Thoughts On the Debate in Real Time

*PS added.

Who won each round and overall? 

Just my opinion, in real time ... 

ECONOMY

WHO WON:  Neither.  In fact, they both actually failed this one miserably.

Kamala unfortunately didn't answer the very first question, a very important question "Are Americans better off (financially) than they were four years ago?" 

She completely ignored it in favor of a speech on supporting small business and the middle class, which is true, but ignored the state we're currently in - missed opportunity #1..

Trump seized that opportunity and ran with it - the fact that Americans weren't and blamed Democrats for it.

However, neither explained exactly how they were going to improve the economy, just that they were.

Trump pushed the foreign tariffs and foreign debt thing again, which has already been tried during his own presidency, and in fact, they're still largely in place  - and yet here we are economically anyway.

As Harris stated, these tariffs actually increased the price of goods to the consumer because China and others just raised their prices for goods and services, which they did - and that we are cleaning up that mess still.

(Aside: For example, Denmark's GDP has grown 2% because of us and Ozempic sales, because we are the only country that pays full (over) price for it. ) 

Kamala said if we raise trade tariffs, they just make us pay more for the actual product, the goods and services, and then we may even lose more money that we would have without them, and she is correct - it's true and what has happened.

On the other hand, Trump said if the Biden administration didn't like the tariffs, they should've repealed them but didn't.

That is actually a fair point - why didn't the Biden administration get rid of the tariffs?

I wish I knew - and Harris didn't answer that - missed opportunity #2.

And when Muir asked her why they didn't, she went on to talk about something else rather than answering - missed opportunity #3. 

She DID make a good point that his prior tax shelters for corporations and the wealthiest do not benefit the middle class at all,  and contributing to the current economic mess, causing the middle class to bear most of the tax burden, as well as that she was "for small business."

However, she did not elaborate on how exactly she would go about boosting the economy, other than generically support small business and make taxes more fair in very vague terms.

ABORTION

WHO WON: Harris. 

He talked first, stating that he doesn't personally support abortions for rape victims or incest, but that is what the people wanted. 

Harris successfully retorted that by saying that as a result of his SCOTUS placements and supporters, the type of abortions he claims to actually support - rape and incest - were now made criminal in many states (like mine).

She also said that doctors not giving a D&C to women after miscarriage, for fear of being prosecuted, or 12-year-old girls being forced to carry a child after being raped or incest rape isn't what anyone "wanted" or voted for.

Slam dunk.

He added that the SCOTUS simply gave the rights back to each state to decide and that Ohio and Kansas voted on it.

Yeah, but in states like mine (Kentucky) the issue of abortion  was never put to a vote like Ohio - the state legislature - majority (Trump) Republicans - made the laws for "no abortions, no exceptions" and we had no say or vote on the issue at all!

The only thing she floundered on is she should have said, when Trump asked her, "No, I do not support term abortions" when Trump asked.  

Instead, she just said "Oh, come on" and "That's not true."

She needed to state clearly "No, I do not." - missed opportunity #3.

However, both she - and the moderator - reminded him that in no state is abortion at full term legal.

IMMIGRATION

WHO WON:  Neither - but Trump fared the poorest.

First of all, he claimed that immigration is taking black/Latino jobs.

Not sure what his point is - that they're taking the lowest paying jobs that us white people think we're too good to do?

At that point is where it gets good. 🙂

Up until now, Trump remained calm.

Then Kamala cleverly hung out some bait about crowd sizes that she knew he'd react to - including encouragement to watch videos of  the attendees of his rallies, with people actually leaving after some of the crazy things he says - and he took the bait   🙂

He then raised his voice and went off on his usual crazy talk about immigrants eating dogs and cats in Springfield, Ohio!!!

That, of course, is not only not true, but cuckoo.

So David Muir, one of the moderators, reached out to the City Manager of Springfield, Ohio, who stated there were no reports of eating animals by immigrants ever reported.  😂😂

Trump continued calling her the "Border Czar," which in reality, Harris had no power in this field as Vice President.  

Trump also claimed falsely that she and Biden could close the borders right now and "Go sign the bill."

Um - there IS no immigration bill anymore because YOU asked Republicans to kill their own bill until after the election, Trump - and the Prez does NOT have the authority to close the borders on his own, nor does the VP.

If that were true,  or even possible, then you would've done it yourself when you were president - but you didn't. 

However, though Harris did not say anything cuckoo, also did not strongly or clearly state her position on immigration, so she didn't win this one, either - missed opportunity #4.

CRIME

WHO WON:  Neither.

Trump claimed the crime has increased under Biden (it has not, it's actually dropped overall -  which Muir verified).

Instead of addressing her views on crime - which should be her strong suit as a former prosecutor -  Harris simply stated that she found it interesting he was so against crime, when he had been found guilty of several of them (listing them).

Though funny, not an appropriate retort.

Neither gave a clear plan for dealing with crime.

ENERGY/FRACKING

WHO WON: Neither.

Kamala has changed her position on fracking and has explained why, several times - she ultimately decided that finding internal sources of energy instead of relying on the Middle East was worth the risks - and yet he continued to state that she was against fracking.

Neither of them addressed a clear plan on what to do about energy.

JANUARY 6th

WHO WON:  It depends - if you choose belief over fact, then Trump won.  If you choose facts - then Harris - and the moderators, actually.

To start, the moderators asked the question I wanted them to - if he still believes the election was stolen and he answered that yes, he did.

Both the moderator and Harris reminded him that in every court case he has tried to prove the election was stolen has lost. 

Trump claimed that they didn't even look at the evidence, and what they said was he "didn't have standing."

Erm  - that's what "not having any standing" means, Trump - that several judges DID look at the "evidence" you presented, but found it not credible or substantial enough to support a case, Trump.

