Those are not pleasant distractions, Matt. Health~ma all around!

Reading the results of the Wisconsin district races is infuriating. Dems win all their races by 30+ points and the GOP all of theirs by a comfortable 10%. So many "wasted" Dem votes by our ridiculous gerrymandering.

Gerrymandering in Wisconsin is criminal. 60 percent of the votes cast are Democrats and yet the state assembly is just 36 percent Democrat. After 2010, they did a number on the state and we are fucked for decades.

I have to go back to work tomorrow. Even when this is over, it won't be over. I'm tired.

askye, that sounds agonizing. I'm so sorry.

Related to your argument about Covid, I happened to look at the Johns Hopkins Covid tracker this morning at about 7:30, and then again at about 4 this afternoon, and in less than 10 hours over 1,000 Americans died. One of the worst death rates since the pandemic started.

Definitely one of the things that helped heal my relationship with my dad near the end of his life was our mutual loathing of Trump and his growing realization that, even though he was considered conservative by Bay Area standards, he was really a moderate Dem in the eyes of the entire rest of the country and if he wanted his old GOP back his only possible hope was to start *voting* like a moderate Dem. (Of course even his old genteel GOP was problematic in a billion ways that I could have hammered on, but I had to pick my battles to keep him moving forward--and I won just about every one I picked.)

If he'd been a Trump supporter or even a flabby apologist, I'm absolutely certain our relationship could not have survived.

Gerrymandering in Wisconsin is criminal.

2022 midterms, ISTG we're going to have to put as much energy into state-level races as House and Senate.

{{{{Buffistas}}}}, continued ~ma.

I'm bummed that ranked choice voting didn't pass in MA. I was hoping it would be a good aid to wider democracy.

Health~ma for all of your loved ones, Matt.

JZ, I had a similar experience with my dad toward the end of his life. He was a nearly-life-long Republican, but he was also a science teacher with a healthy respect for math and reality. He voted for Bush senior but he then voted for Obama the year before he died. My sister actually took longer to peel from the Republican crazy machine, but the combo of Trump and a granddaughter who needs a world that’s not on fire to live in seems to have done the trick.

{{Buffistas}}

Matt, health~ma all around. Reasonable theory with your mom. Now that I rarely eat some things if I have them on occasion I pay a price. Bodies be annoying.

Gerrymandering in Wisconsin is criminal. 60 percent of the votes cast are Democrats and yet the state assembly is just 36 percent Democrat. After 2010, they did a number on the state and we are fucked for decades.

The state fight is one that has to happen. My own district in the state was taken by the GOP again, for the same reason. I have to say the WisDems did a fabulous job with the fundraising efforts. They had some great events. I hope they keep up the effort.

Just so tired. Everyone in my orbit is on edge and exhausted. It is rough.

Sweet story I don't know if I shared about working the polls this year. I have voted in this precinct for 35 years. For countless elections I looked forward to seeing my neighbor Calvin. We would joke about living 1/4 mile from each other and seeing each other 2-3 times a year depending on the election calendar. Calvin passed away last year so I knew I would be missing him this past election. Well, when I got our emails with instructions there were three people included on the precinct group email (8 of us) with the same last name as Calvin. I told DH it had to be relatives but I didn't recognize the names. When we arrived at the precinct we found that it was Calvin's older son, his wife, and daughter. After his dad died the house passed to his children, including a younger son who graduated with my son. Ted and his family moved into the house from Canada. With the upcoming election they decided to volunteer in his memory because it was important to him. He regretted that he had lived away from his father for so many years and I let him know how it warmed my heart to seeing him picking up the torch.

ltc still woke up miserable this morning, but she is at school and I'm eating a bagel and an oatmilk chai latte.

Matt, mom~ma and cat~ma.

That's so nice, Laura! At my polling place, there were two of us newbies this year, replacing two old ladies whose children convinced them not to do it this year. So many people came in looking for Mrs. Murphy! I was glad to be able to tell them she is OK, just not here.