43 Comments

I live in Michigan in a liberal suburb of East Lansing and we had the first Harris sign in our neighborhood--ordered as soon as Biden stepped down and she was clearly headed to the nomination. It's still the biggest sign, but we stopped putting political signs down near the road many elections ago and plant them in landscape beds near the house. Just in case.

I'm getting through the coming days by subscribing to the TEC Show on YouTube which breaks early voting down by race, gender, day, county, etc. These are far more telling than the gross figures you get blasted by the MSM and other news media.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUtlcapRGig

This is much more specific and insightful information and commentary than a lot of what I've seen elsewhere. I also keep reminding myself that Alan Lichtman has been right about every presidential election for something like forty years and he says Harris is going to win.

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Hi Lev,

You are wise to put your Harris sign in your landscape beds. I should've done that, but I wanted folks to see them, and we never had any theft issues before. Upsetting. We should be able to place them anywhere on our property.

Thank you for sharing what is helping you. I will check out that YouTube link you shared. Thank you for sharing it. I appreciate you.

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I agree, but it's a very big sign and visible from the road--plus we don't have to take it out to mow. :-)

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Hi Lev. Thank you for this. I find it cool that you're in an East Lansing suburb. I went to Michigan State University.

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Go Green, Go White! I taught at MSU too and my mystery series is set at "The State University of Michigan" (SUM).

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My two pennies' worth, living as a New Zealander looking at the US.

Truth matters. Character matters.

The US is a major player in world events, having a global influence in so many areas. I so hope you get it right this time and vote FOR a strong woman who has integrity, political experience and a heart.

The alternative is continuing divisiveness, bullying, lying and misogyny. The alternative is name calling and other playground behaviour. The alternative is for pulling things and people down, instead of raising everyone and their aspirations upwards.

I wish you all clear thinking about the kind of president you want to represent you to the world.

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Hi Wendy,

I so appreciate you sharing your thoughts as an New Zealander. It's so important for my fellow citizens to look at the global impact too. I also hope we get it right for the exact reasons you mentioned. How the US is represented on the global stage is so important, and Trump does not represent me and my values whatsoever.

Thank you so much for chiming in. Your voice is very much needed. I appreciate you.

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Because you had Jacinda, you know! What a breath of fresh air she was… exactly what Kamaja will bring! We are so ready for her and so stressed about the other guy and his following. If he wins… I want to come live with my family in Oz! Hank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing this, for getting it. We recognize the world is rooting for us too… all prayers and positive vibes from across all the seas are welcomed! Bless you Wendy… and you too, dear Nancy for putting into just the right words how we feel! For encouraging us to keep fighting for democracy. 🥰🫶🇺🇸💙🇺🇸💙

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Hi Joan,

You're so right. We are ready and waiting to turn a new page. And it is so important for US citizens to recognize that the world is watching. What happens in this election will impact everyone everywhere. I am grateful that Wendy shared her thoughts. Grateful to you as well. I appreciate you, too.

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This post so resonates with me. I’m just dumbfounded that the race is this close. I find it completely unbelievable. How could ANYONE think he has the qualifications and/or character to be President (again)? I’m hopeful that Kamala and Tim will win but it is very unnerving to see how much support Trump still has. Here’s to a blue wave on Nov. 5th!

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Hi Claudia,

Ditto to everything you said! Thank you for chiming in. I appreciate you.

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I didn't realize you were in Wisconsin, too! It's been a very long election cycle. Where I live we see a lot of adds for people we can't vote for because we're not in a specific tv market. The nastiness of some of these state races is so NOT the Wisconsin I know and love. I live in a very red county but I'm seeing more Harris/Walz signs than I did Biden/Harris signs four years ago. That gives me hope. Do I agree with Kamala Harris on everything? No. But decency matters. Dignity matters. Kindness matters. WORDS matter. Compassion and integrity matter. True leadership matters. Anyone who sows fear and divisiveness for their own gain is not a leader.

I have been trying to limit my news consumption. I, too, walk to clear my head. I've been praying a lot. I swore I wouldn't post anything political on my Facebook page but I'm feeling the need for at least one plea for decency and have thoughts rolling around in my head.

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Hi Bonnie,

So, you live in WI too? Nice to know. It has indeed been a long, tedious election cycle. Well, in a way. I mean, Harris became the nominee a short time ago, really. But... I agree, nonetheless. I haven't seen too many of the ads you mentioned. Guess I watch too much Netflix and such!

I am seeing way more Harris/Walz signs than I did Biden/Harris signs, too. Your comment is spot on. All those attributes you mentioned are SO important. I want our president to be someone we can all be proud of. And the latest news that broke regarding Trump's comments about Hitler... Beyond my reasoning how folks can still support him.

