Politics Plus

Since I’ve been out of town a few days this week enjoying a trip up to Illinois to take my Aunt back after her Thanksgiving visit, this will be a brief “Friday Fun”.

But there’s been so much bad terrible news for Twitler this week that we probably don’t need a whole lot of cheering up.  News like his own former lawyer, Michael Cohen,  now pleading guilty to lying to Congress, and is spilling his guts to Mueller’s team in over 70 hours of interviews.

And that Trump’s tax attorney’s office in Chicago was raided by the FBI, and the Feds actually papered the front door so no one could see what was happening.

(The bow is a nice touch, but was added on via Photoshop.  Doubt the FBI has that kind of sense of humor.  Bit it’s a gift I know we are all anxious to unwrap!)

But there have been a few other bright moments recently.  A month ago, an artist called “Porcupine Armadillo” got into the spirit of things by putting up “Pee on Me” statues of Trump all around Brooklyn for dogs (or I suppose, anyone) to take advantage of.

We are honored to do the Lord's work…https://t.co/osNYJUi9kV pic.twitter.com/v0d5YyaBld

— Porcupine Armadillo (@PorcupineArmad1) October 10, 2018

@billmaher Enjoy. pic.twitter.com/TyS4RdnMD3

— Porcupine Armadillo (@PorcupineArmad1) October 10, 2018

Also in October and just in time for Halloween, Daniel Holland captured a video of a “breathing forest” in Quebec.

The ground looks like it's breathing in this Quebec forest. pic.twitter.com/AeETAYJOdN

— Daniel Holland (@DannyDutch) October 20, 2018

It’s not special effects or CG (computer-generated) imaging – it’s real!  Time magazine explains that it’s because of the very strong winds that day combined with the fact that these trees grew in a very mossy area which allows their root system to be quite loose, so the forest floor lifts up when the trees sway.

And I’ll close with a two-fer: Shutting down the NRA AND Ann Coulter … by doctors!  (Maybe that makes it a three-fer.)

Physicians have really started speaking out about gun violence and the need to deal with it.  After we endured the 307^th mass shooting this year on November 7^th, the NRA finally had enough of their anti-gun talk and told them to “Stay in your lane”.

Someone should tell self-important anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane. Half of the articles in Annals of Internal Medicine are pushing for gun control. Most upsetting, however, the medical community seems to have consulted NO ONE but themselves. https://t.co/oCR3uiLtS7

— NRA (@NRA) November 7, 2018

Well, Dr. Judy Melinek took care of the NRA via her Tweets

Do you have any idea how many bullets I pull out of corpses weekly? This isn’t just my lane. It’s my fucking highway. https://t.co/48S9UIFaV2

— Judy Melinek M.D. (@drjudymelinek) November 9, 2018

Not learning her lesson, Coulter unwisely decided to butt in and add her two cents with a snarky Tweet.

Emergency room doctors pull cue balls, vines & gummy bears out of human orifices every week. That doesn't make them experts on pool, horticulture or chewy candy. https://t.co/EdksEGDnCx

— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) November 10, 2018

A perfect setup for Dr. Cathleen London to shoot her down in reply:

We do examine assholes all day so it does make us an expert on them. You qualify https://t.co/yRQTZnGqQr

— Cathleen London MD (@DrChaya) November 11, 2018

All-in-all, a pretty good week.  And it looks like Mueller is getting ready to land some serious blows – probably shortly after the new 116^th Congress is seated.

No doubt everyone is busy recuperating from Thanksgiving activities or shopping or just enjoying a long Holiday weekend, so this will be very brief.

Have you ever seen more pumpkins in one place?

Me neither.  It’s a Bing wallpaper shot that I got from “Daily Picture” option.  It was taken in Columbia County in Pennsylvania – but that’s as much as I know.

https://bingwallpaper.com/20181029.html

PROLOGUE

OK, seems pretty clear I’ve created a “Failure to communicate …”

The YouTube Video has absolutely NOTHING to do w/ cooking a turkey.

It’s an O-P-T-I-C-A-L   I-L-L–U-S-I-O-N … that’s the POINT!

I’m not talking about the pros/cons of brining or roasting or grilling or smoking …

It’s about an OPTICAL ILLUSION!

*sigh*

And here’s a timely optical illusion for Thanksgiving involving a turkey from a regular cooking show that will make your head spin.

First, I would strongly encourage you to make the video full-screen.

Then you can watch from the beginning or just skip to the 1:50 mark and then continue to stare only at the swirling brine he just stirred.

Thanksgiving is fast approaching and for those of us who are assigned the task of bringing the pies to the feast, we’re always looking for new ways to be “Puttin’ on the Ritz” to wow family and friends.

No, no – not “Puttin’ on the Ritz” from “Young Frankenstein”.  Rather something truly unique “where fashion sits” … something sui generis.

Well, I came across someone who has really created one-off type of pies and tarts that are absolutely gorgeous and mind-boggling.  It’s from culinary artist Lo Ko who lives in Seattle and has raised the bar for pie and tart desserts to incomparable heights with her geometric creations.  Here’s a baker’s dozen to give you an idea of her talent:

Ko, who was a nonprofit administrator, quit her job two years ago to devote her time to creating phantasmagorical desserts and savory tarts.  She now teaches at cooking classes and workshops throughout the United States, but primarily in her own Seattle Metro.

Surprisingly enough, she’s had no training in either culinary arts or regular art.  And Ko says she finds inspiration for her creations from architecture, string art, bamboo purses and even bathroom tiles.

