401 Comments

I always love the chicken pictures. I hope the storm passes over without incident and that you have a safe flight tomorrow.

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And I have astilbes of many colors like yours, they are like cotton candy when they are all blooming. Makes me feel better about the horrors of what we are experiencing.!

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Thank you, Pam, for identifying the flowers. I used to grow them, but it's been so long that I had totally forgotten their name.

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They are like weeds, easy to get going again if you have space!

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I know they are. But I live in the desert now and grow plants that are native to my area - like cacti, sotols, ocotillos, several types of yuccas, desert willows… I hate to think what our water bills would be like if I grew all the things I used to love.

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No way are they weeds here ( MA)

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Haha, I live in Massachusetts too, I said they grow like weeds. They show up all over the place where there are not planted. They certainly are beautiful.

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MA has hills and valleys- different soils. We are rocky, and porous and need to augment with humus, mulch or it gets dry. Astilbe does okay with irrigation here.

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I planted some in Anchorage and they were perfectly willing to take over the whole bed.

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I am happy to know JV tucks her chickens in--

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Wednesday with Chickens

I.

Wednesday unfolds, an expanse of hours

between dawn and dusk, marked by the metronome

of chicken feet, the staccato of beaks pecking

at the scattered generosity of seeds.

II.

In the coop, a congress of feathers and clucks,

each bird a study in the mundane magic

of existence, their small lives large with the urgency

of the earth, the earnestness of appetite.

III.

You move among them, a slow deity

with offerings of grain, a curator of their needs,

watching the fluff of dust rise, a soft storm

swirling at the shuffle of your boots.

IV.

This is ritual, repeated with the reliability

of the sun—a covenant of caretaking,

where you give and are given to, in measures

of mutual necessity, the simplicity of survival.

V.

The chickens, with their sharp eyes and quick turns,

possess a philosophy of now,

a presence punctuated by the pursuit of more—

more food, more sun, more space.

VI.

How they regard you, part suspicion, part acceptance,

a feathery pragmatism to their gaze.

To them, you are both weather and landscape,

a condition of their world, a fixture as fixed as the ground.

VII.

Their clucking is a language without translation,

a commentary on the immediate, a vocal embroidery

on the fabric of the day, each thread pulled

through the eye of minute, moment, and morsel.

VIII.

Sometimes, you imagine their bird-brain thoughts,

projecting grand narratives on their small-scale dramas,

an anthropomorphism as tender as it is foolish,

finding in their brief flights the shadows of larger stories.

IX.

But on Wednesday, there is only this:

the weight of your bucket, the weight of the world,

the weightless leap of a hen towards something just beyond reach,

and you, standing amid the feathered chaos, smiling.

X.

So, the day passes, stitched from such small moments,

and you learn, from chickens, the art of pecking at life,

taking what comes, grain by grain, joy by joy,

until the coop quiets and the evening gathers, golden and good.

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The Slow Deity so fits our Joyce !!!

Awesome writ Gloria !!!!

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❤️❤️❤️

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Thank you Gloria. You so perfectly captured the peaceful ‘chicken moments’ of the day🐔🙇‍♀️

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Gloria…You are amazing! How do you keep up with all of this poetry!

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I took some liberties with this one. My grandmother had a flock of chickens, so I've written numerous poems about them. I recently updated one to pay tribute to Joyce's tribe and have been waiting to share it until she mentioned her gang again.

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Were you thinking of the chicken dance when you were writing it? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt81gzIAt18

But staccato is a series of notes that are played with distinction between each note. Example: A blues scale or riff where you spend a short amount of time on each note and there is individuality between them.

Found this tutorial on the guitar. https://img4.guitartricks.com/lesson/27263

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No, but it fits perfectly! Thank you. LOL

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Same

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I absolutely loved this! It is beautiful!

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So love your post. I look forward to them nearly as much as reading Joyce.

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Lovely 🤩

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This is a wonderful poem. Thank you. I especially like stanza VII, but it’s really all so good.

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Thank you for your beautiful words to go along with Joyce’s chicken photographs. Such a beautiful way to start the morning. ♥️♥️

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Ritual, repeated with reliability. Boy, I can relate.