Trump also said the January 6th people were "treated very badly," and that Ashley Babbitt was shot by a "very bad police officer," despite previously stating he supported the police and being presented  with the facts that 140 police officers and security personnel were injured trying to protect the Capitol. 

Harris retorted (paraphrasing) it his inability to accept that 81 million people voted against him, ignoring facts versus his belief, makes him appear more concerned with himself than democracy or the constitution. 

She went further, turned right to him and said that it's not that dictators are afraid of him, it's that they know he admires dictators rather than democracy, and that he allows himself to be manipulated by these leaders - softening to "they are manipulating you with flattery" and thus it appears weak.

That was effing brilliant - and true. 

She also stated that a true test of a good leader is one who builds them up and unifies instead rather than tears down and divides.

ISRAEL-HAMAS 

WHO WON:  Harris and probably made her clearest point here.

She spoke very eloquently on always supporting Israel to defend itself from terrorist organizations - and in particular, Iran -  but it matters HOW Israel defends itself.

She also stated that her goal would be a two-state system where both Palestinian and Israel had a an official statehood sharing the Gaza strip.

Trump then accused her of hating both Israel and Palestine, and made no sense whatsoever. 

The only valid point he made was that the Biden administration has not been hard enough on Iran, which is a fair point and true.

UKRAINE - RUSSIA

WHO WON: Neither, but actually possibly Trump, simply because Harris dug herself into a hole.

Harris stated she met with Zelensky days before the war, which of course begs the question then why did it happen as if a surprise.

Trump zoned in on that, which was fair.

However, Trump stated again the war will be over within 24 hours if he was elected, but did not clearly explain how he would accomplish that or guarantee it.

He also continued to drill on how the rest of the world is "afraid of him," while simultaneously praising the worst offenders. 

RACE AND DIVERSITY

WHO WON: Harris.

Trump didn't deny saying that about whether she was black or Indian, but he said he didn't care what she was or wanted to be.

Harris stated that it's a tragedy that his focus and stances on race have been so divisive and taken us backwards.

AFGHANISTAN 

Can't comment because I was out of the room.

AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

WHO WON:  Both. Although I agree philosophically with Kamala,  they both made very good points on this one, and this was the only time Trump didn't completely make something up.

Trump stated he did not want to do away with the ACA/Obamacare, just change certain aspects, but the Democrats didn't want to get rid of certain aspects of it that weren't working.

This is actually true -  unfortunately, congressional Democrats didn't want to hear about problems after implementing it, but they eventually did recognize changes were needed.

Harris brought up that nothing was done about skyrocketing drug prices, but the Biden administration, the Inflation Reduction Act was sign, which will go into effect in 2025.

This is also true - Trump said he would do something about it but never did, Biden at least did the IRA, which doesn't do much, even when it finally goes into effect in January.

Then, on a tangent, after a random comment Trump made about  Harris wanting to take the guns away, Harris directly addressed this as a lie - that both she, and Walz, are gun owners - they don't want to take guns away, they just want to make sure that the wrong guns don't get into the wrong hands.

I'm not sure why we didn't get more into gun laws and school shootings, considering it's on everyone's mind with recent events - perhaps due to lack of time.

FINAL ASSESSMENT

Okay, so it just ended, and though Harris's speech at the end was inspirational and eloquent, I'm actually disappointed in Harris's performance because I've seen her do better.

It was very important for her, going in, to be clear on her own policies, but she wasn't  - and she also needed to answer a clear yes or no, because Trump never does - but instead, she emulated his vagueness and not answering yes or no.

I can see why she was a really good prosecutor, and yet - not so great on the witness stand, is she?

As for Trump, although he kept repeating outrageous lies about  her stances on things like fracking, guns, and late-term abortion - despite Harris having just stated the opposite, several times -  Trump also did adopt a more reserved tone than his usual, only going off the rails once about the eating-cats-and-dogs in Ohio thing 😂

Thus, my overall assessment is Trump did better than his usual, and Harris did worse than her usual - but in the end, neither of them  "won" this debate 🙁

If anyone did, it was Harris, but not by much - she had several missed opportunities.

_________________________________

PS - Now, after having read what the press has to say, let me say this  - I think they're overinflating her performance.

No, it was not a TKO on Harris's part, as much as I wanted it to be. 

Look, I know we all have hope for her, and the fact that anyone is better than Trump, but it was not the total knockout we had hoped for - there were several missed opportunities.

Frankly, press - I don't care if she looked calmer, younger, and smiled more!?!

Some of us are not total idiots.

I don't care about eloquent-but-vague rhetoric about moving forward in general terms.

I care about how they actually answer questions -  and yes, I CAN keep my eye on the ball and track of whether or not they were answered, despite their best efforts to distract..

Because the fact is, many people didn't know her policies versus Biden's and here was her chance to explain that - but she didn't.

To be fair, he kept trying to put her on the defensive and she was busy addressing that much of the time - and she managed to get him on the run in the same way - but it was important for her to explain her own policies clearly and that didn't happen except in general terms.

Thus, I think she did well, on her first presidential debate - but not great -  she had several missed opportunities she can learn from.

_____

PS x 2

Mark said "He refused to even once look at her."

I have a theory on this.

He has been soft with her since day 1.

I think Trump actually likes Kamala and always has (well, he did contribute to her campaign twice in California).

Not to mention, he has described her as "beautiful" and we all know what he's like with women he considers beautiful.

I think he didn't look at her because he knows he would've softened, because he actually likes Kamala as a person.  😉

Debate Day and the Price of Apathy ...

 

I know that everyone is sick and tired of the political landscape, but all I have to say to that is what Plato said:

"The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."

Amen.

Kentucky I-75 Shooter Still on the Loose ...

