Though the current project started as a series of posts charting my grief journey after the death of my mother, I am no longer actively grieving. Now, the blog charts a conversation in living, mainly whatever I want it to be. This is an activity that goes well with the theme of this blog (updated 2018). The Sense of Doubt blog is dedicated to my motto: EMBRACE UNCERTAINTY. I promote questioning everything because just when I think I know something is concrete, I find out that it’s not.
Hey, Mom! The Explanation.
Here's the permanent dedicated link to my first Hey, Mom! post and the explanation of the feature it contains.
In his final message to voters before polls open, Trump adopted a change in rhetoric, and told voters that "we don't have to live this way," echoing Harris's rallying cry of "we are not going back."
Trump said: "My message to you and to all Americans tonight is very simple: we do not have to live this way. We don't have to live this way. We're not living good. Four years—what did they do that was good? Can you name one thing? I said to a group of people, 'What have they done? Everything's a disaster.'"
With hours left until voters decide the election, the message concluded Trump's campaign.
- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2411.05 - 10:10
- Days ago: MOM = 3413 days ago & DAD = 069 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of Mom's death, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
A Sense of Doubt blog post #3547 - "Keep Calmala and Carry Onamala" - SNL Cold Open with Kamala Harris
It's SNL's 50th anniversary year, and I have been watching SNL for 50 years!
It's often brilliant.
This season has been especially brilliant with a great regular cast and great guest stars playing the political candidates.
And, of course, because she's SMART, Kamala Harris did a guest spot on SNL on the eve of the election when Chapell Roan was performing, and so ratings were very high.
Here's three segments from the show: the cold open with VP Harris, part of Weekend Update, and Chapell Roan performing "Pink Pony Club."
Thanks for tuning in.
PLEASE...
vote!!
COUNTDOWN!!! (not counting today - zero days to election day - it's tomorrow!
CNN's Kaitlan Collins (Chloe Fineman) checks in with Kamala Harris' (Maya Rudolph) and Donald Trump's (James Austin Johnson) campaigns on the eve of the 2024 election.
Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like a comedian at Trump's Madison Square Garden rally calling Puerto Rico a "floating pile of garbage."
- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2411.03 - 10:10
- Days ago: MOM = 3411 days ago & DAD = 067 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of Mom's death, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2411.03 - 10:10
- Days ago: MOM = 3409 days ago & DAD = 065 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I post Hey Mom blog entries on special occasions. I post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day, and now I have a second count for Days since my Dad died on August 28, 2024. I am now in the same time zone as Google! So, when I post at 10:10 a.m. PDT to coincide with the time of Mom's death, I am now actually posting late, so it's really 1:10 p.m. EDT. But I will continue to use the time stamp of 10:10 a.m. to remember the time of her death and sometimes 13:40 EDT for the time of Dad's death. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
If he is not for "they/them," then he is NOT for you who use they/them pronouns nor is he for me who supports my friends who use they/them pronouns.
He is not for the grand, inclusive "you" because he's not for anyone but himself.
The ads are offensive.
All Trump ads are attack ads. I have not seem a single ad that touts his positive ideas for change, his platforms and policies. All he does, all he can do, is attack.
Because that's what bullies do.
That's another reason he's not for me and he's not for "you," most of you.
He's a bully.
Bullies are not leaders and they sure as Hell should not be THE leader, as in THE president.
VOTE AGAINST THIS HORROR SHOW.
VOTE HARRIS-WALZ!
Check out the content below for more information, though I will tell you I cannot find the TV cut of the ad, but there's other in the videos below.
A drag queen who was included in a Trump campaign ad has suggested he may take legal action since he did not give the campaign permission to use the video of him.
The advertisement, released last week, highlighted Vice President Kamala Harris’ support for transgender people and features her saying in the 2020 campaign that she would support giving trans inmates access to gender affirming care. The ad also showed Harris posing for pictures with drag queen Pattie Gonia at a 2022 Pride month event.
“Kamala is for they, them,” a narrator says, referring to gender neutral pronouns commonly used by nonbinary people. “President Trump is for you.”
