Guardedly Hopeful For The Midterms

Above is a New Yorker cartoon of mine. I hope you enjoy the man’s devotion to fall.

Growing up in DC when the Kennedy Center first opened, I remember that around town it was sort of a joke, design-wise. People called it a shoe-box. But it was a grand tribute to JFK, and became an important and very lively one.

Back then, DC did not have much in the way of fancy places for people to put on gowns and tuxedos and gather (at least that was my impression); the Kennedy Center became the focus for gala behavior, and of course great performances. Not to mention the Kennedy Center Awards were wonderful, and I hope they will be so again someday. Here’s my take: Trump has forever been treated like a second class citizen by the social elite, in NYC and Washington. He wants his revenge, even though one could say he already has gotten it by being president twice.

The Kennedy Center closed its doors yesterday, despite a judge’s order. Trump said he will not go ahead with renovations if his name is not on the Kennedy Center. In other words, if he can’t have it, nobody can, as NY Times Journalist Jamie Bouie observed. This, despite a federal judge ruling that the center must be maintained as a living memorial to Kennedy. He said, “Simply put, defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing,” Judge Cooper wrote. “The board resolution bucks a federal court order and a statute Congress enacted.”

This issue is symbolic of Trump’s childish behavior. And it would be very sad if the Kennedy Center got in terrible disrepair because of Trump.

Some other news:

Remember how we worried there would be no midterm elections, that while we didn’t know how he’d do it, Trump would try to stop them. He was trying to mess things up with the USPO and mail-invoting, but that just fell flat. He won’t be able to do that because the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s mail-in voting plan in a 7-2 vote. Of course there are a few weeks left and Trump may try something else, but I believe there is nothing else he can do. People are pissed and want to vote against him.

We will come out in droves, I can’t wait.

And of course, following that ruling yesterday, Trump attacked the Supreme Court Justices he appointed for not voting in his favor.

More good news: The NY Times reports a new poll that shows gains by Democrats, and that Trump “drags down GOP.”

An odd pair: Liberal Democrat Bernie Sanders and MAGA strategist, all around wierd man Steve Bannon appeared on the same stage at a conference in Washington called “Pro-Human Assembly.” They both agree that the speed of AI advancement is a threat and should be curbed. Trump says the concerns are a hoax.

Love it: In a surprise move, Republican Thomas Massie moved to impeach Pete Hegseth.

That’s it for me today. I hope your week is going well. Thanks again for being here!! I can feel the hope for the midterms rising steadily.