Mormons for Trump

The Trump campaign is putting out merch for Latter Day Saints.  They can purchase a “Latter Day Saint for Trump” coffee mug or a beer cozy.  

Think about that.

Canvassing in Weissport

Weissport is a tiny borough on the edge of the Lehigh River in Carbon County.  It is home to a wonderful ice cream store, a small restaurant which makes excellent breakfasts and lunches, but closes at 1 p.m., a very good pizza joint, and Rep. Doyle Heffley’s office.  Like most towns in Carbon County, it has a drug problem, but little kids also ride their bikes around town without fear.  

We canvassed Weissport on Saturday and Sunday.  We found quite a few Harris supporters, although they don’t advertise it with signs and flags like the Trumpists do.  We did not go to houses with Trump signs, and we did encounter some meanness.  When I talked to one Democrat who was voting for Trump, I said I just can’t imagine deporting 13 million people.  She said, “We let them in, didn’t we?”  I ended that contact.

I also met a Democrat in her seventies who said Biden ruined the economy.  I mentioned the economy was strong, and she came back with “I know what groceries cost.”

Only one guy hurled insults and curse words at us, but we also got a mail-in ballot application from a bed-ridden Harris supporter who wouldn’t have voted if we hadn’t canvassed.  Since we visited fewer than 100 people, that is more than one percent.  That’s why we canvass

Victories

I took very seriously the warning that we might have a killing frost last night and harvested about half of my pepper plants and covered the rest.  When I woke up this morning I found a thick coating of frost on the truck windshield, but my peppers–Scotch bonnets, jalapeños, serranos, cherries, habaneros, and Jamaican yellows–were saved.  I feel good about that.

In these times we must celebrate small victories.  Tomorrow we are going canvassing for Harris and the rest of the Democratic ticket in Weissport.  That is to help ensure the big victory.

Doyle Heffley on the cover

Today I attended an open house sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the Trachsville Firehouse.  The open house featured information on the Corps’ plan to update the comprehensive plan for Beltzville State park.

On one of the tables were a number of publications, including:  Wildlife Notes: Birds; Wildlife Notes: Mammals; and Common Trees of Pennsylvania.  I took a copy of each and then noticed that the back cover of each one featured a photo of Representative Doyle Heffley with his contact information.

Did Rep. Heffley write these publications?  No.  Is he an expert on Pennsylvania mammals, birds, and trees?  Probably not.  Did he pay for these publications?  No, the taxpayers of Pennsylvania paid for them.

This practice of giving out free stuff with legislators’s names plastered on them is one of the perks of being a legislator, and it is also one of the reasons why it is so hard to beat an incumbent legislator in this state.  It doesn’t matter if that legislator does little or nothing to advance the public good.  There is all this free stuff.

Climate change in Florida textbooks

In July a number of publishers reported that Florida officials were requiring them to delete references to “climate change” in certain textbooks used in Florida schools.

How’s that working out for you down there?

I voted!

It was easy.  I filled out my ballot, put it in the yellow envelope, sealed that, put it in the envelope with the purple color, sealed it, signed my name and today’s date, affixed a first class stamp, and sent it in.  Easy Peasy.  

The instructions were much clearer than in past years.  

What we don’t get in Pennsylvania is a nice sticker that says “I voted by mail.”  If you vote by mail in New York, you get one of those.  New York also pays the postage.  

You probably are curious about my vote.  Really?  A choice between an intelligent and rational and empathetic candidate who isn’t senile or cruel or stupid and a blowhard narcissistic sack of poop.  It wasn’t a hard choice.  And I voted for all the other Democrats.  I didn’t see a single Republican candidate on the the ballot who was worthy of holding office.  The third party candidates were simply there to boost their egos, since none of them has a chance, and the Green Party candidate for President is actually a tool of Putin and represents no green values whatsoever.

Bulletproof backpacks

Over the last ten years there have been more than 230 school shootings.  Congress still has not addressed the gun issue that is the cause of this carnage, but good old American ingenuity has risen to the challenge.  

You can now buy your 2nd grader a bulletproof hoodie or a backpack with a removable ballast shield.  How about a bulletproof three-ring binder?  Also available are bulletproof classroom desks and bullet-resistant hand-held shields.  And there’s more!

I won’t even comment on how stupid this is.

Info for this post is from Emily Baumgaertner and Alex Kalman, “Grabbing School Gear in Case of a Shooting, New York Times, (Sept. 22, 2024, p. 20.