They’re the highest-profile branches of Trump’s long-running argument that Democrats promote transgender rights at the expense of the rest of the public — and his broader case that they are pushing an extreme cultural agenda. Harris’ ascension to the top of the Democratic ticket this summer provided him with a rival who has backed gender-affirming treatments for inmates but has not made that a centerpiece of her campaign for the presidency in 2024.
“It’s the last thing on Earth they want to talk about,” said Chris LaCivita, the senior adviser who oversees Trump’s ads. “So we’ll talk about it for them.”
The Harris campaign declined to comment on the record. Speaking with Fox News last month, Harris campaign communications director Michael Tyler said that an ACLU questionnaire from 2019 in which Harris indicated support for gender-affirming care for prisoners "is not what she is proposing or running on."
The Breakfast Club features celebrity interviews, Jess Hilarious' "Jess With The Mess", Charlamagne tha God’s "Donkey of the Day", DJ Envy’s mixes and so much more! Every guest visiting the world’s most dangerous morning show is grilled with their signature blend of honesty and humor. The results are the best interviews to be found on radio.
Oct 16, 2024 #DonaldTrump #politics #Trumpcampaign
The Trump campaign and allies are dishing out tens of millions of dollars on political ads advocating against transgender rights ahead of the 2024 election.
In a fresh attack ad, the Trump campaign targets Kamala Harris for her past support of government-funded transgender surgeries for prisoners and detained migrants.
The ad, titled "Nonsense", slams Harris for backing taxpayer-funded gender transition procedures.
@pinknews Why is Donald Trump running anti-trans ads during US football games? Over the last few weeks, viewers tuning into NFL and college football games have been bombarded with ads by the Republican presidential candidate, which claim that Vice President Kamala Harris supports “taxpayer funded seggs changes for prisoners and illegal aliens”. The ad stitches together two different sections from a 2019 interview in which the then Senator Harris spoke to the NCTE Action Fund. In that interview, Harris was specifically referring to her past efforts in California to secure access to gender-affirming surgery for inmates in state prison. While running to be the Democratic presidential candidate nominee in 2019, Harris also went on record in an American Civil Liberties Union questionnaire as supporting “medically necessary gender-affirming care for federal prisoners and immigrant detainees, including surgical care”. She has not detailed her position in the current campaign. But this isn’t the first time Donald Trump has mentioned Kamala Harris’ stance on gender-affirming care for prison inmates. In a now viral clip from the presidential debate, Trump said: “Now she wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison. This is a radical left liberal that would do this.” He has since repeated this topic at several rallies. According to AdImpact, the Trump campaign has spent more than $11 million to run the ad on broadcast television in all 50 states. It concludes by saying “Kamala is for they/them”, “Trump is for you”. #donaldtrump#kamalaharris#transrights#prison#usnews♬ Minimal for news / news suspense(1169746) - Hiraoka Kotaro
PINK NEWS
Why is Donald Trump running anti-trans ads during US football games?
Over the last few weeks, viewers tuning into NFL and college football games have been bombarded with ads by the Republican presidential candidate, which claim that Vice President Kamala Harris supports “taxpayer funded seggs changes for prisoners and illegal aliens”.
The ad stitches together two different sections from a 2019 interview in which the then Senator Harris spoke to the NCTE Action Fund. In that interview, Harris was specifically referring to her past efforts in California to secure access to gender-affirming surgery for inmates in state prison. While running to be the Democratic presidential candidate nominee in 2019, Harris also went on record in an American Civil Liberties Union questionnaire as supporting “medically necessary gender-affirming care for federal prisoners and immigrant detainees, including surgical care”. She has not detailed her position in the current campaign.
But this isn’t the first time Donald Trump has mentioned Kamala Harris’ stance on gender-affirming care for prison inmates.
In a now viral clip from the presidential debate, Trump said: “Now she wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison. This is a radical left liberal that would do this.”
He has since repeated this topic at several rallies.
According to AdImpact, the Trump campaign has spent more than $11 million to run the ad on broadcast television in all 50 states. It concludes by saying “Kamala is for they/them”, “Trump is for you”.
