My Take on the 2026 Midterm Elections

WE, THE PEOPLE of America, voted to hold POTUS to be a President based on the guidelines of our forefathers, the Constitution, and the rule of law, not a dictator, king, strongman, or oppressor. A clear majority of us don’t like the dog-eat-dog world POTUS and his administration have created.

The midterm election outcome screamed: 

• end the corruption; 
• get prices at the pump, housing, and the grocery store prices back to pre-Trump presidency; 
• end the war in Iran; 
• make ICE accountable and stop kidnapping POC off the streets;
• make healthcare affordable like it is in the rest of the world; 
• make and hold tech accountable, especially A.I. 
• tax the rich;

Look who WE, THE PEOPLE voted into office! Those without white privilege, those who are not supremacists, and those who are not Christian Nationalists. We voted in POC, LGBTQ, Jewish, Native American, and WOMEN. Elon Musk’s $470 million spending on his choice of politicians couldn't stop what WE, THE PEOPLE voted for.

WE, THE PEOPLE voted for kindness, empathy, service to others, fearlessness, balance, character, competence, subject-matter experts, science, and better angels.

The midterm election outcome was so strong that Trump could not deny it. He doesn’t like it and has said he will be the VETO president. His choice of Stephen Miller as Chief of Staff shows he does not care what WE, THE PEOPLE want. Trump’s revenge, cruelty, and immorality will continue. 

“Hatred is the coward’s revenge for being intimidated.” 

                    - George Bernard Shaw

If you are a supporter of the Trump regime, what do you do?

Do not view yourself as a victim. Examine your thinking, beliefs, and your actions in this event. Own your responses and actions rather than blame others or see this as bad luck. Recognize the changes you could make in your thinking, beliefs, and actions. Seek positive, constructive solutions rather than sympathy and validation in your silos and echo chambers. Accountability is a sign of moral, ethical character. Being held accountable is not revenge!

If you call yourself conservative, make sure you understand what conservative is and what conservative values and ideals are. Being conservative is not being anti-Democrat or anti-liberal. Conservatives do not have evil intentions, practice cruelty, or use Gestapo tactics. Conservative role models are John McCain and Mitt Romney, not Vivek Ramaswamy or J.D. Vance.

If you call yourself a Christian, study and understand the difference between Christ’s teachings and Christian Nationalists. Christianity serves the poor, seeks peace and justice, and models humility. Christianity is inclusive, equitable, and values diversity. It is not about power and domination. Christians ask questions like Jesus did 339 times in the Gospels. They don’t tell, yell, or force their beliefs on non-believers. Their actions speak louder than words. Christian role models are Richard Rohr, Otis Moss III, and Kate Bowler, not Franklin Graham, Nick Fuentes, or Paula White-Cain.

Learn that a person’s ideals, values, and worldview are not connected to their ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, education, age, or physical ability. Every voice is worth hearing.

Three nations have created a caste system, including the United States. If you want evidence, look at the average wealth of a white family versus black family. Look at how much longer a college graduate will live versus a high school graduate. Look at the infant mortality rate of Black/brown baby versus a white baby. Look at the hate crime rate of Asian Americans versus white Americans. We need to overcome this caste system.

“Civics is the social science and study of the rights, duties, and responsibilities of citizens within a society, as well as how government functions and how individuals participate in the democratic process.”                                        - Merriam-Webster

Many high schools and colleges no longer require taking civics classes. Take civics classes at your community college or online, like at The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Consider reading Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States. Read about our founding fathers, like Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Leadership in Turbulent Times.

“You have to know the past to understand the present.”      

                                                                                  - Karl Sagan

Finally, go sit and talk with people who don’t look, think, or believe like you. Go have difficult conversations. Be curious and not judgmental. Practice listening more and talking less. Use the Braver Angel L.A.P.P. approach: Listen for what is said and for what is not said; Acknowledge what you heard. Ask if what you heard is correct; Pivot - ask if you can share what you have heard, your opinion, your observations; Perspective - share your perspective with facts and evidence.

Your thoughts?

Will You Miss Me?

I have seen the light. (My word for 2020!)

Facebook, you are no longer fun or healthy for me. I don't think you are healthy for our country. You are adding to the divide rather than unity. You go against my values of Micah 6:8.

