In the Center of Fall

In the land of the Houdahenians, the Tuesday past elections were not of notice. We watched to some degree, and cheered the defeat of Mr. Cuccinelli in our northern mountain of conceit, hoping like most sensible people that his loss was due to his state rape law, the mandatory internal vaginal sound measure that proved so unpopular that it was eventually withdrawn. No pun intended! It's not clear what it means. A man at least as twisted in his approach to women's rights was elected the new Virginia Attorney General, and promised more objectionable laws pertaining to women's lives. The voting patterns in Virginia are also distressing, with most of rural Virginia standing with Cuccinelli, including all the counties in the beautiful southwest, the heart of bluegrass country. Why would women anywhere in Virginia vote against their own well-being? (Here's one theory: far too many Virginians still adhere to a religion which teaches that wives must "submit" to their husbands in all things, and in Virginia white men voted in the majority for Cuccinelli.)

Then there's the nullification rant by Ron Paul which accompanied Mr. Cuccinelli's sorta concession. Libertarians won 6% of the vote in this election. Would their absence have given McAuliffe a resounding win, or somehow allowed Cuccinelli to pull victory from the jaws of defeat. One would think the former, although conservative pundits are already using the muddled Libertards as an excuse. Charlie Pierce posts pictures of the Antietam battlefield to refute Mr. Paul's glib reference to a political theory which grounded secession and the gawdawful civil war, which the Pauls, father and son, would certainly have sat out in France or Argentina, pontificating all the while on the idiocy of war and the bravery of the southern patriots.

Over at Edroso's place Roy quotes a conservative groucher who predicts nothing but horror from the DeBlasio win in New York City. Up there it's going to be the '70s again in short order, according to this mope. I watched about half of Mean Streets before flipping to DeBlasio's victory speech. I will admit that he sounded somewhat in the rosy vein. It may be that New York will continue to be New York. It always has. The grouser wailed that real estate values are going to fall. As Edroso remarks, this'll be good for smart investors. There is nothing like New York City, not even San Francisco or Paris. That won't change any time soon. And probably drug dealers will continue to refuse checks.

Here, Kirby is starting to spray. He is very soon for his little "operation," before his balls get to be the size of cantelopes. The brothers are mystified by his odiferous doings. Momma has retreated to a rug upstairs amongst all the stuff we've stored in what used to be the best room in the joint, just to get away from all the noise and agitation. I've got a storage shed laid out on the ground, so maybe by Christmas or New Years or Easter we'll have some place to put all the stuff we don't use but can't throw away. What do you do with hundreds of cassette tapes, anyways. Even sorting through them is a pain, yet down in the pile somewheres is a couple of tapes of a wonderful New Mexico fiddler, and another one or two of Cyril Stinnett, the most amazing left-handing fiddler from central Missouri. Can't very well let that stuff vanish.

Our neighbors, meanwhile, lost their last cat to wild dogs. None of ours are allowed outside, and I'm tempted to keep the .22 more at the ready. I'm pretty sure I've seen these dogs--a nursing brindle pit bull mix and two adolescent pups who follow at her heels, wild as hell. She's surely teaching them to hunt, and they'll be nailing the odd fawn before long. Dogs in a working pack are some serious stuff. Meanwhile the leaves drift down, at last daylight savings time is over, and this is the best time of year. I've got lots of stacked and covered fire wood, and plenty of split red cedar for kindling. Getting to be time to go get that winter bottle of Dewars. There's about one good shot left from the Aught-twelve edition.

[For more on Mr. Stinnett see http://mofiddledance.org/profiles/cyril-stinnett/ ]

Update (11/11): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/09/virginia-attorney-general-race_n_4247571.html
As I've said before, joining the chorus of many liberal commentators, Republicans really do not believe in democracy. The process is just a Rubic's cube to be manipulated as necessary.