On Saturday, a man named Joseph Couch fired off an AR-15 randomly at cars on I-75, from a cliff ledge, striking 12 cars and injuring 5 people - then ran off into the woods.  He has yet to be found.

So today, London schools are closed.  

So a couple of people have asked how close that is to us.

So this happened about 9 miles north of London on I-75 - that's about 45 minutes southeast of us.

In fact, we were in nearby (to Lexington) Georgetown, looking at  RVs at Camping World, considering a drive to London's Camping World to look at their inventory, when the traffic alert came in that I-75 was closed due to an "accident"  - it was only later we found out what was really going on.

I'm waiting to hear back from my little sister, now, whose boyfriend lives in Northern Kentucky and was in Atlanta with her, over the weekend, to make sure he's home safe!

(I-75 is the main federal interstate artery that runs from just south of Miami, Florida, Mackinaw Island (and past Detroit), Michigan, ending just before Canada - thus, it's the main and fastest route from the South to the Midwest, including from Atlanta to Cincinnati.)

Can you imagine? 

You're riding along in your car, happy as you please, and some nut shoots at you with an AR-15 for no other reason then they're a psychopath.

There is just no good, justifiable reason for civilians to own AR-15s - none.

If you want a rifle or shotgun for hunting or self-defense, or even a handgun for self-defense, fine ...

... but in this day and age, anyone buying a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle, capable of firing 15 rounds per second, should automatically be suspect and questioned.

______________

Update:  

Law enforcement has found the AR-15, but the shooter is still on the loose.

Also, my sister's boyfriend, in Atlanta for the weekend,  is safe and sound - whew!

Someone Else Who Loves Donuts Besides Us ...

 My entire family loves donuts in a nearly obsessive, craving, salivatory kind of way, much like The Simpsons - why should Ziggy be any different?

In fact, even this toy donut is his new favorite.

(He also loves grabbing hold of my sheets and pillows while I'm trying to make my bed- he thinks he's helping. 😂 )

In Lex This Week: JD Vance, Andy Barr (Still Alive, In Case You Were Wondering), and Dolly Parton

So JD Vance was in Lexington for a fundraiser, hosted by our district's US Rep, Andy Barr (who we literally never hear a peep from or about, until campaign time).

Here's Andy Barr, yammering on about how JD's family is from here, he understands Eastern Kentucky challenges, blah, blah, blah -  apparently forgetting that JD called them all lazy in his book, and that the starting admission price was $2,500 for the furthest seats away.

(By the way, that thumbnail picture of him for this video, speaking to a large crowd, is NOT from here, it's from the RNC - press was not allowed into the fundraiser here.)

Eastern Kentucky people, I just know you sold the one multigenerational family car you have, just to be there, right?

*crickets*

Again, press was not allowed, but that's the way it usually goes at these fundraisers in Kentucky - nobody but the wealthiest are allowed in, often even at town hall meetings (Mitch McConnell was notorious for this), so I guess we'll never know what was said. 

Probably some stuff about cat ladies and couches, stalking Kamala wherever she goes, and awkwardly visiting local small businesses without having a clue what they do, trying to make small talk with actual labor and failing.

Thus, Lexington was super excited, as you can see from this Reddit thread ...

Hehehe. 

Most people seemed to get the joke (I love the first comment 😂), but a couple of people were at first confused because Our Lady Dolly Parton was also in town (separately).

The OP set her straight, as you can see ... NOBODY would ever slander Dolly here, she's a goddess!

But yes, Dolly Parton was also separately in town, to celebrate her "Imagination Library" expansion in Kentucky.

Her book program gives free, high-quality books to every child, in every zip code, age 0 to 5 - and there's no censoring of books!

For her efforts, Governor Beshear made her an official Kentucky Colonel ... 

And THAT is how you outshine Republicans in Kentucky, folks - you just show up for them, free of charge, with a free program for children, on the same day 😉 

Though Dolly has never formally declared herself a Democrat, but considering she changed her Dinner Theater name from "Dixie Stampede" to "Dolly's Stampede,"  saying she would never want to hurt or alienate anyone intentionally, adding that our "little white asses" aren't the only things that matter, and helped fund and sponsor Moderna's COVID vaccine, we have a pretty good idea 😊

Now see, JD Vance?

THAT is what rich, famous people with Appalachian roots oughtta be doing, giving back - setting up free programs, especially for children - NOT exploiting them for your own gain in books and charging them thousands to see you!

In fact, I bet if you asked Eastern Kentucky people - or any people - most would rather pay $2,500 to sit in the nosebleed seats at Rupp Arena to see Dolly, rather than JD Vance -  but thank goodness she doesn't charge that!

Long Live Our Lady Dolly Parton!

13 Year Old Owns Mike Lindell, Trying to Crash the DNC Convention

 First of all, you need to know that My Pillow creator, former crackhead, current Trump supporter, and general whack job, Mike Lindell, shaved his mustache trying to "crash" the DNC - for what reason we don't know.

Apparently, he was trying to troll and crash it, but once people recognized him, he found himself trolled. 

Then after a 13-year-old boy (Knowa de Baraso) calmly asked him about why he continues to support the stolen election theory, Mike literally begins yelling at him.

The child simply kept asking for his source, and after Mike provided none, Knowa simply replied "So your source is 'Trust me, Bro?'"

Dohhhh!

Then, the child then had to be the adult in the room and walk away away from spitting and screaming Mike Lindell.

Here is the video ... 

Mike Lindell?

Not a good look for you, Bro - and I'm not talking about you inexplicably shaving your mustache and trying to crash the DNC.

I'm talking about you screaming and spitting at a 13-year-old child - who clearly behaves better and knows when it's time to walk away.    

Not sure what you were trying to accomplish by even being there, but that was an epic fail - you made a complete fool of yourself with everyone you encountered - finding yourself especially humiliated by a 13-year-old boy! 

