Today is Saturday, November 12, 2022. I just learned that Democrats have now taken control of the Senate, with a win in Nevada. So the count is 50 to 49 without the runoff in Georgia on December 6 between Raphael Warnock and his brain-damaged contender Herschel Walker. This is great news for the country and a stunning rebuke of Republicans and of Trumpism. Remember, this was not the expected scenario for Democrats during the midterms, especially with very low approval ratings for President Joe Biden. The party defied the historical trend of midterm elections breaking against parties in power and overcame anxiety over high inflation, cementing its majority as voters rejected Republican candidates who had shamelessly aligned themselves with former President Donald Trump, and in many cases parroted his lies about widespread election fraud. This exciting news is covered in an online CNN Politics article by Eric Bradner entitled “Democrats will keep control of the Senate, CNN projects.”

Retaining Senate control is a huge boost to President Joe Biden over the remaining two years of his first term in the White House. It means Democrats will have the ability to confirm Biden’s judicial nominees – avoiding scenarios such as the one former President Barrack Obama faced in 2016, when then-Senate Majority Leader “Bitch” McConnell refused to hold a vote on his Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland. It also means that Senate Democrats can reject bills passed by the House and can set their own agenda.

The Senate win comes with control of the House – where Republicans were widely expected to win a majority – still up for grabs. Ballots are still being counted in key districts in some states, including California, Arizona, and Oregon, with large shares of mail-in ballots. Even if Democrats don’t retain control of the House, they could leave the GOP with a small and unruly majority.

Tonight then Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, a former prosecutor and state attorney general, defeated Republican Adam Laxalt, her successor in the attorney general’s office and the son and grandson of former senators.

What was so grand about Laxalt’s defeat is that this acolyte of the former insurrectionist in the White House parroted Dumpf’s lies about widespread 2020 election fraud. He was also a cochairman of Dumpf’s 2020 presidential campaign in Nevada and played a leading role in legal efforts to reverse the results in that election, which he ridiculously asserted was “rigged.” Cortez Masto had accurately argued that the lies and election conspiracy theories embraced by Dumpf and allies like Laxalt led to the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. So the defeat of this horrible candidate could not come at a better time.

Now I feel my birthday on Election Day has been ultimately vindicated. It took four days to come to this great outcome and the American people voted sanely this time. They rejected republican fear- mongering and their desperate appeals to vote for candidates out of fear over the cost of living and the purported rise in crime statistics throughout the country. Inflation is a worldwide problem and not only endemic to this country. Voters recognized this and recognized the terrible characteristics of most of these repugnican candidates. Even though voters did vote for election deniers in Ohio, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, so this should not be ignored either.

Today I ventured outside for the first time since my surgery on Thursday. Even though I took an Oxycodone tablet last night to help me sleep, it still didn’t prevent me from getting up around 3:30 a.m. with a bout of hiccuping. At that time, Elliot got up with me to help me take several traditional means to stop my hiccuping. From drinking a glass of water to ingesting a spoonful of sugar, to breathing into a paper bag. None of these measures worked, except for the first ingestion of sugar that resulted in a cessation of the annoying habit. But the hiccups eventually came back. I tried to fall asleep again with this annoying phenomenon happening now and then. This time I was able to sleep until a little after 11, which is very late for me.

When we discovered that the weather was supposed to be extremely springlike for this day in November, we decided to venture to the IHOP in Manhasset, on Northern Boulevard. I put on my boxer shorts and my gray sweatpants, the same pants I wore on my visit to Syosset Hospital on Thursday. I had some trouble putting my socks on, so Elliot helped me.

I walked slowly toward the car on the service road and had some trouble getting into it, but I somehow managed. Then we drove to the restaurant in which my son sent me an IHOP gift card this Tuesday. So I wanted to use it as soon as possible.

When we got to the parking lot, I needed Elliot to open the door for me to help me out. I then shambled to the front entrance. We didn’t have to wait inside for a table, so that was good. We were escorted to a table in the back. We viewed the menu and decided to order the 55+-plus meals on the back.

The waiter waiting on us was an affable young man, who confided to us that he was a Palestinian with a Jewish mother and a Palestinian father. He said he had two siblings. He was also very funny.

From our early brunch at IHOP, we drove down Northern Boulevard to Barnes & Noble, where I had a $25 gift certificate from my son here as well. Now we spent some time browsing the store; I was trying to find a calendar of 365 words but couldn’t find any. So I didn’t purchase anything, and neither did Elliot, who spent some time in the travel section.

We now headed home, with my first day out considered a success, I dare say. We now stayed in for the rest of the day. Oh, by the way, my hiccuping did stop at some point today, so that was welcome news for me. I was afraid I would need to call my physician again and ask for a prescription for the strange side effect from my surgery.

So I can breathe a sigh of relief here.

Have a good Sunday.

Stay safe and be well.