Her pie and tart creations were so fanciful her friends convinced her to open an Instagram account to share them with the public, and she now has over 236,000 followers even though she has only posted 115 creations.  And one of those followers turned out to be Martha Stewart!  Martha was so agog about Ko’s creations she invited her to appear in two episodes of her “Martha Bakes” show.

Lo Ko & Martha Stewart

Ko did create a YouTube video to give you an idea of how she goes about creating her masterpieces, but it is a bit hard to follow because of the speed.  And she’s the first to admit that her creations look better unbaked than as a finished, edible work of art.  (Though her friends and family say they all are delicious.)  Ko herself says she doesn’t eat her desserts because she doesn’t have a sweet tooth.  But does admit to enjoying the savory tarts she makes.

“I consider myself more of an artist, and my medium happens to be edible. Of course my pies look more immaculate and pristine unbaked—you’re subjecting flour, butter, and sugar to 400-degree heat!”

So let’s enjoy a few montages of her creations, and then you can head to her Instagram site for further information on each.

Make no mistake about it, despite the Faux “news” (sic) blathering and Twitler’s mendacious claim that it was “close to a complete victory” (and when was the last time that man-child told the truth?) – it was most definitely a Blue Wave election.

Being truthful, we can admit that it was not the Blue Tsunami that we had all been hoping for.  But it was also NOT a Blue Ripple like RepubliKKKlans are trying to spin it.  Let’s get down to the nitty gritty and count the ways it does add up to a beautiful Blue Wave.

But I’m going to need your help doing that.  There was so much good news on Tuesday (along with some very disappointing news, like Beto’s loss) that I’m sure I’ll miss out on some of the news.  So I hope you will add the ones I forget in your Comments.

[MAJOR CAVEAT: As we know, votes are still being counted (even though republicans actually SUED in an effort to STOP votes from being counted).  And totals are generally moving in Democrats’ favor.  So numbers and results are not final]

Let’s begin with the “Big Picture” and look at the general trend in the 2018 Midterm.  And to do that we’ll use the House of Representatives results since it was the only fully national election:

Little too confusing?  Let’s break it down to first show Districts that became “Redder” – of which there were a couple dozen:

Now let’s look at a map showing districts that became “Bluer” – of which there were at least 317!

Even better news, let’s take a look just within those Districts that elected RepubliKKKlans – and show with a graph if they generally became “Redder” or “Bluer”.

Yup – 171 Districts, while electing RepuliKKKlans, still moved to the Left!

[Above graphics from “The New York Times”]

So to summarize, Nate Silver of 538 anticipates Democrats will have taken 34 seats in the House – well above the 23 needed to gain control

Democrats currently lead the popular vote in the U.S. House by about 6 million votes or 6% of the vote. Likely to rise to around 8 million votes and 7-8% once all votes are counted.

The final Rasmussen Reports poll said REPUBLICANS would win the popular vote. @Rasmussen_Poll

And Prof. Sam Wang of the Princeton University Election Consortium is even more optimistic, showing that while it may not be the largest “Wave” in history – it certainly qualifies as a Wave:

The NYT currently projects a national popular-vote margin of D+9.2%. The largest popular margin since 2008, larger than waves of 1994, 2006, 2010, 2014.

1994: R+7.1%
2006: D+8.0%
2008: D+10.6%
2010: R+7.2%
2014: R+5.7%

By historical standards, this a popular wave. pic.twitter.com/4hw71hieVN

— Sam Wang (@SamWangPhD) November 7, 2018

But the good news didn’t just come from the national level – it occurred at the state level, too!

America now has 45 Million MORE Americans living under unified control by Democrats from winning the Trifecta of Governor and both houses in the state legislatures!  Not only did they gain full control in six new states — Colorado, Illinois, Maine, New Mexico, Nevada and New York — but they also broke the GOP’s total hold in Kansas, Michigan, New Hampshire and Wisconsin by winning control of at least one Chamber or Governor’s chair.

Broken down, that includes at least seven governorships and at least six legislative chambers.

And all of this was accomplished by expanding the Democratic Tent – setting historic records for electing women, minorities and LGBTQ candidates – including electing the first openly gay governor in Colorado.  Maybe it was more of a “Rainbow Wave” than a Blue Wave.

But the good news didn’t stop with just our candidates – it extended to ballot measures and initiatives across the country.

Voters in Michigan, Colorado, and Missouri (busting with pride here) all approved ballot initiatives to end political Gerrymandering, with approval rates from 60 percent to more than 70 percent!

Two states voted to increase their minimum wages requirements – Arkansas and Missouri (even prouder still)!  Both Utah and Missouri (OK – I’ll quit) approved the use of medical marijuana, while Michigan went a step further approving its recreational use.  And voters surprisingly approved Medicaid expansion in the ruby-red states of Idaho, Nebraska, and Utah.  Plus the newly elected governors of Maine and Kansas pledged to not veto similar measures that had already passed but were blocked by their predecessors.  And voting rights were restored to felons who had paid their dues in Florida.

[This pretty much covers the above paragraph]

And for a cherry-on-top (I’m counting on you guys to add even more cherries that I missed in your Comments), that Bible-thumping hypocrite and homophobic clerk in Kentucky who refused to issue Marriage Licenses to gay couples – Kim Davis – lost her election!

While we should take a bit of time to enjoy our Blue Wave victories, we then need to start working on turning that Blue Wave into productive policies for America!