ENTRY 98: Politics and Hopefully News in Much Ado About Nothing

So, obviously I’m involved in politics. And obviously, I know that people on one side are going to disagree about things. But so so so much of what I’ve been seeing from the Left Left regarding Cory Booker’s accomplishment has been more negative than the shit they’ve posted about Trump! Which… always irks me. Because they are so “Left Gatekeeping” that they’ve practically gone MAGA. Seriously, video after video, opinion piece after opinion piece saying “This is performative nonsense and is proof the Democrats don’t know what they’re doing. AND any Democrat who actually supports or applauds this publicity stunt is proving that they are stupid, gullible, and disconnected from what the people ACTUALLY want!!” And… frankly? If that’s your perspective? Welcome to how MAGAts share Russian Talking points. Because after a sit-in where Mr. Booker spent every hour bringing up actual policy and actual stories of people who were honestly hurting in an attempt to at least force the Senate to face the constituents in some way as they are now no longer attending Town Halls… if after that the best take you’ve got is “Democrats don’t know what they’re doing. and any Democrat who actually supports or applauds this publicity stunt is proving that they are stupid, gullible, and disconnected” then congratulations on parroting MAGA Talking points. Now, the issue is… what I said publicly (before this writing) was
“The same people blasting the Dems for Booker’s sit-in are the same people who had the audacity to say Trump was better for Gaza than Harris; so I do not trust them!”
That was it. That’s all I said about that. And it is 100% true. These are the same assholes who screamed NEVER-HARRIS because of Gaza despite everything we were saying about how Trump will be much much worse for Palestinians than Harris. And almost NONE of them have apologized or even admitted they were wrong. TRUMP GAZA, apparently, is much better than having an administration that was at least, in some way, attempting to get Israel to cut it the fuck out. BUT, again showing you can go so far left you wind up MAGA… to my simply saying “Booker Hate is from the same people who said Trump was better for Gaza, so I don’t trust you”.... stirred up a bit of a buzz with Left Lefties screaming “So you’re saying by not being impressed with performative bullshit, we’re the same as Trump?!?!” which… frankly? I wasn’t at the time. All I said was essentially “Your political takes are to cannibalize the Left until it reflects YOUR personal politics perfectly so I don’t trust you.” But now that you mention it? DO I think that some of you are the same as Trump Supporters? Yeah, I guess I have to say I do. Because a lot of you specifically said to vote for Trump because he would be better for Gaza than Harris. So… if, in your Left Left politics, you supported Trump? I 100% think you should own that! You don’t get to say you’re not MAGAt if you voted for Trump or told people to vote for Trump or told people NOT to vote for Harris. If your actions installed Trump in office? Than yeah- you should have to own what you did. But all things considered? One of the hallmarks of Trump, his cabinet, and many of his supporters is refusing to take accountability.... so I guess there’s another way you’re like a Trump Supporter!

Along similar terrifying lines… are you all familiar with the innocent man scooped up in the “Deport Brown People to El Salvador Detention” that the Administration admitted was clerical error, but have also said “But we’re not going back to get him or release him. He was grabbed in error but now he has to stay there.” Are you up on that?
Clerical Errors are common and bullshit and the State/Government should NEVER be able to say “We accidentally took someone’s liberty but we’re not giving it back to him.” THAT SAID Clerical Errors screw us all of the time. I have an OPEN case… OPEN meaning has not been resolved yet. Clerical Error sent notice to the Defendant that the case was dismissed at her costs. NOTHING IN THE RECORD supports that. The Judge’s Official Notes say, “Still open”, the Court’s Official Docket says, “Still open,” the COURT CALENDAR says, “Still open and scheduled for May.” BUT the CLERKS have informed this Defendant that the case was dismissed! WHICH REALLY fucks things up. Because it HASN’T BEEN. So, if she didn’t contact someone freaking out about costs she has to pay that she wasn’t aware of.... she would have stayed home, thinking her matter had been dismissed. We would have found her guilty for not showing up to any of the hearings she was supposed to. Then she would have come back at us saying, “But I thought this was dismissed!!” The judges and I would have scoured all of the official record and noted that nothing in the official record had dismissed the case so we would have thought this lady was just crazy and told her “Tough luck. You were told when you had court next and you didn’t attend that Court date or any subsequent dates.” And while I am sitting here stewing over how UNACCEPTABLE this kind of thing is… I’ve done all I can regarding it. I escalated it to both my Boss and the First Assistant. I will bring it up with the Court this morning to review. I have responded to Defense Counsel to say, “Dude, I’m sorry we made your job harder. It isn’t dismissed, it is still scheduled.” So… I’ve done what I can but I also know it will in no way prevent the next massive clerical error issue. A Defense Attorney was saying just yesterday, “Imagine all of the free time we would all have if we weren’t spending so much time fixing the Clerk’s errors!” This is… truly.... this is unacceptable.

