Ahhhhhh, the vagrancies of summer weather on the Texas gulf coast. It’s the low 70’s out here on the front porch. But with full sun, it won’t take much to hit the forecast high of 97 degrees.

The first load of laundry is in. The first cup of coffee is half gone. The birds are singing, crickets are cricketing, before long cicadas will be buzzing.

I spent last evening doing something that I almost never do. I watched the entire Democratic National Convention. Virtually. And for a change it was all virtual. Not just the public’s participation. There were some powerful speakers, and not just the ones you would expect.

I can only imagine the Twitter storm that followed. Strong women… and men, speaking truth to Trump’s percieved power. That’s got to get under his thin skin.

I must say, I am always amazed at the dichotomy between the perception of hate towards Trump by Trump loyalists and their actually expressed hate towards Democrats. Sometimes it’s subtle, but mostly it’s blatant. Take my own disdain for the President***, it didn’t start with his run for the presidency, I’ve felt this way about him for as long as his personality has impinged on my conscience… probably for half my life. Hell, he was a Democrat back then.

My disdain for the Republican party is more nuanced. It tends to be about the aspirational nature of the two parties. And to my viewpoint, Republicans aspire to exclude while Democrats aspire to include. And that, in a nutshell, is why I vote for Democrats.

I’ll be back at the Convention tonight… and tomorrow… and the day after. And while I’ve already requested a mail-in ballot, with Trump’s shenanigans at the Post Office, I’ll probably just go vote early and be sure my vote counts when I cast it against Donald J Trump and his party of deniers.

Y’all stay safe, stay healthy, and for all our sakes Pray for our Nation and the World… and as Michelle said last evening, pack a lunch, and a breakfast and be prepared to stand in line all night to cast your vote…Autocrats have no place in 21st Century America.