I have had enough. I am tired of the ugliness, lack of civility, and unwillingness to have a dialogue. I am taking a break from you.

Facebook started out being a picnic with friends and family. It's turned into a food fight. 

The continuous rants and finger-pointing are too much. I am burned out on political polarization. Facebook users are segregated by ideology and filter all the political content people see through their social networks. People say things on Facebook they would not speak to your face. I have found what people share on social media can be very different from what they value, what they think is essential. Facebook gives people the courage to bully, harass, and be disrespectful.

I am tired of people who refuse to get out of their echo chambers and are always telling instead of asking. I find myself being judgmental and thinking the worst of people I care about. 

There is way too much useless information on Facebook that shows up as disinformation, misinformation, and opinion rather than truth and facts. Let's face it, Facebook does not help us to communicate better. If anything, it hurts communication.

I am tired of the continuous postings of where people are eating and what they are eating. I'm tired of the overload of pictures of everything a child does or the family dog does or the cat. (Note: we have a dog who is our 3rd child, but I don't document his daily multiple cutenesses!) People have made Facebook their online continuous photo album. I'm taking a break from all the oversharing.

I realize"likes" are like opioids. It's the addiction to Facebook. 

According to Dunbar's Number, the human brain can only deal with about 150 people. Facebook accounts that extend beyond that number are crazy! I have a lot of fringe "friends" who have issues and beliefs that I don't need to hear from or know about.

Facebook is a time-waster. Time saved from being away from Facebook will be spent doing things that are far more healthy for me. I will be going outside, connecting face-to-face with others, reading, writing, and getting more exercise. 

If you want to stay in touch with me until I decide to return, if I return, follow this blog or my other blog on my Carrpediem.com website. You are welcome to respond, and I will share your posts as long as they are thoughtful, civil, and factual. You can text me. You can email me. You can say, "Let's meet and have a cup of coffee or a beer."

If You Want to "Seize the Day"...

This is the bumper sticker that is on my car! If you want to understand what it means, watch my Pechakucha The Art of Seizing the Day on YouTube!

Happy Father's Day, Dad?

I always get a little melancholy on Father's Day. It's been 31 years without the ability to talk with my father. There is still a faint pain that continues to linger. I think of him regularly.

I blogged The Importance of Fatherhood in June 2013. As I reread this blog, I thought of current topics and issues I'd love to discuss with my father. So I'm picking up where I left off.

Dad, I'd love to discuss with you the critical issues facing our country and our world, including:
- the epidemic of gun violence, gun safety and gun control (the US leads the world in gun-related deaths)
- healthcare issues and the out-of-control costs (nearly 23% of North Carolinians don't have healthcare coverage)
- the opioid epidemic (over 130 people die from opioid overdoses every day)
- the issues surrounding abortion (Alabama just passed a bill that ALL abortions are against the law including those for women who become pregnant by rape and incest)
- the profound cynicism assaulting democracy including the surge of right-wing populism (the GOP has turned its back on reducing the debt, a popular talking point with them until 2016)
- the eroding of principle-based leadership (including pleasure without conscience and business without ethics)
- the lack of compassion for the poor (more than 3 billion people in the world live on less than $2.50/day)
- building more walls to keep people out rather than longer tables to invite people in to break bread
- The FBI revealed it has been tracking "Bigfoot" AKA: Yeti, Sasquatch
- The US Navy revealed we are not alone ... UFOs are real

Dad, I would like to talk with you about ...

... security and privacy are huge issues in our lives today. It goes way beyond locking doors and walking in well-lit areas at night. There is literally only one computer on planet earth today. It's called the Internet. While it's an incredible tool and resource, there are those who use it to take advantage of others like getting access to personal information. It's even impacted our election outcomes. What do you think?

A big part of the Internet is called social media. Social media revolves around personal connections via locations called websites and applications. Some social media, like LinkedIn, is about business relationships. Then there are social media like Facebook and Twitter where we can share personal thoughts, information, and opinions. I've come to the conclusion social media like Facebook and Twitter is anything but a picnic with friends and family. Social media seems to warp and distort everything. It feeds and stimulates obsessions and brings out the bully in people. Our current President of the United States loves to use the social media application, Twitter. Do you think real men should tweet?