So, I suppose swirl both of the above into an Ice Cream Cone of Shit and it pops out the fact that my “friends” online are still posting horrid shit about “the asshole cops” and the “do-nothing prosecutors” regarding the Man Rapes Dog case. And, of course, I understand and appreciate how salacious this is so if you’re approaching it as a “I want more views!” or a “I fell for Rage-Bate, maybe others will, too!” then of course you’re going to hammer on this story until people stop rewarding you with content engagement. But very sincerely EVERY SINGLE REPORT on this case leaves out the fact that we did, in fact, argue for Prison in this matter. We did. We vehemently argued that the Defendant be put in prison for drugging and having sex with the dog. We did. We did our job. The JUDGE decided that the matter did not rise to the level where Prison would be necessary. But, of course, because people simply DO NOT KNOW (apparently) how things work? Just.. all week… day after day… more shit about how much WE suck from people who KNOW ME and, again, could easily have literally any question they may have answered by someone who knows. But of course, it isn’t about learning what’s going on and it isn’t about making a substantive difference about what is going on… it’s about being publicly outraged at the right people and inspiring content engagement and algorithmically massaged online popularity. Such. Bullshit.

Speaking of being far too on-line, I am acting as a cliche. The Director said that she would contact us about the cast assignments “Wednesday Night or Thursday Morning.” The Theater is opening the Madagascar Junior tomorrow night, so she’s busy. And she mentioned how difficult the choice would be and, considering who was present for callbacks, she is absolutely correct that it is a hard choice! So, I’m not in anyway upset that it is taking her time to consider. Nevertheless, I’m checking my e-mail about 5 times an hour this morning just hoping to hear! My strong belief? If I’m not given Benedick, I may get Don Pedro… maybe. I can also see Don Pedro going to our oldest Troupe Member as using him for Leonato may be age-appropriate, but a potential waste of good talent. Plus, it makes the entire concept of the “lonely prince” more interesting and potentially more tragic. I consider the moment where Pedro asks Beatrice if she’ll marry him… an old man asking a 30-something to marry… and how the audience would then even more understand why she says no but why she does so in the gentlest and friendliest way possible. And I consider the moment at the end of the play when his closest friends are all married, and Benedick says “Get thee a wife”… trying to encourage a man past the bloom of youth to find a companion before it is too late. And see, these are the interesting things about casting and about messaging. The first time I saw SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET the actor playing “Tobias” was in fact an adult man. That casting decision meant that instead of a little boy naive to the world and learning… the character read as a disabled adult, naive to the world and a victim of circumstance. Which massively alters how you interpret the ending!! And it changed it for me in a way that I liked more. Because the idea of the play “What happened TO Benjamin Barker; what happened TO his wife; what happened TO his daughter” and then contrasts that with Anthony taking his life in his hands and forging the happy ending for he and Johanna. Then bringing it back to Sweeney, instead of taking his life and steering, he’s taking OTHER’s lives… and he is eventually stopped by Tobias. In the staging I saw, they even end it with the police bursting in on Toby with Todd dead in his arms and the razor still in Toby’s hands. It strongly sold, “The innocent victim of circumstance will pay a terrible price for ending Todd’s cycle of violence.” And then all of that being set in the same area where Todd accidentally kills his wife whom Circumstances had driven mad? Really contrasting that Toby is… everybody in the cellar… Mrs. Barker in the Circumstance effecting his mind, Mrs. Lovett in the Circumstance of Love and how to express it, Mr. Todd in the Circumstance of The Kill. It just… it set the whole thing up beautifully. Benjamin Barker was an innocent that men turned into a monster. Toby was an innocent that will now be seen as a monster. It was.... chilling and meaningful. But that’s the thing.... casting decisions can strongly impact how an audience interprets and understands a show.

Back to the Work Drama, for a moment- the thing people often tell me is how surprised they are that people just… don’t show up for Court. It is all the time and it is very annoying. Because… this morning? We had a guy. Stopped coming to Court. Period! Even his trial- nope, he wasn’t coming in. SO, the Court found him guilty by absence. TWO MONITHS LATER, now that it is convenient for him, he shows up and demands his trial. The judgement is vacated and the trial is set for the next trial date. NOT next available or next appropriate. Like… came in on a Friday, trial is on Monday. So, of course I argued that such a turnover is insufficient time to subpoena witnesses and illegal as trials cannot be set sooner than 15 days exactly BECAUSE 14 days should be permitted for both sides to properly subpoena witnesses. So the matter is continued to today. Where, again, the Defendant doesn’t show up. And a guilty by absence ruling is again placed in the file. And this person’s attitude simply screams “Court is gonna be when it is convenient to me. If it isn’t convenient, I won’t go. But when it does become convenient again, I’ll demand that it be re-set.” AND IT IS A JUDGE’S RESPONSIBILITY to enforce “respect for the Court” by saying, “That’s not how this works. There are laws and rules of procedure. You’ve repeatedly disrespected this Court and every witness’ time by not showing up when you were supposed to. We won’t continue this game. Good day, sir.” But… I’m about 60-ish percent sure that any of our Judges might say that if this guy comes back in May or June to pull the same thing.

