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If you didn't get the Penzeys email, today had something special in it. An email to Bill Penzey from the daughter of the D-Day vet in Bill's message to us I included at the top of the movie post.

(If you would like to collapse this thread click on the vertical line to the left.)

From Bill's email:

"George Mullins, D-Day Veteran and Kamala Harris Voter shared good words about how what he faced head on June 6, 1944 is coming back to repeat itself 11.5.24, but not many people saw his Facebook post. A week after posting he had 72 likes. A week later, with your help, between our post linking to his post his words now have over 360,000 likes and loves.

Friday George emailed me. Sheila, who he speaks of, is his daughter who reached out to me in the first place in hopes of us helping his words reach a wider audience."

"Hello Bill,

I just wanted to take a minute to thank you for sharing my post. I never would have dreamed that I would get the response that I have gotten.

I posted this letter mostly to make myself feel better, and to express to my family and friends where I stand in the political arena.

I am overwhelmed by all the comments and requests for my book.

Knowing that there are so many like-minded people in this country has given me hope that democracy will prevail, and without Sheila’s, and your support, these words would have never reached the masses. I am forever in debt to the two of you.

Yes, I have also received some hate mail, but haters are going to hate. I wonder how they would feel with my foot up their asses. I might be old, but I still can teach a couple of lessons.

I hope to someday meet you, and properly give my appreciation to you, you’ve made this old boy one happy fellow.

Thank you again, and know that you have a friend, and customer for life!

Many Regards,

George"

"Thanks to you, George, for sharing what needs sharing and one more time leading the way.

Like George, I too received an upsurge in hate mail just for telling his story of the 19 year old who landed on Utah Beach in 1944 living on to be the 99 year old voting “Against the Dictator” and for America’s first female president in 2024.

For a brief moment I did stop and think twice about what I knew would send the hate and anger of the ALL-CAPS BRIGADE George’s way. He’s such a nice guy. But then I remembered he’s gotten the best of far worse people. I hoped he would find some good fun in it. Sounds like he did.

George’s original post shares thoughts so worth sharing on the eve of this election:

I didn’t fight in World War II, standing on the front lines of history, so that we could one day find our country on the brink of dictatorship or authoritarian rule.

I have always believed in the decency and strength of this nation, but I fear we are losing sight of what makes us who we are. I urge you all to reflect on the long-term consequences of the choices we make.

We are better than this. We have faced dark times before, and we can rise again—but only if we stand together and remember that we are all Americans first. Please, let’s not allow fear and hatred to define our future.

Thanks to you, George."

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George here is a true American hero. As, of course, is Bill.

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Last year on a cruise excursion we went to Omaha Beach and the cemetery. Cold and relentlessly windy. There were about 48 French school children touring as well. They were at the hold-your-partner's-hand age, and the French teacher was explaining that a great battle had occurred there and the graves were those of Americans who had come across the Atlantic to help free France. Sober, little children stood there and absorbed every word. No fiddling around, no twitching, completely involved. I don't know enough French to thank the teacher, but he accepted a bow, and I look old enough to have been there 70 years ago.

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We just put in 2 big orders over the last week. I'm going to put together another one to put in here in the next day or two.

What lovely people.

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"Yes, I have also received some hate mail, but haters are going to hate. I wonder how they would feel with my foot up their asses. I might be old, but I still can teach a couple of lessons."

This is such a great attitude, love it! Love this whole story. Thanks Ziggy!

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I have been mad for Penzeys for quite awhile. It's marvelous to see that my madness is invested wisely.

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Yeah, my shelves are bursting.

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I finally bought a spice rack and had to get 2 more.

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Goddamned Onion ninjas!!!

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We are not the people who should be stopping to think before we proclaim our opinions. The fact that we all practice discretion and feel unsafe among strangers tells me all I need to know about the people who are fans of the former President.

Let's make it democratically clear by our votes that the USA is and will stand strong against fascism.

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But we also can recognize that dealing with hate mail is hard. Not over this but I have gotten some really ugly shit over LGBTQ issues. I didn't stop posting but it is scary as fuck.

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That is terrible and yes, being the receiver of hate is shocking and hurtful and frightening. I am sorry we couldn't help you :( as friends and allies.

I mean, jeez, you are the nicest!

(I fell asleep so sorry for the delay in response. Insomnia, sigh.)

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what!!!???

let me at 'em, boss!

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In the past. It's the reason I am no longer on Mastodon. It has happened here on Substack but Substack has better tools to protect myself.

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good

no one's got time for that shit :/

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I can't imagine, Ziggy. I'm so sorry you are going through this.

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I was just going to post this Zig, you are the best.

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Thanks Suzie! It was an honor to get to write this movie post.

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"I wonder how they would feel with my foot up their asses. I might be old, but I still can teach a couple of lessons."

THIS is what makes America great. And I bet he could, also too.

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I loved that bit too.

