Here’s another thing Brad’s been doing (for the last few days, at least) instead of blogging: Trying to get through all that email that has been piling up since we went to Europe last summer.
In fits an starts the last week or so, I’ve managed to get back to Nov. 1. Which is like digging back a thousand years — to a time when at least a few people in our country could still think straight, and a decent human being who was not trying to destroy human civilization was president of the United States.
And that’s how I ran into this piece in America magazine by Jeannie Gaffigan. Y’all remember Jeannie. I wrote, with enthusiastic approval, about a previous column of hers back in 2020. Here’s a snippet from that earlier Gaffigan column:
As much as some of my well-intended fellow Catholics will hate to hear this, it is crystal clear to me that the right thing to do is vote for Joe Biden. I believe it will be impossible to tackle these other issues with a president who is working overtime to sow division and hatred in this county through insults, intimidation, fear and blatant racism. This venomous “us against them” mentality is trickling down, seeping into our churches and poisoning our pulpits. To a culture of life, vipers are deadly….
Amen, amen, amen!, said I.
Of course, Jeannie had more to work with at that time — our fellow Catholic Joe Biden, the only qualified candidate to run for our nation’s highest office in the last two election cycles. And, of course, the aforementioned decent human being, which is probably his most defining characteristic.
Jeannie Gaffigan
But Joe had been hounded into doing something I’d thought he would never do: he quit. Up until then, he was willing to spend his last breath struggling to save our country, and doing a fine job of it. But it became too hard for him to focus on the mission when the whole country — including people who should know better — were screaming “QUIT, JOE, QUIT!!!” 24 hours a day.
This put Jeannie, and me, and many others, into the uncomfortable position of urging people to vote for Kamala Harris, who tried hard — you’ve gotta give her that — but was still what she had been in 2020: unready. (And I don’t use that term lightly.)
The only advantage Kamala Harris — and those who would advance her bid — had was that her opponent was Donald Trump, for whom no one could possibly justify voting. And no one did. Justification was something these folks didn’t even attempt. Having gone substantially madder since 2020, they just voted for him anyway.
They ignored Jeannie. They ignored me, too, but I have no room to complain, because now we see that I also ignored Jeannie.
But not intentionally. Anyway, in case America will let you read it, here’s her column of Nov. 1. And if the Jesuits are wanting you to subscribe, here’s an excerpt:
An appeal to the moms out there: If you think parenting temper-tantrum toddlers or rebellious teenagers is nearly impossible, try letting them run your government! What would that look like? It’s a chilling thought but one that we can’t afford to ignore…
Amen again. And right now, a bunch of people on Wall Street who may have ignored you and me in November are now seeing exactly what you were talking about…
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By the way, I had mentioned the phenomenon of millions of Americans ignoring good advice earlier this morning, before I ran across the Gaffigan column:
One of many reasons I read FAR less news these days because I’m sick of reading headlines that state the obvious, that point out things that would make any astute 2-year-old say, “Duh!” (Or would have in the late ’80s, or whenever people still thought that was clever.)
I still think it’s incredible that there would be a single adult human being who — having never heard of him before — would not cross the street to avoid Donald Trump after one glance as he approached down the sidewalk. Yeah, I know we’re not supposed to reject people based on appearance, but this guy WORKS AT looking that way.
Besides, the most off-putting (at a glance, I mean) thing about the guy isn’t the orange skin or the Flock of Seagulls hair. It’s that his manner always shows that he is inexplicably PROUD of looking like that. And talking like that. And doing the things he does…
I’m with you! His actions are the kind we warn anyone to avoid!!
I ran into Jim Gaffigan at a Broadway play about 6 years ago. I was in New York with my wife and children- my oldest had graduated high school. My wife likes New York a lot so we spend some up there about every year now in November or December.
Went up this last year for the Macy’s Parade to see our son march with the USC band.
But, back to Jim. Jim was there, like me, with his kids at the show. No one was bothering him. I didn’t either. I recognized him though. Looked like he was enjoying himself.