Dude - time to go home and argue with your My Pillow,  you'll have a better outcome - or maybe not - your My Pillow could even probably win a debate against your logic!

 

Knowa for President! 😂😂😂

Poised, calm, perfect rebuttal - I'm hereby nicknaming him Baby Barack.

(Except for the fact that he's of course from the ATL, where my little sis lives.)

___________________

PS In other news, I'm on Day 8 of COVID and have had a slight setback - nausea for the past 24 hours and sinus congestion  returned.

Once again, COVID -  go away, ya spiky headed freak of nature!  😂

So Glad To See ThemThere!

 

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love The (Dixie) Chicks would know how excited I was to see them at the DNC, last night, performing an A Capella version of our National Anthem - a little Bluegrass harmonizing for ya, this Friday morning ...

Nice to see you, again Ladies - what happened to you for saying what you really think, after Bush turned the War on Terrorism towards Iraq over WMD that didn't exist  -  was horrible.

Country radio refused to play their music, people had bonfires of their CDs, it was insane. 

But as we know now -  they were right (though nobody wants to admit it or apologize for the way they were treated).

I, too, took a lot of flack for saying similar, here in Kentucky, at the time - but I, too, didn't see enough proof of weapons of mass destruction OR that Sadam Hussein had anything to do with 9/11, to justify turning the tide away from Afghanistan and towards Iraq.

And now we know, of course, that Osama bin Laden was at the Afghanistan/Pakistan border the entire time.

(And I will go further for criticism of presidents on both sides - though I'm glad we eventually shifted back to Afghanistan, we should've pulled out of Afghanistan sooner than we did after OBL was killed.  I'm no Taliban fan, and I feel sorry for their people, but we cannot afford to police the world.)

Also, for the first time in a long time, my former Army Ranger husband teared up, when he heard the National Anthem - I mean, it's been years since I've seen that from him since pre-Trump and pre-Colin Kaepernick kneeling. 

We supported Colin Kaepernick's right to kneel and still do - but watching The Chicks own it, like that, after their careers were nearly ruined by speaking up, too, was inspirational 🥰

Because you do not own patriotism, Trumpers - and true patriotism includes pride in the right to dissent, or even openly criticize the president, in this country.

Also heartwarming to see was another one of my favorite, unapologetically outspoken performers, Pink, with her daughter, Willow, singing an acoustic version of "What About Us?" - Willow's got a little voice blossoming in her, right?  Just like her mama.

 

So Pink was almost a gymnast, but chose that amazing voice instead - and we're so glad she did!

Great job, Ladies! 

Talking to My COVID 😉

So I'm on Day 5 and this sh*t is getting old.  You think you're better and then, of course, you're not.

So today, still with a fever and super annoyed that it hasn't gone yet, said out loud  ...

"No, COVID - you may NOT use my tissue to replicate yourself -  you incomplete, sneaky-ass, freak of nature! 

Ya know, you're super rude.

So why don't you ... AND your spiky protein hat ... just eff off and die already?"

Okay, I'm sure that does absolutely nothing, but if nothing else, it makes me laugh 😂😂

Paxlovid Costs How Much?!?

 

So Mark and I both have COVID, first time for both of us - fully vaccinated, were going to get our booster September 1st.  

Mark got it worse than me, sore throat, GI stuff, etc., I got nasal congestion, but we both got the high fevers and achiness - fun!

(Then again, I'm two days behind him so who knows what's coming).

However, clearly even though the vaccine was near its wear-out time, it clearly DID mitigate the severity of COVID for both of us, yay!🙂

So I'm singing Pfizer's praises on this one - oh, but wait for the opposite on Paxlovid below.

But first, if you've never had COVID, which we hadn't, I highly recommend you do fever/pain reducers and decongestants on a schedule round the clock.  Mark didn't and I did, and it has also made a huge difference between us. 

So anyway, he started getting back pain and slight congestion on Tuesday night, had a slight cough by Wednesday and temperature  of 100F Wednesday night, 101.5F and tested positive on Thursday morning.

(I followed the same pattern, but with no cough, temperature going up to 100 by Friday afternoon, 101.5 by Friday night, positive test yesterday morning.)

So we called into the doctor get Paxlovid for him to shorten the time, since he's had a previous stroke.  They had him see someone in telehealth to verify he had COVID, then she prescribed it. 

Upon calling the pharmacy to check the cost before they prepared it,  we discovered PAXLOVID COSTS $166 WITH INSURANCE!

 

Me:  "Are you freaking kidding me? If we are paying $166, despite us having private insurance, how much is Pfizer charging without it? Um ... no, thank you lol."  

 

Pharmacist:  "Right?  And would you believe it costs $300 if you have Medicare?" 

 

Me:  "That's dang near criminal - people over 65 are who need it most and have the least to spend, they're on a fixed income!"

 

Pharmacist:  "I know, right?  I'm so sorry."  

 

Me: "No worries, it's not your fault.  I think we'll just bite the bullet and go through it.  It's not like it's a cure, just a shortener.  We're not paying for it based on on pure principle, and I doubt we're the only ones.  If no one uses their product then they'll have to reduce the cost to make any money at all on it.  Thanks so much for your time anyway, sorry for any trouble." 

 

Pharmacist:  "No worries, we hadn't started it yet.  And no, you're not the only ones."  

Middle-class/working-class Republicans?

I know you're scared of any sort of price control as being socialist, but would you at least consider it for healthcare/pharmaceuticals?  

We pay at least 3x more for medications than the rest of the world pays, sometimes up to 10x more - it's just ridiculous.

You don't want to pay more taxes, but do you understand that we are essentially paying for the rest of the world's pharmaceuticals, by paying these corporations exorbitant prices? 

Not just the country, but the world.

