Last week, we endured 3 days of Senate hearings with Supreme Court nominee Amy Barrett. Democratic Senators used most of their time deliberating and admonishing the justice nominee, questioning her right-wing affiliations. She was deft to avoid clear associations, proving her political and judicial merit. The Democratic agenda seemed to fail in cornering Amy Barrett into admitting something uncouth or controversial. Their in hopes delaying her confirmation didn’t last past Tuesday afternoon. Amy Barrett remained careful, sharp and attentive, skillfully able to dodge left-wing assumptions while fanning her catholic base. By Wednesday evening, Senate Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer [D-NY], confirmed the results of the hearing with a press release statement referring to the future of “Justice Amy Barrett”.

Without catching a break, that same night, the world was treated to a dueling of town halls. Joe Biden was hosted by ABC and moderated by George Stephanopoulos; Trump hosted, simultaneously, on NBC, moderated by Savannah Guthrie. @8PM EST. And as it would happen, Biden’s town hall gained the most viewers contrary to the popular assumption that the american people would rather watch a raging dumpster-fire than a mild-mannered debate. Even though Savannah Guthrie was knocking the shit out of 45 on NBC, Joe Biden gained the majority of America’s attention. The voters wanted to know Joe Biden’s view on fracking, court packing [and more], to which he gave resounding answers to. Meanwhile on NBC, Savannath Guthrie was reminding POTUS that he was the president of the united states, not “some crazy uncle spewing conspiracies”. Her questions centered on the presidents consistent retweeting of Qanon conspiracies⁺, and other things he was cagey to answer, like if he tested positive the day of the first presidential debate.

The latest CNN polling shows Biden/Harris in the lead with a national 11-point lead [53% v. 42%] Admittingly, these averages provide no solace for anyone who is reminded of the 2016 election. The polls showed a similar lead for the Hillary Clinton campaign and look what happened there. We cannot rest with any reassurance that this election will be easily won. As November 3^rd looms ever closer, one solution is guaranteed to make sure our ballot will be counted. VOTE EARLY. Experts believe this is the best way to fight any possibility of voter suppression^[1]. And for anyone else who would like further information of the dueling town halls, I’ll provide the 12 highlights ‘here‘ [according to the NY Times]. The final presidential debate is expected to air Thursday night [Oct. 22] at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. @6PM Pacific Standard Time, President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will share a debate stage for the last time.

Last week, we endured the first and only vice presidential debate. Senator Kamala Harris v. Vice President Mike Pence (feat. the Fly). That’s right, for those of you who were too busy to sit down for 90 minutes, I’ve got the fact-checked highlights of the night. And no worries, I only mention the fly once, I swear.

So, Kamala Harris enters the ring with a heavy-hitting reputation. We’ve seen her press brett kavanaugh in the supreme court hearing so we know she ain’t nobody to mess with. Mike Pence, on the other hand, he strolls up with his special brand of evangelical milkbread, and what’s that– pink eye? Eww. The moderator, Susan Page [USA Today] has got her job cut out for her, that much we knew. Watching Pence squirm on stage with two powerful women was the night’s true entertainment.

Kamala right hooks Pence straight-out the gate. Topic: Pandemic. Counting the facts off the tips of her fingers, “210,000 are dead in our country over the last several months. Over 7 mil. people have contracted the disease. 1 in 5 businesses, closed. Front-line workers who have been treated like sacrificial workers. We are looking at over 30 million people who have filed for unemployment.” BOOM! A resolute punch. She doesn’t even need to mention the virus outbreak in the whitehouse to point out this administrations failure to deal with it. She concludes by reminding us that cult45 downplayed the virus on purpose (shoutout to Bob Woodward). It really was an immaculate blow, setting the tone for the night.

Pence failed to recover with a competent argument. After his half-hearted condolences to “the people affected by covid”, he kept repeating the imaginary vaccine– You know what, I’ll spare you the bullshit. When his two-minutes were up, he began the new cult45 classic– talking over the moderator. Poor Susan said, “Thank you, Vice President.” ’bout 22 times thruout the night, to no avail. The rest of the debate passed by in a blur. Both candidates did their part in dodging and deflecting direct questions. At some points it even felt like we were watching a fencing match. Kamala’s scathing side-eye won her the night, and let’s not forget her iconic “Mr. Vice President, I’m speaking.”– and that damn Fly! It landed on Pence’s head for exactly two minutes and 9 seconds (arguably, the fly had a better understanding of the debate rules than the Vice President.) And for two minutes and 9 seconds, the whole world watched that fly in amazement. While Pence was discussing Justice for Breonna Taylor, no less.

