loan limit from $2 million to $150,000, shuts out nearly all new applicants. Trump vows complete end of Obamacare law despite pandemic. As Iowa reopens, workers are being forced to choose between a paycheck and their health. As hunger grows, GOP pushes back over Food Stamps. And these are just the headlines on the front page! I understand that Trump is so narcissistic as to be insane. But all the Republicans in Congress? What planet do they expect to live on? Do they really want to end up inhabiting mansions behind barbed wire-topped walls while the War of All Against All goes on around them? Why would anyone want that? Do they want the return of slavery? I mean, I'm just asking. Where do the Republicans think all this is leading? Pushing back over food stamps -- that I really don't get. Food stamps don't just benefit hungry people. They benefit FARMERS -- who are mostly Republican. So the GOP is willing to sabotage its own base in order to afflict poor people? I remember in 2016 when Trump came to California's Central Valley to speak to a big organization of farmers. One of them asked him, "What about the drought? What are you going to do about that?" Trump's response: "Forget about the drought! The drought's over! It's taken care of! You'll never have to worry about it again!" I thought, well, he's certainly not going to get THEIR endorsement! Farmers have to deal with reality head-on, in terms of weather and a lot of other things that they can't control. Trump just proved to them that he had absolutely no idea how to help them during the drought and wasn't interested in trying. And then the next day the farmers voted to endorse Donald Trump for President. Let us always remind ourselves that the majority of citizens did NOT vote for Trump for President. That's important to remember. The Electoral College, that relic of slavery, made him President. Not the people. TWO: ACTIVISM I believe, all things considered, it is far better to do SOMETHING than nothing. As you know, I've been trying to figure out the best SOMETHING to do. And I think that lobbying to support the Post Office is an urgent place to start. It's a crucial institution, and it will be REALLY crucial for mailing in ballots in November. I know that many rarely use the mail anymore. But I am particularly fond of sending postcards. In fact, I started a political project, "Postcards 4 Democracy," right after Trump was elected. It was a quixotic endeavor to get Republican electors to change their vote. We knew it had no chance of succeeding, but we came together in groups and alleviated our despair with camaraderie. It was very nice, and I don't think anyone regretted the time spent. Since then, there have been a LOT of political postcard projects. I don't know if I was the sole originator of the idea or if others thought of it at the same time. We did have P4D groups all over the country. Anyhow, at this point, we need the U.S. Post Office for political purposes. We MUST have the ability to mail in our votes. SO HERE'S SOMETHING TO DO, AS PART OF INDIVISIBLE: For San Franciscans: Go to this link for phone numbers of your Senators and Representative, along with a call script to demand the U.S. Post Office be fully funded and that there be funding in the next relief bill for an all-mail November election. For Others: Go to this link to find contact info for all members of Congress. Here's a link to a Call Script from Indivisible. I URGE YOU TO TAKE SOME ACTION! JUST ONE PHONE CALL IS BETTER THAN NO PHONE CALLS. I'VE MADE TWO OF MY THREE PHONE CALLS. I'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM EVERY BLOGGELINI WHO'S DOING SOMETHING, WHATEVER IT IS. I'D LOVE SOME MORE IDEAS. THREE: KVETCHES About Animal Housemates A. PESTS: I have ants AND mice. That seems a bit unfair. The mice can get in where the ants can’t and vice versa. So it’s impossible to figure out how to store a very large bag of dog food.  People have told me to just talk to the ants. And I DO. I say, “When you decided to come on my kitchen counter, you made a BIG mistake. And now you’re gonna DIE!!” And then I spray them with my special ant spray, a mix of vinegar and dishwashing soap. It doesn't kill them as fast as Windex, but it does the trick. I’m a total wimp when it comes to traps and poison. B. PUPS: I have no idea how I’m going to groom my two LARGE Standard Poodles. I would never have adopted Loulou, my second one, if I had ever dreamed a pandemic would necessitate me washing, brushing and clipping both of them all by myself. Look at these poor puffy poodles. They can't even see, they're so puffy! Have you ever tried to brush a poodle? It's not easy. And I’ve got a lot of poodle acreage. Not to mention that I can’t find anywhere to buy the clippers, since all the other poodle guardians are in the same boat. Clippers, clippers, my kingdom for a pair of poodle clippers! FOUR: SIDEWALK BUTTERFLIES & SOMETHING PRECIOUS I was walking home, and there she was, Molly Monster, the creator of the Seven Dwarves of the Pandemic, creating .... butterflies on the sidewalk! ‌ And just one more photo, of something we all value highly: Oh! I almost forgot: CORRECTION: In the previous blog about my shameful paint job on my house, I said my next door neighbor commented, "You've reduced everyone's property values by $10,000." My neighbor, a Bloggelini, said, "That doesn't sound like me. Are you sure I said that?" And then I remembered that it wasn't him. It was someone who lived across the street. All for now, Bloggelinis! But I'm not going to send this right away because I have my writers' group in a few minutes. I've never consulted anyone before I sent it out. But I'm going to try it. I love criticism. I'm very strange that way. Terry (Later: Made a small change as a result of the writer's group)