Dog Days of August

~Mitch McConnell STILL has not been seen since I last wrote. There have been a couple of "updates" provided by his press team, including some suspected Photoshopped (at best)/ AI (at worst) pictures. Questions abound as to why he's pictured wearing street clothes in a rehab facility. Meanwhile, back at the office, his vote or lack of may become critical in confirmation of Todd Blanche as Attorney General. Little Susie Collins has already declared she is a "No" on this one, keeping with her attempt to protect herself from the big bad Dems who want to retire her. We'll see how the rest of her accomplices vote. ~Maine officially replaced Graham Platner with Troy Jackson a couple of weeks ago and the Super-PAC attack ads have been relentless already, along with the sensationalized stories of violent outbursts and alleged children with a second cousin. Per Maine Revised Statutes Title 19-A, §701: Prohibited marriages; exceptions it is NOT illegal for second cousins to marry. So there! ~Other than schmoozing with Dr. Oz the other day, Paul Lepage has been silent/absent from the political scene so far. His opponent, Matt Dunlap is out and about doing meet and greets and town halls. I suspect LePage will not do many if any because he has shown himself to be not very adept in those arenas. ~Governor candidates are out and about - GOP candidate Bobby (where did HE come from?) Charles has been vocal and inconsequential. Independent Rick Bennett (formerly GOP) has some good ideas and is worrisome. Hannah Pingree is all over the state. ~Primaires in other states have shown that the country's voters are looking for change. No one is happy about still being at war with Iran, about the price of everything, and the messes Trump is creating in DC. HIs latest vanity project is a hellipad on the White House lawn (so he doesn't get his feet wet in the grass) that he has ordered ripped up because he doesn't like the way it looks. I wonder how many of these contractors will end up getting payed? How many will he stiff? How many will sue and a future administration will have to find the money to make it right? Oh and how much time and money is it going to take to remove his name and silliness from all of this? ~In other craziness - Rand Paul decided he'd go after Dr. Anthony Fauci last week over his handling of the COVID pandemic. This after Rand conspired with RFK Jr. to harvest Dr. Fauci's personal diary from the internet, which he then made public. To his credit, Fauci did not take the bait and plead the fifth at every opportunity, including the most basic of questions. He was correct when he opined in his opening statement that the only reason for the hearing was to force him to say something/anything that they could use to indict him. ~Wildfires are raging in Washington state and Oregon and California, as well as France and Spain. The world is burning and this adminstration keeps attacking the environment in every way possible. I have absolutely no confidence in anyone in charge to do anything to protect us from any threat, be it from another country, the weather, another pandemic, or an as yet unimagined enemy. I also worry about the rush to AI in all things. Two companies last week admitted that their models escaped in testing and hacked other systems. We cannot live like this! I'm at the point where I do not read the AI summary when I Google something, and I''m ready to not do business with people who use AI in their advertising or social media. I consider it lazy and personally insulting. Those who claim it's legitimate for anyone to use it to create art or music or literature are wrong. If you do not possess the talent and knowledge to create without AI how do you know what you are creating is any good? You are discounting those who have put in the time and effort to learn the techniques and have spent the money on the materials and created bad art to get to where they are today.

What a Week...

~ Let's see: Mitch McConnell has not been seen in 4 weeks after a medical emergency call from his DC townhouse. No one is telling what they know so the conspiracies are floating. Many center around the "Weekend at Bernie's" theme that he has passed but the R's are keeping mum until after a magical date that will benefit them in the upcoming elections in November. Also, Trump's Great American State Fair has closed to little fanfare. Pictures online show the cheap canvas shelters falling apart and general sadness. His Reflecting Pool is being drained again and since they could not find a different company to redo it, they have hired the same people (Spray-on truck bed liner applicators) to make the repairs. And they have indicted several "vandals" who they say caused the damage. I don't expect any charges to stick. Also, last week a former girlfriend of Graham Platner, the overwhelming favorite to take on Susan Collins in the Maine race for the US Senate, accused him of rape. Creditable account and all his high-profile support evaporated. His response was a typical big bro take no responsility rhetoric. He finally submitted his official resignation on Friday. Replacement candidates have flooded in - Troy Jackson, Nirav Shah, Shenna Bellows, Jordan Wood are the big names. Dems will have county meetings to determine who that replacement will be. And, finally, I woke up this morning to the news that Lindsay Graham had died last night. Oh, and Trump's new pet projects in DC are re-doing the columns at West Wing entrance and installing a granite heli-pad on hte front lawn. ~ I feel as if the energy is finally shifting away from the MAGAs and am hopeful that we can prevail in November. Of course, I'm well aware that Trump and his minions are working to make sure they prevail. And they would be so proud to win in any manner, legal or otherwise. ~ D. is away in Florida, helping Kelly et al clear out Don's double wide so Kelly can sell it. He said this morning that they filled 11 large bags of trash yesterday. Also, there was some hoarding going on - 12 cases of diet coke, multiple large packs of paper towels, etc. He alredy has his reservation back on Wednesday, this time on Breeze. His Southwest flights on Friday were a nightmare - 3 hours late taking off from Portland which meant he missed his connecting flight in Baltimore but was able to get on a later flight, which got diverted to Ft. Lauderdale to refuel because there was a huge severe storm over Tampa when they were supposed to land. He did eventually get into Tampa and was eating dinner at 11:30. I can only imagine how frustrated he was and I'm guessing he did not handle it well. ~ After I dropped him at the Jetport I grabbed a coffee at Dunkin and checked out Aldi - Some intersting different food and stuff but nothing to get excited about. Then I stopped at Jillson's to buy a hnging basket to augment the humming bird food. Yesterday I took in 2 films at MIFF - "Keeper of the Flame", an oldie with Tracy and Hepburn that is very relevant for today (Fascism etc.) and "The Last Critic" , about Robert Christgau, the noted rock music critic who seemed to delight in writing snide things about every artist I've enjoyed through the years. About the time I'd had enough of the movie nature called and I answered and came home.