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Very good stuff.

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The best.

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Thank you Penzeys for your sponsoring!

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Indeed! They're having a great sale right now too.

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Our next Movie Night is a repeat. Because it is fun. It works no matter what happens in the election as a way to continue the party or soothe the psyche. It's 𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐱𝐲 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭!

https://open.substack.com/pub/ziggywiggy/p/wonkette-movie-night-nov-9-galaxy?r=2knfuc&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

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After our ritual fast, we have performed the sacrament of Early Voting. To be followed by brunch at our favorite diner.

And then...we wait.

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You just reminded me that two of my favorite TV jokes involve waiting.

1. The Simpsons, after Homer's Mr Plow commercial aired: "And now, we play the waiting game. (pause) I'm sick of the waiting game, let's play Hungry Hungry Hippos!"

2. Quark, a deservedly obscure sci-fi parody series. One of the characters, their Spock substitute, was a humanoid plant named Ficus. On one adventure the Alien Princess Of The Episode wants to seduce Ficus. He agrees, and lies on the floor with his hands and feet in the air. She starts to climb on top of him but he stops her, and tells her to lie down in the same position beside him.

Princess: (pause) Now what?

Ficus: And now, we wait for The Bee.

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I remember Quark. Favorably.

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So did I. Just cause i liked it doesn't mean it was good.

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I loved Hungry Hungry Hippos, but as an only child, I didn't have that many people to play with, so I used to just pretend they were my pets, and play with them eating their marbles by myself (this is not as sad as it sounds now that I'm reading it.)

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🏆

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I cringe every time I hear someone I know say, “both candidates suck” or “neither is a good choice” or “this is the best America can do?”

That is the power of bothsidesism talking right there.

It saddens me that so many people lack the critical thought to know when they’ve been gaslit.

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The voters suck. Trump should have been laughed out of the Republican primary in 2016.

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It doesn't sadden me. It infuriates me that those people don't have what it takes to recognize the bullshit. I have no more empathy for stupid people. They are damaging this country too fucking much.

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Trump and Harris are NOT comparable in ANY way. They are not two sides of the same coin. They are not in the same ballpark. They are not on the same planet. They’re not even in the same fucking universe.

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No matter how the election turns out, I hope that Samuel Alito doesn't get within a parsec of rendering a ruling on 2024 election issues, because I am certain that SOB is just itching to exact vengeance on people for not recognizing his impressive judicial wisdom in deciding that women need to be stripped of their right ("protected" in Tumpspeak) to make their own healthcare decisions.

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Aren't you interested in what the 12th century Witch Finder General has to say about Democracy?

Boy! Am I.

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Sigh. The best two Sundays outside of Xmas and Easter. Music is so good as is the message.

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What does it say about a state of Florida Men that their killer clown is a woman?

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She looks funny

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Cake article is up!

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Dogs don't get daylight saving's time.

Got me up at 5:30am.

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On the topic of movies, a huge Thank You to whomever it was (apologies that I can't recall) that recently mentioned the 2014 movie 'Pride' (Synopsis: Realisng that they share common foes in Margaret Thatcher, the police and the conservative press, London-based gay and lesbian activists lend their support to striking miners in 1984 Wales.). I was not familiar with that piece of my fellow gay Brits' history, or the film. I watched it yesterday. The story was very moving, the film was done well, and the 'icing' was that it included some of my all-time fav 80's tunes. Official trailer:

https://youtu.be/khbz4ncVY9o

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Obviously, I missed it. Rats. But thanks for sharing the link Ziggy - I will love reading through the discussion!

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It's an excellent movie. Had me crying at the end.

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Had me crying several times! But yes, especially at the end.

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It was probably WomanComingHome - I think it's one of her favorite movies, right up there with Auntie Mame, because she shares scenes from it periodically.

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"Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!"

—Auntie Mame

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Do people in a coma get to vote? Like if someone has power of attorney? Asking for a friend.

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I tried to upthumb and agree with wandering aengus below but I'd forgotten they're mad at me and have blocked me. That's the only person here who's ever done that and I tend to forget. I'd apologize but I have no idea what I did.

Anyway, no, comatose citizens or those otherwise determined NOT to be of sound mind are not allowed to vote and NO one may vote for them by proxy.

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I'm 99% certain that most state laws would not allow that.

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I think Republicans have blown their own game up. Cried wolf ... supported liars ... so much ... such an eight-year flood of lies ... that too few people who matter ... non-MAGA-base ... will believe them. Oops.

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From the green cigarette he took a long drag

And said, "I think I'll pack my traveling bag"

https://youtu.be/Xc9w_7OhmwI

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Growing up, nearly all the men in my life were WWII vets. Only 1 remains, and he told me he has already sent his mail-in ballot voting straight (D) He's 98 and feels not only is this the most important Presidential election he's ever voted in but most likely will be his last. A pretty "manly" guy, he has no problem at all with a woman President, so i don't understand how these young guys do., nor does he.

