PAY ATTENTION.

(Not gonna be my most clever or eloquent, but feels urgent to post something. I woke up like this.)

Pay attention today to what happens in the Senate today.  I believe the actions taken today—the decision whether to allow witnesses in this impeachment trial—has the potential to decide the fate of this Republic.  (I really do hate sounding so dramatic but I don’t know how else to put it.)  I’m sick of the “history will judge this GOP harshly” cluck-clucking.  History is now.  We have to judge them harshly NOW.  We are running out of chances to preserve the republic.

If the Senate will not call witnesses, if the Senate will not conduct a fair impeachment trial, it waives—it denudes itself of—its most critical oversight power: the check on a lawless president.  When Congress has no power—the people have no power.  You and I have no power.  Congress is our voice.  If Congress cannot perform its checks on the executive branch...we no longer have a president as the Constitution defines it.  We have a man above law.  I wouldn’t expect Donald Trump to know Louis XIV’s “l’etat c’est moi”, but he understands and craves the meaning of that sentiment.

A sham trial “exonerating” the president will only embolden him to continue usurping power.  (How is this not crystal clear—I want to bang my head against the wall.)  

Possible implication: Imagine the President loses the electoral college in 2020, but he and his lackeys cry voter fraud.  He refuses the results and will not give up the White House.  Can we rely on Congress to enforce the results of the election?  Would they remove him?  Could they?  It profoundly saddens me that I don’t have that faith.  

[“Claire, you’re crazy, that’s not gonna happen.” Before the 2016 election, he said: “I’ll accept the results—if I win.”  He tells us who he is all the time.  We have to believe him.  If he was willing to challenge election results WITHOUT the power of incumbency, do we really think he wouldn’t do it with his fat ass comfortably on the White House toilet?  Particularly if leaving office surrenders his protection from indictment?]

I don’t understand GOP senators—isn’t this one of those great opportunities of history to do what’s right?  Why is it so hard? I will never understand the individual cowardice.  Why—WHY—would you rather go down in history as a servile imp to team cruel-ignorant-despot-wannabe-and-gobbly-turtle-man than as a LEGITIMATE AMERICAN HERO??

I can understand the collective cowardice however.  I always think back to that GOP post-mortem report after losing to Obama a second time.  They understood that demographics were scheduled to doom the Republican Party as it currently operated, but rather than adapt itself to our norms and institutions, they decided to keep power by burning the whole thing down.

I remember a conversation I had with someone who couldn’t stomach Hillary, who knows deep down that Trump is trash, but is too stubborn to give any ground.  I listed how I saw Trump as a real threat to the Constitution—our very system of government.  He scoffed at me.  “The Republic will survive,” he said.  “Why risk it?” I answered.  

Evil knows it will lose to good in a fair fight, so it works to gain any edge it can through deceit and trickery BEFORE the fight begins in earnest.  It stacks its deck by taking advantage of good’s faith that everything will be alright, of good’s complacency, of good’s fear that maybe it’s too late.  

We must care.  We must pay attention.

This has been your occasionally scheduled freak-out over the decline of our democracy.  Have a nice rest of your day.

#neverforget: A Treatise on Fear and Freedom

After listening to President Obama’s speech (which I highly recommend), I was inspired to dig up FDR’s Four Freedoms speech.  I’d been meaning to do so for a while—it often pops into my head against the constant, reckless fear-mongering by our president and his enablers.  The Four Freedoms speech was FDR’s State of the Union address in January 1941—his message that the Union was preparing for the fight of her life, an existential battle for how humans deserve to live in this world: with freedom of speech, freedom to worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.  The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor would happen less than a year later.  

It’s scary how relevant his words are now.  An excerpt:

I suppose that every realist knows that the democratic way of life is at this moment being directly assailed in every part of the world–assailed either by arms, or by secret spreading of poisonous propaganda by those who seek to destroy unity and promote discord in nations that are still at peace.

... 

In times like these it is immature–and incidentally, untrue–for anybody to brag that an unprepared America, single-handed, and with one hand tied behind its back, can hold off the whole world.

No realistic American can expect from a dictator’s peace international generosity, or return of true independence, or world disarmament, or freedom of expression, or freedom of religion–or even good business.

Such a peace would bring no security for us or for our neighbors. “Those, who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

As a nation, we may take pride in the fact that we are softhearted; but we cannot afford to be soft-headed.

