POLITICAL OPINION

 

Seen along the route to my granddaughter’s school. The vehicle never moves. Note the license plate. Personalized plates are cheap in Missouri. Interpret as you will.                         

IT'S ARTICA!

It’s time for The Lou’s anything goes visual and performing arts festival, Artica. It takes place in a large empty field and adjoining streets amidst the post-industrial ruins near the Mississippi. My friend Paul Vandivort sets the political tone for the weekend. Not a MAGA hat in sight.                       

THANK YOU, JOE

 

Pictures from a campaign rally in downtown St. Louis in 2020. He is a decent, honest man, unlike his former opponent, and I am grateful for what he did for our country. Now we will do whatever we can to support Vice President Harris.           

THE STATE OF MISSOURI POLITICS / MADELEINE MONDAY

On Saturday I took Ellie to The Magic House, STL's children's museum. One section is about the divisions of government, with mock-ups of a courtroom, the president's oval office and a legislative chamber. Here she sits in the judge's bench, head in hand, perhaps thinking about the state of our state.

Tomorrow is election day in the U.S. Yes, it's odd to do it on a Tuesday but it has something to do with market days in agrarian post-colonial times. Lots of us, perhaps including my granddaughter, are terribly worried about the erosion of democracy in our country. Missouri has an open U.S. Senate seat. Not that the Democratic candidate is so great but, to everyone in this household, the Republican is a horror. This isn't the place for details but, in general, I could never vote for a candidate of a party that has lost its mind. There, I said it: the occasional rant.          

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - POLITICAL OPINION IN MARSHALL COUNTY

Placed directly opposite the exit from the Walmart where you can't possibly miss it. Keep in mind, however, that Kansas just resoundingly defeated a ballot initiative to remove a provision in the state constitution protecting a woman's right to make choices about her own body. But I wouldn't blame the sign-maker for anything. We could have done  so much worse.             

HE SHOULD HAVE HAD A CABINET JOB IN THE LAST ADMINISTRATION

I love Jim Dine's statue of Pinocchio in Citygarden. The puppet who wanted to be a real boy had a problem: every time he told a lie his nose grew longer. This image suggests there have been a couple of whoppers. But look at the posture, the gesture, the body language. Whatever he has said, he's proud of it and seeking adulation. What person, recently off the national stage, does this remind us of?                

MAYBE YES, MAYBE NO

After all we have been through in recent weeks and months, all we can say is that we will find out when we get there. Whether our political and social upheaval means anything will not be known until November 4 and maybe not for a long time after that. 

And the virus - people are tired of confinement and rules. The people I've seen at demonstrations here and in the media have thrown distancing to the winds. Most - but only most - people are still wearing masks. I want to scream at those who don't that they are threatening my life. The director general of the World Health Organization said the other day that “the biggest threat now is complacency.”

I had never heard of this company on the western edge of downtown so I looked it up. It's a worldwide marketing agency that specializes in just branding.   

MADELEINE MONDAY RERUN - POLITICAL ANALYSIS

I am totally out of new material. Repeated episodes of colds/flu have kept me off the street a lot. For example, I missed the pre-Mardi Gras dog parade yesterday because I was in bed. But, with a little digging, I found something for Madeleine Monday that's appropriate to the times. This was taken in October 2016, when she was three.

By the way, I had to turn on comment moderation. Spam comments have been a minor nuisance over the life of this blog. However, over the last couple of weeks, it's been happening almost daily. No choice.       

Politics

There is a notable element of politics at events like the Pridefest Parade. It all swings leftward. Everyone in my family would like one of those tee shirts. Unlike many other public events, the Republican Party was not represented.     

Signs Of The Times

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Placards, posters and shirts from Friday's Occupy St. Louis march. Their camp is just a block from my office so I have had a chance to observe them. As time goes on, the more I admire their righteous anger over social justice issues and the more I despair over the naivete of at least some.

Invest in my future? You bet. I'm a student with an uncertain future? Well, which of us wasn't? (I would have been at least in the running for least likely to succeed in my high school class.) Dissent is patriotic? Right on! Wall Street sent all our jobs to China? Take a course in macroeconomics (not to excuse China's exploitation of its own workers).

But that tee shirt is delicious. I don't wish to offend our Republican friends - my father was a Republican and we got along with each other fine in later years - and everyone has the right to his or her opinion. But, um, talk about hitting the nail on the head...

A House Divided

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Thanks to my sharp-eyed wife for spotting this in our neighborhood. No such divisions in our household.

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE OFFICE LUNCHROOM YESTERDAY: one of my co-workers asked me if i could say "Where is my lunch?" in Japanese. I could. Getting pretty excited.

TOMORROW: oom pah pah.