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Beautiful, thank you for sharing, Gloria!

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Gorgeous! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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Wow. Just wow Gloria! You have really outdone yourself with this one. It was truly beautiful— thank you.

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That's wonderful! Thank you!

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Love your poem.

Chickens are blessed to live in mindfulness. They don’t fret a second about whether or not their caregiver will bring food. Grain arrives as surely as the sun rises and the flock settles as dusk.

The rhythm of familiarity.

We humans are cruelly cursed with the ability to imagine tomorrow. The insecurity of November. The potential end of the familiar. The world our children and grandchildren will inhabit.

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I ask rhetorically: why is this cretin treated with kid gloves when his criminality is beyond the pale?? I am so so so discouraged by signals that he will skate.

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I agree but I'm reveling in his embarrassment.

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I'm so disgusted by the testimony given on Tuesday that I wrote an entire piece about it on my own Substack. How nauseating to learn those details, not because they are salacious, but because they are so familiar. Women were triggered by this testimony because they have been enduring situations like that for years: being entrapped and coerced, treated as though their safety, their bodies, their feelings, preferences, and their lives don't matter, because they don't matter to HIM. Why ANYONE is trying to help him get re-elected is beyond me. Safe travels.

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This testimony sure triggered me. I've been in so many situations where a man is talking in inappropriate ways or putting their hands on me. I was molested as a child and these situations close me down just as I closed down as a child. Stormy's descriptions of how she felt is too familiar to me and sadly, many women.

I'm with you, how anyone , especially Evangelicals, can support him is beyond me.

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I have felt terribly terribly sorry for our “sister” Melania Trump since Tuesday. This is horrid behavior toward her as well as toward Stormy. She must be in a really lonely humiliated/hurt/mad place. Heart hug to others who have been hurt these ways.

Wonder how that graduations going to go next week? Maybe everyone will get lucky and Justice Merchan will keep Trump incarcerated that day. If Trump were capable of shame, that might be a lighter punishment than going to that graduation

And he curses during Stormy’s testimony , wanting to record his denial without the bother of being under oath subject to cross( which would be a bloodbath ) not to mention the perjury thing.

And then there’s Barron. Another victim.

What a pig Trump is.

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I beg to differ on Melania. She knew what she was getting into. I'll never forget that jacket she wore either when she went to visit the Border. "I really don't care, do you?" I have no sympathy for her. She married him for money. Plain and simple. You get what you pay for. And You reap what you sow.

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All of that , though i think this level of public humiliation might have been a bit difficult to foresee.

Yeah that jacket was awful!

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Perhaps. Yes she's paying a very high price for all that money isn't she?! It's very sad and pathetic. And the comments about his daughter. Even worse. Ugh!!!

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Her marriage was a business deal. He got a beautiful model wife to show off to his friends; she got a luxurious lifestyle and American citizenship for herself and her family. Decisions have consequences. Only she can decide if it was worth it. My personal opinion is that she chose poorly.

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And she married him for her Einstein Visa, had an anchor baby and brought her family over here. I feel absolutely no sympathy for her. I heard that her NYC 'friends' ignore her.

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I do have sympathy for her. Having been foolish enough to get into a bad situation doesn't diminish the pain of it and that's what I feel sorry for. The Lord's justice doesn't forbid compassion.

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👍👍👍

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Agree on Trump, but always wondered if Melania was his Russian handler.

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She saw a chance to use her beauty to free her family...She had a plan. Pretty sure she doesn't care what he does.

Putin is trump's handler.

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God, I hope she doesn't really love him !

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Putin has a full time job.

AND-

So does Trump’s handler.

So-bet you a nickel these are 2 diff people, and no one other than Melania has both the proximity and apparent influence required.

Can’t imagine anyone handling him remotely. His perspicacity doesn’t extend past the nearest TV or mirror.

(You might confirm this with the troop of attorneys it takes to have him roughly control his mouth for 8 hours a day while sitting in front of a judge! They also have a $1M/yr attorney assigned to sit next to him just to nudge him to keep him awake while he’s being tried for a felony - one he is guilty of, as far as one can tell.)

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I have wondered that as well.