They overcharge us compared to everybody else, so we're supplying all their profit so the rest of the world with socialized healthcare can get it for cheap. 

Please understand that when you support the Republican Party's platform, you are supporting less taxes for wealthy corporations and their executives. 

All of this other fearmongering regarding religion, race, gender, etc. is just to distract you from that fact and keep voting for it.

If you want to complain about inflation, that's fine, we all do - but  do realize presidents literally have nothing to do with that.

And if they DID try to do something about it, you'd scream socialism, now wouldn't you? 😉

JD Vance AKA "Sofa Loren"

Originally shared by Yale Adjunct Professor, Travis Whitfill, I give you JD Vance, dressed in drag in 2012 for Halloween Party.  

The internet has since dubbed him "Sofa Loren" 😂😂😂

PS - the "has sex with his couch" rumor is, of course, fake - and yet, still funny!

Press, Stop Saying Jordan Chiles Was "Stripped" of Her Bronze Medal

Press, I'm talking to you.

Maybe you're just trying to be melodramatic/make Jordan the victim, but instead, it just ends up sounding like Jordan did something wrong, when she didn't - the judges screwed up on both Jordan and Ana's scores.

In fact, the judges failed to give both gymnasts points for certain aspects of their routines.

So when I first saw this headline, I thought Jordan must've done something wrong, until I read the actual article.

No - we only say people are "stripped" of medals or awards when they've done something wrong.

If you need headline, the correct verbiage should be she "must return" her medal, or even her medal was "revoked."

Because both the USA and Romania coaches (correctly) challenged the judge's scoring - NOT complaining each other - but about missed points by judges for both gymnast's routines, respectively.

After review, both of their scores were adjusted and elevated.

However, considering the USA coach did not file her complaint within the allotted 1 minute, point Jordan's elevation was revoked, ending with Ana's score of 13.700 and Jordan's score at 13.666

We are literally talking about tenths of a point, here, people.

(The scoring is unnecessarily complicated anyway, which is part of the problem.)

Either make them redo it or give them both a bronze medal and be done with it, geez!

RIP, Kenneth Graulich, MD

 

So I was talking to my husband this morning about Dr. Graulich, reminded of him because of Ziggy, of all things 😂  

I'll explain that below, but for now, I just looked him up to see if he was still around and discovered he had died in January 2024 😢

Of the literally thousands of doctors I've transcribed for, including Boston academic hospitals, Dr. G. was my all-time favorite - possibly the most brilliant, definitely the funniest.

I laughed out loud, every single day.  Because besides ensuring the latest neurological testing was brought to Lexington (now standard of care everywhere), as mentioned in the obit, he was hysterically funny. 

Also, many of my grandmother's friends with neurological issues like MS, Parkinson's, and myasthenia gravis, were a patient of Dr. Graulich's and adored the man.

Now, Lexington, of course, is generally NOT known for having the best doctors in the country (despite UK grads thinking they are), but over the years, Lexington has been lucky enough to have two or three Ivy-League (or close) MDs settle here and practice, and Dr. G was one of them. 

In fact, he was much beloved by all of Lexington; thus, the literal tribute book to him for purchase 😊

So he was originally at Lexington Clinic for years (back when LC used to be the best in town), until a major billing problem occurred in the 1990s and the best docs left, because they weren't getting paid.

However, as part of their contract, if they left, they weren't legally able to practice anywhere elese in Lexington for the next 5 years.

So he moved into his own private practice in nearby Georgetown (and his Lexington patients still followed), where he also dictated independent medical evaluations for disability claims, which is when I began transcribing for him.

A former group of Lexington Clinic on-site transcriptionists were  also laid off to cut cost, and thus formed their own self-employed contracting service to still do the LC work, plus others who had left, like Dr. Graulich, and hired me as an apprentice transcriptionist.

(I was recruited two years later by a national contracting service, who also offered benefits, so I gave my notice and left; but later, I heard this local service went under, after cheap labor overseas became popular, which ultimately sunk the national service too, by 2006, along with the advent of voice recognition.)

I never actually got to meet him in person, as a subcontracting apprentice, and yet he became familiar with who I was based on my work, because apparently, he told my boss he thought that I was smart (debatable 😂), because I often caught discrepancies that others missed, and then he asked only for me to do his IMEs.

This was during a time when, as a single mother of a 4-year-old daughter, making literally peanuts as an apprentice, I didn't even have faith in myself, nor was I commended for pretty much anything I did, so it really meant a lot to me for him to do that, for such a well-respected physician to put his faith in me like that.  🥲

I think I remember the thing I caught, actually - he was dictating an IME for a court case for disability on neurological blindness, and he had dictated focusing on neurological vision degeneration in the left eye, but when he when he dictated the testing results, he dictated the normal neurological range for eyes in general, and I noticed the right eye, too, was out of normal range.

So I flagged it for possible discrepancy, either he misspoke the results or he had overlooked the test results for the right eye, focusing on the left.

I remember, he said something like:

"Oh, I see your flag.  No, no, just the left eye that is in question for disability.  This is very complex stuff, so don't be too hard on yourself ... wait a minute ... my God, you're right! The right eye IS starting to show some abnormal neurologic variation, too.  Well, that'll be helpful to the patient's disability case, good job!"

From that moment on, he asked for me to exclusively do his transcription, and with me being a young apprentice, that was a lot of pressure, but since he was a clear dictator, he made it easy.

Then he began playing a little trivia game with me, like testing to find out how smart I actually was, I guess?    

Lucky for me, I was good at trivia games - basically, I am a font of useless information (or at least I used to be). 😂

So he would ask me little obscure trivia questions at the end of his transcription, and I would answer them - in 1998, before Google  - and I'd send back the answer with the work, and then he'd commend me and up the ante with an even harder question.  I'd start doing the same, as a little game, just to see if we could stump the other one 😂

But the best was when he had to evaluate someone he clearly didn't think needed to be on disability. 