I think it's okay to post on your FB page. Feel free to post the link to this article. Thank you for taking to comment. I appreciate you.

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I confess that I have re-posted on FB some of the crazier things T has said recently. But Fall is slow and beautiful here, our gigantic Gingko in the front yard all golden and walking the dogs through this neighborhood that was a 400-acre farm before 1929 and has some trees older than that is very calming.

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"For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver." - Martin Luther

“Time spent amongst trees is never wasted time.” — Katrina Mayer

I love trees!

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Hi Bonnie,

Those are wonderful quotes. Thank you for sharing them.

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Hi Lev,

I like your calming ideas a lot! Enjoy doing those things. Thanks so much for reading and commenting, too. I appreciate you.

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I also live in a red county in rural southern MN which tRump carried by about 20 percentage points in 2020. There are FAR FEWER tRump support signs all over my small town, including my immediate neighbors with nothing. The smaller support this time is very noticeable here!

Another positive sign: Tim Walz has also won this red district as our representative 5 times before becoming MN governor in 2018.

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Hi Mark,

I'm glad you are seeing fewer Trump signs. Maybe his support is dwindling. There are a lot on my street. And quite a few big ones at that. Interestingly on our travels this week to MT, we have not seen a ton of them. Of course, didn't see any Harris/Walz signs either. Have seen a fair number of Tester signs. Quite a few for the other guy though. Who knows what'll happen. Hoping voters surprise me with an overwhelming rejection of the GOP up and down the ballot. Thank you for sharing. I appreciate you.

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Free and fair elections are authoritarian's (or wannabes) worst nightmare, they do not want to be held accountable for anything, plus anytime they lose an election it has to be stolen. Stealing opponent's signs makes more sense to me when viewed this way.

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Rusk County. We get our news out of Eau Claire. Derrick VanOrden (3rd Congressional district) has some pretty wild ads against his opponent on tv. Again, can't vote for him but he still represents Wisconsin and it's pretty disheartening.

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Very well said, Nancy! My heart agrees with you 100%. I live in Arizona. My town leans Democrat so I am very lucky in that regard. We WILL win, and women will be the reason! I have mailed all the 400 postcards I wrote, have several more textbanking sessions scheduled, will wear my "Harris Walz, obviously" T-shirt as much as possible, continue to post positive Harriz/Walz messages on Notes, and continue encouraging friends to vote early and vote blue! I'm reading Jessica Craven, Simon Rosenburg, Heather Cox Richardson, Robert Hubbell, and others to keep my hope and optimism at high levels, and not watching the polls or national media! That said, I wish I didn't have to do so much just to survive the anxiety of these last months and upcoming 13 days. But I honestly believe we will win by bigger margins than anyone expects. I do believe there is a movement in progress that isn't being acknowledged by the media. I see it. I hear it. I feel it!!

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Hi Cherie,

I love your optimism! I needed to read your comment right now, so thank you. Thank you!! I appreciate you and all you are doing as well.

And I hope you are right about that movement.

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Hi Nancy,

Your post is so needed right now. I'm so very sorry about the incident with your sign and mailbox. So unnerving and proof that things in this country have gotten worse than they've ever been.

I totally agree with you politically, and I keep saying why is the race so close? I don''t get it. It's not like both parties have compelling points, which should make the race close. Only Harris has a plan and wants to keep our country in a democracy. I am angry that Republican politicians feel they need to control a woman's body and not allow her to choose. So misogynistic. Also, and this is big for me, is that the Jan. 6 insurrection was caused by Trump, which makes him a traitor. So why is he allowed to even run for this election? And he's a convicted felon. WTF?

I am so sick of this race. I have to decompress, and I appreciate your providing tips for how to practice self-care during these most stressful of times. I've now put myself on a total news diet and am happy to have blinders on now. I can't wait until Friday, which is when I can early vote near me. And I'm voting for democracy.

And I, too, have family members who are Trumpers, which I cannot understand.

I'm pessimistic about the outcome. If we are lucky to see the Harris ticket win, you know Trump and his lemmings will be carrying on about how the election is stolen. And there will be violence. The whole thing makes me sick.

As you can see, I have strong feelings about this. I don't want to live in a dictatorship. This is by far the most important election in my lifetime. I'm restacking your post!

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Hi Beth,

Everything you said is spot on. Some days I am pessimistic and other days, I feel like good will prevail. I'm going to be waiting for election results on pins and needles. Of course, you are right, post election things will more than likely be messy. That stage is already being set. Hopefully, it's a landslide for Harris/Walz, but I am concerned due to how close things supposedly are.

