The work crew showed up a little early this morning, so the flurry of downsizing activity continues at Refuge Farm. It is exciting activity just watching it go. So there was a debate in Pennsylvania late yesterday between former media personality Mehmet Oz and Hulking John Fetterman. The latter candidate has some medical controversy with which we have some familiarity. We didn’t watch, though, since we expected coverage to be substantial for any gaffes made from the podium. We were not wrong on that one. That big fellow did not appear to have handled his disability particularly well. It is sort of an odd election, we think you would agree. Normally the Mid-terms don’t have quite this level of emotion, but given the landscape this one is unique.

We recall voting in that last big Mid-term twenty years ago, the first one of the Clinton Administration. The Clintons had started off with a little disorganization, and a significant percentage of the people signaled they were unhappy with the general direction in which the nation was proceeding. Newt Gingrich had a hand in that, and he is still commenting on the flat screen, even though he is no longer haolding anyone’s office.

Another former figure active yesterday was Secretary Clinton. She got some screen time yesterday before the debate. She warned us the other side was preparing to steal the election in two years. It was useful information in preparing to watch the next two years, a useful framing of the state of the union. It is interesting, since she seemed to indicate that state legislatures would participate in wholesale fraud, which is what the other side has been fulminating about for the last two years. The way we remember it, the Electoral College vote is what determines who wins the general election every four years. She was talking about “the popular vote,” as if it was a criteria for success. We looked. We could find no reference to that number in any of the documents determining how our elections work.

That may refer to what she would like to have as our system of elections, which would make her rhetoric something like a “proposal” to change the way we elect people. But that is sort of crazy. That debate in Pennsylvania was part of it. One of the candidates is as extraordinary as Jesse Ventura, the professional wrestler who won the Minnesota Governor’s chair as a “Reform” candidate in 1998. He was an odd duck and had a lot in common with Mr. John Fetterman in terms of build and body. What we found interesting was the differences behind the similarities. Jesse had a nickname that highlighted his former career: “The Body.” Mr. Fetterman has had some issues with his body fairly recently. They say it was a stroke he suffered about six months ago, and he has some cognitive problems remaining.

It would seem to disqualify him from active participation in the seat he is seeking in what some term “The World’s Most significant Deliberative Body.”

We don’t know about that either, but if there are only two such positions in each state one might think we could have a healthier choice. But that appears to represent our electoral system at the moment. There is some controversy about healthy choices that go all the way to the top of the prospective tickets, but that matter is reserved for the 2024 contest. We suppose we will make that decision after the choices are presented to us.

Thirteen days to go. We can expect the flurry to continue. It is fun, after all! Almost as much as watching some of that old furniture go down the steps and wiggle out to the big trailer in the circular drive.

Copyright 2022 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com