He make little comments like "My colleague, Dr. Jones, who obtained his medical degree from the University of Antigua, has testified that ..."

Now, that looks fairly innocuous in print, but it was the sarcastic, silly way he said it ... "from the University of AnTIgua!?! hahaha!"

And sometimes, he'd add his little commentary and then strike it, like "His medical degree from the University of Kyrzatemcz?  I've never heard of it. I've no idea where that is, but it sounds very far away.  Is it real? lol.  Of course, don't put that last bit in there."  

(Of course, that wasn't the university he said, I just made that up, I don't remember what it was.)

After a while, he stopped saying what to put in and what not to, because I knew his little jokes versus what he wanted in there.

And he would often tell hilarious anecdotes or full stories. during his dictations, or something would remind him of a quote, which he'd do in perfect impersonation.

Once, he said:

 "I have been accused, by a person whose neurological evaluation didn't turn out the way they hoped, of being a lackey for the government.  Note how upset I am over that accusation, by a person that wants to live off of the government rather than work, despite nothing at all being wrong with them neurologically lol."

"Speaking of which, who said 'You are an imperial lapdog for the Chinese capitalist empire,' Chrystal?"

I answered, "I'm not sure, but it sounds like something Mao Tse Dong/Zedong (sp?) might've said?"

Ding, ding, ding, I was correct! 

And oddly enough, that is the part made me think of him today and looking him up.

Because pugs really were the official imperial lapdogs for the Chinese empire, and I jokingly called Ziggy my little imperial lapdog  😂

Thus, it made me think of Dr. G.

RIP, Dr. G - thank you, for giving me a chance and having faith in my ability to one day grow up to be a full-fledged transcriptionist (which I have).   😊

Now, I'm nowhere near to being the best there is, but ya know, I can hang lol.

Creepy-Ass JD Vance ...

*Edited.

Mark and I gave been jokingly saying JD Vance was stalking Kamala, right behind her, wherever she campaigned -  and then he legit did this?

Both of their planes were on the same tarmac in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and he walked right up to her plane, with a gaggle of conservative reporters, and said:

"I just wanted to take a look at my future plane, hopefully in a few months, say hello to the Vice President, and ask her why she won't answer reporter questions?"

Yeah, um ... no.

You do not just walk up to Air Force 2 - the official plane of Vice President of the United States (Kamala Harris) - because you vainly imagine owning it someday, knock on the door, expect to be let in, and ask the VP questions.

That's a good way to get yourself shot, dude.

Secondly, the question was about YOU, from the press YOU brought, which was asked at an inappropriate time, right before she boarded the plane.

Lastly, your "boss" - ya know, the guy whose backside your head is firmly planted in - refuses to answer questions from CNN, NBC, ABC, or CBS, nor The Washington Post, The New York Times, nor even the Wall Street Journal, and at the most, will respond with how "nasty" they are for even asking.

But hey, thanks for confirming what we all know you're in this for, a plane and power!

Did you also piss on the plane to mark it your territory, ya Cro-Magnon Creep? 😂

We were joking about the "stalking" bit before, but it is starting to get super creepy.

Well, that's the Eastern Kentucky boy in him, coming out, for sure.  It's an inappropriate form of intimidation and territorializing, unfortunately.

And I can't help wonder ... would he have tried that follow/intimidation trick with a male VP/opposing candidate?

(Ya know, I thought he looked a little bit like my ex-husband !  😂 )

Now before I say this next part, let me be clear - I do NOT think JD Vance is an actual stalker!

(But he is bordering on harassment.)

Just an FYI, though we joked about it, having actually been a stalking victim myself, I feel I need to get serious and clarify between harassment versus actual stalking.

While just being where you are, everywhere you are, is super creepy and an effort to intimidate/bully, it's not true stalking and not illegal - so in this case, just ignoring him is the best course. 

People think that stalking is just following you, making you uncomfortable, trying to get information about you, and even verbally harassing you, but it's not - legally, that's just harassment (and invasion of privacy). 

True stalking -  from a legal perspective - includes all of the above  - PLUS - terroristic threats, either of harm, to you, your family, and your pets or doing something to effect your career, your home, and even threats of calling various community services on you, just to harass you (like police, fire department, child protective services, etc.), if you don't respond to them (which sometimes they follow through on).

It also can include barging in uninvited -  or even breaking in - to where you live and work, as well as gatherings like your church, family events, etc.

Most importantly, it includes "herding" -  which means contacting family, friends, and coworkers smearing lies about you, trying to isolate you so that you have no place to go and no one to tell and have to crawl back to them.  

They will often employ others to do so, unknowingly or not, in order to keep themselves out of legal trouble.

Online, this can include instigation cyberbullying gang-ups, impersonation of you, and hacking.

Though both harassment and stalking occur in people whose sense of boundaries are damaged, true stalking usually occurs when a severely emotionally disturbed individual feels powerless and have lost control, usually after:

A) Their severe abandonment issues have been triggered by your leaving them "without cause" (in their minds), sometimes even when there is no relationship, except the one that exists in their minds. 

-OR-  

B)  You witnessed - or even personally experienced  -something they don't want others to know (i.e. criminal activity, an affair, substance abuse, violence/physical abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment) - and they're afraid you'll tell.

-OR- 

C) Both A and B, which is likely why you left or began avoiding them.   

-OR-  

D)  Competition/Jealousy -  most often over a love interest, but it could also be over a job promotion or a sports win, or  even simply perceived "undeserved" attention versus themselves.

 

*Regarding D, when I took a "boot camp retreat" for domestic violence/stalking victims, years ago - which was to both educate on what to do/not to do, as well as provide support -  one of the other women there was being stalked by a coworker who wanted to BE her!  

