Lowering My Blood Pressure

For a few days, the hot takes on the election seemed to cool down. But the weekend seems to have revived the embers.

I’m looking forward to a good visit with the doctor on Wednesday. She might even remove the stitches from my foot. I’m also looking forward to an enjoyable and relaxed Thanksgiving. The kittens didn’t create any messes overnight. It’s less than a month until the shortest day of the year.

So as not to harsh my mellow, I won’t post any of my thinking on the election until after the holiday weekend, and maybe not even then. People are still not ready to discuss. Honestly folks, all that uproar and worry is terrible for your blood pressure!

And try to keep it respectful of others on Bluesky. Comments there are different from here, but there is overlap. Read the OP first, whether it’s 300 characters or 300 words. Consider whether your comment adds to a discussion or detracts. Being the smartest guy in the room usually means that others will think you’re an asshole.

Some of that is the migration of chuds from Twitter to Bluesky. I enjoy most of my interactions with commenters here and on Bluesky, but I can barely keep track of all the handles here, complicated by the fact that some of you use different handles on Bluesky. I’m not targeting anyone in particular, but I’ve seen all these pathologies over the past few days.

And keep in mind:

• Less than half the voters chose Trump, and the margin is less than 2%.
• Global headwinds were against incumbents, but Harris did better than other candidates around the world.
• Trump’s picks for his government are just that – picks. They are not nominees or in those positions, however they may act.
• Don’t listen to them. Some won’t even make it into the government.
• Oppose them vocally. This may make for a difficult Thanksgiving.

Josh Marshall has been a balanced commentator. Here’s his advice:

The details differ. But gist is the same. The real work of an opposition party is to oppose. It’s not to originate new theories of governance or have “reckonings.” It’s to oppose. It’s to hold the people in power accountable.

There’s plenty of time for theorizing and message testing. But the first thing to do is to oppose. Less arguing, more doing.

That’s aimed at party leaders, but we can think of ways to support them in opposing Trump come January.