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Sorry Barbara pigs are intelligent!!!

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Barron has turned 18 and has been groomed to join the rest of the royal family of delegates for the Florida RNC:

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/barron-trump-florida-delegate-republican-national-convention-rcna151388

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Ugh! Poor kid getting his indoctrination into the CLP “Cheatin’ and Lyin’ Party”.

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Thanks hadnt seen that. Tiffany also a delegate. Is she even a Florida resident?

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In Trump world, women are objects. He appears to have the empathy and sensitivity of block of rock.

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It’s just insane, isn’t it?

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Scotch is such a handsome boy.

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He's floofy 💕

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Yes. That one looks mega cool and so funny. But if you meet that boy pls do not laugh as they are quite proud but touchy. Lol

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Love the chickens! And I never really appreciated how beautiful they are until you sharing pictures and talking about them. Safe travels and I get to see you in Boston at the end of May!!!!!! I am so excited. My husband is taking me (from northern Maine) to your show as a 70th birthday present. I could not ask for a better gift. ❤️

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Nice!! Lucky you!!

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Susan, I just saw the Sisters here in Chicago. They were fabulous! I sprung extra $ for the meet-and-greet, and it was worth it. They are all just so real and approachable (not to mention absolutely gorgeous!). Have all the fun, and Happy Birthday!

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Thank you, Az! I didn’t sign up for a meet and greet….i wonder if it is too late? These gals have kept me sane and I follow them and look forward to Saturday mornings to hear a new episode. I appreciate your comments. ❤️

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Why shouldn't Judge Merchan call out Trump in court? Unless of course he realizes Trump will somehow video the exchange and post it online to raise more money so he can defend himself against what he continues to call a rigged trial and a mean judge. Trump is noxious and toxic. Ugh.

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I hope Judge Merchan will if it happens again tomorrow!

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Judge Merchan is being SOOOO careful to not give the defense anything on appeal.....Definitely NOT being treated like any other person facing criminal charges.

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Gotta love Guida! A hen with her own agenda. 🥰

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I’m disgusted beyond words. The judicial system is failing the American people big time. I fear that this will have a detrimental effect on our democracy.

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Mike -- It already has . . .I remember my awe and gratefulness to the millions of women who traveled to Washington D.C. with their knitted pink hats the day after Trump was elected and showed us what pride is !

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I took my two daughters in 2019 to the Women’s March in DC. They had never been there before but I had lived there for 5 1/2 yrs before moving to CA. It’s where their dad and I met 54 years ago. They loved it!

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The same way I feel that the second insurrection has started.

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If I did said or did a fraction of what Trump gets away with, I'd be in prison. I would like to know what separates this poor excuse for a human being from receiving the punishment he deserves for his contempt of the legal system. A monster is far too good a word to describe him. Throw him in prison.

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Yep, I was there. We felt so unified and powerful…

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The majority of people aren't running an ongoing grift to bilk people out of their money like Trump is. The money he collects goes to fund his endless appeals. It's in the public's best interest to have the trials move forward; justice delayed is justice denied.

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Scotch looks very proud of himself! I look forward to your chicken photos!

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Looks like a proud man in a chicken suit at the fair 😂❤️

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Tomorrow should, indeed, be interesting! Sometimes I think the only cure for Trump is euthanasia! I suppose that’s out of the question, but somehow he’s got to learn who’s really in charge! Guess voters must rise to the occasion in November. But, if Trump loses, what then? Another coup?

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The Orange mushroom should be given no quarter.The only way to deal with a chronic-textbook case of Narcissistic Personality Disorder 101 is to cut them off 100%. Positive:negative attention is just the same crack cocaine for these inhumane monsters.

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It is time for Judge Merchan to lower the boom ! I think he has tried to keep decorum in the courtroom, but his almost apologetic comments to Trump about the possibility of incarceration are wearing very, very thin.

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Thin enough for the orange buffoon to not worry about being a jail crow.😤

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I would love that too, Barbara.

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If so, hopefully an end shot of the failed attempt will show several hundred escapees from Flyover Loserville, stretched out full of .50 caliber holes. "For the encouragement of the others."

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Does that mean what I think it means?