We must always be wary of those who with sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal preach the “ism” of appeasement.

We must especially beware of that small group of selfish men who would clip the wings of the American eagle in order to feather their own nests. 

How reassuring to read and imagine hearing those words from an American president.  Don’t know what you got till it’s gone, right?

I bring this up today out of anxiety that we are confusing what we should #neverforget about September 11, 2001.  The attacks of September 11th were an evil and cowardly attack on our freedom.  They were meant to inspire fear.  Death by itself can’t destroy democracy—fear can.  Like democracy, fear is simply an idea.  But they are two ideas that cannot live in the same place.

I remember a particular history lesson at Villa.  Our teacher remarked it wasn’t a given that ordinary Americans would stick to the values of democracy in the wake of the stock market crash and Great Depression.  The conditions for fascism seemed riper in a place like Germany, for instance, but we were not immune.  Look at this photo essay from The Atlantic.  These are images of 1930s New Jersey and New York, not Germany.  (Check out that crowd at Madison Square Garden—yuge!)  High-profile Americans like Charles Lindbergh espoused the “America First” Committee, whose stated goal was to keep America out of the war, an intention that sometimes mixed with fascism of its own.  On this day in 1941, Lindbergh gave a speech detailing the three groups he believed were to blame for pushing us towards war in Europe—the British, American Jews, and the Roosevelt administration.  Regarding the second group, he said:

It is not difficult to understand why Jewish people desire the overthrow of Nazi Germany. The persecution they suffered in Germany would be sufficient to make bitter enemies of any race.

No person with a sense of the dignity of mankind can condone the persecution of the Jewish race in Germany. But no person of honesty and vision can look on their pro-war policy here today without seeing the dangers involved in such a policy both for us and for them. Instead of agitating for war, the Jewish groups in this country should be opposing it in every possible way for they will be among the first to feel its consequences.

Tolerance is a virtue that depends upon peace and strength. History shows that it cannot survive war and devastations. A few far-sighted Jewish people realize this and stand opposed to intervention. But the majority still do not.

Their greatest danger to this country lies in their large ownership and influence in our motion pictures, our press, our radio and our government. 

But be assured: 

I am not attacking either the Jewish or the British people. Both races, I admire.

But I am saying that the leaders of both the British and the Jewish races, for reasons which are as understandable from their viewpoint as they are inadvisable from ours, for reasons which are not American, wish to involve us in the war.

We cannot blame them for looking out for what they believe to be their own interests, but we also must look out for ours. We cannot allow the natural passions and prejudices of other peoples to lead our country to destruction.

Back in that history class, I remember thinking how obvious it seemed that remaining true to the values of our democracy would be the only way to defeat fascism.  And I still don’t think that’s my hindsight bias talking.  Democracy and fascism are fundamentally opposed.  Democracy includes all people—all men are created equal.  Fascism excludes certain people.  Charles Lindbergh doesn’t get to exclude Jewish people from an American democracy, as much as he professes to “admire their race”.  When we compromise on which groups of people get to be included in “freedom”, we defeat democracy.  When we compromise on a fundamental belief, it’s not a fundamental belief anymore.  Democracy depends on the word “all.”

Fear and freedom cannot live in the same place.  I believe this essential truth to my core.  You know it too.  We feel most human when we are most free:

• when we can freely and honestly express what’s happening in our brains and hearts, and when we respect others for doing the same
• when we can praise the spirit of life in whatever way makes sense to us, in whatever way gives us true joy
• when our bodies enjoy health and sustenance and mobility, when we can walk and eat and dance
• when we can do all these things with confidence, when we can do them without shame, without being afraid.

Isn’t that when we feel most alive?

That is the promise of America I grew up believing in and loving.  The promise itself is American exceptionalism—the rest is just noise.  When we abandon the promise, we lose what sets us apart, what makes us great—our freedom.

I’ll presume to close with the end of FDR’s 1941 State of the Union:

This nation has placed its destiny in the hands and heads and hearts of its millions of free men and women; and its faith in freedom under the guidance of God. Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. Our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights and keep them. Our strength is our unity of purpose.

To that high concept there can be no end save victory.

Raise a glass to freedommmmm

Give me your tired, your poor, and I'll take those babies away: A Treatise on the Border Situation.

