My Pillows, Guys! (guest starring Gemma!)

 Welcome to my reading chair!

It's not very new.  In some ways, it's halfway to being a bean bag. But it's comfortable to me.  Maybe a bit too comfortable, as I sometimes fall asleep.

I'm proud of my small collection of throw pillows. They are interesting reflections on my personality.

First up, we have Marvin the Martian.  I love Looney Tunes, and Marvin is my favorite character.  I love mimicking his voice.

"This makes me very angry. Very angry indeed."

"Oh goodie! My Illudium Q-36 explosive space modulator." 

"Don't worry folks! After all, it's only a cartoon." 

It hearkens back to fourth grade when my overactive imagination led me to fantasize that I was a Martian.  Eventually, fellow fourth-graders started mocking me, calling me "Martian".

Next up is a pillow with bookcases.  I like that part.  Reading books is my middle name (along with Martian).  

The flowers? Eh, not so much.  Whatever gene that makes one excited about flowers and plants is completely missing in me,

And what would a T. M. Strait reading chair be without politics?

I have not been shy about my endorsement of AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez).  

I endorsed her just days after Kamala Harris's defeat.  

And every day since has convinced me of her competence, capabilities, and her desire to help all Americans, especially the working class.

And, of course, what collection of T. M. Strait pillows would be complete without a comic book-themed pillow?

This pillow features some of DC's iconic, extraordinary female heroines: Batgirl, Wonder Woman, and Supergirl.

And yes, Supergirl was a great movie.  I'm sorry so many of you missed it.  Maybe sometime in the future, it will be recognized for the classic it is.

The movie Superman involved fighting an evil billionaire and stopping a foreign dictator veering into genocide.

The movie Supergirl involved stopping a trafficker of young girls.

Oh. I guess that's why the MAGA bros don't like them.

We live in dark times.

But also bright pillows,

Thanx and a hat's tip to our beautiful young kitten, Gemma, for playing Vanna White for this post!

Until next time,

Thomas Marty Martian Strait

AOC '28

NepoOcracy

 

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Everybody is loved by somebody  (hopefully). Even Lindsey Graham was loved by his sister. He helped raise her, and they remained close all of his life.

Darline Graham Nordone appears to be a nice person.  Her experience has focused on working with the South Carolina Rehabilitation Department and as Commissioner for the South Carolina Commission for the Blind. She spent her career helping people with disabilities.

This doesn't make her highly qualified to be the Senator of South Carolina, but I don't know what to say about that. We have a narcissistic game show host running the country - one who has been duly elected (more or less).

But we have to be clear on why she was selected to fill Senator Graham's seat.

Nepotism.

Plain and simple.

As much as America has supposedly been formed in opposition to royalty, we keep creeping back to it.

In his recommendation, Trump immediately leaped to a dynastic legacy.  He has the same desires for his own family. Trump is big on superior genes.  Some genetic lines are just meant to lead.

Many nepos obtain their position in transition.  Their parent/spouse/close relative dies while in office, and the nepo becomes the chosen replacement.  Then, they often run in the next election, and since they already hold the office, they have a huge leg up.

Some run on their own, but still parlay off the name recognition of their previously serving family member.  Jim Kingston is running in my congressional district, a district his father, Jack Kingston, served in for many years.  Sometimes that doesn't work out, but more often than not, IT DOES.

But, hey! It's not just Republicans.  

It's also Democrats.

In 1933, John Dingell Sr. won his congressional district. 

In 1955, John Dingell, Jr. succeeded his father.

In 2015, he was succeeded by his wife Debbie Dingell (her husband was born in 1926, she was born in 1953).

Today, in 2026, she is still serving. 

That represents 93 years under the same family!

But, hey! It's not just Democrats and Republicans.

It's also me!

When I was younger, I wanted there to be a Kennedy dynasty.  I was a huge Bobby Kennedy fan.

But I changed over the years.  I thought Hillary was competent and skilled, maybe more so than her husband.  But the idea that the 2016 election might be between Hillary and Jeb Bush made me more nauseous.  Of course, what we got instead has made me vomitous and depressed.

