Day: September 27, 2018

I Should Have Known Better

Fandango20 Comments

6603165A-34CF-4E7A-B2DC-863815E4DB48I was eager to watch today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing where Christine Blasey Ford testified about her accusation that she was sexually assaulted by Donald Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh, and where Kavanaugh testified to his being innocent of the accusation.

I was hoping that, by the end of today’s hearing, it might be clear what was true and what was not, and that it wouldn’t just remain a he said/she said scenario. I was also hoping that both the Democrats and the Republicans would adopt a nonpartisan stance and would create a collegial alliance in order to get to the truth.

I should have known better. Republicans were certainly not interested in getting to the truth. They refused to even consider allowing the FBI to conduct interviews with relevant witnesses. All they did was express their unwavering support for Kavanaugh and their anger that anyone, particularly the Democrats, would have the nerve to attempt to sabotage Kavanaugh’s nomination.

And, as of right now, despite the highly emotional and heated hearing today, the Senate Judiciary Committee is going to proceed with a committee vote at 9:30 in the morning ET.

So, after spending the entire day watching the hearing, do I now know what is true and what is not? No, I can’t say that I do. But what I can say is that I believe Dr. Ford and I believe that Judge Kavanaugh is a lying sack of shit, very much like the man who nominated him.

Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge eager), Scott’s Daily Prompt (true), Daily Addictions (adopt), and Word of the Day Challenge (alliance).

Political cartoon by Jim Morin, MorinToons Syndicate.

 

Must See TV

Fandango14 Comments

BA828CC8-4C13-4277-9734-F91CB29E468EWow. What a day. I’ve been glued to the TV all day. I thought that Christine Blasey Ford came across as a very credible, sincere witness.

Brett Kavanaugh, on the other hand, has bounced back and forth between being a vicious attack dog and a whimpering little puppy. Oh, we’ve also learned how much Brett really, really likes beer.

I’m watching Brett Kavanaugh testify now and it’s pretty clear that he came out with both guns blazing, having taken Donald Trump’s advise to stop being such a choirboy wimp and to defiantly fight back vigorously.

The hearing is not yet over, but I don’t see any movement from either side of the aisle. All of the Republicans remain staunchly supporting Kavanaugh and all of the Democrats remain equally opposed to Kavanaugh. Bottom line, because the Republicans hold the majority on the Judiciary Committee, Kavanaugh’s nomination will make it out of the Committee and be brought before the full Senate, which also has a Republican majority.

So despite questions about his potential sexual assault in high school, despite his having been caught lying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in prior hearings for lower court judgeships, and despite his documented positions on women’s reproductive and abortion rights, Brett Kavanaugh will likely be the newest Supreme Court Justice.

Which, in my opinion, is a sad state of affairs.

FFfPP — The Off-Season

Fandango7 Comments

912C6270-710D-4F6A-B22A-8B1F541EAF71“I’m sick and tired of this ever present fog around here,” Marie said. “We haven’t seen the sun since we first arrived.”

“That’s why the rates are so cheap,” Jim said. “It’s the off-season here. This is the only way we could afford to take this trip. It would have cost three or four times more if we had booked during the high-season.”

“Then we should have gone somewhere else,” Marie said. “The brochure said that our cabin has an ocean view to the west and a mountain view to the east.” Pointing west, she said, “Do you see the ocean through the window, Jim?”

“No,” Jim responded.

Marie then turned and pointed toward the east. “What about the mountains?”

“No,” Jim said.

“No,” Marie said. “No ocean, no mountains. A fog so thick you can barely see your hands in front of your face. And it’s cold and damp. This is the worst vacation ever.”

“Are you done?” Jim asked.

“Yes, Jim, I’m so very done.”

Jim put on his cap and jacket and walked out of the cabin door.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Maria shouted after him, but Jim had already disappeared into the thick fog.

(200 words)

Written for Flash Fiction for the Purposeful Practitioner from Roger Shipp. Photo credit: 14946675160vn34 AugustMorgue File.

The Last HRTEDYP

Fandango10 Comments

4CBB1ED6-C56B-4F33-B0F8-4EF1564A9C36Early that afternoon, all employees received a mass email at the exact same moment. The email announced a company-wide meeting scheduled for 4:00 that day in the auditorium. Attendance was mandatory, the email said.

There was nothing in the email to indicate the purpose of the meeting, so naturally the building was abuzz with speculation. Were the rumors that the company was being acquired true? Was the company’s founder and CEO, who was in his seventies, going to announce his retirement? Had the last quarter’s financial results missed the target and, if so, would that mean possible layoffs.

Not much productive work got done between the time the email was sent and when employees made their way to the auditorium.

Nearly all of the seats in the auditorium were filled at 4:00 when the CEO and the head of Human Resources walked into the room and stepped onto the stage. Daniel leaned over and whispered into his cubicle mate Brian’s ear. “Shit, man, it’s never a good sign when the head of HR is on the stage. That usually means a reduction in force is being announced.”

The CEO stood in front of the podium and cleared his throat, signaling that he expected silence from the attendees. A hush fell over the room and the CEO began to talk. “Thank you all for coming this afternoon,” he said. “Most of you know Mrs. Jameson, our director of Human Resources. She has an important announcement she’d like to share with all of us.” He then turned to Mrs. Jameson, a kindly looking, somewhat matronly woman, and motioned for her to step up to the podium.

Mrs. Jameson stepped in front of the podium, adjusted the position of the microphone to suit her shorter stature, tapped the microphone to make sure it was working, and then proceeded to speak.

“Good afternoon, everyone,” she said. “As you know, we here at Grayson Technology pride ourselves on our training and development programs. It’s so important that you have the training and the tools you need to be effective, efficient, and productive. So it is with a heavy heart that I am announcing that this coming HRTEDYP will be the last HRTEDYP to be scheduled, so if you haven’t yet enrolled in that course, you should make sure you do so by the end of this week because we won’t be offering it after this one last time.”

“What the hell is HRTEDYP,” Brian asked Daniel.

“Oh it’s this bullshit course that they’ve been making us take every year,” Daniel said. “It’s Jameson’s baby, which is why she’s making s big deal of it. But even the old man knows it’s a total waste of time.”

“But what does HRTEDYP stand for?” Brian asked.

“It’s the Human Resources Technical Education Development Yearly Program,” Daniel said, but most of us just call it ‘Ted Dip.’ Believe me, nobody’s gonna miss it except for poor Mrs. Jameson.”

Written for the Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie Making Sense of Nonsense prompt, where the topic is “the last Hrtedyp.”