By the end of the debate, Fly meme’s had already flooded the internet. Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok chewed it up like a bone. We were left with a more typical debate, ripe with nothing important. Nobody’s mind was changed, except for those who didn’t believe a fly could become a star overnight. Thank you, Kamala, for the gifs. Susan, you luke-warm peach, thank you as well. And Pence– don’t move. You’ve got a *WACK* on your head.

2020 never ceases to amaze me.

Last Tuesday, we were graced with a shitshow of a debate. I sat there as C-SPAN streamed it Live. A beer in one hand, a blunt in the other (and yes, in hindsight, not the healthiest coping mechanism) but there I was. Ready for the circus to start. And boy, did the circus deliver. No fault to Joe Biden– 45 is a one-man freak show. Even with a Fox moderator, 45 couldn’t help shoving his feet further and further down his throat. Every time Joe spoke, 45 interrupted him. Even the moderator, Chris Wallace, was having a hard time getting a word in. And I mean, sure, we all saw this coming, but not like this. 45 was belligerent. He reminded me of a 2 year-old child throwing a tantrum (no offense to the 2 year-olds out there)–it was embarrassing. Chris Wallace did his best (arguably) to settle-down the kid-president, but the babe was inconsolable. Chris Wallace had to placate the child by saying, “you’re going to love this next question, Mr. President, it’s about [you]” and sure enough, the president shut up and listened long enough for the rest of us to breathe.

Joe gradually lost his cool throughout the debate. He eventually said to the president, “shut up, man” […] “you’re the worst president the united states has ever had” […] “you’re a clown”. And man did that feel good, you know? Who can blame Joe. We were all thinking it. It was just great to see someone finally say it to his face. There was some sort of satisfaction there I can’t describe in detail– but lemme tell yah, it was *chefs kiss*. Then, the subject came down to race. The highlight of the night coulda been 45 denouncing white supremacy. But, no. Instead. When 45 was asked to denounce white supremacy– specifically a militia group known as proud boys— Donald J. Trump went ahead and told them to “stand back, and stand by.” What? I could feel my blood freeze. Did he just say what I think he said? He one-ups himself next. “I am encouraging my supporters to go into the polls and watch very carefully, because that’s what has to happen — I am urging them to do it.”

It was. a shitshow. Nevermind the discussion on climate change, where 45 was saying we gotta rake the forest so that fires stop happening– I mean, you can’t make this stuff up, people. But then again, 45 seems able to. And as the night grated to a close, I found myself on the floor, starring at the popcorn ceiling. This is it. I thought, Civil War pt.2: Apocalypse Edition. On your mark. Get set. Go. I couldn’t sleep all night. Wednesday– I was riddled with anxiety. Dark clouds, getting darker. And the temperature’s RISING??? On Thursday, I told myself Be Strong. No matter what happens. Keep it together. But I ain’t gonna lie to you, I was scared. I was really freaking out. The news about the Proud Boy militia, out there– currently– gearing up for election night had me riddled with anxiety. What if… on election night… innocent people could— No. I had to keep my mind off the worst-case scenario, but honestly I couldn’t, or at least– I wasn’t doing a very good job of it.

Then, like a sunbeam thru a storm, the headline news broke out October 1^st “The President of the United States has COVID-19.”

I began to dance. Shaking my ass. You woulda thought that fucker was dead, the way I rejoiced. No guilt; no shame. I sent no well-wishes. I politely asked the Universe for his lungs to collapse. Sorry, not sorry, bitch. I’d kill him if I had the chance– and this is coming from a guy who literally won’t hurt a fly. I straight-up hate the guy. Almost as much as Hitler. Anyways. You get the point. Imma dance on that bitches grave. So, when he got flown out to the hospital, I put on my shades and took a shot of tequila. Then when I heard the virus spread to his cult, I took another shot of tequila. Gotta celebrate the small things, you know? I drank the good spirits and felt a second-wind pass through me (more like wind #345million).

By now, Monday morning, the infection has spread to over 20+ White House officials. Kellyanne Conway, Kayleigh McEnany, Chris Christie, the list keeps growing. We even got some rebulican senators who’ve contracted the virus after attending the SCOTUS hearing for new justice nominee Amy Barrett. That’s right, you heard me. The Senate had no choice but to post-pone any further hearings until October 19^th— that is unless COVID has anything else to say about it.

I know, I know. Sweet, sweet karma.

