My inner demons had a blowout party last night. I wasn’t invited, but I was allowed to have the hangover. It was one hell of a party because I wound up with a helluva hangover.
Backtracking slightly, I take a lot of medications. More than half of them are to control my blood pressure. I had a lot of heart surgery a couple of years ago. New mitral valve. Redesigned left ventricle and aortic valve. Bypass. Pacemaker implanted. The whole nine yards of heart surgery. My job is to keep active to the best of my ability … and not get myself so wound up that my drugs can’t keep up with my angst. To say this week has been hyper-over-the-top-angst-o-rama would be no exaggeration.
Illustration: mightygodofthunder
Yesterday, I needed all the help I could get. Tranquility was hard to find. The political pundits — the same people whose predictions and polls were so horribly wrong — are now making new predictions. This time, about the dire consequences of the election they got wrong. I really favor the press. I believe a free press is the wall that stands between us and tyranny.
I also think they need to stop predicting the apocalypse. This is not helping. Guys? Gals? Take a breath and start over. Let’s work from what’s really happening this time rather than on what you fear, hope, or think will make a great headline, okay? Please? Let’s treat the news as fact-based, just for a while. Let’s not sling mud and spread rumors. It doesn’t make things better and raises everyone’s blood pressure.
Anyway, why should these people be more on target now than they were before the election? The answer is “no reason.” They know no more than you or me. Not yet. Nothing has happened. They are extrapolating and speculating to come up with what sounds like a reasonable scenario. Consider this before you leap from that tall building or when you’re getting ready to drink the Kool-Aid. Let’s not sing the death song quite yet. Are you with me? How about a couple of verses of “Kumbaya”? Or “We Shall Overcome”?
All this being said, by the time I hit the bed last night, I was worn to a frazzle. I have done my best to remain calm and stay in the car, as it were. To not leave my car bearing a paring knife to join the big gunfight.
Illustration: omegaman20
As far a drugs go, I didn’t take any more than what is prescribed or anything I don’t usually take. Except when I lay me down to sleep, it all hit at the same time. The drugs, the day, the anxiety, the fear. Wham, bang. I was afraid to raise my head. I was sure I’d pass out.
Thus the party commenced. All my inner demons, physical and psychological, held a grand gala. They drank and danced. They laughed and spun as I lay wondering if I could get to the bathroom a dozen steps away to brush my teeth. Answer: no. I was in no fit shape to be upright. I gave in and went to sleep.
The demons had the party. I got the hangover.
I feel physically better this morning, so something got sorted out during those hours of darkness. If it seems like I’m working hard at staying centered and balanced, you’re correct. I cannot let those demons take over. The overnight shindig was enough. More than enough.
Meanwhile, back at the other laptop, Garry is suffering from Post-Election Trump-Induced Depression. Also known as PETID (PET-ID for the dog and cat enthusiasts). As opposed to the even worse buyer’s remorse that Trump’s voters are going to feel when they realize he isn’t going to do a damned thing to improve their lives.
That’s what you get when you follow a demagogue. That’s no garden path down which he is leading. There’s no better place at the other end of your journey. I guess a lot of people are about to learn this painful lesson. Too bad they didn’t learn it the easy way … from history books.
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Categories: #American-history, #Health, #News, Events, History, Humor, Media, perspective, Politics
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
It sounds like there were a lot of people having a rough time last night.
Leslie
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The issues in this election weren’t just political. They are personal. Now, I guess we wait and see.
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That’s what we’re doing here with Trudeau.
Leslie
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I have this funny feeling that in the end, it’s going to be more of the same with remarkably little difference from previous Republican administrations. That despite everything, this is going to be typical conservative-Rightist-Christian Conservative politics. Which when you add in climate change denial and some flag-waving xenophobia, is quite bad enough.
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It’s a bit like turning the Queen Mary around mid ocean. Whatever happens it’s going to take time to see the effects.
Leslie
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Yes. I’ve been on cruise ships that turned around. It’s a process 🙂
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It is indeed.
Leslie
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There are no ratings and no money in, “Let’s work from what’s really happening this time rather than on what you fear, hope, or think will make a great headline, okay?” But I agree with you 100% there.
I’m so angry at the way the press handled this election (I was angry during the whole process, too) stirring up turmoil. I will always wonder HOW things would have gone if they had NOT sensationalized everything, if they had not “reported” constantly, if we had a more neutral press. I don’t think we have a free press. I think we have a bought press. I don’t want to see one more bleached blonde bitch with vacant eyes and an underbite rattling on about anything ever again.