If we cannot recognize both the cruelty of separating children from their parents at our border and who bears responsibility for this cruelty, I'm not sure we can claw our way back up this slippery slope.  Again I ask my friends and family who voted for Donald Trump: what are the limits of your tolerance for his actions?  Where do you draw the line?  If the tearing of children from their parents does not stir rage in you, what will?  That is not a rhetorical question.  How bad does it need to get?  Because that is what our president is testing.  The American president and his disciples ask—no, they condescendingly expect your partisan fervor to override your natural empathy for that instinctual panic of a child who cannot find her mother.  But the team conveniently provides an out for those of you (presumably good Christians) who hate what is happening to the poor children: they assure you they too, as parents and Christians, hate this abomination, but there is simply nothing they can do to stop it.  The blame falls squarely on their political enemies.  Republicans only control the presidency and both houses of Congress.  The buck stops somewhere else. 

If our president is such an expert negotiator (who, let's not forget, has all the power on his side), why does he need to use real-life, vulnerable children as pawns? This is the genius of Donald Trump, you say.  He’s effectively forcing a conversation.  Many methods are effective, even sanctioned by law.  But that does not make them all moral.  The ends do not justify the means.  This is not some brilliant move of brinksmanship to force Democrats to the table on illegal immigration.  This is only cruel.  Any fool can orchestrate inhumanity in an attempt to get his way.  The strategy is not only despicable, but shortsighted.  Who else has used this strategy?  How did that turn out?

We can even look at this “policy” specifically.  Who else in history has forcibly separated children from their parents?  Nazis come to mind.  Antebellum slave traders come to mind.  I’m no policy maker, but I’d think we could find better role models.  Though I guess we shouldn't be surprised.  Our president has expressed sympathy for Nazi demonstrators before our very eyes. Our attorney general, like his father and grandfather before him, is named after the president of the Confederacy and the man who oversaw the first attack on the Union. Still, emulating those who increase their power by degrading fellow humans seems at odds that old American fundamental “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”.  But maybe the founders really did just mean men, what with "original intent" and all.  Tough luck, women and children.*

Perhaps in the search for biblical justification, Sarah Huckabee Sanders alerted the president to the story of the judgment of Solomon, but he quickly got bored, heard the words "split the baby in half" and thought, "great idea."  Spoiler alert, Don: Solomon neither cuts the baby in two nor blames his murder of the child on the dispute of the mothers.  But in that movie, Republicans of Congress win best supporting actor in the role of the mother who is happy the baby dies.

*THANKS IVANKA

State of the Blob.

My fellow Americans, the state of the Blob is middling to fair.  I know I said I was going to end it, now it’s back, will I end it again…not sure.  I think I’m resuscitating it.  I know, I’m a tease.  (Speaking of resuscitation, did anyone else expect a reference to the Bee Gees while our president got into the particulars of CPR during his State of the Union address?  I sure did.)

I just finished watching the SOTU while drinking wine straight from the bottle.  So there’s a new low.  I had to turn it off as soon as the post-game commentator used the word “Reaganesque”.  Pretty sure the “shining city on a hill” speech didn’t include any “very, very, very, very”s.  To be fair, maybe that dude was using “Reaganesque” to mean “gradually incapacitated”.  Or maybe he thinks “Reaganesque” means “proving one can read”.  In that case, okay, sir, you have a point.  I think we can put to rest the conspiracy theory that Donald Trump does not know how to read.  I am confident if, at the ripe and stable age of 71, the man does not know the words to the Star Spangled Banner, he most likely was unable to memorize the second longest SOTU address in history and therefore must have read it instead.  Bravo.  (It did occur to me they might have rented the Disney World Hall of Presidents animatronic Trump for an evening...did anyone actually see Donald Trump walk away from the podium??  Or did they know we would all turn off the TV in disgust BEFORE a president would typically leave a podium…he could be stuck there…“he” as in “it”…“stuck” as in “bolted to the floor”…this also explains Mike Pence’s periodic gazes of loving admiration…holy moley, it all adds up…cannot think of a single flaw.  New theory: Disney animatronics running the country.  Thank God.)

To close, I will presume to borrow a few Reaganesque words, the last lines of his “shining city on a hill” speech.  If you have time, the whole thing is worth the read.  You can decide for yourself if it bears much relation to the address we heard tonight.

Let us resolve tonight that young Americans will always see those Potomac lights; that they will always find there a city of hope in a country that is free. And let us resolve they will say of our day and our generation that we did keep faith with our God, that we did act "worthy of ourselves;" that we did protect and pass on lovingly that shining city on a hill.