This included initially just dying her hair like her, dressing like her, copying her mannerisms, showing up at events, smearing her with lies and saying she was mimicking her (projection is also a common technique employed with stalkers, more on that below). 

Eventually, she broke into her home, taking all of her stuff, impersonation, and then identity theft, draining her bank account! 

Regardless, in their warped minds, they are the victim, not you.

Thus, though there are several differences, the main differences are the threats, it's the stalker's hold over you, to gain back power -  "Will I or won't I follow through with my threat?" 

Sometimes they will follow through, if you don't respond - and you shouldn't respond - let them do it, whatever it is, rather than communicate with them and complicate your own legal case.

People think simply ignoring a stalker will work, but that is "magical thinking" - the false idea that you are powerful enough to control what they do or do not do, based solely on something you do or do not do - despite dealing with severe mental illness and/or addiction.

Ignoring MAY work with garden-variety bullies/harassment - but ignoring will NOT work with true stalkers - because they cannot stop themselves, without legal and/or medical intervention (or they find a new obsession).

Unless you're giving the stalker exactly what they want, nothing you say, or don't say, will make any difference.

In fact, true stalkers often escalate when you don't respond, even follow through with threats. (The good news is, it is precisely at this point when their behavior will become illegal.)

Regardless, it is still best to ignore them, so as not to complicate your own stalking case against them legally. 😉

Also, as I said, projection of their own behavior onto the victim is a classic stalker move.  

Stalkers will often claim their victims are stalking them -  so if you respond, even in self-defense, even with threat of legal action, this could be used against you.

They will make it super hard for you not to respond and defend yourself, especially when they employ others to help them terrorize you (often unknowingly), but particularly when they start making threats.

But if you can do it, it really is best to continue to ignore them, and continue to meticulously just document, document, document, until such time as they've crossed the legal line - and they likely will.

Even still, just know that stalking can be very difficult to prosecute, depending on the state, especially if online or they enlist others to help (unknowingly or not).

But again, as I said, I highly doubt JD Vance is a true stalker, that he will threaten harm or perhaps call the police, fire department or CPS on her just to intimidate her.😂

However, he IS bordering on harassment, enlisting his personal press to harass her at inappropriate times, walking up to her plane to confront her?

Then again, ya never know - as far as the "herding" thing or the barging in/breaking in thing, he's right on the cusp, isn't he?

Welp, if he crosses boundaries too far, the secret service/law will take care of that (we hope).  😂

Like I said previously, in most cases - but not all -  you can take the boy out of Eastern Kentucky, but you can't take the Eastern Kentucky out of the boy  😂

8 Years Strong

Happy Anniversary, to my best friend, my lover, my partner, and my guardian angel ...

I love you, Mark - more than ever, 8 years in!  (Well, 13 years in total) 💏

My anniversary roses ... 💞

 

Ziggy Makes a Wish - Pugs for Kamala? 😂

 We went for a walk at the UK Arboretum, yesterday, and took the Zigmeister ...

I'm not sure if I've instilled in him a love of flowers,  he's looking for anything edible, or he wants to  find a place to dig to hide his chew sticks? 

We came upon a fountain, with which he was fascinated (he loves water) ... 

Then he decided to make a wish ...  😉

He didn't disclose what he wished for.

I would imagine a steak, some ribs, and a whole chicken, because he can't have those things due to allergies!

Or maybe he wished for Kamala to become president.

Pugs for Kamala! 😂

Speaking of which, Ziggy is also biracial - his mom was a black pug and his dad was a fawn pug.

If anyone asks accuses him of "promoting" one race more than the other, he'll just give you a head tilt, then kiss your face, and keep kissing your face, until you stop uttering absurdities!   😂

Trump: "Is She Indian or Black?" 😂

*PS Added

 .... at the Black Journalist Convention yesterday, when asked if he agreed with those saying she was a DEI hire, he said:

“She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I don't know, is she Indian or is she Black?"

She's both, you idiot - and a natural-born U.S. citizen - so why does  her exact race matter?

And ... "promoting" her Indian heritage?

What does that even mean?

Like she goes around saying, "Hi, I'm Kamala Harris. I'd like to pitch the idea of my being Indian/South Asian to you?"

What a bizarre word to choose and ... I don't think so.

She was closer with her mother's family, but I doubt she was "only promoting Indian heritage," since she went to Howard University, which is an historically black university! 😂

I'm also pretty sure you never asked her what race she identified as, so what is your point?

Are you trying to pit black people against South Asians/Indians now, or can your brain just not process that two different races can produce a child and that child can be both races, or even more, based on lineage?

Talk about "black-and-white thinking" (pun intended) of being a hallmark for a personality disorder! 😂

Like Jon Stewart said, do you see those Pizza Hut/Taco Bell combo restaurants and freak out?

What do you do with the Taco Bell/Pizza Hut/KFC combo restaurants, pass out?  

Insist that they are "promoting" one restaurant more than the others? 😂

Or with multiracial people like Tiger Woods (Thai, Chinese, African-American, Dutch)?

Or Dwayne Johnson (Samoan, Black Nova Scotian, Irish)?

Or Keanu Reeves ( British, Chinese, Hawaiian descent, and Portuguese)?

Or Jason Momoa ( Hawaiian, German, Irish, and Pawnee Native-American)?

Or Naomi Osaka (Japanese, Haitian - or Creole, which is a mix of European and African)?

Or Olivia Munn (Vietnamese, Chinese, British, Irish, German)?

Do you just stare at them, try to place them in one box or the other, and then ask them which race they wish to "promote?" 😂

Why can we not just evaluate/appreciate who they are as people, rather than pinning them down to one race, and and worse, accusing them of "promoting" one race over the other?