Thank you for sharing so candidly about how you feel. I' glad you are taking steps to take care of yourself. It'll feel good, too, to cast your vote early. We only have mail-in early in our area, and we decided to wait and vote in person. Not sure why exactly. I cannot wait to cast my ballot.

Thank you for restacking and for your continued support, no matter what I write about. I appreciate you.

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Hey Nancy, I believe that this is the most important election in our lifetime. At least in my lifetime because I too am old! I'm sorry your sign was stolen. I live in a Very red state where I feel certain that mine would be destroyed as well. I guess that's why I've hesitated. We've already voted and we're holding our breath! I have eaten us out of house and home and just sent my husband for more ice cream!! What I can't understand is how anyone with a wife or daughter or niece can vote for a convicted rapist as President of our country? What kind of legacy are we leaving the young females in this country by allowing this to happen?? That this is ok? Well, it's not ok. We all need to get out there and vote and no, we will NOT go backward anymore!

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Hi Donna,

I know we've all heard it before - that this is the most important election of our lifetimes. This time, it truly feels like it is. I am not sure what'll happen if the wrong candidate wins. Last time he won, we didn't know nearly as much as we do now regarding his character and intentions.

I can't understand how anyone with a wife, sister, daughter, or niece could vote for that guy either. As you said, what is the message we are giving them? And like Beth mentioned, there's the Jan 6 component and the fact that the GOP candidate is a convicted criminal. And now the Hitler comments that Trump reportedly made. How much more can the guy get away with? That's the part I will never understand.

Your comment about ice cream made me smile! Husband and I were just discussing what we should have to eat on election night. That night, I'll probably be too tense to feel like eating much of anything. Of course, results won't be known for a few days probably, so I'll have plenty of time for stress eating. Ha. I'll be walking a lot, that's for sure.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this. I appreciate you.

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Live in the middle of very red Indiana, where our Harris-Walz AND our down-ballot signs were stolen. We have new ones, but will wait to up them up until the week of election (and see how long they last.) I'm still shocked that it happened where we live, because I really thought we were all respectful at least of each other's property even if we do hate each other's politics. Have you seen this? Looks like we're in good company. https://www.dailydot.com/debug/harris-walz-signs-stolen-missouri-tiktok/

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Hi Liz,

Yes, I remember your post! Like you said, I thought folks around me were respectful of each other's property as well. Of course, one person is likely doing the stealing, I realize that. I can't and don't blame everyone.

Thank you for sharing the link. Feel free to share the link to your post, if you'd like. I hope your new signs don't get stolen.

Thanks for reading and commenting. I appreciate you.

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Absolutely wonderful!!!!

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Hi Terry,

Thank you for reading and commenting. I appreciate you.

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Four years ago, I took my dog Remy on a hike on Election Day afternoon. Today, we did the same with both dogs and baby Evie!

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Hi Lindsay,

That was a splendid idea four years ago and a splendid idea this go-around! I'll be taking more walks in the coming days, weeks, and months. It's a good way to clear one's head, that's for sure. Thank you for sharing.

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I loved reading this! It's exactly how I feel living in a suberb 40 min north of Detroit seeing Trump signs everywhere. I am a senior Caregiver and the couple that I have been taking care of over 3 years are Fox news watching Trump supporters. I have managed to avoid and conversations about politics by listening to them respectfully and then changing the subject. They are both 89 years old. Recently, the wife would not stop talking about her support for Trump/Vance the day after the Vance/ Walz debate which I admitted to her that I watched. I couldn't hold back my thoughts and said too much (in a calm, respectful way). I finally said we are lucky enough to live in a country that we can have different beliefs and let's agree to disagree. She kept going on but I left the room. I seriously almost gave my two weeks notice. It's almost a toxic environment that I am forced to work in. I must add that 90% of my job is politics free and I love to help seniors in all aspects. That being said, I dread my work days up until the results are announced. Having a supportive, loving husband and adult children that I can talk to about all this has kept me going. I am at retirement age and regardless of the outcome, I am planning to retire the end of February. My husband and I think it's time for us to get involved in supporting our political views in some capacity. We are going to get a Harris/Walz sign to put in our yard today. We'll see if it's still there tomorrow!

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Rhonda,

I'm glad you enjoyed reading my article. I love hearing that. I think you handled that situation with the Trump supporting couple in your care really well. You were expressing your thoughts respectfully and making really good points. I'm sorry your working environment is toxic at times. Luckily, most of the time it isn't and you enjoy helping seniors. I'm glad you have a supportive family.