PS, Mr. Putin, tear down this wall!  lol jk love you man. 

Harvey who?

I find myself in a familiar scenario—I fly tomorrow for the Dirty Jerz, my suitcase stubbornly remains unpacked, and I decide that now, 11:00pm, is a good time to sit down and blob.  At least I’ve packed the two critical items—my everything bagel and cream cheese making kit and my terry-cloth bathrobe. Whatever else I need I can probably steal from my sisters.  This has worked in the past.

But now I feel compelled to share some big, cheesy love for the first city that stole my heart—HOUSTON, you big, ugly, beautiful, delicious sprawl of a city.  Just writing the word “cheesy” made me hungry for the queso only you can provide.  Look what you’ve done to me.  I have you to thank for some of my best friendships and best memories.  I miss you, I love you, I’m proud of you.  The images from the hurricane boggle my mind and break my heart, so I went back through my own images of Houston to cheer myself up.  I hope they’ll do the same for you.

First, literal cheer.

Second, comfort food.

Third, weather you used to think was a disaster.

And fourth, the kind of downpours we prefer.

Please be mindful of your safety.

And know we've got your back.
(Friends, please consider donating to YES Prep Family Flood Relief fund. I used to coach at YES Prep--they are wonderful people.)

PS. Current presidents need not apply...

...Houston has enough dopey big heads!

Drastic times.

Listen, I really am trying not to interpret everything as signs of looming World War III/American implosion via class warfare/anarchy/eventual nuclear holocaust.  But suddenly preppers seem a lot less crazy.  (Don’t worry, I’m not building a bunker but our storage room may serve, so that is where we keep our bottled water and canned tuna.)

I’m not the only one freaking out:

Catchy new tagline.

I’m just very disturbed at how faithfully Orange Julius is following the authoritarian playbook.  The scapegoating of particular religious, ethnic, and non-heterosexual people, for instance, was an old standby for another thin-skinned dude who liked to yell and had bad hair.  (Ok, you caught me.  I’m not above a Hitler-Trump comparison.)  NEWS ALERT: Muslims aren’t killing us by the thousands (guns are), Mexicans aren’t stealing our jobs (automation is), and transsexuals aren’t grabbing your daughter’s pussy in the women’s room (she should watch out for our President though).  Picking on minority groups and the vulnerable may make some (miserable) people feel better, but it does not solve problems.  It actually creates them.  Stop me if I sound crazy.  Oh right, you can’t.

Here’s a problem created by the dogwhistling and hateful rhetoric that spewed from the Trump campaign, and now spews from the White House:

 

In case your preferred news source didn't cover this, vandals desecrated 100 graves at a historic Jewish cemetery in St. Louis this week.

As it turns out, bad people are empowered to do bad things when we do not actively embrace tolerance and respect, when we elect people who do not actively embrace tolerance and respect.

One of the most moving places I have ever been is the Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague.  For over 300 years, it was the only place the city’s Jewish people were allowed to bury their dead.  The graves are stacked layers upon layers, making “ground level” something like thirty feet above the current street. Up to 100,000 people may be buried there.  Seeing these graves all crammed together sparked a major understanding in my brain when I visited with my family a few years ago.  The Nazis didn’t cook up anti-Semitism in the 1930s—it was hundreds and hundreds of years in the making.  Passive cruelty and episodic violence were the norms.  Europe was so primed with anti-Semitism that it required just one particularly evil man to twist prejudice into holocaust.

Photos can't really capture this place. 

I’m not saying Donald Trump is plotting to murder all the groups he recklessly scapegoats.  But I am saying he is too cozy with authoritarian methods of exploiting fear and prejudice.  People like David Duke, Milo Yiannopoulos, Richard Spencer, and cowardly grave vandals should not feel encouraged by the President of the United States.  But they do.

I’m still hopeful our nation's history has primed us to love and defend freedom.  But I fear this slippery slope we’re on.  I love you, America, but I don’t like you a whole lot right now.  We need to open our eyes to reality.  Democracy dies in darkness.

A Christmas tradition.

Watching the Kennedy Center Honors is a cherished Christmas tradition in my family.  Is this normal?  We all gather ‘round the TV and discuss how old and decrepit the honorees are looking these days, while we enjoy the retrospectives on their lives and careers. 

Peter asks, "Which member of the Eagles looks most like a skeleton?"