I talked to him about 6 months ago and he said, "I hope you're not planning to vote for that Trump asshole, if you are, I'll take my cane and knock some sense into you" I said, "Bill you know me better than that"" He laughed and said "Yeah, but I've been giving you shit since you first started walking, do you think I'm going to stop now."

Thinking about it, it's true. Those guys always did give me and my buddies a good ration of shit, most every day. WE learned to both fear and respect the "Dogre" (Dad +Ogre) When you screwed up you heard about it in no uncertain terms, but they always held themselves to the same standards, and were always there to help when you needed it. They taught us the importance of always busting your ass to fulfill your obligations and treating people fairly. Maybe a little sexist, but girls got treated differently, and Mom was in charge of them. Also, under no circumstances did you ever hit a girl There were things you did, and things you never did, and you gotta get it right the first time because you may not get a "do-over" At the time it was a real pain, but looking back now, I love them all for it, and miss them all every day.

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Let's face it. The advent of Cheetolini had to wait until most of the WW II vets were gone, or they'd have been lining up to kick Nazi ass a second time. Forgetting how bad things were is an essential element of the Conservative philosophy.

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Along with pretending things are today vastly worse than they actually are. Basically a complete denial of reality past or present.

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My sainted Grandpa, WWII vet, died at 97 in October of 2016. He was SO excited to vote for (who he firmly believed would be) our first female president. "Kiddo! We're leaving you a better place than we found it! You do the same!"

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Sounds very familiar. However, those men in our family expected women to be strong, as well, and tough. They knew there was no room for shirkers or oversized babies in our world, plus, they wanted, not feared, someone with strength on their side.

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Of course, same here. goes without saying ta Mom always got an equal (if not a weighted) say in what went on, and none of the women in my family were ever wimpy or subservient You respected your wife as your partner in life. Men who didn't, or even abused their wives, were lower than whale shit. A man who struck his wife might reasonably expect to get a "dose of his own medicine" from another man. God help you if she had a brother or brothers. My grandfather was a boxer in his young days. He taught his daughters how to defend themselves same as the boys. My FIL was a hand to hand combat instructor and taught my wife the same things he taught her brothers. None of them were prone to violence but thought knowing how to defend yourself was an important skill. They were all homebodies who firmly believed that once you were married you did things with your family and stopped hanging out or going drinking with your buddies You stayed at home and did things with your wife and children

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Sounds entirely familiar!!! There seemed no lower contempt or anger than for abusive men, that I saw. Most guys who did those things seemed much more careful about keeping it as hidden as possible, for exactly the reasons you write.

Yes, they wanted someone for life who they knew they could depend on. I mention frequently how lucky I am in having personal experience of how honorable men can naturally be, and those in our extended family just were not abusive, misogynist losers. It was unthinkable. It's contributed, I am sure, to my having so many male friends all my life. Good men.

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Grandpa said one of the best things he did in life was marry a woman who was smarter than he was, otherwise life would have been "really boring". I don't know that Grandma was smarter per se, but she was really smart and strong and they had a good life together.

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All the WWII vets in my family are gone now. I had uncles in both the Pacific theatre and in Italy (one of whom was trapped behind enemy lines for two years after being in heavy fighting, hidden by a family in northern Italy; now the kids from that family still are in contact with my counsins, all in their 70s and 80s).

The Korean war guys are getting up there too, but a few such as my stepdad, are still fascinated by the battles and strategies of WWII, and that has helped keep my awareness of that war fresh.

Strong men, and not a one of them weirded out by working for, or respecting women.

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Strong men indeed! For them Donald Trump would be the perfect example of a "bad example" I can hear my Dad and uncles all saying, ":if you ever start acting like that guy, I'll put my foot up your ass and kick some sense into you. Seeing people waving Swastika flags would send them all into a rage. They'd say something like "I'll take that rag from you and strangle you with it", and mean it

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NYT: A Second Trump Term? Three Conservative Columnists Unpack What Could Happen.

ROSS DOUTHAT, DAVID FRENCH AND BRET STEPHENS

No link because fuck that

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tl/dr: no more elections for decades, and hundreds of thousands will die.

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Or, you know, America could just not shit the sheets. Or the Capital.

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<< From Oct. 7 to Oct. 20, former President Donald Trump’s campaign and pro-Trump groups spent an estimated $95 million on ads, more than 41 percent of which were anti-trans. >?

https://x.com/newshour/status/1852870815315894466?s=61

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I see an awful lot of those. They always say "biological MEN" in "GIRL's" sports and locker rooms, for extra scary points, and hammer on Kamala Harris providing gender-affirming care to a trans immigrant inmate, as if it isn't a federal law that their boy tfg also lived under during his reign of error.

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When you only have a hammer, everything in the world looks like a scary transexual person.

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