And RFK, Jr. cleared me of any nostalgia for the Kennedy clan.

We have so many exciting non-dynastic alternatives.  In the past, of course, we had Barack Obama and Joe Biden.  In the present, we have AOC, Mamdani, Malcolm Frost, and many others.  New faces that bring energy, new ideas, and fresh connections to everyday people.

I'm done with dynasties.  I have no royal impulses left in me.

Until next time,

T. M. Strait

AOC '28

Super Monday Musings

 

Back in my blog's glory days, I used to post more regularly, and I had many special features, some of them designated by days - Monday Musings, Tuesday Tidbits, Wednesday Wanderings, Throwback Thursdays, Friday Fiction, Saturday Political Soap Box.

I can't do that no more, partly because my blog frequency has shrunk. And it's hard for me to associate specific days with specific topics. 

But lo! When the planets and blog align, I can still bring one out!

Here are a few of my musings on this sweltering Monday Musings -

It's Hot!

Today, the high is actually lower than it was over the previous few days.  We're only projected to reach a high of 86 today, down from the 90s. The feels like temps have been even higher, yesterday reaching 103.  That's hot.  And I can't stay out in it for more than a few minutes. 

My body does not stand heat very well.  I'd pass out or have a stroke long before I get a sunburn. 

Supergirl Is Awesome!

Yes, I finally got to see Supergirl last weekend.  I had to do it quickly because it wasn't going to be in theatres for long.  The showing we watched had only two other people at it.

I enjoyed the movie immensely.  No, it wasn't as good as Superman, but it was still a great experience.  The character growth the movie demonstrated in both Supergirl and Ruthye was something I really appreciated.  The immersion into alien cultures was about as good as I've seen since the original Star Wars.

Except for ome psrt near the end, involving the same problem I had with the Man of Steel, the movie was a very accurate representation of Supergirl.  

A Precipitous Decline

I'm not going to toss bricks or bouquets.  A political figure with whom I had little in common passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, 71, left this mortal coil on Sunday.  

This happened at a time when most of our attention has been on Mitch McConnell, Senator from Kentucky, and Donald Trump, Autocrat. 

I have no idea what's going on with McConnell. The release of information about his condition has been minimal and confusing. The suspicion is that they are trying to delay confirmation of demise until after the August 3rd deadline (after which no special election will be held). I don't know.  That seems like a pretty big conspiracy to pull off, but we'll see.

Petpourri

Anyhoo, this is what you're all paying money for -

Cute pet pictures!

Gemma sleeping in the cat tree!

Musingly yours,

T. M. Strait

AOC '28

Bowl Cat!

 

There's a new addition to OUR family!

Meet Gemma, our new kitten.

She is a dilute calico, which I guess means a calico with muted colors (?). Whatever. She's a darn purty little kitten.

Alison wanted Scout, our now one-year-old tabby, to have a companion. I had more mixed feelings about it, but I decided it was best to go with her judgment.

She is a very rambunctious, active kitten. Gemma explores the house with an aggressive curiosity.  

The name Gemma comes from the series Severance, and is Mark Scout's wife outside of work (outie is what Lumen's workers are outside of work - innie is at work; the two personalities are severed). Guess who Scout is named after?

Scout and Gemma get along pretty well. I'm not sure how thrilled Scout is over Gemma being in my lap. Scout and I have a special connection, and I hate that being "severed".

If I put my foot on the Ottoman, it will be attacked.  

I will continue my pet posts to keep y'all updated.

Meow and woof!

Trump Ruins Everything

 

Trump ruins everything.

Yes, the red card against the American soccer star seemed iffy at best. 

But sports are full of decisions fans don't like.

The refs called it.  The VAR (video review) confirmed it.  It was deemed a red card.

And by virtue of that decision,  Folarin Balogun was banned from playing in the next game.  That seems weird for those who don't usually follow soccer, but that's just the way it is.

But then, Trump intervened.

FIFA, the syncophants that they are, reversed the suspension.  NOT THE RED CARD.  Just the suspension of one game.

Trump is bragging his heart out that he put his thumb on the game, altered the rules, and restored Balogun's ability to play against Belgium in the next game, the Round of 16.