Those of you who do not dedicate a Christmas evening to sending senior citizens off into the American pantheon are truly missing out.  Every year, the Kennedy Center chooses a handful of actors/musicians/directors/entertainers to honor with a lifetime achievement award.  They put on a big glitzy show and bring in other celebrities to pay homage to the honorees.  It’s kind of similar to the “In Memoriam” segment of the Oscars, but the people are still alive.  The President and First Lady sit up in the box with all the honorees.  During any musical number, the camera pans up to the presidential box and we get to see everyone really feeling the music (see 1:00 and 2:32 marks). 

While I enjoy learning about the honorees’ lives and careers, I particularly love how awkward some of these tributes are.  The most bizarre in recent memory was Martin Short’s tribute to Tom Hanks in 2014.  At the end, Martin breaks out into an elaborate “Yankee Doodle Dandy” song and dance number (no, you are not forgetting Tom Hank’s hit role in Yankee Doodle Dandy.  Yes, it was an odd choice for a Tom Hanks tribute).  If you can’t stomach the whole thing, at least skip to the 16:10 mark—even Tom is like, wtf is happening.  Don’t miss 17:30 for a tap dancing child prodigy and Tom Hanks again being like, wtf.  Now envision in the same show, a sitar tribute to Sting and frequent camera pans to him clapping like a poorly programmed animatronic (9:40).  Like I said, you’re missing out if this is not part of your holiday tradition. 

This year's show could not escape a certain bittersweet atmosphere.  It was, of course, the last time a normal human president will preside over the event for quite some time, perhaps forever.  Attending the Kennedy Center Honors is just one of the many ceremonial duties I cannot quite envision for our president-elect.  (Reading books to schoolchildren, throwing out the first pitch, and giving State of the Union are others.)  Can we expect him to sit through an entire evening honoring other people?  Will his vanity allow it?  Our child-in-chief might need to bring his iPad.  Imagine the tweets coming from the president’s box. 

My show THE APPRENTICE got higher ratings than anything <insert actual honoree> has ever done!  Where is my award?  Very unfair!

I have to spend the evening with Hollywood elite—would rather focus on YOU, the American people!

But let's be real.  I think we all can predict what's in store for the 2017 Kennedy Center Honors.

Melania would rather be in her tower.

With a special tribute from surprise guest, Vlad!

*I know I promised not to name or depict our president-elect for the rest of 2016.  I'm sorry.  I couldn't help myself.  But...are you not entertained??

Vlad can't HEAR you!

The Blob's Favorite Podcasts of 2016.

I should be packing for my return to the East Coast.  So instead I will assemble a list of my favorite podcasts.

I came late to the podcast train.  Before 2016, I hardly knew what podcasts were, let alone how to get them onto my phone.  (What is internet?)  I heard people talk about programs like This American Life, but I just figured I would never know how to listen to them.  I liken it to how I felt not getting the Disney channel as a kid.  I’d hear the other kids talk about the shows and Disney channel original movies, but knew these things would never be part of my life.  I could only pretend to also have a crush on the Famous Jett Jackson.  I would never truly know him.

Earlier this year, however, I discovered the “Podcast” app on my phone and that subscribing to podcasts is free.  Who knew?  Now I don’t know how to get through a workday without my podcasts.  And Will doesn’t know how to get me to shut up about them.  So without further ado, the Blob’s Favorite Podcasts of 2016.

All Time Favorite: FiveThirtyEight Elections/Politics Podcast

They don’t know it, but Nate Silver, Clare Malone, Harry Enten, and Jody Avirgan are my best friends.  If only they knew me.  Clare is my soul sister (practically the same name, Catholic, went to Georgetown, one of four girls) and Harry is my nerd crush.  When I first heard his voice, I thought he was a 60-year-old Jewish man, but it turns out he is a very handsome my-age Jewish man.  I proposed marriage to him via Twitter when Will and I went to a live taping of the podcast in San Francisco, but he never answered.  I still hold out hope.

Nate, Clare, <3 Harry <3, Jody.

Happy nerds.

Nate and the gang offer sane, data-based election/politics analysis, with a healthy mix of nerd humor.  I wish more people would listen to them.  They are thoughtful, fair, and…balanced (!).