Lunch was nice. The Office is doing a big ol’ pot luck thing and I brought chips but decided not to actually stay to eat. I mean… binging on donuts and pizza and candy and cookies and chips etcetera is the exact opposite of what I need! So I went home, let the dog out, ate an oatmeal thing, an apple, and 9 grapes. During lunch, I had the TV on and when Nala came back inside? She was super cuddly. Like.... “I need to be physically touching you, and then I’ll fall asleep” cuddly. Which is unlike her. So of course, I am now wondering furiously in my mind if she’s sick, ill, injured, and just not expressing it in a way that I can easily distinguish. It’s always the trick with her. She’s really good at expressing things to me and I can usually read her very well. But she shrugs off injury and has essentially acted like “I don’t get sick!” since she was a puppy. I’m hoping she’ll be okay for the next 8 days. My parents are both much better about dog issues (having had so many between them) and as retired adults, they can observe her more carefully while she’s with them.

I didn’t mean for that to flow so easily into my next topic. I was going to discuss Laura and an upcoming date we’ve scheduled but thinking about next week, I must confess I am not certain how to proceed. So, let’s put first things first. Laura asked what my plans were for the weekend. I told her what they were, specifying that my Sunday was free. I asked her about her weekend plans. She told me what they were, specifying that her Sunday was free. So, I just leaned into the obvious what we weren’t saying and asked her if she wouldn’t mind meeting me halfway for a lunch. She was happy to do so, and specifically mentioned being happy to meet halfway, sparing me the entire trip. We made plans, settled on details, and that’s where that is. I’m… definitely excited and nervous as I’ve never had one of these turn into a second date before! So… that’s certainly something! But here’s the… other thing.
Now, next Friday, I am going to Omaha to see a comedian. I have 1 ticket. BUT that Saturday, I have two tickets to HADESTOWN in Des Moines. It was originally supposed to be Hermia and I. Though Hermia was specific that I not order any “accommodations” because she thought that the theater’s audio description system was subpar. And I honestly don’t know if I should ask Laura to go or even if I want to ask her to go.
(1) First Item was… this is too early to meet my parents! WAY too early! But that is easily resolved by meeting her literally anywhere else.
(2) It feels almost rude to ask her to something where she would have to drive back, at night, for almost an hour. I know that I could simply rely upon her own agency and if it were something she would object to she could just… object to it; but that is the point of RUDE vs. POLITE. It is always preferred to not put someone in a position where they feel uncomfortable.
(3) Would this be a Dinner and a Show kind of thing? Because I’ll be honest that I do love that date when it is a nice fancy dinner and an actual Live Theater Show… it’s the lifestyle I prefer: good night on the town and a healthy support of classic arts. But… considering the importance of that kind of date to me.... it feels too early, too soon for something like that.
(4) Me. Downtown. Surrounded by hundreds of humans. THAT… that is the kind of experience I would rather spare her for a bit longer. And with her own autism, that might be a very uncomfortable scenario for her even without my additional stress and anxiety.
(5) BECAUSE of that additional stress and anxiety, a part of me was actually rather looking forward to attending the show solo. It is one of the few things on my list that I haven’t done completely alone since the Divorce. I wouldn’t have considered it otherwise, I mean… the travel and the ticket expense and all that… but it makes sense. It isn’t just “going to a show alone” because I’ve done that. Quite a lot, actually. This is going to the Civic Center alone. A place where I would see shows with my parents, with old girlfriends.... a place that is totally bound up in my own understanding of “Doing this with others”. That a part of me was really curious how I would feel doing it solo.
SO that’s the “conundrum” there. I have an extra ticket. Well, not even so much “extra” as “I have a ticket for a date”. And if Sunday’s lunch goes well, I have a person that I could take as a date. But… should I? Should I invite her to the show? Should I not? If I do invite her, I would feel rather obligated to take her to dinner first as simply “meeting at the theater” sounds like an appalling faux pas.

Then things exploded. Around 3:18, I check my phone. I am roughly 23 minutes from when The Director sent me my Cast Offer but was expressly asked to keep it under my lid until the Full Cast Announcement. Suffice it to say, with such a talky play, almost ALL roles would worry me due to the memorization challenge! But I didn’t have time to bask in any glory because I then had to go fix TWO different Court Issues. But… with all of that hulabaloo, I was still back in my office shortly before 3:35 so.... apparently, that was a very effective and very efficient 6 minutes!!

My evening shall be.... crammed past the gills with chores tonight so I reckon I shall publish this now to better focus when needed!