Rules don't matter to Trump.  He feels like he can get away with anything.

Belgium is furious. So is most of the rest of the international football community.

It has deligitimazed the rest of the USMT's run at the cup.  Everything that happens after this is tainted.

Hopefully, the US coach will not play Balogun to minimize the controversy.  But it will not make it go away entirely.  FIFA has once again shown how craven and corrupt they are.*

The topper is that Balogun is presumably the type of American that Trump hates the most - an anchor baby.  Under Trump's proposed ban on birthright citizenship, Balogun wouldn't even be eligible to play for the USA.

Trump ruins everything.  America's deacde long descent down the escalator of decency continues unabated.

*The history is long and disgusting, and would require a very long post to detail.  Please feel free to Google for more details.

America's Aborted 250: Saturday Political Soap Box 305

Like it or not, it's hard to celebrate right now.  American-style democracy is under serious attack today. 

Much of what I love most about America is under serious challenge by a malevolent wannabe dictator, a weak and compliant Congress, and a Supreme Court determined to strip away our hard-fought rights.

His projects in DC are not to show a shining nation.  It is to glorify and profit himself.

The reflecting pool is emblematic of that toxic makeover, and of his complete incompetence and buffoonery.

 

His takeover of the America 250 event, turning it from a celebration of the nation into a glorification of all things Tumpy, has resulted in the biggest failure of an event of this scale EVER.  Melted ice cream, power outages, unattended musical acts, pitiful state booths, the dominance of Christian Nationalists, a cheesy, crumbling, Arch Du Drumpf, parts of the stage falling on performers, crippling heat with little air conditioning.  The Great American State Fair is not just a failure; it is a complete and utter embarrassment.

And there is more to come.  They plan on upping the fireworks from 20,000 to 850,000.  That is a dangerous increase, environmentally and health-wise. If I had dogs there, I would be taking a trip to Williamsburg.  

He is planning to give a speech on a day when the temperature could hit 107.  He wants to impress people with how long he can go. I'll bet the stage will be fanned/air-conditioned. The audience watching it? Eh, not so much. Better have a giant fleet of ambulances ready.

The increase in democracy and equal representation/opportunity has never been a straight line in this country.  The Civil War, the constitutional amendments, and Reconstruction were followed by Jim Crow and segregation.  Civil rights movements in the 60s were followed by decades of backlash, encouraged by Reagan.  The promise of Obama and "Yes, You Can" was followed by Trump and "No, You Can't."

American Democracy

July 4, 1766 - January 20, 2025

I'm sorry. That's the way I feel right now.

Change my mind.

Maybe it's too late.

But I hope not.

Find a way to celebrate what's best in this country.

And be sure to vote for people who will restore the American promise for ALL of its people.

Until next time,

T. M. Strait

AOC '28

There's a New Addition to Our Family: Rose Aldridge Column #1

 

 The good news -

While attending a meeting of The Friends of the Pierce County Library, I asked whether they had any older issues of The Blackshear Times I could look through to find Rose's early columns.  She said, "You mean these?" and opened a cabinet behind her, revealing multiple hardbound volumes of The Blackshear Times dating back decades!

They're in the Heritage Room, and I arranged a time to go in there and start my research. I found when she was hired, tracing the first column to February 18th, 1982.

The bad news - 

My limited familiarity with computers, phones, and cameras has made it difficult for me to present them in an easy-to-read and collectible format.

Nevertheless, I will do what I can and gradually improve my ability to display and compile the columns.

I think they are worth sharing. Her writing is very sharp and humorous, real slice-of-life gems, worthy of Erma Bombeck and Lewis Grizzard.

Below is another attempt at making it more readable,

From the start, Alison is an important feature of her columns. She is determined to participate in the Cabbagepatch doll craze of the early 80s. She is even willing to settle for a knockoff and put up some of her own hard-earned money (allowance? chores?) to get it.  When the store is initially closed, I love how Alison says, "I just knew this would happen, now I'LL NEVER GET A BABY."

Be patient, Rose and Alison.  One day, you'll both have something so much better than a cabbagepatch knocoff!

More columns to come, and I will continue to improve my technical skills.