I’m done. And I’m sleeping OK. The night before? No… Inner demons.
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Maybe our inner demons could get together and have a “wrap party.” Then we can pull back and see how things shake out.
I think most reporters do their best, but they have bosses and their bosses have bosses. Where there’s a bottom line, there’s never true neutrality.
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Nope. The same was true in the teaching game. I was forced to keep my class grades at a C average or I would lose my job. Many times people don’t know the difference between a journalist and a paid talking head. And, these days, they talk over each other as well as certain channels being famously left or famously right, as well as anything on the internet can look legit to people. 😦
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It’s why Garry became unemployable. They didn’t want what he does well. They wanted flash, dash, and light on the detail. Kind of the opposite of what he knows how to do. It happened to me, too. They didn’t want “good” writing. They just wanted me to throw something together and get it out the door. They didn’t care if anyone could actually use it. We have made quality obsolete and we are reaping the results.
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Yep — my college believed low grades in a class meant the instructor was rigorous. It didn’t matter WHAT the instructor taught or how much the students needed to succeed or how hard the teacher was willing to work toward their success (not inflating grades but teaching well). It’s a universal problem, it seems, to mistake the surface of something for the heart…
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i think it’s a modern version of an old problem. Quality work is inconvenient and often slow to bear fruit. In any economy where profit is God, quality goes out the window when costs are cut to improve that … yup … bottom line.
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The world hasn’t come to an end — hopefully we’ll get through the horrible shock and work through the new policies without disaster. There are protections against some of the policies; others won’t work; and it can be for only 4 years. Unfortunately we’ve lost the middle ground, but I seem to believe that there was almost as much doom and gloom 8 years ago when Obama won — it just wasn’t our doom and gloom then.
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I worry most about medical stuff. ACA hasn’t worked well for many people, but it had some important points, like “no refusal based on prior conditions” — a life and death issue for many of us. Also, a “deduction against taxes” based health care system implies an income large enough to deduct against … something the poor, elderly, and disabled usually don’t have. I’m not dooming and glooming, but I’m definitely concerned.
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I agree with your concerns about the medical issues! But surely all of Congress is not stupid enough to repeal the entire program without having something in its place, even with the one-party government we are now saddled with. They can do a lot with budgeting, but there are even checks and balances there as well. I think, with the strides Obamacare has made, there would be huge uprisings if all of a sudden the program disappeared. Yes — definite reason for concern.
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I hope you are right. Because I think they are that stupid. Maybe even stupider.
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In a special section on the election, the LA Times included “An executive power primer,” written by David Lauter, Washington Bureau Chief, outlining what Trump can do about his various promises — the following is a summary (I couldn’t find a link to this article, or would include it here — sorry for the length of this — I’ll try to keep it short).
Roe v. Wade — overturn would take new decision or constitutional amendment — neither likely
Immigration — policy changes possible; could speed up deportations
Muslim ban — probably can ban immigrants — protections don’t extend to non-citizens; no longer seems a priority
Same-sex marriages — same as Roe v. Wade
Climate Change policies — can change, and probably will — any action could be elayed by activist groups
ObamaCare — Repeal is easy, replacement considerably harder! NOTE — today it was announced that he may request amendment rather than appeal, to retain prior conditions and kids to 26 provisions.
Fed funding for Planned Parenthood — would have to involve Congress, would be difficult because Fed funds are not currently used for abortions
Investigation of Hillary — can do, but would be highly unusual
Stop and Frisk policing — Cannot do — Police are undrr local jurisdictions.
Libel laws — cannot reduce protections of news media — states havre own laws, and SC decision 40+ years ago provided protection for the media in covering public figures.
This article made me feel somewhat better — and the really good news is the reduction from repeal to amend Obamacare — we all know that needs some tweaking, and this sounds like a positive move.
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Thank you. That’s more or less what I thought. A lot will depend on SCOTUS, of course. Who is nominated and confirmed. But I think SCOTUS already has plenty on its calendar. They don’t necessarily revisit a decision just because someone wants them to. Once appointed, Supreme Court Justices are notoriously independent and often, surprising. It’s that whole “lifetime appointment” thing. Very liberating.
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I still feel like I have the flu. It gets a little better with each day, but I still feel sick.
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I actually have the flu. Ironically, I think I picked it up when we went out to vote.
Mother of mercy!!
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You don’t have the flu. You have a cold. So do I. It’s just ironic we picked it up by voting. Irony or a cosmic joke?
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😦
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