Got lots of Trump signs here and flags and banners and a Humvee painted like an American flag with a big Trump sign, but this is a deep-red county where Trump won in 2020 by 38 points. There are a few Harris signs about too, though.

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I'm feeling optimistic and anxious.

The NYT poll shows that late deciding voters are breaking strong for Harris, and that she leads Trump in polling as being better for the middle class and less divisive and more likely to protect the Democracy show that she's gotten her messaging across.

Harris is winning among Independents, and Uncommitted voters.

The Selzer poll shows that Harris is pulling strong numbers from older white women, suburban and rural. Which bodes well for her picking up votes in red counties. Suburban white women were the reason Trump won in 2016.

Trump's campaign never tried to grow his base and he's all in on uneducated white males who are low propensity voters.

I've got a whole list of things that tilt towards Kamala. That said, I have been betrayed and disappointed by the American people before, and my bitterness with election shenanigans goes back to 2000.

However, even just taking the cynical/practical view of things, it seems clear that women are highly motivated by the Dobbs decision especially as they see women dying in parking lots. Women have a greater stake in this outcome than some 22 year old incel on the couch playing Fortnight.

I am so afraid to feel any optimism, and after 2016 I've avoided looking too hard at any predictions/polls/clairvoyant octopods in case I accidentally see some good news. This is an incredibly normal and healthy way to feel for 8 years hashtag everything is fine.

AHAHAHA. You are me. hashtag weeps.

I am with all y’all on head in sand scared to hope since 2016.

That said, I have been betrayed and disappointed by the American people before, and my bitterness with election shenanigans goes back to 2000.

Yeah sadly when I’ve seen those “you don’t have to tell your husband you voted for her” things all I’ve thought it “yeah, and your husband can lie and say he voted for Kamala while secretly going for Trump, so…”

I have some hope, but am used to being disappointed politically because I live here and the purple thing? Is a very recent development. But it's not a million degrees out which is always better for my attitude.

That said, I have been betrayed and disappointed by the American people before, and my bitterness with election shenanigans goes back to 2000.

This election is so depressing. Trump and/or his surrogates are talking about using the national guard and military against his political opponents, universal tariffs, actively working to make climate change worse, deporting 11 million plus people including kids who are citizens, taking vaccines off the market, cutting 2 trillion in federal spending which will crash the economy, and enacting a national abortion ban (worded as a national minimum standard or something). I know I'm leaving a lot out with that list, but that's not sh*t the dems are claiming, that's sh*t his campaign is actually saying (including Elon Musk as part of the campaign which seems reasonable at this point). Then there are all the character flaws of Trump. And he still is pretty likely to win.

I'm hoping my gut is totally wrong and he gets crushed because that is a lot of stuff the polls aren't capturing, but I'm not feeling good about it.

If everything were totally healthy, it would not be close at all. That's totally true.

[looks around] Well, this is a hell of a place to come in.

Hey. Thank you all for your very kind words, they are tremendously appreciated.

The plan that my father laid out for us when we visited in August? Yeah, that didn't happen. Dad was buried within 24 hours - before I was able to get a flight back - and the memorial service was held last Saturday instead of being scheduled for a few months after the interment. There was a Zoom call, with two-thirds of us having to attend remotely; the family chat thread was a relief:

Jim: "Why does the interior look like a municipal hearing room?"

Ken: "I expected some Jesus, but hooboy this is a lot of Jesus."

Twenty minutes into the stake president's testimony: "Is he still blathering?" "I shut the sound off. Does anyone have their captions on?" "Me - yeah, he hasn't said anything about Dad outside the first couple of sentences."

At one point during the drone, a hymnal came flying into shot with a thud - Ken's money is on an extremely bored child, which would be on brand for Parkers - whoosh, suddenly there is a book in the space in front of the lecturn!

When it finally ended, the family in attendance declined the refreshments, politely excused themselves and went to my mom's for homemade pizza and small humans (my great-nieces) running amok. My father's widow was not present, and was not missed.

Mom opened a chat thread with my siblings and I with the words "Time to move"; she's doing her part for Harris in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, and going to stay with my brother in North Carolina after. Jim is attending an industry conference there next week; he'll be having dinner with Mike and passing on my hugs.

My feelings about my father are complex: I will admit in this company that my first thought after "He's not in pain any more, good" was "He was too ill to vote for the Cheeto Vulgarian in PA." I loved him as a child, I understand why he made the choices he did, I wish him well in whatever befalls him now.

And I'm relieved it's over.

And I'm relieved it's over.

I recognize that feeling. I felt the same for my Dad, his father, and his mother.