Dad, the current President of the United States, is unlike any other president this country has ever had in your lifetime or mine since your passing in 1988. He has an unbelievable over-the-top ego. He is very thin-skinned, lacks grace, humility and compassion. His presidency has brought out the worst behavior in people. "Leaders" who support him have revealed a lack of values and principles. Politicians who I thought I knew what they stood for, have shown they value getting reelected with the help of big-money over logical, rational, life-enhancing legislation for us. I would love to hear your thoughts and observations!

This president has done nothing to unify the divide in this country and has added to the anger among us more than I have ever experienced. Our relationships seem to be based on finding connections with others who hate the same people or issues we do. Personally, I do not trust him. I am afraid we have become ignorant of the peril of America's soul. Dad, it looks like he may run again in 2020. Would you vote for him?

Dad, I think we take ourselves way too seriously today, beginning with this president. The average child laughs 300 times a day. While the average adult laughs less than 50 times a day, I'm not sure I have ever seen the POTUS laugh! We need to be more child-like. We all need to read or reread Robert Fulghum's All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten.

We have a lot of unrest in the country around racism, white supremacy and privilege. Racism is an epidemic. Harvard professor, David Williams, a leading researcher on race and health, states 200 black Americans die every day, who would not have died if the health status of blacks and whites were equal. We are waking up to the fact that equality is not equity. We are facing the fact that white supremacy is the overwhelming number of older white males who have power and control of our government, our corporations, our media, our sports teams, our educational institutions, our religious institutions (even God is depicted as an authoritarian, older white man with a white beard) and women's bodies. Dad, what are your thoughts?

I have come to discover I have an implicit bias towards people of color based upon my socialization. I am working to overcome this. As you may recall, most of my early life was being around people at school, church and organizations who looked like me. There was no diversity in my Boy Scout troop, Sunday school class or the swim club to which we belonged. Knowing what you know now, what might you have done differently?

Dad, I recognize the tailwinds of privilege I have received. Were you aware that while you got the benefit of the GI Bill having served in WWII your Black military cohorts did not? Were you aware how FHA housing loans that benefited our family were not available to people of color? I have had the privilege of tailwinds including growing up white, being male, being Christian, being able-bodied, being heterosexual, and even being right-handed! I am not ashamed of my privilege, but I'm learning I need to use my privilege to help my underprivileged neighbor.

"People with privilege have the power to deconstruct the single stories that dehumanize others."
                                                  - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 

Dad, we are coming to understand being any sexual orientation other than heterosexual is not deviant behavior. Your granddaughter found love and got married to another woman. We are so happy for them. Isn't that one of the greatest joys, when your children find love? I'd love to have a conversation with you about what it means to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and queer. 
 
Dad, this is still one of my favorite Kodak Moments of you. I always loved the picture of Mother you had over your desk. It's the reason I have a picture of Terri over my desk. It continues to remind me of what is important in life - relationships. I also loved seeing Poco laying on your desk. You had a wonderful relationship with that dog! I, too, have a similar relationship with our rescue named Jackson. Jackson reminds me and reteaches me what unconditional love is and how essential it is in our lives. I'm still a work in progress.

Dad, I still remember a couple of years before you died, you came over to our home. We had a serious conversation about moving our company forward. I remember in great detail, concerns we shared with each other. Then, I recall quite vividly, standing up, looking into each other's eyes and saying to each other, "I love you." We hugged! I'm not sure we had ever said those words to each other before. I am not sure we had hugged before. It does not matter because I am so grateful for that memory and the gift of telling each other. I wish I could repeat that with you today. I love telling our daughter and son, "I love you," and I love hearing it back from them. Every time this happens, I think of you.

Dad, I apologize for all the heavy conversation about storms brewing in life. Thank you for listening. I believe one of the great lessons you taught me was when I experience the "hurricanes" of life, find the "eye" and dance! It is in the eye of the hurricane I find life is good. Thank you!

TIME On The Road*

Typical pack of Timeless Time in its typical drop!

“Everything takes time. Bees have to move very fast to stay still.”    ― David Foster Wallace, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

I began noticing Timeless TIME on the street in our neighborhood back in 2013 when Jackson and I would walk. Usually we would find a Timeless TIME hard pack opened with a couple of cigarettes missing once or twice a month along a quarter mile stretch of Haw Creek Circle here in Asheville, NC. I started documenting these sightings with my smart phone and posting pictures on Facebook. I have over 60 photos of Timeless TIME taken over the past several years in different conditions and at different seasons of the year.