The election will soon be over, and we'll get those results. Fingers crossed for the results we want. Good for you for retiring at the end of February. That's exciting! I hope you got that Harris/Walz sign, and I sure hope it stays put! Thank you for reading and commenting, too. I appreciate you.

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Just getting around to catching up on reading posts…I live in a blue state, and we have more Harris/Walz signs in our hood than Trump signs. But there are a few of them. I look at the whole phenomenon of MAGA and Trump and their ignorance and cruelty as an overblown testosterone tantrum, for the most part. There are some women who are MAGAts, too.

Most of the Trumpers with bumper stickers drive big, oversized compensatory trucks that make a lot of noise as they go by. They drive everywhere as if in a rage, about what, I don’t know. They seem to reject all of the things I value- education, science, empathy, peace, social skills, change, diversity, the list goes on.

I suppose living life female, Jewish, and being a member of a couple of other non-majority demographic categories makes me better able to draw on my life experiences as the “other” and I see it all as fear of the other, and fear of change, and loss of their perceived entitled status as a white male. I really have a hard time accepting anyone who supports a Nazi sympathizer.

To sum it up, these days I try to tune out the rantings of the warped and deranged club, and focus on what I know in my heart will be the best outcome, Kamala winning solidly, regardless of all the vicious lies and violent tactics the MAGAts might try. At least this time we’ll be more prepared for that than we were in 2020.

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Hi Alene,

Good to hear from you. It's hard to keep up with reading posts. I'm way behind.

It must be nice to live in a blue state. I miss that. There are a lot of women Trump supporters, so I don't think it's as simple as a male testosterone thing. For some MAGA men, you might be right.

You also might be right about that fear of the "other". Still, I can't figure out how this race is so close. I truly cannot. The fact that Kamala has to be such an overachiever and Trump gets by doing nothing as far as policy etc. says so much - and nothing good. And there seems to be nothing he doesn't get away with. Lots of racism and sexism involved too, IMO.

I'm hoping this is a landslide election for Harris. I'm counting on women to come out of the woodwork. And men, too, hopefully. Fingers crossed. Thank you for chiming in. I appreciate you.

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Hi Nancy,

I live in the bluest of bubbles within St. Paul, MN. There aren’t many Harris/Walz signs to be found, because a) not necessary, and b) they get stolen, in what is regarded as a college “prank.” (The police are sympathetic, but can’t do much, pragmatically. I’m sure Trump signs get stolen as well.)

I’ve shared my concerns with you re: my daughter’s breast cancer. Huge weight on my mind. Can’t even go there.

I very much appreciate Bonnie’s comment about trees. A few days ago, I went on a walk with my friend. We took a path through a ravine with a little stream at the bottom. Surrounded by trees, surprisingly rugged. It took us from one of the city’s busiest streets to the Mississippi River. An oasis of calm. Neither of us had been down that trail before. It was healing.

I may be spending some time there in the next couple of weeks, before the snow flies and the rocks get slippery.

Whatever one’s political views may be, trees are good for the soul.

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Hi Mary,

You are fortunate to live in a blue state. I used to live in MN, so I miss that aspect. There isn't much law enforcement can do about sign stealing unless someone gets caught in the act or someone gets a license plate number.

I love the quote Bonnie shared about trees too. I'm glad you took that walk with your friend and found that new trail. So glad the experience was a healing one for you. Nature is almost always healing when I take the time to soak it in. And the fall is extra special to me.

Thank you for reading and taking time to comment, too. I appreciate you being part of this community.

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Thanks Nancy. I live in one of the redest states. It has been solidly red for 20 years. I am a California transplant so I've watched madam VP throughout her career and am thrilled she is running. So of course I voted for her. T also terrifies me because I have MBC and I'm convinced that 2025 policies would kill me. On a happier note I have a cat who is a very dedicated animal therapist. If I could I would post his pic. He has a beautiful soft tabby coat and is the snuggliest cat I have ever had the pleasure of sharing a home with. I am so grateful to know that I am not the only one being flung about emotionally by all this political craziness.

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Hi Joyce,

I love that you shared your thoughts from the perspective of a CA transplant living in a red state (that must be challenging at times) and also as a person dealing with MBC. Some people get annoyed with me when I write about politics, but healthcare unfortunately, is political. Folks like you and so many others will be harmed if, for example, the Affordable Care Act is again under attack.

I'm glad you have your beautiful cat to bring you plenty of snuggle time. I wish you could post his photo. If you'd like, email it to me. I'd love to see him. Pet therapy is the the absolute best kind.

Thank you for taking time to comment. I appreciate you. And you are definitely not alone.

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