The Day After...

...July 4th. Locally, very quiet day. Someone in the immediate neighborhood "treated" us to about 45 minutes of pyrotechnics last night from 9:30 to 10:15. That was it, aside from the distant rumble of displays from neighboring towns - Winslow, Augusta, Belgrade, Oakland? Nationally, the mightily hyped celebration/speech/fireworks on the National Mall along with the Great American Fair, were all delayed by Mother Nature who apparently is a Democrat. Attendees were evacuated ahead of a storm and most sought shelter in the African American Museum (how karmic!). The speech was delayed until after 11, which pushed the fireworks into the 5th of July. From all reports, it appears as if whoever won the no-bid contract for them understood the assignment and simply set up several barges in the Potomac River and set them up to fire syncronized identical dispalys for however long it took to burn up the record number of shells. The smoke eventually obscured the fireworks themselves. The usual poorly executed Trump celebration. This after his speech at Mount Rushmoore the night before was delayed by a severe thunder/hail storm. ~ So the holiday is behind us. Steeling myself for whatever fresh Hell awaits us this week. D. is leaving on Friday for Florida to help Kelly wrap up Don's affairs. Won't be gone long he says. We'll see. Thursday Brenda and I are going to see the High Kings at the Opera House. And next Saturday is the first Society show in Wiscasset. I need soap from Sisters who will be there and want to say hi to Rachel. ~ Had my long-term problem tooth pulled on Thursday and it's taking its sweet time in subsiding. No bleeding after the first day but I have residual soreness and my bite is adjusting to having been off for several months. I cannot say what happened to traumatize it this winter - I do not remember hitting it on anything. Perhaps it was just an age thing. Dr. Berube said one of the roots was broken off, so there's that. I have the tooth, mostly because there was a gold crown appled probably 20 years ago. NOt sure what I can do ithit but I'll research it. ~ Awful spill at Saratoga on Friday - one horse clipped heels and went down and 3 trailers fell over her. One jockey (Javier Castellano) taken to hospital but was back riding Saturday. Other 3 were all released from on-track treatment but one (Dylan Davis) took off the remainder of his mounts for the day. All 4 horses got up and ran off but were coralled by outriders. all seemed okay but it was announced yesterday the the horse that initiated the accident has a fractured hip and will undergo sustained rehab. I was not watching at the time and, as usual in these cases, the video is not available. The garden is growing well. My lettuce and Bright Lights Swiss Chard did not germinate, so I bought some lettuce starts from Ace last week. Trying to keep up withthe watering this past week was difficult but everyone seems happy now.

Belmont + Elections

~ Last Belmont at Saratoga was a repeat of the Derby - another first for Cherie DeVaux - first woman trainer to win two Triple Crown races! Once again, Golden Tempo came from last to first in great fashion. He was not the favorite because ??? - I don’t know why? Anyway, he will be sent back to Kentucky to prepare for the summer races - Jim Dandy and Travers. Looking forward to it. (Side note: the FOX coverage of this year's Belmont was abysmal - too many non-horse "experts" injecting themselves into the broadcast with distracting questions and observations. I don't understand what the thinking was there beyond giving the regular racing coverage crew a break from the marathon day of duties.) ~ Tomorrow is Primary Day in Maine. It's been a wild ride with the high profile candidacy of Graham Platner, which attracted much negative press - I suspect from both parties. He was not the Dems choice (Mills was early ordained by Chuck Schumer) and the GOP sees him as a real threat to Collins. The last couple of weeks have brought out the worst in electioneering - attacks, past transgressions, etc. And it has not been limited to Platner - some national group has been smearing both Troy Jackson and Nirav Shah in the Governor race, claiming they are both anti-abortion. I believe that campaign is somehow connected to Joe Baldacci. Anyway, I'm looking forward to some peace and quiet in the airwaves later this week and will try to leave it all behind after voting when my shift as an election clerk ends at 2:00 tomorrow afternoon. ~ Absolutely no quilting has been happening. I need to change that. The garden is in and most of the maintenance has been completed outdoors. It's time. ~ Too many friends have lost their 4-legged companions of late - Lee and Candy Sykes lost Smokey, Lee's hunting dog who accompanied him to many of his music gigs. And Teresa just lost her long-time feline companion Furlong. He's the cat who got her through her cancer and was the comfort for most of the strays that seemed to need Teresa's love. May they all rest in peace on the fluffiest clouds.

