Karolyn

Election Nerd Moment: I happened to be dropping off my ballot when two gentlemen from King County Elections were emptying the ballot drop box. I’ve never gotten to see the process before. They were very nice and answered questions about the process —

I watched as they secured the boxes of ballots with both a lock and zip tie tag with location information. They explained the boxes will also be weighed (so they can estimate the approx. # of ballots received). Every box. Every day. And some boxes are collected twice per day. Very cool

I’ve suddenly realized why a trend I’m seeing is happening and why it’s so fucking unhelpful. But — PLEASE — bear with me. Cause explaining it will piss people off. We have lost the distinction between “punching left” and “punching leftists” and “punching down” (Note: phrasing is rhetorical)

Trans people have not “gone too far” by existing. They exist. They are human beings with fundamental human rights and dignity that must be respected and protected. All decent people (and Ds in particular) need to unlearn whatever old biases/ convenient excuses prevent them from accepting that.

I’ve suddenly realized why a trend I’m seeing is happening and why it’s so fucking unhelpful. But — PLEASE — bear with me. Cause explaining it will piss people off. We have lost the distinction between “punching left” and “punching leftists” and “punching down” (Note: phrasing is rhetorical)

Outside of personal bigotry (and, seriously: fuck those people), I think a lot of Ds —pols, consultants and voters — default to seeing “The Issue of trans people” not “trans people” If it’s “The Issue of Trans People” they can more easily decide it falls under “Punch Left”/ “Punch Leftists” = fair

I’ve suddenly realized why a trend I’m seeing is happening and why it’s so fucking unhelpful. But — PLEASE — bear with me. Cause explaining it will piss people off. We have lost the distinction between “punching left” and “punching leftists” and “punching down” (Note: phrasing is rhetorical)

My point is simply that two decades old mindsets exist: Punching Left = Serious Punching Leftists = justified

I’ve suddenly realized why a trend I’m seeing is happening and why it’s so fucking unhelpful. But — PLEASE — bear with me. Cause explaining it will piss people off. We have lost the distinction between “punching left” and “punching leftists” and “punching down” (Note: phrasing is rhetorical)

The vibe was more “perfect theory” > lived reality. Think: yelling at the volunteers at a soup kitchen because it’s not vegetarian/non-gmo/ organic soup. Yes, it became a caricature. But it, too, was A Thing.

I’ve suddenly realized why a trend I’m seeing is happening and why it’s so fucking unhelpful. But — PLEASE — bear with me. Cause explaining it will piss people off. We have lost the distinction between “punching left” and “punching leftists” and “punching down” (Note: phrasing is rhetorical)

The irony is that broadly the left is very good at building community structures outside traditional power structures to Get Shit Done. It was baby leftists (young, privileged white folk just discovering their politics) swooping in to shit on what other people were doing…

I’ve suddenly realized why a trend I’m seeing is happening and why it’s so fucking unhelpful. But — PLEASE — bear with me. Cause explaining it will piss people off. We have lost the distinction between “punching left” and “punching leftists” and “punching down” (Note: phrasing is rhetorical)

Believe it or not, Rs were also asked to “punch right” and disavow militia shit too) Anyhow…

I’ve suddenly realized why a trend I’m seeing is happening and why it’s so fucking unhelpful. But — PLEASE — bear with me. Cause explaining it will piss people off. We have lost the distinction between “punching left” and “punching leftists” and “punching down” (Note: phrasing is rhetorical)

Way, way back in the 1990s, when “liberal” was a dirty word (that meant “too far left” — I swear!) that Democrats ran from, one of the easiest ways to show you were a Serious Person to the media powers-that-be was to “punch left.” That is, to decry a specific action of a group that “went too far”

IANAL, and I realize “how the law works” and “how an internet rando thinks the law SHOULD work” are entirely different things. But if you will join me in my internet rando fantasyland…

- harsh civil and criminal penalties for the government officials who lied to their attorneys so that they would perpetuate a fraud on the court AND - Brady warnings for the officials/departments/ agencies engaged in this behavior

IANAL, and I realize “how the law works” and “how an internet rando thinks the law SHOULD work” are entirely different things. But if you will join me in my internet rando fantasyland…

Today in “There was an old woman who swallowed a fly”: “I need a passport photo. In front of a white wall. In natural light.” Which meant moving furniture, dusting, removing art, and cleaning the wall. (Now: kneel so the picture hangers don’t show.)

Our ‘70s-built home needs more insulation. Things on which everyone agrees: - we need more insulation - there is *some amount* of mold - charging lots of $ (I may be biased — I’m perpetually shocked at the cost of home repair) Things on which they disagree: - Everything Else 🤬