This ad by the Trump campaign accuses Kamala Harris of supporting financing sex-reassignment surgery for prisoners. Trump has said that he plans to ban taxpayer funding for sex-change surgeries -- which would include gender-affirming care for detainees -- and bar schools from "promoting gender transition." He also stated that he would reverse the Title IX revisions concerning gender identity.
- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2410.19 - 10:10
- Days ago: MOM = 3396 days ago & DAD = 052 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
A Sense of Doubt blog post #3523 - When Did This Become Okay? Obama Calls Out Trump's Lies About Hurricane
NOTE: Once a year, this date coincides with the time: 10/10 10:10.
FEMA and other aid works in disaster relief have received death threats because of Donald Trump's lies.
DEATH THREATS.
Why are there so many more death threats since Donald Trump entered politics?
Donald Trump doesn't care.
He probably approves.
Just like when he was told that his supporters who had stormed the capital were chanting "Hang Mike Pence." And he said, "good" or expressed his support in some way.
So, surely, it would make sense that he would approve of these death threats as well as those to election officials or people in the judicial system entrusted with the many criminal cases against him or their witnesses.
Trump's lies about disaster relief like many of his lies (fake news, FBI is corrupt, Attorney General is corrupt, the courts are weaponized against him, they stole the election, and more) erode confidence in the institutions that should have the confidence of the American people.
And like any fascist dictator, the only confidence he wants the American people to have is in him. And somehow he has hoodwinked his followers into blindly believing all of his lies and having confidence in him even though he doesn't really care about any of them as he has shown over and over again.
And so, he has eroded the trust of these American people in FEMA, the FBI, our election system, the Attorney General's office, the press, the Department of Education, and so much more.
Thankfully not everyone believes him and joins him on this bandwagon of isolation.
But his continued rhetoric of hate, grievance, lies, and racism is going to get someone hurt. It's likely why two people have tried to kill him already.
He's running for president for a third time.
Three strikes, and you're out.
No one should experience death threats at all, ever, but surely not for just doing their job because some presidential candidate with the mindset of a schoolyard bully has targeted them, sometimes BY NAME.
Thankfully, there are grown ups in the room who tell the truth, like Barak Obama, like Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
As Obama says in the video below, strength has never been about name-calling and bullying, strength -- true strength -- is standing up for what is right even when it is inconvenient to you, strength is compassion for all, strength is the wisdom to bring people together not to tear them apart.
OBAMA: "Real strength is about helping people who need it. It’s about standing up for those who can’t always stand up for themselves. Let’s get to work and vote for the leaders who demonstrate that kind of character."
Donald Trump is not strong; he's weak.
If he was strong, he wouldn't be so thin-skinned and angry about all the ways that he feels he has been "wronged."
He's stuck on the fourth grade playground, deeply insecure, because no one truly likes him, and so he bullies everyone so at least they are afraid of him.
Former President Barack Obama spoke out in favour of Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday during a rally at a Pittsburgh college campus aimed in part at spurring young people to show up for the election on November 5. He said he was appalled at republican claims that hurricane aid had been held back in republican areas and diverted to migrants.
Former President Barack Obama traveled to Pittsburgh for the first of a series of rallies aimed at driving up support for Vice President Kamala Harris and sparking more enthusiasm among low propensity voters.#cnn #news
Biden Accuses Trump of ‘Outright Lies’ About Hurricane Response
President Biden expressed concern that misinformation would undermine confidence in the response to Hurricane Milton.
By Michael D. Shear
Reporting from Washington
Oct. 9, 2024
President Biden on Wednesday accused former President Donald
J. Trump of “outright lies” regarding the federal government’s response to
Hurricane Helene, causing morale issues among emergency medical workers and
confusing victims of the storm.
Mr. Biden lashed out at the former president and Republican
lawmakers as he participated in a briefing from federal officials about
Hurricane Milton, which is expected to slam into Florida’s west coast just two
weeks after Helene hit the state.