“It is looking at things for a long time that ripens you and gives you a deeper meaning.”  ― Vincent van Gogh

It's an ongoing mystery! 

Why does someone do this? Are they a closet smoker and don't wish to be found out? 

A hard pack of Timeless TIME costs nearly $5.00/hard pack or about $0.25/cigarette here in North Carolina. With 16 to 17 cigarettes left in the pack, this smoker tosses about $4.00 on the street. Why?

Why does the toss, drop or pitch seem to occur in this same area? What makes this area of road so attractive or special to toss the remaining Timeless TIME cigarettes?

“All photographs are memento mori. To take a photograph is to participate in another person’s (or thing’s) mortality, vulnerability, mutability. Precisely by slicing out this moment and freezing it, all photographs testify to time’s relentless melt.”                                                   ― Susan Sontag

A crushed and broken pack of Timeless Time.

Who is this mystery smoker? A couple of neighbors have an idea or at least a theory. There is a thin, lanky, bare-chested, long haired, dark sun glassed, gentleman who "jogs" in our neighborhood known as "Running Man," (although he waddles more like a duck when he runs!) He's been spotted driving slowly in his car through our neighborhood smoking. We can't be certain Timeless TIME is his cigarette of choice but he is a prime suspect! A couple of well-placed trail cams with motion detectors might reveal the mystery smoker and confirm the theory. But then my Facebook page would become boring ...

Time isn’t precious at all, because it is an illusion. What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious indeed. The more you are focused on time—past and future—the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is.”     ― Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

Only once...something different!

I did find a hard pack of menthol Marlboro cigarettes along the side of the road one time with the same MO - couple of cigarettes missing. Maybe this smoker's regular store was out of Timeless TIME? 
 
Why does this person smoke Timeless TIME? 

Timeless TIME reviews:

"I am now smoking your menthol 100 lights in the light green color box and really like them. Would like to have some coupons."     - bktenorio6             
                           

"I really love the menthol 100 full flavor of Timeless Time cigarettes. Really hoping the tobacco isn't sprayed with radiation though." - Lori Ann

"Were do I start. Boy do these make me feel like a bag of shit. I tried them becuase there only 4 bucks a pack and I'l never smoke another cigarette again in my life because of these. I smoke one and they made me feel like shit the rest of the day. At first I didnt believe in that FSC stuff but after smokin these I see its true. I had headache stomach ache confusion, flet like vomitting all of the symptoms. Please avoid these try roll your owns instead" - xmaner

Timeless TIME cigarettes are made by KT&G Global, headquartered in South Korea. They've been manufacturing cigarettes for over 110 years. They are a market leader selling their cigarettes in over 50 countries around the world. They recognize they are selling a dangerous product as noted on their webpage: "While operating in a most controversial industry, we take pride in the way we run our business Sustainably & Responsibly. We will continue to deliver our value to our stakeholders today and tomorrow by investing in our people and our processes."
 

Several packs of Timeless TIME from a 6 to 8 week period.
And yes, I do pick up this "litter" and dispose of it properly!

It has been suggested that I created this as a prank! First of all, I'm not a smoker and never have been. My father smoked at least a pack of cigarettes a day, and I'm convinced they were a contributing cause of his untimely death of a massive heart attack at age 62 in 1988.
  
“I'm afraid of time ... I mean, I'm afraid of not having enough time. Not enough time to understand people, how they really are, or to be understood myself. I'm afraid of the quick judgements or mistakes everybody makes. You can't fix them without time. I'm afraid of seeing snapshots, not movies.”                                              ― Ann Brashares 

Second, I'm too cheap to spend this kind money on a prank! 

It's also been suggested that this some kind of way to deal drugs or pass on information. 
 

“Don't waste your time with explanations: people only hear what they want to hear.”  ― Paulo Coelho
 
“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” ― William Penn

“Time is the longest distance between two places.”
― Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie  

OK. I've given this blog enough Timeless TIME. It's TIME to move on! Love to hear your thoughts, ideas or questions!

* Title credit goes to high school friend, Donnie Goodwin