Runner Up: Presidential

Lillian Cunningham of the Washington Post aired an episode about each president every week leading up to the election.  It was a good substitute for my presidential biography reading (on which I made zero progress this year).  This easily could have been a gimmicky podcast about president trivia (did you know Taft was a fatty?  Did you know John Quincy Adams went skinny-dipping in the Potomac?), but instead, Lillian explored substantial themes every week (Abraham Lincoln’s love of writing and language, how William McKinley revolutionized the presidential campaign, etc).  I learned a lot and was also entertained (see William Henry Harrison campaign song).  I especially appreciated her treatment of the more recent presidents—she examined each with an open mind, without resorting to popular opinions and stereotypes.  This podcast is just another reason to support and subscribe to the Washington Post.  Gotta make an extra effort to support the First Amendment under the reign of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

Best Theme Song: Dan Snow’s History Hit

I catch myself doing the same shoulder bob I do during the Soprano’s theme song.

Current Obsession: Stranglers

The people behind Stranglers have reopened the investigation of the Boston Strangler(s).  It’s both a fascinating and deeply disturbing listen.  Not for the faint of heart.  Also not recommended for listening right before you leave work and walk home alone…in the dark.

Other favorite: Longform

The guys on Longform interview writers and editors from all different kinds of publications.  Often brings on daydreams of a career as a freelance writer…

Best Podcast Made By One of My Cousins: NBA Squeeze

If you are looking for some deep cut analysis of the NBA with bonus Seinfeld references, look no further than the NBA Squeeze. I do not regularly watch the NBA, so I must admit a lot of the analysis of specific teams and players gets by me.  However, I particularly enjoy when Ryan and Joe get into the mechanics of the game.  Is the charge an appropriate call for the NBA?  Shouldn’t more guards be grabbing rebounds, while the bigs do all the boxing out work?  Why do we crave high fives at the foul line?  Have high fives gotten out of hand (pardon the pun)?  All important questions.  Thank you, Ryan and Joe, for bringing them to light.

---

My full list of podcasts is below (with assorted brief commentaries).  Favorites in bold.  I am always open to suggestions.

The Nerdist: my very first podcast.

Coffee Break Spanish: a very Scottish guy does this podcast but his Spanish is pretty good to my ear…

BBC Documentary: great except their episodes on America usually drip with condescension.

New Yorker Fiction

Undisclosed

Lore: just wish Aaron Mahnke would stop saying “you see” every third sentence.

Serial

TEDTalks: I have to be in the mood for TED talks.

Presidential

Makers

BackStory with the American History Guys: love these dudes.

FiveThirtyEight Elections

This American Life

Radiolab

Planet Money

New Yorker: The Writer’s Voice

Song Exploder

Embedded

KCRW’s The Organist

Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me

Freakonomics

Criminal

The Moth

99% Invisible: Is this the voice Roman Mars uses in his daily life?

Here’s the Thing with Alec Baldwin: Alec Baldwin is an arrogant windbag, but he interviews interesting people.

Death, Sex & Money

What’s the Point

Longform

Dan Snow’s HISTORY HIT: love this British nerd.  Great history podcast—his World War I stuff is very good.

More Perfect

Revisionist History

With Her: :____(

On Being with Krista Tippet: very zen.

NBA Squeeze

Looped In: Houston real estate podcast.  Gotta stay in the loop ;) ;) ;)

Stanglers

Colonial Williamsburg History: only episode I listened to was an interview with “George Washington”.  Not great.

Keepin’ It 1600

NPR Politics

Breakdown: Intriguing and incredibly depressing.  Don’t leave your kids in a hot car.

Decoding Westworld

Art Detective

The West Wing Weekly

Bag ladies for America.

I am all studied up for voting in California tomorrow.  17 state ballot measures, 24 city propositions, and 1 district measure.  Most exciting thing I learned: there is an American Progressive Bag Alliance.  Where do I sign up?  They are fighting California’s proposed ban on single-use plastic and paper bags.  Some of you may know—upon moving to San Francisco, I was very distressed to learn the city had banned plastic bags.  My precious plastic bags.  I had amassed a considerable collection in Houston.  How would I, in this new city, find more plastic bags to stuff into other plastic bags?  It has indeed been a struggle.  It’s too late for plastic bags in San Francisco, but perhaps not in California, if the American Progressive Bag Alliance has its way.  I await the result of tomorrow’s vote with bated breath.

In other news, I will be wearing a pantsuit tomorrow in honor of HRC.  Let's go ladiezzzz.

To the tune of "Work work work work work": Vote vote vote vote vote.