Just When We Think He's Hit the Bottom...

~ ...he finds a new way to disgust us all. His $1.7 billion slush fund that is earmarked for all his January 6th co-conspirators is highly illegal on its own. But he had to add all the legalese so that he, his family and busineeses would never be held accountble for anything. We'll see about that. ~ And this after he has pushed through his plans for a "triumphal arch in DC and his mucking up of the reflecting pool between the Washington and lIncoln monuments by having it painted swimming American flag blue by his swimming pool technicians. Good God! I cannot imagine what is next. (Oh, and not to mention ripping up more of the White HOuse lawn for a proper helipad. It will take years and billions to undo all the tackiness. ~ Meanwhile, down the road towards Baltimore, the Preakness was held at Laurel last weekend. The "crowd" was limited to 6400 people and shots of the track showed lots of space for everyone. Winner was Napoleon Solo, a new shooter. Hopefully, Pimlico will be back online next year - I'm sure the infield denizens were not happy about his year. ~ Janet Mills has dropped out of the Senatorial race and the DCC has endorsed Platner to be their golden child. I'm not convinced.

Hallmark & Horses

~ As lifelong horse lover and former rider, I am always up for a good horse-related movie. I'm also a devoted Hallmark movie fan, however they really need to hire a dedicated consultant when diving into the horse world. Three cases in point: 1) Taking the Reins - set in the show jumping world (although not at the elite level) the fault that I could not get past was the rider's hold on the reins that was so reminiscent of many beginners and certainly not the position that one would expect to see in a jumping class. Hands way too high and static. I suspect the actress was not a rider and had only rudimentry skills taught to her as it was obvious when the jumping started that there was someone else in the saddle. Close ups only, please. 2) Hats Off to Love - set in Lexington with a fictional Lexington Derby as the main event. There is a scene where the trainer of one of the horses entered (the eventual winner, of course) is leading the horse having apparently just come back from a training session. Sadly, the saddle on the horse is a standard jumping saddle and not a racing exercise saddle. Just a simple detail overlooked, that the casual viewer would never notice. 3) Kentucky Roses - the latest, set against the spectacle at Churchill Downs at Kentucky Derby time. Early in the movie, the main character and her trainer friend are at the Derby draw where the friend's horse draws post 17. Yet when raceday arrives and the horses hit the track in the post paraade, there are at most 10 horses on the track. Did the other 5-6-7 scratch? (Highly unlikely.) Just my observations and a hope that in the future there may be better attention payed to the details.

Historic Kentucky Derby

~ That sound at approxiamtely 7 pm ;ast evening was the glass ceiling breaking in the trainer's old boys club. Cherie DeVaux from Saratoga Springs weilded the hammer that was Golden Tempo and had help from a very capabable jockey in Jose Ortiz, who just edged out his brother Irad at the finish line. The video of Cherie during the final moments of the race is priceless - jumping, slumping and finally rejoicing. All the emotions. And so so gracious in all her remarks. No deceision yet on the Preakness and no need to push that decision. ~ My Threads timeline was filled last night and this morning with all the casual horse racing fans (and some not so casual anti-fans). Some misinforamtion but it's all good. No public breakdowns just a gate scratch of Great white who reared behind the gate before loading, dumping his jockey and landning on his side. He appeared no worse for wear but the vets did their job and he was led away. ~ Just before the Derby NBC aired a retrospective of Barbaro 20 years ago. Footage of Michael Matz showed a much older, wiser and posssibly more tirede man. I have noticed fewer and fewer workouts and entries for his horse and his barn at Fair Hill has a new owner. I think he still has a few horses, likely in the Runnymoore barn. ~ Trump and his minions are still blaming the Dems for last Saturday's shooter incident at the White House Press Association event. And The Justice Department indicted Comey yet again, this time for his "86/47" social media post last year. He reported and was released the same day but what a clown show this administration is proving to be, with all their lies and dodges. No one takes responsibility for their actions and they all have been coached to deflect. The latest dodge is that the 60 day limit before the Senate has to be involved in a war hasn't been reached because when the cease fire went into effect the clock was stopped. Not the case according to the law but no one is stopping them. Meanwhile, Trump says the war is over but then turns around and says he'll start bombing agin if Iran doesn't agree to his terms. ~ Closer to home, in a move I didn't see coming, Janet Mills suspended her campaign for Senate, effectively assuring Graham Platner of the nomination. Something about him just doesn't sit right with me - his testosterone "bro" vibe, his past mysoginistic statements - PTSD: I wonder what sort of decisions he would make. I don't see him going full Fettermen on us but I'm not ready to trust him. And, once Janet was out he bowed out of all future debates with 2 other candidates still in the race. That shows a lot of disrespect to me.