by Kyle K. Mann
Gonzo Today Publisher and Contributing Editor
Here comes August, 2024. I’ve already made it clear I’m not voting in 2024. I’ll say it again… I’m not voting, period.
It doesn’t matter because I don’t live in a swing state.
But it’s time for “You’re either with us or against us” to be trotted out. I’ve heard it before from both sides. I’m standing firm against partisanship.
“Partisanship” is defined by Google’s Oxford Languages as “prejudice in favor of a particular cause; bias, “an act of blatant political partisanship.” That’s what my cell phone says.
So I’m attacked by True Believers, even though my vote, because of the archaic setup of the U.S. Electoral College, is utterly meaningless.
Well, I’m used to being attacked. I refused to be vaxxed, and four years later, some people are seeing the light. But I was hammered for my refusal a few years ago. I’m used to being shamed and blamed.
Are you old enough, like me, to remember The Summer of Love? Welcome to the Summer of Weird.
In 2016 I predicted HRC would beat Trump. I was wrong, like almost every other prognosticator in the media. I stayed out of predicting anything in 2020 and I’m not predicting anything this time. Too much can happen in the months ahead.
Like the Trump assassination attempt, which is attended by High Strangeness. How some crazed kid can climb up to a rooftop with a rifle and start blasting away at a presidential candidate without being stopped is beyond my belief.
The U.S. Secret Service blew it big time, of course, and the S.S. Chief rightfully resigned. The resultant controversy over whose blame it was, and is, rages in Congress and the media.
I’ll leave the dissection of that bizarre event to others. One thing is for sure, there’s a lot we don’t know.
The Biden Standdown from the 2024 Election was overdue. There’s a lot we don’t know about that too. Those defending Biden’s mental acuity looked pretty silly after the Last Debate. Was Biden forced out? Did he somehow see the light after he got Covid? Theories abound.
Staying sane is difficult in these mad times. Events assault the senses. I listen to a bit of news radio and monitor a spectrum of websites. I refuse to watch television at all. The bloviation is too much.
There’s a theory that alien beings “harvest” human bad vibes by psychic means. They literally feed off our distress and negative energy, the theory goes. If true, they are doing a mighty good job making us all crazy. The old bumper sticker “Ignore alien orders” applies here.
For me, music is the best therapy, both listening and playing it on musical instruments while singing along. I highly recommend it.
Yard work helps too, raking leaves, pulling weeds. Reading books also cheers my sensibilities. I have a few video games I like on my PlayStation 5. And riding my bike, excellent. Off I go to get a delicious fresh fruit smoothie. And a bit of automobile travel to the ocean, or nearby mountains and waterfalls, also helps. Water, so magical. Hot baths late at night relax me. Focus on the good stuff.
This is how I refuse to get worked up about the raging political madness, and again, since my vote is meaningless in this state, it doesn’t matter a bit.
I do smoke a bit of pot, but that’s it. Usually late at night.
The only thing I really worry about, aside from WW3, is chocolate. I buy a couple of those big Tony’s Chocolonely bars and they are gone in 24 hours. Addictive stuff, worse than booze.
Anyway, for much of my day, I’m content, at peace.
World War 3, though… ugh, I mentioned it. Let us pray it never happens, right? There, that was easy.
I rise up and get the old iPad and glance at it. Apple News has a habit of popping up on my start screen. I suppose it can be suppressed but I don’t know how, and don’t care to find out. So there’s stuff about the Olympics and the Supreme Court’s proposed term limits.
Right. I surf to the weather page, where I’m informed this is the last relatively cool day in store, under 80 Fahrenheit for a high. After that, mid 90’s ahead. Unusual for here. Break out the fan.
We’ll get through this Summer of Weird, with The Blessing. And if you wanna hate me for not taking political sides, it’s your karma. And more nega-energy for the alien beings.
Nobody for President. Because Nobody represents my views in Washington D.C.
Kyle K. Mann
Portland, OR
July 30, 2024