In the wake of RBGs death, the 2020 election has never appeared more dire. The war against democracy endures many waves, but this one has left us naked, defenseless and w/o armor. Just as the final battle– i MEAN, eLECTION– peaks over the horizon, cult45 rushes-in. Desecrating RBG’s dying wish, as they haste to fill her seat. Not only dismantling RBG’s legacy, but they’re also securing a false victory in November. You see, cult45 has been hard at work the past couple months sowing fear and discord in the fidelity of the US election. Once poll numbers started showing Biden/Kamala in the lead, the GOP began preaching, the only way we lose, is if the election is rigged. They’d have us believe that mail-in ballots aren’t safe– planting a seed of doubt as an attempt to prolong the election. And if they manage to do that, well, the election will go into Overtime, and then the Supreme Court will have to decide– you see where I’m going with this? Justice Barrett on the Supreme Court is no bueno. Mind you, I’m doing my best to not dramatize the situation. So, let’s just put all the facts out on the table, shall we?– I’ll let you feel however you want about this (as long as you aren’t delusional).

Here are the facts.

So what are we gonna do? We’re gonna vote like our lives depend on it. Because guess what— they do. And as long as the votes for Biden/Kamala are overwhelming, the GOP can’t contest it in court. But if they do, well– then we’ll have to reform our strategy. But for now, voting’s all we got. I know it’s sorta crazy how much this one election can change the course of the planet. But stopping now isn’t an option. We’re 36 days before the last battle and yes, the skies are grey– but we cannot lose faith. You hear me? We must rally our final reserves and stand at the ready with our vote. Again, this isn’t a dystopian novel. This is America 2020. And honestly, I thought we’d all be talking about flying cars by now, but instead we’re fighting for our planets survival. Wish I could sugarcoat it for you folks but the stakes are too staked. It’s win, or die. And, that’s death by blazing inferno.

The biggest news of last week was by ‘n’ large, the tragic passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who, for some reason, I keep calling Ruth Gator Binsburg. Incorrect, I tell myself. And a little rude? Well. All I can say is, you can take the boy outta florida but you can’t take the florida out of… anyway.

My phone buzzed Friday afternoon. RBG is dead. I starred at the text long enough to make my eyes water. FUCK, I screamed, before I realized what this all means. Then, I let out a quiter– more succinct fuck. when I finally realized what this all means for the the U.S. of A. Now, I’m not a pessimist, but I did feel the weight getting heavier that evening. So much uncertainty. So much anger. Disappointment. For a moment, I completely forgot I was mourning the passing of a historical figure. I had to stop thinking I wish she lived a little longer. Just 2 more months and she coulda died a… hero. Oops. I thought it.

The memory of her life will live on in american history. A part of me doesn’t feel as worried about commemorating her as much as strategizing the defense against #cult45 appointing a second Supreme Justice. These lifetime appointments will usher in a whole new era of conservative law, regressing on things that we’ve already fought for, like Planned Parenthood and Gay Marriage. The outlook can turn pretty bleak, but I’m here to say, Look on the brightside! –ahem– let me google it really quick…

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oh. Okay. So according to NPR, RBG’s last words were a fervent wish for the Senate to wait ’til after election to fill-in her seat. Okay. So you’re telling me that even to her last breath, she fought for democracy and equal rights? Okay. Please, excuse me while I– FUCK— ahem. Okay. Sorry. Where was I…? Oh right. FUCK. Okay… I’m done. Anywho, Mitch McConnell probably looked @ her last words and laughed, rubbing his hands together like a raccoon about to gorge on human waste. I really hate that man, and I don’t really hate anyone. Or at least, I try not to, but the republican party really be trying me sometimes. I think if I had them begging for their lives in front of me, I would totally just threaten them with a machete till they peed their pants on live television while the world watches. Ooh.. Just me? These are crazy times, huh? Who knew.

All joking aside, I’m angry. I’m sad. I’m disappointed. But I’m also hopeful, and optimistic. RBG will not only go down in history but also as a becon for social justice, along with John Lewis and MLK. We lost another titan, but I’m not afraid. This always happens in the Last Hour. All hope is not lost. It sounds corny as fuck, but listen to me. We have to stand together. We have to VOTE. Rile up everyone you know. This is a fight for our LIVES. and that is not an overstatement. i REPEAT. This is a fight for our LIVES. Remember that. Tell yourself every day from now till november 3rd. Tell your fear to hold on, cuz we’re takin’ back the wheel ‘n’ gettin’ the fuck outta here.