My Head Is Full of Books: Sunday Salon: voting edition

"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Saturday, November 5, 2022

Sunday Salon: voting edition

Our yard this week: We still have blooming roses and plenty of colorful leaves.

Weather: Let's see. For the past four months the weather in western Washington has been: NoRain. NoRain. NoRain. NoRain. This weekend is making up for the past four months with lots of RAIN and WIND. No power outage yet, but we keep expecting one. I was able to find a crease in the weather for what we call a 'sun break' to run the dog around the block. Phew.

Vote on Tuesday like your life depends on it. It very well might. Democracy is on the ballot.

Positive signs that Tuesday may be a surprisingly good, blue day for our democracy:

Don't give in to a depression caused by the negative numbers that some pollsters are showing about Dems chances. Most Gen Z don't answer their phones if they don't know the caller and they are motivated to vote by concerns about reproductive rights, climate change, guns, and democracy. Early voting analysis shows this and so do their registration numbers. See this, this, and this if you don't believe me. (Which you shouldn't. Always check the facts!)
Listen to this MeidasTouch podcast: "Democratic Strategist reveals SHOCKING new election data that DEBUNKS media narrative (Simon Rosenberg)" You can listen free but will have to use some media player to hear it. I listened on iTunes. Click the link and your computer will make a suggestion. This podcast is worth the 30-minute listen, especially if you are feeling discouraged. I felt so much better about Democrats' possibilities of winning on Tuesday after listening to this!
The Dobbs decision will loom large in this election. Don't believe me? Listen to FrankenforIowa, the Dem running against Sen. Charles Grassley explain what retired Admiral Mike Franken is seeing and hearing in his state: "Let Women Choose for Themselves."
Women are registering to vote in large numbers and they will likely be the MVPs of this election.

A mid-September poll fielded by PerryUndem, a nonpartisan public opinion research firm, dug in further to the mindset of these motivated young women voters. It found 76% of women under 30 “can envision a scenario in which abortion is the best option for them,” and 68% say “lack of abortion rights and access is a big problem in our society.” And 81% say the Supreme Court’s decision made them think about “losing several freedoms.”
“This policy change has affected many young women’s thinking at a core level. ...So that’s what’s behind any spike in registration. It’s who’s most personally impacted by any reproductive health policy.” If young women turn out in the volume that they registered, their power as a voting bloc could help protect a nation from the slew of cultural and socioeconomic challenges found to result from a lack of access to abortion care. Let’s hope they make it. (MSNBC)

Truth is on the ballot. We all must fight for an America where truth wins out. The Rs showed us who they were this week with garbage polls which inflate their numbers; mean-spirited comments about the attack on Paul Pelosi; and continuing lies about the Big Lie.
Fight Election Disinformation!
VOTE. VOTE. VOTE. No matter what, vote! Watch this. What America do you want to wake up to on Nov. 9th?
Which America do you want to wake up to on November 9th? pic.twitter.com/0zHxmKN24N
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) November 5, 2022

Politics Girl, final thoughts before the midterm elections (10 minutes on YouTube)
Michael Moore predicts a blue tsunami. Check out his website for over 30 reasons why he thinks this. His enthusiasm is contagious.

Books:

Completed this week:

Augusta Savage: The Shape of a Sculptor's Life by Marilyn Nelson. A memoir-in-verse about an American artist who was part of the Harlem Renaissance. Cybils. Target: Middle grade students. 5 stars.
Don't Call Me Hurricane by Ellen Hagan. A novel-in-verse around the theme of climate change and climate activism. Cybils. Target: YA. 3 stars.
Awe-some Days: Poems About Jewish Holidays by Marilyn Singer. A children's book of poems about Jewish holidays with supplemental information about each holiday. Cybils. Target: Elementary aged students. 4 stars.
Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science by Jeannine Atkins. A novel-in-verse based on the real life of a physicist who was overlooked for a Nobel Prize because she was Jewish and a woman. Cybils. Target: Middle through High school. 4 stars.
African Town by Irene Latham and Charles Waters. Inspired by the true story of the last American slave ship. Cybils. Target audience: YA. 5 stars.

Currently reading:

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore. A book club selection. I've read the YA version of this book so I am skimming through it. Print.
Nothing Burns As Bright As You by Ashley Woodfolk. A Cybils contender. Audio.
Moonwalking by Zetta Elliott and Lyn Miller-Lachmann. A Cybils contender. Print