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Yes. what should have been done in 2021.

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I’m on your team. Definitely.

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Interesting. But von trump already said he will not accept Biden’s victory in November. Looking at the cases in courts I fear not much will happen before next elections. Which is frightening. The ongoing coup is working. Everybody from the fascict corrupt side is still supporting the orange stinky baboon. And moscow mike is back full force with the maga lot. Depressing. Dems should toughen their game pdq.

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Instead of euthanizing, just try duct tape. Everywhere.

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Duct tape very useful for many situations.

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😂😂😂

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It would be time for the people to rise up.

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And do what, exactly? I’m too old & tired to protest & I think younger folks don’t give a damn. They have their nose in their video games & can’t be bothered.

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D. Allen, I hear ya. I'm too old and tired to protest like I did 50 years ago. But I can still call my Congress Critters and write postcards. Every little bit helps, eh?

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Personally I would prefer the lethal injection that prisoners have to endure when executed. I haven't heard anything about that lately, but I remember that prisons were trying weird drug combinations when they could no longer get the humane lethal injection. Those killings were apparently very painful.

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I've always wondered why putting a pet down at the Vet's is a peaceful and non-painful (except emotionally) event. If they can do it with animals why not with people? Anesthesiologists put people to sleep easily. Why not use their method and then once asleep give them the fatal dose?

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That's what they do with animals. I don't know if the powers that be want prisoners to suffer even in death, or if no medical personnel are involved. I think that the difference might be between euthanasia and execution? I generally do not agree at all with painful execution.

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tRump's conduct in court is sinking his case with the jury day by day. Whether he's admonished as a side-bar with his lawyers, or directly by the judge, tRump simply can't help himself with his vulgar behavior. His actions vis-à-vis Ms Daniels are of a piece with women in general, as E Jean Carroll has courageously shown, and the POS has received long-awaited payback from all those that he has harmed!

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Ms. Joyce, Can you explain why Cannon hasn’t been removed? Thank you for teaching me so much! 🙏🏼

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I am not Joyce but I don’t think she would disagree that it is extremely difficult to remove a federal judge from a case. And it is not a step prosecutors would take to an Appeals Court without a strong case for removal. And then what happens if there is a ruling against the government. Such a move is fraught with danger IMO. But perhaps Joyce will address this in a newsletter.

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Thanks, Connie W!

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Everyone who follows what is happening is angry and disappointed. I try to keep my eye on the prize - re-electing Biden. If Biden is re-elected then the case will go to trial. No judge can hold up litigation indefinitely.

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Julie -- Ditto. I would love an explanation from you, Joyce, but I suppose there is a reticence for judges to judge each other. I was heartsick to see Judge Cannon's latest hesitation.

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Safe trip, Joyce. Our group of 8 Motown sistahs awaits you & your Sisters!🥰👏🏼

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Has anyone else thought at first glance that Scotch the rooster was a witty meme of Donald Trump? The hair ... the posture! Had to enlarge the photo to make sure it's a real chicken. Can't unsee it now, can you? 😁

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A grim forecast... If, God forbid, trump (LC intended) gets elected, how many days after inauguration will lapse before he names Aileen Cannon to US Sup Ct? It seems that competence and meaningful experience in the trump era are meaningless. The question I pose is "How can us voters clean out the barn?" to paraphrase H. Ross Perot. I see no chance to impeach Justices until the Senate returns to normalcy, last observed when John McCain was alive.

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Supreme Court justices have to be approved by the Senate. Vote blue.

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Democracy minded people will only take so much before they decide enough is enough.

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I really hope you're right!

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I'm one of them. Democracy-minded and thoroughly fed up.

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Trump manipulated Kavanaugh's. The pres gets to set the parameters of the hearing. He limited the inquiry done by the FBI to 2 weeks and limited the number of inquiries they could make. Hence hundreds of pieces of mail objecting to Kavanaugh were ignored.

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Beer boy and what's her face should be impeached for lying at their confirmation hearings.

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Biden should increase the size of the sup court now, because the resignation of thomas and allito will follow if trump gets elected. Allowing trump to appoint 2 more justices. Creating a right wing sup court far into the future.

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