The best was watching Fox News' Harris Faulker be interviewed by another Fox News host, later, completely trying to avoid the debacle that was Trump - specifically his answer to this question - hilarious!

Particularly when she was directly asked about this statement he made.  She never answered it, just twisted into other topics, as per usual Trump style interviews.

Talk about your DEI hires. 

 (Again, this DEI stuff is just more projection by Republicans, who hire token people of color to fill quotas, to do their bidding, but never give them top billing)

She's actually a pretty good journalist, I just feel badly for her having to pretend things aren't said/going on, that are.

Now, to the birth certificate being passed around.

This was originally shared by TV personality, Judge Joe Brown (not yet verified as legit).

(*It is important to first note that since his TV show, Judge Joe Brown has politically moved from Democrat to Independent, now supporting Trump.  His behavior has become increasingly belligerent and bizarre, such that he was arrested in 2014 for being in contempt of court, after a bizarre outburst of personal attacks in a courtroom, while acting as an attorney.  A bar complaint was later filed against him, which was deferred, after he cited his health issues were affecting his behavior.)

Umm ... no, it does NOT say Kamala's race is Caucasian,  "Judge Joe."

It says Kamala's MOTHER self-identified as Caucasian. 

It says Kamala's father's self-identified as Jamaican.

 U.S. Birth certificates do NOT identify the race of the child - they identify the race of the parents, self-selected.

Dang, I understand Trumpers not being able to properly read a birth certificate, but it really worries me that Joe was once a legitimate judge, and either he can't read a birth certificate clearly anymore - his previously mentioned "health issues" prevent him - or he can, but just hopes others can't, which is way worse and super shady.

Regardless, obviously, Shyamala Gopalan is Indian/South Asian.

And her father - whom she admittedly isn't very close with - Donald Harris is Jamaican Creole, which IS black (or part black).

IF this birth certificate is legitimate - there may be a very simple plausible explanation. 

Within hours after the child is born, the mother and father are given separate short forms to fill out first with self-selected information, which then is input into the final certificate, which both parents then sign, and then it is stamped with the official state seal.

Remember, race identification checkboxes used to be different, especially back in 1964.

At the time, the only choices may have just been a check-the-box:

____ Caucasian.

____ Negro (remember, 1964) 

____ Other

I mean, if these were the only choices, what did biracial people, Asian people,  Native Americans,  Jewish people, etc. choose?

In fact, that is exactly the reason why these forms began to change in the 70s to offer more choices, including on the U.S. census and employment applications, etc.

So if this is legit, and the choices were limited, Shyamala likely just checked off Caucasian, rather than "negro" or "other" (again, it was 1964), but perhaps  Donald, being Jamaican Creole (multiracial), didn't like the limited options and wrote in his own next to "other?" 😊

Either that, or she was so hocked up on pain meds (especially back then), she just checked a box and passed back out to sleep! 😂

Also, Trump - being used to only allowing interviews from white-wing ass-kissing journalists -  also claimed anyone that asked him a direct question was "rude" and "nasty" and never answered the question.

He was practically heckled out of the auditorium, which felt very satisfying to me.

Again, I can't believe we're asking for birth certificates only for candidates of color in 2024, and pretending it's not racist!

Okay, so are we done with racist investigations now and can get back to just regular misogyny again, like we did with Hillary? 😂

God forbid we keep it about her policies or her character, after all.

So that birth certificate being passed around says she was female - would you like her to have a gynecologic exam on Zoom for a look-see?  😂

__________________________

PS 

 Nope, I guess we're not done talking about her race, because now, Trumpers are trying to convince us her father isn't black either, though we can all see he clearly is, being Jamaican Creole mix..  

In other words, more Trump gaslighting, hooray!

Regardless, THESE are Kamala's parents, Shyamala and Donald ...

The picture that Trump shared today on Truth Social is NOT of Kamala's parents  - it's a picture of Kamala's maternal grandparents, Rajam and PV Gopalan! 

Again, Kamala's father, Donald, is Jamaican "Creole" - a mix of both European AND African heritage (and sometimes native American as well, depending on region.

European heritage in the Caribbean and states like Louisiana and South Carolina means predominantly French or Spanish, but can also include Portuguese, Dutch, and/or British,  but in lesser amounts. 

In fact, though all speak English, some even speak a Creole language based on French and/or Spanish. 

The Creole mix of people are predominantly found in the Caribbean Islands and Southern U.S. states such as Louisiana and South Carolina, but even then, there are different racial-makeup percentages depending on region, and also different subcultures -  i.e. Jamaican Creole VS. Haitian Creole, New Orleans Creole VS. Charleston Creole.

In other words, both Kamala, and her father, are both partially black.

Can Trump and his followers really not process the fact that people can be a mix - or are they just trying to gain the black vote?

Or are they really just that stupid/ignorant of history (or hoping that we are)? 

Because no one can be THAT stupid, right?

*crickets*

Maybe they just enjoy watching ours heads explode at their  gaslighting attempts over something we can all see clearly with our own eyes 😂

Well, at least the gaslighting attempts are more desperately obvious, now, right? 

At least to sane people 😆

I mean, they've got nothing else, and they know it.

Even if this IS a ploy to gain black votes -  how sick and obsessed with race ARE you? 

You can't classify them as "either/or," according to your preconceived, wrongful stereotypes of race and behavior, so you try to make them fit in one box or the other?

(Again, rhetorical).

Either way, the facial obsession proves the inherent, defiant (and ignorant) racism in Trump and his followers, as well as the degree of gaslighting Trump will resort to - "You don' t see what you think you saw.".

I dunno, though - despite the inherent racism in this, Trump is so desperate, next, he'll be trying to gaslight us that HE is black, just to gain black votes!  😂