“The last few weeks, there’s been a reckless, irresponsible
and relentless promotion of disinformation and outright lies,” Mr. Biden said.
“It’s undermining confidence in the incredible rescue and recovery work that
has already been taken and will continue to be taken. It’s harmful to those who
need help the most.”
Mr. Trump, who is seeking a second term in the White House,
and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, have made accusations about the
government’s response that have repeatedly been debunked by local, state and
federal authorities in the disaster areas.
The former president said at a Michigan rally that Vice
President Kamala Harris had spent FEMA money on housing migrants. He said no
helicopters had been used to rescue people in North Carolina. And he has
claimed that FEMA told victims of the storms they would receive only $750.
All of those false claims are part of what Mr. Biden on
Wednesday called a “disturbing” pattern of comments.
“Assertions have been made that property is being
confiscated. That’s simply not true,” Mr. Biden said. “They’re saying people
impacted by these storms will receive $750 in cash and no more. That’s simply
not true. They’re saying the money needed for this crisis is being diverted to
migrants. What a ridiculous thing to say. It’s not true.”
The president also lashed out at Representative Marjorie
Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, for writing on social media that “they”
can control the weather, without indicating who that might be. She also seemed
to suggest that the federal government’s response was designed to not help
victims in states controlled by Republicans.
“We’re controlling the weather — it’s beyond ridiculous,”
Mr. Biden said. “It’s got to stop, moments like this. There are no red or blue
states.”
Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, said
at the briefing that some of the lies about the hurricane response were hurting
efforts to reach people who are affected and who qualify for federal help.
“One of the false narratives is that the federal employees
who are actually delivering assistance will take an individual’s land,” Mr.
Mayorkas said. “And that is causing individual survivors not to approach the
people who are there to help and obtain the relief to which they are entitled
and that we have available to them.”
He added that “false information only is fuel for the
criminal element to exploit individuals in positions of vulnerability.”
In the late afternoon, Mr. Biden appeared in the Roosevelt
Room and addressed Floridians facing Hurricane Milton. “We’ve got your back,”
he said, adding that he and Ms. Harris were singularly focused on providing aid
and making sure there was a fast recovery effort.
During a brief question-and-answer session with reporters,
Mr. Biden was asked why Mr. Trump was spreading disinformation about FEMA’s
relief efforts and suggesting that money intended for FEMA was instead going to
the care of illegal immigrants.
“I don’t know,” Mr. Biden said, shaking his head, “I simply
don’t know. You can speculate, but I just find it — I’ve used the phrase more
than I’ve used it ever my whole career — un-American. It’s un-American. It’s
not who the hell we are. What are they talking about?”
David E. Sanger contributed reporting.
Michael
D. Shear is a White House correspondent for The Times, covering
President Biden and his administration. He has reported on politics for more
than 30 years. More
about Michael D. Shear
A destroyed church in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene flooding on October 6, 2024 in Swannanoa, North Carolina.
In recent days, Trump has repeatedly and falsely suggested that the federal government is purposely neglecting areas with Republican voters, that it is funneling emergency aid to migrants instead of disaster response, and that it’s giving hurricane victims just $750 in support.
“I’ll be there shortly, but don’t like the reports that I’m getting about the Federal Government, and the Democrat Governor of the State, going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas,” he wrote on Truth Social on September 30.
None of these claims are true, but federal officials say Trump’s disinformation — which has been condemned by regional Republican leaders — could further harm the relief effort, and deter people who need aid from trying to pursue it. It is certainly making aid distribution more difficult, with disaster recovery officials spending valuable time fighting lies, including by putting up an agency website to combat them. Deanne Criswell, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), said the degree of disinformation is at a point that [she’s] “never seen before.”
Trump’s falsehoods come as he and others on the right — including Tesla’s Elon Musk — are attempting to use the recent natural disaster as a political wedge in the 2024 presidential election.
Below are some of the lies Trump has elevated about Helene and what we know about what’s actually happened.
Trump’s lies, debunked
Claim: The federal government isn’t helping Republican areas of western North Carolina.
