Today is Monday, July 8, 2024. Since I was away this weekend in Easton, Pennsylvania, attending a Zoom baby shower for my friends “Jeff” and “Sandy,” the brouhaha over President Biden’s faltering performance has gotten noisier and noisier. And I’m damn angry that this kind of outrage over the supposed feebleness of the incumbent has not been outstripped with calls for the convicted felon to resign tomorrow over his fucking, pathetic record of impeachments, lost lawsuits, adjudicated sexual predator status, and now, conviction on 34 felony counts on May 31.

Maybe what just happened in Europe, primarily in England and France, might give Donald Duck pause, as voters across the globe rejected looming fascism in their countries, which could be viewed as a good sign right here in the United States. An article in the Daily Kos describes what just occurred in these countries in “Voters across the globe are rejecting fascism. Trump should be worried,” by writers of the news site.

In early June, the far right made sweeping gains in the European Parliament elections, including in France. In a shock bid, French President Emmanuel Macron called an early snap election. His goal was to halt the narrative of the rise of the fascist right, one he didn’t want bedeviling him throughout his remaining three years in office.

The gambit was considered madness since polls suggested the hard-right National Rally party would win big. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen essentially ran a preelection victory lap, giving a substantial interview to CNN this past Thursday.

Yet, when the vote was counted, Macron’s goal of neutering Le Pen seems to have proved successful. The National Party wound up in third place, behind the unified left and Macron’s own centrist party.

Now we can hope that this story can be viewed as relevant to our own November election where the clear choice is the same: a vote for fascism as opposed to one for the preservation of democracy. Could people here be that stupid to want a version of fascism flourishing in this country?

Then in England, the U.K.’s Conservative Party got its ass handed to it by the Labour Party, which ended 14 years of conservative rule.

Lots of shocking results observed across the globe. The punditry and the elite class keep thinking fascist right-wingers will win key elections, and the voters largely ignore those expectations and vote for what is right. Given the choice between freedom and creeping (or overt) fascism, the voters overwhelmingly choose freedom. Duh! Isn’t the choice clear here?

This begs the question: does that mean that we will see the same dynamics here in the United States in November?

Nothing is a done deal, as seen by the recent brouhaha over Biden’s poor debate performance and calls for him to drop out of the race, but the election has less to do with President Joe Biden and more to do with Drumpf’s growing threat to democracy. I’m betting it will be the major issue driving voters to the polls, so help me God. It will then be our turn to defeat fascism.

To combat the criticism of House Democrats arrayed against him, President Joe Biden wrote a letter to House Democrats where he pitched himself to top donors as Democrats’ best bet against the Orange Turd. Biden wrote he’s firmly committed to staying in the race after more than a handful of ranking members told House Democratic leadership that Biden needs to step aside.

Anyway, Elliot and I had a very nice weekend with our friends, despite the sweltering heat. We got to our friends’ house in Easton in midafternoon on Saturday after having brunch at Beechwood Cafe, in Jersey City. Later, we took Jeff and Sandy to dinner, where we dined at a local eatery on Center Square Circle, called Pearly Baker’s Alehouse.

The Zoom baby shower was the next day, on Sunday, and we left Jeff and Sandy’s ranch house around 12 to get to her brother and sister-in-law’s house where the meeting was scheduled to take place at 2. There were other family members present at the house and everyone was treated to a buffet lunch at around 12:30. There were some very nice vegetables from “Laura'”s own garden to munch on, various meats, cheeses, potato salad, and scrumptious desserts like the Junior’s cheese cake that Elliot and I brought, some frozen strawberry cake, and a delicious chocolate cake.

When it was 2, we all congregated in the living room to participate in the Zoom event. After some initial problems with the transmission, it got under way. We were all treated to a lovely slide show that introduced the new parents-to-be, their parents, grandparents, cousins, and other family members to everyone viewing the proceeding. Since I’ve never seen these pictures, it was quite amazing to see how young everyone appeared. Then it was time for the soon-to-be-new parents to open up all of the gifts and share them with those who were viewing the shower. They thanked those who contributed to the growing piles of packages in their living room. At one point, someone in the living room asked the prospective mother to show off her “baby bump.” And she happily consented.

At about 3:30 or so, it was time for us to take our leave. We drove home from Wind Gap, Pennsylvania, this time and it took a little longer to get home. Actually, there was very little traffic, which was quite good. We actually stopped on Northern Boulevard to have a light dinner at Jax Inn Diner. So we got home a little after 7:30 or so.

So let’s keep our eyes on the prize, folks, which is relegating Donald Trump to the dustbin of history for one last fucking time! How we got to this ridiculous position once again is beyond my limited scope of knowledge! But we need to defeat these antidemocratic forces once more and send them a unified message of condemnation.

Stay safe and be well.