“They’re being treated very badly in the Republican areas,” Trump said in a Fox News interview on September 30. “They’re not getting water, they’re not getting anything.”
Data from the agency shows that it distributed significant funding to states that voted for Trump in 2020, as well as those that didn’t. Per an October 7 FEMA press release, the agency greenlit $32 million in aid for households in North Carolina, $87 million for households in Florida, $57 million for households in South Carolina, and $632,000 for households in Tennessee — states that backed Trump in 2020. It’s also approved $31 million for households in Georgia, and almost $500,000 for households in Virginia, both of which voted for Biden in 2020. Roughly 84 percent of the $210 million in funds it has doled out in the Hurricane Helene response went to states that backed Trump in 2020.
Republican governors in South Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee have praised the speed of the government’s response, and regional North Carolina GOP lawmakers, including state Sen. Kevin Corbin, have urged people to stop spreading misinformation. Some news reports indicate that aid to more remote, rural areas has taken longer to arrive — and that lack of accessibility and cell service has posed a challenge in getting support out to numerous places. (There isn’t evidence these delays are politically motivated, however.)
Previously, NBC News reporter Garrett Haake asked the former president directly about evidence he had to support this claim, and Trump did not provide any.
Claim: Kamala Harris gave FEMA funding to migrants.
“Kamala spent all her FEMA money, billions of dollars, on housing for illegal migrants, many of whom should not be in our country,” Trump said at a Thursday rally in Michigan.
Reality: “This is false. No money is being diverted from disaster response needs,” FEMA notes.
The agency does oversee a program called the Shelter and Services program that was allocated $650 million in funding for housing for migrants in fiscal year 2024. This funding actually comes from the US Customs and Border Patrol budget, but FEMA helps oversee the program’s implementation. As such, this funding is completely separate from the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF), which FEMA draws from for aid during natural disasters. The DRF received about $45 billion in funding between the fiscal year 2024 budget and a supplemental appropriations bill.
“Disaster Relief Fund money has not been diverted to other, non-disaster related efforts,” FEMA states.
Claim: FEMA is only giving $750 to people affected by the hurricane.
“They’re offering them $750 to people whose homes have been washed away. And yet we send tens of billions of dollars to foreign countries that most people have never heard of. They’re offering them $750. They’ve been destroyed. These people have been destroyed,” Trump said during a Butler, Pennsylvania, rally this past Saturday.
Reality: FEMA does have a program — Serious Needs Assistance — that gives recipients $750 each if they qualify, but it’s one of many aid offerings that disaster victims can receive.
The barrier to qualify is low, most people affected by the storm are likely eligible, and recipients are not limited to this $750 in support.
Serious Needs Assistance is supposed to provide rapid relief to people who need cash to cover immediate needs like water, food, and first aid. That relief is intended to temporarily help while people wait to hear about approval for other aid programs that could provide more robust funds for larger issues like home repairs.
This misinformation could cause real harm
One major concern multiple FEMA officials have expressed is that Trump’s lies will undercut people’s trust in the agency and reduce their openness to applying for the aid they need.
“It is reducing the likelihood that survivors will come to FEMA with a trusted way to register for assistance,” Keith Turi, an acting associate administrator for Response and Recovery, told reporters earlier this week. “That misinformation is directly impacting our ability to help people, and it’s unfortunate because these individuals have been through extremely traumatic times.”
This worry stems from the concrete impact misinformation can have as it’s shared and regurgitated by prominent leaders. As the Washington Post reported, a rumor about a dam bursting in western North Carolina led to hundreds of people evacuating and the diversion of precious first responder resources last week. Criswell also expressed concerns that these lies could make FEMA workers’ lives more difficult in the field: in one viral online post, a person suggested that people should form a militia to counter the agency.
As Trump’s misinformation about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, also made clear, the falsehoods he spreads can have damaging and immediate real-world consequences. In that case, Trump falsely suggested that Haitian immigrants were eating people’s house pets, fueling bomb threats at schools as well as property violence against people living in Springfield.
- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2410.10 - 10:10
- Days ago: MOM = 3387 days ago & DAD = 043 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
